Search result for Wissam Melhem

Biggs, Schweikert cross aisle as House trims president’s war powers

WASHINGTON - Arizona Reps. Andy Biggs and David Schweikert were among just 11 Republicans who crossed party lines Thursday as the House voted to limit the president's ability to pursue military action without approval from Congress.


As impeachment trial begins, Arizonans play official, unofficial roles

WASHINGTON - Testimony in the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump began Tuesday, with at least two Arizonans looking on in unofficial capacities as senators engaged in an all-day debate of procedure.


For seventh straight decade, Arizona should gain House seat from Census

WASHINGTON - The only things certain in life are death, taxes - and, for the last six decades, that Arizona would gain seats in Congress.That streak is almost certain to continue this year, when the census will likely show the state has gained enough residents to add another seat in the House, its 10th.


Despite relatively short tenure, Arizona delegation making waves

WASHINGTON - Arizona's congressional delegation has an average tenure well below that of other states, but they have combined important committee and caucus posts with aggressive media appearances to give the delegation a presence bigger than its relatively short tenure would indicate.


Arizona veterans of 1998 impeachment see similarities, deeper divides

WASHINGTON - No one in Arizona's congressional delegation has been through an impeachment vote before, but lawmakers who were in Congress for the 1998 impeachment of President Bill Clinton remember angry phone calls from sharply divided voters - much like the situation today.


Arizona lawmakers follow party line in impeachment hearing questioning

WASHINGTON - The House Judiciary Committee ended a daylong hearing into possible articles of impeachment Wednesday against President Donald Trump with bitter partisan sparring, and Arizona lawmakers on the panel largely followed suit.


Online shopping, extended sales dim, don’t defeat, Black Friday frenzy

WASHINGTON - Earlier sales and expanded online shopping options have cut into Black Friday's appeal, but they have yet to knock it from its position as the elbow-throwing, hectic start of the holiday shopping season for many. Call it Blackish Friday.


Impeachment impasse: Few minds appear changed by weeks of testimony

WASHINGTON - Two months of investigation and two weeks of televised hearings do not appear to have changed any minds in Arizona's congressional delegation about the potential impeachment of President Donald Trump, a situation so far mirrored in the public, according to recent polls.


House panel advances bill to expand farmworker visas, green card access

WASHINGTON - A House committee gave preliminary approval to a bill that would add 20,000 farmworker visas and let some workers apply for permanent legal residency, despite Republican concerns that it could open the door to more illegal immigration.


House panel OKs pot decriminalization, as poll shows support in Arizona

WASHINGTON - A House committee gave preliminary approval to a comprehensive marijuana reform bill that would decriminalize the drug while erasing pot convictions stretching back decades.The vote came the same day a new poll showed a slim majority of Arizonans support marijuana legalization.


Grijalva, House Democrats demand probe of troops deployed to border

WASHINGTON - Dozens of House Democrats renewed calls Friday for the Defense Department to investigate the legality of President Donald Trump's decision to deploy thousands of active-duty and National Guard troops to the U.S-Mexico border.


Advocates aim to energize Latino voters, as their clout at polls grows

WASHINGTON - With Hispanics expected to be the largest bloc of minority voters by the 2020 elections, advocates hope to capitalize with a multimillion-dollar campaign focused on five states, including Arizona, that will be aimed at boosting Latino civic engagement across the board.