Upon return from their very (very, very, very) lengthy summer break, Senate Democrats blocked a $1.1 billion Zika funding bill, which has failed yet again. This time, Democrats objected because of language that would prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving contraception funding (the virus can be sexually…

Not only have the shadowy hedge-funders backing Fordham Law professor and anti-corruption advocate Zephyr Teachout’s opponent in her bid for Congress so far declined her invitation to debate, now national Republicans—backed by those same financiers—are getting involved in the upstate New York race.

The presidential election isn’t the only nightmare awaiting us in November. Welcome to Congressional Cacophony, a feature on The Slot about House and Senate races that really, really matter. Suggestions? Pitches? Email us.

On Wednesday evening, a sex tape containing footage of U.S. Virgin Islands Rep. Stacey Plaskett and her husband as well as several photographs were posted online after her computer was hacked. The video and the images have since been taken down.

Representative Steve King (R-Iowa) has a question, which he seems to regard as rhetorical: has any “sub-group” contributed to the progress of Western civilization like white people have?

On Thursday, a mere day after the senseless death of Philando Castile, three days following the equally mindless execution of Alton Sterling, and hours before five police officers were killed in Dallas by snipers, Republicans in the House struggled to find support for a piece of gun control legislation.

The presidential election isn’t the only nightmare awaiting us in November. Welcome to Congressional Cacophony, a new feature on The Slot about House and Senate races that really, really matter. Suggestions? Pitches? Email us.

For the first time, two trans women will be running for Congress under the auspices of a major political party. Utah’s Misty K. Snow and Colorado’s Misty Plowright—both Democrats, both trans women—have handily won their primaries, and will face Republican opponents this November, per Politico.

In a late-night vote taking place during a Democratic sit-in urging action on gun control, the House of Representatives voted to approve a contentious $1.1 billion bill to help stop the spread of Zika that House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) described as “a responsible compromise.”

House Democrats spent Wednesday staging a historic sit-in to try to force a vote on a gun control measure, a vote that didn’t happen when the GOP opted to adjourn early and flee the Capitol. Late last night, Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan made an emotional plea for gun control, based on her chilling experiences…

“I have only said like 1000 times I will be a private citizen in January,” failed Republican presidential candidate and agitated ninth grader Marco Rubio tweeted approximately one month ago, in response to a Washington Post story that suggested he was unsure about his political future. On Wednesday, the Washington…

What does this group of 20 (mostly) white men have in common other than a life bathed in the pasty light of privilege and access, and probably some kind of bizarre sex fetish because they can? NRA money.

According to a report from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) set to be released Monday, sexual assault and a “troubling command culture” remains a serious problem in the military. The report examined the 329 sexual assault cases that occurred on military bases in the United States in 2014, and found that victims who…

In what has been described as a “brazenly political act,” House Republicans have changed the name of the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act to the “Zika Vector Control Act.” The House is supposed to vote on the bill, which remains completely unchanged in content, on Tuesday.

On Thursday, a federal judge ruled that the Obama administration had been unconstitutionally spending money to fund the Affordable Care Act.

Two months after the Defense Department opened combat jobs to women, a House panel has voted to also require women to register for the draft. The measure will be debated by Congress in the fall, in what promises to be a very calm and wholly rational continued discussion about the role of women in the military.

Former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is one of those people in public life who’s almost disturbingly free with her opinions, like that time she publicly accused Barack Obama and abortion of working in tandem to bring on the Rapture. But give the woman her due: she’s got moves.

During a panel at SXSW on Saturday, Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) introduced a proposal for a bill that would devote $20 million to prosecuting cybercrime.

On Monday evening’s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Bee took on the cottage industry dedicated to teaching children how to fight back during school shootings. This is the wrong approach, she sensibly pointed out.

The Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, a crucial piece of environmental legislation that will phase out and eventually ban microbeads from soaps and cosmetics, has flown surprisingly easily through the Republican-controlled Congress over the past few weeks.