Barr faced scrutiny from lawmakers over how he would handle special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing probe of Russian election meddling.
Friday will mark the second payless payday for 800,000 federal workers
Wheeler, 53, has served as the acting head of the EPA since his predecessor, former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, resigned under a cloud of ethics investigations in July.
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat who was fighting for his political life, will live to see another day in the U.S. Senate. The lawmaker will defeat Republican challenger Patrick Morrisey, the state's attorney general, NBC News projects.
U.S. congressional candidates hammered into the homestretch of a bruising campaign season on Saturday.
Prognosticators believe Republicans have a strong grasp on the Senate even as massive fundraising numbers help Democrats in their bid to take the House.
The salvo against Democrats' "menacing" health-care goals comes less than 30 days before the midterm elections, and is explicitly directed at seniors who have historically shown high levels of support for Medicare, the over-65 health insurance plan.
Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in on Saturday as the 114th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, after the Senate voted confirm his nomination amid an emotional, weeks-long debate.
Collins revealed her decision Friday afternoon, hours after a key procedural vote in the confirmation process. Minutes after her announcement, West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said he would also vote yes on Kavanaugh.
Majority Forward, a nonprofit group that spends millions to get Democrats elected to the U.S. Senate, is sticking with Bredesen, even though his statement in support of the embattled judge Friday bucked the party line.
The Arizona Republican says he would support Kavanaugh shortly after he voted to advance the judge's nomination to a final vote, which is expected Saturday.
Two key senators, one Democrat and one Republican, voted against their parties in a dramatic showdown on the floor of the Senate on the question of whether to advance Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to a confirmation vote this weekend.
"As of now I don't really know and I don't know if anybody else does," said the Judiciary Committee chairman, who oversaw Kavanaugh's contentious confirmation hearings.
Heitkamp, facing re-election in a state President Donald Trump won by nearly 40 percentage points in 2016, is considered the most endangered Democrat in the Senate.
The Iowa Republican and his Democratic colleagues made their comments Thursday after seeing a report about the bureau's supplemental background check into the appeals judge.
The bulk of campaign spending by political action committees is being deployed in just 10 of the most competitive Senate races — and there's much more to come as the midterm election nears.
Big-money conservative groups are targeting red-state Democrats as they fight to survive the grueling midterm elections.
Even before Thursday's explosive Senate hearing, popular opinion had already begin tilting against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. But when it comes to matters before the Senate, popular opinion doesn't count.
If things go as Senate Republican leadership and Trump plan, Kavanaugh – who is accused of sexual misconduct by several women – could be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice by the middle of next week.
A recent analysis showed that health care was the most common subject of televised advertisements by Democrats. On the other hand, GOP candidates are touting closeness with President Trump.
Data also provided by 
