Treasury’s $700 billion rescue plan for the financial markets cleared Congress on Friday, after bouncing back to win approval from the same House which had rejected it only four days ago. 

The 263-171 vote caps a remarkable 14 days …

Democratic leaders were bracing for defections on the vote allowing for debate on the financial-markets rescue plan because budget hawks in the Blue Dog Caucus were expected to vote against that procedural measure to protest the Senate’s inclusion of more …

Barack Obama called Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings on Tuesday with a promise: As president, he would revisit bankruptcy laws to give judges more leeway to prevent foreclosures.

Obama didn’t need to lay out a quid pro quo because the …

A federal judge today refused to throw out corruption charges against Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), but he said the Justice Dept. prosecutors failed to disclose all the information they had in their possession that could prove Stevens’ innocence. …

The Republican Party may be deeply fractured over the bailout, but supporters and opponents of the measure agree on one thing: an obscure Carter administration policymaker named Bill Isaac helped kill the bill on Monday.

Now, with a …

Things were looking good for Barack Obama on Monday morning.

The bailout package that was to be voted on that day largely reflected the changes he had advocated. Meanwhile, John McCain was getting pilloried for parachuting into the …

Think Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s got a tough job? Meet Kevin Fromer, Treasury’s top liaison to Congress.

Fueled by pizza and sandwiches during day-and-night negotiating sessions on Capitol Hill, Fromer averaged only four hours of sleep each of …

Minnesota Rep. Jim Ramstad finally has a strong chance to win a career-long fight: equal treatment for mental illness in health care coverage. But victory won’t come cheap: It’ll be about $700 billion, to be precise.

That’s the …

How can you identify winners and losers in a week when the economy raced toward the abyss — and Congress publicly disintegrated at the very moment its wisdom and leadership were most needed?

It’s nearly impossible to know how …

In the wake of the stunning House defeat of the $700 billion economic rescue plan, the business community has launched an unprecedented lobbying blitz to polish the plan’s public image and change some votes.

Since Monday, calls have gone …