AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Joaquin Castro, the Texas Democrat who leads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said Wednesday he was again passing up a Senate run despite hinting for months that 2020 might...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democrat MJ Hegar, an Air Force veteran whose viral campaign ads nearly helped her get elected in one of Texas' most Republican-friendly congressional districts last year, set...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Wendy Davis of Texas said Tuesday she is considering a U.S. Senate run in 2020 but is waiting to see whether another high-profile Democrat, Rep. Joaquin Castro, goes through...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of congressional leaders said Tuesday that the Interior Department's plan to clamp down on public records requests would undermine government transparency and...

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a story March 4 about President Donald Trump's proposed executive order to protect free speech on college campuses, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Sen. John...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas confirmed Friday that he will "seriously consider" running for U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent John Cornyn, raising the...

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro said Thursday that his twin brother, Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas, is considering a big run of his own in 2020 — a bid for U.S....

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — President Donald Trump is endorsing Sen. John Cornyn for re-election in 2020, saying the chamber's No. 2 Republican "has done an outstanding job for the people of...

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Beto O'Rourke said Tuesday that he hasn't ruled out being a 2020 vice presidential candidate — even as he plans to decide in the next 10 days if he'll seek the...

A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate would authorize the U.S. Treasury to mint $1 coins honoring former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, for the year.

The Bushes, who lived in Texas and Maine, both died in 2018.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said the coin will pay tribute to the Bush legacy of "courage, duty, honor, and compassion" and serve as a reminder of their contributions to the country.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Senate's No. 2 Republican is blasting the Trump administration's Office of Management and Budget for failing to release nearly $4.4 billion in recovery funding to Texas after Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Majority Whip John Cornyn says he has repeatedly met with federal officials: "I'm running out of patience with OMB."

Speaking to reporters in Washington, Cornyn said, "They've kind of run out of excuses," adding, "They just need to let that money go. It's been long enough."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Four U.S. senators are urging President Donald Trump to use the Guantanamo Bay detention center to hold fighters from the Islamic State group captured in Syria.

The Republican lawmakers say Islamic State prisoners could escape or be released in Syria, and they would face "justice" at the detention center on the U.S. base in Cuba.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republican Greg Abbott began a second term as Texas governor Tuesday by promising lower taxes and a school funding overhaul but without mentioning a national policy dispute that weighs heavily on his state: President Donald Trump's demand for a border wall.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming Republican U.S. Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso are supporting proposed legislation that would allow individuals with concealed carry permits in their home state to exercise those rights in any other state with concealed carry laws, while abiding by that state's laws.

Enzi says the proposal protects law-abiding gun owners around the country.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming Republican U.S. Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso are supporting proposed legislation that would allow individuals with concealed carry permits in their home state to exercise those rights in any other state with concealed carry laws, while abiding by that state's laws.

Enzi says the proposal protects law-abiding gun owners around the country.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Senate's consideration of criminal justice legislation (all times local):

7 p.m.

A major criminal justice bill backed by President Donald Trump has cleared a key Senate hurdle, with supporters securing an 82-12 vote to advance the measure.

The Senate will consider a variety of amendments from opponents before holding a final vote later this week.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Under pressure from President Donald Trump and many of his Republican colleagues, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he will bring legislation to the floor to overhaul the nation's federal sentencing laws.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators are considering changes to criminal justice legislation to appease Republicans and law enforcement groups as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell weighs whether to bring the bipartisan legislation up for a vote before the end of the year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Judiciary Committee has canceled a Thursday vote on more than 20 federal judge nominations amid a standoff between Republican Sen. Jeff Flake and GOP leaders over legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota U.S. Sen. John Thune has climbed to the second-highest rung on the Senate Republican leadership ladder with a promotion to majority whip.

Thune had served in the No. 3 leadership post as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference since 2012.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh devolved into a partisan fistfight Thursday as Democrats and Republicans — and Kavanaugh himself — sparred over explosive allegations that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted an acquaintance while both were teenagers.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, called the hearing a "national disgrace," while Texas Sen. John Cornyn said it was the most "embarrassing scandal for the U.S. Senate since the McCarthy hearings" in the 1950s.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona's new senator says he'd vote to repeal the nation's health care law. That's one additional Republican ready to obliterate the statute because his predecessor, the late Sen. John McCain, helped derail the party's drive with his fabled thumbs-down vote last year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Moments after Donald Trump's former personal attorney implicated the president of the United States in a felony, Sen. John Cornyn declared "People who do bad things, who break the law need to be held accountable."

Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, quickly made clear his statement wasn't aimed at Trump.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump considering revoking the security clearances of former Obama administration officials (all times local):

4:15 p.m.

Members of Congress are pushing back against a floated White House idea of pulling the security clearances of top former intelligence officials in the Obama administration who have criticized President Donald Trump.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The general counsel to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been confirmed to serve as a judge on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz announced the confirmation of Andrew Oldham to the appeals court seat after a vote Wednesday by the full Senate. The two Texas republicans had recommended Oldham to President Donald Trump for the 5th Circuit Court vacancy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate battle was brewing Tuesday over Democrats' requests for documents from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's career, with his time in President George W. Bush's White House emerging as a potential focal point of that fight.

No. 2 Senate Republican leader John Cornyn told reporters about "rumblings" that Democrats want "every scrap of paper" from Kavanaugh's career.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows:

ABC's "This Week" — National security adviser John Bolton; Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows:

ABC's "This Week" — National security adviser John Bolton; Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on immigration legislation (all times local):

4:30 p.m.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is asking Texas' congressional delegation to find bipartisan solutions to immigrant children being separated from their parents after illegally crossing the U.S. border, saying, "This disgraceful condition must end."

In a letter Wednesday to the state's 36 House members and two senators, Abbott says, "It can only end with action by Congress to reform the broken immigration system."

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is asking Texas' congressional delegation to find bipartisan solutions to immigrant children being separated from parents who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, saying "this disgraceful condition must end."

In a letter to the state's 36 House members and two senators on Wednesday, Abbott said "it can only end with action by Congress to reform the broken immigration system."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Reaction to President Donald Trump's decision to cancel next month's summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un:

—"The art of diplomacy is much harder than the art of the deal." Sen. Bob Menendez, D-NJ

— "What's the most surprising is that there was ever an agreement to meet in the first place. I always assumed this was going to be a long, difficult negotiation and this was just the first demonstration of that." Texas Sen. John Cornyn, Majority Whip

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators have introduced sweeping, bipartisan legislation aimed at fixing the failures in juvenile justice in the U.S. military and its schools, as revealed by an Associated Press investigation into child-on-child sexual assaults on base.

AP found that many of the nearly 700 cases it documented over 10 years languished in the federal legal system, which on most bases has authority to prosecute civilian crimes.

SANTA FE, Texas (AP) — The Latest on a shooting at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas (all times local):

11:05 p.m.

Investigators say a 17-year-old admitted to authorities that he went on a shooting rampage at a Southeast Texas high school that left 10 dead, most of them students.

DALLAS (AP) — More than 70,000 members of the National Rifle Association are expected in Dallas for the group's annual meeting, which featured an appearance Friday by President Donald Trump who lauded NRA members for "fighting for our beloved Constitution." The meeting is also drawing protests, including by those who have lost loved ones to gun violence.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The National Rifle Association has endorsed Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts in his re-election bid along with Lincoln attorney Bob Evnen for secretary of state and state Sen. John Murante for state treasurer.

The NRA's Political Victory Fund announced the endorsements Wednesday.

Ricketts, Evnen and Murante all scored high ratings from the group for their support of various gun-related measures. All three are Republicans who will appear on Nebraska's May 15 primary election ballot.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Rifle Association joined the Trump administration and top congressional Republicans Thursday in a swift and surprising embrace of a restriction on Americans' guns, though a narrow one: to regulate the "bump stock" devices the Las Vegas shooter apparently used to horrifically lethal effect.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior congressional Republicans said Wednesday they are open to considering legislation banning "bump stocks" like the shooter in Las Vegas apparently used to make semi-automatic rifles perform more like fully automatic weapons.