US Congress

Republicans eagerly elected Rep. Mike Johnson as House speaker Wednesday, elevating a deeply conservative but lesser-known leader to the seat of U.S. power and ending for now the political chaos in their majority.

Republicans abruptly dropped Rep. Jim Jordan on Friday as their nominee for House speaker, making the decision during a closed-door session after the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump failed badly on a third ballot for the gavel.

Rep. Jim Jordan failed badly Friday on a third ballot for the House speaker’s gavel, rejected by even more Republicans from the conservative mainstream who warned the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump that no threats or promises could win their support.

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan failed again Wednesday on a crucial second ballot to become House speaker, but the hard-fighting ally of Donald Trump showed no signs of dropping out despite losing support from even more of his GOP colleagues.

Disaster-recovery projects in Florida and other states could be affected by the looming federal-government shutdown, the White House said Thursday.

The trails at the J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel will remain open even if Congress does not pass a bill to fund the government by midnight Saturday.Tarpon Bay Explorers, the refuge’s concessionaire, will re-open Monday, after being closed in September. The tram service on Thursdays will be open.The visitor center and restrooms will be closed. About 10 employees will be furloughed, Westland said. The park manager and law enforcement can still work.

In fallout from the debt ceiling deal, Speaker Kevin McCarthy is suddenly confronting a new threat to his power as angry hard-right conservatives bring the House chamber to a halt, reviving their displeasure over the compromise struck with President Joe Biden and demanding deeper spending cuts ahead.

The U.S. Senate gave final approval late Thursday to a debt ceiling and budget cuts package, grinding into the night to wrap up work on the bipartisan deal and send it to President Joe Biden's desk to become law before the fast-approaching deadline that would have left the U.S. unable to pay its bills.

The president's signature came hours after he outlined the economic stakes that leaders faced and declared that a crisis had been averted.