WA Government

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers return to the Capitol on Monday with less than a month before Republicans’ self-imposed July 4 deadline to pass President Donald Trump’s signature bill, extending tax cuts and increasing spending on immigration enforcement and the military while cutting spending on health care and food assistance.

The Department of Social and Health Services is providing just two hours of weekly group treatment for residents of a secure island facility used to detain and rehabilitate people with a history of sex crimes — a fraction of what state officials and national experts consider acceptable and of what was offered just nine months ago.

WASHINGTON – Among the more than 150 executive actions President Donald Trump has taken since assuming office in January are orders that aim to boost oil and gas drilling, mining and commercial fishing in the United States.

A federal judge in Maryland has ordered the Trump administration to restore AmeriCorps funding in 25 states, including Washington.

Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell has voiced concern over staffing cuts at the National Weather Service, which she says have left much of the country ill-prepared for this year’s hurricane and fire seasons.

WASHINGTON – In her first public move after retiring from Congress at the end of 2024, former Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers announced Tuesday that she is launching a nonprofit foundation that aims to cultivate a new generation of American leaders.

The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will hear a case against late mail-in ballots in Illinois. Washington State accepts postmarked ballots after Election Day and could be affected by the case's decision.

Just over four months into President Donald Trump’s second administration, the rate and frequency with which Democratic attorneys general have challenged federal policy has greatly outpaced that of his first term in office.

WASHINGTON – The most fundamental job of Congress is to fund the government each year, typically through a bipartisan process that distributes dollars more or less evenly between red states and blue states. But a dustup over a dam construction project in Washington state has thrown a wrench into that process and raised the stakes of a government funding showdown in September.

May 26—Last week, U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, joined the entire Washington state congressional delegation in sending a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to reconsider the denial of Washington state's request for a major disaster declaration as a result of the devastating windstorms, heavy rainfall, flooding and mudslides caused by a bomb cyclone in November 2024. ...

Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a state operating budget on Tuesday that substantially boosts state spending and raises taxes by roughly $9 billion over the next four years.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Tuesday signed into law a controversial policy requiring gun buyers to first pay for a new state permit.

On his first day, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson angered many Democratic lawmakers by demanding the Legislature put $100 million in the next state budget to help local police departments hire police officers.

Washington residents will soon face heftier fines for littering and higher prices for plastic grocery bags.