Stephen Groves, Author at The Rapid City Post

FILE - Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to the media about an indictment of former President Donald Trump, Aug. 1, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

House Republicans seek testimony from ex-Trump prosecutor Jack Smith

October 14, 2025

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are requesting that Jack Smith, the former Justice Department special counsel, appear for an interview. It’s part of an escalating effort among Republicans to pursue the perceived enemies of President Donald Trump. Rep. Jim Jordan, the committee chair, charges in a letter to Smith that his prosecutions of Trump were “partisan and politically motivated.” Smith has come under particular scrutiny on Capitol Hill, especially after the Senate Judiciary Committee said last week that his investigation had included an FBI analysis of phone records for more than half a dozen Republican lawmakers from the week of Jan. 6, 2021

Julio Torres poses for a photo by a cross in an open field, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, in Terrell, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Veterans who lack citizenship fear being swept up in Trump’s deportations

September 23, 2025

Veterans like Julio Torres are often promised that military service will be a fast-track to U.S. citizenship for themselves and their family members. But as President Donald Trump aggressively pursues a mass deportation agenda, veterans like Torres increasingly fear they may not be allowed to remain in the United States. Democratic Rep. Mark Takano of California is introducing a bill that aims to address that by requiring the Department of Homeland Security to identify whether immigrants are U.S. military veterans and provide them with an opportunity to apply for lawful immigration status. The legislation is also being supported by Republican Rep. Elvira Salazar of Florida.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., holds an impromptu news conference with reporters just outside the chamber to say he has filed an amendment on the Senate floor to require the attorney general to release the Epstein files and Republicans will have to vote on it, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Republicans barely defeat effort by Democrats to force release of Epstein files

September 10, 2025

Senate Republicans have barely defeated an effort by Democrats to insert language into Congress’ annual defense authorization bill that would have forced the public release of case files on the sex trafficking investigation into the late Jeffrey Epstein. The Senate voted 51-49 to dismiss the changes to the bill. Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Rand Paul of Kentucky joined with all Democrats in opposition. Democrats are looking for practically every opportunity to force Republicans to either join their push for disclosure or publicly oppose a cause that many in the Republican base support. President Donald Trump as he was running for president signaled that he was open to releasing a full accounting of the case, but is now trying to dismiss the matter as a “Democrat hoax.”

This image from video provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via DVIDS shows manufacturing plant employees being escorted outside the Hyundai Motor Group’s electric vehicle plant, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, in Ellabell, Ga. (Corey Bullard/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via AP)

Trump’s deportation plans result in 320,000 fewer immigrants and slower population growth, CBO says

September 10, 2025

President Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportations and other hardline immigration measures with funding passed by Congress will result in roughly 320,000 fewer people in the United States in ten years, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. It is releasing a report that projects the U.S. population will grow more slowly than it had previously projected. Coupled with a lower fertility rate in the U.S., the reduction in immigration means that the CBO’s projection of the U.S. population will be 4.5 million people lower by 2035 than the nonpartisan office had projected in January.

FILE - With the White House in the distance, National Guard troops patrol the Mall as part of President Donald Trump's order to impose federal law enforcement in the nation's capital, in Washington, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Republicans in Congress are eager for Trump to expand his use of the military on US soil

September 8, 2025

President Donald Trump is swiftly implementing his vision of the military as an all-powerful tool for his policy goals. It’s ground that presidents have hardly ever crossed outside of times of war. Experts say it’s remaking the role of the most powerful military in the world and its relationship with the American public. As Trump has stepped up his use of military force, fellow Republicans in Congress have done little but cheer him on. Trump says he has the right to send National Guard troops to U.S. cities. A federal judge ruled last week Trump broke the law when he sent troops to the Los Angeles area after days of protests over immigration raids.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., speaks to reporters as he arrives for a deposition with former Attorney General Bill Barr, on Capitol Hill Monday, Aug 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

House committee subpoenas Epstein’s estate for documents, including birthday book and contacts

August 25, 2025

The House Oversight Committee is subpoenaing the estate of the late Jeffrey Epstein. Congressional lawmakers are trying to determine who was connected to the disgraced financier and whether prosecutors mishandled his case. The subpoena is the latest effort by both Republicans and Democrats to respond to public clamor for more information about Epstein, who was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019. The subpoena demands that Epstein’s estate provide documents including a book that was compiled with notes from friends for his 50th birthday, his last will and testament, agreements he signed with prosecutors, his contact books, and his financial transactions and holdings.

President Donald Trump speaks at an event to promote his proposal to improve Americans' access to their medical records, in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Washington, as Health and Human Service Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., left, and Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz, right, look on. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Trump tax law could cause Medicare cuts if Congress doesn’t act, CBO says

August 15, 2025

The federal budget deficits caused by President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law could trigger automatic cuts to Medicare if Congress does not act, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The CBO estimates that Medicare, the federal health insurance program for Americans over age 65, could potentially see as much as $491 billion in cuts over the next ten years if Congress does not act to mitigate a 2010 law that forces across-the-board to many federal programs once legislation increases the federal deficit. The latest report from CBO showed how Trump’s signature tax and spending law could put new pressure on federal programs that are bedrocks of the American social safety net.

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Trump’s tax law will mostly benefit the rich, while leaving poorer Americans with less, CBO says

August 11, 2025

President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law will result in less income for the poorest Americans while sending money to the riches, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The CBO estimates that the 10% of poorest Americans will lose roughly $1,200 a year as they experience restrictions on programs like Medicaid and food assistance. The richest 10% will see their income increase by $13,600 from tax cuts. American households will see more income from the tax cuts, including middle income households. But the largest benefit will go to the top 10% of earners.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Senate rejects bid to halt sale of bombs and rifles to Israel, but Democratic opposition grows

July 30, 2025

The Senate has rejected an effort from Sen. Bernie Sanders to block the sale of U.S. bombs and firearms to Israel. But the vote showed a growing number of Democrats opposed to the arms sales amid widespread hunger and suffering in Gaza. Sanders, an independent from Vermont, has repeatedly tried to block the sale of offensive weapons to Israel over the last year. The resolutions before the Senate Tuesday would have stopped the sale of $675 million in bombs as well as shipments of 20,000 automatic assault rifles to Israel. They failed to gain passage, but 27 Democrats — more than half the caucus — voted for the resolutions.

The Capitol is seen under dark skies in Washington, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate confirms Trump’s pick for counterterrorism agency, a former Green Beret with extremist ties

July 30, 2025

The Senate has confirmed Joe Kent, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the National Counterterrorism Center. Republicans looked past his connections to right-wing extremists and support for conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Kent has already been working for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. As the head of the National Counterterrorism Center, he will oversee an agency tasked with analyzing and detecting terrorist threats. In the role, he plans to devote agency resources to targeting gangs and other criminal groups. He is the latest Trump loyalist to win Senate confirmation to the upper echelons of U.S. national security leadership.

FILE - Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, points to a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, during a news conference in New York on July 2, 2020. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

The House is looking into the Epstein investigation. Here’s what could happen next

July 26, 2025

A key House committee is looking into the investigation of the late Jeffrey Epstein for sex trafficking crimes. It is working to subpoena President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice for files in the case as well as hold a deposition of Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. The Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee’s actions show the mounting pressure for disclosure in a case that Trump has urged his supporters to move past. But they were also just the start of what can be a drawn out process.

FILE - Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell listens during a Senate Committee on Banking hearing, June 25, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

Republican senators caution Trump against firing Fed chair Jerome Powell

July 16, 2025

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is gaining some key backing on Capitol Hill from Republican senators. They fear the repercussions if President Donald Trump follows through with threats to try and remove the politically independent central banker. As Trump seemingly waffled back and forth between moving to dismiss the Fed chair this week, some Republicans in Congress began to speak up to warn that such a move would be a mistake. Still, plenty of other Republicans think that dismissing Powell is a fine idea.

Stephen Groves.