After Republicans dismantled the Democratic majority in the House on Tuesday, Democrats must decide whether to re-elect Nancy Pelosi as the top Democrat once the party takes its new minority position -- and she must decide whether even to seek that role.

"I'll let you know," Pelosi said Wednesday as she boarded an elevator in the Capitol.

She said in a TV interview that she has had "no regrets" during her historic four-year run as the first female House speaker...

The Senate Republican leader said Thursday his party can't "reverse the damage Democrats have done" as long as President Obama still holds the veto, but said if the president wants to get anything done over the next two years he will have "to move in our direction."

"The White House has a choice: They can change course, or they can double down on a vision of government that the American people have roundly rejected," Sen. Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said. "If they choose the former, they'll find a partner in Republicans. If they don't, we will have more disagreements ahead."

In a speech to the Heritage Foundation, Mr. McConnell, who has led his party through the downs of 2008 and the ups of 2010, said that means "repeatedly" trying — but expecting to fail — to repeal Mr. Obama's signature health care law...

A new study shows Americans give Congress rock-bottom scores in terms of transparency and trust.

On the study's 100-point scale, the White House scored a 46 and Congress totaled at 37 in regards to transparency -- defined as thoroughness of information disclosure, the speed at which it is released, and the ease of accessing it publicly. But even though the White House's numbers are slightly better, the report indicates the level of success is not what is expected for an administration that campaigned on greater openness in the Oval Office.

Larry Freed is CEO of ForeSee Results, the company that conducted the study. He says Democrats were more likely to give government higher transparency ratings than Republicans because "those in power are going to have a tendency to think things are better than those who are the minority. But even overall, when you look at both sides of the aisle, [there were] not really strong scores from the citizens," he points out...

President Obama announced Friday that his brash and hard-charging chief of staff Rahm Emanuel would resign effective immediately, marking the most significant departure to date from the president's inner circle.

Emanuel was beckoned away from Washington by an open seat in the Chicago mayoral race and is expected to soon launch a campaign for that post, one he's described as his dream job. A packed crowd of top-level officials gathered in the East Room to watch Obama pass the torch Friday from Emanuel to his selected replacement, senior adviser Pete Rouse.

The president, calling the occasion "bittersweet," credited Emanuel with the passage of landmark legislation during his administration and said he would be "extraordinarily well-qualified" for his next endeavor...

Washington (CNSNews.com) – Stopping just short of admitting Rahm Emanuel is leaving his post as White House chief of staff, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Thursday there will be a “personnel announcement.”

The announcement will be at 11:05 in the White House East Room, usually reserved for major bill signing, news conferences of speaking with heads of state.

Emanuel is expected to launch a campaign for mayor of Chicago.

Without saying for certain, Gibbs offered no denials the new chief of staff would be Peter Rouse, who was Obama’s Senate chief of staff...

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, widely expected to leave the White House to make a long coveted run for Chicago mayor, could make an announcement on his decision as soon as Friday, a source close to him said.

Emanuel has not made a final decision, said the person familiar with Emanuel's thinking, who spoke on condition of anonymity for that reason. The dominant factor at this point is the impact the move and the campaign would have on Emanuel's wife and three young children, who live with him in Washington, the source said.

Should Emanuel leave the White House, President Barack Obama is expected to choose an interim chief of staff. That's likely to be Peter Rouse, one of Obama's senior advisers in the White House and his former chief of staff in the Senate...

Eyeing a potential Congressional win in November, House Republicans are planning to chip away at the White House's legislative agenda—in particular the health-care law—by depriving the programs of cash.

The emerging plan has been devised in part to highlight the policy differences between the two main parties, especially over legislative achievements of the Obama administration that have proven unpopular with voters.

Republican leaders acknowledge many of these salvos will fail. At best, the party will gain a majority in the House and a razor-thin hold in the Senate in November's elections—short of what's needed to overcome a presidential veto. Analysts give the GOP a better shot at taking the House than the Senate...

Trying to stem a revolt from Democrats against President Obama's approach to the Bush tax cuts, the White House is circulating two memos from Democratic pollsters that make the case for staying the course on a plan to raise taxes on the richest Americans.

The president wants to extend the Bush tax cuts only for the middle class, while Republicans want to keep the rates steady across the board. The polling memos tell congressional Democrats that they need not fear supporting Obama's plan, even though national surveys show the public is deeply divided over it...

WASHINGTON – New estimates from the White House on Friday predict the budget deficit will reach a record $1.47 trillion this year. The government is borrowing 41 cents of every dollar it spends.

That's actually a little better than the administration predicted in February.

The new estimates paint a grim unemployment picture as the economy experiences a relatively jobless recovery. The unemployment rate, presently averaging 9.5 percent, would average 9 percent next year under the new estimates...

The White House found itself on the defensive Wednesday over President Obama's recess appointment of a key official to help implement his health care overhaul plan, facing a bipartisan torrent of criticism from lawmakers who said the move short-circuits the legislative-oversight process.

In tapping Harvard Medical School professor Donald Berwick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services while lawmakers are briefly out of town, Mr. Obama sidestepped a messy confirmation battle with members of the SenateGOP - something he said was necessary, given Republicans' penchant for slow-walking his appointments.

But critics of the move, announced Tuesday evening and made official Wednesday, noted that Senate Democrats had yet to schedule a committee hearing on the nomination, and even the Democratic chairman of the panel with jurisdiction over CMS expressed dismay with the decision...