The Latest Breaking News from Mitch McConnell

WASHINGTON — The history-making chaos in the House drew most of the attention Tuesday, but longtime senators were making history of their own.

McConnell has become the longest serving Senate leader in the chamber’s history as the 118th US Congress convenes.

Republican leader Kevin McCarthy failed in two rounds of voting to become House speaker Tuesday, a historic defeat with no clear way out as House Republicans dug in for a long, messy start for the new Congress.

Republican Mitch McConnell and Democrats Patty Murray and Charles E. Schumer crossed milestones in the Senate.

Democrats will again claim the Senate majority on Tuesday, but much of the chamber’s focus is on the top Republican as Mitch McConnell becomes the longest serving Senate leader in history

The new Congress opens with House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy grasping for his political survival

The Kentucky senator has delighted supporters and bedeviled critics in his 16 years as party leader.

“I’m pretty proud of what we’ve been able to achieve,” said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, who starts a second term as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee when the new 118th Congress kicks off on Tuesday.

Republicans and Democrats are being forced to confront critical questions about the people and policies they want to represent them as the next election season roars into view

From same-sex marriage protections to veterans’ aid, Joe Biden’s party used its thin majority to deliver many campaign promises

The past year on the national scene was characterized as one test after another for Republicans — not just of their drive to retake control of Congress but of the value system that determined how far they would go to reach their goal. They were asked repeatedly to stand for…