Mike Lee

Lloyd J. Austin, a West Point graduate who rose to the Army's elite ranks and marched through racial barriers in a 41-year career, won Senate confirmation on Jan. 22 to become the nation's first Black secretary of defense.

The US Senate has voted overwhelmingly to ratify North Macedonia's entry into NATO as the alliance's 30th member.

Senators voted 91-2 on Tuesday to approve North Macedonia's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The no votes came from Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah.

U.S. Republican Senator Mike Lee has said he "disagrees" with President Donald Trump's dismissal of CIA assessment that Saudi crown prince ordered murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

Republicans in the U.S. Congress were in chaos over healthcare legislation after a second attempt to pass a bill in the Senate collapsed late on July 17, with President Donald Trump calling for an outright repeal of Obamacare and others seeking a change in direction toward bipartisanship.

AP Photo/ Jae C. Hong

US President Donald Trump has signed a protocol on the accession of Montenegro to NATO, which has completed its ratification procedure in the United States.

The White House has not officially released a statement on the signing of the protocol, Voice of America is reporting on Tuesday.

The full US Senate is set to start a day-and-a-half debate on Tuesday on the treaty to allow Montenegro's membership in NATO. 

This follows a 97-2 procedural ballot in the Senate on Monday in favour of allowing the final vote this week on the ratification of Montenegro's NATO Accession Protocol.  

The U.S. Senate will vote next week on the ratification of Montenegro as the newest member of the NATO alliance, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday, after the Trump administration urged lawmakers to take up the long-delayed matter, Reuters reported.

A group of US senators has sent a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to investigate US meddling in Macedonia's political scene.