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Sen. Steve Daines said Monday to look for the Keystone XL Pipeline rejected by the Obama administration to be resurrected under President-elect Donald Trump and to look for a leader who will shake conventional thought. In a meeting with editors from the Great Falls Tribune, the Montana Republican also said the first 100 days of a Trump administration would focus on getting Trump’s cabinet and a new Supreme Court justice approved, a repeal of the Affordable Care Act and a significant number of executive orders coming from White House rescinding decisions by Obama administration. Daines, R-Mont., is finishing a tour

Sen. Steve Daines led a bipartisan group of lawmakers asking the FCC to exempt small businesses from certain net neutrality regulations. “Without commission action, small businesses soon face regulatory uncertainty and will potentially be subject to burdensome requirements,” Daines wrote today in a letter, which is also signed by Sens. Joe Manchin, Heidi Heitkamp, Jim Risch and Dan Sullivan and Reps. Greg Walden, Dave Loebsack and Bob Latta. “When the commission adopted this exemption, it acknowledged that requiring small businesses with limited resources to comply with the complex disclosure requirements would have been particularly burdensome.” The FCC’s “enhanced transparency requirements,” part of the 2015 Open Internet Order, require internet service providers to offer

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines said Tuesday that he would wait to meet Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO Rex Tillerson before passing judgement on his fitness to serve as the country’s secretary of state.  “I haven’t had a chance to meet him. I look forward to conversations with him,” Daines said during a meeting Tuesday with the Chronicle’s editorial board. “After I have a chance to meet with him, to have a discussion, I’ll let you know.”  President-elect Donald Trump announced Tillerson’s pick as the nation’s top diplomat on Tuesday. Under Tillerson, the oil and gas giant negotiated with Russia a $500

President-elect Donald Trump has asked Montana’s lone congressman, Ryan Zinke, to be secretary of the Interior, according to sources close to Zinke. Zinke met with Trump in New York City on Monday. He was reportedly in the mix for one of a handful of Cabinet positions that include the departments of the Interior and Veterans Affairs.  Zinke, a Republican, was flying back to Whitefish on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.  U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., was meeting with The Gazette when the news broke. “The Interior is all about public lands. It’s about wildlife and national parks.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have reportedly told Montana’s congressional delegation the Raymond Port of Entry will remain a 24-hour entryway into Canada, shelving plans to close it for six hours daily due to low traffic volume. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., put out news releases last week stating that plans to reduce hours at the port 15 miles north of Plentywood had been scrapped. Daines said that he and fellow Montana Republican, U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, met with CBP Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske, Commissioner urging him to abandon reduced hours at the port, which

Among its final actions before the 114th Congress closed session, the U.S. Senate followed the lead of Montana lawmakers Steve Daines and Jon Tester and passed the long-awaited Blackfeet Water Compact. The water settlement was included in the Water Infrastructure Improvements Act for the Nation Act, a water resources agreement that also includes legislation to address the Flint water crisis, provide drought relief in California and across the West. The U.S. Senate passed the bill on Dec. 10. President Obama is expected to sign it into law at the end of the month. “Today is a historic day for the Blackfeet Tribe,