President Barack Obama was expected to name Washington veteran Jack Lew as his next Treasury chief as early as Thursday, stocking his team for the next tense budget showdown with Republicans.
Republicans rejected as "ridiculous" Thursday a White House plan to raise $1.6 trillion in new taxes over the next decade, as crunch talks on the US deficit took a turn for the worse.
Chanting "Four more years!" and "USA, USA!," a crowd of well-wishers danced and celebrated outside the White House late Tuesday after Democratic President Barack Obama swept to re-election.
A combative Barack Obama landed telling blows on challenger Mitt Romney Tuesday as naked dislike boiled over between the White House foes in a tense debate three weeks from election day.
Buoyed by better poll numbers and a debate triumph, White House challenger Mitt Romney sought to build momentum Monday by vowing to restore strong US leadership in the Middle East.
The White House for the first time Thursday described the assault on the US consulate in Benghazi, which killed four Americans, as a "terrorist attack" that could have links to Al-Qaeda.
When Rudolf Hegewald left East Germany to join fellow Mormons in the US state of Utah more than five decades ago, he could only dream that a member of his faith would one day run for president.