Alex Altman

Alex Altman is a Washington correspondent for TIME.

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Obama Talks Tough on Oil Spill

President Obama blasted oil company executives today for ducking responsibility for the spill still gushing crude into the Gulf of Mexico. “I did not appreciate what I considered to be a ridiculous spectacle,” Obama said of the Congressional hearings this week. He unloading on the chiefs of BP, Transocean and Halliburton for “falling …

Oil Spill Hearings, Day 2

On the second day of hearings into the oil spill still pouring crude into the Gulf of Mexico at an alarming rate, lawmakers pointed to a faulty blowout preventer, the safety mechanism that is supposed to seal a well in the event of an accident. In a blistering assessment, Congressman Bart Stupak of the House Energy and Commerce Committee …

The Oil Spill Blame Game

A theme emerged early in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing into the BP oil spill. For today’s grilling, lawmakers summoned Lamar McKay, president and chairman of BP America, which holds the lease on the Deepwater Horizon rig; Steve Newman, CEO of drilling company Transocean, which owns it; and Tim …

An Upset Brewing in Utah?

Utah’s GOP holds its convention tomorrow, and Sen. Bob Bennett is in serious trouble. I have a Time.com piece on what’s behind Bennett’s plight here. There have been a number of stories on this topic, and many of them have pointed to Wyden-Bennett, TARP or the senator’s decision to renege on a term limits pledge as the cause of his …

Obama Plugs Economic Growth

Before heading to Maryland to tour a Secret Service training facility, President Obama gave a 10-minute address in the White House Rose Garden that focused mostly on this morning’s strong economic numbers. As Christina Romer, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, noted in the post to the White House blog, real GDP grew for the …

Boycotting Arizona

Incensed by Arizona’s stiff new immigration law, Rep. Raul Grijalva, the Democrat representing the state’s massive 7th district, took the unusual step of calling for a commercial boycott of his own state even before Gov. Jan Brewer signed the measure. Since then the boycott theme has gained traction, with lawmakers in Los Angeles and San

Levin Vs. Blankfein

By the time Carl Levin – who has not passed up a chance to swear today – had the opportunity to tussle with Lloyd Blankfein, he had spent hours belaboring his central gripe with Goldman. Namely: that the Wall Street behemoth sold consumers products Goldman believed were close to worthless while shorting those assets themselves. “To …

Little Drama as Goldman Execs Deflect Charges

For more than five hours, Senators laid into the four current and former Goldman execs sitting on the first of three panels today. The inquisitors took markedly different approaches. Democratic Sens. John Tester of Montana and Mark Pryor of Arkansas adopted a softer tone, and at times Tom Coburn, the ranking minority member of the …

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