G raham Platner, a veteran and oyster farmer from Maine who is running as the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, is currently in the national spotlight due to Reddit posts from 2018 and a tattoo of a skull-and-crossbones, which is associated with Nazi symbolism.

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, a newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

Republican primary heats up in New Hampshire as former Sen. John E. Sununu joins Scott Brown in the race for retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen's seat.

The Senate is voting Thursday on legislation sponsored by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) that would pay “excepted” employees, or federal workers who have to stay at work in spite of the funding lapse. The legislation is being considered as the government shutdown goes into its fourth week.

There are no term limits for the United States Congress, and an analysis by the Get the Facts Data Team found that members of the 119th Congress have been in office for nearly two terms in the Senate and more than four and a half terms in the House.

The Acton resident says Democrats aren't using all the tools available to them to push back against authoritarianism, preferring to "lay low" instead of fighting.

Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, concluded a marathon speech on the Senate floor Wednesday evening after 22 hours and 37 minutes, saying he was “ringing the alarm bells” on the arrival of authoritarianism under President Trump.