AP US Politics News

By KATE PAYNE Associated Press/Report for America TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The top Democrat in Florida’s Senate is leaving his party, declaring that “the Democratic Party in Florida is dead.” Senate Minority Leader Jason Pizzo’s announcement on the Senate floor Thursday that he’s changing his registration to no party affiliation is the latest blow to

By REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Three advocacy groups are suing the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Kristi Noem, seeking to restore staff jobs at three gutted offices that oversee civil rights protections across the department’s broad mission. The lawsuit was filed Thursday by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization, the

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said Thursday that party officers should be banned from taking sides in primaries, countering DNC Vice Chair David Hogg’s plan to raise money for candidates challenging Democratic incumbents. Martin’s proposal escalates a public feud between the new DNC boss and

By RYAN J. FOLEY Associated Press IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The largest union for federal employees is planning to lay off more than half of its staff nationwide after President Donald Trump’s executive actions have rapidly weakened the organization’s finances, the union said Thursday. The American Federation of Government Employees will move ahead with

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press The federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan accidentally filed an internal memo that poked holes in the Trump administration’s strategy to kill New York’s toll on driving in Manhattan — arguing the government should change tactics if it wants to block the nascent program. The memo, intended for a U.S. Department

By JIM VERTUNO and NADIA LATHAN Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas lawmakers on Thursday passed a $1 billion education bill that allows families to use public money to pay for private school tuition, a major victory for school voucher proponents nationwide that was cheered on by President Donald Trump. The measure won final

By TED ANTHONY AP National Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Even in the realm of Donald Trump’s long-preferred style of punch-through-the-static communication, this was quite something. On Thursday morning, a post on his Truth Social account exhorted Russian leader Vladimir Putin to end military strikes on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. “Vladimir, STOP!” Or, as the

By ALI SWENSON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from immediately enacting certain changes to how federal elections are run, including adding a proof-of-citizenship requirement to the federal voter registration form. The decision is a setback for President Donald Trump, who has argued the requirement is needed

By JANIE HAR Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge in California on Thursday barred the Trump administration from denying or conditioning the use of federal funds to “sanctuary” jurisdictions, saying that portions of President Donald Trump’s executive orders were unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge William Orrick issued the injunction sought by San Francisco

By The Associated Press Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon’s security protocols set up in his office to use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, two people familiar with the line told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. The

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A lawyer for New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday urged the Justice Department to refuse a Trump administration official’s request to prosecute the Democrat for mortgage fraud, calling it “improper political retribution.” In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, the lawyer,

By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — State and local election officials from around the country on Thursday questioned the leaders of a federal agency directed by President Donald Trump to implement parts of his sweeping election overhaul executive order, with some expressing concerns about the consequences for voters and the people

By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press Attorneys for the Department of Homeland Security say the agency didn’t violate a judge’s order detailing when people may be deported to countries other than their own because it was the Defense Department — not DHS officials — doing the deporting. Justice Department attorney Mary Larakers made the argument in

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — President Donald Trump will mark his first 100 days in office next week with a rally in Michigan, his first since returning to the White House earlier this year. Trump will visit Macomb County on Tuesday, the White House press secretary said. The region is just

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz pledged Wednesday night to do everything in his power to protect Minnesotans from the chaos that he said President Donald Trump has unleashed on the country and the world. Delivering his annual State of the State speech to a joint session of

By COLLIN BINKLEY and JOCELYN GECKER AP Education Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has ordered sharper scrutiny of America’s colleges and the accreditors that oversee them, part of his escalating campaign to end what he calls ” wokeness ” and diversity efforts in education. In a series of executive actions signed Wednesday, Trump

By RUSS BYNUM and MEG KINNARD Associated Press DATAW ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Republican Rep. Nancy Mace faced criticism over the legal wrangling concerning universities and allegations of antisemitism during a town hall at a private, gated island community in her coastal South Carolina district. The crowd of several hundred, mostly gray-haired attendees on Dataw

By NADIA LATHAN Associated Press/Report for America AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill Wednesday creating an office inspired by the Department of Government Efficiency and aimed at reducing state regulations, joining other Republican governors who have pledged their own versions of billionaire Elon Musk’s cost-cutting group. In establishing the Texas

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has charged an alleged high-ranking member of Tren de Aragua in Colombia with terrorism offenses, making the first case of its kind against a member of the gang the Trump administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization, officials said Wednesday.

By BERNARD CONDON AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk has been called a Moonshot Master, the Edison of Our Age and the Architect of the Future, but he’s got a big problem at his car company and it’s not clear he can fix it: damage to its brand. Sales have plunged for

By GARY D. ROBERTSON and MAKIYA SEMINERA Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina trial judges threw out on Wednesday another Republican attempt to strip the governor of his authority to appoint State Board of Elections members, declaring that a law shifting it to the elected state auditor is unconstitutional. One registered Republican judge

By MARK VANCLEAVE and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press NORTHWOOD, Iowa (AP) — Iowans attending a forum Wednesday hosted by Sen. Chuck Grassley started to turn on each other as the lawmaker faced heated questions about President Donald Trump ‘s first months in office. The room of about 100 people in north-central Worth County, near the

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs is establishing a task force to investigate employee reports of alleged anti-Christian bias among their colleagues, part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to infuse its agenda with religious purpose and champion the rights of Christians. VA Secretary Doug Collins

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and JOHN O’CONNOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said Wednesday he will not seek reelection in 2026, ending his more than four-decade career representing Illinois and accelerating a generational shift in Senate Democratic leadership where he has long held the No. 2 position. Durbin, 80, is

By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Florida’s “hanging chads” ballot controversy riveted the nation during the 2000 presidential contest and later prompted Congress to create an independent commission to help states update their voting equipment. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has operated in relative anonymity since, but is now central to President