AP US Politics News

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Charlie Bailey won election to chair Georgia’s Democratic Party on Saturday, pledging he’ll raise the money to help the party win elections in 2025 and 2026. Bailey was the Democratic nominee in 2018 for attorney general and in 2022 for lieutenant governor, losing both times to Republicans.

By NADIA LATHAN Associated Press/Report for America AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas will implement a $1 billion school voucher program, one of the largest in the country, that uses public dollars to fund private school tuition under a bill Gov. Greg Abbott signed Saturday, capping off a yearslong effort by Republicans. School voucher supporters have

By LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press For years, President Donald Trump blamed “communists” for his legal and political troubles. Now, the second Trump administration is deploying that same historically loaded label to cast his opponents — from judges to educators — as threats to American identity, culture and values. Why? Trump himself explained the strategy last

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press The Justice Department unit that ensures compliance with voting rights laws will switch its focus to investigating voter fraud and ensuring elections are not marred by “suspicion,” according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. The new mission statement for the voting section makes a passing reference to

By THOMAS PEIPERT Associated Press DENVER (AP) — The Department of Justice sued Colorado and Denver on Friday for allegedly interfering with federal efforts to enforce immigration laws, the latest attempt by the Trump administration to crack down on what some call sanctuary cities and policies. The lawsuit claims the state and its most populous

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House plans to cut staffing at the CIA and other intelligence agencies, including the National Security Agency, Trump administration officials told members of Congress, The Washington Post reported Friday. A person familiar with the plan but not authorized to discuss it

By MORIAH BALINGIT AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration apparently has backed away from a proposal to eliminate funding for Head Start, the early education program that serves some of the nation’s neediest preschoolers. Backers of the six-decade-old program, which educates more than half a million children from low-income and homeless families,

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday permanently blocked a White House executive order targeting an elite law firm, dealing a setback to President Donald Trump’s campaign of retribution against the legal profession. U.S. District Beryl Howell said the executive order against the firm of Perkins Coie amounted to

WASHINGTON (AP) — ABC’s “This Week” — ABC reporters and contributors discuss President Donald Trump’s first 100 days back in office and other events. ___ NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Trump. ___ CNN’s “State of the Union” — Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis.; Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa. __ CBS’ “Face the Nation”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal judge permanently blocks Trump executive order that targeted the law firm of Perkins Coie.

By OLIVIA DIAZ Associated Press/Report for America RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin said on Friday that he would trim Virginia’s budget by $900 million in light of next year’s tax revenue projections, which could decrease as the White House’s reshaping of federal spending spurs economic uncertainty in the state. At a news

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to clear the way for Elon Musk ’s Department of Government Efficiency to access Social Security systems containing personal data on millions of Americans. The emergency appeal is the first in a string of applications to the high

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has reached a preliminary agreement to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of Ashli Babbitt over her shooting by an officer during the U.S. Capitol riot, attorneys said on Friday. Lawyers for Babbitt’s estate and the Justice Department told a

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press Authorities in Tennessee have released video of a 2022 traffic stop involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland construction worker who’s become the face of U.S. immigration policy after his erroneous deportation to El Salvador. Posted by various news organizations, the body-camera footage shows a calm and friendly exchange between officers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump administration asks Supreme Court to clear the way for Elon Musk’s DOGE team to access Social Security systems.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday agreed to halt all efforts to freeze funds intended for a Maine child nutrition program after initially suspending those dollars due to a disagreement between the state and Trump over transgender athletes. In response, the state will drop its lawsuit that had been filed against

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said Friday that every American should be concerned about “chilling” suggestions from President Donald Trump’s top border adviser that he could be arrested over guidance the Democrat issued to state employees about what to do if confronted by federal immigration agents. “I’m

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — A judge on Friday denied an effort by lawyers for U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas to move his trial on federal bribery and conspiracy charges from Houston to his hometown of Laredo, Texas. During a Zoom court hearing, Chris Flood, one of Cuellar’s lawyers, had

By The Associated Press The White House is unveiling President Donald Trump’s budget, a sweeping framework proposing steep reductions in non-defense domestic spending while increasing expenditures on national security. The budget plan released Friday shows a desire to crack down on diversity programs and initiatives to address climate change. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has asked

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Cincinnati’s mayor faces a primary challenge Tuesday from two first-time candidates, including the half brother of Vice President JD Vance. Meanwhile, voters across the state will decide the fate of a 10-year, $2.5 billion infrastructure spending ballot measure. The notable contests top the list of races on

By The Associated Press An employee of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent an email Wednesday that mistakenly included plans to terminate more than 150 research grants related to child and family well-being. The grants are administered by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation and distributed across the country. A spokesperson

By RYAN J. FOLEY Associated Press IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Trump administration could gut research on the effectiveness of child welfare programs, with plans to terminate dozens of university grants studying improvements to Head Start and child care policy, according to a spreadsheet mistakenly made public this week. The document listed more than

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Most of President Donald Trump’s top nominees have sailed through the Senate with little resistance. His pick to be the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital could be an exception. Ed Martin Jr., a conservative activist with modest legal

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aiming to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR as he alleged “bias” in the broadcasters’ reporting. The order instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS” and further requires that that they

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump signs executive order aimed at cutting federal subsidies for PBS and NPR, alleging ‘bias.’

By TRÂN NGUYỄN Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A debate over whether to create harsher penalties for soliciting and buying sex from 16- and 17-year-olds exploded in the California Legislature this week. Republicans and some moderate Democrats were pushing for a new tool to help law enforcement go after those who solicit older minors

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press HUGER, S.C. (AP) — Vice President JD Vance visited a steel plant in South Carolina on Thursday as he heralded the launch of an “industrial renaissance” in the U.S., in part due to President Donald Trump’s moves to boost domestic industry. Vance made the trip to Nucor Steel in Huger

By OLIVIA DIAZ and BEN FINLEY Associated Press/Report for America ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The Trump administration told a federal judge Thursday that a Georgetown University scholar’s lawsuit against deportation should be moved from Virginia, where it was filed, to Texas, where he’s jailed over allegations of “spreading Hamas propaganda.” U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama legislators passed a bill on Thursday that would strip Birmingham of control over the state’s largest water board and transfer power to the governor and surrounding suburbs, reigniting a decades-long, polarizing debate. Proponents of the bill point to frequent rate hikes and say that the move will prevent catastrophic events

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army is planning a sweeping transformation that will merge or close headquarters, dump outdated vehicles and aircraft, slash as many as 1,000 headquarters staff in the Pentagon and shift personnel to units in the field, according to a new memo and U.S. officials familiar with