CNN US Politics

By Aleena Fayaz, CNN (CNN) — The host of the Kennedy Center’s annual Christmas Eve jazz performance said he canceled Wednesday’s concert following the board of trustees’ move to rename the facility for both the 35th president and President Donald Trump. “I did choose to cancel our Kennedy Center Christmas Eve Jazz Jam when I

CNN By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — The phone rings. Would your 10-year-old like to speak with the president? He’s tracking Santa Claus from his living room in Palm Beach. “Santa is a very good person,” President Donald Trump, in a suit and gold tie, tells Jasper in Tulsa. “We want to make sure that

CNN Marshall Cohen (CNN) — The Justice Department on Wednesday said it has uncovered over a million more documents potentially related to the Jeffrey Epstein case and may need “a few more weeks” to review and release them to the public. The department made the revelation in a post on X, saying the the US

Marshall Cohen, N (CNN) — The Justice Department on Wednesday said it has uncovered over a million more documents potentially related to the Jeffrey Epstein case and may need “a few more weeks” to review and release them to the public. The department made the revelation in a post on X, saying the the US

By Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — Eighteen Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging a new Trump administration policy seeking to bar transgender care for minors at federally-funded hospitals. The new proposal and the legal fight it has provoked is the latest front in the battle over transgender rights and

By Marshall Cohen, CNN (CNN) — A botched redaction in the Epstein files revealed that government attorneys once accused his lawyers of paying over $400,000 to “young female models and actresses” to cover up his criminal activities Social media users on Reddit and TikTok noticed in recent days that the redacted allegations could be uncovered by simply copying the

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department’s leadership asked career prosecutors in Florida to volunteer over the “next several days” to help redact the Epstein files, in the latest Trump administration push toward releasing the hundreds of thousands of photos, internal memos and other evidence around the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration will begin garnishing wages of student loan borrowers in default starting in January, the Education Department told CNN on Tuesday. “We expect the first notices to be sent to approximately 1,000 defaulted borrowers the week of January 7, and the notices will increase in scale

Associated Press (CNN) — Wyoming’s lone U.S. representative is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Cynthia Lummis, who isn’t seeking re-election. Rep. Harriet Hageman, a Republican, on Tuesday became first to announce for Senate in Wyoming after Lummis, also a Republican, said Friday she isn’t seeking a second term. “I will always

From CNN’s Kara Fox and Tierney Sneed, CNN Warning: This post contains language readers may find disturbing. The Justice Department now says a handwritten letter it released Tuesday that was signed by “J. Epstein” and addressed to convicted sex offender Larry Nassar is “fake,” asserting that the handwriting did not appear to match that of

By Katelyn Polantz, Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — Former CIA director John Brennan is accusing the Justice Department of “irregular activity,” including possible judge shopping and improper leaks to the media, in a letter from his defense attorney that also disclosed Brennan is the target of a grand jury investigation launched out of Florida. The

By Donald Judd, CNN (CNN) — Former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse announced Tuesday that he’s been diagnosed with “metastasized, stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die.” “Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do,” Sasse, 53, wrote on

By Brian Todd, CNN (CNN) — Some staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs are finding little to be merry about after the agency said it would eliminate tens of thousands of open, unfilled positions across the country as it looks to streamline its staffing. Three sources familiar with the decisions told CNN that leadership

CNN By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump unveiled a new “Trump class” of Navy battleships Monday, describing them as a superior war fighting vessel to replace an “old and tired and obsolete” US fleet. “They’ll help maintain American military supremacy, revive the American ship building industry, and inspire fear in America’s enemies

By Devan Cole, Angelica Franganillo Diaz, CNN (CNN) — An apparently frustrated federal judge pressed the Trump administration Monday to share what it was going to do next in the fast-moving saga over Kilmar Abrego Garcia days after she found he was being unlawfully held in immigration custody. During an hour-long hearing that at times

By Michael Williams, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department’s release of thousands of documents and pictures related to investigations into Jeffrey Epstein on Friday was highly anticipated and provided a glimpse into the life of the late sex offender and his associations with some of the richest and most powerful people in the world. But

By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump unveiled a new “Trump class” of Navy battleships Monday, describing them as a superior war fighting vessel to replace an “old and tired and obsolete” US fleet. “They’ll help maintain American military supremacy, revive the American ship building industry, and inspire fear in America’s enemies all

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration is removing numerous career ambassadors from their posts abroad, marking the latest shake-up of the US State Department and diplomatic corps. At least two dozen senior diplomats have received notice that they must leave their roles next month, sources said. They were appointed to ambassadorships around

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration has signaled to the Smithsonian Institution that the White House could withhold federal funding from the museum organization if it does not comply with the administration’s unprecedented, sweeping review. In a Thursday letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III, White House officials said funds are

By Steve Contorno, CNN Phoenix (CNN) — This weekend’s gathering of young Republicans and conservative influencers in the Arizona desert offered a glimpse into the divisions already fraying President Donald Trump’s coalition even before its lame-duck leader is out of the picture. Enter Vice President JD Vance, a figure many in the movement view as

By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — The US is pursuing a vessel in international waters near Venezuela on Sunday after attempting to intercept it, a US official said, as President Donald Trump’s administration tightens its crackdown on the country’s oil industry. The tanker, called Bella 1, was sailing toward Venezuela to pick up oil. It

CNN By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — Personnel from the United States boarded and seized a vessel off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday, according to a US official familiar with the matter, as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Caracas. It was the second known instance of the US interdicting a vessel near

By MJ Lee, Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department’s partial release of its files related to Jeffrey Epstein on Friday marked a moment of triumph for Epstein survivor Maria Farmer and her sister Annie, who have said for years that Maria had filed one of the first complaints against Epstein in the 1990s.

CNN By Zachary Cohen, Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — The US struck multiple targets in Syria on Friday that the US military tied to ISIS as retaliation for the recent attack that killed two American service members there, according to two US officials. “I am hereby announcing that the United States is inflicting very serious

By Tami Luhby, Adam Cancryn, Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — In his latest effort to lower drug costs, President Donald Trump unveiled Friday “Most Favored Nation” pricing deals with nine more pharmaceutical companies. The president also announced he would call a meeting next week or early January with health insurers to push them to lower

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court on Friday sided against the Trump administration, keeping alive a federal lawsuit from immigration judges who are attempting to challenge a policy that limits their ability to speak publicly. “At this stage,” the court said in a brief order, “the government has not demonstrated that it

By Kaanita Iyer, Priscilla Alvarez, CNN (CNN) — The Department of Homeland Security announced its intention to pause a visa program intended to admit certain individuals to the United States, though it’s unclear whether it’s been suspended entirely. The move comes after the suspect in the Brown University shooting was identified as a green-card holder

By Annie Grayer, MJ Lee, CNN (CNN) — A number of Jeffrey Epstein survivors voiced their concern in a private meeting with female Democratic lawmakers earlier this week about the intermittent disclosure of Epstein-related documents and photos by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, sharing that the selective publication of materials was distressing, four sources

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — The US military conducted strikes against two alleged drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, killing 5 people, according to US Southern Command. At least 104 people have now been killed in US strikes on alleged drug boats, and Thursday’s attack marks the third this week.

By Edward-Isaac Dovere, Gloria Pazmino, CNN New York (CNN) — With under two weeks to go before he’s sworn in, New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has not announced many hires for his administration. One of the few that he has announced was forced to almost immediately resign Thursday after her past antisemitic tweets came