CNN US Politics

By Kit Maher, Kristen Holmes, Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump hosted several high-dollar donors and investors for a “Legacy Dinner” in recognition of their support for his $200 million ballroom project at the White House on Wednesday night. Construction on the 90,000-square-foot ballroom began in September, a project that Trump said would

By Eric Bradner, Sarah Ferris, CNN Washington (CNN) — As Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused Republicans of refusing to work to end the government shutdown and referred to House Speaker Mike Johnson as focusing on “inane and silly” things, the White House’s rapid response account was calling her and fellow progressive Bernie Sanders “not serious people.” The

By Gloria Pazmino, CNN (CNN) — Zohran Mamdani used a Fox News interview on Wednesday to speak directly to President Donald Trump, who has often referred to the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor as a “communist” and questioned his experience. Ahead of Thursday’s first general election debate, Mamdani, a democratic socialist who is

By Donald Judd, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him earlier Wednesday that he would halt Russian oil imports. “He’s a friend of mine, we have a great relationship … we have a great relationship – no, we were not happy

By Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — US Capitol Police are investigating “a vile and deeply inappropriate symbol” found in GOP Rep. Dave Taylor’s office, the congressman said in a statement. The congressman’s office has not confirmed to CNN what the symbol was, but Politico reported that USCP was called after an American flag altered to

By John Fritze, Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority signaled deep skepticism Wednesday over the creation of a second majority Black district in Louisiana and appeared open to at least weakening the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 in a way that could limit minority representation in Congress. On one level,

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump is involved in planning for a major new monument in Washington, DC: a triumphal arch to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary, marking his latest effort to impose his style and tastes on the nation’s capital. The Trump administration, said sources familiar with the matter who were

By Devan Cole, Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered the Trump administration to immediately halt its efforts to lay off roughly 4,100 federal workers during the government shutdown, saying the move is unlawful. US District Judge Susan Illston said during a hearing Wednesday that she was granting a

By Jake Tapper, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would consider allowing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resume military action in Gaza if Hamas refuses to uphold its end of the ceasefire deal, telling CNN that Israeli forces could return to the streets “as soon as I say the word.”

By Zachary Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed US military leaders to verify that every member of the department watched the speech he delivered at an unusual gathering of senior officers in Quantico, Virginia, last month and reviews the policy changes he announced in the wake of that event, according to

By Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen, CNN (CNN) — At least one US military strike in the Caribbean over the last two months targeted Colombian nationals on a boat that had left from Colombia, according to two people briefed by the Pentagon about the strikes. The deliberate targeting of Colombians, which has not been previously reported,

By Arit John, David Wright, CNN (CNN) — Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s name isn’t on the ballot this year, but California’s upcoming special election will likely hinge on how voters view him. Newsom has made himself the face of California Democrats’ efforts to redraw their congressional maps in response to Texas Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting, investing

By Emily Condon, CNN (CNN) — California governor candidate Katie Porter responded to two viral videos of her abruptly ending an interview with a journalist and another of her cursing at a staffer, saying that she takes responsibility and has apologized to the staffer. “When I look at those videos, I want people to know

By Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN (CNN) — Invoking the specter of Joe Biden and decrying Democrats whom he says have “clung to the status quo, insisted on using the same old playbook – and isn’t fighting hard enough,” Rep. Seth Moulton launched a primary challenge on Wednesday against Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey. Moulton, a 46-year-old six-term

By Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood, CNN (CNN) — The US State Department said it has revoked visas from at least six individuals who allegedly “celebrated” Charlie Kirk’s murder. In a post on X Tuesday – which would have been Kirk’s birthday – the agency cataloged “just a few examples” of people who had their visas

By Casey Gannon, Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — Former special counsel Jack Smith, whose historic prosecution of Donald Trump was upended by the president’s reelection last year, insisted that the pair of criminal cases he brought against Trump were untainted by politics. But the current Trump Justice Department is different, Smith said in a recent

By Kit Maher, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday posthumously awarded Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, saying he was entering the late conservative activist’s name “into the roster of true American heroes.” Erika Kirk, Kirk’s widow and now the CEO of Turning Point USA, accepted the award on her husband’s behalf

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — When former FBI Director James Comey was charged last month, prosecutors weren’t ready or willing to turn over the criminal case file to his lawyers. As of Tuesday, after days of disputing what case documents they have to provide, prosecutors handed his lawyers what they needed to, a person

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN (CNN) — A man who worked as a Pentagon contractor and State Department adviser has been charged with removing classified information from a government facility after investigators found over a thousand documents with classified markings at his house in Virginia. Some of the documents that Ashley Tellis, an expert in South

By Kit Maher, CNN (CNN) — The US military conducted yet another strike on a boat alleged to be trafficking drugs off the coast of Venezuela, killing six people on board, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday. Trump said that the vessel was “affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization” but did not name any organization or

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court declined an appeal from Alex Jones on Tuesday, brushing aside the right-wing conspiracy theorist’s effort to overturn a $1.4 billion libel judgment a lower court ordered against him over his false comments about the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre. Jones has faced mounting legal pressure after

By Tami Luhby, René Marsh, Annie Grayer, Sunlen Serfaty, Ella Nilsen, CNN (CNN) — Douglas Jackson, a service-disabled veteran who was laid off during Friday’s federal government layoffs, couldn’t believe it when he heard the vice president say the Trump administration was being forced to choose between Americans and “federal bureaucrats.” “I’m an Orlando veteran.

By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — When President Donald Trump flies home from the Middle East on Monday, the region fading from view out his windows will undoubtedly be a changed one: the hostages who suffered underground in Gaza the last two years are free, and the bombs that leveled the Strip have stopped falling.

By Kristen Holmes, Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Maggie Cleary — the senior Justice Department prosecutor who briefly led the powerful US attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia last month before Trump ally Lindsey Halligan took over — has been removed from the office, according to two people familiar with the matter. It’s

By Camila DeChalus, Sarah Davis, Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo shut their doors Sunday as the government shutdown enters its third week, the Smithsonian Institution posted on its website. The Smithsonian Institute’s 19 museums and the zoo had remained open since the government shut down on October 1 by

CNN, POOL, SENATE TV By Jeff Zeleny, CNN Norfolk, Virginia (CNN) — Bashtye Bailey stood beneath the warm October sun at a food bank for military families near Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval base. She waited her turn for a supply of fresh vegetables, chicken and eggs. A Navy wife and a veteran

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Federal prosecutors are meeting on Saturday to finalize the details of a potential indictment against former national security adviser John Bolton, who has been under criminal investigation for years related to his handling of national security information, according to a source familiar with the investigation. Prosecutors in the Maryland

By Devan Cole, Angelica Franganillo Diaz, Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — Officials from three different African nations have said they won’t let the US deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to their countries, potentially frustrating the Trump administration’s plans to keep him in custody. The rejections – two of which were revealed by a senior Immigration and

By Kevin Liptak, Fadel Allassan, CNN (CNN) — Former President Joe Biden has started radiation therapy as part of his treatment for prostate cancer, a spokesperson for the former president told CNN. “As part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, President Biden is currently undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment,” the spokesperson said. The

CNN By Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN (CNN) — Barack Obama ripped into the law firms, universities and businesses that have worked out settlements or other deals with President Donald Trump’s administration, arguing that “We all have this capacity, I think, to take a stand.” The former president said the organizations that concede to Trump should be