CNN – US Politics

By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN Washington (CNN) — The Biden administration on Friday extended temporary deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants residing in the United States as communities brace for the incoming Trump administration. The relief – known as Temporary Protected Status – applies to people who would face extreme hardship if forced to

CNN By Sean Lyngaas, CNN (CNN) — Chinese hackers breached the US government office that reviews foreign investments for national security risks, three US officials familiar with the matter told CNN. The theft, which has not previously been reported, underscores Beijing’s keen interest in spying on a US government office that has broad powers to

By Fredreka Schouten, CNN (CNN) — The Trump Organization on Friday announced that President-elect Donald Trump will not have any involvement in managing his real estate and branding empire during his second term and appointed an outside ethics adviser to monitor major company actions – part of several measures the organization said it was taking

By Zachary Cohen and Katie Bo Lillis, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to serve as director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, is voicing support for a key government surveillance authority she once sought to dismantle. The shift comes amid lingering uncertainty about Gabbard’s path to confirmation despite her having spent the last several

CNN By John Fritze, Tierney Sneed and Clare Duffy, CNN (CNN) — A majority of the Supreme Court appeared likely to uphold a controversial ban on TikTok over concerns about its ties to China, with justices lobbing pointed questions at lawyers for the social media app and a group of its content creators. During more

CNN By Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell, CNN (CNN) — Donald Trump was sentenced without penalty in the New York hush money case Friday after a symbolic – and historic and unprecedented – hearing following the first felony conviction of a former and soon-to-be sitting president. Judge Juan Merchan spoke to Trump

CNN By Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell, CNN (CNN) — Donald Trump was sentenced without penalty in the New York hush money case Friday after a symbolic – and historic and unprecedented – hearing following the first felony conviction of a former and soon-to-be sitting president. Judge Juan Merchan spoke to Trump

By Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell, CNN (CNN) — Donald Trump was sentenced without penalty in the New York hush money case Friday after a symbolic – and historic and unprecedented – hearing following the first felony conviction of a former and soon-to-be sitting president. Judge Juan Merchan spoke to Trump for

By Jennifer Hansler and Matt Egan, CNN (CNN) — The Biden administration on Friday targeted Russia’s energy sector, including its oil industry, with some of its harshest sanctions to date meant to cut off funding for Moscow’s war against Ukraine. The sweeping moves, taken just over a week before President Joe Biden leaves office, come

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN (CNN) — Chinese hackers breached the US government office that reviews foreign investments for national security risks, three US officials familiar with the matter told CNN. The theft, which has not previously been reported, underscores Beijing’s keen interest in spying on a US government office that has broad powers to block

CNN By Alexandra Banner, CNN (CNN) — Several iconic and beloved landmarks in Los Angeles have fallen victim to wildfires this week. Luckily, the Getty Villa museum in the Pacific Palisades narrowly escaped destruction, with fire prevention systems saving its priceless collection of Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities. Here’s what else you need to know

By Tierney Sneed and Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Special counsel Jack Smith’s report on his election subversion and January 6, 2021, investigation of Donald Trump can be made public, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday, while leaving in place a lower judge’s three-day hold that could give Trump time to ask the Supreme Court

By CNN staff (CNN) — The US Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that President-elect Donald Trump can be sentenced Friday in his New York hush money case. The order states: The application for stay presented to Justice Sotomayor and by her referred to the Court is denied for, inter alia, the following reasons. First, the

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump can be sentenced Friday in his New York hush money case, the Supreme Court said in a 5-4 ruling. The high court on Thursday rejected Trump’s emergency request to delay the proceeding, setting the stage for him to be sentenced just days before he is inaugurated

By Oren Liebermann and Natasha Bertrand, CNN (CNN) — NATO has taken over air defenses in Poland from the US just days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, according to a NATO spokesman, with questions looming about the incoming administration’s approach to the alliance and to Ukraine. NATO assumed command and control from the

By Kit Maher, Steve Contorno and Aaron Pellish, CNN (CNN) — JD Vance will resign his Senate seat effective Thursday at midnight, a Vance spokesperson told CNN, days ahead of assuming the vice presidency. The first-term senator has to resign from his seat before he and President-elect Donald Trump are sworn into office on January

By Clare Foran, Lauren Fox and Ted Barrett, CNN Washington (CNN) — A significant number of Senate Democrats voted with Republicans on Thursday to advance a GOP-led bill to require the detention of undocumented migrants charged with certain crimes – a key step that puts the legislation on the verge of passage. The bill steadily

By John Fritze and Devan Cole, CNN Washington (CNN) — The only branch of the federal government without a social media presence will weigh the fate of one of the nation’s most popular video-sharing apps on Friday, delving into a viral fight over whether TikTok’s ties to China threaten national security. The Supreme Court will

By Clare Foran and Haley Talbot, CNN (CNN) — The House passed a bill on Thursday to sanction International Criminal Court officials – in response to the court issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The ICC’s targeting of Netanyahu has sparked backlash from Republicans and Democrats in Congress. The GOP-led Senate

By Associated Press (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has raised more than $170 million for his upcoming inauguration, a record amount as tech executives and big donors have eagerly written large checks to help bankroll the ceremony. The private donations collected thus far were confirmed by a person with firsthand knowledge of the fundraising who

By Daniel Dale, CNN Washington (CNN) — Another natural disaster, another series of false claims from President-elect Donald Trump. For years, Trump has littered his statements on California wildfires and other disasters with inaccurate assertions. He did it again on Wednesday as wildfires raged in Los Angeles County. Here is a fact check. FEMA funding

By Nicki Brown, Jeremy Herb, Kara Scannell, Lauren del Valle and John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — New York’s highest court on Thursday rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s bid to postpone his sentencing in the hush money case, leaving the US Supreme Court as his last chance to delay Friday’s scheduled hearing. Trump appealed to both the

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Elon Musk has walked back his previous claim that he could cut at least $2 trillion from the federal budget, saying Wednesday that half that amount would be “an epic outcome.” Musk, who has been tasked by President-elect Donald Trump to co-lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Attorney General Merrick Garland told Congress he plans to make special counsel Jack Smith’s report on the cases against Donald Trump available to committee leaders and, ultimately, the public, once courts allow, marking the formal end of Smith’s office. Garland noted he believes even the part of the report

By Alex Marquardt, CNN (CNN) — The Biden administration has announced the final tranche of military aid it will send to Ukraine, amounting to about $500 million. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was expected to detail the figure at the last meeting of the US-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The

By Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN (CNN) — Not a lot of men get to see what their own funerals are going to look like. Even fewer get to speak at them. For all the valedictory moments that Joe Biden and his staff lined up for his quiet final weeks in the White House – ceremonies awarding

By Donald Judd and MJ Lee, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden will no longer travel to Italy this week as scheduled, the White House announced late Wednesday, canceling the trip in the final days of his presidency to monitor raging wildfires across the Los Angeles area. “After returning this evening from Los Angeles, where

By Marshall Cohen, CNN (CNN) — The disgraced former FBI informant who falsely accused President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden of taking a $10 million bribe from Ukraine was sentenced Wednesday to six years in federal prison, according to court records. The ex-informant, Alexander Smirnov, who is a dual US-Israeli citizen, has been

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said he spoke with President-elect Donald Trump by phone this week in support of a former law clerk who is seeking a job in the incoming administration – but the justice said he did not discuss Trump’s pending effort to delay his sentencing. “William

By Marshall Cohen and Daniel Dale, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden recently made several false and inaccurate claims to defend his controversial decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden. In a wide-ranging interview with USA Today, the president also made a false claim about inflation. A full transcript of the interview was released Wednesday.

By Natasha Bertrand and Katie Bo Lillis, CNN (CNN) — When President-elect Donald Trump mused about buying Greenland from Denmark during his first administration, the Danish prime minister called the idea “absurd” and rebuffed him outright. Now, Danish officials are being warned by Trump allies and advisers that he is serious, multiple Danish officials told

By Sarah Ferris, Eric Bradner and Annie Grayer, CNN Washington (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump stressed in a meeting with the Senate GOP on Wednesday that he wants to pass his agenda as urgently as possible, while downplaying divisions over specific strategy among Republican leaders on Capitol Hill. Inside the room, Trump delivered wide-ranging remarks

By Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — Multiple senior officials in the Justice Department under the first Trump administration improperly leaked non-public details of inquiries into Covid-19 deaths at nursing homes in Democratic-led states, according to a newly-released inspector general report released following a CNN Freedom of Information Act request. The report expressed suspicions that the

By Fredreka Schouten and Steve Contorno, CNN (CNN) — In the two months since the election, President-elect Donald Trump has urged his nearly 8.5 million followers on Truth Social to buy limited edition guitars that bear his signature and Trump-themed fragrances that “represent winning.” A $899 gold-plated inauguration edition was recently added to the line

By Betsy Klein and Donald Judd, CNN (CNN) — Wildfires in California have broken out and escalated significantly since President Joe Biden touched down in Los Angeles on Monday, where he had initially been set to travel to the Coachella Valley and designate a new national monument. The trip also appears to have had a

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department told a federal appeals court on Wednesday that Attorney General Merrick Garland intends to release the January 6-related volume of its final report of special counsel Jack Smith before Donald Trump takes office. However, Garland does not plan to publicly release the part of Smith’s report

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday urged the US Supreme Court to pause his sentencing in the hush money case, a highly unusual request that relies in part on the court’s decision last year to grant him broad immunity from criminal prosecution. Trump’s emergency appeal arrived a day after a

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden said he had not made a decision about issuing preemptive pardons before leaving office, leaving the door open to an unprecedented move to protect some of his allies as he warned President-elect Donald Trump against trying to “settle scores.” CNN has previously reported senior Biden White

By Priscilla Alvarez and Evan Perez, CNN Washington (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump’s team is discussing plans to designate Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, according to three sources familiar with the discussions, bringing back an idea that failed to come to fruition during his first term in office. In late 2019, Trump appeared close to

By Betsy Klein and Jeff Zeleny, CNN Washington (CNN) — It’s the world’s most exclusive fraternity and, on Thursday, all five members of the so-called presidents club will gather to honor one of their own. Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden are expected to attend the state funeral

By Arit John, CNN (CNN) — Virginia Democrats will hold on to their narrow majorities in the state Legislature after winning special elections Tuesday in two seats in a county that shifted toward President-elect Donald Trump last year, the Associated Press projects. Democratic state Rep. Kannan Srinivasan defeated Republican Tumay Harding to win an open

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The US offered to trade a Guantanamo Bay prisoner in exchange for the release of three Americans held in Afghanistan, a source familiar told CNN. The US has been in discussions with the Taliban for months about a deal to free Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann and Mahmoud Habibi, all

By Zachary Cohen, Katie Bo Lillis, Clare Foran and Ted Barrett, CNN Washington (CNN) — Senate Republicans are pushing to hold a confirmation hearing for Tulsi Gabbard before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, but Democrats are resisting setting a date for next week as the Intelligence Committee has not yet received key paperwork on the nomination,

By Annie Grayer, CNN Washington (CNN) — GOP Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia posed with House Speaker Mike Johnson for a photograph to mark the start of the next Congress and left with a guarantee that his investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol will be formalized as a new committee.

By Matt Stiles, CNN (CNN) — The House on Tuesday approved a GOP-led bill to require detention of undocumented migrants charged with certain crimes. The bill, known as the “Laken Riley Act,” would require the detention of undocumented migrants charged with theft or burglary. The legislation is named after a Georgia student who was killed

By Daniel Dale, CNN Washington (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump made numerous false claims during a wide-ranging Tuesday news conference in Florida, many of them related to foreign affairs and international trade. Here is a fact check of some of these claims. Guns on January 6 Trump repeated his long-debunked claim that none of the

By Eric Bradner, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday intensified his push for American expansionism, refusing to rule out using military force to add Greenland to the United States and retake control of the Panama Canal. In a wide-ranging news conference at Mar-a-Lago — his second since winning the 2024 election — he

CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here’s a look at the life of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. Personal Birth date: January 19, 1982 Birth place: South Bend, Indiana Birth name: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg Father: Joseph A. Buttigieg, an English professor Mother: Anne

By Clare Foran and Haley Talbot, CNN Washington (CNN) — The House voted on Tuesday to pass a GOP-led bill to require detention of undocumented migrants charged with certain crimes, but the measure faces an uncertain future in the Senate in a sign of the challenges facing Republicans despite controlling both chambers of Congress. The

By MJ Lee and Elise Hammond, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump warned that if the hostages whom Hamas is still holding in Gaza are not released by his inauguration on January 20, “all hell will break out in the Middle East” – offering one more stark indication of how much the incoming president would

By Kara Scannell, Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle and Paula Reid, CNN (CNN) — A New York appeals court judge has rejected Donald Trump’s request to postpone his Friday sentencing in the hush money case. Associate Justice Ellen Gesmer swiftly denied Trump’s request following a brief hearing on the matter Tuesday afternoon. Trump on Tuesday

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have committed genocide over the course of the more than year-long civil war in Sudan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday. This is the second genocide committed in Sudan in less than three decades, following the genocide in Darfur in the

By Tierney Sneed and Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — District Judge Aileen Cannon on Tuesday blocked the public release of special counsel Jack Smith’s final report on his investigations into President-elect Donald Trump. The court fight that prompted Cannon’s order is the capstone of Trump’s yearslong assault on the institution of special counsels, and the

By Sam Fossum and Jack Forrest, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden said that New Orleans “defines strength and resilience” as he mourned the lives lost in the New Year’s Day terror attack, speaking at an interfaith prayer service in the city Monday evening. “My wife, Jill, and I are here to stand with you,

By Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — Eleven Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo Bay have been transferred to Oman, marking yet another detainee transfer from the military prison in the final days of the Biden administration. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin notified Congress in September 2023 of his intent to transfer the detainees to Oman, the Pentagon said

By Manu Raju and Sarah Ferris, CNN Washington (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump wants to put his entire agenda into a single, massive bill – and he wants it done “quickly.” But he will soon meet the realities of Capitol Hill, even under single-party Republican rule. Republicans are publicly and privately acknowledging the enormous task

CNN By Lauren del Valle and Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge on Monday held Rudy Giuliani in contempt for failing to turn over information to two former Georgia election workers he defamed after the 2020 presidential election, as they continue to try to collect $150 million in damages. The sanctions add to

By Lauren del Valle and Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge on Monday held Rudy Giuliani in contempt for failing to turn over information to two former Georgia election workers he defamed after the 2020 presidential election, as they continue to try to collect $150 million in damages. The sanctions add to a

By Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — Thousands of LGBTQ+ US military veterans who were discharged under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy due to their sexuality could soon have an easier path to accessing more benefits for their service, according to a proposed legal settlement with the Pentagon. The settlement agreement comes from a legal

By Paula Reid, Jeremy Herb and Kara Scannell, CNN New York (CNN) — Judge Juan Merchan has denied Donald Trump’s request to postpone his Friday sentencing for his hush money conviction, the judge said in a filing Monday. Trump’s lawyers are likely to appeal Merchan’s decision to a New York appeals court. Earlier Monday, Trump’s

By Evan Perez and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — Several months after the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, FBI investigators began pursuing a tantalizing tip suggesting that Donald Trump had possibly met with members of the Proud Boys, the far-right group that took part in some of the most brutal violence that

By Gregory Krieg and Ethan Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Congressional Democrats on Monday are expected to offer President-elect Donald Trump the unremarkable, perhaps even dull transfer of power he and a band of pro-Trump rioters denied President Joe Biden exactly four years ago. It is January 6 again and that means federal lawmakers will count

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — Kamala Harris is set Monday to do what nearly every vice president before her has done — certify the incoming president’s election. But with this traditionally uneventful process comes a fraught moment in American history: Monday is the fourth anniversary of January 6, 2021, when then-President Donald Trump incited

By Haley Talbot, Aileen Graef, Sarah Ferris, Morgan Rimmer and Lauren Fox, CNN (CNN) — Donald Trump and his GOP allies in Congress have recently shared some of the first details of their ambitious agenda — sweeping tax cuts, border security and raising the debt limit — which they hope to muscle through in the

By Arit John, CNN (CNN) — Two months after Democrats were locked out of power at the federal level, a pair of special elections in a part of northern Virginia where Donald Trump dramatically improved his performance in November will offer the first signs of how voters view the political landscape as the president-elect prepares

By Elizabeth Wagmeister and Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — Incoming first lady Melania Trump will be the subject of a new documentary coming to Amazon’s Prime Video this year, CNN has learned, offering a rare window into one of President-elect Donald Trump’s most trusted — and famously private — advisers. Donald Trump — a former

By Marshall Cohen, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump hasn’t been sworn in yet, but his looming return has already upended hundreds of pending prosecutions against his supporters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and has disrupted the ongoing effort to arrest more rioters. The historic effort by Justice Department prosecutors and

CNN By Manu Raju, Lauren Fox and Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — House Speaker Mike Johnson informed Republicans at a closed-door meeting Saturday that Donald Trump favored moving his agenda as one sweeping package, according to sources in attendance — a key announcement fraught with risk but one that sets the stage for advancing the

CNN By Michelle Shen and Nikki Carvajal, CNN (CNN) — The official state funeral in Washington, DC for former President Jimmy Carter will be held on January 9, the White House confirmed Monday. President Joe Biden declared January 9 as a National Day of Mourning in a proclamation on Sunday, hours after Carter’s passing at

CNN By Michelle Shen and Nikki Carvajal, CNN (CNN) — The official state funeral in Washington, DC for former President Jimmy Carter will be held on January 9, the White House confirmed Monday. President Joe Biden declared January 9 as a National Day of Mourning in a proclamation on Sunday, hours after Carter’s passing at

By Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN (CNN) — The stretch of time between Ruben Gallego showing colleagues on the House floor how to hold pens as weapons to defend themselves against January 6 rioters and taking home the pen he used to sign his oath of office on the Senate floor is 1,458 days. The span between

By Daniel Strauss, CNN (CNN) — Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted is the leading candidate to replace Vice President-elect JD Vance in the US Senate, according to two Republican sources familiar with the deliberations. It’s up to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, to appoint Vance’s replacement once the first-term senator resigns from his seat,

CNN By Donald Judd, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to 19 people on Saturday, recognizing a broad swath of luminaries across politics, culture and the arts, including former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, designer Ralph Lauren, U2 frontman Bono and philanthropist and megadonor

By Manu Raju, Lauren Fox and Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — House Speaker Mike Johnson informed Republicans at a closed-door meeting Saturday that Donald Trump favored moving his agenda as one sweeping package, according to sources in attendance — a key announcement fraught with risk but one that sets the stage for advancing the president-elect’s

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump is preparing to dust off a series of centuries-old laws and legal theories to drive his first-year agenda — particularly on the border and birthright citizenship — hoping history will be on his side when the inevitable legal challenges make their way to the Supreme Court.

By Donald Judd, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to 19 people on Saturday, recognizing a broad swath of luminaries across politics, culture and the arts, including former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, designer Ralph Lauren, U2 frontman Bono and philanthropist and megadonor George

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The State Department has informally notified Congress that it intends to sell $8 billion in arms to Israel, a US official and another source familiar with the matter told CNN. The State Department sent the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee the informal notification of the

By Steve Contorno, Annie Grayer, Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju and Lauren Fox, CNN (CNN) — With two Republican lawmakers standing between Mike Johnson and the speaker’s gavel, President-elect Donald Trump picked up the phone. From the golf course Friday afternoon, he spoke to Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas and

CNN By Steve Contorno, Annie Grayer, Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju and Lauren Fox, CNN (CNN) — With two Republican lawmakers standing between Mike Johnson and the speaker’s gavel, President-elect Donald Trump picked up the phone. From the golf course Friday afternoon, he spoke to Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas

By Oren Liebermann, Haley Britzky and Donald Judd, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden awarded the Medal of Honor – the nation’s highest military award for valor – to seven US Army soldiers in a White House ceremony Friday, marking the last time he would preside over such an occasion as commander in chief. “These

CNN By Kara Scannell, Paula Reid and Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump will face no legal penalties for his conviction in the hush money case, a New York judge ruled Friday. Judge Juan Merchan, however, upheld Trump’s conviction in the case, rejecting the president-elect’s effort to throw out the jury’s verdict because

CNN By Kara Scannell, Paula Reid and Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump will face no legal penalties for his conviction in the hush money case, a New York judge ruled Friday. Judge Juan Merchan, however, upheld Trump’s conviction in the case, rejecting the president-elect’s effort to throw out the jury’s verdict because

By Kara Scannell, Paula Reid and Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump will face no legal penalties for his conviction in the hush money case, a New York judge ruled Friday. Judge Juan Merchan, however, upheld Trump’s conviction in the case, rejecting the president-elect’s effort to throw out the jury’s verdict because of

By Kit Maher, CNN (CNN) — With the start of the 119th Congress on Friday, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has become the longest-serving Black US senator. Scott will also serve as the first Black chairman of a Senate standing committee, leading the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, where he previously served as the

By Clare Foran, Ethan Cohen and Haley Talbot, CNN (CNN) — The 119th Congress will begin on Friday, ushering in a new era of Republican control in Washington that will start with a high-stakes leadership fight to pick the next House speaker. Mike Johnson is vying to retain the gavel and has President-elect Donald Trump’s

By Evan Perez and Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — After four unsuccessful years trying to identify the person who placed two viable pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters, the FBI is hoping that allegiances have changed and someone is ready to talk. Despite well-publicized photos of a suspect wearing a hoodie

CNN Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN (CNN) — House speaker elections on Friday are less about Mike Johnson and more about Donald Trump. Johnson’s frantic fight to hold onto his job was still a cliffhanger heading into a fateful day for Republicans. But the president-elect has even more on the line – nothing less than

By Clare Foran, Annette Choi, Ethan Cohen, CNN Washington (CNN) — Amid a quickly shifting House lineup, Speaker Mike Johnson has a bit more room to maneuver in his historically narrow majority. Johnson can now lose three Republican defections on party-line votes and still pass legislation. The partisan breakdown stands at 218 Republicans, 212 Democrats,

By Sarah Ferris and Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — House Speaker Mike Johnson’s allies are leaning into a key argument in a bid to avoid a chaotic floor fight over the gavel on Friday: A vote against Johnson could delay the finalization of Donald Trump’s White House win. A day before the speaker’s election, Johnson,

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — January 1 not only ushered in 2025 but a slew of new laws. In 2024, states tackled issues ranging from abortion rights to gender-affirming care for minors, advancing legislation to take effect the following year. Starting Wednesday, Americans in nearly two dozen states will also see a hike in

By Simone Pathe, Renée Rigdon and Arit John, CNN (CNN) — The new year brings a mixed picture for women’s political representation – the highest glass ceiling in American politics remains intact, but female governors and state legislators are setting new records. The number of women in Congress is decreasing but not by much. Overall,

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — Prosecutors are fighting to keep a Virginia man behind bars after they say investigators found what could be the largest number of “finished explosive devices” in FBI history at his 20-acre home near Norfolk. The man, Brad Spafford, was arrested earlier this month on one charge of possessing an

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts slammed what he described as “dangerous” talk by some officials about ignoring federal court rulings, using an annual report weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office to stress the importance of an independent judiciary. Officials “from across the political spectrum have raised the

CNN By Lauren Fox, Clare Foran, Sarah Ferris and Haley Talbot, CNN Washington (CNN) — House Speaker Mike Johnson faces a tough fight to retain the gavel even after an endorsement from Donald Trump, a test of the president-elect’s influence over his party amid the limits of an extraordinarily narrow majority. Trump’s endorsement could help

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Medicare beneficiaries who take a lot of pricey medications will get a big break in 2025. That’s when the $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket costs for drugs bought at the pharmacy or through mail order takes effect. The limit is one of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act’s most consequential

CNN By Kara Scannell, CNN (CNN) — A federal appeals court upheld the jury’s verdict finding Donald Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll and denied his request for a new trial. Trump challenged the $5 million civil verdict alleging the trial judge made numerous errors, including allowing testimony of two other women who claimed

By Kara Scannell, CNN (CNN) — A federal appeals court upheld the jury’s verdict finding Donald Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll and denied his request for a new trial. Trump challenged the $5 million civil verdict alleging the trial judge made numerous errors, including allowing testimony of two other women who claimed Trump

By Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN (CNN) — Steps that Jimmy Carter took during his presidency are still shaping the United States, decades after he left office. But they didn’t help him at the polls. Because of Carter’s actions, hundreds of thousands of people fleeing persecution had a chance to come to the United States when

By Lauren Fox, Clare Foran, Sarah Ferris and Haley Talbot, CNN Washington (CNN) — House Speaker Mike Johnson faces a tough fight to retain the gavel even after an endorsement from Donald Trump, a test of the president-elect’s influence over his party amid the limits of an extraordinarily narrow majority. Trump’s endorsement could help Johnson