Politics

By Lauren Koenig and Shania Shelton, CNN (CNN) — A number of high-profile Jewish groups are denouncing Democratic presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s false remarks that “Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese” people are “most immune” to Covid-19. Speaking at a dinner in New York City earlier this week, Kennedy said “there’s an argument that it

By Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood, CNN Washington (CNN) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday urged the Senate to quickly advance the dozens of State Department nominees that remain pending due to holds put into place by Republican senators, decrying the impact of the holds on US national security, its standing in the

By Fredreka Schouten and David Wright, CNN Washington (CNN) — Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie raised $1.65 million over the first 25 days of his candidacy through June 30, according to the former New Jersey governor’s latest fundraising report. The total figure trails many of his rivals’ hauls but still puts him ahead of former

By Steve Contorno, CNN (CNN) — Two veterans of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ political operation are departing his presidential campaign to work with an outside group that will focus on boosting the Florida Republican in his race for the White House. The departing individuals are Dave Abrams, who previously led and later advised DeSantis’ communications team,

By David Wright and Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN (CNN) — Former Vice President Mike Pence raised less than $1.2 million for his presidential campaign during the second fundraising quarter that ended June 30, according to a Pence adviser, lagging far behind several Republican rivals who have announced much larger fundraising hauls and signaling potential struggles ahead

By Haley Britzky and Oren Liebermann, CNN (CNN) — A Russian surveillance aircraft flew above a US base in Syria for an “extended period of time” on Friday morning in what officials deemed an intelligence collecting mission, a senior defense official said. The aircraft, an Antonov An-30, flew over the At-Tanf garrison, the official said,

By Dan Berman, CNN Washington (CNN) — A federal appeals court on Friday temporarily blocked a controversial order that would have prevented the Biden administration from communicating with social media companies. Last week, US District Judge Terry Doughty in Louisiana ordered a slew of federal agencies and more than a dozen top government officials to

By Marshall Cohen (CNN) — Donald Trump is seeking a new court order to essentially neutralize the Fulton County investigation into the former president’s conduct after he lost the 2020 election, as potential indictments loom in Georgia. Trump’s lawyers filed petitions this week attempting to throw out the evidence collected last year by a special

By Melissa Alonso and Shania Shelton, CNN (CNN) — California voters will have the chance to remove language barring same-sex marriage from their state’s constitution in 2024’s general election. The California Senate passed a proposed constitutional amendment on Thursday that would repeal Proposition 8 – which voters approved in 2008 to ban the state from

By Zachary Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Federal prosecutors have interviewed the secretaries of state for both Pennsylvania and New Mexico in recent months as part of the ongoing investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to two sources familiar with the probe. The interviews, which have not been previously reported, indicate that special

By Ella Nilsen, CNN (CNN) — Tucked into President Joe Biden’s ambitious, sweeping climate commitments is a crucially important goal that dates back to his campaign: Transforming the US electric grid to run entirely on clean energy by 2035. The goal could make or break Biden’s pledge to slash the country’s planet-warming emissions in half

By Clare Foran and Haley Talbot, CNN (CNN) — The House voted Friday to pass a sweeping defense policy bill following contentious debate and the adoption of controversial amendments that touched on hot-button social issues. The addition of amendments pushed by conservative hardliners related to abortion policy and transgender health care access as well as

By Fredreka Schouten, Kate Sullivan and Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — A revised personal financial disclosure filing from former President Donald Trump made public Thursday offered new details about the roughly $1 billion that he appears to have earned in his post-presidential life, including lucrative speaking engagements by Trump and his wife, along with more

By Dianne Gallagher, CNN (CNN) — A Georgia lawmaker who represents part of Atlanta in the state House of Representatives switched her party affiliation to Republican this week after repeatedly breaking with her former party on several key votes this session. State Rep. Mesha Mainor announced that she was leaving the Democratic Party for the

By Kaitlan Collins and Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, testified before the grand jury investigating the aftermath of the 2020 election and the actions of the then-president and others, a source familiar with the testimony confirmed to CNN. Former Trump aide Hope Hicks also went before the grand jury, according

By Fredreka Schouten and Eva McKend, CNN (CNN) — South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott – whose presidential campaign announced this week that it has more than $21 million in cash reserves – is getting fresh attention from deep-pocketed donors looking for alternatives to the front-runners in the GOP primary, people familiar with the outreach say.

By Kylie Atwood, CNN (CNN) — The Biden administration believes that a Chinese hacking operation which breached US government email systems, including the State Department, gave the Chinese government insights about US thinking heading into Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Beijing in June, according to two US officials. The hack – which Microsoft

By Tierney Sneed (CNN) — Special counsel Jack Smith told a federal judge Thursday that there was no reason to postpone scheduling a trial date in the classified documents case against Donald Trump, in a court filing that aggressively rejected the reasons the former president and his co-defendant gave for why the trial should be

By Manu Raju and Arlette Saenz, CNN (CNN) — Julie Su, President Joe Biden’s pick to be the next Labor secretary whose nomination has been stalled for months, now faces opposition from a key Democrat: Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. With all Republicans planning to oppose her, she can only afford to lose one

By Paula Reid, Alayna Treene and Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — Investigators from the House Ethics Committee have begun reaching out to witnesses as part of a recently revived investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, focused on allegations that he may have engaged in sexual misconduct, illicit drug use or other misconduct. At least

By Sydney Kashiwagi, CNN (CNN) — As Republican lawmakers have pushed restrictions on abortion and gender-affirming care in recent months, Democratic-led states have increasingly responded by passing so-called shield laws to protect people who undergo such care against the possibility they could one day face prosecution. Nearly a dozen states – including Washington state, Colorado,

By Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — A yearslong court civil suit involving sexual assault allegations against former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten has been settled for $975,000, according to court records. The sum will be paid out by the US government to Col. Kathryn Spletstoser, who alleged sexual assault

By Joan Biskupic, CNN Senior Supreme Court Analyst Bloomington, Minnesota (CNN) — As Justice Brett Kavanaugh described the operations of the current Supreme Court on Thursday, he lauded it as “government at its finest.” He latched onto the phrase as he appeared in suburban Minneapolis before a group of federal judges from the midwest, the

By Lauren Fox, Clare Foran, Melanie Zanona, Haley Talbot and Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — The House voted Thursday evening to adopt several controversial amendments pushed by conservative hardliners to a critical national defense bill as the fate of the must-pass legislation hangs in the balance. Passage of the amendments – which touch on hot-button

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden on Thursday said he is “serious” about a prisoner exchange to free wrongfully detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich from Russia. “I’m serious about a prisoner exchange. I’m serious about doing what we can to free Americans who are being illegally held in Russia or

By Melanie Hicken and Curt Devine, CNN (CNN) — The chairwoman of the Senate Commerce Committee called for an inspector general investigation into the US Coast Guard in the wake of revelations of systemic mishandling of sexual assault allegations at the US Coast Guard Academy. CNN recently revealed that Coast Guard leadership for years kept

By Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN (CNN) — The conversations keep happening – quiet whispers on the sidelines of events, texts, emails, furtive phone calls – as top Democrats and donors reach out to those seen as possible replacement presidential candidates. Get ready, they urge, in conversations that aides to several of the people involved have described

By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN (CNN) — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the campaign of South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott both said Wednesday they’ve reached the number of individual donors that the Republican National Committee is requiring candidates to have in order to make the GOP debate stage in August. “I am glad to

By Katelyn Polantz and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department is appealing the sentences that eight convicted defendants tied to the Oath Keepers received for seditious conspiracy or other conspiracy charges related to their roles in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Federal prosecutors working on the cases of Oath

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — Bruce Hough, the father of two professional dancers who have been mainstays on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” has qualified for the Republican primary ballot in the special election for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, the lieutenant governor’s office said Wednesday. Republican Rep. Chris Stewart has announced that he will

By Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — Despite frequent claims from Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama that new Pentagon reproductive health policies would result in thousands more abortions a year, the number estimated by a study Tuberville himself cites is far lower, though nearly impossible to actually know. Tuberville is protesting new Pentagon reproductive health

By Oren Liebermann, CNN (CNN) — Nearly 40% of US fast attack submarines are in repair or awaiting maintenance as shipyards face a shortage of workers and and supply chain issues, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service. Of the 49 fast attack submarines in the Navy, a total of 18 are

By Ariel Edwards-Levy, CNN (CNN) — Only 37% of eligible American citizens voted in all three of the most recent national general elections, according to a report released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center – even though those elections saw some of the highest turnout in decades. The analysis, which tracked individual Americans’ voting decisions

By Katelyn Polantz, Tierney Sneed and Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — New court filings in a defamation lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani show the promoters of the election fraud narrative after Donald Trump lost the presidency failed to do basic vetting of the claims they were touting – and didn’t see such vetting as necessary. For

By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN (CNN) — Former Vice President Mike Pence said abortion should be banned when a pregnancy is not viable, according to the Associated Press. “I’m pro-life. I don’t apologize for it,” Pence told the AP in a recent interview. “I just have heard so many stories over the years of courageous women

By Shawna Mizelle and Jack Forrest, CNN (CNN) — Iowa’s Republican-controlled legislature advanced a bill that would ban most abortions in the state as early as six weeks into pregnancy. The state’s Senate passed a bill late Tuesday in a 32 to 17 vote and is now headed to Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk for

By Kit Maher, CNN (CNN) — Former Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday said that Ukraine’s membership in NATO should not be considered until Russia’s war in the country ends. “I honestly believe that it’s important as the leader of the free world and the arsenal of democracy that America continue to provide the Ukrainians

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN Senior Reporter, Crime and Justice (CNN) — The Justice Department has taken an unusual step in court to try to protect former President Donald Trump from testifying under oath in a lawsuit from former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. Lawyers from the federal agency are asking the federal appeals

By Fredreka Schouten, CNN (CNN) — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is offering $20 gift cards to people who donate at least $1 to his presidential campaign. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has promised grassroots fundraisers a 10% cut of the money they bring into his campaign. Other candidates are just pleading for $1 donations or offering

By Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio is calling on Congress to stop funding Department of Justice investigations into elected officials, political candidates and their families until a new policy for how they are managed is developed. The a far-fetched ask from a key Donald Trump ally would indirectly

By Kara Scannell, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department has reversed course and said it no longer believes that Donald Trump should be entitled to immunity for his response to E. Jean Carroll’s accusation of sexual assault, allowing the civil lawsuit to move forward to trial in January. The change in position eliminates one legal

By Kylie Atwood, Jennifer Hansler, Manu Raju, Betsy Klein and Arlette Saenz, CNN (CNN) — A full-court press by the Biden administration in the days leading up to the NATO summit capped months of behind-the-scenes diplomacy to get Turkey to move ahead with Sweden’s accession to NATO. A major part of that diplomatic effort: Getting

By Oren Liebermann and Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — The Pentagon is seeking to increase pressure on Sen. Tommy Tuberville in an attempt to break the Alabama Republican’s one-man hold on hundreds of senior military nominations. The effort includes back-channel conversations with Congress and members of the key oversight committees, but also a public campaign

By Melanie Zanona and Haley Talbot, CNN (CNN) — Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia told CNN on Tuesday afternoon that she still hasn’t been informed by the House Freedom Caucus that she has been kicked out of the far-right group. But she said she’s “not really concerned about it.” “No one has told

By Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court Reporter (CNN) — The Supreme Court is holding fast to its ethics procedures in light of a new report raising questions about the extent to which colleges and universities have used campus visits by justices as an opportunity to generate donations despite a general ban on judicial fundraising.

By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN (CNN) — Virginia’s Gov. Glenn Youngkin is encouraging Republicans to vote absentee by mail or early in-person ahead of his state’s pivotal legislative elections this year. Youngkin on Tuesday launched a new program, “Secure Your Vote Virginia,” aimed at cutting into Democrats’ mail-in voting advantage as Republican voters’ confidence in the

By Haley Talbot, Annie Grayer and Melanie Zanona, CNN (CNN) — The New Democrat Coalition, which says it has a 98-House member bloc, is ramping up pressure on Speaker Kevin McCarthy to reject hardliners in his party and instead work with Republicans and Democrats to pass its annual defense legislation in a timely manner. “Speaker

By Casey Gannon and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — For months, federal prosecutors have brought witnesses in front of a grand jury in Washington, DC, to investigate efforts by former President Donald Trump and his close allies to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election. The witnesses, several of whom appeared under subpoena, range