Politics

By Tami Luhby, CNN In his latest move to differentiate himself from House Republicans on entitlement programs, President Joe Biden is making a pretty big promise. He is vowing to shore up the shaky finances of Medicare’s trust fund, extending its solvency to the middle of the century instead of the expected depletion date of

By Andrea Cambron, David Wright and Gregory Krieg, CNN The Federal Election Commission is asking New York Rep. George Santos to declare whether he plans to run again in 2024 after the Long Island Republican crossed a post-election fundraising threshold that now requires him to make a formal declaration. In a letter to Santos, the

By Maegan Vazquez and Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN President Joe Biden used his meeting on Friday at the White House with a bipartisan group of governors to reiterate his call to “get the job done” with the help of states and called out congressional Republicans’ bluff over their threats to send United States into default. Biden’s

By Katie Lobosco, CNN In January, the US reached its $31 trillion debt limit, a borrowing cap set by Congress, setting up a political battle between Democrats and Republicans over government spending — with each side blaming the other for running up the federal debt. But both parties have played a role in adding to

By Kevin Liptak, CNN When Brazil’s new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, met President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday, the two hoped to reset relations after an era defined by right-wing populists and threats to democracy in both nations. The talks, expected to center around efforts to combat climate change and

By Phil Mattingly, Chief White House correspondent As Marine One lifted off from the South Lawn of the White House, President Joe Biden had a last-minute question for his aides seated nearby. Riding the momentum of a strong State of the Union address and the elevation of a political battle he and his top advisers

By Eric Bradner and Steve Contorno, CNN Florida Sen. Rick Scott has emerged as Joe Biden‘s top Republican foil in the days since the president’s State of the Union address, with the White House seizing on a year-old Scott proposal that even GOP leaders recognized at the time as politically toxic. As a spending fight

By Fredreka Schouten, Eva McKend and Andrew Kaczynski, CNN US Rep. George Santos was charged with theft in Pennsylvania in 2017 after several bad checks written in his name went to dog breeders in Amish country, according to a lawyer friend who helped him navigate the case. The case was confirmed as “theft by deception”

By Kaitlan Collins, Evan Perez and Katelyn Polantz, CNN Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating Donald Trump and his role in January 6, 2021, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. Special counsel Jack Smith’s office is seeking documents and testimony related to January 6, the source

By Zachary Cohen and Paula Reid, CNN Former national security adviser Robert O’Brien has been subpoenaed by special counsel Jack Smith in both his investigation into classified documents found at former President Donald Trump‘s Mar-a-Lago residence and the probe related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to a source familiar with the matter.

By Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck, CNN Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed support for privatizing Medicare and Social Security during his first campaign for Congress in 2012, giving political rivals who have pledged to protect the programs an opening to attack him ahead of DeSantis’ expected run for president in 2024. Former President Donald Trump

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN North Korean government-backed hackers have conducted ransomware attacks on health care providers and other key sectors in the US and South Korea and used the proceeds to fund further cyberattacks on government agencies in Washington and Seoul, US and South Korean officials warned Thursday. Some of those follow-on hacks have specifically

By Karl de Vries and Clare Foran, CNN Police have arrested and charged a man in connection with the assault of Rep. Angie Craig, who was attacked in the elevator of her apartment building in Washington, DC, Thursday morning, the DC Metropolitan Police Department said in a news release. Kendrick Hamlin, also known as Hamlin

By Joan Biskupic, CNN Senior Supreme Court Analyst For decades, Supreme Court justices have dodged questions related to conflicts of interest by saying essentially “Trust us” or “We’re different.” They’ve refused to be bound by an official ethics code and grievance procedures that cover other federal judges. But mounting public pressure may finally spur changes.

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN The US and UK governments on Thursday sanctioned six Russians and one Ukrainian for their alleged involvement in an infamous Russia-based cybercrime network that infected millions of computers worldwide, including those in American hospitals. The sanctions target seven alleged core members of a cybercrime gang known as Trickbot, whose eponymous hacking

By Natasha Bertrand Iran appears to be modifying the attack drones it’s providing to Russia so that the explosive warheads can inflict maximum damage on infrastructure targets inside Ukraine, according to a new investigative report obtained exclusively by CNN. Iran has given Russia hundreds of drones to use in its war in Ukraine, many of

By Priscilla Alvarez, Steve Contorno, Phil Mattingly and Betsy Klein, CNN President Joe Biden on Thursday made a forceful argument against Republicans by highlighting his support for Social Security and Medicare, an appeal to the senior-rich Sunshine State as he makes moves toward a 2024 reelection announcement. Biden took his State of the Union argument

By Jessica Dean, CNN Sen. John Fetterman did not have another stroke, his office said Thursday evening, but the Pennsylvania Democrat remains in a Washington, DC, hospital after being admitted Wednesday after feeling lightheaded. “The results of the MRI, along with the results of all of the other tests the doctors ran, rule out a

By Phil Mattingly, Chief White House correspondent President Joe Biden said in a new interview that the recently recovered Chinese spy balloon that traversed the continental US did not damage bilateral relations between the two countries. “The idea shooting down a balloon that’s gathering information over America and that makes relations worse?” Biden told PBS

By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN Marc Short, the former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, suggested Wednesday that an FBI search of Pence’s Indiana home for any additional classified materials is “not too far off into the future.” “There have been conversations about a consensual search to be conducted, and I presume that’s not

By MJ Lee, Senior White House correspondent The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus is throwing its support behind Julie Su, the deputy Labor secretary, to replace Labor Secretary Marty Walsh who is soon departing the Biden administration — a significant public display of support for an Asian American to join President Joe Biden’s Cabinet. “We

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN One of President Joe Biden’s top cybersecurity advisers will retire next week as the Biden administration continues to face a myriad of foreign hacking threats and US officials urge — and sometimes compel — US companies to tighten their defenses. The departure of Chris Inglis, who has over four decades of

By Jeremy Herb, Sara Murray, Alayna Treene, Annie Grayer and Marshall Cohen, CNN Former Twitter executives acknowledged to lawmakers Wednesday that the social media company erred when it temporarily suppressed a New York Post story regarding Hunter Biden’s laptop in October 2020, but the officials emphasized there was no government involvement in the decision. Republicans

By Maegan Vazquez and Nikki Carvajal, CNN Republicans repeatedly heckled President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, ignoring the occasional shushes from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. In moments throughout the address, Republicans in the House chamber shouted at Biden, protesting his approach to a wide range of issues such

By CNN staff President Joe Biden delivered his second State of the Union address on Tuesday. Here is a fact check of some of the claims from Biden and the Republican response by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders: Cutting the deficit Biden claimed his administration cut the federal deficit by “more than $1.7 trillion.” Facts

By Katie Bo Lillis, Jeremy Herb, Josh Campbell, Zachary Cohen, Kylie Atwood and Natasha Bertrand, CNN US intelligence officials believe that the recently recovered Chinese spy balloon is part of an extensive surveillance program run by the Chinese military, according to multiple American officials familiar with the intelligence. The surveillance program, which includes a number

By CNN President Joe Biden delivered his 2023 State of the Union address on Tuesday. Here’s his speech as prepared for delivery and released by the White House. Mr. Speaker. Madam Vice President. Our First Lady and Second Gentleman. Members of Congress and the Cabinet. Leaders of our military. Mr. Chief Justice, Associate Justices, and

By Kevin Liptak, CNN When President Joe Biden took to the House Chamber on Tuesday for his annual State of the Union address, his message was one of unadulterated optimism — even in the face of open hostility. The spectacle of Biden smiling and offering a pointed riposte through multiple rounds of heckling from some

By Clare Foran, CNN Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave a combative speech Tuesday evening in response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, drawing a sharp contrast with Biden as she delivered a series of blistering criticisms of the president. Sanders called Biden “unfit to serve as commander in chief,” said his

By Haley Britzky, CNN A senior American military officer notified lawmakers in January that China has more land-based fixed and mobile intercontinental ballistic missile launchers than the US, according to a letter sent to Congress. The letter from Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of US Strategic Command which oversees the US nuclear arsenal says that as

By Phil Mattingly, Kevin Liptak and Shawna Mizelle, CNN Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is expected to depart the Biden administration soon, according to two people familiar with the matter, marking the first Cabinet secretary departure of President Joe Biden’s presidency. Walsh has been offered a job heading the NHL’s Players’ Association, the people said. His

By Ella Nilsen, CNN As the Colorado River sinks further into crisis and tensions rise between Western states over how to divvy up painful water cuts, a bipartisan group of senators are formalizing a new caucus to examine how Washington could help. What began as an informal group convened by Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper of

By Manu Raju, Chief Congressional Correspondent New York Republican Rep. George Santos is expected to face an investigation from the House Ethics Committee, a probe that could derail his already imperiled political career depending on the secretive panel’s findings. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy initially told CNN “yes” on Tuesday when asked if the embattled freshman

By Jeremy Diamond and Priscilla Alvarez, CNN The White House tried to flip the script on border security politics, accusing House Republicans of “staging political stunts” and undermining border security ahead of a House Oversight Committee hearing Tuesday that probed the Biden administration’s handling of the US southern border. In a memo obtained by CNN,

By Sonnet Swire, CNN President Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver his second State of the Union address Tuesday night at the US Capitol. His remarks will provide an opportunity to speak to a politically polarized Capitol Hill and nation as his administration faces an uncertain economic picture, renewed calls for police reform, a war

By Fredreka Schouten, Kara Scannell and Gregory Krieg, CNN In the fall of 2020, then-New York Rep. Lee Zeldin’s campaign submitted a report to federal regulators with a series of unusual expenses: 21 payments on a single day of exactly $199.99 each. The outlays — each just one penny below the dollar figure above which

By Betsy Klein and Arlette Saenz, CNN Paul Pelosi, Tyre Nichols’ parents, U2 star Bono, Monterey Park shooting hero Brandon Tsay, Ukraine’s ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova and a Holocaust survivor are among those headed to the US Capitol Tuesday evening where President Joe Biden is set to deliver his State of the Union

By Kevin Liptak and Phil Mattingly, CNN President Joe Biden’s yearly State of the Union speech — his first in front of a divided Congress — will offer the best glimpse to date of his argument for another term, making Tuesday’s address a test run of sorts as he approaches a reelection announcement. In both

By Zachary Cohen, CNN A US military intelligence report from last year that focused on China’s use of high-altitude balloons mentioned sightings in Hawaii and Florida during the Trump presidency, according to an excerpt of the report reviewed by CNN. The April 2022 report, titled “People’s Republic of China High-Altitude Balloon,” found a Chinese spy

By Zachary Cohen, Annie Grayer and Tierney Sneed, CNN The GOP-led House select subcommittee on so-called weaponization of the federal government will draw upon a prominent ex-Democrat, two of their Republican Senate colleagues, and a former FBI agent in their first public hearing to discuss how they believe the government has been weaponized against conservatives,

By Holmes Lybrand, Tierney Sneed and Devan Cole, CNN Two people charged with conspiracy to damage energy facilities — a neo-Nazi leader and a woman with whom he had a personal relationship — allegedly planned to attack electrical substations encircling Baltimore and “completely destroy” the entire city, according to federal court documents. The Justice Department

By Natasha Bertrand The transiting of three suspected Chinese spy balloons over the continental US during the Trump administration was only discovered after President Joe Biden took office, a senior administration official told CNN on Sunday. The official did not say how or when those incidents were discovered. The official said that the intelligence community

By Katie Bo Lillis and Evan Perez, CNN The insular world of FBI counterintelligence agents was rocked last month when one of their own, Charles F. McGonigal, formerly the FBI’s top counterintelligence official in New York, was indicted for allegedly selling access to Russian and Albanian officials in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars

By Morgan Rimmer, CNN Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a co-chair of the House Problem Solvers Caucus, said Sunday that GOP members of his bipartisan group are ready to break with their party leadership on some aspects of the debt ceiling negotiations but they remain committed to attaching some spending cuts. “We can’t have a clean

By Manu Raju, Gregory Krieg and Kit Maher, CNN A former prospective staffer to Rep. George Santos said he filed a police report and House ethics complaint alleging that the freshman congressman made an unwanted sexual advance toward him during a private encounter in his office and was later denied employment there. Santos told CNN