National Politics

By Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen, CNN (CNN) — How should a military commander respond if they determine they have received an unlawful order? Request to retire — and refrain from resigning in protest, which could be seen as a political act, or picking a fight to get fired. That was the previously unreported guidance that

By Adam Cancryn, CNN (CNN) — The White House is heading into a critical midterm year beset by economic challenges, as it tries to manage stubbornly high prices, a frustrated electorate and a commander-in-chief who struggles to show sympathy toward voters’ pain. For one night, at least, officials addressed one issue: getting President Donald Trump

By Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju, Alison Main, Aileen Graef, Ted Barrett, CNN (CNN) — Congressional Republicans have sent lawmakers home for the holidays without voting to address the Obamacare subsidies cliff that will hit millions of Americans on New Year’s Day — infuriating some of their own rank and file. “Here we are without a

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 Kit Maher, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump announced Thursday the White House will host the “Patriot Games,” a competition with young athletes from across the county, as part of the celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary next year. “In the fall, we will host the first ever Patriot Games, an unprecedented four-day

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

By Katelyn Polantz, Evan Perez, CNN (CNN) — Frustration is mounting inside the Justice Department as it races to redact thousands of pages of files related to Jeffrey Epstein before they must be released Friday, multiple sources familiar with the process told CNN. A substantial number of redactions are needed, one of the sources said,

By Camila DeChalus, Ellis Kim, CNN (CNN) — The GOP-controlled House passed a bill that would block Medicaid funds from being used for gender identity care to minors. The measure, sponsored by Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw, passed by a vote of 215 to 201 with four Democrats voting in favor. It’s the second bill passed

By Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — The one-time bonuses President Donald Trump said Wednesday will be paid out to over a million US service members will be pulled from funds already approved by Congress to cover housing and other household costs for troops as part of a military stipend program. President Trump announced the $1,776

By Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge ruled Thursday that two entities that implement policy and conduct administrative tasks for the judicial branch are not required under a transparency law to turn over their communications to a private legal group aligned with President Donald Trump. The opinion by Judge Trevor McFadden came in

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — The board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted Thursday to rename the facility after both the former president and President Donald Trump. “The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to name the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John

By David Wright, CNN (CNN) — The Democratic National Committee said Thursday that it would not release a highly anticipated “autopsy” of the 2024 election, a decision aimed at unifying the party that also sidesteps uncomfortable and lasting divisions over its loss to President Donald Trump. DNC Chair Ken Martin issued a statement on the

By Casey Gannon, CNN (CNN) — Former special counsel Jack Smith did not invoke his Fifth Amendment rights during eight hours of testimony Wednesday behind closed doors to the House Judiciary Committee, the panel’s chairman said. “He did not take the Fifth like some of his deputies did,” Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, said on

By Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate Thursday — the latest in a series of intermittent disclosures that have fueled significant political intrigue in recent weeks about who may have been associated with the convicted sex offender. The more than 60 images, released without

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The United States sanctioned two more judges from the International Criminal Court (ICC) – the latest step in the Trump administration’s campaign to punish those involved with efforts to investigate Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said he was imposing sanctions

By Kaanita Iyer, Katelyn Polantz, Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department tried to add a third felony charge related to mortgage fraud against Letitia James when attempting to reindict the New York attorney general last week, according to court documents. The attempted third criminal count, which was first reported by Politico, would have

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — The cavalry is not coming to save the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium subsidies before they lapse at year’s end. And while the House is expected to vote in January on a Democratic proposal to extend them for three years, the effort faces significant hurdles in the Senate. This