National Politics

By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN Karen Olick, the chief of staff to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, announced Monday that she’s resigning to move on to another undisclosed opportunity, a DHS official confirmed to CNN. The post will be temporarily filled by Jennifer Higgins, who serves as associate director of refugee, asylum and international operations at

By Melanie Zanona, CNN The US Capitol Police board has approved the department’s request to reinstall temporary fencing around the Capitol ahead of a planned right-wing rally Saturday, Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger told reporters Monday. Manger said the fence will start going up a “day or two” before the event, and if “everything goes

By Nicole Gaouette and Kylie Atwood, CNN Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and the chaotic evacuation effort that marked the end of America’s longest war in the face of blistering criticism Monday from lawmakers and some calls for his resignation. The top US diplomat, the first member of

By Kate Bennett, CNN Then-first lady Melania Trump declined to call for peace and non-violence as insurrectionists stormed the United States Capitol building on January 6, two sources with knowledge of the events of the day told CNN. The sources told CNN that Trump’s aide Stephanie Grisham sent her a text that said, “Do you

By Lauren Fox, Ted Barrett, Manu Raju and Ali Zaslav, CNN US Capitol Police say they arrested a California man who had multiple knives in his truck, which had a swastika and other White supremacist symbols painted on it, near the Democratic National Committee headquarters early Monday morning. Officers on patrol noticed the Dodge Dakota

By Lauren Fox, CNN Democrats’ ability to reimagine the social safety net and cement their and President Joe Biden’s domestic policy legacy for decades to come is about to be tested like never before. This September, senators return to Capitol Hill with a crushing set of deadlines, a looming debt ceiling crisis, oversight to conduct

By Chandelis Duster, CNN Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Sunday rejected claims that decisions by the high court are driven by political views at a speech at the University of Louisville’s McConnell Center. “My goal today is to convince you that this court is not comprised of a bunch of partisan hacks,” the

By Kate Sullivan, Jasmine Wright and Maegan Vazquez, CNN President Joe Biden surveyed wildfire damage in the Western US on Monday, using nearly every stop on his trip to illustrate how recent extreme weather events underscore the urgency of his economic agenda and its investments in the nation’s infrastructure. The President started his tour in

By Lauren Fox and Katie Lobosco, CNN Democrats have been waiting for years to reimagine the tax code so that, in their words, the wealthy are paying their “fair share” and working and poor families aren’t disproportionately hit with the tax burden. But overturning key pieces of the GOP’s 2017 tax law — a boon

By Maeve Reston, CNN With all eyes turning to California on Tuesday to see whether Gov. Gavin Newsom is recalled, a few places within the Golden State could offer some early clues — not only about whether the Democratic governor can keep his job — but also what the political climate might look like next

By Priscilla Alvarez and Oren Liebermann, CNN After the biggest military evacuation in history, the Biden administration will now resettle more than 60,000 Afghan refugees inside the US over the next several weeks. To accommodate them, eight military bases have transformed into “small cities,” as one Defense official put it. About 17 percent of those

By Ariel Edwards-Levy and Jennifer Agiesta, CNN Americans have grown more supportive of coronavirus vaccine mandates for workers, students, and in everyday public life, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. The shift comes amid renewed worries about the pandemic and a continued partisan divide over the efforts to combat it. The public

By Clare Foran and Manu Raju, CNN House and Senate Democratic leaders are scrambling to unite their party behind a massive economic package to implement much of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, but substantial disagreements remain and could threaten to derail the effort. Top Democrats have set a Wednesday deadline to finalize a deal and

By Rob Kuznia, Bob Ortega and Casey Tolan, CNN When the election office led by Lisa Deeley first came under attack from then-President Donald Trump last year, it was more than a month before Election Day. Deeley, the chair of Philadelphia’s three-member election commission and a Democrat, watched from home as Trump falsely claimed during