National Politics

By Tierney Sneed and Sonia Moghe, CNN Tom Barrack, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump and chairman of the Trump 2016 Inaugural Committee, pleaded not guilty through his attorney on Monday to illegal foreign lobbying charges unveiled by the Justice Department last week. Barrack entered his plea at a federal courthouse in Brooklyn,

By Kevin Liptak, CNN President Joe Biden’s administration for the first time Monday made vaccines mandatory for certain federal workers, a significant shift toward requiring shots as the country endures another surge in Covid-19 cases. At the same time, administration lawyers have prepared a legal opinion that could pave the way for further federal agencies

By Kevin Liptak and Maegan Vazquez, CNN President Joe Biden agreed on Monday to formally conclude the US combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year, another step toward winding down the two prolonged military engagements that began in the years following the September 11 terror attacks. Biden told reporters in the Oval

By Kate Sullivan, CNN The Biden administration on Monday released guidance and resources to support people experiencing long-term effects of Covid-19, known as “long Covid,” as the condition shapes up to be a major, long-term public health issue. The announcement comes as President Joe Biden marked the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

By Lauren Fox, CNN After spending the weekend negotiating, lawmakers have yet to clinch a bipartisan infrastructure deal, a precarious sign for senators who have months trying to cement a massive, bipartisan win for President Joe Biden. The talks are “inching along” and they aren’t going any faster than that, one source familiar told CNN

By Jeremy Diamond and Kate Sullivan, CNN The White House has decided to maintain existing coronavirus travel restrictions amid surging cases triggered by the Delta variant, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday. “We will maintain existing travel restrictions at this point for a few reasons. The more transmissible Delta variant is spreading both

By Melanie Zanona and Manu Raju, CNN The relationship between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was never very warm. Now it’s in the downright gutter. After a whiplash week of power plays between the two party leaders over the January 6 select committee, tensions are at an all-time high between the

By Clare Foran and Manu Raju, CNN President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure deal is in a perilous state with Republicans and Democrats remaining far apart on a range of outstanding issues after the latest round of furious talks, the clearest sign yet that one of the White House’s top legislative priorities could collapse in the

By Joan Biskupic, CNN legal analyst & Supreme Court biographer The three appointees of former President Donald Trump have together sealed the Supreme Court’s conservatism for a generation, but they have revealed strikingly different methods. They diverge in their regard for practical consequences, their desire to lay down markers for future disputes and their show

By Ryan Nobles and Melanie Zanona, CNN A growing group of rank-and-file House Republicans wants House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and GOP leadership to punish Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for accepting a position from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to serve on the select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. The push to seek

By Morgan Rimmer and Daniella Diaz, CNN GOP Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana posted on Facebook Sunday evening that he, his wife and his son all have Covid-19. “I have COVID, Becca has COVID, my son has COVID,” wrote Higgins. Higgins wrote that he and his wife had had Covid before the pandemic took hold.

By Samantha Beech, CNN The US will continue airstrikes in support of Afghan forces fighting the Taliban, a top US general said Sunday. Violence has surged across the country in recent months after the Taliban launched a sweeping assault just days after the US-led foreign forces began their final withdrawal. Speaking to reporters Sunday in

By Kate Bennett, CNN At a very not-normal Olympic Games kick-off, first lady Jill Biden was, outside of the athletes themselves, perhaps the only normal part. With Covid-19 cases here spiking, more than 11,000 competitors from 206 countries are navigating the games after a year-long postponement, without fans in the stands and under stress-inducing pandemic

By Eric Bradner, CNN A congressional primary in Ohio is revealing the generational and ideological fissures in the Democratic Party that have been largely hidden in the early months of Joe Biden’s presidency — but could burst into full view as the midterm elections approach. Nina Turner, the former state senator and prominent surrogate for

By Devan Cole, CNN Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Sunday defended his decision to approve a statewide ban on face mask mandates earlier this year, citing a low coronavirus case rate at the time — a rate that is now rapidly rising. “Well, that was the will of the General Assembly. I signed it. At