National Politics

The spread of new coronavirus variants that are more contagious threatens to add stress to an already overwhelmed health care system, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday during the Biden administration’s first virtual Covid briefing. “I also know that there are concerns about various viruses mutate, and we

The first Covid-19 briefing of the Biden administration got off to an unfortunate start on Wednesday with multiple technical difficulties. The administration has repeatedly touted their transparency amid the enormous undertaking of getting the pandemic under control, but the briefing, which was conducted virtually via Zoom, had multiple audiovisual issues. As Covid-19 chief Jeff Zients

Sen. Patrick Leahy, the president pro tempore of the Senate, said Wednesday that he went to the hospital Tuesday night because of “muscle spasms” he had been experiencing. Doctors, he told CNN, have since cleared him for a full return to his schedule and to preside over the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, scheduled to

President Joe Biden is expected to sign several executive actions related to climate on Wednesday, including issuing a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands, according to a person familiar with his plans. The moratorium on new leases would fulfill a campaign promise by Biden. When issued, the halt on new leases

President Joe Biden’s nominee for US ambassador to the United Nations plans to voice her support for the country’s re-engagement in the multilateral institution in order to counter Chinese influence during a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, according to excerpts of her testimony obtained by CNN. “When America shows up — when we are consistent

Former President Donald Trump has expanded his impeachment legal team by tapping a former prosecutor-turned-criminal defense lawyer, an addition that comes as Trump and his allies scramble to prepare a defense with less than two weeks until the Senate trial. The addition of Deborah Barbier, a lawyer with a reputation for tackling high-profile, controversial clients,

The Senate tabled an effort by Sen. Rand Paul Tuesday to force a vote on the constitutionality of former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, but the vote offered an indicator for how Republican senators — who overwhelmingly voted for Paul’s measure — feel about the trial. Paul’s motion was killed on a 55-45 vote, with

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent Democratic politicians in 2018 and 2019 before being elected to Congress, a CNN KFile review of hundreds of posts and comments from Greene’s Facebook page shows. Greene, who represents Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, frequently posted far-right extremist and debunked conspiracy theories on her page,

Democrats are swiftly moving to unlock an arcane Senate budget process to pass a Covid-19 relief bill with just Democratic votes even as the Biden administration continues their outreach to Republican senators to make the bill bipartisan. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Tuesday that the Senate could move as soon as next week to pass

On Monday night, the Oregon Republican Party issued a formal condemnation of the 10 House Republicans who voted in favor of impeaching President Donald Trump for his role in inciting the violent insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6. Here’s a sampling of actual lines from the Oregon GOP’s, uh, proclamation. * Whereas history

The national reckoning over where and how schoolchildren should be educated as the pandemic drags on is finally here — or at least it should be. So far this week, major districts in Chicago and New Jersey have shelved plans to physically return to the classroom at the last minute in the face of opposition

Members of Congress were left stunned during a briefing from law enforcement about their failure to prepare for the insurrection at the US Capitol earlier this month, two members who attended a House Appropriations Committee briefing told CNN on Tuesday, with one saying it was “dumb luck” more people didn’t die. House Appropriations Committee Chair

Sen. Patrick Leahy returned home Tuesday night from the hospital after seeking treatment out of an abundance of caution, according to a spokesman. Leahy had been hospitalized just hours after presiding over the opening of former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial. A spokesman said he was not feeling well and the Capitol physician recommended

Several hundred White House employees had been vaccinated for Covid-19 as of Tuesday, two Biden administration officials told CNN, with more expected in the coming weeks. Most officials who have received vaccinations work for the Executive Office of the President, meaning they operate inside the White House complex, either in the West Wing or Eisenhower

A federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s pause on deportations Tuesday, delivering a blow to one of the administration’s first immigration actions. Read the ruling here:

Sen. Patrick Leahy was hospitalized out of an abundance of caution on Wednesday, just hours after presiding over the opening of former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial. “This evening, Senator Leahy was in his Capitol office and was not feeling well. He was examined in the Capitol by the Attending Physician,” his spokesperson David

Several hundred White House employees had been vaccinated as of Tuesday, two Biden administration officials told CNN, with more expected in the coming weeks. Most officials who have received vaccinations work for the Executive Office of the President, meaning they operate inside the White House complex, either in the West Wing or Eisenhower Executive Office

The Justice Department formally rescinded the Trump administration’s controversial “zero tolerance” policy that called for the criminal prosecution of adults crossing the border and led to the separation of thousands of families, according to a memo obtained by CNN. The policy was ended by former President Donald Trump in June 2018 after mounting criticism, but