National Politics

President Donald Trump has decided to pardon his former chief strategist Steve Bannon, in a last-minute decision made only hours before he is scheduled to depart the White House for a final time. Officials cautioned CNN that Trump’s decision was not final until he signed the paperwork. Trump told people that after much deliberation, he

A group of House conservatives is pushing to challenge Liz Cheney‘s role as conference chairwoman, trying to force a special meeting to discuss her future as the No. 3 House Republican. In a draft of the petition, which was obtained by CNN, conservatives are calling on Cheney for a special meeting “to discuss a resolution

Antony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the State Department, said Tuesday that he plans to swiftly appoint an LGBTI envoy, allow embassies to fly the pride flag and formally repudiate the findings of the controversial “Commission on Unalienable Rights.” Taken together, Blinken’s comments during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Sen. Josh Hawley blocked quick consideration of President-elect Joe Biden’s Homeland Security nominee, Alejandro Mayorkas, on Tuesday, leaving the third-largest federal department without confirmed leadership as it faces national security concerns, a pandemic and an incoming president prepared to roll out ambitious immigration plans. The Missouri Republican’s decision stemmed from an exchange with Mayorkas hours

President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for defense secretary, retired Gen. Lloyd Austin, pledged on Tuesday that he will “uphold the principle of civilian control of the military” if confirmed to the post. The vow comes as Austin must overcome objections from some lawmakers about allowing a recently retired general to assume the top civilian post at

The Justice Department has notified Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina that it has closed the insider trading investigation into him. “Tonight, the Department of Justice informed me that it has concluded its review of my personal financial transactions conducted early last year,” Burr said in a statement. “The case is now closed. I’m

With just one day left until President-elect Joe Biden takes office, five of his Cabinet nominees faced Senate panels as part of the first step of the confirmation process. Nominees taking part in confirmation hearings on Tuesday include Janet Yellen, Biden’s pick to lead the Treasury Department; Avril Haines, Biden’s choice to lead the Office

Several dozen of President Donald Trump’s final slate of more than 100 pardons and commutations will be doled out to individuals whose cases have been championed by criminal justice reform advocates, a source close to the process tells CNN. Trump’s final acts of clemency come after a scramble in recent days among criminal justice reform

Prosecutors on Tuesday filed the first significant conspiracy charge in the US Capitol attack, alleging that three members of the so-called Oath Keepers, an extremist militant group, planned and coordinated ahead of the January 6 assault. In an amended complaint unsealed Tuesday in federal court, an FBI agent divulged striking new details about the group’s

Antony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the State Department, indicated to Congress Tuesday that he plans to emphatically redirect the trajectory of US foreign policy after four years of the Trump administration, rebuilding and reengaging alliances to confront transnational threats ranging from Russia and North Korea to climate change. Blinken made especially clear

A US Army soldier was arrested Tuesday on terrorism charges after federal prosecutors said he allegedly attempted to assist ISIS’ efforts to plan attacks on targets in New York City and on US soldiers in the Middle East. Cole Bridges, a 20-year-old private, allegedly made the attempts while communicating with someone he believed to be

President-elect Joe Biden‘s daughter, Ashley Biden, did her first network television interview with another member of the small club of presidential children, Jenna Bush Hager of NBC. In an interview that aired Tuesday, Ashley Biden said her mother, incoming first lady Jill Biden, has not heard from first lady Melania Trump about any kind of

President Donald Trump received an unsettling warning on his final Saturday night in the White House. Huddled for a lengthy meeting with his legal advisers, Trump was warned the pardons he once hoped to bestow upon his family and even himself would place him in a legally perilous position, convey the appearance of guilt and

One of the great tragedies of the past year, as some 400,000 Americans lost their lives to Covid-19, was not only that many victims died alone — their loved ones robbed of the chance to say goodbye — but that the pain of that loss was whitewashed by a President who chose to minimize and

Tiffany Trump, the youngest daughter of President Donald Trump, announced her engagement to Michael Boulos Tuesday. Her happy news — which happened at the White House — comes on her father’s final full day in office. “It has been an honor to celebrate many milestones, historic occasions and create memories with my family here at