National Politics

By Jeff Zeleny, CNN Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin (CNN) — As President Donald Trump took his seat Friday for a roundtable conversation on agriculture, speaking beneath a green sign with a giant slogan, “Fighting for American Farmers,” he quickly moved on to other matters on his mind. “We’re very proud of Washington,” Trump said. “We had

By Eric Bradner, Patrick Svitek, Jeff Simon, Danny Freeman, CNN Portland, Maine (CNN) — Graham Platner is still likely to win Maine’s Democratic Senate nomination in Tuesday’s primary — but some voters in the state who once were excited by his campaign now say they’ll hold their noses while casting their ballots after a series

By Tierney Sneed, Ethan Cohen, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department sent one of its attorneys to observe ballot processing in Los Angeles Friday morning, the county’s elections office told CNN, after President Donald Trump claimed earlier this week the US Attorney’s office there was investigating the vote counting. A spokesperson for the county registrar-recorder

By Andrew Kaczynski, CNN (CNN) — Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner on Thursday said he could not explain why a former girlfriend was describing his controversial chest tattoo as a Nazi symbol months before he said he learned of its meaning. Appearing on MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes,” Platner was asked about text

By Devan Cole, Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department told two federal judges on Friday that cases challenging President Donald Trump’s “anti-weaponization fund” are moot because the administration has abandoned the program. The filings represent the first time the Trump administration has said in writing that it was no longer pursuing the fund,

By Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s push to construct a massive ballroom at the White House without congressional approval was sharply questioned by a federal appeals court on Friday during a high-stakes hearing in a case testing the president’s power. The two-hour-long hearing before a three-judge panel of the US DC Circuit

By Katelyn Polantz, Tierney Sneed, Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — The chief of staff for Rep. Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican, was charged Wednesday with bringing a firearm into the US Capitol complex, according to court documents obtained by CNN. Luis Angel Vega appeared in DC Superior Court Friday on the charges, which stem from

By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge struck down a series of Trump administration policies targeting asylum seekers and immigrants seeking benefits in a scathing court ruling Friday. Last year, the administration indefinitely suspended asylum adjudications and froze immigration applications for people who fell under the travel ban, among other measures, leaving millions

By Holmes Lybrand, Zachary Cohen, CNN (CNN) — A former senior CIA official whose case made headlines after FBI agents found over $40 million in gold bars in his Virginia home will remain in prison pending a trial in the case, a federal judge ruled Friday. During Friday’s detention hearing for David Rush, who allegedly

By Zachary Cohen, Natasha Bertrand, Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — Before he was announced as President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the US intelligence community, Bill Pulte did not have a security clearance granting him access to highly-classified information – meaning he lacked what has long been considered a basic prerequisite for the job he

By Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration’s demands for sensitive medical records of transgender minors are facing fresh scrutiny in court as it ramps up its efforts by using a grand jury in Texas to force providers of gender-affirming care to comply. The initial use of so-called administrative subpoenas to get the information

By Sarah Ferris, Alison Main, CNN (CNN) — More than a dozen GOP lawmakers defied their own leadership — and President Donald Trump — by voting with Democrats to approve a major bill to deliver billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine while imposing steep sanctions on Russia. The House voted 226 to 195 to

By Andrew Kaczynski, Patrick Svitek, CNN (CNN) — Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner is facing allegations of unsettling and in at least one case physically threatening behavior toward women he dated, according to a report published Thursday by The New York Times. The report, which is based on interviews with six women who previously

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel as it seeks to further ratchet up pressure on the government in Havana. The sanctions also target former President Raul Castro’s son and grandson, Díaz-Canel’s wife and stepson, as well as the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed

By Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that a new walkway will be built connecting the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, to the Potomac River. “We’re going to call it the promenade,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. “They want to call it the Trump Promenade,” the president said. “But

By Adam Cancryn, Sarah Owermohle, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration is vetting a first-term health official to lead the Food and Drug Administration who has criticized vaccine policies championed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Dr. Norman “Ned” Sharpless, who ran the National Cancer Institute during President Donald Trump’s first

By Alejandra Jaramillo, Mark Morales, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is planning to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs on Monday at Madison Square Garden. If he does attend, he’d be the first sitting US president to watch an NBA

By Brian Todd, Sean Lyngaas, Jim Sciutto, Zachary Cohen, CNN (CNN) — When a fire burned aboard the world’s biggest aircraft carrier in March as it took part in operations against Iran, the US Navy released a short statement saying the blaze had been “contained,” that two sailors had received medical treatment for “non-life-threatening injuries”

By Betsy Klein, Sunlen Serfaty, CNN (CNN) — The Kennedy Center’s general counsel ordered staff on Thursday to remove President Donald Trump’s name from the building by June 12, according to a memo obtained by CNN, in order to comply with a recent court order. Staff were also instructed to immediately update some Kennedy Center

By Annie Grayer, MJ Lee, Paula Reid, Marshall Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, was responsible for overseeing the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, former Attorney General Pam Bondi said during a closed-door interview with lawmakers last month. According to a transcript of her interview