National Politics

By Nicky Robertson, Emily Condon, CNN (CNN) — A statue of President Donald Trump and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein holding hands has returned to the National Mall after it was removed by the National Park Service last week. Called “Best Friends Forever,” the statue shows Trump and Epstein each with a foot kicked back and

By Eva McKend, David Wright, CNN Falls Church, VA (CNN) — It’s early on a Thursday evening and Winsome Earle-Sears, Virginia’s Republican candidate for governor, is in a familiar place. She’s standing outside of a school board meeting to call attention to policies related to where transgender students can use their elected bathroom and play

By Sarah Ferris, Morgan Rimmer, Manu Raju, CNN (CNN) — As the Senate meets Friday for another vote to reopen the federal government, Democrats are refusing to yield without a deal from President Donald Trump — likely extending the government shutdown into next week. Democrats say not even the threat of mass firings and canceled

By Gabe Cohen, CNN (CNN) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has halted the release of hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency preparedness grants, requiring states to prove their population counts before they can access the money, the agency told CNN. The agency contends that states may be getting inflated payments because most of

By Josh Campbell, Jamie Gangel, CNN (CNN) — FBI Director Kash Patel has fired a longtime bureau employee who displayed a Pride flag in his workspace during a past assignment, according to multiple people familiar with the termination. The employee was undergoing new agent training at the FBI’s academy in Quantico, Virginia, when he received

By Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju, CNN (CNN) — Senate Republicans and top GOP donors still plan to attend a major fundraiser at a coastal resort in Georgia this weekend despite the government shutdown, a move that puts an awkward spotlight on the underbelly of political campaigns as federal workers are being furloughed across the country.

By Natasha Bertrand, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump has determined that the US is in an “armed conflict” with the drug cartels his administration has designated as terrorist organizations, according to a notice the Pentagon provided to Congress on Wednesday obtained by CNN. The notice also says the president has determined that smugglers for

By Sunlen Serfaty, René Marsh, Michael Williams, CNN (CNN) — Multiple furloughed workers from the Department of Education had out-of-office messages blaming Democrats for the government shutdown automatically sent from their email accounts without their consent or knowledge, according to four sources familiar with the situation. The sources, who currently work at the department and

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — The White House is asking nine major colleges and universities to sign onto a series of demands in return for expanded access to federal funding. The letters sent to schools on Wednesday mark an unprecedented effort by the Trump administration to employ the power of the federal government to

By Matt Stiles, Janie Boschma, CNN (CNN) — The government has now been shut down since October 1, with no end in sight. While the House has passed a stopgap bill that would fund the government at current levels for seven weeks, the Senate can’t get to the 60 votes necessary to pass anything. That’s

By Tami Luhby, Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — A self-described national park fanatic, Lucas Wall was excited to start a weeklong trip to visit seven National Park Service sites in Virginia on Thursday. The Washington, DC, resident prepaid for a rental car to drive to Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Richmond National Battlefield Park

CNN, POOL, SEE PREFONTS By Tami Luhby, Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — A self-described national park fanatic, Lucas Wall was excited to start a weeklong trip to visit seven National Park Service sites in Virginia on Thursday. The Washington, DC, resident prepaid for a rental car to drive to Appomattox Court House National Historical Park,

By Evan Perez, Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration fired the top national security prosecutor in the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia after a social media post by a right-wing activist and writer falsely tied him to the case of FBI Director James Comey, two people familiar with the

By Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — When President Donald Trump announced he was sending troops to “protect war-ravaged” Portland, his administration cited the need to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities from persistent demonstrations. But behind the scenes, White House officials say, Trump also had another goal in mind: he wanted to use the military

By Sarah Ferris, Morgan Rimmer, Manu Raju, Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — Congress left town Wednesday without a solution to break its bitter impasse over government funding, with the shutdown now set to last until at least Friday when members return for more votes. But with both parties dug in, many believe it could last

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Not since the years before the Civil War had a trial-level federal judge signed off on an opinion simply as “Judge of the United States.” But Senior Judge William Young, a nearly 50-year veteran trial-level judge in Massachusetts, decided the time is now, and then some. In a book-length

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to decide whether President Donald Trump can temporarily fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve, setting up a blockbuster showdown over the independence of an agency with vast power over the American economy. Cook will remain on the job until the court holds oral

By Alejandra Jaramillo, Abbas Al Lawati, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order for the US to guarantee the security of Qatar — a significant commitment to a non-NATO, Arab ally. “The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty, or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar

By Eric Bradner, Eva McKend, CNN Chantilly, Virginia (CNN) — The federal government shutdown — and the escalating battle over which party bears the most blame — has injected a major new question mark into the governor’s race in Virginia, home to hundreds of thousands of federal workers. Early voting is already underway in the