National Politics

By Kristen Holmes and Kaitlan Collins, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team was in the middle of announcing new Cabinet picks this week when they were informed of a sexual assault allegation about one of his previous selections, Pete Hegseth, stunning several members of Trump’s team who have since raised questions about the

CNN By Ali Main, Annie Grayer and Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Friday that he does not think a House Ethics Committee report on allegations related to Matt Gaetz should be released and is “going to strongly request that the Ethics Committee not issue the report.” Johnson called on

By Kit Maher, Michael Williams and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN West Palm Beach, Florida (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday elevated two of his campaign’s spokespeople to top communications roles in his incoming administration. Trump named his campaign’s spokesman, Steven Cheung, as his White House communications director. His campaign’s national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt,

By Sara Murray, Zachary Cohen, Evan Perez and Pamela Brown, CNN (CNN) — Donald Trump is weighing a push from right-wing allies to nominate Kash Patel to lead the FBI, one of the clearest indications the president-elect plans to stick by his vow to fire Director Christopher Wray before his 10-year term ends and replace

By Kylie Atwood and Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is seen as being pivotal to the incoming administration’s Middle East efforts, even though he is not likely to take a formal job within it, regional diplomats and Trump allies told CNN. Trump’s Middle East team has been taking shape

By Evan Perez, Zachary Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is bypassing traditional FBI background checks for at least some of his Cabinet picks while using private companies to conduct vetting of potential candidates for administration jobs, people close to the transition planning say. Trump and his allies

By Casey Tolan, Scott Glover and Kyung Lah, CNN Monterey, California (CNN) — Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, was involved in a police investigation into an alleged sexual assault in 2017, local officials in California confirmed Thursday night. In a statement, a spokesperson for the city government of Monterey, California, said

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump has chosen North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to serve as his next secretary of the Department of the Interior. Trump revealed his pick during a gala at his Mar-a-Lago resort Thursday evening, seemingly changing his mind in real time on when to make the announcement as

CNN By Alexandra Banner, CNN (CNN) — Look up at the night sky this weekend for a celestial double feature. November’s full moon will shine bright today as the last supermoon of the year. Sky-gazers may also be able to see the Leonid meteor shower as it reaches its peak on Saturday night into early

CNN By David Culver and Rachel Clarke, CNN (CNN) — As he stood inside the echoing hall of the prison, Matt Gaetz seemed impressed. “There’s a lot more discipline in this prison than we see in a lot of the prisons in the United States,” said Gaetz, then a congressman, now announced as President-elect Donald

By Michael Williams, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump has announced former congressman Doug Collins as his pick to run the Department of Veterans Affairs. “We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure

By Tierney Sneed and Jeremy Herb, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump is turning to his personal criminal defense team to fill out top roles at the US Justice Department in his second term. Trump on Thursday announced that Todd Blanche is his pick for deputy attorney general and Emil Bove, another member of his

By Kevin Liptak and Kayla Tausche, CNN Lima, Peru (CNN) — When President Joe Biden’s aides were planning his visit to South America this week for a pair of leaders’ summits, two vastly different scenarios were in play. In one, Biden arrived as the confident statesman burnishing a legacy and preparing to hand off to

By Oren Liebermann, CNN (CNN) — The Pentagon has received hundreds of reports of new UFO sightings, including “several particularly interesting cases,” according to the director of the office that investigates these reports, but reiterated it found no evidence of alien activity. The Pentagon, working with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)

CNN By Alexandra Banner, CNN (CNN) — Look up at the night sky this weekend for a celestial double feature. November’s full moon will shine bright today as the last supermoon of the year. Sky-gazers may also be able to see the Leonid meteor shower as it reaches its peak on Saturday night into early

By David Culver and Rachel Clarke, CNN (CNN) — As he stood inside the echoing hall of the prison, Matt Gaetz seemed impressed. “There’s a lot more discipline in this prison than we see in a lot of the prisons in the United States,” said Gaetz, then a congressman, now announced as President-elect Donald Trump’s

CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here’s a look at the life of former Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross Jr. Personal Birth date: November 28, 1937 Birth place: Weehawken, New Jersey Birth name: Wilbur Louis Ross Jr. Father: Wilbur Louis Ross Sr., a lawyer Mother: Agnes (O’Neill) Ross, a teacher Marriages: Hilary (Geary) Ross (October 9,