National Politics

By Andrew Kaczynski, CNN (CNN) — New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for US ambassador to the United Nations, is now refusing to stand by her previous push for Ukraine’s NATO membership — a stance she once framed as critical to regional stability. Her office also declined to say whether she still

CNN By Hannah Rabinowitz, Holmes Lybrand, Annie Grayer, Evan Perez and Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as his attorney general. “Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System,” Trump wrote Wednesday in a post

By Jeremy Herb and Katie Bo Lillis, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday he’s selected former Democratic congresswoman-turned Trump supporter Tulsi Gabbard as his pick to be director of national intelligence. The selection of Gabbard is sure to set off a major confirmation fight. Gabbard, an Army National Guard veteran, unsuccessfully ran for

CNN Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN (CNN) — Donald Trump’s increasingly provocative Cabinet picks have left some Republican senators aghast and Washington in shock. But they really shouldn’t. Because the outrage is the point. The president-elect reached a new level on Wednesday, announcing Florida Republican Matt Gaetz — one of his most zealous agents of

By Stephen Collinson, CNN (CNN) — Republicans have secured their monopoly on power in Donald Trump’s new Washington, retaining their majority in the House of Representatives, CNN projected Wednesday, ushering in a dramatic new era of right-wing populist rule. The GOP’s control of both chambers of Congress – won after Republicans were projected to hold

By Kevin Liptak, Sam Fossum and Samantha Waldenberg, CNN Washington (CNN) — President Joe Biden will meet for a final time this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping as he prepares to hand over power — and the reins of the world’s most consequential bilateral relationship — to President-elect Donald Trump in January. The meeting,

By Michelle Shen, CNN Washington (CNN) — The election of Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota as the next leader of his party in the chamber – putting him on track to become Senate majority leader next year – tasks a key ally of Mitch McConnell with shepherding the agenda of President-elect Donald Trump

CNN By Alexandra Banner, CNN (CNN) — Several major retailers earned a grade of “F” for failing to protect consumers from toxic chemicals in the products they sell, a new report says. Before you start your holiday shopping, see which stores have removed harmful plastics and replaced them with safer alternatives. Here’s what else you

By Curt Merrill, Way Mullery, Lou Robinson, Henrik Pettersson, Gillian Roberts, Janie Boschma and Annette Choi, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump has moved swiftly to announce his selections for his next Cabinet and key administration posts. Since CNN projected on November 6 that Trump would win election for a second term, the incoming president

By Katie Bo Lillis, CNN (CNN) — Inside the US intelligence community, a deep wariness about a second Trump administration has set in, stoked by memories of the antagonistic relationship the nation’s spy agencies had with Donald Trump the last time he was president. But when news broke Tuesday evening that Trump had selected as

By Hannah Rabinowitz and Evan Perez, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department has charged a man for allegedly leaking highly classified US intelligence about Israel’s plans for retaliation against Iran, according to court documents and a person familiar with the case. Asif W. Rahman was indicted last Thursday for willfully retaining and transmitting national defense

By Paula Reid, Evan Perez, Hannah Rabinowitz and Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Special counsel Jack Smith intends to step down before President-elect Donald Trump takes office and is discussing the mechanics of winding down the federal prosecutions against him with Justice Department leadership, a DOJ official familiar with the discussions said. Trump has threatened

By Eric Bradner, CNN (CNN) — In choosing South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his homeland security secretary, President-elect Donald Trump is tapping a long-time loyalist to helm an agency that’s expected to play a central role in his immigration crackdown. She will work closely with two immigration hardliners, incoming deputy chief of staff for

By Kevin Liptak, CNN Washington (CNN) — The last time Donald Trump was in the Oval Office, he scrawled out a two-page letter to Joe Biden in his distinctive jagged penmanship, slipped it into the drawer of the Resolute Desk and — notwithstanding the note’s surprisingly gracious tone — walked away from the building defeated

CNN Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN (CNN) — It was a night of MAGA shock and awe that even Donald Trump’s most devoted fans might not have dreamed possible. But the president-elect’s blizzard of Cabinet and staff picks on Tuesday, each one more unorthodox than the last, only bolstered fears among his critics that his

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Tami Luhby, Aaron Pellish and Matt Egan, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” in his second administration. “Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess

CNN By Andrew Kaczynski, CNN (CNN) — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday was his pick to serve as US ambassador to Israel, previously argued that there was “no such thing as a Palestinian.” Huckabee, who has been a strong defender of Israel throughout his career, made the statement during