Politics

By Fredreka Schouten, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump removed the head of the Office of Government Ethics from his post, the agency said Monday – the latest example of Trump acting against a government watchdog. The agency’s director, David Huitema, was confirmed to the post by the Senate in November and officially began the

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration’s dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and its sweeping freeze on foreign assistance has made it more difficult to track potential misuse of US taxpayer-funded humanitarian assistance, meaning it could end up unintentionally going to terrorist groups, according to a new report from

By Devan Cole and Tami Luhby, CNN Boston (CNN) — A federal judge has for now extended a pause on the deadline set by the Trump administration for federal workers to accept a deferred resignation offer and temporarily prohibited the government from soliciting more so-called buyouts. The temporary restraining order announced from the bench Monday

By Lauren Fox and Sarah Ferris, CNN Washington (CNN) — As GOP hardliners spent the weekend pushing party leaders to cut deeper into Medicaid in an effort to advance Donald Trump’s tax and border agenda, swing-district Republicans have been warning the president directly that it would cost him control of the House. “There are people

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans may no longer be pushing to wholly repeal Obamacare, but big cuts to the nation’s health system are still on the table. As GOP leaders in the House and Senate scramble to pull together a massive legislative package with Trump’s pricey priorities, they

CNN By Avery Schmitz, Katie Bo Lillis, Priscilla Alvarez and Natasha Bertrand, CNN (CNN) — The US military has significantly increased its surveillance of Mexican drug cartels over the past two weeks, with sophisticated spy planes flying at least 18 missions over the southwestern US and in international airspace around the Baja peninsula, according to

By Joan Biskupic, CNN Chief Supreme Court Analyst (CNN) — President Donald Trump named three justices in his first term, establishing a conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court. And now, even without an imminent vacancy, Trump is positioned to push the court farther to the right. He has begun turning the top appellate litigator at the

By Avery Schmitz, Katie Bo Lillis, Priscilla Alvarez and Natasha Bertrand, CNN (CNN) — The US military has significantly increased its surveillance of Mexican drug cartels over the past two weeks, with sophisticated spy planes flying at least 18 missions over the southwestern US and in international airspace around the Baja peninsula, according to open-source

By Jeff Zeleny, Alayna Treene and Kevin Liptak, CNN Washington (CNN) — Nearly every day since President Donald Trump entered office three weeks ago, he has convened a huddle in the West Wing with two of his senior-most aides to plot out the next steps dramatically reshaping the federal government. One is his chief of

By Betsy Klein and Irene Nasser, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Sunday doubled down on his plans for the US to redevelop Gaza, saying that he viewed the war-torn enclave as a “big real estate site.” “I think that it’s a big mistake to allow people — the Palestinians, or the people living

By Aileen Graef and Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN (CNN) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday acknowledged that Elon Musk’s government efficiency team, which has been tasked with slashing federal spending, has access to her agency’s data, including that of federal disaster aid recipients’ personal information, as part of an “audit” she welcomes. Appearing on

CNN By Aileen Graef and Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN (CNN) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday acknowledged that Elon Musk’s government efficiency team, which has been tasked with slashing federal spending, has access to her agency’s data, including that of federal disaster aid recipients’ personal information, as part of an “audit” she welcomes. Appearing

CNN By Aileen Graef and Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN (CNN) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday acknowledged that Elon Musk’s government efficiency team, which has been tasked with slashing federal spending, has access to her agency’s data, including that of federal disaster aid recipients’ personal information, as part of an “audit” she welcomes. Appearing

CNN By Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju and Lauren Fox, CNN Washington (CNN) — Democrats have been powerless as they’ve watched President Donald Trump systematically move to dismantle federal agencies and push the bounds of his office with little concern about the fallout. But they do have one looming piece of leverage: the March 14 deadline

By Betsy Klein, CNN West Palm Beach, Florida (CNN) — Nearly three weeks into Donald Trump’s second term in office, the president is continuing to dramatically reimagine and expand his use of executive authority — and to use that authority to carry out retribution against his perceived political enemies. The president spent his first days

By Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju and Lauren Fox, CNN Washington (CNN) — Democrats have been powerless as they’ve watched President Donald Trump systematically move to dismantle federal agencies and push the bounds of his office with little concern about the fallout. But they do have one looming piece of leverage: the March 14 deadline to

By Betsy Klein and Samantha Waldenberg, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump announced in an interview published Saturday that he has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “He wants to see people stop dying,” Trump told the New York Post. It was not immediately clear when the leaders spoke or if they had spoken since

By Whitney Wild, Jamie Gangel and Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN (CNN) — The United States Secret Service tapped blockbuster movie director Michael Bay to create a recruiting advertisement that is expected to be unveiled in the stadium on Super Bowl Sunday, according to multiple NFL and Secret Service sources. The ad cost an estimated $2 million

By Ray Sanchez, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge, citing a risk of “irreparable harm,” has temporarily restricted Elon Musk’s government efficiency team from accessing a critical Treasury Department payment system. The judge’s order, issued early Saturday, temporarily halts access to a sensitive payment system that distributes Americans’ tax returns, Social Security benefits, disability payments