Politics

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — The next stage of the Trump administration’s efforts to slash the federal workforce is underway. Agency leaders have been told to begin preparations for large-scale layoffs, known as reductions in force, or RIFs, under an executive order President Donald Trump signed Tuesday. They will work with Elon Musk’s Department

By Katelyn Polantz and Manu Raju, CNN (CNN) — Eight inspectors general whom Donald Trump fired from their federal agency watchdog posts are suing for their jobs back, adding to the legal scrutiny over Trump’s first weeks of decisions in the White House and raising questions about his political intentions. They say that Trump shouldn’t

By Daniel Dale, CNN Washington (CNN) — Elon Musk acknowledged Tuesday that there might not have been a federal plan to spend $50 million on condoms for Gaza — two weeks after the White House press secretary told the false story at an official briefing and more than a week after the president baselessly doubled

CNN Analysis by Clare Sebastian, CNN (CNN) — Wednesday’s meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels was, on paper, about coordinating military aid for Ukraine and welcoming the new US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth into the international fold. In practice, it was a day that saw the Trump administration upend the alliance’s approach to

By Natasha Bertrand, Clare Sebastian and Haley Britzky, CNN Brussels (CNN) — US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the war between Ukraine and Russia “must end,” that Kyiv joining NATO is unrealistic and that the US will no longer prioritize European and Ukrainian security as the Trump administration shifts its attention

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Tuesday that she has faith federal court orders will be honored in the United States amid a roiling debate over President Donald Trump’s commitment to following judicial rulings that have put some of his policies on hold. “Court decisions stand,” the high court’s

By Devan Cole and John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — Recent court orders slowing down or indefinitely blocking President Donald Trump’s policy blitz have raised the specter that the executive branch might openly flout the federal judiciary and prompted questions about how judges would respond. Any decision by the administration to defy federal courts would immediately

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s purge at independent agencies is putting a target on a nearly 100-year-old Supreme Court precedent that protects certain officials from the political whims of the White House. Since taking office four weeks ago, Trump has rapidly fired a member of the National Labor Relations Board, two

CNN By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s purge at independent agencies is putting a target on a nearly 100-year-old Supreme Court precedent that protects certain officials from the political whims of the White House. Since taking office four weeks ago, Trump has rapidly fired a member of the National Labor Relations Board,

CNN By Jennifer Hansler, Anna Chernova and Sean Lyngaas, CNN (CNN) — Accused Russian money launderer Alexander Vinnik is being released from US custody in exchange for Marc Fogel, a Trump administration source told CNN Wednesday. Vinnik is accused of running a multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency exchange that allegedly did business with drug dealers and identity thieves.

CNN By Kit Maher, Jennifer Hansler and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — Marc Fogel, an American teacher detained for more than three years in Russia, was welcomed back to the US by President Donald Trump on Tuesday night after the White House secured his release in an “exchange.” Fogel arrived at the White House

CNN By Alexandra Banner, CNN (CNN) — An American teacher who was wrongfully detained in Russia is back on US soil after the White House secured his release in an “exchange.” Learn more about Marc Fogel, who was arrested in 2021 at a Moscow airport for carrying cannabis and given a 14-year sentence at a

CNN By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump made no attempt Tuesday to soften his proposal to relocate Palestinians in Gaza and redevelop the land into premium housing, even as his guest in the Oval Office, King Abdullah II of Jordan, suggested the Arab world was opposed. Trump repeated his view that Palestinians

By Kevin Liptak, Jeff Zeleny and Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Elon Musk, the world’s richest man who is now leading a sweeping effort to reshape the federal government, offered the most sustained defense of his far-reaching moves during a question-and-answer session in the Oval Office late Tuesday. As President Donald Trump watched from his

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The inspector general of the US Agency for International Development was fired on Tuesday, a day after his office released a report critical of the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the agency, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. Paul Martin was informed by an email from the

By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee is alleging that Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, is “personally directing the ongoing purge” of bureau employees. In a letter to the Justice Department’s inspector general Tuesday, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said that he had received

By Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen and Alex Marquardt, CNN (CNN) — New US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to assume the role of backseat driver in his first in person meeting with European counterparts on Wednesday as the new Trump administration works to shift responsibility for Ukrainian and European security squarely to NATO and

By Sarah Ferris, CNN Washington (CNN) — As Rep. Nancy Mace prepared to speak, she took out a Bible and — as if she were in a courtroom, instead of on the House floor — she placed her right hand and swore to tell the “whole truth.” The South Carolina congresswoman then delivered a damning

CNN By Annie Grayer, CNN Washington (CNN) — Congressional Republicans are publicly projecting that they’re in lockstep with the way President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are attempting to slash the federal workforce. But under the surface, some GOP lawmakers are growing concerned by the effort to usurp Congress’ control of the federal purse strings.

By Priscilla Alvarez and Gloria Pazmino, CNN (CNN) — The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday that it fired four Federal Emergency Management Agency officials over payments provided to New York City to house migrants, arguing without evidence that the officials circumvented leadership. The firings come after Elon Musk, who’s running President Donald Trump’s Department