Politics

By Kristen Holmes, Annie Grayer, Sarah Ferris and Manu Raju, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump is doubling down on his efforts to ensure former Rep. Matt Gaetz is confirmed as attorney general, calling some senators directly to discuss the Florida Republican and ask for their support, two sources familiar with the outreach told CNN.

By Arit John and Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — Just two weeks after a bruising presidential election, the race to lead the Democratic Party has begun in earnest, with Minnesota Democratic party chair Ken Martin and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley entering the race this week. Martin and O’Malley have kicked off a roughly three-month

By Kate Sullivan and Alexandra Skores, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday he has selected former congressman and recent Fox Business co-host Sean Duffy to serve as the next secretary of the Department of Transportation. Duffy served in the US House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019, representing Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District. He

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN (CNN) — A Russian man has been extradited from South Korea to the US to face charges in connection with a ransomware gang that allegedly extorted more than $16 million from victims around the world, US prosecutors said Monday. 42-year-old Evgenii Ptitsyn is accused of administering the sale, distribution and operation

By Kayla Tausche, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump is casting a wider net for Treasury secretary after jockeying among his top two candidates sent him looking for an alternative solution, according to multiple people familiar with the process. Trump is now considering Kevin Warsh, a former investment banker and former Federal Reserve governor whom

By Betsy Klein, CNN Washington (CNN) — The Biden administration is sending a roughly $100 billion request to Congress to help Americans impacted by a series of major and record-breaking natural disasters in 2023 and 2024, including Hurricanes Helene and Milton, calling on lawmakers to pass the needed relief with “bipartisan and bicameral support.” It

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The Biden administration on Monday imposed sanctions on Israel’s largest settlement development organization as part of the latest US actions targeting those fomenting instability in the occupied West Bank. The administration has issued a number of rounds of sanctions after President Joe Biden issued an executive order in February

By Kevin Liptak, CNN Rio de Janeiro (CNN) — Donald Trump’s influence is already causing behind-the-scenes drama as Group of 20 talks are getting underway here this week after one of Trump’s top global allies put up resistance to a joint leaders’ statement, a move diplomats interpreted as meant to curry favor with the incoming

By Paula Reid and Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — Accounts of parties involving drugs, alcohol and young women that were allegedly attended by President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, are in the hands of House ethics investigators under pressure to release its findings on the former Florida congressman. The evidence related to

CNN Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN (CNN) — Donald Trump is refusing to back down over his Cabinet picks in the first clash in an epic battle he will wage against Washington when he takes office next year. The coming days will show whether Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hegseth and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

By Kevin Liptak, CNN Rio de Janeiro (CNN) — When President Joe Biden worked to burnish his climate legacy in the Brazilian Amazon on Sunday, the unspoken presence of Donald Trump shadowed the historic stop. A sitting American president had never before set foot in the Amazon rainforest, and Biden wanted to use his presence

By Ariel Edwards-Levy, CNN (CNN) — Support for deporting undocumented immigrants has grown since Donald Trump was last in office, a review of recent polling finds – as have nativist sentiments more broadly. But the level of public backing for mass deportation varies significantly depending on the framing of the question, suggesting there are limits

CNN By Kevin Liptak, Natasha Bertrand and Oren Liebermann, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use powerful long-range American weapons inside Russia, according to two US officials familiar with the decision, as North Korean troops deploy in support of Moscow’s effort. The decision comes as Moscow has deployed nearly 50,000 troops

By Kevin Liptak, Natasha Bertrand and Oren Liebermann, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use powerful long-range American weapons inside Russia, according to two US officials familiar with the decision, as North Korean troops deploy in support of Moscow’s effort. The decision comes as Moscow has deployed nearly 50,000 troops to

By Katie Lobosco and Devan Cole, CNN Washington (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump has laid out some big changes for education in the US. Much of his platform focuses on rolling back the federal government’s role in schools and giving states and parents more of a say in what children learn, with the goal of

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Steve Contorno, Annie Grayer, Paula Reid, Evan Perez and Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — When President-elect Donald Trump tapped Matt Gaetz for attorney general, he elevated a MAGA firebrand with a penchant for stoking controversy and a history of getting out of trouble to lead a Justice Department that has investigated both

CNN Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN (CNN) — Donald Trump is refusing to back down over his Cabinet picks in the first clash in an epic battle he will wage against Washington when he takes office next year. The coming days will show whether Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hegseth and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

By Fredreka Schouten, CNN (CNN) — The cryptocurrency industry’s leading super PACs plowed $131 million into congressional races this election cycle to help elect dozens of pro-crypto lawmakers, while individual billionaires with crypto interests spent millions to help return Donald Trump to the White House. Now, they are determined to change how Washington treats their

By Kaanita Iyer, Zachary Cohen and Kaitlan Collins, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary pick, Pete Hegseth, paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault in a settlement agreement that included a confidentiality clause, according to Hegseth’s attorney. Attorney Timothy Parlatore said Hegseth denies assaulting the woman and has characterized the October

By Kristen Holmes, Lauren Fox, Pamela Brown, Jamie Gangel and Steve Contorno, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump is pressing forward with his decision to put forward former Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general, despite widespread unease on Capitol Hill about entrusting the Justice Department to a figure with limited legal experience who has recently