Politics

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s handpicked Commission of Fine Arts voted Thursday to approve a commemorative coin for the United States’ 250th birthday featuring the president’s likeness. And it’s going to be big. “I motion to approve this as presented, and with the strong encouragement that you make it as large

By Morgan Rimmer, CNN (CNN) — Sen. Thom Tillis on Thursday blasted talk of ending the Senate filibuster to pass the “SAVE America Act” as a “foolish and lazy idea” and warned his party that pushing the president’s priority through the so-called talking filibuster would hand control to Democrats. “I have made it crystal clear

By Kara Scannell, CNN (CNN) — The chief executive of Live Nation testified Thursday that it was “disgusting” that a top ticketing employee talked about “robbing fans blind” in internal messages. CEO Michael Rapino, who has led Live Nation since 2005, parsed his answers and pushed back at times to repeated questions about rising ticket

By Holmes Lybrand, Evan Perez, CNN (CNN) — The war with Iran has raised concerns about possible retaliatory terrorist attacks in major cities such as London, where the police commissioner says they have intensified focus on possible threats. But unlike in the US, where government officials have raised alarm of possible so-called Iranian sleeper cells,

By Holmes Lybrand, Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department on Thursday seized several websites it says were used by Iran as part of “psychological operations” targeting perceived advisories and spreading terrorist propaganda. Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security was using the four websites, in part, to post “sensitive data stolen during such hacks,

By Annie Grayer, Manu Raju, Alison Main, CNN (CNN) — Conservative hardliners who supported subpoenaing Attorney General Pam Bondi in the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein probe are now indicating that they are open to changing their position after Bondi met with the panel for a briefing that turned contentious with Democrats. GOP Rep. Lauren

By Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju, Annie Grayer, Lauren Fox, Zachary Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Cracks are emerging among congressional Republicans over the Iran war with key lawmakers skeptical about spending hundreds of billions of dollars to prolong the conflict and several refusing to support any money without a clear White House strategy. In the coming

By Em Steck, Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime employee and attorney Darren Indyke testified to lawmakers on Thursday that he “had no knowledge whatsoever” of the convicted sex offender’s wrongdoing and rejected “any suggestion” he assisted or facilitated his former boss’ crimes, according to a copy of his opening statement. “Had I

By Morgan Rimmer (CNN) — Democratic Sen. John Fetterman cast the deciding vote Thursday to advance Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to serve as US Department of Homeland Security secretary, crossing party lines to send President Donald Trump’s nominee to the full Senate for consideration. He explained in a post on X his decision to join Republicans

By Alayna Treene, Adam Cancryn, CNN (CNN) — When White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told President Donald Trump she had breast cancer last week, he urged her to start treatment immediately — and take as much time away from the White House as needed. Wiles agreed, but made one thing clear: She wasn’t

By Annie Grayer, Paula Reid, Katelyn Polantz, Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — A transparency law passed by Congress has forced the release of more Epstein files than ever before, but some lawmakers and victims are exploring ways to push the Justice Department to disclose even more information from the voluminous trove that’s being withheld. Some

By Samantha Waldenberg, CNN (CNN) — Former US National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent sat Wednesday for an extensive interview with former Fox News host and right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson, his first public comments since he resigned from his post, citing concerns about the war with Iran. The interview lasted more than one hour and

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Annie Grayer and Kaitlan Collins, CNN (CNN) — When Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche arrived on Capitol Hill Wednesday afternoon, they hoped to boost members’ confidence on their handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Within half an hour, Democratic lawmakers had walked out. The closed-door briefing for

By Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is moving away from operations tied to the Iran war and sailing to the US Navy’s base in Crete for repairs after a fire broke out in the ship’s laundry area last week, a US official said. The movement of the Navy’s

By Morgan Rimmer, CNN (CNN) — A typically friendly setting for one of their own turned tense on Capitol Hill Wednesday with senators grilling Markwayne Mullin for roughly three hours as he vies to become President Donald Trump’s next Department of Homeland Security chief. Republican Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul cast doubt on whether

By Aaron Blake, CNN (CNN) — Top Trump administration officials testified publicly Wednesday for the first time since the launch of the Iran war three weeks ago. Officials including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Kash Patel testified in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, where they were

By Adam Cancryn (CNN) — The White House is temporarily lifting key limits on the shipping of oil, gas and other commodities throughout the United States, in its latest effort to counter rising energy prices sparked by its war with Iran. The move to waive the Jones Act will allow foreign-flagged ships to transport the