National Politics

By Kara Scannell, CNN New York (CNN) — Conservative firebrand Steve Bannon pleaded guilty to defrauding donors in a fundraising effort to build a wall along the southern US border in a deal that allowed him to avoid prison. Bannon pleaded guilty to one state felony count of a scheme to defraud in the first

By Veronica Stracqualursi and Jamie Gangel, CNN Washington (CNN) — The FBI has discovered about 2,400 new records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy from a new records search following an executive order from President Donald Trump. The FBI said in a statement Monday that it performed a new search of records

By Katelyn Polantz and Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration’s effort to cut back on federal funding for the National Institutes of Health for research programs at universities and medical systems has been blocked nationwide. On Monday, lawyers representing dozens of research institutions told Judge Angel Kelley of the federal district court of

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, Paula Reid and Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — On January 6, 2021, Emil Bove sat in lower Manhattan, watching on television as a pro-Trump mob invaded the US Capitol, violently attacking police and temporarily causing Congress to suspend its certification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory. Bove at the time helped

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. And

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 should

By Kasie Hunt, CNN Washington (CNN) — The Trump White House is demanding that government workers hunt for words like “immigrant” and “diversity” in billions of dollars worth of federal contracts with American companies to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing, raising concerns among staff that the contracts could modified or voided. On Friday night, workers at

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is bringing the name Bragg back to one of the Army’s largest bases, Fort Liberty, which replaced the namesake of a Confederate general in 2023. But in a memorandum signed Monday, Hegseth instructed the Army to rename the North Carolina military installation in

CNN By Michael Williams, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Monday pardoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was sent to prison on corruption charges surrounding his time in office. Signing the pardon in the Oval Office, Trump described Blagojevich as a “very fine person” and said it was time to “let him have

CNN By Joan Biskupic, CNN Chief Supreme Court Analyst (CNN) — Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk and others in the Trump administration are openly challenging the centuries-old power of the nation’s judiciary, foreshadowing a possible constitutional breakdown of American government. It’s not simply that the new administration has flouted a raft of federal statutes and

By Paula Reid and Gloria Pazmino, CNN (CNN) — The Department of Justice is moving to drop the federal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, according to a memo obtained by CNN. The memo, which was sent by acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, instructed the acting United States attorney for the

By Michael Williams, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Monday pardoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was sent to prison on corruption charges surrounding his time in office. Signing the pardon in the Oval Office, Trump described Blagojevich as a “very fine person” and said it was time to “let him have a

By Alejandra Jaramillo, Chris Isidore and David Goldman, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Monday imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States with no exceptions or exemptions. Although the United States gets most of its steel from Canada, Brazil and Mexico, the tariffs are largely — albeit

By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump said Monday he is naming Ric Grenell, a longtime confidant already serving in multiple administration positions, to lead the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on a temporary basis after declaring himself the institution’s chairman late last week. “I am pleased to announce that Ric Grenell

By Joan Biskupic, CNN Chief Supreme Court Analyst (CNN) — Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk and others in the Trump administration are openly challenging the centuries-old power of the nation’s judiciary, foreshadowing a possible constitutional breakdown of American government. It’s not simply that the new administration has flouted a raft of federal statutes and prompted

CNN By Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, Paula Reid and Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — On January 6, 2021, Emil Bove sat in lower Manhattan, watching on television as a pro-Trump mob invaded the US Capitol, violently attacking police and temporarily causing Congress to suspend its certification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory. Bove at the time

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