National Politics

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch announced Wednesday that he will recuse himself from a case dealing with a western railway line after Democratic lawmakers called attention to the fact that a longtime ally of his could benefit from the court’s decision. The court’s clerk notified attorneys in the case

By Kate Sullivan, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday announced former Sen. Kelly Loeffler as his pick to lead the Small Business Administration. “Kelly will bring her experience in business and Washington to reduce red tape, and unleash opportunity for our Small Businesses to grow, innovate, and thrive. She will focus on ensuring

CNN By John Fritze and Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court was more than an hour into its feisty debate over gender-affirming care when Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson invoked one of the most significant civil rights precedents in the nation’s history. A liberal named to the court by President Joe Biden two years

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN Washington (CNN) — US officials believe Chinese hackers breached at least eight US telecommunications providers in their quest to spy on top US political figures as part of a hacking campaign that has affected dozens of countries worldwide, a White House official said Wednesday. “Right now, we do not believe any

By Devan Cole, John Fritze and Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court appeared likely to back a divisive Tennessee law that bans gender-affirming care for minors after more than two hours of oral arguments on Wednesday in which the court delved into a culture war battle that has become even more politically fraught

By Nick Valencia and Jason Morris, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump has asked a court to dismiss the criminal case against him related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. In a filing on Wednesday, Trump and his attorney argued that the Georgia state Court of Appeals lacks jurisdiction to “entertain

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Tens of thousands of Social Security Administration staffers can continue teleworking into 2029 under a recent deal signed between their union and the agency. The agreement comes as the incoming Trump administration and its newly created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, vow to require federal workers to return

By Kristen Holmes and Kate Sullivan, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump has replaced his pick to serve as the top lawyer in his White House, in an abrupt move that signals how quickly fortunes can shift in Trump’s orbit as a result of internal division. Trump announced Wednesday that he had chosen his campaign’s

By Eric Bradner, CNN (CNN) — Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, was defiant Wednesday in the face of doubts that he can win confirmation as he met with Republican lawmakers and sought to address concerns about a series of misconduct allegations. Hegseth vowed to “fight like hell” to win confirmation — and

By Arlette Saenz, Sam Fossum and Vasco Cotovio, CNN Luanda, Angola (CNN) — President Joe Biden grinned as he posed for photos with the leader of Angola before departing the country Wednesday, capping off an historic trip that was overshadowed by controversy stemming from Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter and unexpected turmoil from

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN (CNN) — UK and US authorities on Wednesday announced a major crackdown on a pair of billion-dollar money laundering rings that officials say has cleaned money for Russia’s elite, cybercriminals and drug-runners around the world. The US Treasury Department sanctioned alleged senior members of one of the money-laundering rings, while the

By Ethan Cohen, Jack Forrest and Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — Republican Rep. John Duarte has conceded to his Democratic challenger Adam Gray in California’s 13th Congressional District, Duarte campaign spokesman Duane Dichiara confirmed to CNN. The five counties in the district certified their results Tuesday, leaving Gray with a 187-vote lead. The contest was

By Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — Elon Musk’s promise to severely slash government spending has found glimmers of support from some unlikely allies: Democrats. Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz joined a Republican-led congressional caucus supporting President-elect Donald Trump’s newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, co-led by Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna

By Andrew Kaczynski, CNN (CNN) — Vivek Ramaswamy, the co-chair of the proposed Department of Government Efficiency alongside billionaire Elon Musk, has a lengthy history of attacking his partner’s ties to China, frequently referring to Musk as a “circus monkey” and a puppet for the Chinese Communist Party. Ramaswamy’s critiques, reviewed by CNN’s KFile, include

By Marshall Cohen, CNN (CNN) — The federal judge who oversaw Hunter Biden’s tax case blasted President Joe Biden for trying to “rewrite history” in his justification for pardoning his son. District Judge Mark Scarsi wrote in a five-page order Tuesday that some of the “representations contained” in the president’s Sunday statement announcing the pardon

By Sarah Ferris, Lauren Fox, Manu Raju and Zachary Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Donald Trump’s choice of Pete Hegseth to run the Defense Department is in jeopardy amid questions from some key GOP senators over whether he’s fit for the job. The pressure is forcing the president-elect’s team to maneuver behind the scenes to avoid

CNN By Em Steck and Andrew Kaczynski, CNN (CNN) — As protests broke out across American cities in June 2020, Pete Hegseth, co-host of the weekend “Fox & Friends” show, joined an on-air panel to discuss the situation in Seattle, where protestors had created a self-declared autonomous zone around a few blocks near downtown. Hegseth,

By Kristen Holmes, Evan Perez and Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the FBI, was recently informed by the bureau that he had been targeted as part of an Iranian hack, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. Hackers are believed to have accessed at least some

By Michael Williams, CNN Washington (CNN) — Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are suggesting the country stop its biannual ritual of falling back and springing forward – advocating a permanent end to time changes in a move that has garnered broad support in the past. In a series of posts on X last week, both