National Politics

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

By Alejandra Jaramillo, Jack Forrest and Kate Sullivan, CNN (CNN) — Chad Chronister, a Florida sheriff, has withdrawn from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, he announced Tuesday. “Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully

By Lauren Fox and Danya Gainor, CNN (CNN) — Senate Democrats staged dramatic showdowns to protest nominations during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in office. This time around, Democrats are shifting tactics, reluctant to pick endless battles with Trump Cabinet picks that are unlikely to succeed. It’s a careful tightrope for a party that is

By Paula Reid, CNN (CNN) — Defense lawyers for President-elect Donald Trump are using President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter to argue that Trump’s conviction in his Manhattan hush money case should be dismissed. “Yesterday in issuing a 10 year pardon to Hunter Biden that covers any and all crimes whether charged or

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, speaking

By Alejandra Jaramillo, Holmes Lybrand, Kaitlan Collins and Evan Perez, CNN (CNN) — Donald Trump’s transition team has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Justice Department, paving the way for the team to seek FBI background checks on the president-elect’s appointees. The agreement, announced by the Trump team on Tuesday, outlines the terms of

KEYE, KSTU, SPECTRUM-NEWS-AUSTIN, WLKY, WTVF, CNN By Devan Cole, Paula Reid and John Fritze, CNN Washington (CNN) — The Supreme Court will dive headfirst into the politically fraught issue of transgender rights on Wednesday when it hears a challenge to Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors in the highest-profile case of the fall. Attorneys

By Devan Cole, Paula Reid and John Fritze, CNN Washington (CNN) — The Supreme Court will dive headfirst into the politically fraught issue of transgender rights on Wednesday when it hears a challenge to Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors in the highest-profile case of the fall. Attorneys for the Biden administration and transgender

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — A majority of the Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared skeptical that Holocaust victims and their families are permitted to haul Hungary into American courts to recover property stolen during World War II, with several justices fearing that would open the United States up to a flood of similar litigation

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN Washington (CNN) — US officials are still trying to help major telecom providers evict Chinese government-backed hackers from their networks and don’t have a timeline for when that will be done, officials said Tuesday. “We’re still figuring out just how deeply and where they’ve penetrated, so until we have a complete

By Sam Fossum and Arlette Saenz, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday acknowledged how the horrific history of slavery has connected the United States and Angola while delivering a hopeful vision for the future in a major speech from a country that was the point of departure for millions of enslaved Africans. “Our

CNN By MJ Lee, Paula Reid and Michael Williams, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son has left some Democrats fuming over his choice to repeatedly and unequivocally claim that he would never take that step, even though a pardon long appeared possible to Hunter Biden’s legal team. Multiple officials who

By Nikki Carvajal and Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The Biden administration is rushing assistance to Ukraine in an effort to put Kyiv “in the strongest possible position” as Russia steps up its attacks and President Joe Biden prepares to leave office in less than two months. “Today, we are announcing a $725 million security

By Annette Choi, CNN (CNN) — Twenty-seven states have passed bans on gender-affirming health care for transgender children and teenagers, according to a CNN analysis of data from the Movement Advancement Project, a nonprofit think tank that advocates for LGBTQ rights. An estimated 40% of transgender youth ages 13 to 17 live in these states,