Politics

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday likened the Trump accounts created by Republicans’ massive new domestic policy law to “a backdoor for privatizing Social Security.” Democrats are already launching political attacks. Bessent was discussing the Trump accounts at a Breitbart policy panel. The federal government will contribute $1,000 into

By Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — A former top advisor to Joe Biden forcefully pushed back on the GOP-led House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the former president’s cognitive decline and possible efforts to cover it up, calling the probe an “unprecedented effort” to intimidate the prior administration. In a statement delivered to the committee as

By Angelica Franganillo Diaz (CNN) — Twelve Democratic members of Congress have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing it of unlawfully obstructing their efforts to visit federal immigration detention centers. The complaint, filed Wednesday in Washington, DC, argues that a new Department of Homeland Security policy that requires seven days’ notice and limits

CNN By Edward-Isaac Dovere, Eva McKend, David Wright, CNN (CNN) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced Wednesday that she would not run for governor of California in 2026, ending questions about her interest in the role but raising new ones about the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee’s plans for the future. “For now, my leadership

By Edward-Isaac Dovere, Eva McKend, David Wright, CNN (CNN) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced Wednesday that she would not run for governor of California in 2026, ending questions about her interest in the role but raising new ones about the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee’s plans for the future. “For now, my leadership —

By Samantha Waldenberg, Betsy Klein, Ramishah Maruf, John Towfighi, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the White House was “very busy” crafting its trade policy as the clock ticks down on his self-imposed August 1 deadline. At that point, America could fundamentally reshape the way it does business around the world. Trump

By Natasha Bertrand, CNN (CNN) — Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on Wednesday ordered the US Military Academy at West Point to rescind an offer of employment to a former top national security official who served under President Joe Biden, announcing the move in a post on X — the latest example of the Pentagon’s political

By Morgan Rimmer and Sarah Davis, CNN (CNN) — Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Wednesday rejected President Donald Trump’s call to disregard a Senate tradition to expedite the confirmations of his US attorney and federal judge nominees. The Republican leader told reporters on Capitol Hill that he doesn’t believe “there’s any strong interest” in

By Paula Reid, CNN (CNN) — Grand jury transcripts the Justice Department is asking to unseal from its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell include testimony from only two witnesses, both law enforcement officials, according to a Justice Department memo submitted late Tuesday. The admission raises further questions about

By Sarah Ferris, Ethan Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Texas Republicans are powering ahead with a strategy backed by President Donald Trump to seize control of multiple Democratic seats ahead of next year’s midterms by redrawing the state’s congressional map. Multiple Democratic sources said the new proposed map shows that Republicans are attempting to gain five

By Lauren Fox, Katelyn Polantz, Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — Senate Democrats are using an arcane procedural tool to try to force the Department of Justice to release additional files from the Jeffrey Epstein case – the latest gambit to keep the issue front-and-center as lawmakers prepare for their month-long August recess. In a new

By Arit John, CNN (CNN) — Ahead of the 2024 presidential primaries, Iowa Democrats launched a Hail Mary to save their status as an early nominating state. Chastened by the disastrous rollout of an app in 2020 that delayed the results of that year’s caucuses, the state party switched to a vote-by-mail primary and made

By Adam Cancryn, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday made a fresh push to improve Americans’ access to their own medical records, tasking dozens of major health and technology companies with solving an issue that has long bedeviled the federal government. The plan centers on a pledge that more than 60 companies have

By Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN (CNN) — Rep. Jerry Nadler, the dean of the New York congressional delegation, is getting a primary challenger for next year — and it’s not from the Democratic Socialists of America. Liam Elkind, a 26-year-old who started an organization during the Covid-19 pandemic that delivered food and medicine, is pitching his

By Jake Tapper, CNN (CNN) — Two more of Joe Biden’s top White House aides are set to appear before the House Oversight Committee for scheduled interviews this week as part of the Republican-led panel’s intensifying investigation into the former president’s cognitive decline and possible efforts to conceal it from the public. The committee has

By Katelyn Polantz, Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official who also defended Donald Trump in his criminal indictments, has been confirmed to a lifetime appointment as a federal appellate judge, despite accusations from a handful of whistleblowers accusing him of improperly overseeing cases for the administration. Bove’s nomination to

By CNN’s Betul Tuncer (CNN) — A town hall hosted by Democratic Rep. Bill Foster of Illinois on Tuesday was repeatedly interrupted by audience members shouting about the ongoing war in Gaza. The town hall comes as House members have returned to their districts for a weekslong district work period. The war in Gaza and