Political Headlines
Vice President JD Vance fumbles Ohio State football team’s national championship trophy
Win McNamee/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Vice President JD Vance fumbled The Ohio State University football team's national championship trophy during a celebration at the White House on Monday.President Donald Trump hosted the Buckeyes after they won the College Football Playoff National Championship against the University of Notre Dame in January.When Vance went to pick up the football-shaped trophy off a table at the end of the event, the 24-karat gold, bronze and stainless steel trophy nearly toppled over behind him before two players caught it. The base dropped to the ground to gasps from the crowd.Vance went on to hold the trophy separate from the base.Though the Pentagram-designed piece appeared to break, the trophy and base are two separate pieces so ... Read More
‘Homegrowns are next’: Trump doubles down on sending American ‘criminals’ to foreign prisons
Win McNamee/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump on Monday doubled down on his idea of sending U.S. citizens to foreign prisons, telling El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele he wanted to send "homegrown criminals" to his country next, according to a video posted by Bukele's office on X.The comments came as Trump welcomed Bukele, a key partner in his migrant deportations, to the White House amid controversy over the Supreme Court saying the administration should "facilitate" the return of a migrant from Maryland wrongfully sent to a notorious Salvadoran mega-prison.As the two men entered the Oval Office, before reporters were allowed in the room, Trump discussed his proposal to send what he called American "criminals" accused of violent crimes to El ... Read More
El Salvador’s Bukele, meeting with Trump, says he won’t return migrant wrongfully deported
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC(WASHINGTON) -- El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, sitting next to President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, said on Monday he will not return Kilmar Abrego García, a migrant from Maryland who was wrongfully deported."I don't have the power to return him to the United States," Bukele said when a reporter asked."How could I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?" he added, repeating the Trump administration's claim that Abrego García is a "terrorist" gang member of MS-13 -- which it has not claimed in the court battle over his fate.Bukele, the self-described "world's coolest dictator" who has become a key partner in Trump's controversial deportations, called it a "preposterous question," saying "of course, I'm not going to ... Read More
Democrat-sponsored bill seeks ethics checks on special government employees like Elon Musk
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- A new legislative push led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., is seeking to bar special government employees like tech billionaire and senior Trump adviser Elon Musk from communicating with government agencies that interface with their companies, and would require federal employees like Musk to meet new ethics requirements.Warren and Stansbury introduced a bill this week in the Senate and House, respectively, that would prevent special government employees (SGEs) like Musk – who lead companies worth $1 billion or more – from interacting with federal agencies that interface with his companies.SpaceX and Tesla together have received billions of dollars in government contracts over the past ten years.While the legislation introduced by Warren ... Read More
Military academies criticized for removing DEI-related books from libraries
wellesenterprises/Getty Images/STOCK(ANNAPOLIS, Md.) -- At the U.S. Naval Academy, it's not what's on the shelves that's drawing attention -- but what's missing.The institution's Nimitz Library has been stripped of 381 titles, according to a list published in the New York Times, including works exploring race, gender, and national identity.The culling includes "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou, "How to Be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi, "Bodies in Doubt" by Elizabeth Reis, and "White Rage" by Carol Anderson. None was banned outright -- just rendered "not immediately available," a Naval Academy spokesman, Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, said. The books, he said, had been placed in a room where patrons could no longer access them.President Donald Trump's Jan. ... Read More
Trump administration reviewing case of FBI informant convicted of lying about Bidens
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The Department of Justice said it is reviewing the criminal case brought against a former FBI informant convicted of peddling lies about former President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden and is moving for a judge to release the man from prison immediately while his case is on appeal.Alexander Smirnov was sentenced to six years in prison in January after pleading guilty to lying to his FBI handler about the Biden family's ties to a Ukrainian energy company -- in addition to a series of unrelated tax fraud charges.Smirnov's lies were later seized on by House Republicans to bolster their efforts to impeach Joe Biden over unproven claims that he corruptly used his position as ... Read More
What to know about Trump’s health as he undergoes latest physical
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump undergoes his annual physical at Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday, marking his first such exam of his second term."I have never felt better, but nevertheless, these things must be done!" Trump, who became the oldest president to be sworn into office at 78, posted on Truth Social earlier in the week.The public hasn't been provided a detailed look into Trump's health since 2018 and, during the 2024 presidential campaign, he didn't provide any details about his health despite numerous promises to do so.It is not clear whether the White House will provide an update after Friday's exam, but details about Trump's medical history have been disclosed in the past.What Trump's last official ... Read More
RFK Jr., intent to focus on chronic disease, continues to be dogged by impacts of HHS cuts
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Far as he was from Washington, D.C., as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hiked to the top of a towering sandstone arch in rural Arizona with a group of Navajo Nation leaders, the impact of his agency’s cuts reached farther.Wearing a shirt with a clear request written on the front, “Save IHS Jobs and Diabetes Program,” a Navajo council delegate, Eugenia Charles-Newton, approached Kennedy to tell him she was concerned HHS cuts were impacting the diabetes program that she relied on for care.Charles-Newton said she'd heard funding wasn't being renewed for aspects of the Special Diabetes Program for Indians, a program within Indian Health Services (IHS) at HHS. The rapid restructuring at ... Read More
Democratic senators call for probe into possible insider trading over Trump tariff change
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Two Democratic senators are demanding answers from the White House over serious concerns that President Donald Trump's rollbacks on his tariffs and his social media posts earlier Wednesday may have been part of insider trading among White House allies.Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., sent a letter to Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday asking for an investigation into potential conflicts of interest over the actions that took place Wednesday.Hours before Trump announced he was rolling back tariffs to 10% to all countries except China, which sent the stock market soaring, he posted on Truth Social: "BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The ... Read More
House passes budget blueprint to fund Trump’s agenda
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The House narrowly voted to approve the GOP budget blueprint Thursday by a vote of 216-214, delivering a major victory for President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda.Trump congratulated the House on the bill's passage, saying in a post on his Truth Social platform that this "sets the stage for one of the Greatest and Most Important Signings in the History of our Country.""Among many other things, it will be the Largest Tax and Regulation Cuts ever even contemplated," Trump said.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the bill's passage "a statement of purpose and strength.""The Trump Administration will continue pushing for the certainty, simplicity, and stability that will unlock long-term prosperity for all American," Bessent said in a statement.House ... Read More
Democratic Party ‘doubling down’ on town hall meetings targeting Republican-held districts
ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- The Democratic National Committee -- continuing its push to host town halls in Republican-held districts -- is announcing a new set of town halls focused on the Republican-led budget bill and featuring high-profile officials such as Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., ABC News has learned exclusively.These "People's Town Halls," which will be held during Congress' two-week April recess that begins next week, comes as Democrats look to hammer Republicans and the White House and to reach out to voters over economic concerns and affordability.The Democrats are focusing in large part on a budget blueprint that President Donald Trump has said will help his administration's priorities, including tax cuts and border security investments.But that bill has been criticized by Democrats as potentially leading ... Read More
House GOP moves to prevent votes on rescinding Trump tariffs
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- House Republicans are exhausting all legislative tools to prevent future votes on repealing President Donald Trump's tariffs -- doubling down on their support for the administration's policies as lawmakers narrowly passed a procedural hurdle to advance the Senate-approved GOP blueprint by a vote of 216-215.GOP leaders on Wednesday inserted language into the "rule" for the budget blueprint that would prohibit the House, until at least September, from forcing a vote on legislation to rescind Trump's national emergencies authority."The rule provides that each day during the period from April 9, 2025, through September 30, 2025, shall not constitute a calendar day for purposes of section 202 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622) with respect to a joint ... Read More
DHS to screen social media of visa applicants for ‘antisemitic activity’
Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The Department of Homeland Security will begin screening visa applicants' social media content for "antisemitic activity," it announced on Wednesday."There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world's terrorist sympathizers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here," Assistant Homeland Security Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said. "Secretary [Kristi] Noem has made it clear that anyone who thinks they can come to America and hide behind the First Amendment to advocate for antisemitic violence and terrorism -- think again. You are not welcome here."The directive from the department allows for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service to begin "considering" any antisemitic ... Read More
House Republicans tee up vote on Trump-backed budget blueprint despite hard-liner opposition
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- House Republicans are plowing ahead with a vote on the Senate-approved GOP budget blueprint on Wednesday despite opposition from rank-and-file lawmakers.Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., with the help of President Donald Trump, will need to work to persuade nearly a dozen GOP holdouts to advance the legislation.GOP leaders don't have the votes right now. The speaker can only afford to lose three defections if all members are voting and present, and several GOP hard-liners from the House Freedom Caucus are likely to vote against the bill due to what they have said are concerns about how the plan would reduce the deficit.However, Johnson said he believes Republicans will come together and vote in favor of ... Read More
What we know about the shooter
WASHINGTON (AP) — The man identified as the shooter in the apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump was a 20-year-old from a Pittsburgh suburb not far from the campaign rally where one attendee was killed. Investigators were working Sunday to gather more information about Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, who they say opened fire at the rally before being killed by Secret Service days before Trump was to accept the Republican nomination for a third time. An FBI official said late Saturday that investigators had not yet determined a motive. Two spectators were critically injured, authorities said. Relatives of Crooks didn’t immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press. His father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN late ... Read MorePrayers for Trump also pour in from political rivals
Prayers for the former president are also coming from his political opponents. “I am horrified by what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe. Political violence has no place in our country,†said Sen. Chuck Schumer in a statement. “We should all condemn what happened today and I am hoping for the health of the former president and everyone else at the rally,†Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy posted on the social platform X. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a post on X that his “thoughts and prayers are with former President Trump†and expressed thanks “for the decisive law enforcement response.†... Read MoreTop of page
