Political Headlines
Democratic leaders vow to kill colleague’s effort to impeach Trump
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, FILE(WASHINGTON) -- Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar is taking an unorthodox step in defiance of his party's leadership, forcing an impeachment vote against President Donald Trump on Wednesday that both Republicans and his Democratic colleagues threaten to kill."We're going to hear a ton of reasons why not to hold this president accountable. We're going to hear a ton of reasons from both sides of the aisle, but we are going to press ahead because we believe this is the right thing to do," Thanedar said at a news conference outside the Capitol early Wednesday."We believe this is absolutely the right time. This is absolutely the right thing to do."House GOP leaders will introduce a ... Read More
Democrats say it’s a ‘sad day for DHS’ under Kristi Noem’s leadership in fiery House hearing
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem came under fire from House Democrats while testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee on her department's 2026 budget on Wednesday.The hearing quickly turned to immigration and featured back-and-forths with Democrats on the committee, with ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., telling Noem that under her leadership, it is a "sad day for DHS.""Frankly, I've never seen anything like this that served as a lead Democrat on this committee. Even when, madam secretary, my Republican colleagues and I had strong disagreements, we still have productive conversations and did our duty keep America safe. But that's not the case any longer," Thompson told Noem, adding that he is glad that Noem "found time ... Read More
What to know about birthright citizenship as Supreme Court weighs blocks on Trump’s order to end it
Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The Supreme Court on Thursday heard oral arguments over President Donald Trump's emergency request to roll back nationwide injunctions blocking his executive order to end birthright citizenship.The rare May sitting of the court sets the stage for a decision by this summer on whether Trump can move forward with plans to limit U.S. citizenship only to children born on American soil to lawful permanent residents.The case is also expected to address the legality of individual district court judges single-handedly blocking a presidential policy nationwide. Trump is seeking to dissolve judicial orders preventing mass federal layoffs, funding freezes, and expedited deportation protocols.For more than a century, courts and the government have interpreted the 14th Amendment's citizenship clause to apply to anyone born in the ... Read More
Democrat Adam Schiff presses DOD inspector general for details on Trump’s Qatari plane gift
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., is requesting that the Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General launch an inquiry on the department's role in "facilitating and serving as a pass-through" for the Trump administration to accept a luxury jet donated by the Qatari government to use as Air Force One, ABC News has exclusively learned.President Donald Trump confirmed on social media this week an ABC News report that his administration was preparing to accept the aircraft, calling it a "very public and transparent transaction" with the Defense Department.In a letter sent on Tuesday, also signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., along with six other Senate ... Read More
Federal judge in Pennsylvania rules that Trump’s invocation of AEA is lawful
Brandon Bell/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- A federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged migrant gang members is lawful, but determined that the administration has provided insufficient notice before deporting migrants under the proclamation.U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie Haines' ruling stands in contrast to two other federal judges who have ruled that Trump's use of the AEA for deportations is unlawful.The Trump administration has invoked the Alien Enemies Act -- an 18th century wartime authority used to remove noncitizens with little-to-no due process -- to carry out deportations by proclaiming that migrant gang members constitute a "hybrid criminal state" that is invading the United States.Haines, a Trump appointee, said she ... Read More
Ed Martin, Trump’s DOJ pardon attorney, says he’ll review Biden’s outgoing pardons
Valerie Plesch/For The Washington Post(WASHINGTON) -- Ed Martin, the outgoing Washington, D.C., U.S. attorney who will soon start his role as DOJ's pardon attorney and chief of the so-called "Weaponization Working Group," said he plans to review and scrutinize the last-minute pardons issued by former President Joe Biden.Martin's appointment to several powerful positions at the Justice Department -- following his rejected confirmation by the U.S. Senate -- appears to have emboldened him to more aggressively pursue political targets of President Donald Trump, according to a series of recent interviews with right-wing media outlets and his Tuesday press conference."I do think that the Biden pardons need some scrutiny. And they need scrutiny because we want pardons to matter and to be ... Read More
Trump administration faces criticism for prioritizing white South African refugees
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The Trump administration's move to prioritize the resettlement of white South African refugees in the United States even as it has turned away refugees from countries including Afghanistan and Haiti has sparked allegations of hypocrisy and a double standard, as well as questions about who is footing the bill for the new arrivals.On Monday, the State Department said it had welcomed 59 Afrikaners whose applications to come to the U.S. were fast-tracked under President Donald Trump's executive order issued in February titled, "Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa." The order called on the administration to "prioritize humanitarian relief, including admission and resettlement" for Afrikaners, a South African minority group descended primarily from Dutch ... Read More
Buttigieg to headline Iowa town hall amid 2028 speculation
Win McNamee/Getty Images, FILE(WASHINGTON) -- Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is heading to Iowa Tuesday, fueling speculation that he is mounting a bid for the White House in 2028.On Tuesday evening, Buttigieg -- who served in President Joe Biden's Cabinet as secretary of the Department of Transportation -- will make his in-person, public post-administration debut by headlining a town hall with progressive veterans' group VoteVets Action Fund in Cedar Rapids.His visit comes after he didn't rule out a presidential bid during an interview on Tuesday.In a Substack Live interview with independent journalist Anand Giridharadas on Tuesday, Buttigieg discussed his thought process regarding running for office broadly, and the potential of running for president in 2028 more specifically.Before making such a decision Buttigieg ... Read More
Do-over move for DNC vice-chair elections could put 2 officials — including reformer David Hogg — in jeopardy
Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The Democratic National Committee's Credentials subcommittee has recommended that the party should once again hold vice-chair elections over complaints that there were issues with how the balloting was conducted -- a move that places its vice chairs David Hogg and Malcolm Kenyatta in jeopardy of losing their positions.The recommendation, made after the committee's vote on Monday, comes after the party-wide officer races in February. The subcommittee's deliberations were based on a challenge filed by vice chair candidate Kalyn Free on how the election was conducted.Free's counsel argued that the way some of the voting was conducted allowed Hogg and Kenyatta to unfairly receive more votes than Free, who also sought a vice-chair role.The resolution is not the final ... Read More
Trump heaps praise on Saudi crown prince as he touts economic development
Jean Catuffe/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump spent the bulk of what was billed as a "major foreign policy address" to outline his vision for the Middle East instead touting his domestic policies and heaping praise on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman while speaking at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum on Tuesday.Four years after the U.S. intelligence community report was released that concluded that the crown prince approved the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump lauded the crown prince for his leadership and friendship."He's your greatest representative, greatest representative. And if I didn't like him, I'd get out of here so fast. You know that, don't you? He knows me well. I do -- I like him a ... Read More
Qatar’s luxury jet donation poses significant security risks, experts say
Win McNamee/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The Trump administration's plan to accept a luxury jet donated by the Qatari government to use as Air Force One raises significant security concerns, intelligence experts and government officials say, as President Donald Trump said it would be "stupid" not to accept a free plane.Trump on Monday defended the administration's plans to receive a luxury jet donated by the Qatari government during remarks at the White House, calling the donation a "very nice gesture.""I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person and say, 'No, we don't want a free, very expensive airplane.' But it was, I thought it was a great gesture," he said.Rhode Island ... Read More
Republicans dodge, laugh off questions about Trump’s gift plane from Qatar
Win McNamee/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Republicans were on Capitol Hill Monday night as they dodged or laughed off ABC News' exclusive reporting that President Donald Trump was considering accepting a luxury jet as a gift from the Qatari government to potentially use as Air Force One.While several senators avoided questions or made jokes, few were willing to give a full-throated defense of the proposed gift.Like most Republicans, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., initially said she didn't know enough about the story to comment but called it "an interesting one."When ABC News told her that Trump intended to use the gifted plane as Air Force One, she broke into laughter. "It might make me consider the appropriateness of that? Yes," she said.Asked if ... Read More
House Republicans plow ahead on hundreds of billions in Medicaid cuts despite infighting
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- House Republicans are plowing ahead Tuesday to advance key components of their bill to fund President Donald Trump’s agenda -- including taxes and Medicaid cuts -- even as they remain at odds over several critical issues.Sources tell ABC News that dueling, dramatic hearings are expected to drag deep into the night and into Wednesday as Democrats try to challenge Republicans' efforts to write those sections of Trump's "big, beautiful bill."Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over energy and health care programs, plan to offer several doomed amendments and might try an unusual move of calling impromptu witnesses to testify about how Medicaid impacts their life. Republicans ... Read More
Trump administration defends white South African refugee program amid group’s US arrival
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- A flight carrying 59 refugees from South Africa landed in the United States on Monday afternoon -- as the Trump administration insists that the expedited process for white South Africans to seek refuge in the United States has nothing to do with race.The South African refugees' arrival also comes amid the administration's efforts to halt refugee programs from other countries.Hours before the flight arrived at Dulles International Airport, President Donald Trump defended his administration's decision to offer refugee status to the Afrikaners -- a white minority group in South Africa. The president said that the asylum program is because there is a race-based genocide in the country."They happen to be white, but whether they're ... Read More
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