Politics

Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — A group of 191 House and Senate Democrats sent a letter to Russell Vought, the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, calling on them to reverse course on actions targeting the nation’s consumer financial watchdog agency. The Consumer Financial […]

Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — A 25-year-old associate of Elon Musk and former Treasury Department employee was “mistakenly” given the ability to make changes to a sensitive federal payment system, officials with the Bureau of the Fiscal Service disclosed in a series of court filings late Tuesday. Treasury Department officials said the “error” […]

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — As courts block parts of his agenda, President Donald Trump and his allies are ramping up criticism of judges and continuing to question judicial oversight of the executive branch. While he’s said he would abide by their rulings — but also appeal them — he kept up the effort to […]

Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, which started three years ago when Putin’s forces launched a full-scale invasion. “I just had a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia,” Trump wrote in a lengthy […]

Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The Senate confirmed Tulsi Gabbard to serve as director of national intelligence by a vote of 52-48 on Wednesday. Former Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was the only Republican to break ranks and vote against Gabbard’s nomination. All other Republicans voted for Gabbard and all Democrats voted against her. […]

Emily Curiel/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images (TOPEKA, Kan.) — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed Senate Bill 63, which would have restricted gender-affirming care for transgender youth. “Right now, the legislature should be focused on ways to help Kansans cope with rising prices,” Kelly said in a statement emailed late Tuesday. […]

Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration is gearing up for major changes to the Department of Education, which, among its other functions, oversees a $1.6 trillion portfolio of student loans — the third largest source of household debt in the U.S. Those loans belong to over 44 million Americans, many of whom are […]

Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order pardoning Rod Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor who was sentenced to 14 years in prison before Trump commuted his sentence in 2020. “It’s my honor to do it,” Trump said during remarks from the Oval Office on […]

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Elon Musk joined President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday, where he addressed reporters for the first time amid his controversial cost-cutting efforts across the federal government. Musk defended DOGE as Trump asked him to speak about the team’s work. The Tesla billionaire brought his young son “X” […]

Anna Rose Layden/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Following Vice President JD Vance’s comments Sunday arguing that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” some Republican lawmakers have pushed back and reiterated the power of the courts. As President Donald Trump continues to try to remake the federal government through a flood of executive orders, […]