Political Headlines
Trump grants interview to ‘The Atlantic”s Jeffrey Goldberg despite Signal chat bombshell, past criticism
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | Skip Bolen/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- For years, President Donald Trump has blasted politically damaging reporting by The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg as fake, made-up.His most recent criticism has been over Goldberg's bombshell story about a Signal chat he was accidentally invited to, one that included top members of Trump's national security team, conversing about an impending military attack on Houthi terrorists in Yemen.Now, in a surprise twist, Trump said he would speak face-to-face with Goldberg on Thursday after claiming on Truth Social that Goldberg, along with The Atlantic writers Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker, would sit down with him for an interview."The story they are writing, they have told my representatives, will be entitled, "The Most Consequential President of this Century," ... Read More
Judge blocks Trump administration from requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote
Mustafa Hussain/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Donald Trumpâs unilateral effort to reshape election processes is an attempt to âshort-circuit Congressâs deliberative process by executive order,â a federal judge in Washington, D.C. wrote Thursday afternoon.In a 120-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly blocked the Trump administration from requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and ordering that election officials âassessâ the citizenship of anyone who receives public assistance before allowing them to register. She also barred the Election Assistance Commission from withholding federal funding from states that did not comply with the order.âOur Constitution entrusts Congress and the Statesânot the Presidentâwith the authority to regulate federal elections,â she wrote. âNo statutory delegation of authority to the Executive Branch permits the President ... Read More
Trump US attorney nominee distances himself from antisemitic Jan. 6 rioter he once praised
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Ed Martin, President Donald Trump's nominee for the next U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., apologized in a new interview for his past praise of a Jan. 6 rioter who had a lengthy history of antisemitic statements and infamously posted photos of himself dressed as Adolf Hitler."I'm sorry," Ed Martin said in an interview with the Jewish publication Forward. "I denounce everything about what that guy said, everything about the way he talked, and all as Iâve now seen it ... At the time, I didnât know it.âMartin's comments come as his nomination faces headwinds in the Senate over his public praise for Jan. 6 rioter Timothy Hale-Cussanelli at a 2024 event at Trump's Bedminster club in ... Read More
Trump asks Supreme Court to lift block on transgender military ban
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The Trump administration has made a new emergency request of the U.S. Supreme Court seeking an immediate stay of a nationwide injunction blocking the ban on openly transgender military service members.Solicitor General John Sauer said the injunction, issued by a district court in Washington, usurps the authority of the president in determining who can serve in the nation's armed forces and runs counter to the high court's own decision in the first Trump administration to allow the ban to move forward.The Trump administration's policy on transgender soldiers would be a "de facto blanket prohibition" that seeks "to eradicate transgender service," 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Benjamin Settle, a George W. Bush nominee, wrote when ... Read More
Democrats scrutinize law firms that cut deals with Trump
(Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)(WASHINGTON) -- Democratic lawmakers sent a series of letters early Thursday morning to nine separate law firms that have struck agreements this spring with the Trump administration, questioning whether the deals for pro bono work in exchange for the reversal of executive orders issued by President Donald Trump or to avoid being targeted in future missives may violate federal bribery, extortion, honest services fraud or racketeering laws.In correspondence, shared exclusively with ABC News, California Democratic Rep. Dave Min and Maryland Democratic Rep. April Delaney are leading 15 Democratic colleagues in demanding details of the arrangements from the leadership of some of the country's most elite law firms from Washington to New York.The firms included ... Read More
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Arkansas lawmakers urge Trump to reconsider denial of disaster relief
(Paul Morigi/Getty Images)(LITTLE ROCK, Ark.) -- Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the state's entire GOP congressional delegation are urging President Donald Trump to reconsider after the Federal Emergency Management denied the state's request for federal disaster relief following a series of deadly storms last month.After severe storms hit the state in mid-March, Sanders applied for disaster relief through FEMA, under what's known as a major disaster declaration. The request was denied."As Governor Sanders noted in her request, these storms caused catastrophic damage across the state, resulting in disastrous amounts of debris, widespread destruction to homes and businesses, the deaths of three Arkansans, and injuries to many more," the state's two Republican senators and four GOP House members wrote in ... Read More
Warren investigates impact on students, teachers from Education Dept. cuts
(Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)(WASHINGTON) -- Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Save Our Schools campaign is launching a comprehensive investigation into the Trump administration's effort to close the Department of Education."I'm opening this investigation to hear directly from students, parents, teachers, and borrowers who are being hurt by Trump's dangerous agenda," Warren wrote in a statement obtained first by ABC News."Their stories matter -- and they are why I'm in this fight," she said.Warren said since Trump's move to effectively abolish the agency, Americans have told her how public education has shaped and strengthened their lives. She sent a letter to a dozen education and civil rights groups, seeking answers to how abolishing the department will impact millions of students and families.The letters ... Read More
Trump administration looking at $5,000 ‘baby bonus’ to incentivize public to have more children
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)(WASHINGTON) -- The White House has been fielding proposals aimed at persuading people to marry and have children, an effort being pushed by outside groups focused on increasing the nation's birth rate after years of decline.One such proposal that has been pitched to White House advisers is a $5,000 "baby bonus" to every American mother after she gives birth."Sounds like a good idea to me," President Donald Trump said Tuesday when asked about a $5,000 incentive for new mothers.When asked by ABC News about the proposals the administration has been fielding, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president is "proudly implementing policies to uplift American families.""The president wants America to be a country where all children ... Read More
Trump says they ‘can’t have a trial’ for all migrants he wants to deport
Win McNamee/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Amid a tense legal battle over deportations, President Donald Trump is now arguing undocumented migrants should not be given a trial where they could challenge being removed from the country."We're getting them out, and I hope we get cooperation from the courts because you know, we have thousands of people that are ready to go out, and you can't have a trial for all of these people," Trump said in the Oval Office on Tuesday."It wasn't meant, the system wasn't meant -- and we don't think there is anything that says -- Look, we are getting some very bad people, killers, murderers, drug dealers, really bad people, the mentally ill, the mentally insane, they emptied out insane asylums ... Read More
Sen. Dick Durbin announces retirement after decades in Congress
Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Longtime Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., announced Wednesday that he will not seek reelection in 2026 and will retire after serving for over four decades in Congress."In my heart, I know it's time to pass the torch," Durbin said in the video. "The threats to our democracy and way of life are real, and I can assure you that I will do everything in my power to fight for Illinois and the future of our country every day of my remaining time in the Senate."Durbin, 80, has served in the Senate since 1997 and won reelection to the Senate four times. Coupled with his time in the House, Durbin has served in Congress for 44 years."We are also ... Read More
Rubio plans sweeping reorganization of the State Department
Win McNamee/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping plan to dramatically restructure the State Department that would see many of its longstanding offices and hundreds of positions eliminated.âIn its current form, the department is bloated, bureaucratic, and unable to perform its essential diplomatic mission in this new era of great power competition,â Rubio said in a statement. âThe sprawling bureaucracy created a system more beholden to radical political ideology than advancing Americaâs core national interests.âOfficials familiar with the plans say Rubioâs vision involves reducing the number of offices within the State Department from 734 to 602 and eventually wiping out roughly 700 Washington-based positions for Foreign Service and Civil Service employees.The officials said that ... Read More
Supreme Court leans toward parents in dispute over LGBTQ storybooks in school
ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- The Supreme Courtâs conservative majority on Tuesday signaled that it is poised to establish a right of parents to opt-out their children from public school instruction that conflicts with sincerely held religious beliefs.The case, brought by a group of Christian, Muslim and Jewish parents from Montgomery County, Maryland, specifically seeks a guaranteed exemption from the classroom reading of storybooks with LGBTQ themes, including same-sex marriage and exploration of gender identity.The parents allege use of the books in elementary school curriculum -- without an opportunity to be excused -- amounts to government-led indoctrination about sensitive matters of sexuality. The school board insists the books merely expose kids to diverse viewpoints and ideas.The justices engaged in spirited debate for ... Read More
George Santos insists he’s ‘accepted full responsibility’ for crimes days before of sentencing
Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Disgraced former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., insists he has "accepted full responsibility" for a series of fraudulent schemes despite a "social media blitz" that federal prosecutors said suggested otherwise.Prosecutors repeated their request for a prison term of more than seven years when Santos is sentenced Friday, saying his recent social media posts show the 35-year-old Santos "remains unrepentant for his crimes."Santos, in a letter to the judge Tuesday, said he can be both "profoundly sorry" and upset by the Justice Department's recommendation of a lengthy prison sentence."But saying I'm sorry doesn't require me to sit quietly while these prosecutors try to drop an anvil on my head. True remorse isn't mute; it is aware of ... Read More
Michigan Senate race heats up as 3 major Democrats enter the fray
Scott Olson/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Michigan is set to face a competitive primary and fierce race for the battleground state's open U.S. Senate seat in 2026.Three major Democrats have already entered the contest, while Republicans eye flipping the seat, which will be vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich.The battleground state had mixed results for both parties in 2024, with President Donald Trump snagging a win in the presidential race and then-Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, prevailing in the Senate race. Democrats hope to keep the open seat in their hands, while Republicans hope to flip it and add to their majority in the Senate.Rep. Haley Stevens, a Democrat who represents Michigan's 11th District, revealed on Tuesday that she will run ... Read More
3 federal prosecutors assigned to Eric Adams case resign, say they won’t admit to ‘wrongdoing’
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Three federal prosecutors who worked on the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams resigned Tuesday -- while they were on administrative leave -- instead of agreeing to "preconditions" on them returning to the office, sending a sharp letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and accusing him of pressuring them to falsely "express regret and admit some wrongdoing" in the case."The Department placed each of us on administrative leave ostensibly to review our, and the Southern District of New York U.S. Attorneyâs Officeâs, handling of the Adams case," the trio of prosecutors assigned to Adams' case, Celia V. Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach and Derek Wikstrom, wrote to Blanche. "It is now clear ... Read More
What we know about the shooter
WASHINGTON (AP) ââŹâ 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 didnââŹâ˘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. ââŹĹI 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,ââŹÂ said Sen. Chuck Schumer in a statement. ââŹĹWe should all condemn what happened today and I am hoping for the health of the former president and everyone else at the rally,ââŹÂ Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy posted on the social platform X. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a post on X that his ââŹĹthoughts and prayers are with former President TrumpââŹÂ and expressed thanks ââŹĹfor the decisive law enforcement response.ââŹÂ ... Read MoreTop of page
