Hill Republicans ready ambitious agenda as they hope for full sweep of Washington
CNN
Republicans on Capitol Hill are laying the groundwork to push through an ambitious agenda with President-elect Donald Trump if they have total control of Washington next January – a rare GOP trifecta that party leaders believe is now within reach.
Republicans on Capitol Hill are laying the groundwork to push through an ambitious agenda with President-elect Donald Trump if they have total control of Washington next January – a rare GOP trifecta that party leaders believe is now within reach. And this time they’ll be prepared to use it. Unlike Trump’s surprise win in 2016, House and Senate GOP leaders have been preparing for months for a possible GOP sweep. Their goal is to get to work quickly drafting big pieces of the Trump administration’s agenda, starting with a major economic package centered on taxes, energy policy, border security and deregulation, according to two people familiar with discussions. “We have already started working on it because we realized how harmful a massive tax increase would be in 2026,” GOP Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, told CNN. With Republicans winning control of the Senate, delivering on Trump’s agenda will come down to whether the GOP retains a majority in the House. CNN has not yet made a projection in the battle for control of the House, with votes still being counted in dozens of races. But key pickups in Pennsylvania and Michigan have party leaders hopeful that a full sweep is in sight and senior Republicans feel confident they will hold onto their slim majority. Speaker Mike Johnson, who has consolidated power by promoting his closeness to Trump, has spoken directly with the president-elect many times about what they can accomplish in a GOP majority, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
Some Medicare enrollees may soon be able to access super-popular drugs for obesity under a voluntary model program, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Tuesday. Eligible beneficiaries will only have to pay $50 a month.
The Justice Department’s leadership asked career prosecutors in Florida Tuesday to volunteer over the “next several days” to help to redact the Epstein files, in the latest internal Trump administrationpush toward releasing the hundreds of thousands of photos, internal memos and other evidence around the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The US State Department on Tuesday imposed visa sanctions on a former top European Union official and employees of organizations that combat disinformation for alleged censorship – sharply ratcheting up the Trump administration’s fight against European regulations that have impacted digital platforms, far-right politicians and Trump allies, including Elon Musk.
A Delaware state trooper was killed along with the suspected gunman Tuesday during a shooting at a motor vehicle agency near Wilmington, authorities said.
Wyoming’s lone U.S. representative is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Cynthia Lummis, who isn’t seeking re-election.
A new lawsuit filed in Washington, DC’s federal court Monday challenges the Kennedy Center board of trustees’ move to add President Donald Trump’s name to the cultural institution.
Warning: This post contains language readers may find disturbing.
Some staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs are finding little to be merry about after the agency said it would eliminate tens of thousands of open, unfilled positions across the country as it looks to streamline its staffing.
Former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse announced Tuesday that he’s been diagnosed with “metastasized, stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die.”
CNN’s 5 Things AM brings you the news you need to know every morning.
Political opposites are closing 2025 as they did 2024: on each side of America’s Donald Trump divide. But CNN’s “All Over the Map” survey did provide several interesting takeaways. Some may be instructive about the midterm election climate, at least at this beginning stage.
A 2-year-old child is among at least five people who were killed when a Mexican Navy plane carrying medical patients crashed into the waters of Galveston Bay in Texas on Monday afternoon, US Coast Guard officials say.
The Trump administration is suing the local government of Washington, DC, over its gun laws, alleging that restrictions on certain semiautomatic weapons run afoul of Second Amendment rights.