How the White House convinced skeptical Republicans to back RFK Jr., Gabbard and Hegseth
CNN
Sen. Todd Young didn’t back Donald Trump in 2024. But that didn’t stop Young from calling the president this past weekend as he was wavering over Trump’s pick for the country’s top intelligence official, Tulsi Gabbard.
Sen. Todd Young didn’t back Donald Trump in 2024. But that didn’t stop Young from calling the president this past weekend as he was wavering over Trump’s pick for the country’s top intelligence official, Tulsi Gabbard. Trump told Young to “vote your conscience,” the Indiana Republican told CNN. And when Sen. Thom Tillis was considering a no vote on Pete Hegseth to be defense secretary last month, Tillis spoke with Trump and relayed his concerns about new allegations that emerged ahead of the Senate vote. “I made it very clear that if, on their face, they proved to be accurate, that I was a no,” Tillis said in an interview. “I told President Trump. We had a great discussion. It’s actually comical how people think it went versus how it went. I was treated with the utmost respect.” Two of Trump’s most controversial nominees, Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., won key committee votes Tuesday with the support of all Republicans, the clearest sign to date that the president is poised to get all of his Cabinet picks confirmed after Hegseth was approved last month by the slimmest of margins. The White House ultimately won over skeptical GOP senators – not with Trump’s usual bombast, but with a combination of Trump’s personal conversations with senators, extensive engagement from Vice President JD Vance and assurances from nominees that their past controversial views would not drive their positions in Trump’s Cabinet.
The Trump administration on Tuesday released thousands of records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy that it said had previously been classified.
A federal judge has indefinitely blocked President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender service members, dealing a major defeat to a controversial policy the president resurrected from his first term.
A Peruvian fisherman who was rescued after 95 days lost at sea told CNN that his faith and his desire to see his family again kept him going – along with a diet of cockroaches, birds, fish and the occasional turtle.
Ohio’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors is unconstitutional and must be permanently blocked from being enforced, a three-judge panel of appellate judges ruled Tuesday. The law also banned trans women and girls from participating in female sports.
A federal judge is giving the Justice Department until Wednesday at noon to provide him, under seal, with more information about deportations the Trump administration carried out pursuant to President Donald Trump’s use of a sweeping wartime authority.
CNN’s 5 Things PM brings you the stories you might have missed during your busy day.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer says he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Canada and Australia are planning to jointly develop a new military radar system in the Arctic amid a global surge of interest in the region, according to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who warned that Canada’s “adversaries are increasingly emboldened.”
Knowing Elaine Chao from afar for many years, there were a lot of words I would to describe her: smart, tough, accomplished and, yes, badass.
Chief Justice John Roberts pushed back on President Donald Trump’s escalating rhetoric against the federal judiciary on Tuesday in a highly unusual statement that appeared to be aimed at the president’s call to impeach judges who rule against him.
On the day that Louisiana’s first execution in 15 years is scheduled to take place, attorneys for the inmate are hoping for a last-minute court ruling to halt the death penalty from being carried out.
CNN’s 5 Things AM brings you the news you need to know every morning.
The high-stakes call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin expected on Tuesday comes as the White House insists it is closing in on a temporary ceasefire deal to pause the war between Russia and Ukraine.