Lawmakers return to Washington, DC, with presidential politics looming large
CNN
When the House Judiciary Committee held a field hearing on Friday to highlight the impact border security issues have on local communities, the latest installment of an ongoing series, Vice President Kamala Harris was underlying their line of attack for the first time.
When the House Judiciary Committee held a field hearing on Friday to highlight the impact border security issues have on local communities, the latest installment of an ongoing series, Vice President Kamala Harris was underlying their line of attack for the first time. Four months ago, when the panel held a similar field hearing in North Dakota, the vice president was not mentioned by name once. The shift, both in branding and messaging from the “Biden Border Crisis” to the “Biden-Harris Border Crisis” underscores how House Republicans are pivoting to specifically target Harris after the summer of Democratic reckoning over President Joe Biden resulted in Harris becoming the Democrats’ presidential nominee with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. As Congress embarks on a three-week sprint before its next recess, both parties return to Washington, DC, for a final messaging push dictated by the dynamics of the presidential race in an entirely new political landscape, while trying to balance the critical September 30 government funding deadline. Republicans have turned their operation – initially designed to target Biden – on its head to now go after Harris, and Democrats are positioning themselves to frame the GOP attacks as a last-ditch effort while planning some offensive moves of their own. Members of the Trump campaign advised the House GOP conference during a private call on Friday about what her biggest perceived weaknesses are and to keep their attack of Harris on the border and the state of the economy, a source on the call told CNN. Calls between Republican lawmakers and Trump campaign officials are expected to be a regular occurrence in the coming weeks, sources told CNN, as backchannel coordination ahead of the November election intensifies.
Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend Donald Trump’s inauguration next week, her office said Tuesday, without providing an explanation for her decision.
Jack Smith’s 137-page report, released overnight less than one week before Trump will be sworn in for a second term as president, is a full-throated justification of his investigation and defense against his myriad critics.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a narrowly missed midair collision between a United flight and a Delta flight at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Saturday, the agency said.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Defense Department, plans to tell the Senate Armed Services Committee that he would like to restore a “warrior culture” to the Pentagon, according to his opening statement that was obtained by CNN.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, will face a Senate panel Tuesday for his confirmation hearing as he is expected to be questioned over allegations ranging from sexual assault to excessive drinking in the workplace.
A Colorado apartment complex where armed members of a Venezuelan gang were caught on video entering a unit last summer is expected to close in about a month under an emergency court order, city officials said Monday.
Attorney General Merrick Garland early Tuesday provided Congress special counsel Jack Smith’s report on his investigation into Donald Trump and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to a source familiar, after a court hold blocking its release expired at midnight.
The Justice Department special counsel whose six-year case into Hunter Biden was short-circuited last month by the unconditional pardon President Joe Biden granted to his son, criticized the outgoing president in his final report Monday.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday signed a bill restricting the use of smartphones at school, following a global trend for such limitations.
President Joe Biden on Monday defended his foreign policy achievements in office, offering his own first draft of history on how his presidency has affected security at home and US relationships abroad as he prepares to depart a career in public service spanning more than half a century.
Judge Aileen Cannon said on Monday that she would not block the release of the special counsel Jack Smith’s report on his investigation into Donald Trump and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
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When the sun falls from the darkening Washington, DC, sky, the electric crowd at Howard University appears certain it will rise brighter.
Hed: California Democrats get an early taste of new clashes with Trump as wildfires rage on
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CNN’s 5 Things Sunday brings you all the news you need to start your week smart.
Donald Trump’s second term will empower the White Christian nationalist movement, says scholar Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author of “Jesus and John Wayne.” “It will transform our government,” she says. “They have seen their movement go mainstream, and now they have incredible access to power.”
Senate confirmation hearings set to begin this week are likely to reveal a defining trait uniting Donald Trump’s incoming Cabinet, regardless of their diverse political backgrounds and uneven qualifications: an unflinching allegiance to the president-elect.