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Mitch McConnell says he won't run for reelection next year
CBSN
Former Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said he won't run for reelection in 2026, and is expected to announce his impending departure from the Senate on Thursday, his 83rd birthday.
He told the Associated Press he plans to make the announcement on the Senate floor. McConnell has been a U.S. senator from Kentucky since 1985, and announced one year ago that he would relinquish his leadership role in he Senate.
McConnell, a polio survivor, has experienced health issues in recent years, including freezing episodes and falls.
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Washington — A federal judge on Thursday allowed President Trump's efforts to shrink the federal workforce to continue moving forward while legal proceedings continue, declining a request from a group of labor unions to temporarily block his firing of federal employees and other actions targeting government workers.
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President Trump on Wednesday said he's considering using 20% of the savings from Elon Musk's cost-cutting task force, the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to provide direct payments to taxpayers. But economists and policy experts across the political spectrum expressed skepticism about the feasibility of such a "DOGE dividend."
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How Clinton's "reinventing government" compares to DOGE's approach: "We cut fat and they cut muscle"
As President Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency push to slash spending, Republican allies have pointed to a White House program from 30 years ago as akin to DOGE's efforts.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the Pentagon to come up with plans to cut 8% from the defense budget in each of the next five years, according to sources familiar with his plans. The Defense Departmen expects to redirect those fund to other programs in the department that would be prioritized by President Trump.