National Politics

By Katie Lobosco, CNN Washington (CNN) — Some Democratic lawmakers are pressuring the Biden administration to take further action on student loans before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, including finalizing some debt forgiveness it already approved. Trump hasn’t made specific promises on student loans, but canceling debt isn’t a policy priority like it has been

By Steve Contorno, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump appears to be entertaining an American territorial expansion that, if he’s serious, would rival the Louisiana Purchase or the deal that netted Alaska from Russia. In the past week, he’s taunted Canadian officials by suggesting the US could absorb its northern neighbor and make it the

By Michael Williams, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump over the weekend suggested the US should retake the Panama Canal, an idea that was immediately rejected by the government of Panama, which has controlled the passage for decades. In social media posts and remarks to supporters, Trump accused Panama of charging the US “exorbitant rates”

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Sarah Ferris and Marshall Cohen, CNN Washington (CNN) — Former Rep. Matt Gaetz filed a lawsuit Monday asking a federal judge to block the official release of a long-awaited House Ethics Committee report about his potential misconduct while in office. Gaetz filed the lawsuit around the same time that CNN and other

By CNN staff (CNN) — The House Ethics Committee on Monday released a report that found evidence that former Rep. Matt Gaetz paid thousands of dollars for sex and drugs, including allegedly paying a 17-year-old girl for sex in 2017. Read the report here: Gaetz sued in federal court to prevent the report’s release. Read

By Sarah Ferris and Jeremy Herb, CNN (CNN) — The House Ethics Committee found evidence that former Rep. Matt Gaetz paid tens of thousands of dollars to women for sex or drugs on at least 20 occasions, including paying a 17-year-old girl for sex in 2017, according to the panel’s report on the Florida Republican

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — It was June 2021 when my phone first rang with a call from a Russian number. I was working from home, seated at my dining room table in the middle of the afternoon, and suspected it was spam. Instead, it was Paul Whelan. That phone call was the first

By Sam Fossum, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden announced Monday that he is taking 37 people off federal death row to serve out life sentences behind bars — a decision that leaves only three federal prisoners awaiting execution when President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month. “Today, I am commuting the sentences of 37

By Sam Fossum, CNN (CNN) — Retiring Texas congresswoman and former House Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger has been experiencing “dementia issues” in recent months and is living in an independent living facility, her son Brandon Granger told the Dallas Morning News on Sunday. “It’s been a hard year,” he said, according to the Texas

CNN Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN (CNN) — Whether Elon Musk is the real “president,” merely the “prime minister” or just Donald Trump’s multibillionaire enforcer, he’s carving out an unprecedented role that could raise conflicts of interest for the new administration. The dust is still settling following the Tesla and SpaceX pioneer’s role last week

CNN By Steve Contorno, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump appears to be entertaining an American territorial expansion that, if he’s serious, would rival the Louisiana Purchase or the deal that netted Alaska from Russia. In the past week, he’s taunted Canadian officials by suggesting the US could absorb its northern neighbor and make it

By Eric Bradner and Aaron Pellish, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday, in his first rally-like speech since the November election, threatened to retake control of the Panama Canal, pushed back on criticism of Elon Musk’s influence, and suggested he could soon meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump’s speech in Phoenix, at