CNN – US Politics

By Delia Gallagher, Tom Foreman and Paul LeBlanc, CNN Pope Francis on Wednesday said bishops debating whether to deny communion to public figures who support abortion rights, such as President Joe Biden, should make their decisions from a “pastoral” viewpoint and not a political one. “The problem is not theological, it’s pastoral,” Francis told reporters

By Manu Raju and Ted Barrett, CNN Democratic leaders are actively discussing attaching an increase to the national debt limit onto a must-pass spending bill to keep the government open, setting up an end-of-the-month partisan standoff with Republicans on the eve of a key deadline to keep federal agencies operating. What’s still unknown: What will

By Katie Bo Williams and Jeremy Herb, CNN The defense of the top US military official kicked into gear across Washington Wednesday in response to claims that Gen. Mark Milley overstepped his authority during the waning days of the Trump administration. The Joint Chiefs chairman came under attack Tuesday over new reporting in “Peril,” a

By Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court Reporter A federal judge on Wednesday set a hearing date for October 1 to consider a request from the Justice Department to freeze a Texas law that bars most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The order, from Judge Robert Pitman of the Western District of Texas, means

By Kevin Liptak and Maegan Vazquez, CNN President Joe Biden on Wednesday unveiled a new effort to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines, a major step toward countering China as he works to build international backing for his approach to Beijing. The announcement came as part of a new trilateral partnership among the United States, Australia

By Oren Liebermann and Alex Marquardt, CNN US Capitol Police have requested DC National Guard assistance ahead of planned right-wing protests scheduled for this Saturday at the Capitol, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Wednesday. “We have received a request from Capitol Police for some assistance for this weekend’s protests, scheduled protests. I’m not going

By Dan Merica, CNN California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s top aides were so confident the night before the Democratic governor defeated the effort to remove him, they began giving advice to the national Democratic Party. Democrats, depending on the race, should link their opponents to former President Donald Trump like Newsom did in the waning weeks

By Priscilla Alvarez and Tierney Sneed, CNN A federal appellate court on Wednesday largely halted a judge’s order that would have upended the Biden administration’s efforts to limit immigration arrests, marking a judicial win for the Democratic President after a handful of setbacks The case, brought by Texas and Louisiana, challenged a memo issued in

By Maegan Vazquez, CNN President Joe Biden on Wednesday called the results of California’s recall vote “a resounding win” for Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approach to the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically citing the state’s strong vaccine requirements. Newsom faced a partisan recall effort that had grown out of frustration over his response to the pandemic and

By Kara Scannell A federal judge overseeing columnist E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump has denied Trump’s request to stop the case from moving forward as they await an appeals court decision. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Wednesday entered a minute entry on the court docket indicating that he was denying

By Betsy Klein, Oren Liebermann and Donald Judd, CNN President Joe Biden said Wednesday he has “great confidence” in Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley’s leadership after being asked about assertions leveled in a new book about Milley’s actions in the aftermath of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

By Sara Murray, CNN Pennsylvania Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to subpoena the Pennsylvania Department of State for millions of voters’ personal information and voting histories as they launch a review that appears designed to relitigate the 2020 presidential election. The Pennsylvania Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee voted along party lines to authorize a wide-ranging subpoena aimed

By Gregory Krieg, Veronica Stracqualursi and Ethan Cohen, CNN Boston mayoral candidates Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George, both Democratic city councilors, will advance to the November general election, CNN projects, setting up a historic contest that will for the first time in the city’s history end with a person of color voted into its

By Kate Sullivan, Betsy Klein and Arlette Saenz, CNN Actress, activist and humanitarian Angelina Jolie visited the White House on Wednesday and met with officials to discuss reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, a landmark piece of legislation championed by President Joe Biden. Jolie met with White House press secretary Jen Psaki, communications director Kate

By Jennifer Agiesta and Ariel Edwards-Levy, CNN Most Americans feel democracy is under attack in this country (56%), according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS, as 51% say it is likely that elected officials in the US will successfully overturn the results of a future election because their party did not win. Nearly

USA gymnasts Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols and Aly Raisman testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday about the FBI’s botched investigation into abuse allegations against Larry Nassar. Read their opening statements, as prepared for delivery, below: Read the prepared testimony of Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz. Chairman Durbin, Ranking Member Grassley, and