National Politics

By Kaitlan Collins and Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump said negotiations to end the Ukraine war will start “immediately” after holding a “lengthy and highly productive” telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday morning. The call, which is the first known conversation between the presidents since Trump assumed office last

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — The next stage of the Trump administration’s efforts to slash the federal workforce is underway. Agency leaders have been told to begin preparations for large-scale layoffs, known as reductions in force, or RIFs, under an executive order President Donald Trump signed Tuesday. They will work with Elon Musk’s Department

By Katelyn Polantz and Manu Raju, CNN (CNN) — Eight inspectors general whom Donald Trump fired from their federal agency watchdog posts are suing for their jobs back, adding to the legal scrutiny over Trump’s first weeks of decisions in the White House and raising questions about his political intentions. They say that Trump shouldn’t

By Daniel Dale, CNN Washington (CNN) — Elon Musk acknowledged Tuesday that there might not have been a federal plan to spend $50 million on condoms for Gaza — two weeks after the White House press secretary told the false story at an official briefing and more than a week after the president baselessly doubled

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Tuesday that she has faith federal court orders will be honored in the United States amid a roiling debate over President Donald Trump’s commitment to following judicial rulings that have put some of his policies on hold. “Court decisions stand,” the high court’s

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s purge at independent agencies is putting a target on a nearly 100-year-old Supreme Court precedent that protects certain officials from the political whims of the White House. Since taking office four weeks ago, Trump has rapidly fired a member of the National Labor Relations Board, two

CNN By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s purge at independent agencies is putting a target on a nearly 100-year-old Supreme Court precedent that protects certain officials from the political whims of the White House. Since taking office four weeks ago, Trump has rapidly fired a member of the National Labor Relations Board,

CNN By Alexandra Banner, CNN (CNN) — An American teacher who was wrongfully detained in Russia is back on US soil after the White House secured his release in an “exchange.” Learn more about Marc Fogel, who was arrested in 2021 at a Moscow airport for carrying cannabis and given a 14-year sentence at a

By Kevin Liptak, Jeff Zeleny and Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Elon Musk, the world’s richest man who is now leading a sweeping effort to reshape the federal government, offered the most sustained defense of his far-reaching moves during a question-and-answer session in the Oval Office late Tuesday. As President Donald Trump watched from his

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The inspector general of the US Agency for International Development was fired on Tuesday, a day after his office released a report critical of the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the agency, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. Paul Martin was informed by an email from the

By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee is alleging that Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, is “personally directing the ongoing purge” of bureau employees. In a letter to the Justice Department’s inspector general Tuesday, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said that he had received