National Politics

By Kevin Liptak and Kayla Tausche, CNN Lima, Peru (CNN) — When President Joe Biden’s aides were planning his visit to South America this week for a pair of leaders’ summits, two vastly different scenarios were in play. In one, Biden arrived as the confident statesman burnishing a legacy and preparing to hand off to

By Oren Liebermann, CNN (CNN) — The Pentagon has received hundreds of reports of new UFO sightings, including “several particularly interesting cases,” according to the director of the office that investigates these reports, but reiterated it found no evidence of alien activity. The Pentagon, working with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)

By David Culver and Rachel Clarke, CNN (CNN) — As he stood inside the echoing hall of the prison, Matt Gaetz seemed impressed. “There’s a lot more discipline in this prison than we see in a lot of the prisons in the United States,” said Gaetz, then a congressman, now announced as President-elect Donald Trump’s

CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here’s a look at the life of former Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross Jr. Personal Birth date: November 28, 1937 Birth place: Weehawken, New Jersey Birth name: Wilbur Louis Ross Jr. Father: Wilbur Louis Ross Sr., a lawyer Mother: Agnes (O’Neill) Ross, a teacher Marriages: Hilary (Geary) Ross (October 9,

By Manu Raju and Lauren Fox, CNN (CNN) — Top Senate Republicans are withholding support for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general, while Democrats and at least one prominent GOP senator call for the release of an ethics report into the former congressman. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — The FBI announced on Thursday the arrest of a Texas man who allegedly created and disseminated ISIS propaganda and wanted to commit a “9/11-style” attack in the United States. The man, Anas Said, was arrested last week outside of his apartment in Houston, Texas. His arraignment and detention hearing

By Tami Luhby, Tierney Sneed and Rene Marsh, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk have big ambitions for making the federal government leaner and more efficient by reviewing its budget and operations from top to bottom. Musk, the world’s richest person who owns or runs several companies, has warned that his goals

By Eric Bradner, Kayla Tausche and Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — In the days after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, allies described his transition effort as far more disciplined than his first post-victory period in 2016. Then, a 24-hour stretch — that started with Trump’s selection of Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary on

By Jeremy Herb and Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary Pete Hegseth has railed against women in combat, voiced support for troops accused and in some instances, convicted of war crimes, and advocated for the firing of the military’s most senior officers accused of supporting so-called woke policies. Though

By Sean Lyngaas and Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — As Donald Trump conducts a free-wheeling transition from his Mar-a-Lago estate, drawing flocks of business moguls, contractors, foreign dignitaries and anyone looking for jobs in the new administration, the federal agencies charged with protecting the president-elect and his communications face a daunting task. Security at Mar-a-Lago

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — The lawyers who have been representing Rudy Giuliani are trying to quit his debt enforcement case because of disagreements with him, according to new court filings, as a Friday deadline nears for the former New York City mayor to turn over many of his most valuable possessions to two

By Aileen Graef, Annie Grayer and Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — House Republicans announced Wednesday night an agreement to raise the threshold to invoke a motion to vacate the speaker’s chair, in exchange for amendment changes. The motion to vacate rule currently allows just a single member of Congress to call for a no-confidence vote

By Kaitlan Collins, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump is seriously considering naming his lead attorney Todd Blanche to serve as the next deputy attorney general, the second-highest position in the Justice Department, according to two people familiar with his thinking. Blanche has represented Trump for the last 18 months and defended him during his

By Marshall Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Eric Hovde, the Wisconsin Republican who nearly unseated Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, acknowledged this week that he lost the election but also raised questions about the legitimacy of the result as he mulls requesting a recount. Even as they celebrate President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, right-wing figures such as tech