National Politics

Most Republicans in Congress still haven’t called to congratulate Joe Biden for winning the election, let alone refer to him as President-elect — which makes Mitt Romney all the more of an outlier. He was the first GOP senator to congratulate Biden when he was declared the victor. That’s a reflection of Romney’s moderate background,

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Wednesday they have seen “no substantial changes” in the state’s election recount and expects to re-certify President-elect Joe Biden as the winner. News of the looming recount results is yet another blow to President Donald Trump, who continues to baselessly claim widespread voter fraud in the state and

The oldest state in the nation now has the nation’s youngest House speaker in modern history. At 28, Ryan Fecteau is also the first out gay person in the Maine Legislature’s most powerful role, according to Maine’s House Clerk and the National Conference of State Legislatures. Fecteau was elected by his House colleagues in Augusta

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell choked up on the Senate floor Wednesday as he remembered his decades long friendship with the retiring Tennessee Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, a rare moment of raw emotion from the usually stoic Republican leader. McConnell’s comments came moments before Alexander delivered his own farewell address to the chamber, where he’s

The White House coronavirus task force issued extremely dire warnings to states in weekly reports this week, urging public health officials to circumvent state and local policies amid record high cases, hospitalizations and deaths, as well as fears of a surge upon a surge following Thanksgiving. “The COVID risk to all Americans is at a

The remainder of the late US Rep. John Lewis’ term will be served by Democrat Kwanza Hall, who won control of the reliably blue seat in a House runoff special election in Georgia Tuesday, CNN projects. Hall, a former Atlanta city councilman, will be sworn in after the election’s results are certified and serve for

President Donald Trump talked during a Christmas reception at the White House on Tuesday about spending four more years in office — whether that starts in January 2021 or January 2025, according to a source familiar with his comments. “It’s been an amazing four years,” Trump told the room, filled with many people not wearing

Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have sent a letter to President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team lobbying for New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to be nominated for the role of health and human services secretary. The letter, signed by 32 members of Congress, including Hispanic Caucus Chairman Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat, commends Biden

President Donald Trump’s associates are making appeals to him in the hopes of obtaining pardons before he leaves office, a source familiar with the matter told CNN on Tuesday. The source said the list of associates broaching the subject of preemptive pardons that would seek to shield those individuals from prosecution includes Rudy Giuliani, who

Dr. Anthony Fauci’s effort to educate the public on the coronavirus pandemic has earned him scores of admirers, but his work on the global HIV/AIDS crisis saw him cheered on Tuesday by one star-studded fan — Elton John. “What a wonderful and fitting way to mark World AIDS Day, by honoring one of the biggest

Dr. Scott Atlas, a highly controversial member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, has resigned from his post in the Trump administration. A source familiar with what happened told CNN that Atlas turned in his resignation letter to President Donald Trump on Monday. As a special government employee, Atlas had a 130-day window in

An attorney for the Trump campaign on Monday issued a call for violence against Chris Krebs, a former cybersecurity official who was unceremoniously ousted from his post by President Donald Trump after he rejected the President’s unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud. Joe diGenova, the attorney for Trump’s campaign, said during an appearance on “The

President Donald Trump and his political operation have raised more than $170 million since Election Day, a person familiar with the matter said — a massive fundraising haul fueled by Trump’s baseless allegations that the election was rigged. The fundraising flowed into the coffers of Trump’s joint fundraising committee in less than four weeks thanks

The Justice Department hasn’t found evidence to support allegations of widespread fraud that could have changed the result of last month’s presidential election, Attorney General William Barr said in an interview with the Associated Press published Tuesday. The comments from Barr, who has been steadfast in his support of President Donald Trump during his tenure,

Attorney General William Barr appointed Connecticut US Attorney John Durham to act as special counsel investigating whether intelligence and law enforcement violated the law in investigating the 2016 Trump presidential campaign. The announcement on Tuesday doubles down on one of President Donald Trump’s longtime infatuations — that national security and criminal concerns about his campaign

Two of the top negotiators in Washington — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — spoke Tuesday afternoon about funding the government, weeks after talks broke down for a new stimulus package to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic fallout. “I will be speaking to the speaker this afternoon, we’re

President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday introduced key members of his economic team at an event in Wilmington, Delaware, including Janet Yellen, who would be the first woman to serve as Treasury secretary. “A first-rate team that’s going to get us through this ongoing economic crisis and help us build the economy back, not just build

Tina Flournoy, who is currently serving as chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton, has been chosen to be Vice President-elect Kamala Harris‘ chief of staff, according to a source with knowledge of the decision. Flournoy will join at least two other women of color holding senior roles in Harris’ office. Symone Sanders, a

The White House kicked off its holiday party season on Monday, marking the start of more than a dozen festive group gatherings, even as the coronavirus pandemic ravages the country. There are some safety protocols in place for the events, but most, if not all, of the holiday parties will still flout US Centers for