The White House faces a decision on how to move forward with director of national intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard — wait and see if any GOP senators publicly oppose her, or launch a pressure campaign like the one that helped Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth get confirmed. A number of Republicans emerged from Gabbard's confirmation hearing this week appearing concerned and unimpressed with her answers on Edward Snowden, government surveillance and her communication with foreign adversaries. But no GOP senator has said flat out they will oppose her nomination. That has left the White House and GOP allies feeling like she can get through. |
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Sen. Bill Cassidy (R), a physician-turned-politician from deep-red Louisiana, has emerged as a central figure in the confirmation fight over Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Over the course of six hours in two hearings, Cassidy indicated he holds serious doubts about whether Kennedy is qualified to lead the agency, casting a cloud of uncertainty over Kennedy's path to confirmation. |
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President Trump has managed to turn a controversial TikTok ban into a political advantage, framing himself as the savior of the popular video-sharing platform by offering the app a 75-day reprieve.
The president has taken a more receptive approach toward TikTok — albeit one mired in legal questions — that gives him room to attempt to negotiate a deal and cultivate more goodwill with TikTok's young supporters. |
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Democrats on Friday slammed President Trump over recent news reports that he is considering merging the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) with the State Department. "It is imperative that we maintain an independent development voice and capability within the U.S. government. USAID is, by statute, an independent establishment outside of the State Department. Any proposal to modify that structure would require an Act of Congress," four congressional Democrats wrote in a Friday letter to Jason Gray, USAID's acting administrator. The three-page letter responded to multiple outlets' reporting that the Trump administration is considering having USAID, which among other things sends aid to communities impacted by conflicts and assists developing countries on many aspects, be placed under the control of the State Department. |
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Republican lawmakers, including those from disaster-prone areas, are backing President Trump's calls to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
"We need a FEMA that looks like somebody designed it on purpose, and that's not what we have right now," Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said this week. "It's a mess, and it's very inefficient."
"I welcome the president's interest in trying to improve the process of delivering disaster aid, which is taxpayer money, to people who need it," he said. |
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The Trump administration forced out a number of FBI officials Friday, removing agents who worked on the criminal cases into President Trump as well as the heads of various field offices. A source familiar said agents who had worked on the Mar-a-Lago and Jan. 6 investigations were escorted out of the Washington Field Office. |
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Democrats are gathering in Maryland on Saturday to elect the next chair of their national party in one of Democrats' first steps toward recalibrating after November's disappointing election.
State party chairs Ken Martin of Minnesota and Ben Wikler of Wisconsin, in addition to former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, have emerged as leaders in the race to succeed DNC Chair Jaime Harrison. In all, eight contenders are running.
But the next DNC chair faces a tall task in uniting Democrats while also steering the party's messaging on how to oppose President Trump. |
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David Lebryk, a top Treasury Department nonpolitical career official, retired Friday after clashing with Elon Musk allies over government payment systems, a source familiar with the matter told The Hill on condition of anonymity.
The Washington Post first reported on Lebryk's departure, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Upon his inauguration, President Trump had appointed Lebryk acting Treasury secretary while nominee Scott Bessent was waiting to be confirmed. |
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BY SOPHIA VENTO AND FILIP TIMOTIJA |
An air ambulance plane crashed in Northeast Philadelphia with six people on board Friday.
The Learjet 55 plane crashed around 6:30 p.m. local time after taking off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It was headed to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri. The plane, according to a statement from JetRescue obtained by Nexstar, was carrying four crew members and two passengers, including a pediatric patient. |
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OPINION | Back in the 1990s, I worked for an organization marketing to engineers. When surveyed, this group insisted they preferred their information straight — no pretty pictures, plain text emails, just the facts. When we tested their self-reported preferred delivery methods against a combination of evocative imagery and more emphatic text, guess which won? While highly educated engineers wanted to see themselves as "above" falling for the crass tactics of marketing and propaganda, they were just as susceptible as the rest of us. |
OPINION | With President Trump back in office, Vladimir Putin sees an opportunity to break his international isolation and rehabilitate his image as a statesman. What Putin desires most is for Trump to help him reassert his stature on the global stage. To this end, the Russian leader has been carefully flattering Trump, setting the groundwork for a high-profile meeting that could bolster his position both domestically and abroad. |
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Once Pam Bondi is confirmed as attorney general, she will be free to handle matters involving some of her former lobbying clients, thanks to an agreement she signed with federal government officials. That agreement will not prove to be unusual in the second Trump administration. |
BY VALERIE BAUERLEIN, SCOTT CALVERT, ALLISON POHLE AND LOUISE RADNOFSKY |
Rowan Le Coq, a 17-year-old ice dancer, considered his best friend Spencer Lane more than just a fellow skater — he was like a brother. They traded daily messages about their dreams of athletic glory but also spent hours doing what teenage boys do: sharing TikToks and playing Roblox. They had both traveled from the East Coast to Wichita, Kan., for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, where Le Coq was competing in the junior event, and Spencer, 16, had been invited for an elite development camp, proudly wearing the coveted red jacket given to young skaters chosen for the program. | In Boston, Northeastern University renamed a program for underrepresented students, emphasizing "belonging" for all. In New Jersey, a session at Rutgers University catering to students from historically Black colleges had to be abruptly canceled. And around the U.S., colleges are assessing program names and titles that could run afoul of a Trump administration crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. New White House orders ban DEI policies in programs that receive federal money. Across higher education, institutions rely on federal funding for research grants, projects and contract work. |
BY MAHAM JAVAID, LARIS KARKLIS AND HANNAH DORMIDO |
President Trump has long been fixated on the Panama Canal, a crucial shipping route between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. He has railed against rising tolls on American ships (though the increases apply to all vessels), falsely claimed that Panama has handed control to Chinese soldiers and even suggested that he wouldn't rule out U.S. military action to reclaim it. It was even part of a Christmas Day message on his Truth Social site. "Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal," he wrote. He brought it up again during his inauguration speech. |
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