John Thune signals he’ll pursue a 2028 Senate run. Some aren’t sure he’ll follow through.

Recent disputes with President Donald Trump have weighed on the Senate majority leader.

Military retires 'Southern Spear' anti-drug operation for Western Hemisphere task force

The U.S. military has officially retired the joint task force aimed at targeting suspected drug-carrying vessels coming from Central and South America, replacing it with a new command structure meant to handle the issue across the Western Hemisphere. Joint Task Force-Southern

Court halts green fund clawback

{beacon} Energy & Environment Energy & Environment The Big Story Court halts green fund clawback In a reversal, a federal appeals court has once again blocked the Trump administration from rescinding billions in climate funds issued under the Biden administration’s signature

Watch live: DDHQ, The Hill track primaries in Michigan, Virginia, Kansas, Missouri and Washington

The Hill presents an hour and a half of live, real-time coverage, diving deep into the 2026 primary elections in Michigan, Virginia, Missouri, Kansas and Washington. The race in the Great Lakes State is especially notable as progressive Abdul El-Sayed takes on moderate Rep.

Watch live: Nexstar's South Carolina GOP Senate primary debate

The Hill will present live coverage of Nexstar Media Group’s exclusive Debate Night in South Carolina on Tuesday evening from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. EDT. The GOP Senate primary debate will be moderated by News 2's Carolyn Murray and Queen City News's Alicia Barnes.

Collins to oppose Blanche

FDA authorizes 4 flavored nicotine pouches

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday granted marketing authorization to four new flavored nicotine pouches as part of the agency's tobacco review pilot program launched last year. Four nicotine pouch products — Rich Berry 2 mg, Cappuccino 2 mg, Cappuccino 4 mg and

Judges Rip Trump Apart 75 Times for Violating First Amendment

Despite campaigning to bring back free speech, President Trump has been a serial violator of the First Amendment to the Constitution, according to a new report. A Reuters investigation found 75 rulings from federal judges that Trump infringed on constitutional freedoms such as

Trump Suffers 20th Straight Loss in Pathetic “Voter Fraud” Crusade

President Trump’s Justice Department lost yet another attempt to access a state’s unredacted voter rolls, bringing their record to 0 for 20. U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer on Monday delivered the Trump administration its 20th straight loss, ruling that the Justice

Kids' safety advocates hope for age verification win

{beacon} Technology Technology The Big Story Kids safety advocates seek age verification win A Senate panel will take up a slate of kids online safety bills on Wednesday, in what age verification proponents see as a key hurdle for the controversial topic. © Photo by Leon

Reflecting Pool reversal brings scrutiny on cases, Pirro's job security

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s decision to drop cases against people suspected of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has opened a new line of scrutiny around the potential legal ramifications. As lawyers question what federal prosecutors knew and when, some suggested

Blanche deal leaves loopholes on 'anti-weaponization' fund, Trump immunity

The word of the day for Senate Democrats Tuesday was “loophole,” as they fumed over a deal they say failed to kill President Trump’s $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, as well as a sweeping order from his attorney general pick that grants him immunity from any government

UFC parent company lost $30M on White House fight

An executive from TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of the UFC, said Monday the firm lost roughly $30 million from its June event at the White House. “With regards to UFC Freedom 250, we incurred significantly higher-than-normal costs, which we partially offset with

Senate funding bill seeks delay of hemp THC ban

Makers of hemp THC products were thrown a lifeline when senators in a stopgap spending bill included a delay of a federal ban on their products. The Senate’s government funding bill set to be considered this week would delay the upcoming prohibition on most hemp-derived THC

Live results: Washington heads to the polls to choose House candidates

Washington voters are heading to the polls to cast their ballots and choose candidates to face off in November's House elections. The Evergreen State has a top-two primary system, where all candidates run in a single primary and the top two vote-getters advance to the November

Live results: Virginia voters set up matchups for vulnerable House seats

Virginians head to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots to choose nominees for House races in the Old Dominion State. Virginia Democrats attempted to redraw the state's congressional districts following their success in taking back the governor's mansion last November.

Live results: Michigan voters head to polls for House primaries

Voters in Michigan are at the polls Tuesday to weigh in on a series of House primary elections. There are two open seats up for grabs — with the 4th Congressional District's Rep. Haley Stevens (D) and 10th Congressional District's Rep. John James (R) seeking higher office.

Live results: Marshall seeks second Senate term in Kansas GOP primary

Republican Sen. Roger Marshall is expected to easily secure the GOP nod Tuesday as he seeks a second term representing Kansas in Washington. He faces one challenger, Pond Naramore. On the other side of the aisle, pastor Adam Hamilton leads the crowded Democratic field — even

Live results: Kansas holds primaries as GOP looks to flip governor's seat

Republicans are looking to flip the Kansas governor's mansion this fall, with Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly unable to run for reelection again. President Trump has endorsed state Senate President Ty Masterson in Tuesday's GOP primary to replace Kelly, who is term limited. Kansas

Live results: Kansas holds House primary elections

Voters in Kansas are at the polls Tuesday to weigh in on a suite of House primary contests. All incumbents are running for reelection. Polls close at 8 p.m. EDT. Follow Decision Desk HQ's live results below.

Live results: El-Sayed, Stevens show down for Democratic nod in battleground Michigan Senate race

Progressive Abdul El-Sayed and centrist Rep. Haley Stevens are facing off Tuesday for the Democratic nomination for retiring Sen. Gary Peters's seat in Michigan. The winner will face off against former Rep. Mike Rogers, the presumptive Republican nominee. Tuesday's primary

Live results: Democrats, Republicans compete to replace Whitmer in Michigan gubernatorial primaries

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is on track to secure the Democratic nod to replace term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), while three Republicans jockey for the GOP nomination. Benson is expected to easily advance from a Tuesday primary where she faces one

Live results: Bush eyes comeback in Missouri House primary

Former Democratic Rep. Cori Bush is looking to return to Congress Tuesday as she challenges her successor Rep. Wesley Bell (D) in a Tuesday House primary. Bell ousted the progressive former "Squad" member in 2024 from the St. Louis seat, which will become the state's lone blue

FBI agent charged in theft of almost $1M in cryptocurrency from Russia

A supervisory FBI agent faces two federal charges for collecting more than $900,000 between “adversarial” cryptocurrency accounts tied to criminal targets overseas to his personal wallet. The FBI fired Patrick Steven Yaroch last week, and he was arrested for interstate

Trump National Guard deployment in Washington estimated to cost $1.4B more

The Pentagon’s deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., is reportedly projected to cost another $1.4 billion through the end of President Trump’s second term, according to information the Pentagon provided to Congress. The estimate, given to Sen. Elizabeth

Mullin reveals cause of latest death at New Jersey ICE facility

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Tuesday said the latest death at the Delaney Hall detention center for immigrants was caused by cardiac arrest. Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, a 41-year-old detainee from El Salvador, was pronounced dead on Saturday by medical personnel at

Mullin responds to MAGA blowback over remarks at governor's meeting

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Tuesday pushed back against the blowback he received from President Trump's MAGA allies over comments he made to state governors in an exclusive interview with NewsNation's Ali Bradley. Mullin spoke out about the Department of

Blanche picks up key GOP support but some swing votes undecided

Two previously undecided Republican senators, Sens. John Curtis (R-Utah) and Jon Husted (R-Ohio), on Monday committed to supporting Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general after receiving adquate assurances about their concerns. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved

Epstein Survivors Say Republicans Ghosted Them Before Blanche Vote

Republican Senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn each reneged on their promises to meet with victims of Jeffrey Epstein, with Tillis even leaving them waiting in his office for 45 minutes before they gave up. A group of Epstein survivors on Tuesday accused Blanche and Cornyn of

Cornyn Claims Republicans Can’t Rein In Trump—as He Bends the Knee

Republican Senator John Cornyn tried to claim Tuesday that Republicans didn’t have any power over President Trump. After Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Cornyn, voted to send acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation to the full Senate

Measles outbreak in 2025 cost almost $5.4M to contain: Research

The measles outbreak in 2025 cost almost $5.4 million to contain according to new research published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Authors of the study said $53,522 was spent per measles case, which breaks down to $1,817 per person that came into contact with the

Epstein survivor calls Cornyn's vote to advance Blanche nomination 'really depressing'

A victim of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein lamented Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) Tuesday vote to advance the nomination of Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general. “There’s always a glimmer of hope that somebody will do the right thing,” Dani Bensky told MS NOW’s

Nearly 3 in 4 Harris voters say Dem lawmakers should challenge Trump more: Poll

Close to 3 in 4 voters who supported Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election believe that Democrats on Capitol Hill should challenge President Trump more. In The Economist/YouGov poll, 74 percent of Harris voter respondents said that congressional

Trump Abruptly Changes Course on Renovation, Undoing Weeks of Work

President Donald Trump has ordered contractors to redo weeks of work on a new helipad for the White House, after already demanding workers speed up construction. For more than a month, contractors have worked around the clock to complete Trump’s helipad, which he directed to be

Trump demands contractors make changes to his under-construction helipad: Report

President Trump ordered contractors working on the White House helipad to redo their work, frustrated with its appearance after weeks of construction, according to reports. Trump was dissatisfied with the result of the construction of the helipad, having made it a priority when

Pressley breaks with Jeffries over Missouri primary race

It’s the second time she broke with the Dem leader over endorsements.

Moreno says family in '7th level of hell' as daughter 'in constant fear' of Miller

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) on Tuesday lamented the situation his family is in after his daughter accused Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) of abuse. “I hope you guys understand — maybe I hope you never have to understand — what my daughter’s been through, what my daughter’s going

Gallego introduces bill requiring social media firms to get parental approval for users under 16

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz) is introducing legislation Tuesday mandating social media platforms receive parental permission before children under 16 can create and keep accounts on the applications. The measure would be the most significant requirement on social media companies

Senate Democrats press Trump administration on access to advanced AI models

A group of Senate Democrats is pressing the Trump administration for answers about its policies surrounding American AI models following controversial decisions on AI regulations. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Christopher Coons

Rove: Republicans making same mistake that hurt Democrats in 2024

GOP strategist Karl Rove warned Monday that Republicans risk making the same political mistake he believes cost Democrats the 2024 election, arguing the party is relying too heavily on favorable gross domestic product and job figures while failing to address the economic

Why cyclospora can be deadly for some people

Michigan health officials reported what appear to be the first deaths in connection with the ongoing cyclospora outbreak on Monday.

Ethics Committee to Investigate Miller as Abuse Allegations Blow Up

The allegations against Representative Max Miller have become so loud that the Ohio Republican has decided to launch a House ethics investigation into himself in a flagrant attempt to salvage his spiraling midterm campaign. “In light of all the renewed interest in my family

Pence: Upcoming midterms 'couldn’t be more important in the life of the nation'

Former Vice President Mike Pence said Monday he thinks this year’s midterm elections will deeply affect the fate of the U.S. In an interview on WABC’s “Cats & Cosby” radio show, Pence said he believed “this upcoming election couldn't be more important in the life of the

Todd Blanche is 1 vote away from confirmation

Utah Sen. John Curtis is the latest Republican to back the attorney general nominee.

Blanche pledges to make Dobbs decision 'permanent' in every state

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told faith leaders he is planning to roll back abortion access even in states that have laws protecting it. On a private call last week hosted by the White House Faith Office, Blanche told the religious group Intercessors for America that

RFK Jr.’s Falsehood-Filled CNN Interview

In a contentious interview on CNN's "State of the Union," Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made several false, misleading and baseless claims about the origins of Lyme disease and the respiratory syncytial virus, the COVID-19 pandemic, and what the

Maryland House approves constitutional amendment clarifying redistricting rules

Lawmakers in the Maryland House on Tuesday passed a constitutional amendment to clarify rules around redistricting as the national fight over congressional lines promises to rage beyond the midterms. Delegates voted 96-38 to pass House Bill 2100, which now heads to the

Pirro Rushes to Prove to Trump She Didn’t Mess Up Reflecting Pool Case

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro hauled a crate of evidence to the White House Monday evening in a bid to convince President Donald Trump that vandals weren’t responsible for damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Trump is reportedly considering firing Pirro over the

Multiple passengers receive medical care after 22 flights diverted from Denver

Severe weather caused the flights to land in Colorado Springs instead of Denver.

Senate panel to vote on Fauci contempt resolution after tense hearing

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) will vote Thursday on a resolution to hold former top health official Anthony Fauci in contempt following his hearing last week in which he invoked his Fifth Amendment right more than 100 times and refused