Senate’s summer pileup is threatening a quick recess escape

Republicans are discussing several options, including holding fresh votes related to the SAVE America Act.

Strait of Hormuz ​fight continues to evolve with Iran-Oman talks

Welcome to The Hill's Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security The Big Story Strait of Hormuz fight continues to evolve with Iran-Oman talks An emerging deal between Iran and Oman could lead to the biggest concession yet

Michigan House candidate says he left DSA to 'unite' district

Progressive House candidate Will Lawrence (D) said Wednesday that he allowed his Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) membership to lapse within the past month, explaining that he wanted to focus on uniting swing voters in Michigan’s battleground 7th District. “I’ve got a lot

US revokes Brazil ambassador's visa over diplomatic tensions

The State Department revoked the visa of Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, the Brazilian ambassador to the U.S., on Tuesday amid tensions between the two governments. The office of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a statement it “repudiates” the decision by the

Hemp fight trips up spending bill

Click in for more news from The Hill {beacon} Healthcare Healthcare The Big Story GOP hemp fight delays spending bill An internal GOP fight over intoxicating hemp products is slowing up passage of a government funding bill. Amy Beth Bennett, South Florida Sun Sentinel,

America’s water systems are under attack. Iran may be to blame

A recent wave of cyberattacks on American water systems is raising alarm at all levels of government, with U.S. authorities reportedly suspecting Iran-linked hackers. The FBI reported Thursday that “malicious cyber actors” targeted water and wastewater utility companies in at

Trump's nuclear-powered battleships cost $275B: CBO report

President Trump’s new class of battleships, which are envisioned to anchor the U.S. Navy’s “Golden Fleet,” are expected to cost around $275 billion to build, according to a government report released Wednesday. The first of 15 ships, the USS Defiant, is projected to cost

Federal judge holds DHS in contempt over Los Angeles immigration sweeps

A federal judge held the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in contempt following the agency’s delay in complying with an order to release digital copies of communication on the cellphones of more than 800 immigration agents, according to an order unsealed Tuesday. District

The Memo: Left looks to seize on momentum from El-Sayed's win

The left of the Democratic Party kept up its strong momentum on Tuesday, even if primary results in Michigan and several other states stopped short of unequivocal triumph. The marquee race in Michigan ended in a narrow victory for Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive public health

Democrats accuse Wright of lying to Congress

{beacon} Energy & Environment Energy & Environment The Big Story Democrats accuse Wright of lying to Congress Two House Democrats have formally referred Energy Secretary Chris Wright to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for potential prosecution, accusing him of lying to

Trump urges GOP senators to back off hemp ban

President Donald Trump called Sen. Ted Budd about a delay provision, a Senate aide said.

Trump says El-Sayed is 'full of s‑‑‑,' calls him a 'man of hate'

President Trump lashed out at Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed during a campaign-style event in Las Vegas on Wednesday. “The polls were wrong again last night when they said it would be a landslide victory for a hater of Jews and a hater of Israel,” Trump said

GOP Women’s Caucus chair says House should follow through on Edwards censure

Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), chair of the Republican Women’s Caucus, on Wednesday said the House should follow through with a censure of Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) despite his decision to drop his reelection bid. Edwards’s decision came after the House Ethics Committee on Monday

What to know as Senate panel sets vote to hold Fauci in contempt

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is set to vote Thursday on a resolution to hold former top health official Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress, a week after he pleaded the Fifth Amendment in refusing to answer questions during a committee

Democrats call on Interior Office of the Inspector General to probe Reflecting Pool controversy

Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) are pressing the Office of the Inspector General in the Department of the Interior to investigate recent issues with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. “We write to request that the Office of Inspector General

Trump’s NASA Official Not Too Worried as SpaceX Rocket Dents the Moon

One of Elon Musk’s wayward rockets seems to have crashed into the moon, but the Trump administration isn’t worried about it. Part of a SpaceX rocket crashed into the moon Wednesday morning, reportedly with the impact of three tons of TNT. The crash sent up a big cloud of dust

Trump Overstates Magnitude of Noncitizen Voting in New Jersey

New Jersey's governor announced that "a software error" in the state's motor vehicle registration system resulted in 6,600 noncitizens being improperly added to the state's voter registration list. The state's preliminary investigation found that up to 400 votes were cast by

Trump’s Cherry-Picked Inflation Boast

In one month, from May to June, overall inflation in the U.S. dropped at the "fastest rate in more than six years," as President Donald Trump said in late July remarks. But he has repeatedly cited the statistic while wrongly suggesting that the inflation rate is now "way down"

Francesca Hong says Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday: 'I don't want to cancel it'

Democratic socialist and Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong (D) walked back on her previous social media post calling to "cancel Thanksgiving," telling Politico's Irie Sentner in an interview Wednesday that the holiday is her "favorite." Hong, a professional chef and Wisconsin

AI ambitions fuel growing tech debt

{beacon} Technology Technology The Big Story Tech firms rack up debt, risks to fund AI ambitions Major technology companies are taking on massive amounts of debt to fund their lofty AI ambitions, casting a shadow over investors’ once-endless well of enthusiasm for AI-related

Trump files emergency motion to block BBC from getting financial details about business empire

President Trump’s attorney filed an emergency motion Wednesday seeking to block the BBC from obtaining financial records linked to his trust. The British broadcaster received approval from a judge late last month to probe the president’s financial documents after Trump claimed

Trump revamps White House helipad, then tears it up

Construction on a new helipad went through a restart as crews demolished a granite seal that would be the landing spot for Marine One, as work on new changes to the helipad requested by President Trump rolls along. Construction workers on Wednesday used jackhammers to remove

Transcript: What El-Sayed’s Narrow Win Tells Us About the Democrats

This is a lightly edited transcript of the August 5 edition of Right Now With Perry Bacon. You can watch the video here or by following this show on YouTube or Substack . Perry Bacon: I’m Perry Bacon, the host. Two great guests. Julia Azari is a political scientist at Marquette

Trump Tries to Pause His Own BBC Lawsuit to Hide His Finances

President Trump on Wednesday filed an emergency motion to stop the British Broadcasting Corporation from gaining broad access to intimate details about his finances. The emergency stay is the latest development in how Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC,

Americans more concerned about cost of living, inflation than Iran war: Poll

Americans are more concerned about the cost of living and inflation than they are about the Iran war, a new poll found. A Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday shows 35 percent of American adults consider the cost of living and inflation to be the most

UK's new foreign minister ignores questions about calling Trump ‘racist’

U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband ignored questions from reporters about his past criticisms of President Trump ahead of a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington. After Trump’s first election victory in 2016, Britain’s new top diplomat called him a “racist,

Most Americans say Iran conflict not worth the cost, falls short of goals: Poll

Most Americans say the war in Iran has not been worth the cost and has fallen short of its goals, according to a new poll. In a Marquette Law School Supreme Court poll, 88 percent of respondents said the U.S. has "not achieved its goals" in the conflict against Iran, while 12

Holdouts meet with Blanche

Todd Blanche Sends Chilling Message to Every U.S. Attorney

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche gave a chilling message to U.S. attorneys across the country at a press conference Wednesday. A reporter asked Blanche if he stood by D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s decision to drop the four cases of vandalism over the Lincoln Memorial

Hegseth's choice for top Army role faces GOP resistance in Senate

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s choice for the top uniformed Army job is at risk of not getting confirmed over objections from both sides of the aisle. Gen. Christopher LaNeve, who has been the acting Army chief of staff since April, needs unanimous support from GOP senators

Trump’s CDC pick wins Senate confirmation

Senators voted mostly on party lines for Erica Schwartz, but Democrat Tim Kaine also backed her, citing her qualifications for the job.

Peters argues Fauci can't be punished for pleading Fifth ahead of contempt vote

COVID czar Anthony Fauci cannot be prosecuted for asserting his Fifth Amendment rights in a recent hearing, Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) wrote in a letter to colleagues, arguing the former government scientist's pardon does not undermine his constitutional protections. The

Blanche defers to Trump on Pirro's future over Reflecting Pool case: 'That’s his call'

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday deferred questions regarding the future of Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, to President Trump, saying, "That's his call." Blanche, who once was Trump's personal attorney, told reporters that "Judge

Trump’s Deportations Turn Into New Horror With End of TPS for Haitians

Temporary Protected Status has officially ended for Haitians, putting hundreds of thousands of people at risk of being deported—even though the United States still designates Haiti with a level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes of

Senate confirms Erica Schwartz as new CDC leader

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will soon have a new official director for the first time in nearly a year, after the Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm Dr. Erica Schwartz. Schwartz was confirmed on a mostly party-line 51-44 vote. Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.)

The risks of many diseases are linked to birth order, study finds

The study didn’t include uninsured families or those on Medicaid, which means the data may be skewed.

450K student loan borrowers eligible for debt relief after court ruling

The Education Department will erase roughly $11 billion in federal student loan debt owed by more than 170,000 borrowers after a federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to delay relief for students who claimed they were defrauded by their schools. The

Moreno responds to Johnson

Does permanent daylight saving time save energy? What studies have found

With a little less than three months until our clocks are set to "fall back" to standard time, the pressure to pass a bill that could prevent that is on, including from the Oval Office.

Democrats refer Wright to DOJ for prosecution, accusing him of lying to Congress

Two House Democrats have formally referred Energy Secretary Chris Wright to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for potential prosecution, accusing him of lying to Congress about whether green grants were canceled for partisan reasons. In a letter made public on Wednesday, Reps.

Hegseth’s choice for Army chief hits Senate snag

Acting Army chief of staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve previously served as Pete Hegseth’s senior military aide.

Democrats quickly coalesce around El-Sayed after Michigan primary win

Democrats are quickly coalescing around Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed following his narrow Tuesday primary win. Several lawmakers who previously backed his competitor Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) said it was time to change course and support the party nominee

New Mexico suing DOJ, Blanche for access to unredacted Epstein records in Zorro Ranch investigation

New Mexico is suing the Department of Justice (DOJ) for access to a set of unredacted Jeffrey Epstein records, alleging the agency is withholding documents that could aid the state’s investigation into the convicted sex offender’s alleged crimes at a remote ranch outside Santa

'Uncommitted' movement co-founder wins Democratic state Senate primary in Michigan

Abbas Alawieh, co-founder of the Uncommitted National Movement, is projected to win a Democratic state Senate primary in Michigan, according to Decision Desk HQ. The 2nd Senate District — which includes Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and parts of Allen Park and Detroit — was the

Watch live: Trump seeks to sell economic agenda, tax cuts in Las Vegas speech

President Trump will deliver remarks Thursday afternoon in Las Vegas highlighting his administration's economic agenda and promoting the sweeping tax cuts enacted through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which he signed into law last year. The speech comes as Trump seeks to

Democratic Women's Caucus leaders call on Max Miller to resign

Leaders of the Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) on Wednesday called on Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) to resign, as the House Ethics Committee probes abuse allegations levied against him by his ex-wife. DWC Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (N.M.) and Vice Chairs Hillary Scholten (Mich.)

For Babydog, it’s time to help the greyhounds

Federation of Humane Organizations of West Virginia President Theresa Bruner is calling on Sen. Jim Justice to support the Greyhound Protection Act in the Senate Agriculture Committee to end state-subsidized greyhound racing.

Stephen A. Smith knocks WNBA coach for backing trans athletes: 'Irresponsible'

Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith on Tuesday heavily criticized a WNBA coach over a shirt she wore courtside that said, “Trans Kids Belong.” In a game Sunday against the Indiana Fever, Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve wore the shirt following comments made by Fever

Sabato's Crystal Ball shifts Kansas Senate race in Democrats' favor

Election handicapper Sabato’s Crystal Ball on Tuesday shifted the Kansas Senate race from safe Republican to likely Republican following the Rev. Adam Hamilton’s Democratic primary win. Sabato’s Crystal Ball said a Hamilton win is a “long shot” but highlighted his $3.09 million

Big Oil wants to rig the courts. You’ll pay for it on your utility bill.

Congressman Mike Levin argues that rising energy costs and climate disaster expenses stem from fossil fuel industry deception and lack of corporate accountability, proposing the Energy Bills Relief Act as a solution.