Welcome to The Hill's Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security The Big Story Hegseth in hot water amid fallout from boat strike Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing growing pressure over a Washington Post report that he
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth backed Navy Adm. Frank Bradley, who ordered a second strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean Sea on Sept. 2. “Lets make one thing crystal clear: Admiral Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100%
The White House placed the decision to launch a second, follow-up Sept. 2 strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea at the feet of the commander overseeing the operation from Fort Bragg, N.C., Navy Adm. Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley. Bradley — who was authorized by Defense
Any Lopez Belloza, a freshman, is studying business at Babson College.
Welcome to The Hill's Business & Economy newsletter {beacon} Business & Economy Business & Economy The Big Story TSA breaks screening records with holiday rush With the government shutdown over, airports handled a record-breaking surge of holiday travel, per new data. © AP The
{beacon} Technology The Big Story AI fights split Republicans in high-stakes NDAA talks A battle among Republican lawmakers over the future of U.S. AI policy is threatening to hold up a must-pass annual Defense bill. © Mariam Zuhaib, Associated Press Lawmakers are wrestling
{beacon} Energy & Environment Energy & Environment The Big Story Trump to reconsider part of silica dust rule The Trump administration says it will reconsider aspects of a rule that aims to protect miners from exposure to harmful silica dust on the job. © File AP Photo/Leah
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened more than 3.13 million people at U.S. airports on Sunday, a new single-day record. TSA announced the milestone Monday on the social platform X. The mark surpassed the previous high of more than 3.09 million, set on June
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing growing pressure over a Washington Post report that he ordered the military to "kill everybody" in a boat strike in the Caribbean, with Democrats alleging a potential war crime and President Trump saying he wouldn't have ordered a second
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly accused Pete Hegseth Monday of “playing army,” after the defense secretary posted a juvenile meme making light of his military’s extrajudicial executions. Speaking at a press conference, Kelly nailed precisely what’s so disturbing about Hegseth’s
Click in for more news from The Hill {beacon} Health Care Health Care The Big Story HHS's latest vaccine policy upheaval A leaked memo from a top FDA vaccine regulator late last week laid out much stricter federal oversight of vaccines. An upcoming meeting of Robert F.
There is an increasing apprehension among service members that they may be asked to carry out an illegal order, amid reports Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered troops to “kill everybody” in a boat strike in September. The concerns, reflected in an uptick in calls to the
Smartphone ownership among preteens is associated with greater risk of depression, obesity and lack of sleep, according to a new study. The study, set to be published in the January edition of the journal Pediatrics, examined the impacts of smartphone ownership on a group of
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Monday tore into Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth over his role in a deadly “double-tap” strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean in September, suggesting the attack violated the law and that Hegseth should face
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that three of his New York offices received bomb threats Monday morning. Schumer said Monday on the social platform X that he was informed by law enforcement that his offices in Rochester, Binghamton and Long Island received
Kash Patel is in hot water for joyriding on the FBI’s dime. Top Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee on Monday opened an investigation into multiple flights that Patel took last month with a $60 million government jet . The visits were reportedly to visit his girlfriend,
Sen. Mark Kelly said Monday he and his family have seen threats to their lives increase since President Trump called for the Arizona Democrat and a group of other Democratic lawmakers to be executed after they urged service members to refuse illegal orders. Kelly told reporters
An immigration judge fired by the Trump administration is suing for discrimination, alleging that the Department of Justice dismissed her because she is a woman, a dual citizen of Lebanon and the U.S., and previously ran for public office as a Democrat. Tania Nemer on Monday
President Donald Trump may want to celebrate a record number of Black Friday sales as a sign of a flourishing economy—but there’s a lot he’s not telling you. The president shared an article on Truth Social Monday from conservative blog Just the News predicting that the 2025
A National Guardsman who was shot in Washington, D.C. last week is showing “positive” signs, even as he remains in “serious condition,” West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) said on Monday. U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, is one of two West Virginia National Guard
The Trump administration is shifting blame for the “kill everybody” order behind a second strike order on an alleged drug boat, killing all survivors, from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Commander Frank “Mitch” Bradley. “In his social media posts, Secretary Hegseth didn’t go
A new report details various issues at the FBI under Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, according to the New York Post. The 115-page report includes criticism of Patel from active-duty and retired FBI agents and analysts, with one source describing the bureau
The chair of a federal vaccine advisory committee, himself a well-known vaccine critic, will be moving to an official role within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the agency announced Monday. HHS announced Martin Kulldorff was appointed to be chief science
A new memo released by the White House on Monday said President Trump underwent preventive cardiovascular imaging during his October physical. The memo from Trump’s physician, Sean Barbabella, comes amid questions about the lack of transparency about the imaging procedure,
The U.S. government’s September 2 attack on a boat off the coast of Trinidad, the first of dozens of strikes on what the Trump administration has claimed are drug-trafficking vessels, is drawing increased scrutiny after reports that an immediate, second missile strike was
Washington, D.C., Council member Janeese Lewis George (D), a democratic socialist, announced Monday that she’s launching a bid to succeed Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), who announced last week she wouldn’t be running for another term. Lewis George, who’s in her second term
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday issued its first-ever global guidelines on the use of GLP-1 medications for treating obesity as a chronic illness. In a press release, the WHO said this guidance aimed to help reduce the "skyrocketing health costs" associated with
The Trump administration says it will reconsider aspects of a rule that aims to protect miners from exposure to cancer-causing silica dust on the job. In a court filing last week, the Trump administration said that the Labor Department plans to “reconsider” portions of the rule
Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) on Monday said she “would have not” gone ahead with President Trump’s upcoming pardon of a former Honduran president “I would have not done that, but I‘m not the commander in chief, and I do not have the pen that grants the pardons,” Salazar
The majority of travelers are already in compliance, but for those that aren't, flying may be costly.
The White House is still trying to defend Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “no survivors” approach to bombing small boats in the Caribbean. A live drone feed revealed that the Pentagon mercilessly attacked two people who clung to the wreckage of an airstrike on September 2 in
A campaign consultant for Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) announced Monday he was quitting her team, accusing her of betraying President Trump's agenda. "Nancy Mace has yet again decided to turn her back on MAGA to hug the political cactus that is the Rand Paul + Thomas Massie wing of
A week after the Trump administration launched a review into his conduct related to a video, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) will address the situation in a news conference on Monday afternoon. Kelly was one of six Democratic lawmakers who said in a joint video last month that U.S.
President Trump dedicated part of his day Monday to attacking Tennessee Democratic House candidate Aftyn Behn, only further confirming that the GOP is desperate for wins it limps into 2026. Last week, an Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey of the special election had Behn
The White House on Monday doubled down on its pledge for mass deportations and to pause asylum claims in the wake of a shooting that killed a National Guard soldier in Washington, D.C. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt during a briefing said it was “more important than ever” to
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Monday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized the second, follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean in September following a bombshell Washington Post report that claimed he ordered the military
A recent series of polls are signaling disaster for President Donald Trump’s hopes of carrying the Republican Party through the 2026 midterm elections. CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten on Monday discussed several different polls that found that Trump had hit an approval low
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed President Trump and his national security team will discuss the situation in Venezuela and other matters in the Oval Office on Monday, though she would not provide specifics. Asked if Trump is still considering deploying troops on the
Pinterest announced Monday it is backing the App Store Accountability Act, a bill that would require app stores to verify user ages. The legislation, put forward by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. John James (R-Mich.), is among a slate of kids’ online safety-related bills set
The United States and the United Kingdom announced a high-level trade deal Monday that would exempt U.K. pharmaceuticals from U.S.-imposed tariffs in exchange for Britain paying more for medicines. President Trump has long complained that wealthy nations don’t pay enough for
Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday he doesn't “think there’s any question” a reported second U.S. strike on an alleged Caribbean drug boat was a war crime. “I don’t think there’s any question that that’s a war crime, if it happened in that way. I think the best
Are Republicans really about to exercise real oversight on President Trump’s reprehensible bombings of alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea? They’re talking a good transparency game in response to the jarring news that U.S. forces killed two men in a follow-up strike as
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's reported order in early September to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean has sent shock waves throughout Washington, prompting scrutiny from key leaders in Congress and a cautious defense from President Trump. According
he White House says this is about holding the media accountable. But let’s be honest: this is about controlling the narrative — especially as the president faces backlash for his own words.
The Afghan refugee accused of shooting two National Guard members Wednesday used to serve in a CIA-backed military unit, and felt abandoned by the agency, Rolling Stone reports . Rahmanullah Lakanwal served in the “ Zero Units ,” a paramilitary unit in Afghanistan led by the
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is pressing centrist Republicans to help Democrats extend ObamaCare tax credits before they expire at the end of the month. Jeffries has offered a discharge petition to force a vote on a three-year extension of those subsidies
The crisis exposed by the recent reporting on the September 2 Trinidad strike is not just about what U.S. forces may have done in the water. It’s about what the administration did on land. According to detailed reporting in The Washington Post and The Intercept , a suspected
