DHS posts video of agents in Minneapolis
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shared a video Tuesday of its agents in Minnesota, amid a federal investigation into alleged fraud within the state’s social services programs. The video, which DHS shared to the social platform X, shows a pair of agents from its Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) providing a person in a store,…
Trump administration agrees to reconsider cut or stalled DEI-related NIH grants
The Trump administration on Monday reached an agreement to reevaluate thousands of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant applications that were stalled or cut because of their perceived connection to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The agreement between the administration, unions and Democratic state attorneys general resolves part of a lawsuit filed against the administration for canceling hundreds of millions of dollars…
Read more
Axelrod: Trump’s ‘Marie Antoinette thing’ could cost Republicans in midterms
Democratic strategist David Axelrod says President Trump’s focus on lavish renovations at the White House and Kennedy Center could hurt Republicans on the ballot in the 2026 midterms. In an interview on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront,” the former Obama administration official compared Trump to Marie Antoinette, the 18th-century French queen who became known for royal…
Greene pushes back on Jennings criticism: ‘He just fools people with hot takes’
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Monday fired back at conservative political commentator Scott Jennings after he accused her of becoming a “lib” in 2025. Greene, a former staunch MAGA loyalist who publicly split from President Trump on a number of high-profile issues this year, defended her voting record as closely aligned with the president’s…
Trump: New White House ballroom will have ‘drone-free roof’
President Trump on Monday said the new White House ballroom he tore down the East Wing to build will have a “drone-free roof.” The president made the remarks while at a press conference at his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump was criticizing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell when he started…
CIA conducted drone strike on Venezuela port facility
The CIA reportedly conducted a drone strike on a Venezuelan port facility last week, an attack that President Trump revealed during a radio interview on Dec. 26, marking the U.S.’s first known land strike inside the country amid its mounting pressure campaign on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The CIA struck a remote dock on the…
Top Chinese diplomat rips record US arms sale to Taiwan amid drills near island
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticized a record U.S. arms sale to Taiwan on Tuesday, as his country conducts military drills around the island. The Trump administration on Dec. 17 announced the sale of more than $11 billion in weapons to Taiwan, which the State Department approved. “In response to the continuous provocations by pro-independence…
Medvedev: Zelensky will ‘have to stay in hiding for the rest of his worthless life’
A high-ranking Russian official issued a thinly veiled threat against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, doubling down on unsubstantiated accusations that Ukraine tried to target Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence in a drone strike. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who now sits on Russia’s security council, accused the Ukrainian leader of “trying to derail the settlement…
Judge temporarily stops DHS from ending deportation protections for South Sudanese
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending deportation protections for roughly 200 South Sudanese nationals until the next stage of a legal challenge. U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley’s order does not reflect the underlying legal merits. It is intended to ensure the migrants can remain in the country until the judge considers the case more fully. “Because of the serious…
Live updates: CIA strike on Venezuela, Minnesota fraud take center stage at year’s end
The Trump administration’s military operations to pressure Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro by targeting “narco-terrorists” have broadened to include a land attack, according to reports out on Tuesday. The CIA carried out a drone strike on a port facility in Venezuela last week, The New York Times and CNN both reported. President Trump has described the…
Top Republican calling for deportation of ‘every Somali engaged in fraud in Minnesota’
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Wis.), the No. 3 Republican in the House, called for the deportation of all Somalis linked to fraud in Minnesota, amid heightened scrutiny of the state’s handling of the illegal activity. In a post on social platform X, Emmer said even naturalized citizens should have their citizenship revoked so they can be…
New Year’s Eve concerts among latest Kennedy Center cancellations
A longtime New York jazz group said Monday it will not perform at The Kennedy Center on New Year’s Eve, one of multiple cancellations after President Trump‘s name was added to the performing arts center. The Cookers were scheduled to perform two shows at the venue Wednesday. They told fans in a statement on their…
Zelensky: Drone strike on Putin residence accusation ‘complete fabrication’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied claims that Kyiv tried to attack Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence, calling the accusation “complete fabrication” intended to undermine progress toward peace. In Monday post on social platform X, Zelensky warned that the accusation could be a false pretext used to justify future attacks against Ukraine. “Russia is at it…
National Guard to patrol New Orleans for New Year’s a year after deadly attack
A National Guard deployment in New Orleans authorized by President Donald Trump will begin Tuesday as part of a heavy security presence for New Year’s celebrations a year after an attack on revelers on Bourbon Street killed 14 people, officials said Monday.
Trump administration targets fraud in Minnesota
Morning Report is The Hill’s a.m. newsletter. Subscribe here. In today’s issue: ▪ Trump admin targets Minnesota ▪ Trump consumed with foreign policy ▪ U.S. strikes facility in Venezuela ▪ Iowa state Senate election A fraud scandal plaguing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) has drawn the ire of many Republicans and those in the Trumpadministration, The Hill’s Sarah Fortinsky…
Read more
Trump fills end of 2025 with foreign policy
President Trump is consuming himself with foreign policy matters as the first year of his second term comes to a close, even as concerns about the economy are set to consume the Republican Party in 2026. Trump is spending the final weeks of the year at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where he hosted Ukrainian…
Read more
Zelensky agrees relationship with Trump has ‘evolved’ over time
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed that his relationship with President Trump has “evolved” over time. During an interview that aired Monday on Fox News’s “Special Report,” the network’s Bret Baier asked Zelensky about his recent meeting with the president. “So, just take us behind the scenes in this meeting. Was the meeting with President Trump…
Ex-Obama Adviser Predicts This Trump Obsession Will Be A ‘Big Political Problem’ For GOP
David Axelrod said Republicans “should be really concerned” about the president’s “Marie Antoinette thing.”
Zelensky says Putin ‘doesn’t want success for Ukraine,’ contradicting Trump
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “doesn’t want success for Ukraine,” contradicting an earlier statement from President Trump. “I don’t trust Putin. And he doesn’t want success for Ukraine, really, he doesn’t want — he can say it. I believe that he can say such words to President Trump. I believe…
Marjorie Taylor Greene Divulges Trump’s Stunning Response To Her Epstein Threat
The outgoing congresswoman opened up about her last conversation with the president in the lead-up to her big break with him.
Bill Maher Gripes About People Hating Trump, Says ‘More People Like Me’ Should Talk To Him
“He doesn’t want to be with a bunch of f**king rednecks and simpletons, you know?” the commentator mused.
US military says it killed 2 ‘narco-terrorists’ in eastern Pacific
The U.S. military on Monday said it had targeted another alleged drug-smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific, killing two “narco-terrorists” as it continued its counter-narcotics campaign off the coast of South America. The U.S. forces blew up the vessel, which was operated by a designated terrorist organization, in international waters and no U.S. service members…
Pompeo: Putin has ‘conceded literally nothing’ in Ukraine peace talks
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “conceded literally nothing” in talks to end the war in Ukraine. “The adversary here, Vladimir Putin, has — to best I can tell — conceded literally nothing to date. And while they say there’s 90 percent agreement, I doubt that Vladimir Putin…
SBA halts grants to Minnesota in wake of fraud scandal
Small Business Administration (SBA) head Kelly Loeffler said Monday that her department is halting annual grants to Minnesota, amid an investigation into alleged fraud in COVID-era lending programs. Loeffler said on the social platform X that the SBA is pausing yearly funding to Minnesota “while we investigate $430 million in suspected [Paycheck Protection Program] fraud…
Greene claims Trump said his ‘friends will get hurt’ on Epstein files
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) claimed in a New York Times profile that President Trump said his “friends will get hurt” by exposing abusers connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. According to the story told by Greene, she received a call from Trump after she said at a news conference that she would expose…