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President Trump is signing an executive order Thursday from the Oval Office that will drop marijuana into a lower drug classification — but it will not equate to full legalization. The move continues efforts begun by the Biden administration, which started the process to make marijuana a Schedule III drug in 2024 but did not…

President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to speed up the rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to the less severe Schedule III, with the stated goal of expanding cannabis research. The executive order will direct the attorney general to expedite the completion of the rescheduling process. The Biden administration had begun the rescheduling…

Former Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday bashed the GOP’s handling of Jack Smith’s testimony to congressional investigators earlier this week, saying Republicans were afraid to allow the former special counsel to appear in public. “They didn’t have the guts to put him out there publicly, because they knew that he’d flay them, he’d destroy them,” Holder…

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Thursday that the Kennedy Center board voted unanimously to rename the building the Trump-Kennedy Center. “I have just been informed that the highly respected Board of the Kennedy Center, some of the most successful people from all parts of the world, have just voted unanimously to rename the…

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has decided against releasing its postmortem of the party’s 2024 losses it looks to build on 2025 momentum and take back power in Congress during next year’s midterms.  “Here’s our North Star: does this help us win?” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement shared with The Hill on…

Democratic strategist James Carville on Wednesday said that Republicans are no longer “scared” of President Trump after four GOP House members on Wednesday sided with Democrats to sign a discharge petition forcing a vote to extend expiring ObamaCare subsidies. “Just today, four Republicans broke out to bring up the subsidy vote on the House floor,”…

12:30 Report is The Hill’s midday newsletter. Subscribe here. It’s Thursday. Christmas is one week from today! 🎄 In today’s issue: • Inflation unexpectedly cools in November • Trump rattles off 2025 wins • Service members’ $1,776 ‘Warrior Dividends’ • Trump’s potential marijuana announcement • Pope Leo signals change in N.Y.’s next archbishop 🎤 IN…

RFK Jr. announced several proposals Thursday morning that would ban Medicaid and Medicare funds from going to hospitals that treat trans youth.

Political commentator Debra Lea got pushback for her no-holds-barred approval of Trump’s address to the nation.

Miami Mayor-elect Eileen Higgins (D) in a Wednesday evening interview on NewsNation slammed the Trump administration over immigration enforcement. “Just stop it,” Higgins told host Chris Cuomo. “It’s bad for our economy, it’s horrifying for our families, and we cannot proceed this way as a nation.” Since President Trump returned to office, the Department of…

A little less than half of registered voters believe President Trump should pay more attention to high prices, according to a new Fox News poll. When asked to pick a single issue from a list that Trump ought to “be paying MORE attention to right now,” 42 percent of respondents said “high prices,” with “health…

Vanity Fair photographer Christopher Anderson on Wednesday defended his photos of White House aides taken for a profile on chief of staff Susie Wiles, after the both story and his images were met with criticism from Trump administration officials and allies. “It is curious that the internet is shocked that I would not retouch the…

Alan Dershowitz, the former lawyer of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, said he told President Trump it’s “not clear” whether it would be constitutional for him to serve a third term in the White House. Dershowitz, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, said he gave Trump a draft copy of his upcoming book…

Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) wants House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to chart a different course in 2026. “I hope that the Speaker takes a different approach in the new year, where the House can sort of put itself back in the driver’s seat when it comes to the issues that really matter to folks,” Kiley…

President Trump announced Wednesday night that military service members will receive checks for $1,776, a nod to the nation’s founding year. The news came during the president’s national address, which focused on affordability and served as a wrap-up for the first year of his second term in office. “Because of tariffs, along with the just…

A federal judge reversed the terminations of hundreds of government employees Wednesday, ruling that the Trump administration likely violated the terms of the funding deal that ended the longest-ever government shutdown.  That deal prohibits agencies from carrying out a reduction in force (RIF) until Jan. 30.  The Trump administration asserted that RIFs announced prior to the shutdown could still move ahead, but U.S. District…
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will deliver remarks Thursday on new federal guidance related to health care for minors. The remarks come after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled a draft rule that would pause federal funding for hospitals that provide gender-affirming care for minors. Kennedy is expected…

Former Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday that the Biden administration was right not to pressure the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein. “We strongly and rightly believed that there should be an absolute separation between what we wanted as an administration and what the Department of Justice did,” Harris…

The right-wing personality said he got a tip, which he then spread on a podcast, generating conspiracy theories.

President Trump said Wednesday that Venezuela must pay for the oil assets previously seized by the South American nation, as tensions rise over the U.S. military’s action in the Caribbean. “You remember, they took all of our energy rights. They took all of our oil from not that long ago, and we want it back,”…

Federal officials are set to testify Thursday morning before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee on implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act, which aims to bolster domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The witnesses come from the National Science Foundation, Energy Department, National Institutes of Health and NASA, and will face questions over how the law…

The Trump administration has announced the sale of more than $10 billion in weapons to Taiwan, a move likely to upset China. Among the weapons in the sale are medium-range missiles, drones and howitzers, The Associated Press reported. The package, if approved by Congress, will be the largest agreement with the U.S. ally, though Taiwan…

A group of House Democrats will speak with reporters Thursday morning in opposition to the Trump administration’s deportation agenda, including the use of local law enforcement to assist with President Trump’s crackdown on immigration. During the press conference, Reps. Mike Quigley (Ill.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Sarah McBride (Del.) and Valerie Foushee (N.C.) are also expected…

President Trump trumpeted his term’s success so far in a rapid and aggressive speech Wednesday night that also announced a “warrior dividend” for troops. The $1,776 bonus checks will be funded by tariff revenue, Trump said. The president took credit for the economy, forecasting conditions would only improve in 2026. Recent polling indicates his policies,…

The president “knows deep down” one damning thing, said the late night host.