Gretchen Whitmer’s unexpected Oval Office invite highlights balancing act with Trump
CNN
Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer visited the White House on Wednesday with a bipartisan delegation to discuss a laundry list of issues affecting her state, including a recent ice storm, funding for an Air National Guard Base and tariffs.
Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer visited the White House on Wednesday with a bipartisan delegation to discuss a laundry list of issues affecting her state, including a recent ice storm, funding for an Air National Guard Base and tariffs. She left with a new problem: Donald Trump’s praise. The president caught Whitmer off-guard during remarks in the Oval Office, as she stood in the back of the room while he briefly lauded her. “We’re honored to have Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan, great state of Michigan, and she’s been, she’s really done an excellent job, very good person,” Trump said. Whitmer was “surprised” she was brought into the Oval Office “without any notice of the subject matter” while Trump signed executive orders in front of the press, according to a spokesperson for the governor. The White House encounter, four years after Trump lashed out and called her “the woman in Michigan,” comes as Whitmer attempts to walk a fine line between the demands of being a swing state leader and a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
Veterans’ advocates are raising concerns that a new agreement between the departments of Veterans Affairs and Justice could take away veterans’ autonomy over their health care decisions and deter them from seeking care, particularly those facing homelessness.
Admirers of Cesar Chavez and public officials are scrambling to respond to claims about the man who has been honored with holidays, statues and school names in communities around the country.
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On two major occasions, the Trump administration has gestured at Israel being mostly responsible for major inflection points in the Iran war — even though the evidence on both counts isn’t totally clear.
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Cracks emerge in GOP over Iran war cost as administration floats more than $200B request to Congress
Cracks are emerging among congressional Republicans over the Iran war with key lawmakers skeptical about spending hundreds of billions of dollars to prolong the conflict and several refusing to support any money without a clear White House strategy.
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In 2025 a record number of more than 22,000 Cubans arrived in Uruguay, according to to the National Migration Agency. CNN’s Dario Klein reports.