Trump has claimed his victory was a mandate. Washington’s realities are already challenging that
CNN
Donald Trump has yet to arrive in Washington, but he is already confronting the limitations of his electoral mandate.
Donald Trump has yet to arrive in Washington, but he is already confronting the limitations of his electoral mandate. Trump’s 11th-hour attempt to blow up a carefully negotiated bill to keep the government funded into March did not achieve the outcome he had sought: clearing a debt ceiling battle looming early in his next presidency. It did, however, expose a lingering rift among House Republicans that had been hiding behind the GOP’s post-election euphoria and made clear Trump’s sway over his own party remains far from absolute. In a stunning turn, 38 Republicans defied the president-elect on Thursday. By early Saturday morning — 48 hours after Trump threatened primary challenges for anyone who supported funding the government without eliminating the debt limit — 170 House Republicans and dozens of GOP senators voted for just that. The chaotic episode one month before Trump returns to the White House served as a reminder that governing has foiled plenty of successful politicians, and it foreshadowed the challenges ahead for Trump as he navigates a narrow House majority and a Senate full of people who expect to outlast the president-elect’s four years in Washington. Trump has asserted his decisive November victory should clear any roadblocks standing in the way of his agenda. He has demanded fealty from fellow Republicans while often overstating the breadth of his win. Though he is the first Republican in a generation to win the popular vote, Trump ended up with less than 50% of the country behind him and his Electoral College margin was sizable but hardly historic. “The beauty is that we won by so much,” Trump told Time Magazine in a recent interview. “The mandate was massive.”
White House officials are heaping blame on DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro over her office’s criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, faulting her for blindsiding them with an inquiry that has forced the administration into a dayslong damage control campaign, four people familiar with the matter told CNN.
The interim Venezuelan government has freed at least four Americans who were imprisoned in Venezuela, a source familiar with the matter told CNN on Tuesday.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is now providing free internet access via its Starlink satellite service to users in Iran as the country’s regime continues its bloody crackdown on anti-government protests, according to a tech expert in touch with Iranian Starlink users.
The aircraft used in the US military’s first strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a strike which has drawn intense scrutiny and resulted in numerous Congressional briefings, was painted as a civilian aircraft and was part of a closely guarded classified program, sources familiar with the program told CNN. Its use “immediately drew scrutiny and real concerns” from lawmakers, one of the sources familiar said, and legislators began asking questions about the aircraft during briefings in September.
DOJ pleads with lawyers to get through ‘grind’ of Epstein files as criticism of redactions continues
“It is a grind,” the head of the Justice Department’s criminal division said in an email. “While we certainly encourage aggressive overachievers, we need reviewers to hit the 1,000-page mark each day.”
A new classified legal opinion produced by the Justice Department argues that President Donald Trump was not limited by domestic law when approving the US operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro because of his constitutional authority as commander-in-chief and that he is not constrained by international law when it comes to carrying out law enforcement operations overseas, according to sources who have read the memo.
President Donald Trump is working to tighten his grip on his party this week as he faces an unusual threat from Congress: an embarrassing rebuke of his military actions overseas.
Bill and Hillary Clinton refused to appear on Capitol Hill Tuesday to testify in Congress’ Jeffrey Epstein probe in the face of threats from the House Oversight Committee to hold them in contempt.
Former teacher Arnulfo Reyes was questioned repeatedly in court Tuesday about how doors were left open at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, before a gunman entered in May 2022 and killed 21 children and teachers.
The Trump administration does not know the whereabouts of 137 Venezuelans it unlawfully deported last year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, adding that attempting to offer them due process would impact US foreign policy interests in the country.
Around 1,000 additional US Customs and Border Protection agents are expected to deploy to Minneapolis, Minnesota, according to two federal law enforcement sources. Follow for live updates.
President Donald Trump’s efforts to leverage the Justice Department for political purposes and to exact retribution against his perceived foes haven’t suffered from a series of setbacks.
Minnesota and Illinois separately filed lawsuits Monday against the Trump administration, arguing the president’s immigration crackdown is terrorizing their communities and violating the Constitution.