President Donald Trump pressured the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee to end a longstanding practice in the Senate to expedite his nominations to district courts and U.S. attorney’s offices, but the lawmaker isn’t budging. Trump late Tuesday night demanded that Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ‘have the courage’ to end the ‘blue slip’ tradition in the Senate, ...

Steve Ricchetti, a longtime Democratic operative and lobbyist, is sitting down with House Oversight Committee investigators Wednesday. He’s known as a member of former President Joe Biden’s inner circle who reportedly played a key role in downplaying concerns, both public and private, about the ex-commander-in-chief’s mental fitness for office. Ricchetti also reportedly helped craft Biden’s historic letter announcing the end ...

President Donald Trump warned that his August 1 deadline for making a trade deal with the U.S. ‘stands strong’ on Wednesday, threatening several key nations with a big tariff hike. ‘The August first deadline is the August first deadline — it stands strong, and will not be extended. A big day for America!’ Trump wrote on Truth Social, using all-caps. ...

The Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it would be officially imposing sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the jurist leading a criminal investigation against former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro.  News of the sanctions comes after President Trump threatened a 50% tariff on products from Brazil unless the country stopped what Trump has described as an ‘unjust’ ...

A Senate Republican wants the Justice Department to investigate, and potentially prosecute, former Special Counsel Jack Smith over whether he ‘unlawfully took political actions to influence the 2024 election’ against President Donald Trump. Sen. Tom Cotton, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, accused Smith of seeking to impact the 2024 election in his capacity as special counsel under the Biden-led ...

The Supreme Court revealed on Wednesday that Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal to her sex trafficking conviction will be among the many cases the high court reviews at a closed-door conference in September. The Supreme Court posted a brief notice indicating it plans to examine a petition from Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend and associate, on Sept. 29, marking the first time ...

Israel-supporting Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres revealed on Tuesday he no longer has a relationship with some of his family due to his support for Israel.  ‘I’ve lost friends, all of you have lost friends there,’ he told a room full of Jewish students at the Israel on Campus Coalition Summit on Tuesday. ‘I’m no longer on speaking terms with with ...

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., plans to force a vote on banning arms sales to Israel, a move that will prove to be a test for Senate Democrats whose position on the Jewish state has shifted in recent weeks. Sanders, an independent who routinely caucuses with Senate Democrats, announced he would force a vote on a pair of resolutions to block ...

President Donald Trump and several key health advisors in his Cabinet held a formal event Wednesday at the White House unveiling new efforts to improve healthcare technology and partnerships with private-sector technology companies.  The ‘Make Health Tech Great Again’ event laid out a new voluntary commitment from several major tech and tech-healthcare firms aimed at developing a better process for ...

A member of former President Joe Biden’s inner circle sat with House Oversight Committee investigators for a marathon closed-door interview that lasted more than eight hours on Wednesday. Steve Ricchetti, who served as counselor to the president for all four years of Biden’s term, was described as ‘combative and defensive’ during his voluntary meeting, a source familiar with the sitdown ...