In my new Confirmation Tales post, I provide an insider’s account of how the judicial-selection process for lower-court judges operated in the Reagan administration.
In the week since federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits nearly expired, the Trump administration has successfully pushed back on orders from federal courts to maintain payments for November, a back-and-forth that has thrown U.S. food assistance into chaos. The federal government funds SNAP, while states handle the administrative task of distributing payments to qualifying residents. Conflicting messaging on...
The American Humane Society has honored a retired therapy dog with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department for offering support to students after The Covenant School shooting in 2023. Sgt. Bo won the American Humane Hero Dog Awards for embodying what the animal welfare organization "looks for in a hero dog: service, resiliency, and love," president...
Prince Harry on Thursday apologized to Canada for wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers cap while at a World Series game, where the Dodgers were playing against the Toronto Blue Jays. “Firstly, I would like to apologize to Canada for wearing it,” Harry told Canadian broadcaster CTV, referring to the scandal as "hatgate." “Secondly, I was...
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) on Friday said the government shutdown, the longest in modern U.S. history, will stretch past Thanksgiving. "I think it's going to go on after Thanksgiving," Burchett told anchor Black Burman on "The Hill on NewsNation." "Yeah, I think the pain is going to continue until the TSA — [if] you have...
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily halted an order requiring the Trump administration make full Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) November payments by Friday. Jackson’s ruling pauses some of the payments until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit can decide the administration’s motion to block the order pending its appeal. It...
A federal judge on Friday ruled President Trump unlawfully called up and planned to deploy Oregon’s National Guard to Portland, the most decisive blow yet to his bid to send troops into Democratic-led cities where protests have centered on federal immigration facilities. U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, permanently blocked the president from sending Oregon’s soldiers into the city after determining that the president ran afoul...
Voters who preferred former Vice President Harris to be president could not necessarily name the current leader of the Democratic Party, as a new survey suggests. Politico's latest poll, conducted by the London-based consultancy organization Public First, found that Harris voters, in the days leading up to the 2025 elections, could not find consensus around...
President Trump said on Friday that the United States will not be part of the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) summit in South Africa, calling it "a total disgrace." "Afrikaners (People who are descended from Dutch settlers, and also French and German immigrants) are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being...
Welcome to The Hill's Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security The Big Story Hegseth promises faster weapons buying with sweeping reforms Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday unveiled a sweeping overhaul to how the Pentagon buys weapons, a restructuring aimed at having the U.S. military more quickly acquire new...
A federal judge ruled on Friday that the Trump administration violated the First Amendment by sending automated emails and messages blaming the government shutdown on Democrats. In the ruling, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said the Department of Education (DOE) cannot compel federal workers to engage in partisan speech. The American Federation of Government Employees...
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to immediately halt a judge’s ruling that requires full Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) November payments be made to states by Friday. An appeals court declined to block the ruling ahead of the deadline, and the administration warned it is “untenable at every turn” and will “sow further...
The State Department announced on Friday that the United Nations Security Council lifted the terrorist designation of two Syrian officials, including the country's new president Ahmed al-Sharaa. The adoption of a resolution "championed by the United States" to delist al-Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Hasan Khattub "sent a strong political signal that further recognizes Syria's...
Republican Sen. John Kennedy (La.) said the Senate has done “zero, zilch, nada” since it passed President Trump’s "big, beautiful bill" in July and that leadership “ignores me” when he proposes solutions to bypass Democrats. “Every time I brought up the idea of doing a second reconciliation bill where we don’t need Democrats, our leadership...
