A group of at least nine Democratic lawmakers wore blue attire at the Capitol on Wednesday to express solidarity with the Israeli hostages still being held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.  “I wore blue today with my colleagues to stand in solidarity with the Israeli hostages because enough is enough,” Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) wrote...

New York executive Bruce Blakeman filed a lawsuit to block state Attorney General Letitia James from stopping his order that would ban transgender women and girls from participating in events at county-run facilities. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Eastern District of New York, is on behalf of Nassau County residents Blakeman, a 16-year-old female volleyball player...

A federal judge in Texas has ordered a U.S. agency that serves minority-owned businesses to serve regardless of race. The ruling sided with white business owners who claimed the program discriminated against them. Judge Mark T. Pittman of the Northern District of Texas, who was appointed by former President Trump, argued that the Minority Business...

Welcome to The Hill's Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon}   Defense &National Security Defense &National Security   The Big Story Houthi attacks kills at least 3 on commercial vessel, a first A Houthi rebel attack on Wednesday killed at least three crew members on a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden, forcing the crew...

Former President Trump has a choice to make after Nikki Haley’s exit from the primary race: Try to win over the former South Carolina governor’s supporters or just ignore them? Trump won all but two primary contests before Haley dropped out, a sign of his dominance within the party. But exit polls found significant percentages...

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), joined by a bipartisan group of lawmakers from Florida, asked the Biden administration on Wednesday for at least $725 million to be included in his fiscal 2025 budget. The money would help fund the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration (SFER), a program aimed at restoring the state's Everglades and reestablishing natural water...

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is urging GOP lawmakers to maintain decorum when President Biden delivers his State of the Union address Thursday night, after Republicans had a number of outbursts during last year’s speech. Johnson made the request during a closed-door GOP conference meeting Wednesday morning, three Republican lawmakers who attended the gathering told The...

Click in for more news from The Hill {beacon} Health Care Health Care   The Big Story State of the Union to call for more action on health care costs President Biden will focus on health costs during Thursday night’s State of the Union address, as he plans to call on Congress to double down...

Two House Democrats cast votes against the six-bill spending package the chamber passed Wednesday to avert a partial government shutdown, with both citing a GOP-backed gun-related provision. Reps. Maxwell Frost (Fla.) and Mark Takano (Calif.) voted against the “minibus” legislation Wednesday that funds a slew of agencies and departments through the end of fiscal 2024....

Progressive media personality Cenk Uygur told The Hill on Wednesday that he is ending his long-shot Democratic presidential bid. “The Young Turks” host, who was born in Turkey and is therefore not eligible to become president due to the Constitution’s “Natural Born Citizen” Clause, had attempted to launch a legal battle to gain ballot access...