Politics

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has privately discussed the idea of running for political office next year in Tennessee, according to two people who have spoken directly with him about it. If Hegseth were to follow through on those discussions, it would amount to a major leadership shake-up at the department that oversees the American military…

President Donald Trump said that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein “stole” Virginia Giuffre from his Mar-a-Lago club, a stunning admission that could increase scrutiny of his relationship with the late financier — even as his administration seeks to change the subject from Epstein. Trump was speaking to reporters on Tuesday when he was asked about comments he made over the…

House Republican proposals to name the Kennedy Center after President Donald Trump and its opera house after first lady Melania Trump would violate the law by which the Kennedy Center was created, four sources familiar with the issue told NBC News. Republicans last week passed an amendment through committee that would rename the opera house…

Democratic leaders can’t stop talking about releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files — the rare issue that’s driven a wedge between Donald Trump and his MAGA base, and been a nagging nuisance for GOP leaders for weeks. But while most Democrats think it’s win-win for the party to keep a divisive issue for Republicans at the…

President Donald Trump’s administration proposed revoking a scientific finding on Tuesday that has long been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. The proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule would rescind a 2009 declaration that determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare.…

The Trump administration is pressing for a deal with Harvard University that would require the Ivy League school to pay far more than the $200 million fine agreed to by Columbia University to resolve multiple federal investigations, according to two people familiar with the matter. Harvard would be expected to pay hundreds of millions of dollars as…

A new reality is settling in for the global economy: President Donald Trump’s tariffs — set at levels once considered mostly unthinkable — are here to stay. On Monday morning, Trump said the baseline tariff rate for the world will be “in the range of 15 to 20% … probably one of those two numbers.”…

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley introduced legislation on Monday to provide tariff rebate checks of at least $600 per adult and child to American families, similar to the stimulus checks the government distributed during the Covid pandemic. Hawley submitted his legislation after pledging to do so Friday following President Donald Trump’s remark to reporters that he…

A federal judge on Monday ruled Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide must continue to be reimbursed for Medicaid funding as the nation’s largest abortion provider fights President Donald Trump’s administration over efforts to defund the organization in his signature tax legislation. The new order replaces a previous edict handed down by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani…

Three Venezuelan men told NBC News they experienced physical and psychological torture, including one man’s allegation that he was sexually assaulted, after the Trump administration sent them to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The men were held for four months in the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, a Salvadoran megaprison known for its harsh…