Politics
Government, elections and policy, compared across outlets on every side.
+ Follow Politics in your BriefTaxpayer-funded 'Love Me' ad promoting Trump sparks controversy
A pro-Trump campaign-style ad set to the song 'Love Me' was funded by taxpayer money, prompting bipartisan criticism, while the White House defended it as educational and patriotic.
FDA nominee Heidi Overton faces Senate questions on vaccines, abortion pill and food safety
Dr. Heidi Overton, President Trump's pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration, testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Thursday, facing questions on vaccines, mifepristone, food safety and the president's health statements.
The Lumen desk · 1 min readCook Political Report shifts 15 House races toward Democrats
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report moved ratings in 15 House races toward Democrats, with multiple outlets reporting the shift puts Democrats in position to win a narrow House majority.
The Lumen desk · 1 min readTrump says Treasury Secretary Bessent will not be his AI czar
President Trump said Friday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will not serve as his artificial intelligence czar, a role Trump refers to as the 'Super Intelligence' czar, after speculation that Bessent was under consideration.
The Lumen desk · 1 min readWhite House restores TV pool access after briefly barring CNN, MS NOW during Xi visit
The White House lifted a restriction that had blocked CNN and MS NOW from covering President Donald Trump's events, including a state visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and television networks resumed pool coverage.
The Lumen desk · 1 min readTrump and Xi plan two more meetings this year after state visit
President Trump said he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping two more times before the end of the year, including a November trip to China, following Xi's state visit to the U.S.
The Lumen desk · 1 min readTrump to hold October midterm rallies in deep-red states including Alabama, Oklahoma
President Trump plans to campaign in solidly Republican states like Alabama and Oklahoma this October, rather than in competitive midterm battlegrounds he had earlier said he would target.
The Lumen desk · 1 min readSupreme Court allows Trump administration to use voter citizenship database
The Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Trump administration can use an expanded federal database, which cross-checks Social Security and citizenship records, to help states verify voters' citizenship status while litigation continues.
The Lumen desk · 1 min readWhite House bars CNN from Air Force One trip to Tennessee
CNN was excluded from the press pool traveling with President Trump aboard Air Force One for a Saturday trip to Tennessee, the network said, in the latest dispute between the administration and the news media.
The Lumen desk · 1 min readSupreme Court blocks GOP-backed Missouri congressional map for third time
The Supreme Court ruled Friday that Missouri must use its 2022 congressional map for the November midterm elections, rejecting a Republican-drawn, Trump-backed 2025 map for the third time.
The Lumen desk · 1 min readNew Jersey Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell resigns after ethics and harassment inquiry
Dale Caldwell resigned as New Jersey's lieutenant governor on Friday after an investigation found he had violated state ethics rules and harassed a female staffer. Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced the resignation, which she said she had accepted.
The Lumen desk · 1 min readTrump cancels nearly $1 billion in congressionally approved funding via pocket rescission
President Trump's administration announced Friday it is clawing back close to $1 billion in federal funding previously approved by Congress, using a rarely invoked mechanism known as a pocket rescission.
The Lumen desk · 1 min readIndependent review finds security failures at Utah university before Charlie Kirk killing
Utah Valley University released an independent review, nearly 160 pages long, detailing security deficiencies ahead of the Sept. 10, 2025 shooting death of Charlie Kirk on campus.
The Lumen desk · 1 min readWhite House defends taxpayer-funded pro-Trump ad as Democrats call for its removal
The Trump administration is airing government-funded TV ads on networks including Fox News and CBS that promote President Trump's record, prompting some Democrats to say the spending could be illegal; the White House calls the ads a 'public service announcement.'
The Lumen desk · 1 min readMan wounded in 2024 Butler rally shooting on Trump dies
James Copenhaver, who was shot during the July 2024 assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, has died at age 76, according to Trump and his family.
The Lumen desk · 1 min read