Politics

Control of the House of Representatives remains undecided, with Republicans sitting just two seats away from a majority as of Wednesday morning. The Associated Press has yet to call 12 House races across the country. In one of those 12 races, California’s 47th Congressional District, Republican candidate Scott Baugh has conceded in the open race against Democrat Dave Min. Alaska Democratic incumbent Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola is in a tight race in Alaska’s at-large congressional...

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday that she will not leave the governor’s mansion to join President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration in Washington, D.C.  ‘I’ve already announced my bid for re-election and I look forward to serving in this position for the next six years,’ Sanders told reporters when asked if she might re-join the White House. ‘So unfortunately, and hopefully, you guys are stuck with me for a while.’  Sanders served as the...

– President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees to serve as United Nations ambassador, national security adviser, and most importantly, secretary of state are regarded by many as ‘China Hawks.’  Their appointments are being mostly welcomed in Taiwan, even by some who did not support the former and future president. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., likely to be tapped to become Trump’s chief diplomat, made his position clear during the Republican National Convention in mid-July, when he said that...

Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith is expected to resign before President-elect Trump is inaugurated in January, the New York Times reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.  Smith is aiming to bring to an end his cases against Trump and step down before the new president takes office as a way to get ahead of the Republican’s promise to fire him ‘within two seconds.’  Trump has pointed to a Supreme Court immunity ruling from...

Talk of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor retiring and having her seat filled before President-elect Donald Trump takes office is ‘idle speculation’ and not ‘realistic,’ a top Democrat says.  Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., made the comments to Politico following reports that Democrats are discussing whether to call on the 70-year-old to vacate her seat to avoid potentially giving Trump the opportunity to replace her if she retires following his return to the White...

The incoming Senate Republican Conference will meet to hold secret ballot elections for several leadership positions on Wednesday morning, including the successor of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who will lead the Republican majority next year. At 9:30 a.m., the conference for the 119th Congress will select a new leader, Republican whip, conference chair, Republican policy committee chair, vice conference chair and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRS) chair. Those vying for the coveted leader...

The biggest loser on election night was the supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei. The Tehran regime has spent years plotting Donald Trump’s assassination, only to see him return to the Oval Office with greater popular support than ever. Trump knows that he had Khamenei on the ropes when his first term ended. ‘Iran was broke under Donald Trump,’ the 45th president said in the lone presidential debate this fall. In addition, a drone strike...

Just over a week after his sweeping election victory, former and future President Trump returns to the White House on Wednesday. Trump is returning to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., his first time back in nearly four years, at the invitation of the man he knocked out of the 2024 White House race: President Biden. The two presidents will sit down in the Oval Office around 11 a.m. ET, according to the White House. For Biden, who...

The incoming Senate Republican Conference will meet to hold secret ballot elections for several leadership positions on Wednesday morning, including the successor of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who will lead the Republican majority next year. At 9:30 a.m., the conference for the 119th Congress will select a new leader, Republican whip, conference chair, Republican policy committee chair, vice conference chair and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRS) chair. Those vying for the coveted leader...

House Republicans are gathering behind closed doors Wednesday to elect their leaders in the next Congress. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., are all running for their current roles again with no stated challengers as of Tuesday afternoon. National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson, R-N.C., is also running for another term. Each of the four leaders will still have to pitch themselves to the House...