The Hill

Trump voted by mail in Florida primary election: Report

President Trump last week returned a mail-in ballot ahead of Florida's primary election on Tuesday, Politico reported Monday, the second time he has done so amid his unfounded claims that mail-in voting contributes to election fraud. The outlet added that Trump requested his ballot in late July and it was returned on Aug. 13, citing...

Trump’s South Korea move rattles foreign policy world

President Trump’s decision to reduce joint military exercises with South Korea is being met with derision from Democrats and fears from other allies who are already worried over the president’s past willingness to toss aside longtime defense commitments. Trump said it was too late to fully cancel what he called expensive and provocative joint exercises...

Trump explains reduced joint drills with South Korea

Welcome to The Hill's Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security The Big Story Trump explains reduced joint drills with South Korea President Trump said he was turned off by South Korea not agreeing to help the U.S. denuclearize Iran, spurring him to reduce the joint military exercises. © AP...

Kindergarten vaccine exemptions hit all time high

Click in for more news from The Hill {beacon} Healthcare Healthcare The Big Story Kindergarten vaccine exemptions hit all time high The percentage of American kindergartners exempted from MMR vaccines rose sharply in the 2025-26 school year, as overall vaccination rates continued to fall. © AP Photo/Mary Conlon New federal data released Monday showed...

CBP halts Big Bend National Park border construction

{beacon} Energy & Environment Energy & Environment The Big Story CBP halts Big Bend National Park border construction Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott said he would halt construction activity in Big Bend National Park as efforts to erect a border barrier have been met with bipartisan pushback. © Getty Images In...

Also reported by PBS NewsHour (Lean left) · Axios (Lean left)

Fewer adults in new poll say they gamble

Fewer American adults are gambling than a decade ago, according to a new poll. In the Gallup poll, 45 percent of respondents said they had taken part in one or more forms of gambling over the past year, down from 64 percent a decade ago and 63 percent in 2007. Among respondents’ gambling activities in...

Californians divided over billionaire tax

Welcome to The Hill's Business & Economy newsletter {beacon} Business & Economy Business & Economy The Big Story Californians divided over billionaire tax A recent poll shows Californians are split on the one-time tax that would charge the state’s 200 billionaires with a 5 percent tax on their net worth, a measure set to...

Kindergarten MMR vaccine coverage still below ideal rate to prevent outbreaks: CDC

Vaccination coverage for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) among kindergarteners in the U.S. remains below the ideal rate needed to best prevent widespread outbreaks, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with the number of exemptions going up. The CDC on Monday released the latest figures on vaccine...

Trump's approval drops 2 points in 2 weeks: Reuters/Ipsos poll

One-third of Americans approve of President Trump’s job performance, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos survey. The poll, conducted from Friday through Monday, found that 33 percent of 1,166 respondents approved of the job Trump is doing, while 64 percent disapproved. The poll had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. The president’s approval rating,...

Iraq oil pipeline plan would take years to build, cost billions: Report

An Iraqi plan to develop a pipeline that would export oil through Syria and avoid future disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz is expected to take four years to reconstruct, likely costing at least $15 billion, Reuters reported Monday, citing two sources with knowledge of the project. Those sources told Reuters the plan would take...

Progressives to combat Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’ at PanAmerican Congress

Progressive House lawmakers and far-left Democratic candidates are traveling to Uruguay this week to challenge President Trump’s "Donroe Doctrine" in Latin America. The lawmakers are participating in the PanAmerican Congress in Montevideo, Uruguay, which is set to take place Aug 21-23, The Hill has learned. “We need to build a durable and lasting coalition of...

Gingrich: Midterms offer choice of 'big government socialism and weird values' or Republicans

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on Sunday laid out his view of the contrast between Republicans and Democrats, with less than three months before the midterms. In a post on social platform X, Gingrich wrote the GOP has “an opportunity to win a historic victory this fall” but only if it can “define what the...

Appeals court upholds Sigal Chattah’s disqualification as US attorney in Nevada

A federal appeals court panel on Monday upheld an order that disqualified Sigal Chattah from the top federal prosecutorial job in Nevada, ruling that the Justice Department’s effort to sidestep Senate confirmation is unlawful. A three-judge panel for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in a 36-page opinion that Chattah cannot continue to...

Bacon concerned about Trump not being 'aware' of missile shortage

GOP Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.) said Sunday he was “concerned” about President Trump saying he is not aware of the Pentagon’s missile shortage. “I do have concerns that the president said he was not aware that we had a shortage of weapons like cruise missiles and Patriots. That's not a good … thing,” Bacon told...

Candace Owens destroyed by Andrew Wilson in Charlie Kirk debate

I watched the Candace Owens and Andrew Wilson debate about who killed Charlie Kirk so that you don’t have to.

Drugmakers uninterested in Trump's order to split up MMR vaccine

President Trump's executive order recommending that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine be split up across three different appointments is drawing poor reception from the pharmaceutical industry as drugmakers and trade groups say there's no scientific reasoning to follow the directive. The administration did not provide any new scientific data to support splitting up...

Live updates: Trump threatens Oman as US-Iran deal hits deadline; Kushner meets Netanyahu on Gaza

President Trump said Monday morning he would bomb Oman if it "gets in the way" of a conflict between the U.S. and Iran. The nations on either side of the Strait of Hormuz have been negotiating over reopening the waterway. In a call with Fox News on the same day that the two-month memorandum of...

LA street takeover acts as cover while thieves ransack liquor store

Dozens of people ransacked a Bellflower, California, business early Saturday while a massive street takeover clogged a nearby intersection, authorities said.

Kushner in Israel, trying to get Gaza peace plan back on track

Special envoy Jared Kushner met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, an Israeli official told The Hill, following reported talks with the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hamas about moving forward with President Trump’s peace plan for the Gaza Strip. The meeting lasted four hours, CNN reported, with Kushner pressing Netanyahu to “not create obstacles”...

Trump's South Korea drawdown gets rough reception

🚫 Plus: Supreme Court says no to Trump’s Carroll appeal {beacon} It’s Monday. It’s the first day of school for some counties across the U.S., so depending on where you’re reading this from, it might feel extra Monday-ish today. Parents, may the force be with you. In today's issue: Trump gets flak over...

Democratic socialism will eventually fade, but the problems sparking its surge may not

hose are the repeated failures of both political parties to govern.

Ocasio-Cortez: No regrets over decision to publicize freezing eggs

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Saturday she has no regrets about publicizing her decision to freeze her eggs. “One question that I received earlier is: Do I regret coming out publicly about this due to all of the political negativity and the larger political context, and especially this idea that for me, I'm quite young...

Accounting belongs in K-12 STEM education

Bipartisan congressional efforts like the Accounting STEM Pursuit Act aim to address the national accountant shortage by expanding federal grant eligibility to include accounting education.

Blanche: Congress has already approved White House ballroom project

Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday said the Department of Justice believes Congress has already granted President Trump the authority to construct the White House ballroom under existing presidential authority. “We don't believe we have to go to Congress. We believe Congress has already given us the authority to do what we're doing,” Blanche said...

Also reported by Just the News (Lean right)

Democratic lawmakers demands answers from Hegseth on USS Abraham Lincoln

A group of 15 senators said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth owes Americans answers about the ongoing deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group after reports of low morale and a mental health crisis among service members aboard. In an Aug. 15 letter to Hegseth, signed by all 13 members of the Senate...

Lake Powell, second-largest reservoir in US, hits record-low water level

The water level at Lake Powell on the Colorado River, the second-largest reservoir in the country, has dipped to a record low. The lake’s elevation was 3,519.8 feet as of Sunday, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). The Associated Press reported Sunday that Lake Powell’s water level on Saturday surpassed its...

South Korea hoping for talks after Trump reduces joint military exercises

South Korea is hoping to engage in talks with the Trump administration following the president's announcement Sunday that he is ordering a reduction in U.S. troop participation in joint military exercises with soldiers in Seoul. South Korea's presidential Blue House said it “hopes that the friendly relationship between the U.S. and North Korean leaders will...

Cyclospora outbreaks with no confirmed sources grow: FDA

Nearly 14,000 cases of cyclospora have been confirmed in the U.S., according to the CDC. Last year, the U.S. saw fewer than 2,000.

Blanche steps into post-confirmation spotlight

In today’s issue: Attorney General Todd Blanche is taking on national attention as he signals the direction that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will take under his leadership. Blanche, whose nomination was narrowly confirmed by the Senate just over a week ago in a 50-49 vote, defended his vision for the DOJ in two Sunday morning...

The 'political Supreme Court' trope is part of a media disinformation campaign

The idea that the court is a rubber stamp for the MAGA agenda really comes down to the mistaken notion that quantity is more important than quality.

Can you get flesh-eating bacteria from eating seafood or oysters?

Dr. William Schaffner said people with liver disease or who are immunocompromised should avoid eating raw oysters.

Actress Hayden Panettiere dies at 36

Panettiere has a daughter, Kaya, whom she shares with her former fiancé, professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

Ocasio-Cortez gets personal as Democrats make case for relatability

Since announcing that she was freezing her eggs on Instagram last weekend, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has spent the week taking her 9.6 million followers along for the ride — chronicling the process in detailed videos and answering questions while administering her shots. On Thursday, as she was recording one of those shots, she ran...

Questions about Schumer’s future grow as Democratic candidates call for change

Questions are growing about Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) future as an increasing number of Democratic candidates say they will not support his bid for another term as Senate Democratic leader. Progressive critics of the Democratic establishment are calling for a leadership shake-up in Washington as their candidates win Senate Democratic primaries in Illinois, Maine, Michigan...

Cruz, Cantwell seek to get their college sports bill over the goal line

A landmark piece of legislation seeking to regulate the big business of college sports is expected to face a crucial vote in the Senate when lawmakers return from recess next month. The Protect College Sports Act championed by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) gained steam this summer thanks to the support of...

Buttigieg endorses Poindexter in House race against Miller

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is endorsing Brook Park City Council member and ironworker Brian Poindexter as he challenges controversy-ridden Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) in November. “He's an example of somebody who walks the walk. He knows what working families are going through because he's literally a card-carrying union ironworker,” Buttigieg, who’s widely seen as...

An 'insane' job: Election heats up for next UN secretary-general

The United Nations Security Council is set to elect the next secretary-general in the fall, a high-stakes contest for a thankless job. It is the first changing of the guard in 10 years, from the tenure of Portugal's António Guterres. The election is taking place under a dark cloud: The organization is fighting for relevancy, desperately...

Navy considers major aircraft carrier revamp to better suit Trump’s aesthetic

The U.S. Navy is weighing a major revamp of the design of its new class of aircraft carriers to better suit the desires expressed by President Trump as the White House continues to wade into the designs of naval warships. The Navy is performing an internal review where it is weighing the possibility of moving...

Ossoff: 'Something uniquely despicable about lying a nation into war'

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) on Sunday took a swing at President Trump over the Iran war, saying he lied “the nation into a war.” During a Sunday rally in Atlanta, the Georgia Democrat went after Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for their management of the war against Iran. Ossoff said that that Trump “promised...

Blanche says he supports Pirro, despite Trump's frustration over Reflecting Pool

Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday that he backs U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, in spite of President Trump’s recent criticism of her. “I absolutely support U.S. Attorney Pirro, as does President Trump. Now, that's different than whether the president is extraordinarily frustrated at what happened in that case,” Blanche told...

Fetterman warns of socialism's rise in the Democratic Party: 'This is lunacy'

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who has bucked his party in recent years, warned against socialism’s rise in the Democratic Party in the wake of democratic socialists and insurgent progressives winning Democratic primaries. Fetterman, in a post on the social platform X, responded to a report on a poll from CBS News in which 58 percent...

Trump directs Hegseth to reduce U.S. joint exercises in South Korea

President Trump said Sunday he told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” the joint military exercises with South Korea. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that he’s “not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate” in these joint military exercises. He also noted that South Korea...

Also reported by NewsNation (Center)

Centcom commander addresses mental health concerns for troops on USS Abraham Lincoln

U.S. Central Command (Centcom) commander Adm. Brad Cooper on Sunday addressed concerns about the mental health of service members aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln as the aircraft carrier returns home after being docked in the Middle East for more than 260 days. Cooper called his visit to the ship on Saturday "awe-inspiring" in a statement,...

Moore: Trump's response to reported USS Abraham Lincoln conditions 'pisses me off'

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) on Sunday expressed anger over President Trump’s reaction to reported conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln. “I mean, not only are these conditions and the reports of the conditions heartbreaking, the response of the president of the United States pisses me off. And it should piss all of us off,”...

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says he's 'heard absolutely nothing back from Mitch McConnell'

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) on Sunday said he has "heard absolutely nothing back from" Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) after requesting updates on his health following the GOP senator's weeks-long hospitalization. Beshear, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, made the admission during his Sunday appearance on CBS News's "Face the Nation." The Kentucky governor added...

Flock tries to quell surveillance fears as questions pile up

Flock Safety is facing a growing backlash across the country from communities and civil liberties advocates concerned over the surveillance technology company’s network of AI-powered license plate readers. Amid a wave of privacy lawsuits and terminated contracts, Flock announced changes to its privacy and data retention policies Thursday in an attempt to quell concerns around mass surveillance and

Also reported by The Hill (Center)

This week on The Hill: Florida governor’s race, embattled lawmakers to take spotlight

With Congress out of session for the August recess, lawmakers are fanning out across their districts and states to campaign and meet with constituents as the 2026 midterms enter a critical stretch. In Florida, the political spotlight is especially bright, with voters preparing to choose a successor to GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose final term...

Cassidy on Trump's vaccine order, 'crazy, stupid' claims: 'This is why the president's poll numbers are going down'

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on Sunday said President Trump's executive order that seeks to alter the childhood vaccine schedule is based on "crazy, stupid" claims, and that is "why the president's poll numbers are going down." During Cassidy's appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, host Jake Tapper reiterated the GOP senator's words in saying that...

Blanche refuses to pledge DOJ will always act independently of White House

Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday did not commit to acting independently of President Trump, but he claimed the president has not and will not ask him to prosecute specific individuals. “There's a big difference between saying we will always do our job and investigate any case and act independently of the White House. No,...

Also reported by NewsNation (Center)

Jeffries: 'I don't support' DSA agenda

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Sunday that he does not back the agenda of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), even as democratic socialists and left-leaning candidates racked up primary wins in the last few months. “I don't support the DSA agenda, as has been articulated by the DSA itself. Now, you're going...

Also reported by The Daily Wire (Right)

Doug Jones: Claims that many Democratic nominees are 'far left, socialist' is 'just a boogeyman'

Alabama gubernatorial candidate Doug Jones (D) on Sunday dismissed Republicans equating a slew of left-wing Democrats winning primaries to “communists” taking over the party. During an interview on “The Hill Sunday,” the former Alabama senator said Republicans are “preaching to their own choir” when they call Democrats socialists and communists. “This is also a little...

Also reported by NewsNation (Center)

Cassidy: 'Pretty evident' RFK Jr. lied about changing vaccine schedule

GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.) on Sunday accused Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of breaking his pledge to not attempt to tweak the childhood vaccine schedule. Discussing President Trump’s recent executive order seeking to alter the schedule on ABC News’s “This Week,” Cassidy alluded to “guarantees” Kennedy and the White...

Stevens says 'it certainly makes sense' for El-Sayed to end affiliation with Piker

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) on Sunday said "it certainly makes sense" for her former Michigan Senate race opponent, Abdul El-Sayed (D), to end his affiliation with popular left-wing Twitch streamer Hasan Piker. Fox News's "The Sunday Briefing" co-host Jacqui Heinrich asked Stevens if she would call on El-Sayed, a progressive, to moderate his views on...

Suspect in Virginia State University shooting arrested, found hiding in closet

A 19-year-old man has been arrested as a suspect in the shooting of five people at Virginia State University after he was found hiding in a closet.

Also reported by The Daily Wire (Right)

Cassidy predicts Trump's vaccine order will increase insurance costs

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on Sunday reiterated his issues with President Trump’s executive order that seeks to tweak the childhood vaccine schedule, with the directive’s impact on insurance costs among them. “Now instead of your child getting two shots, she has to get six shots,” Cassidy told host Martha Raddatz during the senator's appearance on...

New York Republican says DSA candidates will make up 'commie caucus' if elected to Congress

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) on Sunday said that Democratic candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) will make up the "commie caucus" if the party reclaims Congress after the fall midterm elections. Malliotakis started off by criticizing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's (D) rollout of a new tax on second homes worth...

What is a peanut butter pay raise, and why you may not get one next year

It may feel early to be looking ahead to any pay raise in 2027, but some employers appear to be gearing up for increases unlike those they've rolled out in the past.

Jim Jordan says costs 'are tough,' but economy is in a 'pretty good direction'

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Sunday praised the direction of the economy, while acknowledging that costs "are tough" on American families. Jordan made the case for President Trump and Republicans on Fox News's "Sunday Morning Futures" while slamming the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) for "hanging on this idea of affordability" to advocate against the...

We should start building fiscal insurance for the AI era

Policymakers should begin developing fiscal insurance options, such as modernized adjustment assistance and expanded capital ownership, to mitigate the potential risks of large-scale worker displacement and increased income inequality caused by artificial intelligence.

Outbreaks threaten HHS 'real food' agenda

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants America to “eat real food” as a solution to the chronic disease epidemic, but that message is being lost amid outbreaks of foodborne illness and a health agency that has struggled with effectively tracking the sources and messaging about safety. This summer has seen a record number of...