Latest Headlines

As part of an interview with the executive director of America’s Voice, Greg Sargent claimed that Donald Trump confidante Alina Habba used word games during a recent Fox News interview to disguise the president-elect's real plan for dealing with the families of undocumented migrants.

In a transcript from his New Republic "Daily Blast" podcast, Sargent asked Vanessa Cardenas to dig into Habba's defense of the first Trump term when migrant families were torn apart as they were put in detention centers, denying it had ever happened, and then asserting it would not happen after he is sworn in next January.

Tennessee Sen. Kenneth Yager’s recent arrest while driving a campaign-funded car on a Georgia vacation sheds renewed light on the pitfalls of lawmakers’ not-uncommon practice of dipping into campaign finances to lease or purchase vehicles.

State law doesn’t prohibit this, but does require lawmakers to keep records of vehicle use and reimburse their campaign accounts for any mileage payments they receive from the state and any personal use of the vehicle.

Justice Department veterans fear Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Civil Rights Division signals that his administration will invert its legal purpose.

The president-elect picked conservative San Francisco attorney Harmeet Dhillon – a prominent anti-"woke" activist – to lead the division, and if confirmed she would be in position to reverse many of president Joe Biden's civil rights initiatives, in particular policies aimed at promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, reported CNN.

During an MSNBC panel discussion on Donald Trump's latest assertion in an NBC interview that his political enemies should be prosecuted, "Morning Joe" co-host Joe Scarborough suggested it could blow up in his face if it came to fruition.

In his Sunday interview with NBC's Kristen Welker, the president-elect asserted that Democratic lawmakers who took part in the House select committee hearings on the Jan. 6 insurrection deserved to be jailed, but then claimed he would let his appointees to head up the FBI and the Department of Justice make the call.

Donald Trump's nominees for high-level government roles have run into some resistance among Republican senators, but a political strategist said there may be so many controversial picks that most of them will sail through to confirmation.

Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth appears to have regained momentum despite a series of reports about his past drinking, sexual misconduct and bigoted statements, while new concerns have cropped up about national intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard, but GOP strategist Matt Gorman told CNN that the Senate majority wouldn't block all of Trump's picks.

According to MSNBC contributor Katty Kay, incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is working behind the scenes with his GOP colleagues to cripple the nominations of at least four of Donald Trump's nominees to his cabinet.

With Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) already having withdrawn his name for consideration to be the next attorney general, Kay reported to the "Morning Joe" panel that there is a great amount of consternation among Republicans about several of the president-elect's other Cabinet picks, and noted that former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, slated to head the Department of National Intelligence, appears to be at the top of the list.

"I had a chance on Sunday night to be at an event here in Washington, there were a lot of senators there and I asked a couple of them what they thought of Tulsi Gabbard's pick, given what had happened in Syria over the weekend, hours beforehand and they kind of rolled their eyes and shook their heads in some kind of dismay," she reported. "There were Democrats amongst them, this is going to be a challenge for them."

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Senate Dems consider whether Biden should ‘clear the slate’ and pardon Trump

She then pointed out that Thune is working to give them cover should they go against Donald Trump's wishes.

"My understanding is that John Thune, the senator from North Dakota [editor's note: Thune represents South Dakota] has to think, 'How can I protect some of my senators?'"

"You can't have all of the same senators go out and say, 'No,' against all the picks," she elaborated. "So he's coming out with some kind of a rotation scheme; maybe its [North Carolina Senator] Thom Tillis votes against one of them, maybe if [Iowa Republican] Joni Ernst votes against another –– maybe if somebody votes against one of them the thinking is that they could probably get rid of four and that includes Matt Gaetz."

Watch below or at the link.

A lot of Donald Trump's legal problems vanished when he won the presidency, but one Trump prosecutor isn't backing down, a legal expert said Wednesday.

Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance raised the discussion, pointing to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's recent legal filing indicating that he isn’t ready to let Trump off the hook in his fraud case involving hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

A national security analyst identified a "gap in the law" that should shield the family of alleged assassin Luigi Mangione from potential legal consequences.

The mother of the 26-year-old suspect in the fatal shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson filed a missing person report for her son last month, several months after he suddenly and inexplicably ended contact with family and friends, and CNN's Juliette Kayyem said that gap may hold clues about the killing.

As Fox personality Pete Hegseth continues to roam the halls of Congress attempting to sell Republican party lawmakers on his nomination to be Donald Trump's secretary of defense, MSNBC's Jonathan Lemire claimed there is still a contingent of GOP lawmakers who are balking.

On Wednesday morning, the "Morning Joe" co-host stated that what he is hearing from Capitol Hill is the numbers have not changed for the embattled Hegseth, due to allegations of sexual assault and reported drinking problems, and that there are enough Republicans who will vote no which would kill his nomination.

Noting the pressure being put on GOP lawmakers by Trump allies, Lemire claimed it has not been wholly successful.

ALSO READ: The Medicare Advantage trap: What they don’t tell you

With co-host Joe Scarborough stating everyone needs to step back and let the "process" play out, Lemire interjected, "The word from Palm Beach is that he has momentum, they feel more confident about him right now, but he still not there yet."

"[Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa] Murkowski, yesterday, very careful wording, 'Trust the process'," he added, "We expect that he will get a fair hearing. It's this thing that we heard from yesterday, yes, they are not outright saying no, but they are also not saying yes –– they are not there yet, see whatever revelations may come up, there certainly has been no shortage of them at this point."

"Also, the people that I talked to in the last 24 hours say that numbers are about the same, still about six Republicans who aren't there yet to vote yes," he reported. "Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) doing a public service. Seemingly, this is the third or fourth time where he has gone before cameras and said, 'No, I have been talking to republican colleagues, he doesn't have the votes just yet.' So far the Trump team thinks they will keep him."

Watch below or at the link.

Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas on Tuesday again blocked the passage of House-approved bipartisan legislation meant to shield journalists and telecommunications companies from being compelled to disclose sources and other information to federal authorities.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) brought the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act—which would prohibit the federal government from forcing journalists and telecom companies to disclose certain information, with exceptions for terroristic or violent threats—for a unanimous consent vote.

Donald Trump tapped South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to head the Department of Homeland Security, but some residents back home doubt she's qualified to keep the nation safe.

The Republican governor's handling of several key issues in her home state prompted some residents to express doubts that she could successfully manage the sprawling bureaucracy at DHS, which secures the border, enforces immigration and customs laws and oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard and the Secret Service, reported CNN.