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Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) walked out of a congressional hearing Wednesday after a heated confrontation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio over Venezuelan oil revenue controlled by the Trump administration.

Following the January military operation that resulted in U.S. control of Venezuela, Rubio revealed the administration retained control of the country's oil revenue, according to AP.

Minnesota Republican state Rep. Elliott Engen quietly ended his campaign for state auditor, instead filing to run for re-election to his seat in White Bear Lake.

According to FOX 9, Engen had previously "announced his campaign for State Auditor, saying in the position he would seek to expand the office and increase accountability," and vowed to be a "financial watchdog" for taxpayers.

President Donald Trump and Republican allies demand voting restrictions including proof of citizenship requirements, citing election security concerns. However, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, or EAC— the sole federal agency dedicated to election security— faces severe budget cuts.

Congressional funding for EAC election security grants has plummeted from $425 million in 2020 to just $45 million in 2026. Now, House Republicans propose reducinging both the grant program to $15 million and the EAC's overall budget by 30%.

Thousands of Albanians have taken to the streets — and the internet — to rage against a planned luxury resort linked to Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, with protesters demanding the government cancel the project and chanting "Ivanka, go home."

The flashpoint is a proposed €4 billion ($4.7 billion) development — described by Prime Minister Edi Rama as an "extraordinary investment" — on Sazan Island and the protected Vjosa-Narta coastal wetlands in southern Albania. Ivanka described it in dreamy terms on a recent podcast.

CNN media analyst Brian Stelter warned CBS Chief Bari Weiss' firing of veteran journalist Scott Pelley represents an "underwater earthquake" at the network, with significant ripple effects and potential legal consequences.

Pelley, who spent over four decades at CBS News, was dismissed one day after confronting leadership and accusing them of "murdering" 60 Minutes. CBS Executive Producer Nick Bilton terminated Pelley "for cause," a designation Pelley can challenge in court.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin turned his first House budget hearing into a shouting match Wednesday, repeatedly interrupting a Democratic congressman grilling him over his use of what the lawmaker called an $80 million luxury jet — forcing the Republican chairman to threaten to shut the whole thing down.

Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) came loaded for bear, confronting Mullin over flight logs showing the secretary regularly uses a Gulfstream G700 — one of two luxury jets purchased by his predecessor, Kristi Noem, for up to $200 million during a government shutdown — to make near-weekly trips home to Oklahoma.

The Trump administration is deploying aggressive legal tactics to prevent its top customs official from appearing in court under oath to explain why $166 billion in illegally collected tariffs remain undispersed to businesses owed refunds.

According to the New York Times, the administration is actively resisting a court order mandating full refunds, creating the possibility that only some importers will receive complete repayment. In contrast, others face partial reimbursement or delays.

Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman shared a photograph Wednesday of a large print-out displayed by House Republican leadership during a press conference, the content of which elicited a collective sigh from onlookers.

The photograph depicts a large sign split vertically, with the left side championing “common sense” Republicans for “cutting your taxes,” and the right side mocking “crazy” Democrats for “trans-ing the mice,” a reference to the past misleading claim made by President Donald Trump that taxpayers funded medical research to make “mice transgender.”

Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, Secretary Markwayne Mullin refused to commit to complying with federal court orders.

During a tense Senate Appropriations hearing Tuesday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, pressed Mullin four times to confirm DHS would follow court directives to halt illegal or unconstitutional conduct.

Senate Republicans removed funding for security upgrades to President Trump's White House ballroom from their immigration package after the provision threatened the entire legislative effort, according to revised text released Wednesday

The Senate parliamentarian had determined the ballroom language violated specific budgetary requirements, which would have allowed Democrats to filibuster the bill and block $70 billion in ICE and border patrol funding, and Senate GOP leaders acknowledged the provision was procedurally problematic and politically risky, reported CNN.