The Latest: Democrats call on Pete Hegseth to resign over Signal leaks in House briefing
Constitutional challenges are expected for President Donald Trump ‘s sweeping executive action to overhaul elections. Article I of the nation’s founding charter gives states, not the federal government, authority over the “times, places and manner” of how elections are run.
National security is on the agenda as Trump’s top intelligence officials brief House lawmakers on global threats amid fallout over their group text discussing airstrikes in Yemen.
The Supreme Court hears a new test of federal power in a major legal fight over $8 billion in annual subsidies for phone and internet services in schools, libraries and rural areas.
And people in Greenland appear cautiously relieved that Vice President JD Vance and his wife will limit their Friday trip to a U.S. military base, rather than appear uninvited at a public event.
Here’s the Latest:
Democrats call on defense secretary to resign over Signal app exposure
“It is completely outrageous to me that administration officials come before us today with impunity, no acceptance of responsibility,” said Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado. He said Pete Hegseth “must resign immediately. There can be no fixes, there can be no corrections until there is accountability.”
Other Democrats on House Intelligence Committee rejected assertions by Gabbard and Ratcliffe that no classified material was included in the chat. They pointed chat messages released by The Atlantic on Wednesday as evidence the exposure could have jeopardized the mission’s success or endangered U.S. service members’ lives.
“This is classified information. It’s a weapon system, as well as a sequence of strikes, as well as details of the operations,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. “He needs to resign immediately.”
Trump says ‘we have to convince’ people of Greenland to become US citizens
Asked if he thinks they’re “eager” to become American citizens, Trump said he didn’t know “but I think we have to do it, and we have to convince them.”
Trump repeated in an interview Wednesday on “The Vince Show” that the U.S. needs control of Greenland for national security reasons. His pronouncements have irked residents of the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
Vance and his wife, Usha, are scheduled Friday to visit a U.S. military base on the Arctic island.
Marjorie Taylor Greene grills the leaders of public broadcasting
Now chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee, the Georgia Republican summoned the leaders of PBS and NPR to a hearing, demanding to know why taxpayers funded what she considers biased news resembling content from communist China.
Trump suggested Tuesday that public funding for PBS and NPR be cut off.
NPR chief Katherine Maher says the radio network is making progress in presenting different viewpoints on the air.
Gabbard says including a reporter in a discussion of military plans on Signal was a ‘mistake’
Gabbard acknowledged before the House Intelligence Committee that the texts contained “candid and sensitive” discussions but said again that no classified information was included.
“It was a mistake that a reporter was inadvertently added,” Gabbard said.
National security adviser Mike Waltz has taken responsibility for the addition of The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief to the chat, which also included the defense secretary, the vice president and other top Trump administration officials.
Democrats blasted it as a sloppy mistake that could have put American service members at risk.
Texts released by The Atlantic on Wednesday referred to the timing of strikes and the types of weaponry involved.
Democrats to press directors of National Intelligence and CIA over Signal leak
Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe face more questioning about how Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a group chat in which they discussed American military strikes in Yemen.
Gabbard, Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, national security adviser Michael Waltz and other top national security officials were on the chat, which included the times of warplane launches and other actions.
Waltz has taken responsibility. Trump called it “a glitch.” Democrats said it was an irresponsible security lapse that could require resignations.
Republican Rep. Rick Crawford urged his fellow House Intelligence Committee members not to focus on the Signal chat leak during Wednesday’s hearing on global threats.
“It’s my sincere hope that we use this hearing to discuss the many foreign threats facing our nation,” Crawford said in opening remarks.
Senate confirms Trump’s picks to lead NIH, FDA
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya passed a 53-47 party-line vote to become director of the the National Institutes of Health.
The Stanford University health economist, an outspoken critic of COVID-19 policies, has vowed to encourage scientific dissent. He now leads the world’s top funder of biomedical research as Trump drastically reduces its funding and workforce.
Dr. Marty Makary won over a handful of Democrats in a 56-44 vote to become commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates drugs, medical devices and food safety.
The Johns Hopkins University researcher also has contrarian views, and like the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has criticized food additives, ultraprocessed foods and the overprescribing of drugs.
Schumer and Senate Democrats question if Signal app breach violated Espionage Act
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and top Senate Democrats on the national security committees want answers from Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials as the Signal app fallout deepens, questioning whether the actions violate the Espionage Act.
“We write to you with extreme alarm about the astonishingly poor judgment shown by your Cabinet and national security advisors,” the senators wrote in a letter to the president.
“Our committees have serious questions,” they wrote, detailing a 10-part probing line of inquiry.
The senators noted that if any other American military servicemember or official committed such breach “they would be investigated and likely prosecuted.”
Read more on the Signal text chat fallout
Consumers and investors slam Delaware’s passage of ‘billionaire’s bill’
The legislature voted overwhelmingly in favor after Democratic Gov. Matt Meyer urged quick passage amid pressure from corporate leaders about court precedents governing conflicts of interest.
Elon Musk encouraged a “Dexit” after Tesla shareholder complaints led a judge to invalidate his compensation package potentially worth more than $55 billion.
Critics warned it will harm investors, pensioners and middle-class savers by making it harder to hold corporate insiders accountable for violating their fiduciary duties.
Delaware is the legal home of more than 2 million corporate entities, including two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies. State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton warned against “cooking that golden goose.”
Read more about how Delaware’s loosening of corporate accountability
Democrats keep control of Pennsylvania House
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin says the victory means state House Democrats “can stand up to Trump’s mayhem in Washington.”
Democrat Dan Goughnour handily won Tuesday’s special election, keeping majority control by a single seat, 102-101. He beat Republican Chuck Davis in the Pittsburgh-area district. This removes a potential barrier to Gov. Josh Shapiro, a rising star among Democrats who is seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
Martin’s statement says the victory will block efforts to weaken Shapiro’s authority and “continue to expand job opportunities, strengthen schools and create safe communities in Pennsylvania.”
Read more on the Pennsylvania race’s impact
The Atlantic releases entire Signal chat — including plans for Yemen attack
The Atlantic released the entire Signal chat between Trump senior national security officials on Wednesday, showing that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided the exact times of war plane launches through the unclassified communications app — before the men and women flying those attacks on behalf of the United States were airborne.
The revelation follows two intense days where Trump’s senior most cabinet members of his intelligence and defense agencies have squirmed to explain how details — which current and former U.S. officials have said would have been classified — wound up on an unclassified Signal chat that included Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
Hegseth has refused to say whether he posted classified information onto Signal. He is traveling in the Indo-Pacific and to date has only said he did not reveal “war plans.”
Read more on related developments as Trump officials face House questioning
Researchers in limbo as Columbia bows to Trump’s demands in bid to restore $400M federal funding
When Trump canceled $400 million in funding to Columbia University over its handling of student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, much of the financial pain fell on researchers a train ride away from the school’s campus, working on things like curing cancer and studying COVID-19’s impact on children.
The urgency of salvaging ongoing research projects at the university’s labs and world-renowned medical center was one factor in Columbia’s decision last week to bow to the Republican administration’s unprecedented demands for changes in university policy as a condition of getting funding restored.
The university’s decision to accede to nearly all of the Trump administration’s demands outraged some faculty members, who say Columbia has sacrificed academic freedom. The American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers, representing members of Columbia’s faculty, filed a lawsuit Tuesday saying the funding revocation violated free speech laws.
Scientific and medical researchers are appalled that their work was drawn into the debate to begin with.
Read more about the impact on researchers at Columbia
Change in itinerary for JD Vance brings cautious relief for Greenland and Denmark
Greenland and Denmark appeared cautiously relieved early Wednesday by the news that Vance and his wife are changing their itinerary for their visit to Greenland Friday, reducing the likelihood that they will cross paths with residents angered by the Trump administration’s attempts to annex the vast Arctic island, a semi-autonomous Danish territory.
The couple will now visit the U.S. Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the northwest coast of Greenland, instead of Usha Vance’s previously announced solo trip to the Avannaata Qimussersu dogsled race in Sisimiut.
The vice president’s decision to visit a U.S. military base in Greenland has removed the risk of violating potential diplomatic taboos by sending a delegation to another country without an official invitation. But Vance has also criticized longstanding European allies for relying on military support from the United States, openly antagonizing partners in ways that have generated concerns about the reliability of the U.S.
Read more about the vice president’s trip to Greenland
The so-called “Big Six” meet at Treasury to discuss Trump-era tax cuts
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with the so-called “Big 6” group at U.S. Treasury Tuesday
The group includes White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Majority Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith.
A Treasury readout of the meeting states that the group discussed permanently extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
“I am dedicated to working with Congress in making permanent President Trump’s historic tax cuts and reviving the American dream,” Bessent said in a statement. “Today’s productive meeting gives me confidence that a swift timeframe is achievable.“
Trump’s executive order on elections is far-reaching. But will it actually stick?
Trump’s executive order seeking broad changes to how elections are run in the U.S. is vast in scope and holds the potential to reorder the voting landscape across the country, even as it faces almost certain litigation.
He wants to require voters to show proof that they are U.S. citizens before they can register for federal elections, count only mail or absentee ballots received by Election Day, set new rules for voting equipment and prohibit non-U.S. citizens from being able to donate in certain elections.
A basic question underlying the sweeping actions he signed Tuesday: Can he do it, given that the Constitution gives wide leeway to the states to develop their own election procedures? Here are some of the main points of the executive order and questions it raises.