Why it matters: Biden officials had feared that the report, which includes details about the president's lapses in memory, could become a political liability as he seeks re-election.
Special counsel Robert Hur is not bringing charges following his investigation into President Biden's handling of classified documents, but wrote in a report released Thursday that Biden's actions presented "serious risks to national security."
Why it matters: The report ends a year-long and sprawling investigation but also concluded that Biden "willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen."
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), the chair of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, said Thursday she won't seek reelection in November.
Why it matters: McMorris Rodgers is the third GOP committee chair to announce they are not seeking reelection — part of a historic wave of House retirements this cycle.
After a four-month detour for a border deal that died in three days, the Senate is moving forward on a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific.
Why it matters: This step forward is way past its deadline. The Pentagon is already out of funds for Ukraine, and a path through the House remains murky even if the Senate reaches a final deal.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) will return to Congress after more than a month of cancer treatment and recovery, his office said Thursday.
Why it matters: It puts Republicans one step closer to impeaching Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, which could happen as soon as next Tuesday.
An estimated 36.2 million U.S. Latinos are eligible to vote this year, a new record for an increasingly crucial demographic in the expected rematch between President Biden and former President Trump.
Why it matters: Latino voters, an increasingly ideologically and racially diverse demographic, have helped swing tight races in battleground states and are expected to play a key role in November.
Utah state school board member Natalie Cline is under fire after posting photos of a high school basketball player, questioning her gender and prompting threats against the girl.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) faced a rapid backlash Thursday over reports he was planning to get involved in the Montana GOP Senate primary.
Why it matters: Backing Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) would have put Johnson at odds with top Senate Republicans, who are counting on a strong candidate to oust Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in November.
The five Marines aboard a helicopter that crashed in California earlier this week were confirmed dead on Thursday.
Driving the news: The helicopter, on a routine training flight from Nevada to California, was reported overdue on Tuesday after not arriving in San Diego as scheduled.
President Biden twice confused former German Chancellors Angela Merkel and Helmut Kohl while telling an anecdote at campaign events Wednesday.
Why it matters: Biden's mixup of the German leaders came days after another flub confusing French President Emmanuel Macron with former French President François Mitterrand.
Robert Draper interviewed dozens of people for his 6,800-word, nine-page New York Times Magazine cover story, "How Mark Meadows Became the Least Trusted Man in Washington," about the former Trump chief of staff who could play a key role in prosecutions of his former boss.
Why it matters: Meadows faces charges in Georgia's sprawling racketeering case against former president Trump and his allies for their efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Anthony Fauci, arguably the world's most famous living doctor, will be out June 18 with a memoir called "On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service."
Why it matters:Fauci, 83 — as chief medical adviser President Biden, and longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases — helped steer the U.S. through peak COVID with calm, relentless media appearances.
Legal experts broadly agree about what the Supreme Court probably wants to do on Thursday — find the narrowest, most boring way to let former President Trump back on the ballot in Colorado.
Why it matters: There aren't any great options to do that, and the stakes — for the court itself, the outcome of a presidential election and the public's trust in the democratic process — are as high as they've been since Bush v. Gore.
The Department of Justice announced charges in two separate cases Wednesday over allegedly "sophisticated schemes to transfer sensitive technology, goods, and information" to benefit the governments of China and Iran.
The big picture: In one case in California, Chenguang Gong, a 57-year-old U.S. citizen who was born in China, is accused of stealing trade secrets developed for use by the U.S. government to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles, per a DOJ statement.
Author Marianne Williamson announced Wednesday she's suspending her long-shot challenge to President Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The big picture: "I read a quote the other day that said sunsets are proof that endings can be beautiful too," said Williamson, who ran unsuccessfully in the 2020 primary race, in a YouTube video announcement. "And so today, even though it is time to suspend my campaign for the presidency, I do want to see the beauty."
Why it matters: Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is a staunch supporter of Ukraine. But his caucus largely abandoned him on the border bill he backed, and he hasn't found the votes to move forward.
The special counsel examining President Biden's handling of classified documents following his vice presidency has completed his investigation, Attorney General Merrick Garland told congressional leaders on Wednesday.
State of play: Garland said in the letter that special counsel Robert Hur submitted his final report to him on Monday and the attorney general vowed that he's "committed to making as much of the Special Counsel's report public as possible."
The Biden campaign is strategically harnessing sound bites from top Republicans in Congress — some seething, some celebrating — to bolster its arguments about the collapse of the Senate's border bill.
Why it matters: President Biden vowed Tuesday to remind voters "every day" that former President Trump's political gamesmanship is the "only reason the border is not secure." Some Republicans are at risk of becoming unwitting surrogates on behalf of that message.
