An Air Force intelligence analyst being investigated for potentially sharing online classified U.S. intelligence with a far-right group faces child pornography charges, military.com first reported.
The big picture: An FBI affidavit unsealed this week alleged the now-former airman Jason Gray, 28, shared an image that "appeared to be classified" and that he "likely obtained" from his access to National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence while he was stationed in Alaska.
President Biden signed a $1.2 trillion spending package Saturday, avoiding a government shutdown even though the Senate vote was two hours after the midnight deadline.
Why it matters: The package, which the House approved on Friday, will fund federal agencies such as the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense and Labor through the end of September.
House Republicans have skipped town for Easter recess with their base enraged, their majority in tatters — and their speaker facing the prospect of a humiliating ouster at the hands of his own MAGA allies.
Why it matters: Dysfunction doesn't even begin to cover it. The Senate's passage of a $1.2 trillion spending bill at 2 am ET — narrowly averting a government shutdown — was perhaps the least dramatic development in a historic day on Capitol Hill.
Former Rep. George Santos said Friday he will mount an independent, third-party bid against Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), rather than run in the Republican primary.
Why it matters: Should Santos get the signatures to make it on the ballot, he could siphon off GOP votes from LaLota in a swing district that could help decide the House majority.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Friday introduced a motion to vacate against House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), threatening a future vote to oust him.
Why it matters: Greene isn't yet forcing the vote to remove Johnson as speaker — but the move lays the groundwork for another historic showdown on the House floor.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is telling colleagues in both parties that he plans to "immediately" take up votes on foreign aid when the House returns from recess in April, the lawmakers told Axios.
Why it matters: It's a potential breakthrough after months of Johnson refusing to hold a vote on the Senate's $95 billion Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan aid bill.
House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-Texas) is stepping down as the head of the powerful panel, staff were informed on Friday, two sources told Axios.
Why it matters: Her decision comes shortly after the House passed its second minibus package.
House Democrats expect their members to rescue House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on a motion to vacate introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Friday.
Why it matters: Greene has said her attempt to formally remove Johnson would be triggered if he holds a House vote on Ukraine aid — something Democrats desperately want.
The House on Friday overcame bipartisan objections and passed a $1.2 trillion spending bill to keep most of the federal government funded just hours before a shutdown deadline — but Speaker Mike Johnson's job is being threatened as a result.
Why it matters: The House's approval means the government is likely to avoid a shutdown through the end of September, giving lawmakers breathing room as the 2024 campaign season heats up.
Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel is joining NBC News as on-air contributor, the network announced Friday.
Why it matters: She joins the network after facing a pressure campaign from former President Trump to resign from the RNC. Trump instead favored a triumvirate of loyalists to lead the committee.
Former President Trump in an all-caps Truth Social missive Friday claimed he has almost $500 million in cash as a deadline looms to pay an appeal bond in the New York civil fraud case against him, undercutting his own lawyers.
Why it matters: New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the suit, has already moved toward seizing Trump's properties, as the clock ticks for him to post the $454 million bond.
Justice Department antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter is spearheading several of the most consequential efforts to break up corporate power in the U.S.
Why it matters: Kanter is at the center of the Biden administration's broader push to promote competition in the U.S. market. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) antitrust lawsuits that he is leading against Google and Apple could reshape the future of big tech.
Truth Social, the Twitter clone launched in 2022 by former President Trump, will become a publicly traded company by as early as next week.
Driving the news: Shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company, on Friday approved a merger with Truth Social's parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group.
Digital World Acquisition Corp. shareholders on Friday will vote on its proposed merger with Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social. If successful, TMTG could become a publicly listed company by as early as next week.
An Air Force intelligence analyst allegedly shared classified U.S. intelligence with members of the far-right Boogaloo movement on the platform Discord, according to a newly unsealed FBI affidavit.
The big picture: Investigators allege the now-former airman Jason Gray, 28, shared an image that "appeared to be classified" that he "likely obtained" from his access to National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence while he was stationed in Alaska.
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens said Thursday there needs to be stricter federal immigration policies that include jailing migrants who cross the border illegally from Mexico.
Why it matters: Owens' unvarnished remarks to CBS News come two days after a federal appeals court put on hold SB 4, a tough Texas law that gives state police powers to arrest people on suspicion of illegally crossing the Mexico border as the Biden administration challenges the legislation.
The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee on Thursday sued two Department of Justice attorneys who worked on Hunter Biden's federal tax investigation in an effort to compel them to testify.
The big picture: The panel states in its lawsuit it needs to take the action as part of its investigation into whether the department had given President Biden's son "favorable treatment" and whether his father "has abused his power as President to impede, obstruct, or otherwise influence investigations into his son."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is poised to face a sprawling boycott from congressional progressives should he accept a planned invitation to address Congress.
Why it matters: It's a sign of how strained relations between some Democrats and Israel have become since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war.
