Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned universities on Thursday to "get your act together" after halting Harvard's program to enroll international students.
The big picture: The Trump administration has targeted educational institutions, pressuring universities to meet its demands or risk losing funding and tax-exempt status.
President Trump's political operation has been fielding calls from Republicans interested in waging a primary challenge to Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, according to a person familiar with the talks.
Why it matters: The conversations are evidence that Trump — and his $500 million political apparatus — is actively entertaining the best way to back a primary opponent against Massie, who has drawn Trump's ire for voting against his "one big, beautiful bill."
Some younger House Democrats are preparing to push for a long-delayed, caucus-wide intervention on age after the tragic passing of yet another one of their septuagenarian colleagues, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The impacts of the party's aging membership were keenly felt Thursday when House Republicans passed their sweeping tax cut bill by just a single vote, 215 to 214.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn has enlisted Chris LaCivita, a top political adviser to President Trump, to help him beat back a primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Why it matters: LaCivita's involvement doesn't guarantee an endorsement from Trump in what is expected to be the GOP's most expensive Senate primary. But it does show how Cornyn, long regarded as more country club than MAGA, is moving to align himself with the president.
The president hosted a highly anticipated "exclusive" dinner for the largest holders of his meme coin, Official Trump, at his golf club in Virginia on Thursday night.
Why it matters: Fight Fight Fight, LLC — a company linked to President Trump's family — sold a digital token that gave anyone in the world a chance to pay for a night of access to the commander-in-chief.
A man was charged with two counts of first-degree murder on Thursday in relation to the fatal shooting of two people outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., according to a criminal complaint.
The big picture: Elias Rodriguez of Chicago is also facing federal charges that include murder of foreign officials, causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm, and discharge of a firearm during a crime.
Detained Columbia University alumnus Mahmoud Khalil met and held his newborn son for the first time Thursday ahead of his immigration hearing, his legal team said.
The big picture: Thelegal U.S. resident, who has been in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since March and has not yet been charged with any crime, was denied temporary release to meet his newborn last month.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee on Thursday took its first step in its new investigation of the White House's handling of former President Biden's health: Demanding testimony from his doctor and his top advisers.
Why it matters: The probe comes amid a renewed focus on Biden's age and fitness for office after his cancer diagnosis and the release of "Original Sin," a new book by Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper.
The Trump administration pulled Harvard University's ability to enroll international students, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday.
The big picture: Harvardhas been at the center of the administration's war on universities over alleged antisemitism on campus and diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were identified Thursday as the two people killed in a shooting Wednesday night outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
The big picture: The suspect, who authorities believe acted alone, was arrested by a museum security guard after he entered the building following the shooting. FBI Deputy DirectorDan Bongino called the shooting an "act of targeted violence" in a post to X.
Chicago Police and FBI agents raided an Albany Park apartment Thursday morning that they say is connected to the man accused of shooting and killing two Israeli Embassy staff members in Washington, D.C., Wednesday night.
The latest: Armed FBI officers entered a home on Troy Street, while "a large law enforcement presence" blocked area streets, NBC 5 reported.
Top Senate Democrats aren't relenting in their push to add guardrails for President Trump and others to landmark cryptocurrency legislation, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: 18 Democrats voted earlier this week to advance the bill. But sources familiar with the discussions say some of that support could slip unless the bill adds basic protections against corruption by public officials.
Two Israeli Embassy staff were fatally shot at close range while leaving an event Wednesday night at the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C., the embassy's spokesperson in Washington, Tal Naim Cohen, told Axios.
The big picture: The suspect, who was apprehended by a museum security guard minutes after the shooting, chanted "free Palestine" as he was arrested, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a press briefing.
The victims were identified by the Israel Foreign Ministry on Thursday morning as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune warned President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that if he does not "make a serious proposal for an immediate ceasefire" with Ukraine, the Senate will pass new sanctions against the Russian government.
Why it matters: Thune (R-S.D.) is increasing pressure on Putin by signaling the Senate is willing to act on a bipartisan bill that would authorize new Russian sanctions and tariffs.
A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from dismantling the Department of Education while a lawsuit challenging the move proceeds.
Why it matters: The judge's preliminary injunction said that President Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon don't have the power to shutter the agency — and that its closure runs contrary to federal laws.
A group of Senate Democrats on Thursday will re-introduce a bill to ban stock trading by members of Congress and their families, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: President Trump last month endorsed the idea, breathing new life into a push that has found only dead ends on Capitol Hill over the last few years.
President Trump's Make America Health Again Commission released a highly anticipated report Thursday that gives Americans a clearer sense of HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s health agenda.
The big picture: The highly anticipated report hits some of RFK Jr.'s key targets: bad diets, overuse of medicine and corporate influence.
President Trump's Make America Healthy Again Commission blamed factors including bad diets, chemical exposure and unnecessary medication for causing childhood chronic illness in a highly anticipated report released Thursday.
Why it matters: The 68-page document from a panel led by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seeks to lay out a unifying theory around what's causing conditions like obesity, autoimmune conditions and behavioral disorders in kids.
The Trump administration plans to end production of the penny after the cost of making it ballooned and it became increasingly useless as currency.
Why it matters: The U.S. Mint reported losing $85.3 million on the nearly 3.2 billion pennies it produced in the 2024 fiscal year that ended in September.
Oklahoma can't establish the nation's first publicly-funded religious school after the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 Thursday.
Why it matters: The tie means the Oklahoma Supreme Court's finding that establishing the school would violate both the state and U.S. Constitutions will stand.
The House voted Thursday to pass President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" after weeks of Republican infighting that repeatedly threatened to tank the GOP-only legislation.
Why it matters: It's a major step toward getting the hulking fiscal package signed into law, though the Senate is likely to make substantial changes that could be difficult for House GOP hardliners to swallow.
The upper bound of "middle class" in America is often pegged at an annual income of between $150,000 and $250,000, but looking at legislation being drawn up by Republicans in Congress, it seems to be much, much higher.
Why it matters: Some of the proposals for the forthcoming budget raise income cutoff levels to as high as $2.5 million per year.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says he's convinced of two things: The U.S. will make a long list of trade deals by mid-summer, and the tariffs forcing those deals won't raise retail prices.
Why it matters: Investors, business leaders and consumers are praying he's right.
Prices are going up, that's clear now — but the nation's biggest retailers are taking very different approaches to what they say on the impact of tariffs publicly.
Why it matters: President Trump's trade war is stirring echoes of the inflation that took hold of the economy just three years ago.
The House and Senate GOPcampaign committees are calling on the FTC to investigate whether Google and Gmail suppress emails to conservative subscribers.
Why it matters: Their call marks a resumption of hostilities in a long-running war between the Republican Party and Big Tech.
Senate Republicans voted to move forward with repealing California's EV mandate — ignoring opinions from the Government Accountability Office and Senate parliamentarian.
Why it matters: Democrats have called it the "nuclear option," warning Republicans are setting a new precedent for what kind of rules can be undone by Congress.
House Republicans made a last-minute change to the $1,000-per-baby MAGA Accounts in their sweeping tax bill: Calling them "Trump Accounts" instead.
Why it matters: It's the latest in a series of attempts by congressional Republicans to display their loyalty to the president through legislation — and the one that is most likely to be signed into law.
President Trump on Wednesday repeated false crime numbers, shared misleading images and doubled down on a debunked "white genocide" conspiracy theory in South Africa during his tense Oval Office meeting with that nation's president, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Driving the news: Trump used a video made by political activists who oppose Ramaphosa to emphasize his claims about white Afrikaners facing racial violence by the majority Black population — claims that are widely disputed and rooted in white nationalist conspiracy theories.
A federal judge on Wednesday found that the Trump administration "unquestionably" violated a court order when it quickly deported immigrants to South Sudan.
The big picture: The rebuke fromU.S. District Judge Brian Murphy is among the strongest against President Trump's deportation agenda, which has tested the powers of the executive over the judiciary.
