Poli Alert Politics & Civics

President Donald Trump announced Friday that his administration will impose a 100% tariff on all Chinese goods “over and above any tariff that they are currently paying,” a move that reignites tensions between Washington and Beijing after months of trade negotiations that had appeared to ease hostilities. In a Truth …

The White House said Friday that mass firings of federal workers have begun, marking an extraordinary escalation in President Donald Trump’s standoff with congressional Democrats as the government shutdown entered its tenth day. Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, announced the move on X, formerly Twitter, …

The Trump administration moved forward Thursday with a controversial $20 billion financial lifeline to Argentina, a bailout critics say benefits politically connected investors while the U.S. government remains shut down and American farmers struggle without aid. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the package, saying the funds will come through a …

Israel’s Cabinet early Friday approved a ceasefire plan brokered by President Donald Trump aimed at ending the two-year war in Gaza and securing the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas, a crucial step toward stabilizing the region. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office described the vote as approval of …

A federal judge in Chicago on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump from deploying National Guard troops in Illinois, dealing another setback to the administration’s sweeping effort to use military forces in U.S. cities under the banner of restoring order and protecting federal property. The ruling by U.S. District Judge April …

New York Attorney General Letitia James — the Democrat who once won a $500 million civil judgment against Donald Trump — was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Virginia, in what critics are calling a stunning act of political retribution by the president against one of his most …

Emergency Medicaid spending — a flashpoint in the ongoing government shutdown fight — accounts for less than 1% of the federal health insurance program’s total costs, according to a new study published Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The research, which examined data from Washington, D.C., and …

President Donald Trump will undergo what the White House is calling his “routine yearly checkup” Friday morning at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, just six months after his last full physical exam at the same facility. The unusual timing has raised questions about why the president, 79, is receiving …

The Internal Revenue Service was expected to furlough nearly half of its workforce on Wednesday as the federal government shutdown stretches into its second week, the agency announced in a newly updated contingency plan. According to the IRS, roughly 39,870 employees — or 53.6% of its current staff — will …

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a temporary pause in their two-year war and to exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners, a breakthrough greeted Thursday with relief and cautious optimism as details of the U.S.-brokered plan emerged. The ceasefire, pushed by President Donald Trump and mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the …

Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal charges sought by President Donald Trump, marking a dramatic escalation in the president’s campaign to punish former officials tied to the Russia investigation. It was Comey’s first appearance as a criminal defendant in a case that has rattled the …

President Donald Trump this week repeatedly suggested he might invoke the Insurrection Act — a centuries-old law granting sweeping domestic powers to the commander in chief — to quell what he described as “lawlessness” in American cities, signaling a potential escalation in his administration’s approach to domestic unrest. “It’s been …

President Donald Trump escalated his war of words with two top Illinois Democrats on Wednesday, saying in a Truth Social post that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker “should be in jail” for opposing his administration’s deployment of federalized National Guard troops to the state. “Chicago Mayor should …

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was open to extending the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) through a renegotiation or by pursuing “different deals,” as he met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House amid growing trade tensions. Carney’s second visit to Washington comes ahead of next year’s …

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi aimed heated rhetoric at Democratic senators on Capitol Hill Tuesday as she faced questions over the administration’s surge of federal agents to blue cities, as well as a litany of controversial issues surrounding the Department of Justice. In one fervid exchange during the routine oversight …