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Dozens of scientists and medical professionals have signed a letter defending White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci after he faced fierce criticism from Republican lawmakers during a hearing earlier this week. "We deplore the personal attacks on Dr. Fauci," the letter, obtained by Politico, said. "The criticism is inaccurate, unscientific, ill-founded in the facts and, increasingly, motivated by partisan politics. It is a distraction from what should be the national focus - working together to finally overcome a pandemic that is killing about 500,000 people a year." It added that Fauci has "unswervingly served the United States guiding the...

Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany sat down Wednesday with investigators from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, a source familiar confirmed to The Hill. McEnany, who was subpoenaed in November, appeared before the committee virtually. CBS News was the first to report her meeting with the panel. McEnany was subpoenaed alongside former Trump aide Stephen Miller and other White House employees, with her summons largely focused on false statements she made promoting baseless claims of voter fraud.

former girlfriend of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) testified before a federal grand jury on Wednesday as part of a sex crimes investigation into the congressman, according to NBC News. The House Republican is reportedly being investigated for several possible crimes, including obstruction of justice, the sex trafficking of a minor and violating the Mann Act, a federal law barring the transportation of prostitutes between states or countries, legal sources familiar with the investigation told the network.

A group of 11 North Carolina voters filed a legal challenge to disqualify Rep. Madison Cawthorn from running for a second term, arguing his involvement in a rally preceding the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill constitutionally bars him from waging another campaign. Lawyers for the 11 voters filed the suit to the State Board of Elections, contending that Cawthorn’s comments in the speech shortly preceding the insurrection violate the 14th Amendment, which states in part that no person “who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress ... to support the Constitution of the United States,...

s the omicron variant of the novel coronavirus spreads across the United States, roughly 15 percent of adults remain unvaccinated. At the greatest risk for severe illness and death, they have already overwhelmed hospitals and intensive care units in many areas of the country, reducing services available to people who have non-COVID-19 related medical issues.

In the year since the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, a handful of Democrats, constitutional scholars and pro-democracy advocates have been quietly exploring how a post-Civil War amendment to the Constitution might be used to disqualify former President Trump from holding office again. Calls for Congress to take steps to strip Trump of his eligibility, which reached a crescendo in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot, have since decreased. But those who remain engaged on the issue say discussions about applying Section 3 of the 14th Amendment have been ongoing. “If anything, the idea has waxed and waned,”...

Roughly 40 percent of Republicans in a new survey said they approve of the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. According to the Politico-Morning Consult poll released on Sunday, 40 percent of Republicans said they either strongly support or somewhat support the Jan. 6 select committee. Another 44 percent said they oppose the committee to some degree while the remaining 16 percent said they had no opinion on it.

The gubernatorial election landscape in 2022 is shaping up to be competitive as Republicans look to flip a number of governors' mansions across the country. Republicans are feeling momentum after Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin's victory in November, when he became the first Republican to win a statewide race in the blue-leaning state since 2009. The party says the political environment is prime for Republicans to oust a number of vulnerable Democratic governors this year, including Gov. Laura Kelly in Kansas and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan. However, Democrats say they see opportunities in states with contentious GOP primaries, particularly in...

At least 20 states are beginning the new year by increasing their minimum wages, while Puerto Rico and several cities and counties are also bumping up pay for workers in 2022. A total of 26 states will have minimum wage increases go into effect in 2022, with wage hikes beginning in 22 states on Jan. 1, according to Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S., a company providing information on finance, regulatory compliance and the law. A wage increase in New York state began a day earli

Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, an adviser to former President Trump, provided the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot with a trove of documents in response to a subpoena by the panel for efforts involving overturning the election. A letter from Kerik's attorney dated Friday indicates that Kerik wants to cooperate with the committee "and any investigators who are truly willing to move ahead swiftly and get to the truth."

The 2024 presidential election may still be three years away, but Republicans have already begun to jockey for their places in the primary. Former President Trump’s repeated hints that he could mount another bid for the White House remains perhaps the biggest obstacle for other would-be contenders. While none have spoken definitively about their plans for 2024, many potential candidates have already started networking with GOP leaders and donors in key states while testing out campaign messages in public appearances.

Since the start of the pandemic, many 16- and 17-year-old Americans have proven that they possess the social responsibility and political maturity to help elect better leaders.

Florida broke its single-day record for new COVID-19 cases on Thursday as the omicron variant continues to drive a surge in infections. The state reported 31,758 cases to the Centers for Disease Control database on Thursday. The previous high was 27,669 in August when the delta variant swept the state.

Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) told Politico on Wednesday he wishes he had certified the electoral votes of several states that voted for President Biden in the 2020 presidential election. “In retrospect I should have voted to certify,” Rice reportedly said. “Because President Trump was responsible for the attack on the Capitol." The South Carolina Republican alleged that Trump “did nothing to stop” the attack on Jan. 6 and looked on at the unfolding events “with pride,” and from afar, Politico reported. Rice told the news outlet that he only voted against certifying the electoral votes of several states because he...

President Biden said he plans to run for reelection in 2024, assuming he's still in good health. “Yes,” he said when asked if he plans to run for reelection during an interview ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir that aired on Wednesday. “But look, I’m a great respecter of fate. Fate has intervened in my life many, many times. If I’m in the health I’m in now, if I’m in good health, then in fact, I would run again,” he added.

Michael Fanone, a 41-year-old D.C. police officer who was dragged into a crowd and beaten on Jan. 6, announced his resignation from the police force on Monday. Since the attack on the Capitol when Fanone suffered a heart attack and was beaten by rioters, the officer has publicly criticized the lawmakers and others who downplayed the attack, The Washington Post reported.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, becoming the latest high-ranking individual in the political world to come down with a breakthrough infection amid a nationwide surge in cases. Hogan wrote on Twitter Monday morning that he received a positive rapid test for COVID-19 during his “regular testing routine.” He said he is vaccinated and received a booster shot and is “feeling fine at the moment.” The governor also encouraged individuals to get vaccinated or receive the booster shot “as soon as possible” as the omicron strain “becomes more dominant.”

You can rarely be sure that judicial incompetence will kill people, but Federal District Judge Terry Doughty crossed that line when he issued an injunction blocking the Biden administration's requirement that nursing home personnel be vaccinated for COVID-19.(The injunction, which the administration is appealing, has since been modified by a higher court to apply only in the 14 states that sued.) This week, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch produced something worse than incompetence. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that nursing home patients are far more likely to die of COVID if there are many...

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) expressed his frustration with Sen. Joe Manchin after the West Virginia Democrat said Sunday he would not vote for President Biden's social spending package. “I think he's gonna have a lot of explaining to do to the people of West Virginia,” Sanders told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.” Sanders alleged that Manchin “doesn’t have the guts to stand up to powerful special interests.” The Vermont Democrat said he still wanted the Senate to take a vote on the bill regardless of where Manchin stands. “We've been dealing with Mr. Manchin for month after...

Former President Trump announced on Wednesday that he was endorsing controversial far-right GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert (Colo.) for reelection in 2022. "Congresswoman Lauren Boebert has done a fantastic job in her first term representing Colorado's Third District. She is a fearless leader, a defender of the America First Agenda, and a fighter against the Loser RINOs and Radical Democrats," Trump said in a statement issued through his Save America PAC. "She will continue to be tough on Crime, strong on Borders, and always protect our under-siege Second Amendment. Lauren has my Complete and Total Endorsement for her reelection!" the former...