NEW: Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, has played a leading role in the US strikes against suspected Venezuelan drug boats, per 3 people familiar. At times, his role has superseded that of Marco Rubio @guardian exclusive

New via Politico: Senate Republicans secured a provision in the shutdown-ending govt funding package that could award senators $500k for having their phone records collected by Special Counsel Jack Smith. That language came directly from Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

New via Politico: Senate Republicans secured a provision in the shutdown-ending govt funding package that could award senators $500k for having their phone records collected by Special Counsel Jack Smith. That language came directly from Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

This hidden provision is so crooked and selfish, it doesn't even apply to US Representatives. Just US Senators.

This seems aimed at federal prosecutions, that appear remote and likely barred by statute of limitations by 2029. I'm aware of no indication president has authority to pardon state-law crimes, but some Trump allies have suggested he does. See

BREAKING: President Trump has pardoned Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Mark Meadows, Christina Bobb, Boris Epshteyn and dozens of false GOP electors and other key figures involved in his effort to overturn the 2020 election results, per pardon attorney Ed Martin >>>

As someone who covered the Jan. 6 investigations for years, it is not by any means clear that the BBC/Panorama story was misleading: A slew of Jan. 6 riot defendants told judges that they interpreted Trump’s call to “fight like hell” against the results of the 2020 election as a

New: The Senate blocked a war powers resolution that would have forced Trump to seek congressional approval to launch strikes in Venezuela -- allowing the president to remain unchecked in his ability to expand his military campaign @guardian latest

Breaking: Nancy D'Alesandro Pelosi, the first woman speaker of the House, will not seek reelection after the end of this term in 2027

Defense secretary Pete Hegseth, acting chief Ricky Buria and assistant secretary for leg affairs Dane Hughes seen walking to brief select House and Senate members on the administration’s expanding military campaign around Venezuela

EXCLUSIVE: The Trump administration is preparing sweeping changes at the IRS that would allow the agency to pursue criminal inquiries of left-leaning groups more easily https://t.co/BPlJXx8Z8Q @schwartzbWSJ @RichardRubinDC @joel_schectman @WSJ

What will Pete Hegseth do when the leaks keep coming even though reporters aren’t in the Pentagon? Will he punish the officials he put in charge of stopping the leaks/told him the leaks would stop if reporters were gone?

Newsmax on Pentagon press policy: "Newsmax has no plans to sign the letter. We are working in conjunction with other media outlets to resolve the situation. We believe the requirements are unnecessary and onerous and hope that the Pentagon with review the matter further.”

Breaking news: A federal grand jury indicted New York attorney general Letitia James for bank fraud on Thursday, per a person familiar with the matter.

NEW and BREAKING: A federal grand jury has indicted New York AG Letitia James on one count related to bank fraud, per my colleague @srl -- indictment was sought by Trump's former personal lawyer and handpicked interim US Attorney in Virginia Lindsey Halligan

New: Dominion, the voting equipment company that was at the center of relentless conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, has been sold https://t.co/G3E4CfRUNp w/ @JGedeon1 @hugolowell

New: Interim US Attorney Lindsey Halligan, reportedly unable to get prosecutors from EDVA to try the Comey case, has brought on prosecutors most recently at the US Attorney’s office Eastern District of North Carolina

New: The Trump administration has relied on a classified Justice Dept legal opinion to justify lethal military strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, per people familiar. The OLC opinion broadly authorizes military force against a secret list of

Sorry but that’s pretty disingenuous. Pentagon reporters already wear a badge and the comparison to the WH is so inapposite. For instance, Pentagon has foreign mil officials freely walking around in corridors which are unclass areas; neither of which is true for the West Wing

Lots of noise today from the President's advisers and supporters about courts not having the power to provide prospective relief against domestic uses of the military. Via "One First," me on the key early precedent that is *entirely* to the contrary: https://t.co/CPx7rtvoct