Former national security official: 'We might be in for an escalation' of Iran war

By: The Hill

Published on: April 2, 2026, 4:31 pm

Former White House national security adviser Brett McGurk said President Trump's Wednesday evening address spelled a potential “escalation” in the U.S.’s ongoing military operations against Iran.  McGurk, who has served under Republican and Democratic presidents, including Trump, told CNN’s “The Source” after the president's speech that the U.S. “might be in for an escalation of...

Trump says he will sign an order to pay DHS employees

By: The Hill

Published on: April 2, 2026, 4:24 pm

President Trump said Thursday that he will sign an order to pay all Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees as the shutdown reaches its 48th day. Trump shared the order in a Truth Social post and continued to put the blame on congressional Democrats for the lack of DHS funding. “I will soon sign an order...

Colorado court orders resentencing for Tina Peters, election clerk backed by Trump

By: The Hill

Published on: April 2, 2026, 4:07 pm

A Colorado appeals court on Thursday ruled that Tina Peters, a former elections clerk who was the first local official convicted over efforts to subvert the 2020 presidential election, should be resentenced. Peters, who served as a clerk in Mesa County, was sentenced to nine years in prison after being convicted on seven of the...

House Democrat pushes Anthropic on safety protocols, source code leak

By: The Hill

Published on: April 2, 2026, 4:04 pm

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) pressed Anthropic on Thursday about recent changes to its internal safety protocols following reports that part of the source code for the AI firm’s Claude Code tool was accidentally leaked. The company narrowed its AI safety policy pledge in late February, removing a previous commitment to halt development of its AI...

Trump suggests states raise taxes to pay for child care, says federal government can't afford it

By: The Hill

Published on: April 2, 2026, 4:02 pm

President Trump said Wednesday states should raise taxes to pay for day care, arguing that the federal government cannot afford to fund child care for all 50 states.  The federal government spends around $30 billion per year on child care. “The United States can't take care of day care. That has to be up to...

EPA proposes studying microplastics for potential drinking water limits

By: The Hill

Published on: April 2, 2026, 4:00 pm

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to propose to study microplastics and pharmaceuticals in what could be the first step toward drinking water limits for these substances. The Trump administration is touting the move as a win for the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, a subset of voters that is skeptical of the chemical...

Trump administration asks court to reimpose Anthropic supply chain risk designation

By: The Hill

Published on: April 2, 2026, 3:56 pm

The Trump administration has appealed a federal judge's temporary suspension of the Pentagon's supply chain risk designation for artificial intelligence firm Anthropic. The notice of appeal, filed in a California federal court Thursday, was largely expected, coming just one week after U.S. District Judge Rita Lin sided with Anthropic. Lin temporarily blocked the supply chain...

Trump administration lifts sanctions on acting Venezuela president

By: The Hill

Published on: April 2, 2026, 3:23 pm

The Trump administration lifted sanctions on acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Treasury Department  This move follows the extradition of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation earlier this year. Maduro and his wife were captured and transported to New York where they face drug trafficking charges. The...

Zelensky sounds warning on Russian intelligence sharing with Iran

By: The Hill

Published on: April 2, 2026, 3:20 pm

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sounded new warnings about Russia's intelligence sharing with Iran in an exclusive interview with The Hill’s sister network NewsNation. Zelensky, in his first remarks since President Trump’s Wednesday night address, provided insight on how Ukraine is helping the U.S. in its war against Iran, praised U.S. air defenses and shed more...

US embassy in Iraq warns Americans to 'leave now' as Middle East strikes intensify

By: The Hill

Published on: April 2, 2026, 3:19 pm

The U.S. Embassy in Iraq on Thursday warned Americans in the Middle East to "leave now" as U.S.-Israeli attacks on and retaliatory strikes from Iran intensify and days after an American journalist in Iraq was kidnapped by an Iran-backed militia group. The embassy based in Baghdad warned in a statement that "Iraqi terrorist militia groups...

Sydney Gruters, RNC chair's wife, launches Florida House bid

By: The Hill

Published on: April 2, 2026, 3:14 pm

Sydney Gruters, the wife of Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Joe Gruters, launched her campaign on Thursday for the House seat in Florida’s 16th Congressional District. “As a working mother of three, I see firsthand how much pressure rising prices are putting on families across Southwest Florida,” she said in a release. “From groceries and...

GOP moves to end DHS shutdown: Join the discussion

By: The Hill

Published on: April 2, 2026, 3:00 pm

Join The Hill's editors on a deep dive into Republicans' effort to bring an end to the record-long Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown. They will also discuss GOP lawmakers' plans for a new budget reconciliation bill and provide analysis after President Trump's Wednesday evening address about the conflict in Iran. The panel includes The...

Washington is getting drug pricing wrong — here’s how states can get it right

By: The Hill

Published on: April 2, 2026, 3:00 pm

States should embrace competition and innovation to lower prescription drug costs and encourage medical breakthroughs, rather than relying on government control and price caps.

Live updates: Trump touts 'unified' GOP on DHS funding; previews weeks of hard strikes on Iran

By: The Hill

Published on: April 2, 2026, 2:56 pm

President Trump on Thursday touted a "unified" Republican Party that is ready to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In a social media post thanking House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), Trump said, "Republicans are UNIFIED, and moving forward on a plan that will reload funding for our...

Ocasio-Cortez takes hardline stance against all military aid to Israel

By: The Hill

Published on: April 2, 2026, 2:46 pm

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday said the U.S. should not provide funding for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system, clarifying her position on the issue. “The Israeli government is well able to fund the Iron Dome system, which has proven critical to keep innocent civilians safe from rocket attacks and bombardment,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on...