White House news

• Social Security benefits increasing by 3.6 percent in 2027

  14-10-2026 16:32 via thehill.com
  
  Social Security benefits will increase by 3.6 percent in 2027, the Trump administration announced Wednesday. With the latest cost of living adjustment (COLA), Social Security retirement benefits will increase by $75 per month on average, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA). Last year’s COLA was 2.8 percent. The COLA applies to the nearly 72...
  
  Read more

• Stephen A. Smith calls dinner with Trump, Bill Maher, Kid Rock 'shocking'

  17-10-2026 21:51 via thehill.com
  
  Commentator Stephen A. Smith said he was shocked President Trump hosted him, left-leaning comedian Bill Maher and conservative country star Kid Rock at the White House earlier this week, adding the White House gathering lasted more than four hours. “It was shocking. I certainly didn’t expect that amount of time,” Smith told CNN's Laura Coates...
  
  Read more

• Live updates: Trump rallies in Kentucky as Russia sanctions waiver backlash mounts

  17-10-2026 21:35 via thehill.com
  
  President Trump plans to travel back and forth Saturday between Mar-a-Lago and Highland Heights, Kentucky, where he is set to deliver remarks at 2 p.m. The visit comes ahead of a seven-day, seven-stop campaign tour for Trump. The president announced Friday he would campaign in Michigan on Oct. 25, following Vice President Vance's recent visit....
  
  Read more

• Immigrant ICE searched for in Texas when agent hit man with car has been dead for years: Report

  17-10-2026 19:12 via thehill.com
  
  The immigrant that federal agents were pursuing when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer hit and injured a man with a vehicle in Houston has apparently been dead for almost a decade, according to an immigration advocacy group. Miguel Parra Hernandez, a 48-year-old immigrant without legal status, was driving to work Saturday morning when federal...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Schumer: 'Trump just gave Putin the best birthday gift he’ll get this year'

  17-10-2026 18:06 via thehill.com
  
  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) accused President Trump on Saturday of giving Russian President Vladimir Putin “the best birthday gift” after he waived new sanctions on Russia days before they were set to take effect. “By giving the Russian economy life support Trump’s deal with the devil keeps getting dirtier,” Schumer wrote in a...
  
  Read more

• Trump: California officials will 'go to jail' if state ignores DOJ voter roll suit

  17-10-2026 18:00 via thehill.com
  
  President Trump reupped the Justice Department's (DOJ) warning that California officials could face criminal charges if they include the mail-in ballots of the over 200,000 people the federal government identified as potential non-U.S. citizens in their midterm election count. “They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!” Trump wrote in a...
  
  Read more

• George Santos: 'I’d jump to serve' as White House press secretary

  17-10-2026 17:02 via thehill.com
  
  Former Rep. George Santos (R-Fla.) pitched himself on Friday to fill the vacancy left by White House press secretary Katie Zacharia.  “Hey I’m not technically open for a job because I have one already…. butttttttt… I’d jump to serve POTUS as press secretary in a heart beat. Just saying,” the former Republican lawmaker wrote on...
  
  Read more

• Final Trump arch plans submitted to city omit proposed military complex

  17-10-2026 16:45 via thehill.com
  
  Final site plans for President Trump’s proposed, 250-foot-tall triumphal arch do not mention the military features he previously said he would add to the project, according to documentation the Interior Department submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission.   The president announced in late September the structure, slated to be built between Arlington National Cemetery...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Zelensky says Russian sanctions Trump waived 'could have helped enormously'

  17-10-2026 16:08 via thehill.com
  
  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decried President Trump’s late-night decision to waive sanctions and tariffs against Russia days before they were set to take effect under a new law. “At a time when the Russians have carried out such a massive attack on our energy sector, a decision was unfortunately made in America to completely disregard...
  
  Read more

• Zelensky on Trump waiving Russia sanctions: 'This Act could have helped enormously'

  17-10-2026 16:08 via thehill.com
  
  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decried President Trump’s late-night decision to waive sanctions and tariffs against Russia days before they were set to take effect under a new law. “At a time when the Russians have carried out such a massive attack on our energy sector, a decision was unfortunately made in America to completely disregard...
  
  Read more

• GOP lawmakers bash Trump's decision to waive Russia sanctions: 'Beyond irresponsible'

  17-10-2026 15:23 via thehill.com
  
  Several GOP lawmakers criticized President Trump’s move to exempt Russia from the sanctions bill he signed law last month, with Sen. Thom Tillis (R- N.C.) calling the move "Beyond irresponsible." Trump signed an executive order Friday evening to waive sanctions against Russia in a legislative package that was meant to put pressure on the Kremlin...
  
  Read more

• Live updates: Trump-Zelensky relationship rocky over Russia sanctions, Starlink; Obama campaigns in Michigan, Ohio

  17-10-2026 15:00 via thehill.com
  
  President Trump plans to travel back and forth Saturday between Mar-a-Lago and Highland Heights, Kentucky, where he is set to deliver remarks at 2 p.m., while former President Obama also holds campaign events in Ohio and Michigan. The former Democratic president will travel to Detroit and Cleveland in an attempt to move the needle in...
  
  Read more

• Live updates: Trump and Zelensky relationship rocky over Russia sanctions, Starlink; Obama campaigns in Michigan, Ohio

  17-10-2026 15:00 via thehill.com
  
  President Trump is set to travel back and forth between Mar a Lago and Highland Heights, Kentucky on Saturday, where he is set to deliver remarks at 2 p.m., but former President Barack Obama will also be holding campaign events in Ohio and Michigan. The former Democratic president will travel to Detroit and Cleveland in...
  
  Read more

• Trump administration says painting Eisenhower building would hurt landmark's history

  17-10-2026 14:10 via thehill.com
  
  The Trump administration’s plan to put a coat of white paint on the exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building would diminish the historic character of the 19th-century landmark, according to a draft environmental assessment published Friday. "The unpainted exterior granite walls, including their natural detail (e.g., grey and pink hues), were hand-selected by the...
  
  Read more

• Government report says painting Eisenhower building would hurt landmark's history

  17-10-2026 14:10 via thehill.com
  
  The Trump administration’s plan to put a coat of white paint on the exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building would diminish the historic character of the 19th-century landmark, according to a draft environmental assessment published Friday. "The unpainted exterior granite walls, including their natural detail (e.g., grey and pink hues), were hand-selected by the...
  
  Read more

• Trump waives Russian sanctions outlined in Graham Act before they took effect

  17-10-2026 04:46 via thehill.com
  
  President Trump signed an executive order Friday evening to waive sanctions against Russia set to take effect soon under a recently signed legislative package. The president officially signed the sanctions package into law last month, which was posthumously dedicated to the late Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.). The legislation sought to put pressure on the Kremlin...
  
  Read more

• Trump waives Russian sanctions outlined in Graham Act before they take effect

  17-10-2026 04:46 via thehill.com
  
  President Trump signed an executive order Friday evening to waive sanctions against Russia set to take effect soon under a recently signed legislative package. The president officially signed the sanctions package into law last month, which was posthumously dedicated to the late Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.). The legislation sought to put pressure on the Kremlin...
  
  Read more

• Zacharia speaks out after White House press secretary exit: 'It was an honor'

  17-10-2026 04:29 via thehill.com
  
  Katie Zacharia issued her first public statement Friday night after a White House official announced she'd be "transitioning out" of the press secretary post after just five days in the role. In a post on the social media platform X, Zacharia praised President Trump’s leadership, saying, “It was an honor to work for him.” “President...
  
  Read more

• Secret Service deputy chief stepping down

  17-10-2026 03:44 via thehill.com
  
  Matt Quinn, the deputy director of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), announced Friday he was stepping down after a year-and-a-half in the role.  Quinn said in a statement posted to social platform X he has been working with Secret Service Director Sean Curran on a transition plan for his role “for months now.”  The deputy...
  
  Read more

• More lawmakers report suspicious packages at offices

  17-10-2026 02:06 via thehill.com
  
  Several lawmakers said Friday their offices across the country had received suspicious mailings following reports earlier this week of letters containing unknown substances at U.S. election offices. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and over 15 House lawmakers said their district or state offices received these packages.  Klobuchar...
  
  Read more

• 5 days of Katie Zacharia: The rapid fall of Trump's 'lawyer' press secretary 

  17-10-2026 00:38 via thehill.com
  
  Katie Zacharia won’t be remembered as one of the “all-time greats” in the White House press room, as one of her colleagues predicted this week, but she will go down in the annals of presidential press secretary history. Her tenure of five days in the role easily beats the previous record held by Anthony Scaramucci,...
  
  Read more

• Watchdog: Zacharia's exit doesn't 'wipe clean' dispute over legal credentials 

  16-10-2026 23:49 via thehill.com
  
  A D.C.-based ethics watchdog group that accused Katie Zacharia of misrepresenting herself as a lawyer is urging the State Bar of California to press ahead with an investigation into her credentials after she was ousted as White House press secretary.   The Campaign for Accountability, which filed a Bar complaint against Zacharia earlier this week, said her exit from the White...
  
  Read more

• Press secretary under Clinton says Zacharia was 'set up to fail'

  16-10-2026 23:35 via thehill.com
  
  Katie Zacharia was set up to fail by the Whtie House and President Trump, who made her White House press secretary without preparing her, former Clinton-era White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart said Friday. “I don’t mean this to sound partisan or overly critical of the president, but she is, in fact a victim here,”...
  
  Read more

• Trump to campaign in Michigan

  16-10-2026 23:26 via thehill.com
  
  President Trump will campaign in Michigan next week, marking what is slated to be his seventh campaign stop in a seven-day stretch. The Republican National Committee said Friday Trump will headline a rally in St. Clair County, Mich. on Sunday, Oct. 25 following an appearance in Macon, Ga. the day prior. Trump’s midterm travel schedule...
  
  Read more

• Loomer lobbies to replace Zacharia: 'Hear me out'

  16-10-2026 23:26 via thehill.com
  
  Far-right activist Laura Loomer put herself forward as a candidate for White House press secretary as Katie Zacharia was ousted from the role after just five days on Friday.  In three separate posts on the social media platform X, the conservative influencer argued her case. “Here me out: Press Secretary Laura Loomer,” she wrote in...
  
  Read more

• US measles cases top 4,400, far exceeding last year's totals

  16-10-2026 23:18 via thehill.com
  
  National measles cases this year have now exceeded 4,400, all but guaranteeing the country will more than double the number of measles infections confirmed last year, which totaled 2,289. The latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday recorded 4,410 total cases in 2026 just a week after the U.S....
  
  Read more

• US measles cases exceed 4,400, far exceeding last year's totals

  16-10-2026 23:18 via thehill.com
  
  National measles cases this year have now exceeded 4,400, all but guaranteeing the country will more than double the number of measles infections confirmed last year, which totaled 2,289. The latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday recorded 4,410 total cases in 2026 just a week after the U.S....
  
  Read more

• Unauthorized drones banned along US-Mexico border: FAA

  16-10-2026 22:55 via thehill.com
  
  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Friday it is restricting unauthorized drones along the ​US-Mexico border. This move comes as the government ramps up efforts to address concerns about illegal drug shipment across the border, Reuters reported Friday. This is a temporary flight restriction which bars any unauthorized drone activity up to 400 feet above...
  
  Read more

• Oil hits $110 per barrel for first time since May

  16-10-2026 22:48 via thehill.com
  
  An international oil benchmark hit $110 per barrel on Friday, as the industry faces persistent shocks from the U.S.-Iran and Russia-Ukraine wars. The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, hit $110 on the nose during Friday trading. That marked the first it has reached that level since May 20, less than three months...
  
  Read more

• Rep. Andy Harris on spat with student reporter: 'I pushed back, liberal media got offended'

  16-10-2026 22:45 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) is defending himself after video of him clashing with a student reporter during a press gaggle went viral earlier this week. In an appearance on Fox 45 Baltimore Thursday, anchor Mikenzie Frost asked Harris about the moment and pressed him on if he regretted the exchange. “It’s not very newsworthy that...
  
  Read more

Follow @NwslWhiteHouse on Twitter!