White House news

• The 25 notable Capitol Hill staffers for 2026

  15-09-2026 12:00 via thehill.com
  
  The 119th Congress has had no shortage of pitched battles, fragile negotiations and high-profile scandals. Lawmakers may have taken center stage in each, but today we’re featuring 25 staffers who worked diligently behind the scenes on the issues in the spotlight: the legislative director who drafted the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the Ethics Committee staff...
  
  Read more

• California Democrat: 'We need to have a safety stand-down with AI'

  15-09-2026 17:37 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. George Whitesides (D-Calif.) on Monday said that the U.S. needs "a safety stand-down" regarding AI amid growing calls for regulation coming from both the tech industry and members of Congress. "I'm setting out a vision for how we need to develop AI," Whitesides told NewsNation's Blake Burman on "The Hill." "I think we need,...
  
  Read more

• Russian businessman paid for Trump Jr. wedding after-party: Five things to know

  15-09-2026 17:28 via thehill.com
  
  New reports of Russia-tied financial backing for the after-party events at the May wedding of President Trump’s eldest son have sparked concerns about potential influences from foreign adversaries in the U.S. government ahead of the midterm elections.Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev funded lavish wedding celebrations for Donald Trump Jr. and socialite Bettina Anderson in the...
  
  Read more

• Trump rips Rove: 'So bad for the Republican Party'

  15-09-2026 16:58 via thehill.com
  
  President Trump blasted Republican strategist Karl Rove on Monday, calling former President George W. Bush's White House adviser, "so bad for the Republican party." Rove received Trump's ire after he said he will vote for Democrat Jon Rosenthal to serve on the Texas Railroad Commission after GOP candidate Bo French wrote a post about University...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Trump: New helipad 'truly a work of art'

  15-09-2026 16:58 via thehill.com
  
  President Trump shared a picture Monday of the renovated White House helipad, calling it "a work of art” following months of construction over the summer. “It is magnificently made of carved granite in shades of Black and White. It is truly a work of art and, even the Trump Haters are saying, ‘Wow, that’s really...
  
  Read more

• Trump approval ticks up from record low: Survey

  15-09-2026 16:41 via thehill.com
  
  President Trump’s approval rating has risen slightly after hitting a record low last month, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released weeks before the midterm elections. Thirty-five percent of Americans approved of Trump’s job performance as the deeply unpopular Iran war reached its sixth month, up from 33 percent in a late August poll revealing...
  
  Read more

• Watch live: House Democrats speak amid AI, affordability battle

  15-09-2026 16:30 via thehill.com
  
  House Democratic leaders will speak with reporters Tuesday morning as Democrats pressure the Trump administration for more regulations on artificial intelligence and experts warn of increasing risks. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has emerged as one of the loudest critics of the rapidly evolving technology, calling on his colleagues to pass legislation enacting new...
  
  Read more

• Trump rips justices on mail-in ballots: 'These are not the people I interviewed to serve'

  15-09-2026 16:30 via thehill.com
  
  President Trump on Tuesday slammed the Supreme Court ruling that upheld the block on his mail-in voting plan, singling out the conservative justices who ruled with the majority. Trump referred to the ruling, which upheld a judge’s block finding the plan unlawful, as “a bad decision” in a lengthy TruthSocial post.  The president praised conservative...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Ocasio-Cortez on Trump Jr. wedding: 'They're selling out every single person in this country'

  15-09-2026 16:00 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Monday that the Trump administration is “selling out" every American when discussing a Russian oligarch's involvement in Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding.The lawmaker was asked what she made of Trump Jr.’s wedding in May being partially funded by Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev, who is linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin....
  
  Read more

• Live updates: Trump blasts Supreme Court after mail ballot ruling; Patel testifies before Senate Judiciary panel

  15-09-2026 15:51 via thehill.com
  
  President Trump upbraided the Supreme Court on Tuesday morning for its 7-2 ruling against his mail-in ballot restrictions the evening prior. "These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court, they are merely a shell of their original selves, a Court that is costing the United States Trillions of...
  
  Read more

• Live updates: Patel testifies before Senate Judiciary panel; justices halt Trump's mail-in voting plan

  15-09-2026 15:37 via thehill.com
  
  FBI Director Kash Patel is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing on Tuesday morning. Ahead of the meeting, Patel released a letter sent to panel chair Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to explain expenditures that have drawn scrutiny. Attorney General Todd Blanche will brief reporters in the Rose Garden on Tuesday, becoming...
  
  Read more

• Whistleblower says DHS voter probe might violate state laws, wrongly target US citizens

  15-09-2026 15:20 via thehill.com
  
  Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees were told to pose as voters while searching for noncitizens on state voter rolls, according to a whistleblower report released Monday. Employees were given sensitive information for people flagged as potential “unlawful voters” and instructed to search state voter bases, likely violating state law, according to the whistleblower. The...
  
  Read more

• Live updates: Patel comes before Senate Judiciary panel; justices halt Trump's mail-in voting plan

  15-09-2026 15:09 via thehill.com
  
  FBI Director Kash Patel will testify Tuesday morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing. Ahead of the meeting, Patel released a letter sent to panel chair Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to explain expenditures that have drawn scrutiny. Attorney General Todd Blanche will brief reporters in the Rose Garden on Tuesday, becoming the...
  
  Read more

• Patel defends travel, vehicle acquisition ahead of hearing

  15-09-2026 15:04 via thehill.com
  
  FBI Director Kash Patel on Monday defended his personal travel and the law enforcement agency's purchase of several luxury armored BMWs under his leadership amid scrutiny. Patel is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday morning. Democrats on the panel are expected to press the Trump administration official over his use of...
  
  Read more

• Democrats urge RFK Jr. to scrap proposed Head Start overhaul

  15-09-2026 15:00 via thehill.com
  
  Democrats are pressing Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to scrap a proposed overhaul of the Head Start program, warning the changes would weaken services for thousands of families nationwide. The proposed rule, dubbed “Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs,” would “rescind and replace” the Head Start Program Performance Standards...
  
  Read more

• Ossoff: ‘Compromised’ Trump won’t regulate AI

  15-09-2026 14:01 via thehill.com
  
  Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) on Monday said President Trump will likely not heed calls from technology leaders to implement guardrails on the development of artificial intelligence (AI) because of his family’s investments in the industry.  The Georgia Democrat pointed to venture capitalist firm 1789 Capital, where Trump's eldest son Donald Trump Jr. is a partner,...
  
  Read more

• Zach Barnes: Executive director, House Freedom Caucus 

  15-09-2026 12:01 via thehill.com
  
  Zach Barnes says that working with members of the House Freedom Caucus — the hard-line conservative group famous for confronting Republican leadership and instigating procedural and floor fights — makes him joke about how Congress must have operated a century ago. “Members of Congress didn't have 15 to 18 full-time staff in D.C., in their...
  
  Read more

• Wyndee Parker: National security adviser, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)

  15-09-2026 12:01 via thehill.com
  
  No two days are the same for Wyndee Parker. As national security adviser to House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Parker is responsible for overseeing the activities of all of the lower chamber’s national security committees, including Armed Services, Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security and their Appropriations counterparts. She also works with the executive branch...
  
  Read more

• Tom Rust: Chief counsel and staff director, House Ethics Committee

  15-09-2026 12:01 via thehill.com
  
  For nearly two decades, Tom Rust has worked behind the scenes to help police the conduct of lawmakers. Rust joined the House Ethics Committee in 2009 after nearly a decade in private legal practice. He quickly moved up the ranks, serving as senior counsel and acting director of investigations before taking the role of staff director in 2014. Today, Rust oversees...
  
  Read more

• Rubi Flores: Policy director, Congressional Hispanic Caucus

  15-09-2026 12:01 via thehill.com
  
  Rubi Flores, 30, is a concert pianist turned policy director who has landed at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) as it positions itself to fight the Trump administration on its mass deportation agenda and other issues key to Latinos. An immigrant from Mexico who moved to the U.S. at age 10, Flores excelled not only...
  
  Read more

• Raphaël Schreiber: Legislative director, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)

  15-09-2026 12:01 via thehill.com
  
  July 15, 2025, was “the most stressful day” of Raphaël Schreiber’s career in Congress. The legislative director for Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) had a “very brief” conversation with the congressman about the idea of a bill directing the Department of Justice to publicly release materials on its Jeffrey Epstein investigation. “And then he told me,...
  
  Read more

• Omar Hossino: Chief counsel and national security adviser, House Republican Policy Committee

  15-09-2026 12:01 via thehill.com
  
  For many in Washington, being sanctioned by America’s adversaries is a badge of honor. Omar Hossino, the national security lead for the House Republican Policy Committee, is viewed as the staffer who has helped members get on those blacklists.“His greatest achievement: He had me identified by the Assad dictatorship [in Syria] as an enemy...
  
  Read more

• Nelly Decker: Communications director, House Judiciary Committee Democrats

  15-09-2026 12:01 via thehill.com
  
  Nelly Decker is a quintessential under-the-radar staffer who prizes being nearly un-Googleable. But she has nonetheless been a pivotal player in some of Congress’s biggest battles — and will be central in many of the body’s coming clashes should Democrats retake the House. “I have worked in a majority, then minority in Oversight, waged a battle against...
  
  Read more

• Marcus Towns: Member services director, House Appropriations Committee Republicans

  15-09-2026 12:01 via thehill.com
  
  Advancing any legislation with a slim Republican majority is a challenge, but navigating the variety of GOP viewpoints while trying to advance appropriations bills adds a new layer of difficulty.For Marcus Towns, the member services director for the House Appropriations Committee, it helps to be a people person.“It's a very personality-driven job,” Towns...
  
  Read more

• Julia Bartusek: Executive director, House Democratic Women’s Caucus

  15-09-2026 12:01 via thehill.com
  
  Julia Bartusek never expected to end up in Washington. The executive director of the House Democratic Women’s Caucus grew up on a pig farm in Minnesota, a far cry from the halls of Congress where she now helps shape one of the House Democrats’ most prominent coalitions. But she said that she’s always had an...
  
  Read more

• Jessica Hayes: Senior adviser in district, Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.)

  15-09-2026 12:01 via thehill.com
  
  Jessica Hayes said serving in Georgia’s 10th Congressional District during the chaotic and deadly U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan in August 2021 was a “holy calling.” Now a senior adviser working in the 9th District for Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), Hayes was working for former Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) when the office started getting calls from...
  
  Read more

• Christiana Stephenson: Communications director, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)

  15-09-2026 12:01 via thehill.com
  
  Christiana Stephenson has spent more than seven years helping House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) navigate the relentless communications demands of House Democratic leadership. Stephenson joined Jeffries’s leadership operation as press secretary in January 2019, when he was House Democratic Caucus chair. She has been with him ever since. Her path to the Capitol was less direct. Stephenson first...
  
  Read more

• Chris Bien: Deputy chief of staff, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)

  15-09-2026 12:01 via thehill.com
  
  Managing the House floor is a big job in any Speaker's office. That challenge is turned up to the max in the current House Republican majority, where super-slim margins and a culture of rebellion make drama on the House floor a regular occurrence. Chris Bien, Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) deputy chief of staff, has helped...
  
  Read more

• Carrie Hughes: Health and human services director, House Education and the Workforce Committee 

  15-09-2026 12:01 via thehill.com
  
  Carrie Hughes knows she is somewhat of a rarity on Capitol Hill.Her first job as a congressional aide was in the office of Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.). Eighteen years later, he’s the only member she has worked for. Hughes started in Scott’s personal office and now serves as the director of Health and...
  
  Read more

• Andrew Bower: Deputy staff director, House Oversight Committee Democrats

  15-09-2026 12:01 via thehill.com
  
  Andrew Bower followed Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) from his personal office to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee as Democrats elevated a fresh face, and with him, a fresh new approach to investigations. The committee has faced an avalanche of issues, but it's the probe into deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that Bower said “has...
  
  Read more

Follow @NwslWhiteHouse on Twitter!