FARNOUSH AMIRI

Farnoush is a congressional reporter.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee gestures as a campaign event at the Drexelbrook Catering & Event Center, Oct. 29, 2024, in Drexel Hill, Pa. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
Mike Huckabee, Trump’s pick for Israel ambassador, tries to distance from past Palestinian rhetoric
President Donald Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to Israel attempted to distance himself from past controversial statements about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people.
 
Flags fly outside the United Nations headquarters Sept. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz, File)
The Trump administration demands UN agencies disclose any ‘anti-American’ ties
The Trump administration is demanding U.N. humanitarian agencies that receive or disburse U.S. funding to fill out a questionnaire disclosing any ties to communism, socialism or anti-American beliefs.
 
Flowers and a sign are placed outside the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)
Court asked to intervene after email tells USAID workers to destroy classified documents
A union for U.S. Agency for International Development contractors is asking a federal judge to intervene in any destruction of USAID classified documents. That’s after an email ordered staffers to help burn and shred agency records.
 
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for an EU Summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
EU’s top diplomat pledges unified support for Ukraine and global humanitarian aid in dig at US
The European Union is doubling down on its pledge to continue supporting Ukraine against Russia’s illegal invasion and stepping up humanitarian aid when others pull back as the bloc of European countries reconciles with the reality of America’s retreat on the global stage.
 
Afghan Hashmatullah Alam, 40, who worked with U.S. Army, poses at a beach in Shengjin, northwestern Albania, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)
They helped US order airstrikes against Taliban. Now Trump’s moves have left those Afghans in limbo
Thousands of Afghan refugees who worked alongside American soldiers in Afghanistan and underwent a yearslong vetting process to enter the United States are in limbo. That’s because of President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration.
 
Demonstrators and lawmakers rally against President Donald Trump and his ally Elon Musk as they disrupt the federal government, including dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development, which administers foreign aid approved by Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Trump’s demand that US aid workers return home sparks outrage in Washington and anxiety overseas
U.S. aid staffers worldwide are scrambling for answers and starting to pack up households or pull their children from school. That turmoil follows a sudden Trump administration order yanking almost all of them off the job and out of the field.
 
Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's choice to be the Director of National Intelligence, arrives to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee for her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick to oversee US spy agencies, clears Senate committee
Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s pick to be director of national intelligence, has moved a step closer to Senate confirmation.
 
The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, is pictured Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Trump and Musk move to dismantle USAID, igniting battle with Democratic lawmakers
The Trump administration and billionaire ally Elon Musk have moved to shutter an agency that provides crucial aid to fund education and fight starvation overseas, sparking a showdown with congressional Democrats who blasted the effort as illegal and vowed a court fight.
 
Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's choice to be the Director of National Intelligence, arrives to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee for her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick to oversee US spy agencies, grilled about Snowden, Syria and Russia
Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s pick to be director of national intelligence, has faced tough questions from lawmakers during a fiery confirmation hearing Thursday.
 
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to be Defense secretary, gives a thumbs up while leaving after his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Hegseth confirmed as Trump’s defense secretary in tie-breaking vote despite turmoil over his conduct
The Senate has confirmed Pete Hegseth as the nation’s defense secretary in a dramatic late-night vote. Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote Friday in a late-night session.
 
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks after being sworn in by Vice President JD Vance in the Vice Presidential Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
State Department freezes new funding for nearly all US aid programs worldwide
The State Department has frozen new funding for almost all U.S. aid programs worldwide, making exceptions to allow humanitarian food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt to continue.
 
President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Trump administration cancels travel for refugees already cleared to come to America
Refugees who had been approved to come to the United States before America’s refugee resettlement program is suspended next week have had their travel plans canceled by the Trump administration.
 
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to be Defense secretary, appears before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Pete Hegseth’s former sister-in-law alleges abuse against second wife in affidavit to Senate
Senators vetting the nomination of Pete Hegseth for defense secretary have received an affidavit from a former sister-in-law alleging that the onetime Fox News was abusive to his second wife to the point where she feared for her safety.
 
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is sworn by Vice President JD Vance in the Vice Presidential Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Marco Rubio became secretary of state without a hitch. Keeping Trump’s favor may be harder
Marco Rubio has been confirmed by the Senate for secretary of state with unanimous support. Now comes the hard part that could make or break his tenure: retaining the full backing of his new boss, Donald Trump.
 
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., President Donald Trump's nominee to be the United Nations Ambassador, testifies during a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing for her pending confirmation on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Stefanik pledges an ‘America First’ agenda at the UN and a review of US funding
Rep. Elise Stefanik has pledged to push President Donald Trump’s “America First” stance if confirmed as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and roll out a review of U.S. funding critical for U.N. agencies.
 
JD Vance is sworn in as vice president by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh as Usha Vance holds the Bible during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
Inside the intimate inauguration: Close-up encounters between political rivals, some awkward
A president’s inaugural address is a time-honored spectacle: A makeshift grandstand is erected next to the Capitol and hundreds of thousands people line the National Mall. This time was different.
 
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., President-elect Trump's nominee to be secretary of State, speaks as he meets with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Marco Rubio warns China is America’s ‘biggest threat,’ affirms value of NATO alliance
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio painted a dark vision of the consequences of America’s “unbalanced relationship” with China. He echoed President-elect Donald Trump’s anti-globalist rhetoric Wednesday as he vies to be confirmed as his secretary of state.
 
President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump pause at the flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter as he lies in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
President-elect Donald Trump joins visitors to Jimmy Carter’s casket in Capitol Rotunda
President-elect Donald Trump paid his respects on Wednesday as President Jimmy Carter lay in state at the Capitol Rotunda as part of state funeral rites. Trump has alternated among praise, criticism and even mockery of Carter.
 
The flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter lies in state during a ceremony in the Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Washington. Carter died Dec. 29 at the age of 100. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)
Jimmy Carter eulogized by Kamala Harris and others as 39th president returns to Washington
Jimmy Carter’s state funeral has moved to Washington after observances in his native Georgia. The 39th president’s remains left the Carter Presidential Center on Tuesday morning and flew to the Washington area aboard Special Air Mission 39.
 
Vice President Kamala Harris shakes hands with House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., after a joint session of Congress confirmed the Electoral College votes, affirming President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Congress certifies Trump’s 2024 win, without the Jan. 6 mob violence of four years ago
Congress has certified Donald Trump as the 2024 presidential election winner without challenge. It’s in stark contrast to 2021 violence.
 
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., closes with the gavel after he and members of the House took the oath of office as the House of Representatives meets to elect a speaker and convene the new 119th Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Republican Mike Johnson reelected House speaker in dramatic floor vote
Republican Mike Johnson has narrowly won reelection to the House speakership on a dramatic first-ballot vote, overcoming hard-right GOP holdouts in a tense standoff.
 
Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., takes the oath to be the new House speaker from the Dean of the House Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Why Mike Johnson’s bid to remain House speaker could be a struggle despite Trump’s support
Mike Johnson is fighting for his political life, again. The Louisiana Republican’s hold on the House speaker’s gavel and his position as second in line to the presidency will be tested Friday when a new Congress convenes.
 
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R- Fla., speaks at AmericaFest, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
House Ethics Committee accuses Gaetz of paying for sex, including with 17-year-old girl
The House Ethics Committee has accused Matt Gaetz of “regularly” paying for sex, including once with a 17-year-old girl, and purchasing and using illicit drugs as a member of Congress.
 
The Capitol is pictured in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Biden signs bill that averts a government shutdown and brings a close to days of Washington upheaval
President Joe Biden has signed a bill into law that averts a government shutdown. His action Saturday brings a final close to days of upheaval after Congress approved a temporary funding plan just past the deadline and refused President-elect Donald Trump’s core debt demands in the package.
 
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., celebrates as the Senate begins voting on the government funding bill just in time to meet the midnight deadline, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Government shutdown is averted just after deadline as Congress rejects Trump’s debt limit demands
The Senate has rushed through final passage of a bipartisan plan to fund federal operations and prevent a government shutdown. It now goes to President Joe Biden, who is expected to quickly sign it into law.
 
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., attends the cocktail hour of New York Young Republican Club's annual gala at Cipriani Wall Street, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
House Ethics Committee secretly voted to release Matt Gaetz ethics report, source says
The House Ethics Committee has voted in secret to release the long-awaited ethics report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz.
 
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., listens at an event, Oct. 22, 2020, in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
Democrats pick Gerry Connolly for Oversight post, rejecting Ocasio-Cortez bid
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won’t be the top Democrat on a prominent House committee next year. House Democrats on Tuesday picked 74-year-old Rep.
 
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during an event in Washington, June 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after she ‘sustained an injury’ from fall on official trip to Luxembourg
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been hospitalized after she “sustained an injury” during an official engagement in Luxembourg, according to a spokesman. Pelosi is 84.
 
Secretary of State Antony Blinken appears before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Blinken faces GOP critics in Congress who say Afghanistan withdrawal ‘lit the world on fire’
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee to face questions for the last time regarding some of the darkest moments of Joe Biden’s presidency: the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
 
Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be director of National Intelligence, ight, meets with Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick for intel chief, faces questions on Capitol Hill amid Syria fallout
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, is making her case on Capitol Hill.
 
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