Here's the latest
• Meeting on Venezuela: The White House confirmed President Donald Trump will discuss Venezuela in a meeting with his national security team today as his administration intensifies its pressure campaign on the country.
• Concerns over boat strikes: The White House defended an admiral who it said ordered a follow-up strike that killed survivors on an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean, saying he was acting “well within his authority.” Lawmakers from both parties have voiced concerns over the second strike’s legality.
• US officials head to Russia: Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, and special envoy Steve Witkoff are traveling to Moscow on Monday, a White House official and a US official told CNN, following high-level US-Ukraine talks this weekend. Witkoff is due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
• Asylum decision pause: Trump said the pause on all decisions on asylum applications has “no time limit” amid his escalating anti-immigration crackdown after last week’s shooting of National Guard members.
Bessent says Treasury will investigate alleged "feckless mismanagement" of Minnesota tax dollars
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that his department will investigate the alleged “feckless mismanagement” of Minnesota tax dollars after reports of fraud in the state’s social services system.
Al-Shabaab is a Somali militant group and US-designated foreign terrorist organization.
Following last week’s shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, the president lashed out at Somali immigrants in Minnesota, despite there being no apparent connection with the DC attack.
He claimed they were “ripping off our country and ripping apart that once-great state.” Trump also described Somalia as a country that has “no laws, no water, no military, no nothing.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Treasury secretary’s announcement.
Wicker: Senate Armed Services will get access to audio, video of Caribbean boat strike
Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker told CNN that Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed to him that there was a second strike on the Venezuelan boat in early September and said that he expects his committee to have full access to the audio and video of the attack as part of its investigation into the controversy.
Wicker said he did not know if there were any survivors who were killed in the second attack – something that could be a violation of the laws of war.
“I don’t have that information, but I do think we’ll get that information, and we’re certainly going to have available to us all of the audio and all of the video. At that point, I’ll be able to have a more informed conversation,” Wicker told CNN when asked if there were any survivors.
Asked if it could be a war crime if there were survivors who were killed, Wicker said: “We’re going to find out what the true facts are.”
Wicker told CNN he has also talked to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, and expects to speak soon to Admiral Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley, whom the White House said ordered the double-tap strike.
“We’re going to conduct oversight, and we’re going to try to get to the facts,” he said.
Senate Intelligence leaders in talks for briefing next week with Navy admiral involved in boat strike
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he expects the panel to be briefed by the admiral who the White House says ordered the September follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean that has drawn bipartisan scrutiny.
Warner said he and Intelligence Chair Tom Cotton are engaging on the issue and he expects to have a preliminary conversation this week with Admiral Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley, whom the White House said ordered the double-tap strike that CNN has reported was executed after the initial attack didn’t kill all the crew on board.
“We’ve got to get to the bottom this,” he said, also calling on the Trump administration to release an unedited video of the strike to help determine “whether these individuals were in the water, on the boat, still combatants or not.”
Pressed on whether he believes Bradley might have committed a war crime, Warner said he wants to hear from the admiral first, as well as learn more about the circumstances.
“This is not the way the system is supposed to work,” said the Virginia Democrat, who has made clear his exasperation with the Trump administration’s methods of briefing Congress.
Warner, a member of the Gang of Eight in congressional leadership, said the Trump administration has not shown “any kind of willingness to come clean on anything.”
The senator added that he needs to know if any of his constituents being deployed from Norfolk, Virginia, to the Caribbean are being put in “unsafe or illegal positions.”
Jeffries: Hegseth “most unqualified” defense secretary in history
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries lit into the Trump administration and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over reports the US military in September carried out a “double-tap” strike on a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean after an initial strike did not kill everyone on board.
Jeffries said it was his understanding that Hegseth was “absolutely” involved and noted House and Senate committees would carry out bipartisan investigations to determine whether any laws were violated.
Jeffries blasts GOP inaction on expiring ACA subsidies
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Monday railed against Republicans for not addressing the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, arguing the “only viable path forward” at this time is a clean extension of the expiring tax credits.
The New York Democrat told CNN at a press conference at the Capitol that despite Republican lawmakers’ claims during last month’s government shutdown that they wanted to address rising health care costs, Democrats have heard “nothing but crickets” from them.
House Democrats are pushing for a straight three-year extension of the subsidies and are seeking to bypass GOP leaders by using a procedural tool known as a discharge petition to attempt to force a floor vote.
But it’s unlikely they’ll be able to garner the 218 signatures needed to succeed.
Thune offers no opinion of second strike on Venezuelan boat but backs Senate probe into attack
Senate Majority Leader John Thune steered clear of offering a view on a range of hot-button issues – particularly the second strike on a Venezuelan boat – as he backed a Senate probe to determine if that attack was lawful.
Thune also noted that he has not spoken to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the follow-up strike.
“I think it’s — I don’t think you want to draw any conclusions or deductions until we have all the facts in, and I’m glad that the relevant committee of jurisdiction, the oversight committee, Armed Services, is going to examine the facts,” Thune told CNN.
Asked what he wants the committees to uncover, Thune said he wants them to “find out what happened when, and you know what orders were given, I think, all the, all the particulars; you want to know what the facts are, and then you want to compare that with the relevant — and figure out, you know, procedurally, you know, what’s the, you know, the correct, lawful way to do things, and determine whether or not everything was followed.”
Thune also refused to offer his opinion of Hegseth, telling reporters, “I don’t have a, at this point, I guess, an evaluation of the secretary. Others can make those evaluations.”
However, the Republican leader did not double down on the Pentagon’s threats to court martial Sen. Mark Kelly, over the controversial video made by six Democratic lawmakers that encouraged members of the military and intelligence officers to disobey illegal orders.
While Thune reiterated that he did not support the video, he called on both sides to “dial it down.”
Kelly says he won't back down to threats from Trump, Hegseth and calls for probe into Caribbean strikes
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly made clear on Monday he’s not intimidated by President Donald Trump’s suggestion that he be hanged nor a military review by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for urging service members to disobey illegal orders.
“My family knows the cost of political violence. My wife, Gabby was shot in the head and nearly died while speaking with her constituents. The president should understand this too. He has been the target of political violence himself,” he said.
The former Navy captain said he and his Democratic colleagues made a video emphasizing the imperativeness of resisting illegal military orders, something that is already law, because “it’s good for people to get a reminder.”
Kelly told reporters he was surprised Trump reacted to the video at all, but said he’d expected the president to say, “Of course, members of the military shouldn’t follow illegal orders.”
The Arizona Democrat also said he thinks the reported follow-up attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean should be investigated and Hegseth and the admiral who the White House says ordered the strike should appear before Congress.
Asked if Admiral Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley committed a war crime, Kelly responded “there needs to be an investigation” by the Senate and House Armed Services committees.
Kelly told CNN on Sunday that the second US military strike on the suspected drug vessel earlier this year could be considered a war crime if it was carried out because an initial attack did not kill everyone on board.
“I hope what has been reported is not accurate,” Kelly said, adding that he has “deep, deep respect” for members of the Navy.
Kelly, who sunk two ships in congressionally approved strikes during his time in the Navy, said, “I’m concerned that if there were, in fact, as reported, you know, survivors clinging to a damaged vessel, that could be, you know, over a line. I hope it’s not the case.”
Pressed on whether the order for the second strike should have been resisted, Kelly said he didn’t want to “prejudge before we have all the information.”
He said he hopes inspectors general at the Pentagon are able to conduct an “impartial investigation,” though he noted that Hegseth has pushed out several military watchdogs and lawyers.
Kelly, a member of the Senate Armed Services committee, said he’s talked to the top Republican and Democrat on the panel about the issue and he believes Hegseth and Bradley “should absolutely appear” for testimony, though, he said, “I’m not so confident they will.”
Schumer calls for Hegseth to testify before Congress about follow-up strike
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to testify before Congress about the follow-up strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean in September, in addition to demanding that Hegseth release the tapes of the attack.
Schumer called Hegseth, “so unserious, so childish, so obviously insecure,” and argued that if he has nothing to hide, he “should release those tapes.”
While the Democratic leader said that GOP promises of “vigorous oversight” have been “very encouraging,” he added that “now, Republicans in both chambers must follow through.”
Schumer also criticized the “erraticness” of President Donald Trump’s messaging around Venezuela, and warned that senators will force another vote under the war powers resolution to block military action in Venezuela, if Trump goes any further.
“Donald Trump seems to be planning a war totally in secret, without congressional authorization, without any transparency, without any explanatoin for what his goals even are,” said Schumer.
“I urge both sides to stand ready to assert the powers of Congress on matters of war and peace, should the need arise, because the rules of the Congress allow us to require a vote on this issue.”
Trump invited Netanyahu to meeting at White House "in the near future" during call Monday, PM's office says
President Donald Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, and Trump invited Netanyahu to a meeting at the White House “in the near future.”
An Israeli source briefed on the content of the call said Trump and Netanyahu discussed “regional issues,” focusing on recent developments in Gaza, but also touching upon Syria, Lebanon and Iran.
The source also said that Netanyahu’s recent pardon request came up during the call.
Netanyahu formally requested a pardon from Israeli President Isaac Herzog in his long-running corruption trial on Sunday, following up on a November letter from Trump, who sent Herzog a letter requesting his pardon.
The White House confirmed that Trump spoke with Netanyahu on Monday, according to an official. A readout of the call was not immediately made available by the White House.
This post has been updated with the White House’s confirmation on the call. CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg and Kit Maher contributed reporting to this post.
White House: Trump's medical imaging was of cardiovascular and abdominal systems; they were "perfectly normal"
President Donald Trump’s doctor said in a memo released by the White House today that his October medical imaging was of his cardiovascular and abdominal systems and that both showed “perfectly normal” results.
“His abdominal imaging is also perfectly normal. All major organs appear very healthy and well-perfused. Everything evaluated is functioning within normal limits with no acute or chronic concerns,” the memo continues.
The memo says the “advanced imaging was performed because men in his age group benefit from a thorough evaluation of cardiovascular and abdominal health.”
The president told reporters in October that he received an MRI at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a visit the White House billed as the president’s “routine yearly checkup.” Trump underwent his annual physical, however, in April.
After telling reporters he received an MRI, Trump said they should ask his doctors why he received the scan, but no reason was provided. He said Sunday he was open to releasing the results, although he said he was unaware which part of his body was examined in the scan.
The White House announced in July that Trump was diagnosed with chronic veinous insufficiency, a condition in which valves inside certain veins don’t work the way they should, which can allow blood to pool or collect in the veins.
CNN’s Betsy Klein and Kit Maher contributed to this report.
White House declines to say what threat boat strike survivors posed to the US
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday declined to detail what threat was posed by the survivors of the US’ first boat strike when a second strike was deemed necessary.
She argued the boat was trafficking drugs and represented a threat to the US as a result. But when pressed on what danger the survivors of the first attack posed in its aftermath, she would not elaborate.
“Adm. Bradly worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was totally destroyed and the threat to the narco-terrorists, to the United States, was eliminated,” Leavitt said, referring to Adm. Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley.
Leavitt then deferred “any further questions about his thinking” to the Department of Defense, adding that she “obviously wasn’t in the room.”
Asked whether there had been any change in policy that resulted in two survivors of a subsequent October attack being rescued and repatriated, Leavitt said, “Not to my knowledge, no.”
Hegseth spoke with lawmakers concerned over boat strikes, White House says
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth spoke with lawmakers who expressed concerns over the weekend over a follow-up strike that killed survivors on an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean, the White House said today.
Leavitt did not specify which members of Congress the secretary spoke to.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are questioning the legality of the administration’s follow-up strike on September 2.
“There have also been 13 bipartisan briefings to Congress on the Venezuelan strikes. There have been a number of document reviews for members of Congress to review the classified DOJ Office of Legal Counsel opinion and other related documents,” Leavitt said.
White House defends pardoning former Honduran president over drug trafficking conviction
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday defended President Donald Trump’s promised pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, arguing that his US drug-trafficking conviction was a result of Biden-era “over-prosecution.”
Trump “was opposed to the values of the previous administration, and they charged him because he was president of Honduras,” she said, adding that the president decided to pardon Hernández after hearing concerns raised by his supporters.
Leavitt also dismissed questions over whether pardoning a convicted drug trafficker undercut the administration’s justification for its lethal strikes on boats in the Caribbean that officials have alleged are bringing drugs into the US.
Hernández is serving a 45-year federal prison sentence for drug-trafficking offenses.
White House says follow-up strike in the Caribbean was ordered by admiral acting "well within his authority"
The White House said Monday that Adm. Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley, commander of the US Special Operations Command, was responsible for ordering a second, targeted strike on an alleged drug vessel operating in the Caribbean on September 2 after the first strike did not kill everyone aboard.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Bradley, who she said was “well within his authority” to order the second strike, which CNN has reported killed the remaining crew on board. The strike has generated questions on both sides of the political aisle about whether the administration was acting within the bounds of the law, with some Democrats calling it an apparent war crime.
She added that President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “have made it clear that presidentially designated narco-terrorist groups are subject to lethal targeting in accordance with the laws of war.”
Pressed on the legal justification for the strike, Leavitt said it was “conducted in self-defense to protect Americans” and was carried out “in international waters and in accordance with the law of armed conflict.”
Trump told reporters Sunday evening that he personally would not have wanted a second strike and seemed to cast doubt on the idea Hegseth had ordered it.
“No. 1, I don’t know that that happened, and Pete said he did not want them — he didn’t even know what people were talking about,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “So, we’ll look into it, but no, I wouldn’t have wanted that, not a second strike.”
The US military has conducted 20 known strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and amassed significant military forces in the region as the president weighs next steps in Venezuela. Top Trump officials, including Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, will meet with the president later Monday evening.
Trump will hold Cabinet meeting and attend FIFA World Cup draw this week
President Donald Trump on Tuesday will host his ninth Cabinet meeting since taking office, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said today.
Following the Cabinet meeting, the president will make an Oval Office announcement on his plan to create “Trump accounts” for families with young children.
Trump’s schedule for the week also includes a meeting with the presidents of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday. That evening, the president and the first lady Melania Trump will attend the lighting of the National Christmas Tree on the White House Ellipse.
On Friday, Trump will attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, where FIFA will announce the groups and matchups for the opening stage of the quadrennial tournament.
Schumer says Democrats are still discussing what to include in health care bill
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told CNN that Democrats are still discussing what exactly to include in a bill to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, after Senate Majority Leader John Thune promised them a vote on the issue this month in exchange for reopening the government.
Schumer would not confirm whether they are going to push for a clean, two-year extension, which is highly unlikely to pass the Senate.
White House says the "monster responsible" for National Guard shooting will face "most severe punishment"
The White House said Monday that the “monster responsible” for shooting two National Guard members in Washington, DC, last week will face the “most severe punishment possible.”
“Sarah and Andrew are heroes, and we will never forget their sacrifice. That means ensuring the monster responsible for this atrocity is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and faces the most severe punishment possible,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday.
Leavitt also sought to place blame on former President Joe Biden’s administration in the wake of the shooting, claiming that the suspect was not sufficiently vetted before entering the US.
The press secretary also said the administration intends to “finish carrying out” President Donald Trump’s mass deportation operation.
“In the wake of last week’s atrocity, it is more important than ever to finish carrying out the president’s mass deportation operation,” Leavitt said.
Zelensky says territorial issues are the hardest in current negotiations to end war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that territorial issues are the most difficult in the current negotiations over ending the war with Russia.
During a news conference in Paris on Monday, Zelensky said Kyiv’s priorities in the negotiations were “first and foremost, protection and security guarantees, guarantees of Ukraine’s independence and the preservation of our sovereignty.”
Remember: Under the original US proposal released last month, Ukraine would have to give up parts of the Donetsk region that have been illegally annexed but not occupied by Russia. The plan proposed that the “entirety” of Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk be recognized as “de-facto Russian.”
Zelensky said money and reconstruction, “without the presence of European partners, are not easy to accept, because the money is in Europe.”
The original version of the US plan proposed that $100 billion in frozen Russian assets, most of which are held in Europe, would be used to rebuild Ukraine. The US would receive 50% of the profits and Europe would also invest $100 billion, according to the US blueprint.
“We are working to ensure that there will be no third Russian invasion and that there will be no breach of the agreements on ending the war,” Zelensky said, adding that he hoped to hold talks with US President Donald Trump after the visit to Russia of Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.
US and UK reach deal to exempt tariffs on pharmaceuticals
The United States and the United Kingdom announced today an agreement in principle that would raise the prices the UK pays for new medicines in exchange for a reprieve on tariffs paid by US importers for UK-made pharmaceuticals.
The deal is the latest effort by the Trump administration to reduce drug costs in the US by bringing them in line with other developed countries’ lower prices.
Under the terms of the deal, the UK will increase the net price the National Health Service pays for new drugs by 25% and guarantee that the higher prices are not reduced by concessions or other rebates. The deal includes additional investments by UK drug companies in the US, though no details were released.
In exchange, the US will exempt pharmaceutical imports from the UK from tariffs for the duration of the Trump administration – a provision lauded by the UK government. It noted it is the only country to secure a 0% rate, “protecting UK-based manufacturing and cementing our place as a world leader for life sciences investment,” according to a statement from the British government.
The two nations announced earlier this year that they intended to negotiate preferential treatment on drugs and pharmaceutical ingredients imports from the UK to the US.
The UK exported £6.6 billion (more than $8 billion) worth of medicinal and pharmaceutical products to the United States in 2024, according to the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, which applauded the agreement.
Jared Kushner will accompany Witkoff to Moscow, White House official says
Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, is traveling with special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow, according to a White House official.
CNN had previously reported that Witkoff was set to travel to Moscow Monday, a day after he, Kushner and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met a high-level Ukrainian delegation in Florida.
Rubio said after that meeting that progress had been made toward ending the war between Russia and Ukraine but there was more work to be done. Witkoff was expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
