What we covered here
• Meeting on Venezuela: President Donald Trump discussed Venezuela with his national security team in the Oval Office today, sources familiar with the matter said, as the US administration intensifies its pressure 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. 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, officials told CNN, following high-level US-Ukraine talks this weekend. Witkoff is due to meet with President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
Our live coverage of the Trump administration has ended for the day. Get the latest here.
GOP Rep. Bacon says strike “doesn’t sound right” and he doesn’t think Hegseth is “the right leader”
GOP Rep. Don Bacon told CNN’s Manu Raju today that while he wants more information about a controversial follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in September, “it doesn’t sound right.”
Bacon added, “our country’s better, we don’t kill two survivors who are not posing an imminent threat to anybody and so I, the best I can really say, we, I just want to make sure I get the facts.”
Bacon said he’s holding his “powder dry” until the administration provides more information, but “it doesn’t sound good, and if somebody actually did this, they should be held accountable. And it should be at the top. Not the bottom.”
Bacon, who was critical of the Pentagon chief during the “Signalgate” scandal, said “absolutely” Hegseth should leave his post if he was involved in an illegal strike.
Pressed by Raju if he has confidence in Hegseth, Bacon said though he doesn’t disagree on every issue, “I’ve seen enough that I don’t think he’s the right leader.”
Top House Armed Services Democrat expects Caribbean strike briefing this week
Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services committee, said he expects the panel’s leadership to be briefed this week by the admiral who ordered a controversial follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in September.
“I’m not satisfied yet. I mean, we don’t have a clear answer,” Smith said Monday, criticizing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“I mean, he gave the order, so he needs to be responsible for it and he needs to tell us what it was. And we have not gotten those clear answers yet,” Smith said.
Smith told CNN that Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley would brief top members on relevant committees this week, and “then I think we should go higher up the chain of command.”
Smith said he thought it would be “helpful” if Hegseth testified and that he “should better explain the operation and what’s going on.”
The Washington Democrat said he has not spoken with Hegseth since the news of the double-tap strike broke and that he suspected only Republicans received calls “because that’s the way he does things.”
Al Gore and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez join tele-rally for Tennessee special election
Democratic leaders including former Vice President Al Gore and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez rallied supporters tonight on a call for Aftyn Behn, their party’s nominee in a high-profile Tennessee special election set for tomorrow.
Gore, a former Tennessee congressman and senator, said that “having had the privilege of representing Tennessee in years past, I want to tell you that I have never seen the political tides shift as far and as fast as we’re seeing them move in this election.”
“While the people of Tennessee are seeing their grocery prices rise and their health care costs skyrocket, Donald Trump is building a golden ballroom and lining his own pockets. It’s incredible,” Gore said.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez praised Behn, comparing the upset bid in Tennessee to her own surprise victory in 2018.
“It makes me think a lot about what we accomplished in New York in 2018 and how sometimes when an everyday person sticks their hand up to say, ‘I just want to stand up and fight for my neighbors’ – really beautiful things can happen,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Leader Rep. Pramila Jayapal also joined the call and echoed the praise for Behn, saying, “There are people across the country who are looking at you Tennessee and saying we deserve better in this country.”
National Democrats have flocked to the contest, eyeing an upset opportunity in the deep-red district after former GOP Rep. Mark Green unexpectedly retired in June.
Trump calls into tele-rally for Van Epps in Tennessee special election for US House seat
On the eve of a special election in a Tennessee district Donald Trump carried by 22 points last year, the president told voters that he wants Republican Matt Van Epps “to do better than me” in Tuesday’s contest.
Trump endorsed Van Epps in October, but his call ahead of the special election in the 7th Congressional District – in concert with House Speaker Mike Johnson’s visit to the state on Monday – shows how intensely committed national Republicans are to maintaining their slim majority in the House.
“Right now, we’re like three votes up on the radical left and this would be a wonderful victory for us,” Trump said. “It’ll be a really positive sign.”
Trump slammed Van Epps’ Democratic opponent, Aftyn Behn, as a “radical left lunatic” who “doesn’t like country music — I would say for Nashville, that’s not so good.”
Van Epps spent Monday campaigning across the district with Johnson, who parachuted in to draw attention to the stakes in the race.
Kristi Noem calls for ramped-up "travel ban" as Trump admin intensifies immigration crackdown
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday that, following a meeting with President Donald Trump, she is recommending a “full travel ban” on “every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”
Noem said in a post on X that the United States was not founded “for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS.”
“WE DON’T WANT THEM. NOT ONE,” she added.
Asked for additional details, including which countries would be recommended, DHS said in an email, “We will be announcing the list soon.”
Background: After the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, last week, Trump and his administration promised a heightened immigration crackdown and began escalating their anti-immigration rhetoric.
Last week, the State Department announced a pause on visa issuance for Afghan passport holders, while the US immigration service said it will halt all asylum decisions and reexamine all green cards issued to people from 19 countries “of concern.”
Noem’s comments come a day after she defended Trump’s threat to “permanently pause” migration from what he called “third-world countries,” without specifying which countries he was referring to. Noem said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the administration’s approach is rooted in concerns about national security and vetting failures, insisting that instability in “third-world countries” has created unacceptable risks.
This post has been updated with additional details.
Hegseth shifts responsibility for double-tap strike, says he stands by commander's military decisions
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday he stands by Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley and the “combat decisions he has made” in regard to US strikes on alleged drug boats, appearing to shift primarily responsibility for those strikes to the military commander overseeing them.
“Let’s make one thing crystal clear: Admiral Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support. I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made — on the September 2 mission and all others since,” Hegseth said in a post on X.
Some context: Hegseth’s post comes just hours after the White House also pointed to Bradley, who is commander of US Special Operations Command, as the official who ordered the second strike on a suspected drug boat in September in the Caribbean. The strike on September 2 was the first in a string of attacks that have since killed more than 80 people. CNN has reported that the military carried out the additional strike on September 2 after the first did not kill everyone on board.
“On September 2, Secretary Hegseth authorized Adm. Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on Monday. “Adm. Bradley worked well within his authority and the law directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated.”
Hegseth’s role in the “double-tap” strike has received immense scrutiny from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and military legal experts who have raised concerns over the legality of the strike and the potential of war crimes.
Trump holds Oval Office meeting to discuss next steps in Venezuela
President Donald Trump and top national security officials huddled at the White House this evening to discuss next steps on Venezuela, as the US administration intensifies its pressure on the country.
Key members of Trump’s Cabinet and national security team, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been expected to attend, sources familiar with the matter said, as well as White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
The Oval Office meeting, which attendees began arriving for just before 5 p.m., comes as the United States has increased pressure on Venezuela with strikes on drug vessels and a military asset buildup in the Caribbean.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier Monday that Trump was “meeting with his national security team on this subject and on many matters,” adding, “It’s part of his responsibility to ensure that peace is ongoing throughout the world.”
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.”
When asked for comment, Claire Lancaster, a spokesperson for Walz’s office, reiterated comments the governor made last week in which he said the administration should find the connection if there is one and welcomed an investigation.
This post has been updated with comment from Gov. Tim Walz’s office.
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.
