Incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) appeared Monday to have given up any hope of receiving an endorsement from President Trump.
“I think that ship has finally sailed,” Cornyn said after voting in Austin, Texas, according to the Austin American-Statesman’s John Moritz.
“I think that ship has finally sailed,” say Sen. John Cornyn regarding a Trump runoff endorsement. He adds that he would welcome a campaign visit by the president in the fall campaign. pic.twitter.com/ar48j9ByFI
The incumbent senator noted, though, that he would welcome a campaign visit by the president in the fall if he wins the runoff over Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R).
Trump on Monday endorsed more than two dozen Republican candidates in races across the country but notably did not pick a favorite in the runoff between Cornyn and Paxton.
However, Trump teased on Tuesday morning that he ultimately would make an endorsement, saying he’s known who he would throw his support behind for a while but kept it under wraps.
🚨 JUST NOW: President Trump announces HE'S ENDORSING in the John Cornyn vs Ken Paxton US Senate Texas GOP primary today
"I'll be making an endorsement at 12:30-1PM today for the big race."
Shortly after Cornyn and Paxton advanced to the runoff in March, Trump said he would endorse a candidate and asked that the candiate he did not back to drop out of the race. Despite Paxton’s hard-line support for the president, he vowed he would not to drop out.
Cornyn recently has touted his support for Trump. He wrote Monday on the social platform X that he has a 99.3 percent voting record with the president’s position and is “proud of what we have accomplished together.”
By Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America - Thomas Massie, CC BY-SA 2.0,
Rep. Thomas Massie is staring down the biggest political threat of his 14-year congressional career on Tuesday as President Donald Trump and his allies unleash a political war chest in an effort to take out one of the last major Republican holdouts willing to publicly challenge him.
The showdown between Massie and Trump-backed retired Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein has turned into the most expensive House primary battle on record, with more than $32 million flooding into the race as both sides saturate northern Kentucky with attack ads, outside money, and even AI-generated deepfakes.
What was once a simmering feud has morphed into an all-out MAGA civil war.
Massie has spent years carving out a reputation as a libertarian-leaning conservative who often votes independently and sometimes infuriates Republican leadership. But his relationship with Trump deteriorated after repeated clashes over the administration’s handling of issues ranging from the release of government files connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to U.S. involvement in Iran and Trump’s signature domestic package, the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Trump eventually stopped hiding his frustration.
The president blasted Massie as the “worst Republican Congressman in history” before personally recruiting Gallrein to challenge him and putting the full force of his political operation behind the effort.
Now the question hanging over Kentucky is simple: Can even Thomas Massie survive a direct collision with Trump?
The spending numbers alone look staggering.
According to reporting from The New York Times, pro-Trump groups and organizations unhappy with Massie’s opposition to U.S. policy toward Iran spent heavily against the Kentucky congressman, including millions from groups tied to pro-Israel advocacy efforts. Meanwhile, Massie received support from outside groups and donors from across the political spectrum eager to keep one of Congress’s most unpredictable Republicans in office.
IPAC stands with @RepThomasMassie and support his re-election campaign. It was a pleasure to meet him and we are looking forward to work with him as a true America First candidate. Rep. Massie against AIPAC influence on our demonic and foreign policies. pic.twitter.com/l1LyX5OSTq
— Integrity Political Action Committee (@IPAC7_ORG) August 17, 2025
Massie has leaned into that dynamic as the campaign entered its final days.
“After months of beating around the bush, one reporter finally writes the true story of my race,” Massie said after reporting highlighted major outside spending against him.
The race has also veered into bizarre territory.
The New York Times reported that opposing groups unleashed deepfake advertisements depicting fake scenarios involving both candidates. One pro-Massie ad used AI-generated imagery portraying Gallrein abandoning Trump on a battlefield, while a pro-Gallrein advertisement depicted an AI-generated Massie socializing with progressive Democrats.
Then came perhaps the campaign’s biggest eyebrow-raiser.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hit the campaign trail Monday to stump for Gallrein in a move that immediately drew criticism because Pentagon leaders traditionally avoid overt participation in partisan campaigns.
Hegseth, appearing at a Kentucky rally, described Gallrein as “reinforcements” for Trump’s agenda.
“I have to say up front, for the lawyers, that I’m here in my personal capacity as a private citizen,” Hegseth said.
🚨 LMAO! SecWar Pete Hegseth does a hilarious impression of Donald Trump
He’s actually got it down pretty good 🤣
“He said 'PETE, you're gonna have to be tough as SHlT…You ready? They're gonna come after you!’” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/utuKJII58S
Pentagon officials insist the appearance complied with ethics rules and federal law. But critics pointed out that a sitting Defense secretary jumping into a heated primary battle represents a rare break from long-standing Pentagon norms designed to protect the military’s image.
The Kentucky slugfest is also being watched for what it could reveal about Trump’s grip on the Republican Party.
Now Republican strategists are watching Kentucky, along with contests unfolding Tuesday in Georgia and Pennsylvania, for clues about whether Trump’s political muscle remains as powerful as ever.
For years, Massie built his brand around being the Republican who refused to fall in line.
Tuesday could determine whether that brand still works in Trump’s GOP.
Liberal commentator and podcast host Briahna Joy Gray says she knows “many” people on the political left who would rather support Tucker Carlson for president than progressive star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — a striking claim as early maneuvering around the 2028 presidential race begins to intensify.
Gray made the remarks during a recent episode of her Bad Faith podcast while discussing divisions inside the broader progressive movement and dissatisfaction among some left-wing voters.
“It’s crazy, I know many people on the left who would happily vote for Tucker Carlson before AOC,” Gray said.
Gray added that she finds herself frustrated by that reality because she said she would not encourage people to support either figure.
“I am frustrated by that dynamic because I don’t want Tucker Carlson to be president,” she said. “I also can’t see myself damaging my own credibility by telling someone to vote for AOC. These options hurt us all.”
Gray argued that Carlson has made numerous controversial comments over the years, including past remarks on immigration and cultural assimilation, but suggested some voters may find him newly appealing following what she described as a political “rebirth.”
Carlson’s public image has shifted significantly in recent years.
Once one of the most influential voices in conservative media during his run at Fox News, Carlson later departed the network and increasingly broke with major figures in the Republican establishment, including President Donald Trump.
More recently, Carlson has criticized Trump over foreign policy and U.S. involvement overseas.
“You have not done a good job running this country. You don’t even care to try,” Carlson said last month while criticizing Trump’s priorities. “You’d rather run the world or the empire.”
Why do neocons consistently act against the interests of the United States? It’s more than neglect. It’s hate. Marjorie Taylor Greene saw it firsthand. pic.twitter.com/HGJlRfJ3bo
Carlson has also become increasingly critical of Israel and U.S. involvement in Middle East conflicts, arguing that American foreign policy has become disconnected from domestic concerns.
His break from Trump has produced mixed reactions among conservatives. Some former supporters praised his willingness to challenge Republican orthodoxy, while others viewed his criticisms as creating distance between himself and Trump’s political movement. (RELATED: Trump Cuts Tucker Carlson Loose From Political Movement)
Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez appears to be moving in the opposite direction politically.
The New York Democrat has become one of the most recognizable figures in the Democrat Party and is widely viewed as an early potential contender in the 2028 presidential race. She has built a massive social media following, a powerful small-dollar fundraising network and strong support among progressive activists.
Recent surveys have also suggested Ocasio-Cortez could enter a future Democrat primary with meaningful advantages. An AtlasIntel poll released recently placed her at the top of a hypothetical Democratic field with 26% support.
But despite that standing, some divisions on the left have become increasingly visible.
Critics on both the center and the populist left have questioned Ocasio-Cortez’s evolution from anti-establishment insurgent to a more integrated figure within Democratic leadership circles. Gray pointed to a recent social media dispute involving former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene as an example.
Greene criticized Ocasio-Cortez after she declined to support an amendment Greene introduced involving Israel funding. Gray argued voters were justified in questioning Ocasio-Cortez’s priorities.
The comments also arrive as Democrats are quietly beginning to sort out what the post-Biden and post-Sanders era could look like.
While 2028 remains years away, names already circulating include Ocasio-Cortez, California Rep. Ro Khanna, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and others who could emerge as national contenders.
For now, there is no indication Carlson intends to run for office, and his name has not regularly appeared among likely presidential candidates but there’s still plenty of time for him to make a surprising move.
Watch the full podcast:
Liberal commentator and podcast host Briahna Joy Gray says she knows “many” people on the political left who would rather support Tucker Carlson for president than progressive star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — a striking claim as early maneuvering around the 2028 presidential race begins to intensify.
Gray made the remarks during a recent episode of her Bad Faith podcast while discussing divisions inside the broader progressive movement and dissatisfaction among some left-wing voters.
“It’s crazy, I know many people on the left who would happily vote for Tucker Carlson before AOC,” Gray said.
Gray added that she finds herself frustrated by that reality because she said she would not encourage people to support either figure.
“I am frustrated by that dynamic because I don’t want Tucker Carlson to be president,” she said. “I also can’t see myself damaging my own credibility by telling someone to vote for AOC. These options hurt us all.”
Gray argued that Carlson has made numerous controversial comments over the years, including past remarks on immigration and cultural assimilation, but suggested some voters may find him newly appealing following what she described as a political “rebirth.”
Carlson’s public image has shifted significantly in recent years.
Once one of the most influential voices in conservative media during his run at Fox News, Carlson later departed the network and increasingly broke with major figures in the Republican establishment, including President Donald Trump.
More recently, Carlson has criticized Trump over foreign policy and U.S. involvement overseas.
“You have not done a good job running this country. You don’t even care to try,” Carlson said last month while criticizing Trump’s priorities. “You’d rather run the world or the empire.”
Why do neocons consistently act against the interests of the United States? It’s more than neglect. It’s hate. Marjorie Taylor Greene saw it firsthand. pic.twitter.com/HGJlRfJ3bo
Carlson has also become increasingly critical of Israel and U.S. involvement in Middle East conflicts, arguing that American foreign policy has become disconnected from domestic concerns.
His break from Trump has produced mixed reactions among conservatives. Some former supporters praised his willingness to challenge Republican orthodoxy, while others viewed his criticisms as creating distance between himself and Trump’s political movement. (RELATED: Trump Cuts Tucker Carlson Loose From Political Movement)
Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez appears to be moving in the opposite direction politically.
The New York Democrat has become one of the most recognizable figures in the Democrat Party and is widely viewed as an early potential contender in the 2028 presidential race. She has built a massive social media following, a powerful small-dollar fundraising network and strong support among progressive activists.
Recent surveys have also suggested Ocasio-Cortez could enter a future Democrat primary with meaningful advantages. An AtlasIntel poll released recently placed her at the top of a hypothetical Democratic field with 26% support.
But despite that standing, some divisions on the left have become increasingly visible.
Critics on both the center and the populist left have questioned Ocasio-Cortez’s evolution from anti-establishment insurgent to a more integrated figure within Democratic leadership circles. Gray pointed to a recent social media dispute involving former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene as an example.
Greene criticized Ocasio-Cortez after she declined to support an amendment Greene introduced involving Israel funding. Gray argued voters were justified in questioning Ocasio-Cortez’s priorities.
The comments also arrive as Democrats are quietly beginning to sort out what the post-Biden and post-Sanders era could look like.
While 2028 remains years away, names already circulating include Ocasio-Cortez, California Rep. Ro Khanna, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and others who could emerge as national contenders.
For now, there is no indication Carlson intends to run for office, and his name has not regularly appeared among likely presidential candidates but there’s still plenty of time for him to make a surprising move.
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Former Utah Sen. and one-time Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is mourning the political demise of Sen. Bill Cassidy — calling the Louisiana Republican’s stunning primary loss “a loss for the country.”
Cassidy became the first elected Republican senator in more than a decade to lose a renomination bid after getting knocked out of Louisiana’s GOP primary Saturday, ending a political career that had been dogged for years by one vote that many conservatives never forgot: his decision to convict President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
“The Senate to now lose an exceptionally brilliant and creative mind, an MD who chairs healthcare, and a person of character,” Romney wrote Sunday on X. “Bill Cassidy’s departure is a loss for the country.”
The Senate to now lose an exceptionally brilliant and creative mind, an MD who chairs healthcare, and a person of character. Bill Cassidy’s departure is a loss for the country.
The president wasted little time celebrating Cassidy’s downfall on Truth Social, taking a victory lap after years of public feuding with the Louisiana senator.
“His disloyalty to the man who got him elected is now a part of a legend, and it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!” Trump wrote.
Cassidy’s defeat had long been viewed as a looming possibility in Republican circles. Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming finished ahead of Cassidy in Saturday’s contest and now advance to a June runoff after neither candidate secured a majority.
Sen. John Kennedy suggested nobody should be shocked by the outcome.
“Unless you’re your god’s perfect idiot, the result was predictable,” Kennedy said on Fox News. “Ground control to Major Tom. The polls have shown for well over a year that Sen. Cassidy was in trouble.”
He added that Trump’s endorsement of Letlow “was sort of the icing on the cake.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham framed Cassidy’s loss as a warning shot to Republicans who break with Trump.
“There’s no room in this party to destroy his agenda or to destroy him and his family as a Republican,” Graham said during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“If you align with Democrats to drive him out of office, like Cassidy did, you’re going to lose.”
Cassidy, however, used his concession speech to fire off what appeared to be a parting shot at Trump and the election challenges that followed 2020.
“When you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to,” Cassidy told supporters. “You don’t pout, you don’t whine. You don’t claim the election was stolen. You don’t manufacture some excuse.”
For Romney, Cassidy’s exit marks the fading influence of one of the GOP’s shrinking anti-Trump bloc.
The relationship between Romney and Trump has been icy for nearly a decade. Romney sharply criticized Trump during the 2016 presidential race, briefly joined his orbit after the election during a highly publicized meeting over a possible Cabinet role, then became one of Trump’s fiercest Republican critics in the Senate.
Romney ultimately became the only Republican senator to vote to convict Trump during both impeachment proceedings — first over Ukraine and later over Jan. 6 — putting him on a collision course with Trump and many Republican voters.
Cassidy joined Romney in the second impeachment vote, one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict. Now, a few years later, Republican voters in Louisiana appeared to deliver their own verdict.
From one former Senator that voted to convict President Trump
to another Senator that voted to convict President Trump,
In a Monday court filing, President Trump notified a federal judge that he plans to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
According to previous reporting, Trump will drop the lawsuit as part of a proposed deal that would create a massive compensation fund for political allies who claim they were targeted by the Biden administration, including Jan. 6 defendants
Under the proposed arrangement, first reported by ABC News, a newly created commission would oversee roughly $1.7 billion in taxpayer-funded payouts to individuals and organizations alleging they were victims of what Trump and his supporters have long described as the “weaponization” of the federal government.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
President Trump scored another legal win this week after a federal appeals court agreed to let him hold off on paying writer E. Jean Carroll’s massive $83.3 million defamation judgment while he takes his fight to the Supreme Court.
The ruling from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gives Trump breathing room as he continues a broader legal counteroffensive that has seen him notch several major courtroom victories over the past year — including Supreme Court wins on presidential immunity and multiple delays in politically charged cases brought against him during the 2024 campaign.
The court’s order allows Trump to pause payment of the judgment for now, though judges required him to increase his bond by roughly $7.5 million to cover mounting interest if his appeal ultimately fails.
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, tried to frame the ruling as a victory for her client.
“We are pleased that the Second Circuit conditioned the stay on President Trump posting a bond of nearly $100 million,” Kaplan said after the decision.
But the practical effect is clear: Trump will not have to pay Carroll anytime soon as the nation’s highest court weighs whether to step into the explosive case.
The president is asking the Supreme Court to overturn both civil verdicts won by Carroll, who accused Trump of sexually assaulting her inside a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s — allegations he has repeatedly and forcefully denied.
Two separate Manhattan juries sided with Carroll in civil proceedings.
The first jury awarded her $5 million after finding Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation tied to comments he made in 2022.
The second jury later slammed Trump with the eye-popping $83.3 million judgment after concluding he further defamed Carroll by publicly rejecting her claims while campaigning for president.
Trump’s legal team has argued the second case should never have moved forward because the statements in question were made while he was serving as president, raising serious constitutional questions involving presidential immunity and executive authority.
His lawyers have also argued the federal government should substitute itself as the defendant under the Westfall Act, potentially shielding Trump personally from liability.
So far, lower courts have rejected those arguments — but Trump has increasingly found success when cases reach the Supreme Court.
Last year, the high court handed Trump a landmark immunity victory that sharply limited prosecutors’ ability to pursue criminal charges tied to official presidential actions. That ruling upended multiple cases brought against him and was widely viewed as one of the most significant constitutional decisions involving presidential power in decades.
Trump has also benefited from repeated delays in several Democrat-backed prosecutions and investigations that critics argued were timed to damage him politically during the 2024 election cycle.
Now, the Carroll cases are shaping up to become the next major legal showdown.
The Supreme Court has already spent months considering whether to hear Trump’s appeal involving the first Carroll verdict. The justices were initially expected to discuss the matter privately in February, but consideration has been delayed multiple times without explanation.
Trump’s forthcoming appeal of the second verdict will now add even more pressure on the high court to weigh in.
For now, however, the appeals court ruling marks another temporary but significant courtroom victory for the president as he continues battling a long list of legal challenges while preparing for the remainder of his second term.
President Donald Trump is preparing to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service as part of a proposed deal that would create a massive compensation fund for political allies who claim they were targeted by the Biden administration — including Jan. 6 defendants, according to a report Thursday night.
Under the proposed arrangement, first reported by ABC News, a newly created commission would oversee roughly $1.7 billion in taxpayer-funded payouts to individuals and organizations alleging they were victims of what Trump and his supporters have long described as the “weaponization” of the federal government.
That pool of money could benefit nearly 1,600 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, along with other Trump allies — and potentially entities tied to the president himself.
The deal is not yet finalized, according to ABC News, but sources familiar with the negotiations said the compensation fund is “the main condition” for Trump dropping several major legal claims against the federal government.
Trump filed the IRS lawsuit in January after his confidential tax returns were leaked to the media during his first term.
The breach stemmed from the actions of Charles Littlejohn, a former IRS contractor employed by Booz Allen, who admitted to illegally disclosing Trump’s tax information to news outlets including The New York Times and ProPublica.
The leaked records fueled headlines in 2020 claiming Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes in both 2016 and 2017.
Littlejohn later pleaded guilty to unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and was sentenced in 2024 to the maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, who now oversee the Trump Organization, also filed related lawsuits tied to the disclosures.
According to ABC News, the proposed settlement would establish a commission with broad authority to distribute compensation to people claiming they were politically targeted under President Joe Biden’s administration.
“President Donald Trump is expected to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service in exchange for the creation of a $1.7 billion fund to compensate allies who claim they were wrongfully targeted by the Biden administration, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News,” the outlet reported.
“The commission overseeing the compensation fund would have the total authority to hand out approximately $1.7 billion in taxpayer funds to settle claims brought by anyone who alleges they were harmed by the Biden administration’s ‘weaponization’ of the legal system, including the nearly 1,600 individuals charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack as well as potentially entities associated with President Trump himself.”
Shortly after returning to office on Jan. 20, 2025, Trump issued sweeping pardons to nearly every defendant charged or convicted in connection with the Capitol riot.
The IRS case is not the only legal dispute Trump is currently pursuing against the federal government.
The president is also seeking $230 million from the Department of Justice over the FBI’s Russia investigation into his 2016 campaign and the bureau’s 2022 raid on his Mar-a-Lago residence.
Rather than filing a lawsuit in that matter, Trump submitted administrative claims that will ultimately be reviewed by officials within his own administration.
ABC News reported that the proposed settlement would block Trump personally from receiving payments tied directly to the IRS, Russia investigation, or Mar-a-Lago claims.
However, the outlet noted that “entities associated with Trump are not explicitly barred from filing additional claims.”
In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team defended the president’s position and blasted the original leak.
“The IRS wrongly allowed a rogue, politically-motivated employee to leak private and confidential information about President Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization to the New York Times, ProPublica and other left-wing news outlets, which was then illegally released to millions of people,” the spokesperson said.
“President Trump continues to hold those who wrong America and Americans accountable.”
Chinese officials repeatedly clashed with members of the American delegation on Thursday during President Donald Trump’s high-profile visit to China, creating several chaotic scenes involving the United States Secret Service, White House staffers, and members of the U.S. press corps.
One tense confrontation unfolded when a Secret Service agent accompanying the White House press pool was blocked from entering a secured area by Chinese security officials because he was carrying a firearm — standard procedure for agents tasked with protecting American officials overseas.
WOW: Fox News’ Peter Doocy: “It’s worth pointing out there have been some heated and physical clashes between the Secret Service and the Chinese police at basically the back doors of these events.”
“Including one very physical standoff where a Secret Service officer was being… pic.twitter.com/v0xE2BcWMG
According to reports, Chinese authorities demanded the agent surrender his weapon before entering the area near President Trump’s motorcade. The agent refused, triggering a heated standoff that delayed the White House press pool for roughly 30 minutes as journalists attempted to follow the president’s movements through Beijing.
Video from the scene showed frustrated American reporters arguing with Chinese officials as access remained restricted.
“We have to go!” one reporter shouted during the delay.
“U.S. press, we are going!” another yelled as journalists eventually pushed past security personnel to catch up with the presidential convoy.
At one point, a person caught on the live feed described the unfolding confusion as a “sh*t show.”
US Secret Service and press are detained by Chinese agents in tense standoff. pic.twitter.com/ld7aCqEabG
As the group moved toward the motorcade, additional Chinese officials reportedly rushed toward the American press contingent in an effort to stop them, though the journalists ultimately reached the convoy.
The confrontation added to a growing sense of disorder surrounding portions of Trump’s visit to China, despite the carefully choreographed public optics displayed by Beijing earlier in the trip.
In a separate incident Thursday, a female White House aide was reportedly knocked to the ground and trampled by Chinese reporters scrambling to enter a meeting room ahead of bilateral talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The aide suffered bruising but was not seriously injured.
The clashes contrasted sharply with the lavish welcome Chinese officials staged for Trump upon his arrival Wednesday night. Beijing rolled out an elaborate reception for the American president as Trump began a closely watched diplomatic visit centered on trade negotiations, military tensions in the Indo-Pacific, and the broader U.S.-China power struggle.
Trump spent much of Thursday meeting with Xi and senior Chinese officials before attending a formal banquet at the Great Hall of the People.
“It was a fantastic day,” Trump said during remarks at the banquet. “And in particular, I want to thank President Xi, my friend, for this magnificent welcome.”
“We had extremely positive and productive conversations and meetings today with the Chinese delegation earlier,” Trump added.
BREAKING: President Trump gives a toast to President Xi and invites him to the White House for an official visit in September:
"Thank you again, President Xi, for this beautiful welcome… It is my honor to extend an invitation to you and Madam Peng to visit us at the White… pic.twitter.com/ygH2GuT0B3
The security confrontations, however, underscored the deep mistrust and competing protocols that continue to define relations between Washington and Beijing.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is pushing back forcefully on viral claims that the CIA conducted a “raid” on its office, calling the reporting false and urging clarification amid a swirl of online speculation.
“This is false,” Olivia Coleman, a spokesperson for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, wrote on the social platform X. “The CIA did not raid the DNI’s office.”
The statement was a direct response to a now-deleted post from Fox News host Jesse Watters, who had amplified claims tied to comments from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.).
Luna had alleged that materials connected to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy and the CIA’s MK-ULTRA program were removed from the National Reconnaissance Office in Virginia. She linked the matter to broader concerns about historical intelligence records and declassification efforts.
According to its public records, the NRO periodically reviews collections tied to historically significant programs for potential declassification and public release, a routine process that can include older intelligence archives.
“The reason why this is troubling … there was an executive order that the president directed the full declassification of JFK, but then also to the MK-ULTRA files. Famously the CIA said that all documents were released and other documents had been destroyed,” Luna said during an appearance on NewsNation’s “Katie Pavlich Tonight.”
“So, these are allegedly those documents that apparently never existed,” she added.
Luna also said she personally contacted CIA Director John Ratcliffe regarding the matter. In a follow-up post, she pushed back on interpretations of her comments and denied claims that she alleged a raid on Gabbard’s office.
“I am noticing a few large accounts stating falsely that I claimed there was a raid on Tulsi Gabbard’s office by the CIA. This is completely false …” Luna wrote on X. “There is no clip or statement that exists. Why is there an orchestrated push for this narrative”
“When Congress is notified of conflicting narratives from different agencies, i.e., the CIA and ODNI, it is our job to follow through to ensure documents are preserved and not destroyed,” she continued. “This is not an issue with Ratcliffe or Gabbard.”
I am noticing a few large accounts stating falsely that I claimed there was a raid on Tulsi Gabbard’s office by the CIA. This is completely false. There is no clip or statement that exists. Why is there an orchestrated push for this narrative? Not one account can post a clip of… pic.twitter.com/jBM3fMhFmS
She added, “For people to act like the CIA doesn’t have a history of destroying documents is BIZARO-WORLD. Watch the clip for yourself. I am talking about what the whistleblower is saying under oath.”
Luna, who chairs the House Oversight Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, has announced plans to hold a hearing on MK-ULTRA records later this month.
The CIA program MK-ULTRA, launched in 1953, focused on behavioral modification research and has long been associated with controversy and conspiracy theories. According to University of Louisville archival records, the program has remained a recurring subject in public debate over intelligence agency transparency.
By Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America - Thomas Massie, CC BY-SA 2.0,
An ex-girlfriend of Rep. Thomas Massie is alleging that the Kentucky Republican offered her $5,000 to drop a wrongful termination complaint tied to the office of one of his closest congressional allies, intensifying scrutiny of the lawmaker as he faces a high-stakes primary challenge backed by President Donald Trump.
Cynthia West, a Florida social worker and school board candidate in Okaloosa County, made the claims in a video interview released Tuesday with Kentucky attorney Marcus Carey. West says she began dating Massie in 2024, months after the death of his wife of three decades, and that the relationship quickly became serious, including extensive travel together.
According to West, Massie later helped arrange her employment in the office of Rep. Victoria Spartz despite her never formally applying for the role. She alleges she was terminated after about six weeks, shortly after ending her relationship with Massie.
West has since filed a wrongful termination complaint connected to that employment, naming Spartz’s office and listing Massie as a witness. She says that after Massie learned of the complaint, he became angry and allegedly offered her $5,000 to withdraw it.
Massie has strongly denied the allegations, calling them false and politically motivated. In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, he said he never offered money to silence anyone and has consulted legal counsel as he considers his response.
Spartz’s office confirmed West held a short-term probationary position, saying her employment was not extended due to “unsatisfactory job performance,” while declining to address the broader allegations.
The dispute is unfolding as Massie faces a closely watched Republican primary challenge in Kentucky ahead of the May 19 election. Donald Trump has endorsed Massie’s opponent, former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, escalating a long-running political feud between Trump and the libertarian-leaning congressman.
Trump has repeatedly sought to reshape Republican primaries by backing challengers to incumbents he views as insufficiently loyal, and Massie has long been one of the more frequent GOP critics of Trump’s legislative agenda in the House. The president’s support for Gallrein has turned the race into a proxy battle over the party’s direction heading into the next election cycle.
West, for her part, says she has not coordinated with Gallrein’s campaign or Trump’s political operation and denies being paid to make the allegations public.
She also claims she was offered a $60,000 settlement through the Office of Congressional Ethics tied to her complaint, but rejected it because it included a nondisclosure agreement that would have barred her from speaking publicly about the matter. The Office of Congressional Ethics has not publicly confirmed the existence of such an offer.
Massie has framed the allegations as part of a broader political attack campaign as he fights to defend his seat in a race that has drawn national attention and increasingly sharp intraparty divisions.
