The 2028 Democratic primary is already underway. But the first real moves are just around the corner.
Kamala Harris is weighing whether to run for president again, and some Democrats seem open to the idea. But sheâs hardly likely to clear the field next time. Potential rivals on Democratsâ deep bench were already beginning to maneuver for 2028 during her short-lived second candidacy. And itâs widely expected that the earliest stages of the partyâs next primary will start to pick up not long after Donald Trumpâs inauguration next month. With 2024 drawing to a close, we pulled together five of our plugged-in politics reporters to talk about Harrisâ political future, how the rest of the partyâs most ambitious
Biden has appointed more Black federal judges than any other president
By Char Adams President Joe Biden has appointed more federal judges of color than any president before him, and overtaking Donald Trump’s record for overall federal judge appointments in the process. On Friday the Senate confirmed Biden’s judicial nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California Benjamin Cheeks. With Cheeksâ confirmation, Biden has appointed 63 Black federal judges, the most of a presidency of any length, according to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Earlier this month, the Senate confirmed Tiffany Johnson, Bidenâs judicial nominee for the Northern District of Georgia, making her the 40th Black
Social Security measure passes Senate, sending it to Biden
By Anthony Adragna The Senate broadly approved a measure expanding Social Security payments to millions of certain public sector workers, sending the measure to President Joe Biden for his signature. The vote on the Social Security Fairness Act was 76-20. It previously passed the House in an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 327-75 in November after rank-and-file lawmakers used a procedural measure, known as a discharge petition, to force a floor vote without House GOP leadersâ blessing. “We will vote on taking up the Social Security Fairness Act to repeal flawed policies that eat away at the benefits of those who’ve
Donald Trump Named Herschel Walker Ambassador To Bahamas, Setting Black Twitter on Fire
By Candace McDuffie On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump once again shocked the country with another one of his appointments. He officially named former NFL star Herschel Walker as the U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas. Walker ran for a Georgia Senate seat in 2022 and lost to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock. Trump announced the news on his social media platform Truth Social. âI am pleased to nominate Herschel Walker as United States Ambassador to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. Herschel has spent decades serving as an Ambassador to our Nationâs youth, our men and women in the Military, and athletes at home
Senate passes bill to avoid a government shutdown, ending funding fight at the 11th hour
By Scott Wong, Sahil Kapur, Ali Vitali, Julie Tsirkin, Kyle Stewart and Kate Santaliz  The Senate gave final passage to a bill early Saturday morning to keep the government open for three more months, sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk to end the threat of a government shutdown during the holidays. The vote was 85-11. The Republican-controlled House passed the bill hours earlier. Although the final vote technically went past the midnight deadline to avert a shutdown, the White House said that Biden would sign the bill Saturday and avoid forcing U.S. troops, Border Patrol agents, air traffic controllers and millions of other federal workers to work without
Employers lobby to keep health care prices transparent in hopes of containing costs
By Julie Appleby It seems simple: Require hospitals and insurers to post their negotiated prices for most health care services and â bingo â competition follows, yielding lower costs for consumers. But nearly four years after the first Trump administration’s regulations forced hospitals to post massive amounts of pricing information online, the effect on patients’ costs is unclear. And while President Joe Biden added requirements to make pricing information more user-friendly, Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House has raised questions about what’s next, even though posting prices is an area of rare bipartisan agreement. The uncertainty of what
Eric Adamsâ aides head to Hill today as he faces legal woes at home
By Emily Ngo New York City Mayor Eric Adams is heading today to Albany, New York, while several of his top deputies are due in Washington, all seeking to advance Adamsâ state and federal priorities amid the political backlash of his criminal indictment. The outreach in the state and nationâs capitals, confirmed to POLITICO by a spokesperson for Adams, comes as the Democratic mayor warms to the GOP president-elect. And it comes a day after the cityâs Campaign Finance Board voted to deny Adams $4.5 million in public funds, his closest aide disclosed she expects to be indicted on alleged corruption charges and Donald Trump said
House Dems move forward with generational shake-up on key panels
By Nicholas Wu House Democrats have solidified the generational shake-up at the top of their committees, after significant behind-the-scenes influence from both current and former leaders of the caucus. The caucus faced tough races for the Agriculture, Oversight and Natural Resources Committees. Rep. Angie Craig (Minn.) won the nod for the top party spot on Agriculture, beating incumbent Rep. David Scott (Ga.), whoâd faced long-standing questions about his health, and Rep. Jim Costa (Calif.). Rep. Gerry Connolly (Va.) won the Oversight recommendation over Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.). And Rep. Jared Huffman (Calif.) earned the nod for the Natural Resources Committee
Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Eric Adamsâ top and longest-serving aide, resigns
By Jeff Colton  Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who engineered Eric Adamsâ rise from police captain to mayor of the nationâs largest city, is abruptly resigning from City Hall. Her departure, which takes effect immediately, comes at a precarious time for the mayor: He is heading to trial for a five-count federal indictment to which he pleaded not guilty, and is up for reelection next year. Lewis-Martin herself is being eyed by local law enforcement in a separate matter. Prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggâs office have presented evidence about her to a grand jury, and could bring an indictment as soon as this
The Biden overtime rule was struck down. Now, some workers are losing pay raises
By Andrea Hsu Imagine getting a pay raise, only to be told weeks later: Sorry, we’re taking it back. That’s what’s happening to 306 employees at The Ohio State University now that a federal court has struck down the Biden administration’s overtime rule. Finalized in April, the rule would have made some 4.3 million salaried workers nationwide newly eligible to earn 1.5 times their regular pay when they work more than 40 hours a week. “One of the basic principles of the American workplace is that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay,” wrote Jessica Looman, head of the