Washington Times - Politics, Breaking News, US and World News

Hegseth calls House Democrats the biggest obstacle facing U.S. in Iran

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth appears before a House Committee on Armed Services business meeting on the Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2027, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey Jr.)

By Mike Glenn - The Washington Times

A hearing that was supposed to be about the fiscal 2027 military budget turned into a partisan shouting match about the Iran war as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared before Congress for the first time since the conflict started.

ATF releases landmark package aimed at bolstering, clarifying Second Amendment rights

A semi-automatic Glock pistol is fired at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), National Services Center, March 2, 2023, in Martinsburg, W.Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

By Kerry Picket - The Washington Times

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and newly confirmed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Director Robert Cekada unveiled a package of 34 proposed and final rules Wednesday to scale back and revise Biden-era gun regulations.

A semi-automatic Glock pistol is fired at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), National Services Center, March 2, 2023, in Martinsburg, W.Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

ATF releases landmark package aimed at bolstering, clarifying Second Amendment rights

By Kerry Picket - The Washington Times

Space Force Gen. Michael A. Guetlein, attends a House Armed Services Subcommittee hearing on readiness Tuesday, May 6, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) ** FILE **

Golden Dome weapons to attack enemy missiles with new high-tech interceptors, lasers, cyberattacks

By Bill Gertz - The Washington Times

FILE - In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, meets soldiers who took part in a training in North Korea, on March 13, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

‘Self-blasting’: Kim Jong-un confirms suicide practice among North Korea troops

By Andrew Salmon - The Washington Times

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., holds a news conference regarding the Supreme Court Voting Rights decision on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey Jr.)

Rollback of Voting Rights Act beckons states across the South to redraw congressional districts

By Stephen Dinan and Mary McCue Bell - The Washington Times

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson takes questions at a news conference following a closed-door GOP meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House passes FISA bill as GOP works through other intraparty feuds

By Lindsey McPherson and Kerry Picket - The Washington Times

Happening Now

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., holds a news conference regarding the Supreme Court Voting Rights decision on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey Jr.)

Rollback of Voting Rights Act beckons states across the South to redraw congressional districts

By Stephen Dinan and Mary McCue Bell - The Washington Times

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson takes questions at a news conference following a closed-door GOP meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House passes FISA bill as GOP works through other intraparty feuds

By Lindsey McPherson and Kerry Picket - The Washington Times

A person holds up a sign in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA, and Temporary Protected Status programs during a rally in support of DACA and TPS outside of the White House, in Washington, Sept. 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, file)

Justices ponder limits to Trump’s power to end deportation amnesties for Haitians, Syrians

By Stephen Dinan and Alex Swoyer - The Washington Times

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., participates in a debate, June 2, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

Fetterman backs Trump ballroom, says Democratic opposition reeks of ‘derangement syndrome’

By Seth McLaughlin - The Washington Times

Commentary View all

Virginia Democrats' gerrymandering (redistricting) power grab illustration by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Virginia Democrats’ redistricting power grab meets a highly skeptical Supreme Court

By Joseph Curl

Negotiating while thinking like Iran's Ayatollah regime illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times

Failed Iran talks expose U.S. misunderstanding of regime’s true goals

By Cal Thomas

Political propaganda eroding thought Illustration generated by ChatGPT for The Washington Times

Political propaganda erodes independent thought on left and right

By Michael McKenna

Guests take cover under tables after a shooting incident outside the ballroom during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Gun control not the answer to WHCD shooting

By Editorial Board

Artificial intelligence (AI) controlled by the law and courts illustration by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

AI security demands legal deterrence not just technological innovation

By KaiChieh KJ Hsu

Culture View all

FILE - Pedestrians walk on the campus at Stanford University April 9, 2019, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Stanford under federal probe for race-exclusionary teaching certification program

By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times

The Church of Scientology building in Hollywood. File photo credit: Josh Greiveldinger via Shutterstock.

Church of Scientology in Hollywood steps up security after ‘speed running’ trend

By Juliet La Sala - The Washington Times

In this courtroom sketch, David Anthony Burke, whose stage name is D4vd, is seen in court Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Los Angeles on charges of killing a 14-year-old girl whose dismembered body was found in his car. (Bill Robles via AP)

Prosecutors say singer D4vd stabbed 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez to death to silence her

By Andrew Dalton - Associated Press

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr departs the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy presentation with President Donald Trump and the Navy Midshipmen football team in the East Room of the White House, Friday, March 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FCC reviews ABC stations’ broadcast licenses after Kimmel’s ‘expectant widow’ comment

By Victor Morton - The Washington Times

View all

As the Middle East crisis chokes global oil supply, Russia is cashing in — raking in a record $9.7 billion a month in energy revenues. Foreign correspondent Joseph Hammond explains how Ukraine is fighting back.

Video

WATCH: The secret oil deals and drone strikes reshaping the Russia-Ukraine war

Posters for the proposed Golden Dome for America missile defense shield are displayed before an event with President Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) ** FILE **

Video
Why an ‘entrenched’ Pentagon bureaucracy is the greatest danger facing Golden Dome

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

Chinese Communist Party' propaganda and China warning the world illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times

Commentary
China’s rage machine: Power or performance?

By Miles Yu

Offshore wind energy and U.S. national security illustration by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Commentary
Offshore wind strengthens U.S. national security

By Kirk Lippold

Trump Central View all

President Donald Trump meets with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office at the White House, March 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Trump says that he’s is weighing reducing American troop presence in Germany after Iran feud

By Aamer Madhani and Michelle L. Price - Associated Press

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he meets with NASA's Artemis II astronauts Victor Glover, from left, Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Video
Trump praises ‘very brave’ Artemis II astronauts

By Jeff Mordock - The Washington Times

Britain's King Charles III toasts with President Donald Trump during a State Dinner with first lady Melania Trump and Queen Camilla in the East Room of the White House State Dinner Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Defying protocol, Trump relays details of private conversation with King Charles III

By Danica Kirka - Associated Press

This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice, April 29, 2026, shows Cole Tomas Allen, left, inside his hotel room, on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Washington, using his cellphone to take a photograph of himself in the mirror. An enhanced version of the image is right. (Department of Justice via AP)

Man charged with trying to kill Trump at dinner took photo with knife in hotel, investigators say

By Ed White - Associated Press

Politics View all

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson takes questions at a news conference following a closed-door GOP meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House passes FISA bill as GOP works through other intraparty feuds

By Lindsey McPherson and Kerry Picket - The Washington Times

A semi-automatic Glock pistol is fired at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), National Services Center, March 2, 2023, in Martinsburg, W.Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

ATF releases landmark package aimed at bolstering, clarifying Second Amendment rights

By Kerry Picket - The Washington Times

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth appears before a House Committee on Armed Services business meeting on the Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2027, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey Jr.)

Hegseth calls House Democrats the biggest obstacle facing U.S. in Iran

By Mike Glenn - The Washington Times

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., holds a news conference regarding the Supreme Court Voting Rights decision on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey Jr.)

Rollback of Voting Rights Act beckons states across the South to redraw congressional districts

By Stephen Dinan and Mary McCue Bell - The Washington Times

Dive Deeper View all

U.S. veteran Edwin Warwick poses with his daughter next to a statue of a Gloster soldier in Paju, South Korea. (Andrew Salmon/The Washington Times)

American survivor of doomed British unit feted on Korean War battleground

By Andrew Salmon - The Washington Times

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor speaks during a service for retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in the Great Hall at the Supreme Court in Washington, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool, File)

Supreme Court ponders deporting green card holders

By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times

A gavel is shown against a backdrop of law books in this undated stock photo. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Arizona model allowing non-lawyers to own law firms shakes legal profession

By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times

Activists participate in a demonstration to end the use of fossil fuels at the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Belem, Brazil. (AP Photo/Andre Penner) ** FILE **

Video
Losing its cool? Climate movement takes hits as Trump wages onslaught, leftists pivot

By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times

National View all

Voting rights activists gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington, early Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, as the justices prepare to take up a major Republican-led challenge to the Voting Rights Act, the centerpiece legislation of the Civil Rights Movement. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen) **FILE**

Supreme Court limits racial challenges under Voting Rights Act, hands GOP states new mapmaking power

By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times

A semi-automatic Glock pistol is fired at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), National Services Center, March 2, 2023, in Martinsburg, W.Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

ATF releases landmark package aimed at bolstering, clarifying Second Amendment rights

By Kerry Picket - The Washington Times

The Department of Justice seal is seen in Washington, Nov. 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Romanian man sentenced to 4 years in prison for swatting spree targeting dozens of U.S. officials

By Michael Kunzelman - Associated Press

This July 13, 2015 image provided by NASA shows Pluto from the New Horizons spacecraft. The United States is now the only nation to visit every single planet in the solar system. Pluto was No. 9 in the lineup when New Horizons departed Cape Canaveral, Fla, on Jan. 19, 2006 (NASA via AP)

NASA administrator says Pluto should once again be called a planet

By Brad Matthews - The Washington Times

World View all

FILE - In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, meets soldiers who took part in a training in North Korea, on March 13, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

‘Self-blasting’: Kim Jong-un confirms suicide practice among North Korea troops

By Andrew Salmon - The Washington Times

A U.S. M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) fires a missile during a Combined Joint Littoral Live Fire Exercise at the joint military exercise called "Balikatan," Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder in a Naval station in Zambales province, northern Philippines on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)

Hegseth: Military moving to rapidly to build, deploy advanced laser weapons

By Bill Gertz - The Washington Times

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the end of the German-Brazilian intergovernmental consultations at Herrenhausen Palace, in Hannover, northern Germany, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Brazil’s Senate blocks Lula’s Supreme Court nominee, first rejection in 132 years

By Mauricio Savarese - Associated Press

People look over the area where two people were stabbed in Golders Green neighbourhood, that has a large Jewish community, in London, Wednesday, April 29, 2026.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

London police say stabbing of 2 Jewish men is an act of terrorism

By Jill Lawless - Associated Press

Sports View all

March Madness expansion proposal draws ire from NCAA fans: ‘I hate it’

By Liam Griffin - The Washington Times

Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali knocks Jimmy Young out of the ropes during their championship bout at Landover, Md., on Friday, April 30, 1976. Ali won a unanimous decision in fifteen rounds. (AP Photo)

LOVERRO: Ali gave the world his best, but Washington got something a little less

By Thom Loverro

A horse comes off the track through the Lukas Gap gate, named in honor of deceased Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

First Kentucky Derby since Lukas death has a different vibe

By Stephen Whyno - Associated Press

San Antonio Spurs forward/guard Keldon Johnson (3) celebrates with teammates after Game 5 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series against the Portland Trail Blazers in San Antonio, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Lack of postseason experience isn’t holding back Wembanyama, Spurs

By Raul Dominguez - Associated Press

Higher Ground View all

Protecting children in an online world illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times

Commentary

Online safety starts with parents, not mandates

By Megan Stokes

A teacher points to a board as students listen in a fourth grade classroom at William Jefferson Clinton Elementary in Compton, Calif., on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) **FILE**

NEA finds the average public school teacher salary rose to $74,500

By Sean Salai - The Washington Times

Police respond to a fatal shooting in a parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (Rio Giancarlo/The Deseret News via AP,File)

Utah charges man with murder in January shooting outside church in Salt Lake City

By Morgan Lee and Mead Gruver - Associated Press

Back view of a Muslim woman in hijab. File photo credit: Dean Drobot via Shutterstock.

Taking photo of Muslim inmate without hijab violated her religious rights, court rules

By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times

Podcasts View all

Bold & Blunt Podcast

Tax cuts are great, but debt reduction’s better

Dr. Anne Bradley joins Cheryl Chumley

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Tim Murtaugh joins Kelly Sadler on Politically Unstable

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LISTEN: Threat Status podcast

Can companies really build data centers in space?

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A person holds up a sign in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA, and Temporary Protected Status programs during a rally in support of DACA and TPS outside of the White House, in Washington, Sept. 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, file)

Justices ponder limits to Trump’s power to end deportation amnesties for Haitians, Syrians

By Stephen Dinan and Alex Swoyer - The Washington Times

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., participates in a debate, June 2, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

Fetterman backs Trump ballroom, says Democratic opposition reeks of ‘derangement syndrome’

By Seth McLaughlin - The Washington Times

March Madness expansion proposal draws ire from NCAA fans: ‘I hate it’

By Liam Griffin - The Washington Times

Former FBI Director James Comey leaves the Alexandria Federal Courthouse in the backseat of a car driven by his lawyers Jessica Carmichael, driver, and Patrick Fitzgerald, front passenger, following Comey's court appearance, Wednesday, April 29, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Comey surrenders to law enforcement, appears in court

By Mary McCue Bell - The Washington Times

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Fed holds rates steady in Jerome Powell’s last meeting as chairman

By Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times

Thousands of pro-life activists walk to the Supreme Court during the 53rd annual National March for Life in Washington on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Sean Salai/The Washington Times)

Supreme Court rules pro-life centers can challenge donor ID requirements

By Alex Swoyer - The Washington Times

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth appears before a House Committee on Armed Services business meeting on the Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2027 on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey Jr.)

Democrats press Hegseth over firing of Army chief of staff

By Mike Glenn - The Washington Times

People watch as smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo, File)

Pentagon confirms U.S. has spent $25 billion on war with Iran

By Mike Glenn - The Washington Times

A U.S. Border Patrol patch is seen, Nov. 3, 2025, in Rosemont, Ill. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)

Illegal immigrant admits to impersonating Border Patrol agent to try to stop ICE deportations

By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times

A tanker truck delivers more fuel to a tribally owned gas station along Interstate 25 near San Felipe Pueblo, New Mexico, on Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

Gas prices rise to highest point since war’s start; Trump insists Iran in ‘state of collapse’

By Vaughn Cockayne and Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a union rally on Park Avenue, in New York, Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

King Charles to meet Mamdani fleetingly in New York

By Mary McCue Bell - The Washington Times

A boat moves past the bow of the container ship Dali prior to the detonation of explosive charges to bring down sections of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge resting on the Dali, May 13, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

New contractor sought for Key Bridge rebuild due to project’s expensive, lengthy timeline

By Matt Delaney - The Washington Times

Beekeepeer holding a frame with honeycomb and bees. File photo credit: Jaroslav Moravcik via Shutterstock.

Massachusetts beekeeper sent to jail after unleashing bees on law enforcement in 2022

By Juliet La Sala - The Washington Times

In this Jan. 8, 2020, file photo, UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei attends the UAE Energy Forum 2020 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili. File)

UAE says it will leave OPEC in major blow to global oil cartel

By Vaughn Cockayne - The Washington Times

Britain's King Charles III toasts with President Donald Trump during a State Dinner with first lady Melania Trump and Queen Camilla in the East Room of the White House State Dinner Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump says King Charles III agrees that Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon

By Jeff Mordock - The Washington Times

A gavel is shown against a backdrop of law books in this undated stock photo. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Arizona model allowing non-lawyers to own law firms shakes legal profession

By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times

Former FBI Director James Comey speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) **FILE**

Ex-FBI Director Comey indicted again, in a probe over an online post officials call a Trump threat

By Alanna Durkin Richer and Eric Tucker - Associated Press

Construction on the new White House ballroom is seen from the Washington Monument, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

DOJ’s ballroom case briefs sound like Trump wrote them

By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times

President Donald Trump speaks during a State Dinner with Britain's King Charles III, Queen Camilla and first lady Melania Trump in the East Room of the White House State Dinner Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Charles notes ballroom renovations, alludes to previous British presence at White House

By Jeff Mordock - The Washington Times

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr departs the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy presentation with President Donald Trump and the Navy Midshipmen football team in the East Room of the White House, Friday, March 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FCC reviews ABC stations’ broadcast licenses after Kimmel’s ‘expectant widow’ comment

By Victor Morton - The Washington Times