Democrats were making contingency plans for Joe Biden's death as far back as 2023, with one former White House aide drawing up a "death roster" even as his allies publicly downplayed worries about his health that would eventually doom his re-election.
According to the book Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House, some Democratic operatives were worried that Biden would die in office or else be forced to end his campaign.
One of those scenarios did come to pass, with Biden dropping his re-election bid during a summer of historic political upheaval that saw his rival Donald Trump survive two assassination attempts.
Long before Biden dropped out, the Democratic National Committee had considered a spectrum of scenarios, including the one that eventually became a reality: if Biden "left a vacancy at the top of the ticket after taking the nomination."
"In hush-hush talks starting in 2023, [DNC] officials gamed out Biden-withdrawal scenarios, according to two people familiar with them,” wrote Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes in their new book.
An aide to vice president Kamala Harris, Jamal Simmons, even drew up a "death-pool roster" of judges who could swear her in if Biden died in office.
Simmons did not tell Harris about the list before he left her team in January 2023, but he told colleagues to notify him right away if something happened to Biden because he had a communications strategy ready.
Despite the contingency planning, Democrats were seemingly caught off guard by Biden's meltdown during his only debate with Trump on CNN last summer.
Biden's presidency evaporated in 90 dramatic minutes as his cognitive deficiencies were laid bare on national television, sending his own party into a panic.
Until the fateful debate, Democrats vehemently denied that Biden was unfit for a second term. After Biden's disastrous performance, Democrats took a sharp pivot and eventually forced him to drop out. He endorsed Harris, who quickly won the backing of the party machine.
Democrats have partly blamed her decisive defeat to Trump on Biden and his reckless decision to seek another term, although Biden's health issues were obviously not a secret - certainly not to Democrats, who had the opportunity to watch him up close.
Days after the debate, Biden attended a fundraiser at the home of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D), where Democratic supporters observed an alarming scene.
Biden needed fluorescent tape to guide him through the house, "colorful bread crumbs [that] showed the leader of the free world where to walk."
The top vaccine official at the Food and Drug Administration has been forced out of his job by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Stock prices in major vaccine companies fell after Dr. Peter Marks' resignation. The longtime FDA official was reportedly told he could either quit or get fired, the New York Times reported.
Marks led the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, which monitors the safety of certain pharmaceutical products including vaccines and gene therapies. He played a critical role in Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration's effort to rapidly develop a COVID vaccine.
In his resignation letter, Marks accused HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of damaging public health with "misinformation and lies," citing the measles outbreak in Texas, which has killed two, as an example.
Marks said he was "willing to work" with Kennedy on addressing vaccine safety, but "it has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary."
Kennedy's criticism of vaccines was the main point of contention during his Senate confirmation hearing, but he overcame skepticism from the GOP to become the nation's top public health official. The Secretary has since taken steps to scrutinize vaccines, part of a wider shakeup of the HHS that saw Kennedy fire 10,000 workers last week.
"If Peter Marks does not want to get behind restoring science to its golden standard and promoting radical transparency, then he has no place at FDA under the strong leadership of Secretary Kennedy," the HHS said in a statement.
Marks played a prominent role in the rapid development of the COVID vaccine as part of "Operation Warp Speed" under President Trump. Marks later got the FDA to approve the shots on an emergency basis for children under five during President Biden's COVID vaccine push.
According to the New York Times, Marks' aggressive lobbying for experimental treatments faced skepticism within the FDA, including from his own vaccine team. He clashed with two top vaccine regulators who quit in protest of the Biden administration's politicized push to quickly authorize COVID booster shots.
Marks overruled his own FDA staff to approve a gene therapy for a form of muscular dystrophy, despite the drug failing a clinical trial.
In his resignation letter, Marks blasted Kennedy Jr. for undermining public confidence in science.
“Undermining confidence in well-established vaccines that have met the high standards for quality, safety and effectiveness that have been in place for decades at F.D.A. is irresponsible, detrimental to public health, and a clear danger to our nation’s health, safety and security," he wrote.
The news of Marks' resignation led to concern among pharmaceutical lobbyists, Politico reported.
“Have had two CEOs call me already,” a Republican pharmaceutical lobbyist texted the outlet. "This is why [Sen. Bill] Cassidy should have voted NO.”
Democrats and their media allies can't let go the fact that First Lady Melania Trump isn't constantly in the political spotlight and would rather prioritize her family.
Some now believe that Usha Vance, the second lady and wife of Vice President J.D. Vance, is stepping into some of the roles that Melania Trump might have previously filled as first lady.
On many occasions, Melania Trump has made it clear that she's not exactly interested in doing the full-time White House thing, and she normally splits her time between Washington D.C. and her Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
The first lady has openly stated that she's more concerned about her family than she is politics, as any mother would have the justification of saying, but it never seems to satisfy the anti-Trump left's appetite for drama.
Many have suggested that Usha Vance has taken over some part of Melania's role in the administration, especially after her announced trip to Greenland.
President Trump has expressed interest in Greenland joining the United States, and Usha Vance recently took a trip there, joined by her husband and a handful of top Trump officials.
The Telegraph noted:
Mrs Vance, a virtual political novice, will have to navigate a diplomatically-fraught situation in Greenland and will almost certainly encounter protests by locals angered by the Trump administration’s antagonistic stance.
Lisa M Burns, an expert in writing about first ladies and their assumed roles, weighed in on Usha Vance's presence in the Trump administration.
"Historically, we know that Melania Trump is not as active as a first lady. She’s a bit more reluctant," Burns said. "She definitely picks and chooses when she does things, so we’re seeing the second lady step into this role."
Burns thinks the Greenland trip was Usha Vance's first "real test" in politics, saying, "This is the first thing we’re seeing from her in terms of whether she’s going to be a more active participant in the administration."
Vice President Vance released a statement upon the conclusion of their Greenland trip, where they visited a strategic U.S. military base.
"Usha and I are on our way home from an incredible journey to Greenland. We can't wait to come back again soon. America stands with Greenland!" the vice president wrote.
Usha and I are on our way home from an incredible journey to Greenland. We can't wait to come back again soon.
America stands with Greenland! pic.twitter.com/UGb7zR3Y70
— JD Vance (@JDVance) March 28, 2025
One X user responded to the vice president's post, asking, "Did we get the keys yet?"
Billionaire Elon Musk has played a heavy hand in politics over the past year, and is apparently extremely invested in the outcome of the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
While Musk has implemented programs that involve giveaways of large amounts of cash to voters in the state, according to reports, he recently deleted a post promising millions in payments to lucky Wisconsin voters.
The news came in the wake of a judge intervening and attempting to stop Musk from running the program.
It was reported that Musk deleted a post on Friday that promised $2 million in payments to two lucky Wisconsin voters just ahead of the upcoming Supreme Court race that has the state -- and the nation -- on edge.
Late Thursday evening, Musk rocked the social media world by announcing his plan to give out $2 million to two Wisconsin voters as a way of thanking them for voting, and promised to hold a rally in the state.
"I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote," Musk wrote. He described the election as "super important."
Attendance at the event where the money would be given away was only open to Wisconsin voters who had voted, though it wasn't clear how he intended to verify a voter's voting status.
Reports noted:
Musk deleted the post approximately 12 hours later without explanation. Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for Musk's political action committee, declined to comment on the deletion.
Not surprisingly, many different groups and individuals in the state cried foul, and sought immediate legal intervention to prevent Musk from holding the rally and giving away the large sums of money.
A bipartisan coalition of government watchdog groups, former officeholders, and a Madison-based law firm claimed in a letter to Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern that it amounted to "election bribery."
The Wisconsin Supreme Court battle has drawn national attention and resources, including an endorsement and backing from President Donald Trump for conservative candidate Brad Schimel.
"It’s a very important race," Trump said. "I know you feel it’s local, but it’s not. It’s really much more than local. The whole country is watching."
Schimel is running against ultra-leftist candidate Susan Crawford, who has the backing of former President Barack Obama and other high-profile Democratic Party players.
Only time will tell which side prevails in the swing state.
The House voted to end President Biden's energy standards for refrigerators and freezers on Thursday.
The vote is part of a wider effort by Republicans and President Trump to roll back Biden-era regulations that targeted common household appliances. The rules would have imposed more strict energy efficiency standards for commercial refrigerators and freezers.
The House voted 214-192 to overturn energy efficiency regulations for commercial refrigerators and freezers and also voted 203 to 182 to get rid of energy regulations on walk-in freezers and coolers.
Both resolutions passed through the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to overturn a recent federal regulation with a simple majority.
The Senate still needs to vote on reversing the refrigerator standards, which were finalized at the end of Biden's term. The Biden administration said the regulations would benefit the climate and save consumers money on their utility bills.
Republicans say the regulations would make products more expensive while limiting choice for consumers.
“Today, House Republicans acted to overturn more last-minute environmental regulations from the Biden Administration. Walk-in coolers and freezers are essential for pharmacies, convenience stores, food processing facilities, food banks, restaurants, and many other establishments nationwide,” said Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Ok), who sponsored the bill on walk-in coolers and freezers.
Under federal law, the Energy Department must periodically review existing energy standards and may only make changes that are "technologically feasible and economically justified and would result in significant energy savings."
The Biden administration focused on using energy regulations to advance a climate agenda, targeting common household products including water heaters, washers and dryers, and, most notably, gas stoves.
Under Trump, the Energy Department is prioritizing freedom of choice. This week, Energy Secretary Chris Wright postponed a trio of energy standards for home appliances, including walk-in coolers and freezers.
“By removing burdensome regulations put in place by the Biden administration, we are returning freedom of choice to the American people, ensuring consumers can choose the home appliances that work best for their lives and budgets," Wright added. "This power should not belong to the federal government."
The House voted last month to overturn Biden's ban on certain types of tankless water heaters. Republican Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) has proposed a bill in the Senate to overturn Biden's ban on gas-powered, non-condensing tankless heaters, which are typically cheaper but less energy efficient than other models.
The issue has led to intense lobbying from water heater companies like Japanese manufacturer Rinnai, which makes the kind of water heaters facing a ban. A.O. Smith, the largest water heater manufacturer in the United States, is in favor of Biden's ban. According to the Washington Free Beacon, the company received $25 million from the Biden administration to invest in climate-conscious electric heat pumps.
Republicans on Capitol Hill are looking at ways to put an end to the judicial overreach that has stymied President Trump's agenda, but impeachment isn't topping the list.
While top Republican leaders are reluctant to target individual judges, they are considering legislation to stop district court judges from issuing nationwide injunctions. Critics of the controversial practice - which allows judges to apply their rulings universally and not just to the parties in a case - say it allows district courts to usurp the powers of the president.
In the most significant example to date, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. ordered Trump to stop the deportation of alleged gang members and return them to the United States. Trump called for the judge, James Boasberg, to be impeached, prompting pushback from Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts.
The rate at which courts are blocking Trump is unprecedented: the administration has already been slammed with 15 injunctions. For comparison, courts issued just 14 during Joe Biden's term and 12 during the whole eight years of the Obama administration.
Democrats argue that Trump is facing more obstruction because he's pushing legal limits, but the president and his supporters see a clear pattern of bias from activist judges.
The House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Trump ally Jim Jordan (R-OH), is holding a hearing next week on nationwide injunctions and Darrell Issa (R-CA) has proposed a bill that would limit their use. A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate by Josh Hawley of Missouri (R).
Republicans like Hawley argue that targeting individual judges is an ineffective way of combating "systemic" activism from the bench.
“I would just say to my Republican colleagues: I’m really concerned about what’s going on,” Hawley told reporters. “I don’t know that switching out the judges is going to ultimately do a whole lot, unless we address the systemic issue here, which is the use of this so-called power."
"So, I think we ought to just make it clear. If you’re a district court, you can bind the parties who are in front of you or the parties who are in your district, but you can not bind people outside your purview.”
While rank-and-file Republicans such as Texas's Brandon Gill have pushed for impeaching judges like Boasberg, the efforts have met with a tepid response from GOP leadership.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has said all options are on the table, but he has pointed to other mechanisms for holding judges accountable when they step out of line.
“We do have authority over the federal courts, as you know,” Johnson said. “We can eliminate an entire district court. We have power of funding over the courts, and all these other things.”
Trump has called on the Supreme Court to weigh in on the use of nationwide injunctions "BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."
"STOP NATIONWIDE INJUNCTIONS NOW, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE," Trump wrote in a social media post. "If Justice Roberts and the United States Supreme Court do not fix this toxic and unprecedented situation IMMEDIATELY, our Country is in very serious trouble!"
Congress received sworn testimony that no classified information was shared in Signal chats about a military strike in Yemen, as Democrats call on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to resign over the messages that were leaked by a liberal journalist.
The Atlantic published the full chats on Wednesday, which show Hegseth sharing details about weather, timing, and weapon systems shortly before a successful operation against Houthi rebels.
Across two days of hearings, Democrats grilled CIA director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard over the chats and their national security implications.
“If this information had gotten out, American lives could have been lost. If the Houthis had this information they could reposition their defensive systems,” Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) said Tuesday.
Gabbard and Ratcliffe both said during Tuesday's hearing before the Senate Intelligence Community that no classified information was included, although they added it's up to Hegseth to decide what is classified and what isn't. Ratcliffe also defended the use of Signal, an encrypted chat platform, as appropriate for a CIA official.
Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee pounced on the Atlantic's publication of the full chat messages Wednesday, with some lawmakers presenting poster boards with the texts printed on them. But Trump's officials stood their ground.
"My answers haven't changed. I used an appropriate channel to communicate sensitive information. It was permissible to do so. I didn't transfer any classified information, and at the end of the day, what is most important is that the mission was a remarkable success," Ratcliffe said.
The chats mostly consist of a foreign policy discussion among top Trump officials, including Hegseth, national security adviser Michael Waltz, and Vice President J.D. Vance, about when to strike at Houthi rebels who have crippled shipping in the Suez Canal. In the most heavily scrutinized texts, Hegseth shared a mission update that reads in part, "Weather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOM we are a GO for mission launch."
"THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP," Hegseth wrote elsewhere in the text.
Later, Waltz shared an update to confirm that a target was successfully taken out. Waltz has since taken responsibility for adding Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat room by mistake.
While the Trump administration says the controversy is being exaggerated, Democrats have said the kind of information included in Hegseth's messages was sensitive enough to be classified. Wednesday's House hearing grew contentious when one Democrat, Jimmy Gomez (Ca.), asked if Hegseth had been drinking.
"I think that’s an offensive line of questioning. The answer is no,” Ratcliffe said.
Gabbard conceded the chats were sensitive in nature, but she denied that they rose to the classified level.
“The conversation was candid and sensitive, but as the president national security adviser stated, no classified information was shared," Gabbard said.
"There were no sources, methods, locations or war plans that were shared. This was a standard update to the national security Cabinet that was provided alongside updates that were given to foreign partners in the region,” Gabbard added.
Several bombs were found at a Tesla dealership in Texas on Monday, as the company's founder Elon Musk faces a violent political backlash.
A bomb squad retrieved a number of working "incendiary devices" after police were called to a Tesla dealership in Austin.
“This is an open and ongoing investigation, and there is no further information available for release at this time,” the department said.
While police do not have a suspect, it comes after a series of violent attacks on Tesla dealerships all across the country.
Musk has faced furious backlash for his role in aggressively slashing the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency. He is at the center of an emerging Democratic party narrative about an "oligarchy" that President Trump is supposedly establishing.
Leftists are fighting back against this "oligarchy" with anarchy. Individuals have set fires, sprayed political messages and even fired bullets at Tesla property.
The Trump administration is treating the wave of arson and vandalism like domestic terrorism, with the FBI under Kash Patel announcing a new task force to investigate the threats.
"The FBI will be relentless in its mission to protect the American people. Acts of violence, vandalism, and domestic terrorism — like the recent Tesla attacks — will be pursued with the full force of the law," the FBI said in a statement to ABC News.
The recent attacks against Tesla appear to fit the typical definition of terrorism, which involves the use of political violence to advance an agenda. The FBI has tracked incidents in at least nine states.
"These criminal actions appear to have been conducted by lone offenders, and all known incidents occurred at night," the FBI said last week. "Individuals require little planning to use rudimentary tactics, such as improvised incendiary devices and firearms, and may perceive these attacks as victimless property crimes."
President Trump has stood by Musk, even buying a Tesla at the White House to support him.
The president issued a fresh warning last week to anti-Tesla "terrorist thugs", suggesting they could serve hard time in El Salvador's infamously brutal prisons.
"I look forward to watching the sick terrorist thugs get 20 year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla," Trump said.
"Perhaps they would serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions."
A recently deceased prosecutor for the Biden administration was suffering from a medical condition before her unexpected death, according to a report.
Police found Jessica Aber inside an Alexandria, Virginia home on Saturday morning. She was the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia from October 2021 until January of this year, when Biden left the White House.
Her death remains shrouded in mystery, with police offering few details to the public in the investigation's early stages.
A friend close to the family of Aber, 43, said she had a chronic medical condition.
"Police believe the death was the result of a longstanding medical issue," the source told Fox News.
The person who called police to the home refused to perform CPR on a 46-year-old woman, according to a dispatch reported by 7News. Aber was 43.
"Any additional units... for the cardiac arrest. 916 Beverly Drive," the dispatcher said. "That’ll be for a 46-year-old female found in bed unresponsive not breathing. The caller has refused CPR."
The death of a powerful prosecutor who worked close to Washington D.C. has led to some ominous speculation.
Aber's role in prosecuting foreign nationals, including MS-13 gang members and Russians accused of war crimes, has only fueled the intrigue.
While the investigation into the cause of death is ongoing, sources told ABC News that no foul play is suspected at this time.
Aber began her Justice Department career in 2009 as an assistant U.S. attorney in the office she would later lead. She started out prosecuting financial fraud, public corruption, violent crime and child exploitation cases, according to an online biography.
She was nominated to be the U.S. Attorney by President Biden and unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2021. Aber resigned in January when President Trump took the oath of office.
"I am deeply grateful to senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and to President Biden for the opportunity to lead this office and to Attorney General Garland for his steadfast leadership," the attorney wrote at the time. "I am proud of the work we have done with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to enforce the law and build community trust."
Her death led to an outpouring of tributes from fellow prosecutors, including her successor, Erik Siebert.
"Her professionalism, grace, and legal acumen set the standard. Though we are devastated by this loss, each of us in the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) will look to her example and endeavor to live up to that standard," he said.
President Donald Trump came through on his campaign promise to declassify and release tens of thousands of documents related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy Jr.
According to the Daily Mail, the president's task force has been ordered to investigate the sudden death of a journalist who was on the cusp of potentially exposing the truth behind the mysterious and conspiracy-ridden death of the former president.
Over 60,000 JFK assassination-related documents were released last week by the National Archives, and seemingly none of them mention the curious and sudden death of investigative journalist Dorothy Kilgallen in 1965.
Kilgallen, who spent two years of her life dedicated to uncovering the truth about JFK's assassination, is potentially a major factor, and many want the president's task force to dive deeper.
For the people who have investigated Kilgallen's death for years, including lawyer and author Mark Shaw, the lack of information regarding her death in the files was nothing less than disappointed.
"It was disappointing but not surprising," Shaw said.
The outlet noted:
For years, Shaw has been calling on the NYPD and Manhattan DA's Office to launch an independent investigation into Kilgallen's death - an investigation he believes would reveal that she was murdered to silence her about the president's assassination.
The Daily Mail added:
And also missing is the stash of evidence and notes Kilgallen had compiled about the president's murder - a dossier that mysteriously vanished without a trace on the night of her apparent suicide.
Not surprisingly, Shaw wants the House of Representatives Task Force on Declassification and Transparency to dig into her death and potentially use it as a springboard to find answers to bigger questions regarding JFK's death.
In a letter to Congress he shared with the outlet, Shaw wrote, "One hope of mine is that by exposing the injustice done to Kilgallen when she died, a fresh, independent investigation of her death may be possible sooner than later based on compelling evidence that she was murdered."
Shaw also wrote in his letter that the newly-formed task force has a fresh chance at determining what happened to JFK and the investigative journalist.
"Your Task Force now has the chance to provide that thorough, independent investigation so the world at large finally learns of the most credible analysis of what really happened to these three 20th century icons.
He added, "Such will prove that there should have never been three true crime murder mysteries at all since based on logic and the homicide detectives favorite tools to solve such mysteries, motive and benefit from the crime, there were not mysteries, only coverups of the truth from start to finish."
Only time will tell what the House task force will uncover in the coming weeks and months.