Trump taps housing finance director Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence

(NEW YORK) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris kept the door open on a possible third presidential run, saying that she’s “thinking about it,” eliciting cheers from a majority of the crowd at the National Action Network Convention on Friday.

“Listen, I might, I might. I’m thinking about it, I’m thinking about it,” Harris responded when Rev. Al Sharpton, during their chat at the New York City convention he hosts, flatly asked her if she’s planning to run again.

Harris, who said she has spent the last year traveling parts of the country, said that the status quo in government and politics is not working.

“I’ve been traveling the country the last year, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the South and many other places, and the one thing I’m really clear about, also, is the status quo is not working, and hasn’t been working for a lot of people for a long time, and part of the issue is the need to get rid of some of the bureaucracy in government and to understand that the people want — they don’t want process, they want progress. And that’s the work that needs to be done,” Harris said.

During her discussion with Sharpton, Harris was met with different chants during her remarks, including “run again.”

The National Action Network Convention is expected to be the biggest gathering of possible Democratic 2028 presidential hopefuls with appearances by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Mark Kelly and Rep. Ro Khanna.

Nearly all of the hopefuls have either expressed interest or have not shut down the idea about running for president.

So far, many potential presidential candidates have discussed the Iran war as they have chatted with Sharpton during the four-day convention — including Harris.

On Friday, she rebuked Trump’s handling of the Iran war and said that he has deteriorated America’s relationship with foreign allies, leading the country to lose its global standing.

“Let us understand, first of all, this president is the first president of the United States since World War II who does not believe in the alliances that we have with friendly nations, does not believe in the strength of them, the recognition of the history with them, and the importance that that relationship bears on our standing around the world, our influence around the world, not to mention our national security,” Harris said.

Harris said that under Trump’s second term, America is losing its global influence, and it will take “serious” work to regain it.

As Trump has maintained that the U.S. “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program last June, Harris seemed to say that the war in Iran is evidence that it did not actually happen.

“The man said he got rid of their nuclear arsenal. ‘Obliterated’ it he said, you know how he likes to use those kind of words, ‘obliterated’ it, which is not an ambiguous term — that means you took it out,” Harris said. “Well, evidently he didn’t do that.”

Harris is set to take part in fundraisers for Democrats across the South this spring, turning her focus to helping the party win next fall during the midterm elections as her book tour winds down.

Her April schedule includes fundraisers for the North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia Democratic parties, and remarks at the Arkansas Democratic Party’s annual dinner.

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(WASHINGTON) — Public records show that President Donald Trump voted by mail in the special election occurring Tuesday for the statehouse district that includes his Mar-a-Lago estate in spite of his longstanding rhetoric against voting by mail and his efforts to push through the SAVE America Act, which includes restrictions on mail-in voting.

According to public records available on the Palm Beach County elections website, Trump voted by mail ballot in the special election for Florida’s 87th House district.

Trump has spoken critically about voting by mail for years. As recently as Monday, during remarks in Memphis, Tennessee, the president said that “mail-in voting means mail-in cheating — I call it mail-in cheating — and we got to do something about it all.”

A White House spokesperson, in response to a request for comment, said that Trump has supported “commonsense exceptions” to allow Americans to use mail-in ballots, including for “illness, disability, military, or travel,” but that he opposes universal voting by mail due to it being “highly susceptible to fraud.”

An analysis from the Brookings Institution from November 2025 found that voter fraud is rare in voting by mail.

“As everyone knows, the President is a resident of Palm Beach and participates in Florida elections, but he obviously primarily lives at the White House in Washington, D.C.,” spokesperson Olivia Wales wrote in a statement.

Trump frequently visits his Mar-a-Lago estate and was there as recently as Monday morning.

The SAVE America Act, promoted by Trump, would place some new requirements and restrictions on voting by mail.

Florida’s 87th House district special election was scheduled after Mike Caruso, who previously represented the district, was appointed to a county role. Democrats have been eyeing the district as one they could potentially flip, with an eye toward the irony of flipping the president’s home district. Trump and Republicans, meanwhile, have been promoting Republican candidate Jon Maples in an effort to keep the seat in GOP hands.

This is not the first time Trump has voted by mail while president. He voted by mail in the 2020 Florida presidential primary — after he switched his formal place of residence from New York to Florida in September 2019.

Other presidents have voted in elections in their home states while in office. Then-President Joe Biden, for instance, flew to Delaware to vote in the 2022 primaries.

ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — First lady Melania Trump on Thursday denied having any knowledge of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein‘s crimes, saying, “The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.”

The first lady’s office and the White House did not immediately respond to ABC News when asked what prompted her to publicly speak out about the issue.

President Donald Trump said he did not know the first lady was going to make a statement today about Epstein, according to an MS Now reporter who said she had a brief phone interview with the president.

At the beginning of her remarks, Melania Trump said, “The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect.” She did not elaborate who those individuals were.

She went on to say that she never had a relationship with Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s co-conspirator who was convicted of sex trafficking.

“I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell. My email reply to Maxwell cannot be categorized as anything more than casual correspondence. My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a trivial note,” she said.

“I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband by chance at a New York City party in 1998. This initial encounter with my husband is documented in detail in my book ‘Melania,'” she added.

“The first time I crossed paths with Epstein was in the year 2000 at an event Donald and I attended together. At the time, I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal undertakings,” she said.

The first lady said that fake images and stories about her and Epstein have circulated for years, prompting her to come out and address them.

“Be cautious about what you believe,” she said. “These images and stories are completely false.”

The first lady also said that she had never been legally accused of any crimes with Epstein and that she is not featured in any of court documents, depositions or victim statements related to Epstein. 

“I have never been legally accused or convicted of a crime in connection with Epstein,” she said.

Melania Trump said that several individuals and companies have been forced to retract claims about her and Epstein.

The first lady called for public hearings into the Epstein controversy and to allow survivors to testify before Congress. 

“Now is the time for Congress to act. Epstein was not alone. Several prominent male executives resigned from their powerful positions after this matter became widely politicized. Of course, this doesn’t amount to guilt, but we still must work openly and transparently to uncover the truth,” she said.

“Give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath in front of Congress with the power of sworn testimony, each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public, if she wishes, and then her testimony should be permanently entered into the Congressional Record,” she said. “Then, and only then we will have the truth.

In February, Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, indicated on CNN that President Donald Trump and Melania Trump would be subpoenaed to testify in front of the committee about their ties to Epstein if Democrats take the majority in November — similar to how former President Bill Clinton and former first lady Hillary Clinton were. The Clintons testified before the Oversight Committee in February. 

Pressed on whether the committee would bring in Melania Trump, Garcia said: “We’re going to have a very long list of people, anyone that we believe had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein — on Day One will have a subpoena from our committee.”

Following the first lady’s announcement on Thursday, Garcia echoed the call for a public hearing. 

“We agree with First Lady Melania Trump’s call for a public hearing with the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein. We encourage Chairman [James] Comer to respond to the First Lady’s request and schedule a public hearing immediately,” he said in a post on X. 

Oversight Democrats have a “shadow” hearing scheduled for May with Epstein survivors in Palm Beach, Florida, where the president’s Mar-a-Lago club is located.

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