Former Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to announce retirement after more than 40 years in Congress
Representative Steny Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland and ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, during a hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the former No. 2 Democrat in the chamber who has served for decades, is set to announce his retirement from Congress, his office confirmed to ABC News.
Hoyer will formally announce his decision not to run for reelection on the House floor at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Hoyer, 86, spent two decades as Nancy Pelosi’s deputy and is set to retire as the California Democrat also prepares to leave Congress at the end of the year — amid a debate in the party about turning over leadership to a new generation.
Their relationship dates back to the 1960s when they served as congressional interns together, decades before they competed to lead Democrats.
The genteel dean of the Maryland delegation, who helped send billions of federal dollars to his state as an appropriator, was often a key negotiating partner for Republican leaders who maintained better relations with him than the hard-charging Pelosi.
Many Democrats are now turning to see if 85-year-old Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the longtime No. 3 Democrat on the team, will follow through on plans to run for reelection next year.
Jeffrey Epstein abuse survivors stand in the audience as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on February 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Several Democrats have invited survivors of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, while others plan to skip the event altogether in protest.
Roughly half a dozen Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have ensured survivors of Epstein’s abuse will be seated in the House chamber for Trump’s high-profile speech.
Trump and the Justice Department have been dogged by questions about the Epstein files and their partial release and redactions. Some survivors have criticized the process and called for full release of the files, which are precipitating global fallout. The DOJ said it has complied with the law.
Reps. Jamie Raskin and Suhas Subramanyam announced Sky and Amanda Roberts as their guests, the brother and sister-in-law, respectively, of the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
Rep. Ro Khanna, who co-authored the Epstein Transparency Act that forced the DOJ to release millions of files related to Epstein, has invited survivor Haley Robson.
Some House Democrats plan to wear pins in support of Epstein survivors that call for all the files to be released.
The members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus who are attending the speech said they plan to wear white “to honor the suffragists who believed a women’s vote could change the country and their vision for that change.”
Meanwhile, dozens of Democrats are poised to skip the address in the House chamber, many instead attending a counter-program on the National Mall sponsored by the prominent progressive group MoveOn.
Dubbed the “People’s State of the Union,” MoveOn said the 8 p.m. ET counter-program will feature Democrats, organization members and “everyday Americans most impacted by Trump’s chaos.”
At least 45 House and Senate Democrats in total are planning to skip Trump’s address, according to a count by ABC News.
Republicans this fall will look to defend their narrow majorities in the House and Senate in what is historically a cycle that favors the minority party.
Jeffries, who has said “you don’t let anyone ever run you off of your block,” has made the case for his caucus to show its presence on Tuesday night without any outbursts after Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas was ejected and ultimately censured for shaking his cane and shouting at Trump during last year’s joint address.
“The two options that are in front of us in our House [are] to either attend with silent defiance or to not attend and send a message to Donald Trump in that fashion, which will include participation in a variety of different alternate programming that is going to take place in and around the Capitol complex,” Jeffries told reporters last week.
Spanberger flipped control of the governor’s mansion from red to blue in 2025 after primarily campaigning on the issue of affordability.
“We are at a defining moment in our nation’s history. Virginians and Americans across the country are contending with rising costs, chaos in their communities, and a real fear of what each day might bring,” Spanberger said in a statement, adding she looked forward to “laying out what these Americans expect and deserve — leaders who are working hard to deliver for them.”
California Sen. Alex Padilla will deliver the Democratic Party’s Spanish-language response.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is sworn in as she testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 03, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is testifying on Capitol Hill for the second day in a row on Wednesday — this time before the House Judiciary Committee, where she is again being grilled on the agency’s immigration enforcement operations under her leadership.
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the committee, began the hearing by attacking Noem over her handling of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal law enforcement earlier this year.
He said that after Good and Pretti’s deaths in January, Noem launched a “smear campaign” against them as she made comments that labeled their conduct as “domestic terrorism.”
“You’ve provided no evidence to back up your defamatory lie against either of these American citizens,” Raskin said.
Raskin also insinuated that America is less safe because of her leadership of the Department of Homeland Security.
“You’ve turned our government against our people, and you’ve turned our people against our government,” Raskin said. “But the people are winning today, although we know we must continue to wake up every day like the people of Minneapolis, and go out and fight for constitutional freedom.”
In her opening statement, Noem called Raskin’s comments lies, and said that they should be working together for families who lost loved ones to those who were illegally in the U.S.
When Noem appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, she faced intense questions — both from Republicans and Democrats — over her handling of ICE efforts in Minneapolis and her leadership of the agency in general. Many Democrats questioned Noem about the fatal shootings of Good and Pretti and her handling of the fallout.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Noem refused to apologize for or retract her characterization of Pretti following the shooting, when she called his actions “the definition of domestic terrorism” without evidence.
Noem drew criticism for insinuating Pretti, an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs hospital, wanted to “massacre” law enforcement before the evidence and investigation was complete. Pretti was licensed to carry a handgun. Video from multiple angles showed that Pretti did not try to draw his gun from his waistband before or during the scuffle with federal agents.
Noem said Good “weaponized her vehicle,” which she said was an “act of domestic terrorism” without evidence. DHS said that agents in the interaction with Good acted in self-defense in shooting her; local and state officials have disputed federal officials’ claims.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis on Tuesday attacked Noem in a roughly 10-minute tirade, during which he called DHS a “disaster” and “failure” under her leadership.
Her testimony comes as much of DHS — from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the Transportation Security Administration to the Coast Guard — remains shut down amid a standoff between Democrats and Republicans over how to reform ICE. Democrats have said they will fund the department only if changes are made to the agency following the deaths of Good and Pretti.
President Donald Trump departs the White House, January 27, 2026, in Washington. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday touted the arrival of his border czar, Tom Homan, on a mission to Minneapolis — as he took personal charge of dealing with the backlash following the second fatal shooting of an American citizen by federal agents in the city.
The president, who had said Homan would report directly to him, sounded positive about his change in course so far, saying Homan had met with Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and would do the same with Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey.
“I hear things are going very nicely,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for Iowa, where he was set to deliver remarks on the economy. But there has been no apparent immediate change or pullback in the deployment of federal immigration enforcement agents — as Walz and Frey have demanded.
The White House has noticeably sought to put some distance between the president and the controversial words of his top officials in the immediate aftermath of the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse.
Trump on Sunday declined to defend the agents involved, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday said she hadn’t heard Trump characterize Pretti the same way as White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller or Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — both of whom had quickly accused him of domestic terrorism without any evidence.
Trump on Tuesday also publicly broke with Miller, telling reporters he does not believe Pretti was an “assassin” as Miller had described him.
When asked if he believes Pretti’s death was justified, Trump said a “big investigation” is underway and suggested he would be monitoring it personally.
“I want to see the investigation. I’m going to be watching over it. I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself,” Trump said.
At the same time, Trump continued to criticize Pretti for having a gun on him, which state and local officials said he was lawfully carrying with a concealed carry permit, telling reporters: “You can’t walk in with guns.”
On what his message is for Pretti’s family, Trump told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce: “Well, I’m looking at that whole situation. I love everybody. I love all of our people. I love his family. And it’s a very sad situation.”
Still, Trump stood by Noem on Tuesday and told reporters she won’t be stepping down.
“I think she’s done a very good job. The border is totally secure,” Trump said.
Noem met with Trump in the Oval Office on Monday as scrutiny grew over the shooting and the administration’s response, sources told ABC News. While sources saidNoem is expected to keep her job as of now, her focus is expected to shift to other priorities.
A person familiar with the planning said Homan is likely to focus on more targeted immigration enforcement efforts.
Homan’s arrival also comes as Customs and Border Protection commander-at-large Greg Bovino is set to leave Minneapolis to return to El Centro, California, and resume his duties as chief of that sector, multiple sources told ABC News. Some Border Patrol agents are also leaving Minneapolis.
Earlier Tuesday, in a radio interview on “Sid & Friends In the Morning,” Trump said that if Minneapolis officials give the federal government “their criminals” then it “all goes away” when asked about the possibility of some federal forces leaving the state.
“What we need is their criminals. You know, they have criminals. And all I said, ‘just give us your criminals’ and if you give us the criminals, it all goes away,” the president said.
Trump also recounted calls he had with both Walz and Frey on Monday amid growing tensions in Minneapolis.
“Actually, they were both great conversations,” Trump said. “So, let’s hope that turns out to be so.”
Walz, who was critical of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in an op-ed on Monday, said he and Homan agreed to an “open dialogue” after their meeting on Tuesday.
“Governor Walz met with Tom Homan this morning and reiterated Minnesota’s priorities: impartial investigations into the Minneapolis shootings involving federal agents, a swift, significant reduction in the number of federal forces in Minnesota, and an end to the campaign of retribution against Minnesota,” Walz’s office said in a statement.
“The Governor and Homan agreed on the need for an ongoing dialogue and will continue working toward those goals, which the President also agreed to yesterday. The Governor tasked the Minnesota Department of Public Safety as the primary liaison to Homan to ensure these goals are met,” the statement read.
Frey called his meeting with Homan “productive” in a series of posts on X.
“I reiterated that my main ask is for Operation Metro Surge to end as quickly as possible. Public safety works best when it’s built on community trust, not tactics that create fear or division,” he said.
Frey added he made it clear to Homan that “Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws.”
