CNN Inside Politics

First: Former VP Mike Pence officially announces his candidacy for president at a rally in Iowa, while in Fargo, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum enters the race. That brings the already crowded field of those seeking the Republican presidential nomination to 10.  Plus: The Trump campaign releases a provocative new TV spot.  And: The latest on the dam collapse in Ukraine.  To learn more about how...

After a major dam is destroyed in a Southern region of Ukraine leading to flooding, there are mass evacuations and plenty of blame as Russia and Ukraine point fingers at each other. Plus, trouble for Trump after special counsel Jack smith attended a meeting with the former president’s legal team, with a bizarre plot twist that led to a flood of suspicion from prosecutors in the Mar-a-Lago document...

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu joins to share his announcement on whether he will join the widening GOP field for the 2024 presidential election, in an exclusive interview with Dana Bash. Plus, President Trump's lawyers meet with the DOJ as the special counsel's probe appears to be nearing its final stages. John King walks through what that means. And, Ukraine is cultivating a network of agen...

As Trump and DeSantis spar at separate rallies, what is the DeSantis' plan to convince voters that he would be better GOP nominee and president? Plus, the GOP field keeps growing with three more candidates likely to soon join the race, including Trump’s former vice president. But, how many of them will make it to the Republican debate stage? Also, after a financial crisis is averted, President Bid...

Today's show begins with exclusive new CNN reporting about Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Donald Trump and that audio recording of the former president discussing a classified military document he admitted taking. Sources tell CNN that Trump attorneys turned over material in mid-March connected to a document about plans to attack Iran, but they can't locate the document itself.  T...

First: CNN exclusive reporting reveals federal prosecutors have obtained a recording of former President Donald Trump admitting he kept a classified document when he left the White House.  Plus: A month-plus scramble of meetings, late nights, bartering, breakdowns and near rebellions leads to 314 yeas in the House on a deal to steer the United States around a debt default.  And: One of the most po...

First: The House Speaker says the agreement to pull the United States back from a crippling default is on track to pass, adding, "I don't want to be on the wrong side of history."  Plus: Campaigning in Iowa, Ron DeSantis says it's time to give former President Donald Trump the gold watch and move on to the next generation.  And: Special counsel Jack Smith reportedly is looking into the firing of t...

First: The debt deal meets its first test today in the House rules committee, where hardline conservatives deeply unhappy with the agreement have a chance to kill it.  Plus: An attack in Moscow brings the Ukraine war into the heart of Russia's capital as Vladimir Putin keeps up a relentless aerial assault on Kyiv.  And: Ron DeSantis makes his first road trip as an official candidate.  To learn mor...

First: Joe Biden and Kevin McCarthy strike a debt ceiling deal. Now they embark on the daunting task of convincing their respective parties to vote for it.  Plus: Chris Sununu says he'll decide soon on a 2024 run. But is the field already too crowded for anyone not named Donald Trump?  And: Retire or not retire? That's the question still swarming about Senator Diane Feinstein.  To learn more about...

First: President Biden and Kevin McCarthy announce an "agreement in principle" to raise the debt ceiling and avoid an economic catastrophe. But the hardest part may lie ahead: convincing their parties to vote for it.  Plus: Ron DeSantis jumps into the 2024 race and levels his toughest attacks yet on Donald Trump. But will it be enough?  And: Retail giant Target is the latest battlefield for conser...

First: Two days after officially launching his 2024 presidential bid, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis directly and repeatedly attacks Republican front-runner Donald Trump while floating ideas like firing the FBI director and pardoning January 6th criminals.  Plus: Kevin McCarthy sounds positive as the outline of a debt deal emerges. Neither liberals nor conservatives are happy with the compromises b...

First: Ron DeSantis chooses Twitter to make his official 2024 presidential campaign announcement and is plagued by embarrassing technical difficulties. When we could hear him, he pointed to abortion and spending among the issues with which he disagrees with Donald Trump.  Plus: A judge decides how much time the Oath Keepers leader will spend behind bars.  And: Despite the looming debt deadline, Ke...

First: A just-released CNN snapshot of the 2024 Republican primary race shows Donald Trump with a huge lead. However, voters say they're open to supporting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who's scheduled to officially announce his candidacy tonight via Twitter.  Plus: Donald Trump's legal team wants an audience with the attorney general to complain about the special counsel and his investigation. ...

First: Both President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy deem their latest meeting productive, but the two sides still appear to be nowhere near a debt ceiling deal.  Plus: Donald Trump's words at last week's CNN town hall push E. Jean Carroll to seek more damages.  And: Swing voters dread the idea of a Biden-Trump rematch, but their focus group on what would happen if there is one is quite re...

First: Today's show begins just after South Carolina Senator Tim Scott officially announces his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. He joins the field with a not-insignificant amount of cash and a conservative message centered on hope, faith and opportunity.  Plus: President Biden and Kevin McCarthy come together for a critical meeting about the debt ceiling with default loo...

President Biden ends his overseas trip with no debt limit deal in sight, and says it’s time for the GOP to move from its “extreme positions”. Is there still time to avoid economic calamity? Plus, Ron DeSantis is finally set to announce his 2024 run, but does he have what it takes to topple Trump? And, there’s an election nightmare on HBO’s “Succession”. The question viewers are asking is, could it...

First: After days of optimism, negotiators for the White House and Kevin McCarthy's office pause debt ceiling talks, all but eliminating hopes of a deal by this weekend.  Plus: Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky is headed to Japan where he will ask the richest democracies to deliver more weapons at a crucial moment.  And: Ron DeSantis' feud with Disney prompts the mouse company to drop plans for a billi...

First: Sources tell CNN the official "DeSantis for president" paperwork will be filed next week. His "how to beat Trump" battle plan is a culture wars blizzard on abortion, guns and transgender rights.  Plus: New reporting reveals the special counsel investigating Donald Trump will soon have his hands on 16 records that show the former president and his advisers knew how the classified document de...

First: Both the White House and Republicans are more upbeat after President Biden tapped three trusted aids to negotiate directly with the House speaker's team. But giant policy divides remain, despite big progress with the process.  Plus: The Carolinas take center stage in the abortion debate. North Carolina Republicans override the governor's veto to enact a 12-week ban. In South Carolina, a six...

First: In just hours, congressional leaders head back to the White House to talk through a debt deal. But Democrats are already worrying that President Biden sounds close to caving.  Plus: New and disturbing video shows a baseball bat-wielding attacker beating two staffers at a congressional office.  And: Ron DeSantis nears a 2024 presidential launch with infrastructure and big money, but also wit...

First: Volodymyr Zelensky's tour of western leaders ends with a British promise of more missiles and more drones, but Ukraine's big ask -- fighter jets -- is still a TBD.  Plus: Ron DeSantis puts on an apron and plays the everyman in Iowa.  And: The White House suddenly sounds hopeful about avoiding a debt ceiling cliff, and the president abandons a gotcha game of semantics by calling the negotiat...

First: After the end of the Covid-era Title 42 border rule, the number of migrants at the U.S-Mexico border is lower than expected. Still, asylum seekers will face a reshaped immigration landscape. We bring you an update from the southern border.  Plus: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was back in Iowa yesterday to test his retail politics. But has Trump ended the DeSantis campaign before it even beg...

First: The Biden White House tells migrants to turn around. That, after Title 42 comes off the books, luring thousands to the southern border, where facilities are stretched way beyond what they can handle.  Plus: A big meeting to discuss the debt ceiling is cancelled, pushing the US further towards default. Is  And: Declared 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy proposes raising the voting...

First: At a CNN town hall, the front runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination spews lies about January 6th, classified documents, and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.  Plus: Right now, there's a massive number of migrants waiting on the southern border as time runs out tonight on the Title 42 policy that made it easier to turn them away.  And: As Ukraine gets a big delivery...

Rep. George Santos surrenders to authorities, accused (among other things) of using campaign cash to buy designer clothes, launder money, and stealing insurance money at the height of the pandemic.  Plus: Tonight, Donald Trump gets a prime-time audience in New Hampshire right here on CNN, one day after a jury delivered a stunning verdict finding the former president liable for sexually abusing a w...