Politics

A federal judge has ordered Lindsey Halligan to explain why she continues to use the title of "U.S. attorney" in the months since her appointment was ruled unlawful, CBS News reports.

Halligan -- a former personal attorney to President Donald Trump -- was named the head of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia in September. She had no experience in criminal law prior to her appointment, and primarily focused on insurance law.

Although she brought cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, they were dismissed after a district judge found Halligan's appointment to head that U.S. Attorney's Office was invalid in November.

The issue was noted following an indictment filed in early December in which Halligan was listed as a "United States attorney and special attorney."

Judge David Novak has since given Halligan seven days to explain why she continues to represent herself as a U.S. attorney and how her identification "does not constitute a false or misleading statement."

Kai Trump says four's a crowd ... telling Logan Paul dating is tough with two Secret Service agents constantly following her.

The eldest granddaughter of President Donald Trump opened up about her love life on an episode of Paul's podcast "Impaulsive" ... telling LP it's weird to go to dinner with a guy when her personal security's sitting just a couple tables away, tracking her every move.

Kai says the first year of her grandfather's second term's been an adjustment period ... admitting it's been hard to go from simply living her life to having to clue in her security detail about every little move she makes before she makes it.

Tekashi 6ix9ine will be spending 3 months at the same jail currently housing Nicolás Maduro ... and he tells TMZ he hopes to hang out with the ousted Venezuelan dictator.

The rapper tells us, "I want to dance with Maduro!"

Streamer Adin Ross accompanied Tekashi -- streaming the events -- as he showed up to check into jail Tuesday afternoon ... they rolled up in a Sprinter van, with Tekashi rapping over his own tracks on the speakers inside ... check out the video to watch 69 walk through the gates escorted by federal corrections officers.

ICYMI ... The New York Times reported a video of Maduro dancing actually motivated "some on the Trump team" to pull the trigger on capturing him in Venezuela.

One of the sons of former actor and President of the United States Ronald Reagan, Michael Reagan, has died at the age of 80 ... the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute confirms to TMZ.

Michael died on Sunday, January 4, Newsmax reports … his cause of death was not released.

Michael Reagan, who was adopted, was Ronald's oldest son … his mother was actress Jane Wyman -- Ronald's first wife.

Michael was an author of multiple books -- including "Lessons My Father Taught Me" and "Twice Adopted" -- a radio host and a lecture speaker on conservative politics.

Michael is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter, and two half-siblings, Patti and Ron Jr., from Ronald's second marriage to Nancy Reagan.

It's January 6, so of course, there is chaos in Washington, D.C. ... and this time tensions are flaring at a march memorializing the Capitol Riot ... a fight broke out, and it's all on video.

Profanity-laced insults led to a physical confrontation Tuesday morning at the InterContinental The Willard hotel ... a large brawl ensued after a counter-protestor showed up to disrupt a memorial event honoring Ashli Babbitt and four others who died in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Proud Boys members and J6 convicts organized the event, and they didn't take kindly to a woman who showed up with a megaphone and started calling them "p****."

Check out the footage ... the mob surrounds the counter-protestor, shouting profanities at her and putting middle fingers in her face, and then a woman with an American flag comes over and kicks off the violence.

Doug LaMalfa, a California Republican who served in Congress for more than a decade, died Monday.

The politician's death was announced by President Donald Trump during a gathering of House Republicans at the Kennedy Center Tuesday. POTUS said he felt "tremendous sorrow" following LaMalfa's death, NBC News reports.

The cause of LaMalfa's death was not released. He was reportedly in good spirits leading up to the holidays.

Stephen Miller said Greenland would "obviously" be better off as a part of the United States while speaking with CNN's Jake Tapper on Monday evening.

Although Tapper asked President Donald Trump's Homeland Security advisor if he'd rule out using military action to take Greenland by force, Miller initially sidestepped the question and pointed to how Trump had been "clear for months" about his desire to take control of the island.

Miller said Greenland should be part of the United States' "overall security apparatus" and said the United States likely wouldn't face any military resistance to taking over Greenland.

Miller then questioned Denmark's right to maintain governance and "assert control" over Greenland.

The island became part of the Danish Kingdom in 1953, and it currently operates as an autonomous territory under the Danish Crown.

Trump first floated the idea of taking control of Greenland during his first term in office, and he told The Atlantic the United States "absolutely" needed control over the island earlier this month.

President Donald Trump's dancing is so unpresidential ... according to his own wife, Melania.

POTUS made the admission during his remarks Tuesday at the House GOP retreat at the Kennedy Center.

In the middle of complaining about female weightlifters, DT went on a tangent about one of the First Lady's pet peeves.

He revealed, "She hates when I dance." According to DT, Melania tells him, "Darling, it's not presidential."

Of course, Donald is convinced people actually like him cutting a rug. While the First Lady tried to explain to him the crowds are "just being nice," he contends that's not true.

Trisha Paytas is shooting for the stars in 2026 ... she says she wants to run for Congress in California ... and she's already got her campaign slogan picked out.

The podcaster and influencer posted a video on social media revealing her plans to run for Congress as a write-in candidate ... and she had to Google how to get the process started.

Trisha's got a tight deadline to collect some signatures, but given her large online following, she's pretty confident she will meet the requirements ... so it sounds like she's serious.

The reason Trisha wants to get it politics ... her kids. She says her Generation Alpha and Generation Beta offspring need a better world, and she's determined to give it to them.

Spencer Pratt is escalating his war of words with California Governor Gavin Newsom, calling BS on a recent message from the governor's office concerning texts about the Pacific Palisades wildfires.

Remember ... Spencer watched the Palisades home he shared with wife Heidi and their 2 sons burn to the ground in a raging L.A. wildfire in January 2025.

In an Instagram post shared Monday, Spencer revealed a letter sent to him from Gov. Newsom's office, responding to his request for "all text messages to, from, and including Governor Gavin Newsom regarding the 'Pacific Palisades' or simply 'Palisades' between January 6, 2025, and January 9, 2025."

Ashley Tisdale’s spicy "toxic mom group" exposé sent the internet into full spiral mode -- but TMZ has learned the wild theory that it involved certain celebs or had anything to do with politics is totally off-base... especially since Ashley isn’t even a Republican.

A rep for Ashley tells TMZ it’s unfortunate her "The Cut" essay -- meant to spotlight her experience with a toxic mom group -- is getting twisted into clickbait... adding there’s zero truth to what online "detectives" think they’ve cracked, especially since the piece wasn’t even about Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff or Meghan Trainor like they're assuming.

If that wasn't enough, folks jumped to the conclusion that Ashley’s fallout was tied to her being some hardcore MAGA type -- but her rep shuts that down hard, stressing to TMZ it’s completely false, especially since she’s a registered Democrat.

2:42 PM PT -- A Hilton spokesperson has given us an update ... saying they have been in contact with hotel management, who "apologized for the actions of their team, which was not in keeping with their policies." The rep adds, "They have taken immediate action to resolve this matter."

Hilton Hotel execs are investigating claims ICE agents were turned away from one of their Minnesota properties ... but they point out they're always very accommodating to government workers.

Here's the deal ... Homeland Security officials posted a message on X Monday, stating that Hilton Hotels has launched a coordinated campaign in Minneapolis, MN, to refuse service to Department of Homeland Security agents at the hotel in question.

The officials said that when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tried to book rooms at the hotel, their reservations were cancelled.

But, a Hilton spokesperson tells TMZ they don't own or operate the property and that the hotel is independently owned. The rep also said ... "Hilton Hotels serve as welcoming places for all" and "the actions referenced are not reflective of Hilton values."

The Pentagon has moved to downgrade Senator Mark Kelly's military rank and pay for his involvement in a highly controversial video released last November.

The politician, along with five other Democrat members of Congress, all of whom were former military and intelligence personnel, appeared in a widely circulated video encouraging service members to refuse to follow illegal orders.

The video resulted in widespread reactions from the Trump administration, and the President reposted a comment which apparently called for the Congress members to be hanged, although he later claimed he wasn't advocating for them to be sentenced to death.

Tatiana Schlossberg -- the late daughter of Caroline Kennedy and designer Edwin Schlossberg -- is being honored in NYC today ... and we have the somber shots of the family and friends making their way to her funeral.

The Kennedys gathered to mourn Tatiana at the St. Ignatius Loyola Church on NYC's Upper East Side -- the same church that hosted the funeral for Tatiana's grandmother, Jackie Kennedy.

As we reported ... Tatiana tragically passed away December 30 after reportedly being diagnosed with leukemia in 2024. She was just 35.

Ten people have been found guilty of cyberbullying France's first lady, Brigitte Macron, by spreading false claims about her gender.

A Paris court found the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron had been subjected to "particularly degrading" comments by the defendants, some of whom reportedly suggested Brigitte was transgender and a pedophile, reports the Associated Press.

The defendants were accused of sharing online comments to falsely claim Brigitte was born as a male. They also reportedly compared the 24-year age gap between Brigitte and Emmanuel to pedophilia.

Several defendants claimed their comments were intended to be humorous during their two-day trial, which took place last October.

Ousted Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared Monday in a New York court where they pleaded not guilty on all charges of alleged drug trafficking and other serious crimes.

Remember ... Maduro is charged with narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and other offenses, while Flores faces charges including cocaine importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns.