Senior legal affairs reporter for @POLITICO with a focus on democracy, law and the balance of power in government. Tips: kcheney@politico.com NY ➡️ BOS ➡️ DC
Arlington, VA
Joined March 2009
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Kyle Cheney retweeted
>@JohnCornyn has issues with DOJ's Elliot Gaiser, nominated for a Texas judgeship, saying the White House is "trying to air-drop" him at the last minute.
Also notes his ties to efforts to overturn 2020 election results: “I think there’s a better choice." apnews.com/article/donald-tr…
Kyle Cheney retweeted
NEW: The White House is threatening to criminally investigate Democrats for oversight demands they deem illegitimate.
But courts have afforded enormous latitude to lawmakers when it comes to "legislative purpose."
w/ @ChrisMarquette_
politico.com/live-updates/20…
NEW: The White House is threatening to criminally investigate Democrats for oversight demands they deem illegitimate.
But courts have afforded enormous latitude to lawmakers when it comes to "legislative purpose."
w/ @ChrisMarquette_
politico.com/live-updates/20…
People girding for a headline-grabbing choice for House counsel like Jack Smith are going to be disappointed. The House wants someone steeped in *congressional* power to reassert Congress' place in the constitutional scheme.
politico.com/news/2026/11/11…
She said the record isn't clear enough to support a TRO but is deeply troubled by the agency's conduct and the apparent mockery of a man it might have endangered. Case is still pending at PI stage.
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NOTABLE: Scharf's letter draws directly from a criminal statute that some MAGA allies (like @mrddmia) keep saying should be used against Trump adversaries: conspiracy against rights.
It's a charge Jack Smith used against Trump.
Left: 18 USC 241
Right: The Scharf letter
Kyle Cheney retweeted
READ the White House's letter warning of criminal investigation for congressional oversight demands. It's messaging for now but Dems are sure to point to it as evidence they need to issue quick subpoenas and can't waste time on fruitless negotiations. s3.documentcloud.org/documen…
READ the White House's letter warning of criminal investigation for congressional oversight demands. It's messaging for now but Dems are sure to point to it as evidence they need to issue quick subpoenas and can't waste time on fruitless negotiations. s3.documentcloud.org/documen…
Kyle Cheney retweeted
Democrats say voters still want them to investigate Jeffrey Epstein politico.com/news/2026/11/11…
Dems know, before they even start, that Trump's strategy is to stonewall and run out the 18-month clock on their probes, a tactic he has relied on for a decade. The House counsel will be a key driver of their bid to break through, or work around, the wall. politico.com/news/2026/11/11…
Kyle Cheney retweeted
Jeffries, a student of the Judiciary Committee and former Trump impeachment manager, is eager to reassert Congress’ power as a check on the presidency — and the House counsel will be the linchpin of that goal:
-The architect of an aggressive oversight strategy
-Gatekeeper of House subpoenas to ensure only the strongest cases make it to court
-Shield against repeated threats by a DOJ and admin that has already tried (and failed) to indict Democratic lawmakers.
Rep. Raskin and others say Jeffries knows how crucial the choice is and will make it quickly after securing the speaker’s gavel.
politico.com/news/2026/11/11…
Raskin told us the Jan. 6 committee — the crown jewel of the last Democratic oversight operation — taught them lessons about effective communication with the American people. Look for committees to incorporate those into their new strategy.
politico.com/news/2026/11/11…
Jeffries also thinks the entire counsel’s office needs to be expanded after years of attrition under a relatively docile GOP operation. politico.com/news/2026/11/11…
Jeffries, a student of the Judiciary Committee and former Trump impeachment manager, is eager to reassert Congress’ power as a check on the presidency — and the House counsel will be the linchpin of that goal:
-The architect of an aggressive oversight strategy
-Gatekeeper of House subpoenas to ensure only the strongest cases make it to court
-Shield against repeated threats by a DOJ and admin that has already tried (and failed) to indict Democratic lawmakers.
Rep. Raskin and others say Jeffries knows how crucial the choice is and will make it quickly after securing the speaker’s gavel.
politico.com/news/2026/11/11…
NEW: Discussions are well underway for what could be the most crucial early decision Hakeem Jeffries makes — appointing the House’s top lawyer to lead them in the constitutional clash with Trump.
Inside leadership’s thinking on the next House counsel: politico.com/news/2026/11/11…
This plays right into Dems’ hands. Threatening criminal process for oversight gives them ammo to go straight to subpoenas and tell a court ‘what’s the point of lengthy negotiations w a White House trying to criminalize congressional scrutiny?’
🚨BREAKING NEWS in @PunchbowlNews AM
The White House counsel warned Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the incoming House Oversight Committee chair, in a new letter that some of the new majority’s investigations could cross the line into criminal behavior.
It’s an audacious claim that signals the White House is taking an aggressive — and hugely controversial — stance toward Democratic oversight in the 120th Congress.
The letter, penned by White House counsel Will Scharf, says that Congress can only investigate matters for a legislative purpose — a position that Republicans have relied on and stretched in recent years.
Further, the Scharf letter, sent to Garcia on Monday, says that Democratic investigations are designed to “harass and aggrandize rather than to advance any legitimate legislative end.”
punchbowl.news/wh-hill_lette…
JUST IN: Judge Cobb rules that @DHSGenCounsel put a man in danger by publicizing his asylum paperwork claiming to be gay — and then mocking him for it. But she denies the man’s emergency motion for one reason: it’s not clear if DHS Secretary Mullin authorized the disclosure.
Peltola's lead is now greater than the margin of votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan — so even if you took the Trump approach and added his ballots to Sen. Sullivan's, it wouldn't change the outcome.
Two days after the election, a second court concluded that the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal voting by immigrants was built on an unconstitutional statute that usurps power from the states.
Magistrate Judge Anita Boor dismissed two cases:
storage.courtlistener.com/re…
