White House

Britney Spears got a special invite ... to speak before Congress.

Reps. Eric Swalwell and Charlie Crist fired off a letter to Spears, asking her and her attorney, Mathew Rosengart, to explain "how you achieved justice..." The 2 congressmen wrote, "There is no doubt your story will empower countless others outside the millions that are already inspired by you and your art."

The 2 Congressmen say they want to learn "about the emotional and financial turmoil you faced within the conservatorship system." The letter goes on to say they are concerned that Britney was "forced to engage in employment against your will."

The Congressmen make it clear in the letter ... they're fully on board the #FreeBritney movement, saying, "We applaud your inspiring fight and stand ready to assist in any way we can."

For her part, Britney said she was grateful ... "I felt heard and like I mattered for the first time in my life !!!" She got the letter in December, but said she wasn't nearly at the healing stage she's in now.

Rep. Crist appeared on TMZ Live today to talk about the invite.

Bill Maher for President??? Some folks are talking about it, and now a United States Senator is saying it's not the craziest idea in the world.

We got South Dakota Senator John Thune Monday at Reagan National Airport, and although he laughed out loud at first, he pivoted and said not only did Bill have the right to run ... he might even have an edge because celebrity matters in the world of presidential politics.

This all started a week ago, when Maher mused on 'Real Time' that Democrats are angry at him for criticizing the party but Republicans are now suggesting he throw his hat in the ring.

Fox News anchor Dana Perino suggested it a while back, and now Senator Thune is telling Bill ... if you wanna run, go for it. But, he offered a warning -- presidential politics is a rough and tumble business, so buyer beware.

A coupe of things ... first, Maher doesn't want to run. He called the "movement" "goofy s***," so he's keeping his night job.

Beyond that ... Maher is not criticizing Democrats because he wants them to lose ... it's the opposite. He's criticizing the Dems because he thinks they've done "goofy s***" and they're gonna lose to the Republicans if they don't get with the program.

The tension between Elon Musk and President Joe Biden is on the rise again ... with the billionaire hurling new, and colorful, insults over a perceived White House diss.

Elon was once again not invited to a summit meeting on Thursday, where top leaders – including Ford and GM's CEOs – are working together to promote Biden's "Build Back Better" bill.

The Prez gave them high marks for producing electric vehicles ... which Elon, Mr. Tesla himself, clearly took as a direct shot.

Musk lashed out on Twitter, saying ... "Biden is treating the American public like fools" -- and, for good measure, he called the President "a damp [sock] puppet in human form."

No response from the White House. Ditto for Lamb Chop.

This also happened last year after an electric vehicle White House summit in August. If you're wondering why Elon's being shut out ... WH Press Secretary Jen Psaki said back then, "The 3 largest employers of the United Auto Workers" had been invited. Yeah, it's because Tesla's factories are not unionized.

Elon's racking up opponents in DC -- you'll recall he's also been in a war of words with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who's railed on him for not paying enough income tax ... in her eyes.

Elon fired back, "You remind me of when I was a kid and my friend's angry Mom would just randomly yell at everyone for no reason."

There are 4 new legs wandering the West Wing -- the Biden family's welcoming a new cat into the White House ... and let's hope this feline likes dogs.

Willow is a 2-year-old tabby, and Dr. Jill Biden's office says she's got some history with the Prez and First Lady dating back to before they were even in the White House.

The First Lady's Press Secretary Michael LaRosa says Willow jumped on a stage with then-candidate Joe Biden during a 2020 campaign stop at a farm -- and the farm owners said they saw an "immediate bond" between them.

The cat's name is an homage to Jill's hometown: Willow Grove, PA.

LaRosa says Willow's been fostered with friends and acquaintances of the Bidens since then ... just waiting for the right moment to make her White House debut.

Remember, it's already been ruff-going at 1600 Pennsylvania with the Biden's dogs.

As we reported back in June, Champ, the Biden family dog, died at the age of 13 ... then Major had to be re-homed because he'd had multiple biting incidents ... but he was immediately replaced by a new German shepherd puppy, Commander.

So, now that the dust has settled ... the White House is officially a one dog, one cat home -- and, of course, there are still plenty of rats.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring after more than 2 decades on the bench -- the timing is certainly significant, and the battle over his replacement will be fascinating.

Justice Breyer was appointed to the Supreme Court way back in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, and there was mounting pressure from Democrats for him to step aside for some new blood.

From the outside, it certainly appears Breyer learned a lesson from Ruth Bader Ginsburg's situation -- with RBG not stepping down when a Democrat was in office as she grew older, ultimately leading to Donald Trump's hand-picked replacement ... Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

The timing of Breyer's retirement is interesting ... the midterm elections are looming and there's a possibility the Democrats could lose their slim majority in the Senate, which would make it nearly impossible for President Joe Biden's pick for a new Justice to get confirmed.

Breyer will remain on the bench until the Supreme Court's current term ends this summer.

Republicans have made clear their intentions to block any potential candidate put forward by President Biden, if the GOP wins back a Senate majority in the midterms.

Right now the Democrats hold the majority in the House and Senate, so look for President Biden to push through a replacement for Justice Breyer rather quickly.

Sen. Mitch McConnell's attempts to backtrack his remark about Black voters aren't flying with some people ... especially the leader of Black Voters Matter.

LaTosha Brown, who co-founded the group, tells TMZ ... the Senate Minority Leader's comments weren't shocking, but most certainly disturbing, because she says the comment was rooted in racism.

She admits McConnell probably didn't intend to say what he said, but LaTosha believes that's what he believes ... so, it just came out. As she puts it, "The lips will betray the heart."

As you know, Sen. McConnell's come under fire for the comment that certainly sounded like he doesn't view Black people as Americans. He said, "Well, the concern is misplaced, because if you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans."

What made it even worse was the fact he said it just before leading the push to defeat the John Lewis Voting Rights Act in the Senate. In fact, McConnell was attempting to explain why he thinks there's no need for the legislation.

Bill Maher is back!!! And boy, this one's a doozy ... a plan for Democrats to stay in power after the 2024 election ... and it involves Joe Biden, Barack Obama and gay marriage.

This is going to sound absurd on its face ... but there's a hugely important message behind the farce, so play along. Maher says Republicans have changed the rules and even flouted the law with zero shame to get their way ... and Democrats need to do the same thing.

Maher says whether fair or not, Biden doesn't seem to be a winning candidate in '24. He ticks off others like Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders but dismisses them too.

So, who then? Bill says the only person who Democrats will swarm to the polls to vote for is Barack Obama.

So, here's his plan ... Obama and Biden divorce their wives (but only in title ... they'd still be together) and then marry each other. Obama goes back into the White House and becomes a de facto Prez.

Now, Bill's still gotta learn the lingo ... he calls Obama "First Lady." Bill, it's "First Gentleman." It's 2022.

Now, don't misunderstand his point. Maher is saying Democrats are losing to Republicans because of rule adherence, something scoffed at by the GOP. Bill wants the Dems to pull a Gus -- Remember the movie, "Gus," where a mule became a kicker for a football team after the team argued there was no specific rule preventing mules from becoming team members?

He's not really saying Obama and Biden should marry ... he's making a do-or-die point.

BTW ... in case you're wondering, Biden couldn't pick Obama as his VP ... the 12th Amendment prohibits a Vice President from being elected if they're not qualified to be President, and Obama can't become Prez again because of the 2-term limit.

Bernie Sanders is making money for some of his constituents, thanks to a meme from the Inauguration ... because folks are buying more of those famous mittens on the 1st anniversary.

Here's the deal ... Bernie became an instant meme when he wore a pair of mittens, gifted to him by an elementary school teacher in Vermont, when Joe Biden was sworn into office on a chilly day in Washington D.C.

People started buying tons of handmade mittens from Jen Ellis, the woman who sent that pair to Bernie back in 2016, and now we're told sales are spiking again.

Jen was overwhelmed by the initial demand ... she partnered with the Vermont Teddy Bear Company to manufacture and distribute the mittens infamously worn by Bernie ... and the company tells us they saw a 50% spike in mitten sales Thursday, which marked one year since the Inauguration.

VTBC says they attribute the uptick in mitten sales to the anniversary of Bernie's viral moment ... with folks mostly snapping up blue and gray mittens, even though there's no exact replica of Bernie's for sale.

The company says they've sold 12,000 pairs of mittens since partnering with Jen back in March 2021 ... and to keep up with the demand they hired 10 more workers.

Jen says she gets tons of fan mail now ... people send her art, books and mittens they've made ... but Jen tells us she's still focused on teaching her 2nd-grade students and doesn't want the mittens side hustle to become her full-time gig.

President Biden paid tribute to his late congressional colleague, Harry Reid, this weekend -- continuing a tradition of funeral-going that the Washington Post appears to take issue with.

The former Nevada senator, who died last week, was honored Saturday in his home state through a memorial service ... one which featured major speakers from the Democratic party, including Biden himself, former President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and others.

46 delivered remarks about what Reid meant to American politics, as did Obama and the rest ... but just a day earlier, WaPo published a story that was all about how Biden has spent much of his presidency doing exactly this -- with what sounds like critical tone, no less.

The story is titled "Biden, funerals and a bygone America." The text itself details how consoling families of the fallen, especially old friends of his, is very important to JB ... and how some aides apparently avoid trying to stop him, as they've found it futile to do so.

The sentiment of the story -- despite never quite stating it explicitly in the body itself -- is that Biden's constant grieving is a bit of a turnoff and somewhat of a time-waster ... which was hit home in a since-deleted tweet by the Post that they initially used as a caption.

It read, "Biden, who heads to Sen. Harry M. Reid's memorial Saturday -- his seventh as president -- uses funerals to honor his friendships and make a point about bipartisanship. Not everyone thinks it's the best use of his time."

Almost immediately, the Post started getting a massive amount of backlash -- including from Press Sec. Jen Psaki -- and they deleted the tweet, later saying it didn't accurately represent the scope of the story.

That's still up for debate to many ... who wonder, what's the point of this story??? According to critics, the whole purpose of writing this was to highlight what WaPo perceives as Biden being out of touch/overly optimistic in trying to cling to a political dynamic of the past.

Kanye West's Presidential campaign was a total bust -- and cost him serious points in his marriage -- but that doesn't mean he's not keeping his political friends close ... dining with Jared Kushner in Miami.

Ye donned a neon hoodie, as he met up with Kushner -- the former Senior Advisor to President Trump, and of course, his son-in-law -- for a dinner meeting at Carbone in Miami Beach.

Unclear what the two discussed, but they've had ties in the past ... Jared also played a big role in getting Kim Kardashian to the White House to speak about her prison reform efforts with then-President Trump.

Of course, Kanye has openly supported Trump in the past and got folks talking when he wore a red MAGA hat. He recently said his wearing the hat caused issues with him and Kim.

Kanye's been back and forth between NYC and Miami this week, but his new boo Julia Fox was nowhere to be seen during the rendezvous with Kushner.

The Oregon man who blurted out to President Biden, "Let's go Brandon," has tried to clarify his remark, saying he was joking, but he's clearly not apologizing.

Jared Schmeck was on a call with the Prez and First Lady on XMAS Eve, and it was super cordial ... even jokey. The 35-year-old, former Medford cop talked with J&J about Christmas presents for his kids and other non-controversial stuff. At the end of the call, Schmeck says with clear intent, "Let's go Brandon," code for "f*** Joe Biden."

Biden weirdly repeated the phrase and then at least made it appear the insult rolled off his back, as he continued to wish Schmeck a Merry Christmas.

As for regrets ... not even a few. Schmeck says he meant no disrespect, but telling the Oregonian, “At the end of the day, I have nothing against Mr. Biden, but I am frustrated because I think he can be doing a better job."

If there's any question as to whether Schmeck meant it ... well, he posted the vid on his YouTube page.

Schmeck says he stands "100% behind what I did and what I said." He told the Oregonian he's not a Trumper but thinks Biden's way off base when it comes to federal vaccine mandates. He's also pissed off over inflation.

President Biden heard what his haters have been saying in code for months now -- a "f*** you" jab that one guy had the gall to say right to POTUS' face, on Christmas Eve no less.

JB and the First Lady were making calls to military families and their kids Friday from all over the country ... talking Christmas, presents, wish lists and of course, Santa Claus. In fact, 46 and the missus were using the trusty NORAD Santa tracker to help in their discussions.

During one of the calls ... a father hopped on, and wished the Bidens a Merry Christmas. All seemed fine until his last words before hanging up ... as he clearly said, "Let's go Brandon."

Joe and Dr. Biden didn't seem to understand what it really meant, especially Joe -- who actually repeated it word for word himself and added, "I agree." Both even chuckled upon hearing it, which doesn't make sense on its face ... y'know, since it's super derogatory.

You probably know by now ... the phrase "Let's go Brandon" has become a joke in conservative circles. It actually means "F*** Joe Biden" ... and got flipped into 'LGB' because of a reporter's attempt to cover up what a NASCAR crowd was chanting during a live shot.

Even though the guy who unintentionally spurred the meme, Brandon Brown, has said he's not a fan of it at all ... that hasn't stopped lots of people from adopting it and using it in several different settings ... like on the intercom of an airplane, for example.

Some have called this a slur, and highly disrespectful -- but in light of Donald Trump receiving similar treatment from his own opposition throughout his presidency, others say it's fair game.

It's very much out with the old and in with the new, as President Biden's dog Major is getting the boot from the White House ... and several biting incidents followed by failed training attempts to fix the pup seem to be the catalyst.

The White House just announced POTUS' German Shepherd will "live in a quieter environment with family friends" ... with the Bidens making the move after consulting with dog trainers, animal behaviorists and veterinarians.

You'll recall ... Major was involved in 2 biting incidents at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. ... with the first one in March getting him and his late pal, Champ, sent back to Delaware.

Major eventually returned from the dog house, but there was another biting incident at the White House only days after his return ... resulting in a new trainer and some extra dog handlers.

As we reported ... Joe and Jill have a new puppy at The White House, a new German Shepherd puppy named Commander, arrived as an early Christmas present.

Christmas came early for President Biden -- the guy has a new four-legged addition to his family ... and he's showing off his present at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

First Lady Jill Biden's press secretary confirmed Monday ... yes, the Bidens have a new dog in their midst, a German Shepherd puppy named Commander. Shortly after the news broke, the Prez took to Twitter himself and gave official word with a sweet shot.

He tagged his pic with "Welcome to the White House, Commander" ... showing off the cute little guy running through some grass with a ball in his mouth.

Joe posted a video, too, that featured Commander ... and he seems to be making himself at home already.

Word of a new pooch in the Biden brood started percolating when folks saw Commander here running across the South Lawn. According to reports ... he's a gift to the Prez from his own family, one they apparently couldn't keep hidden until this weekend.

The dog is a welcome sight, we're sure, for 46 and Dr. Biden ... who just lost their first beloved Shepherd, Champ, back in June at the age of 13. They have another GS, Major, that's still kicking -- but he's been a bit of a bad boy lately with his chompers.

Here's hoping Commander is better behaved. Oh, and BTW, the pets could well keep rolling into the front doors of the WH in the near future. The First Lady said earlier this year they'd be getting a cat soon.

The United States will not send an official delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, President Joe Biden and the White House announced Monday.

The decision to withdraw from the Olympic games is a statement against China's "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

The Biden administration told reporters in November that they were "considering" a diplomatic boycott of the '22 Beijing Olympics ... and after allegations of forced labor and human rights abuses in China's western region of Xinjiang continued, #46 put his foot down.

Psaki said at a White House briefing Monday that Biden was sending a "clear message" that the U.S. will not tolerate the alleged human rights abuses in China ... adding that things cannot be "business as usual" there.

The move from the White House is a deviation from the norm ... it's tradition for the U.S. and other nations to send high-profile delegates to represent their respective countries at the games. Biden's wife, Jill Biden, participated in this past summer's Olympics in Tokyo.

As for U.S. athletes ... they'll still be allowed to compete in the Olympics -- and Psaki said they'll have the Biden administration's "full support." Psaki, though, said the administration would not be "contributing to the fanfare of the games."

President Biden resumed what had been paused for a good while in D.C. -- namely, POTUS being in attendance for the Kennedy Center Honors ... and hosting them afterward.

JB held a reception Sunday at the White House, with this year's recipients of the lifetime achievement award being in attendance, front and center. Among those who were honored -- Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler, Berry Gordy, Justino Diaz and Joni Mitchell.

There were a lot of other high profile people on hand as well -- including First Lady Jill Biden, VP Kamala Harris, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Steve Martin, David Letterman and others.

Biden -- who was suited and booted in a tux, delivered some remarks -- highlighting each person's contribution via their art -- going down the list one by one and singing their praises. He also shouted the late Stephen Sondheim, who recently passed away.

Each honoree showed off their rainbow-colored ribbons that were placed around their necks, and they each stood when called upon. The whole reception lasted a little less than half an hour -- but even so, it meant a lot to folks who hadn't seen this since 2016.

President Trump snubbed the ceremony for the first three years in office -- and never hosted any of the recipients after threats of a boycott came down in 2017, his first year in office