Alayna Treene

Reporter

Alayna Treene is a CNN reporter covering the White House.
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1418603 CNN Expansion D.C. 2023 - May 24-26, 2023 - Washington, D.C., Alayna Treene
1418603 CNN Expansion D.C. 2023 - May 24-26, 2023 - Washington, D.C., Alayna Treene
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This September 2024 photo shows Laura Loomer in Philadelphia.
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
White House fires multiple administration officials after president meets with far-right activist Laura Loomer
Apr 3, 2025
The White House has fired multiple administration officials, including at least three National Security Council staffers, three sources familiar with the move told CNN.
TikTok is seen in the app store of a Google Pixel on January 8.
Brook Joyner/CNN
Trump to weigh options for potential TikTok deal, sources say, with ban days away
Apr 2, 2025
Advisers to President Donald Trump are expected Wednesday to present the president with options for a deal to invest in TikTok that involves a number of well-heeled venture capital, private equity funds and tech companies, multiple sources familiar with the discussions say, as the White House tries to cleave the popular social video app away from Chinese ownership ahead of an April 5 deadline.
The head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund Kirill Dmitriev poses for a picture after the U.S.-Russia talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 18, 2025. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Senior Russian official visits Washington for talks with Trump administration
Apr 2, 2025
Senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev has arrived in Washington and is expected to meet top Trump official Steve Witkoff on Wednesday for talks on strengthening relations between the two countries as they seek to end the war in Ukraine, according to two sources familiar with the plans.
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• Video 1:08
CNN/Getty Images
Video An inside look at Trump’s tariff announcement 1:08
Apr 2, 2025
President Donald Trump is set to announce the details of his tariff plan at 4 p.m. ET, as he aims to redraw economic agreements with US trading partners. CNN’s Alayna Treene reports from the White House.
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on his return to Washington, D.C. from Florida on Sunday.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Trump accuses Ukraine’s Zelensky of ‘trying to back out’ of proposed minerals deal
Apr 1, 2025
US President Donald Trump accused the Ukrainian president of “trying to back out” of the minerals deal expected to be agreed between the two countries as early as this week, adding that Volodymyr Zelensky would face “big problems” if he didn’t sign an agreement. But Ukraine has highlighted that the conditions of the deal changed significantly in recent days.
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 26: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on March 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump announced 25% tariffs on all foreign-made cars. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Win McNamee/Getty Images
How an app unfamiliar to Trump rocked his week
Mar 29, 2025
As President Donald Trump’s advisers this week took on the unenviable task of informing him a journalist he loathes was inadvertently added to a group chat discussing secret attack plans, one key detail required some further explanation.
US Vice President James David 'JD' Vance and his wife Usha Vance pose at the Elysee Presidential Palace before a working lunch, on the sidelines of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summi in Paris, FRANCE -11/02/2025.//JEE_dejusa.23/Credit:J.E.E/SIPA/2502121223 (Sipa via AP Images)
J.E.E/SIPA/AP/File
JD Vance accuses Denmark of neglecting Greenland, makes highest-profile case for US control of the island
Mar 28, 2025
Vice President JD Vance on Friday made the highest-profile case to date for American control of Greenland during a controversial visit to the semiautonomous island, which its residents had resisted and its leaders said was unwelcome.
President Donald Trump listens to a reporter's question in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Tuesday in Washington, DC.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Trump stands by Waltz as the president and his allies deploy a familiar playbook
Mar 26, 2025
President Donald Trump not only stood by his embattled national security adviser on Tuesday, amid fever-pitch conversations about Mike Waltz’s fate in the wake of an extraordinary security breach; he invited him for a seat at the table in the Cabinet Room to send an undeniable message of support.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks, during a joint press conference with Finland's President Alexander Stubb, at the Presidential Palace, in Helsinki, Finland, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva via AP)
Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva/AP
Zelensky agrees to pause attacks on energy in call with Trump, but questions remain about what Trump and Putin hammered out
Mar 19, 2025
The White House is ramping up its efforts to make good on President Donald Trump’s long-held promise to end the Russia-Ukraine war, with Washington, Moscow and Kyiv all expected to send officials to Saudi Arabia for meetings in the coming days.
TEHRAN, IRAN - JUNE 28: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seen as he casts his vote for the snap presidential election at the Imam Khomeini Husseiniya on June 28, 2024 in Tehran, Iran. Iran's Guardian Council had approved six candidates for the June 28 election to replace president Ebrahim Raisi, who died last month in a helicopter crash. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
Majid Saeedi/Getty Images
Trump gives Iran two-month deadline to reach new nuclear deal
Mar 19, 2025
President Donald Trump, in a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proposing negotiations on a new nuclear deal, made clear that Iran has a two-month deadline to reach an agreement, a source familiar with the letter’s contents told CNN.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.
Getty Images
After call with Trump, Putin agrees to pause attacks on Ukraine’s energy and infrastructure targets
Mar 19, 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to temporarily halt attacks on energy and infrastructure targets in Ukraine after a lengthy telephone call with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, the White House said, as Russia stopped short of signing off on a broader ceasefire to end the three-year-long conflict in Ukraine.
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• Video 3:53
Pool
Video Reporter asks Trump if he defied judge’s court order 3:53
Mar 17, 2025
Hundreds of mostly Venezuelan alleged gang members were deported from the United States to a prison in El Salvador, with the Trump administration invoking wartime powers to speed up removals despite a court ruling halting the move. CNN’s Alayna Treene reports on how President Trump is defending the deportations.
Migrants seeking asylum in the United States gather near the border wall after crossing a razor wire fence as a member of the Texas National Guard escorts them on December 19, 2024.
Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters/File
Trump expected to invoke wartime authority to speed up mass deportation effort in coming days
Mar 14, 2025
The Trump administration is expected to invoke a sweeping wartime authority to speed up the president’s mass deportation pledge in the coming days, according to four sources familiar with the discussions.
FILE - Former Congressman Dr. David Weldon speaks in The Villages, Fla., on May 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Brendan Farrington, File)
Brendan Farrington/AP/FILE
White House withdraws nomination of Dr. Dave Weldon to lead CDC
Mar 13, 2025
The White House has withdrawn its nomination of Dr. Dave Weldon to serve as the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two Trump administration official familiar with the decision told CNN.
President Donald Trump leaves the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 12.
Nathan Howard/Reuters
Salesman-in-chief: Trump leans on Freedom Caucus to avert government shutdown
Mar 12, 2025
Donald Trump just convinced dozens of Republican hardliners to do what House speakers from John Boehner to Kevin McCarthy could not: Walk the plank on one of Washington’s dreaded short-term spending bills.
The U.S. Department of Education building stands in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Aug. 17, 2020.
Erin Scott/Bloomberg/Getty Images/File
Education Department cutting nearly half of workforce
Mar 12, 2025
The US Education Department said it is cutting nearly 50% of its workforce, according to senior agency officials, as President Donald Trump has proposed eliminating the agency altogether.

About

Alayna Treene is a CNN reporter covering the White House.

Treene delivered integral coverage of President Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign, including reporting live from Trump’s assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Treene crisscrossed the country covering Trump’s primaries, caucuses and general election.

Frequently positioned in Palm Beach, Florida during the 2024 Presidential transition, Treene scooped key cabinet picks for the new Trump Administration, including Stephen Miller being named a Deputy Chief of Staff.

Treene joined CNN in January 2023 as a reporter covering the Trump campaign.

Treene previously worked as a congressional reporter at Axios covering Capitol Hill, the Biden administration and elections. She also co-authored the platform’s top political newsletter, “Axios Sneak Peek,” a nightly lookahead with the best scoops from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. She has interviewed several political leaders for Axios on HBO and been featured on a variety of outlets including CNN, MSNBC, CBS, Fox News and more.

Treene’s extensive news background began as an intern at CBS News, Variety, NBC News, and Bloomberg. She joined Axios as a staff reporter in 2016, and was eventually appointed White House reporter covering the Trump administration where she led impeachment inquiry coverage and broke news on a series of private conversations and investigative plans including the subpoenas of Donald Trump Jr. over Russia matters and then-acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. She also led coverage of the January 6th Committee Hearings, as well as closely covered the House and Senate during the Biden administration.

Treene is a George Washington University graduate and will be based in Washington, DC.