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Trump Admin Asks SCOTUS For Relief In USAID Funding Case

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The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to block a lower court order attempting to compel the government to disburse billions of dollars in foreign grants.

In his emergency application, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer requested the justices to stay an order from D.C. District Court Judge Amir Ali. That directive instructed the Trump administration to disburse billions of dollars in U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) grants for various nongovernmental organizations.

“This Court should stay the district court’s preliminary injunction requiring the government to make available for obligation the full amount of the funds Congress appropriated in the 2024 Appropriations Act,” Sauer wrote.

The case stems back to the early weeks of the administration, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio — in compliance with an executive order by President Trump — issued a freeze on all USAID grants. The move prompted legal action by various recipients of the funds, with plaintiffs filing their case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Like clockwork, Biden-appointed Judge Amir Ali issued a Feb. 25 directive ordering the Trump administration to resume distributing the grant money to their intended recipients. This ultimately led the government to file a motion with SCOTUS asking the high court to pause Ali’s ruling. (Read more from “Trump Admin Asks SCOTUS For Relief In USAID Funding Case” HERE)

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Trump Signs Executive Order Imposing Federal Penalty for Burning U.S. Flag

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President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the Department of Justice to prosecute individuals who burn or desecrate the American flag in a manner that could spark violence or incite riots.

The move marks one of Trump’s strongest challenges yet to long-standing First Amendment protections. In Texas v. Johnson (1989), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5–4 that flag burning constitutes symbolic speech and is therefore protected under the Constitution. But Trump argued the ruling does not shield actions that lead to public disorder.

“As you know, through a very sad court, I guess it was a five-to-four decision, they called it freedom of speech,” Trump said during the signing. “But there’s another reason, which is perhaps much more important. It’s called death — because what happens when you burn a flag, is the area goes crazy. If you have hundreds of people, they go crazy.”

Trump insisted that flag burning often provokes violent reactions. “When you burn the American flag, it incites riots at levels that we’ve never seen before,” he added. “People go crazy — in a way, both ways. There are some that are going crazy for doing it. There are others that are angry — angry about them doing it.”

Under the order, Attorney General Pam Bondi has been tasked with investigating and prosecuting such cases, but only in circumstances where prosecution would not violate constitutional free speech protections.

The penalty for conviction will carry a mandatory federal prison sentence. “What the penalty is going to be, if you burn a flag, you get one year in jail — no early exits, no nothing,” Trump declared. “You get one year in jail.”

The announcement immediately reignited debate on Capitol Hill. While Democrats have largely opposed Trump’s executive actions, efforts to restrict flag desecration have historically garnered bipartisan support.

Trump’s order revives the long-standing debate over whether flag burning should remain protected expression or be subject to legal penalties when tied to unrest.

With the new order in place, the Justice Department will now determine how far prosecutors can go without running afoul of constitutional limits — a battle that seems destined for another test in the courts.

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Trump Fires Federal Reserve Governor over Mortgage Fraud Allegations — But She Refuses to Step Down

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President Trump fired Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook Monday over allegations that she committed mortgage fraud.

“Pursuant to my authority under Article Il of the Constitution of the United States and the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, as amended, you are hereby removed from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, effective immediately,” Trump wrote in a letter addressed to Cook, which he posted on Truth Social.

Cook, however, argued that Trump has “no authority” to fire her and indicated that she’s not leaving her post, in a statement.

“President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so,” Cook said, according to multiple outlets. “I will not resign. I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.”

The longtime academic, who previously served on former President Barack Obama’s White House Council of Economic Advisers and former President Joe Biden’s transition team, has hired former first son Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, to represent her. (Read more from “Trump Fires Federal Reserve Governor over Mortgage Fraud Allegations — But She Refuses to Step Down” HERE)

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RFK Jr. May Roll Back Major Trump-Era COVID-19 Vaccine “Achievement”

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President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are allegedly considering a plan to ban COVID-19 vaccines “within months,” according to an associate of Kennedy’s. The move would represent a reversal of what Trump previously called a “monumental achievement” during his administration.

Trump said in December 2020 that the development of the vaccine under Operation Warp Speed was a “historic” success, crediting doctors, scientists, pharmaceutical executives, and government leaders for expediting the process during the height of the pandemic. The vaccines were later met with criticism from segments of Trump’s political base, along with ongoing questions about their efficacy and safety.

Kennedy, who has faced scrutiny for past statements on vaccine safety, announced earlier this month that HHS would withdraw $500 million in federal funding for 22 mRNA vaccine development projects. He said the decision was based on data showing the vaccines “fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.” Kennedy has maintained he is not “anti-vaccine.”

An HHS spokesperson told Newsweek the agency does not comment on potential policy decisions. The White House dismissed claims that the administration plans to end COVID vaccine access.

“The Administration is relying on Gold Standard Science and is committed to radical transparency to make decisions that affect all Americans,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said Monday. “Unless announced by the Administration, however, any discussion about HHS policy should be dismissed as baseless speculation.”

Kennedy’s associate, cardiologist Aseem Malhotra, linked the possible shift in policy to a 2022 research paper published in the journal Vaccine. The paper reported a secondary analysis of clinical trial data for Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines and found that vaccinated adults showed a 16 percent higher risk of “excess serious adverse events” compared to those who received a placebo.

The White House has not indicated that any formal changes to vaccine policy are under consideration.

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Trump To Sign Order Aimed At Eliminating Policy That Supports Accused Criminals

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President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order Monday ensuring “cashless bail” is eliminated for criminals arrested in the nation’s capital, a White House official confirmed to the Daily Caller.

The executive order directs the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force to ensure those arrested in Washington, D.C., are “held in federal custody to the fullest extent permissible under applicable law, and to pursue Federal charges and pretrial detention for such arrestees whenever possible,” according to a fact sheet obtained by the Caller. If the city keeps its cashless bail policy in place, the executive order permits the administration to potentially punish D.C. via federal funding decisions or other methods.

The president also is expected to sign an executive order Monday aimed at ending nationwide cashless bail policies, a fact sheet obtained by the Caller says.

Under the order, the attorney general (AG) must submit a list of states and local jurisdictions with cashless bail policies. The action then instructs the administration to “identify Federal funds currently provided to cashless bail jurisdictions that may be suspended or terminated,” the fact sheet writes.

The third executive order the president plans to sign will direct the AG to prosecute those who desecrate and burn the American flag, according to a fact sheet obtained by the Caller.

(Read more from “Trump To Sign Order Aimed At Eliminating Policy That Supports Accused Criminals” HERE)

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FBI Raids John Bolton’s Homes in Probe of Alleged Classified Document Mishandling

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Former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton is under renewed investigation for allegedly mishandling classified national security documents, with FBI officials telling The Post that criminal charges should be pursued.

Federal agents raided Bolton’s Maryland home and Washington, D.C., office Friday morning, seeking evidence related to allegations he improperly transferred highly sensitive materials to a private server and shared them with family members before his dismissal from the Trump White House in September 2019.

Senior FBI officials said the allegations were first identified in 2020 through a “very specific intelligence capacity” that flagged the potential transfer of documents from Bolton’s White House desk to his wife and daughter. The investigation, which was distinct from the earlier probe into Bolton’s 2020 book The Room Where It Happened, carried into the Biden administration but was later “shelved,” according to sources.

“The [Biden administration] had probable cause to know that he had taken material that was detrimental to the national security of the United States, and they made no effort to retrieve it,” one senior FBI official said.

Some investigators characterized the case as “air-tight” and raised concerns that the Biden administration’s decision to halt the probe may have been politically motivated, given Bolton’s vocal criticism of President Donald Trump.

The matter resurfaced after FBI Director Kash Patel, confirmed in February, requested briefings on sensitive cases. Sources said Patel initially believed the Bolton file pertained to the closed investigation into his book but was told it involved an entirely separate matter that had not been pursued.

The raid was launched Tuesday in an effort to uncover further evidence regarding the alleged mishandling of classified information.

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Trump Mobilizes National Guardsmen to Assist With Illegal Immigration and Crime Crackdown

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President Donald Trump is mobilizing approximately 1,700 National Guard troops across 19 states in support of his broader effort to combat illegal immigration and crime, according to multiple reports.

Fox News reported Friday that Guard members will be activated in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming. The deployments are expected to run from August through mid-November.

While the troops will support federal operations, they will remain under the authority of their state governors, Stars and Stripes noted.

A U.S. Defense official told Fox that the mobilized soldiers will play a supporting role in a “sweeping federal interagency effort,” serving both as logistical backing and a visible deterrent. The Guard members will assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with case management, transportation, and administrative tasks linked to migrant processing. Those duties may include collecting personal data, fingerprinting, DNA swabbing, and photographing individuals in custody.

The move comes amid a broader campaign by the Trump administration to tighten enforcement of immigration laws and address urban crime. Violent crime in Washington, D.C., has dropped 22 percent in the past week, according to Breitbart News. The decline follows Trump’s recent executive actions invoking Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which placed the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control and activated Guard forces in the capital.

The latest deployments mark a significant expansion of the administration’s use of the National Guard as both an operational and symbolic tool in addressing two of Trump’s central policy priorities: immigration enforcement and public safety.

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Trump to Patrol DC With Cops, Military Tonight as Part of His Crime Crackdown in the Capital

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President Trump told conservative radio host Todd Starnes Thursday he plans on tagging along with DC police and National Guard members as they patrol the capital this evening.

“I’m going to be going out tonight, I think with the police and with the military of course,” the president said. “So we’re going to do a job — the National Guard is great, they’ve done a fantastic job.”

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Thursday marked 10 days since Trump federalized the Metropolitan Police Department and called out the National Guard in response to a series of high-profile crimes in the district.

Yesterday, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth treated National Guard members to lunch at DC’s Union Station.

(Read more from “Trump to Patrol DC With Cops, Military Tonight as Part of His Crime Crackdown in the Capital” HERE)

Trump Calls Netanyahu a ‘War Hero’ and Adds: ‘I Guess I Am, Too’

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President Trump praised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel as a “war hero” for ordering his country’s forces to bombard Iran’s nuclear sites — and then said that the same label should apply to himself.

In an interview aired Tuesday with Mark Levin, the conservative talk show host and author who is a prominent supporter of the president, Mr. Trump described Mr. Netanyahu as a “good man.” His words echoed the mood of self-congratulation over the strikes on Iran when the two leaders met at the White House in July.

“He’s a war hero, because we work together. He’s a war hero,” Mr. Trump said of the Israeli leader. “I guess I am too,” he added.

Israel in mid-June launched waves of airstrikes against Iran, hitting important nuclear facilities in Natanz and Isfahan. It killed much of the country’s military chain of command along with several nuclear scientists. Then, on June 22, the United States used large bombs to strike the Iranian nuclear site at Fordo, which is buried under a mountain. (Read more from “Trump Calls Netanyahu a ‘War Hero’ and Adds: ‘I Guess I Am, Too’” HERE)

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U.S. Deploys Warships to Venezuela in Trump’s Cartel Crackdown

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The United States has deployed three Aegis guided-missile destroyers to waters off Venezuela as part of President Trump’s escalating campaign against Latin American drug cartels, U.S. officials confirmed this week.

According to an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to the Associated Press, the USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham, and USS Sampson will operate in the region over the coming months in support of counter-narcotics missions. The deployment marks one of the largest U.S. naval shows of force in the Caribbean in recent years.

The move underscores President Trump’s strategy of using the military to pressure cartels he blames for flooding U.S. communities with fentanyl and fueling violence through cross-border trafficking and smuggling networks. Trump has argued that traditional law enforcement and diplomatic measures have failed to stop the cartels, vowing instead to “take the fight directly to them.”

The president has also increased pressure on Mexico, warning President Claudia Sheinbaum that the U.S. military could be deployed inside Mexican territory if her government fails to rein in cartel activity. Sheinbaum has firmly rejected the idea of U.S. intervention but has pledged to intensify Mexico’s anti-cartel operations.

In February, the U.S. formally designated Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, El Salvador’s MS-13, and six major Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. The designations give federal agencies expanded authority to pursue their members, finances, and global networks.

The crackdown also ties into Trump’s broader immigration agenda. The Department of Homeland Security reports that more than 324,000 illegal immigrants have been deported since the start of the year — about 70 percent with criminal records or cartel ties. Another 1.2 million individuals are estimated to have left the U.S. voluntarily under the administration’s stepped-up enforcement measures.

At sea, the U.S. Coast Guard has tripled its presence along the southern maritime approaches, focusing on detecting and interdicting drug and human smuggling ventures. Officials say the addition of the destroyers will expand surveillance and interdiction capabilities, creating what amounts to a layered defense against cartel networks operating in the Caribbean and South America.

The deployment of U.S. warships near Venezuela is expected to strain Washington’s already tense relationship with Caracas, which has long accused the U.S. of using counternarcotics operations as a pretext for intervention. Still, U.S. officials maintain the mission is focused squarely on dismantling trafficking pipelines, not sparking new conflict.

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