In a letter sent Thursday to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, President Donald Trump said he would not be spending $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid — effectively cutting the budget without going through the legislative branch. The letter was posted Friday morning on the X account of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Trump’s move rests on a tool not used in nearly 50 years, known as a pocket rescission: A president submits a request to Congress to not spend approved funds toward the end of the fiscal year so that Congress can’t act on the request in the 45-day time frame, and the money goes unspent as a result. The fiscal year draws to a close at the end of September.
Such a move, if standardized by the White House, could effectively bypass Congress on key spending choices and potentially wrest some control over spending from the House and the Senate.
Here’s the latest:
EPA fires some employees who signed letter criticizing the agency
The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday fired at least eight employees who the agency’s leadership under Administrator Lee Zeldin and Trump.
The declaration of dissent, signed by more than 170 employees in late June, “contains inaccurate information designed to mislead the public about agency business,’′ an EPA spokesperson said.
“Thankfully, this represents a small fraction of the thousands of hard-working, dedicated EPA employees who are not trying to mislead and scare the American public,” the spokesperson said.
EPA declined to say how many employees were disciplined, but the agency’s largest union said at least six probationary employees who signed the letter were fired, along with at least two career employees.
The union, part of the American Federation of Government Employees, condemned the firings as “an assault on labor and free-speech rights.”
As Trump threatens more National Guard troops in US cities, here’s what the law allows
Since sending the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington, the president has to some of the nation’s most Democratic cities — including Chicago and Baltimore — claiming they are needed to crack down on crime.
Though in recent years in the cities he has called out, Trump said Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker “should be calling me, and he should be saying, ‘Can you send over the troops please?’ It’s out of control.”
Whether Trump can repeat what he’s done in LA and the nation’s capital — call up the National Guard and have it assist a surge of federal law enforcement and immigration officers — is an open question and likely to become a point of contention should he press forward.
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Trump’s new CDC chief: A Washington health insider with a libertarian streak
Jim O’Neill, a former investor, critic of health regulations and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s deputy, is taking control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention following a tumultuous week in which its director was forced out.
O’Neill was picked to be interim director, supplanting , a longtime government scientist who been director for less than a month. Her lawyers said she refused “to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts.”
A former associate of billionaire tech entrepreneur , O’Neill previously helped run one of Thiel’s investment funds and later managed several other projects. He has no training in medicine or health care and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in humanities.
O’Neill said Friday on social media that he looks forward to working with CDC staff and “announcing additions to the senior leadership in the weeks ahead.” He is to remain as HHS deputy.
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s lawyers worry he can’t get a fair trial and request gag order for top US officials
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys’ concerns are related to his human smuggling case in Tennessee.
They say administration officials keep attacking him with prejudicial and false statements and are asking a federal judge to order officials involved with his case to hold back on their comments. Those would include Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of ɫɫland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Abrego Garcia became a flashpoint over Trump’s immigration polices when he was wrongfully deported to El Salvador.
The Republican administration is trying to deport him again, this time to Uganda.
The Justice Department and the acting U.S. attorney who is prosecuting the human smuggling case declined to comment.
DHS said in a statement: “If Kilmar Abrego Garcia did not want to be mentioned by the Secretary of ɫɫland Security, then he should have not entered our country illegally and committed heinous crimes.”
Social Security whistleblower who says DOGE mishandled sensitive data resigns
Charles Borges, chief data officer, said in a letter to Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano that he is resigning due to the agency’s actions against him since he filed his whistleblower complaint this week.
“I have suffered exclusion, isolation, internal strife, and a culture of fear, creating a hostile work environment and making work conditions intolerable,” Borges wrote.
The Project Government Accountability Office, which is representing him in his whistleblower case, posted on its website.
Borges’ attorney said he “no longer felt that he could continue to work for the Social Security Administration in good conscience, given what he had witnessed.” It added that he would continue to work with the proper oversight bodies.
Borges alleged that more than 300 million Americans’ data was put at risk by Department of Government Efficiency officials who uploaded sensitive information to a cloud account not subject to oversight.
The SSA declined to comment.
Trump administration approves more arms sales to Ukraine
The administration has approved $329 million in arms sales to Ukraine for equipment and services to keep up its Patriot air defense systems and Starlink satellite internet platform.
The State Department said Friday that it notified Congress of the sales, including $179.1 million in equipment and other support for the air defense systems, which are crucial to knocking down stepped-up Russian airstrikes.
Another $150 million sale is for satellite communications services for Starlink terminals, which were provided by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company and help facilitate battlefield communications and power drones.
The previous day the U.S. announced an additional $825 million sale to Ukraine, including extended-range missiles and related equipment to boost defensive capabilities.
Democratic senator applauds court’s tariffs ruling, criticizes GOP lawmakers
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said in a statement: “Federal Courts have repeatedly done what Republican senators won’t do — say in black-and-white that Donald Trump’s tariff spree is illegal and cannot continue.”
Wyden said the sweeping tariffs are causing prices to rise for all manner of essential goods and Democrats intend to force votes on repealing them whenever possible.
“Ultimately Congress must seize back power over trade,” he added, “and make clear that Trump can’t pay for billionaire tax cuts on the backs of working families.”
Guatemala tells US it can take in hundreds of migrant children
Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Martínez said his government is willing to receive hundreds of Guatemalan minors who arrived unaccompanied and are being held in U.S. facilities.
The Central American nation is particularly concerned about minors who could age out of facilities for children and be sent to adult detention centers, he said. The exact number of children to be returned remains in flux, but the figure officials are currently discussing is a little over 600.
That would be almost double what Guatemala previously agreed to. The head of the country’s immigration service said last month that the government was looking to repatriate 341 unaccompanied minors who were being held in U.S. facilities.
Martínez said no date has been set yet for the return of the children.
Trump vows appeal of court ruling that his sweeping tariffs are unconstitutional
“If allowed to stand, this Decision would literally destroy the United States of America,” the president said on his social media platform.
Appeals court finds Trump’s sweeping tariffs unconstitutional but leaves them in place for now
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that the president had no legal right to impose the sweeping tariffs but left in place for now his effort to build a protectionist wall around the economy.
The court found that Trump was not legally allowed to declare national emergencies and impose import taxes on almost every country, largely upholding a decision by a specialized federal trade court.
But the court tossed out a part of that ruling striking down the tariffs immediately, allowing the administration time to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The decision complicates Trump’s ambitions to upend decades of trade policy unilaterally. Trump has alternative laws for imposing import taxes, but they would limit the speed and severity with which he could act.
His tariffs — and their erratic rollout — have shaken global markets, alienated trading partners and allies and raised fears of inflation and slower economic growth.
Missouri’s Republican governor orders redraw of US House districts as redistricting fight expands
Gov. Mike Kehoe is calling Missouri lawmakers into a special session to redraw the state’s districts as part of a growing national battle between Republicans and Democrats seeking an edge in next year’s congressional elections.
Kehoe’s announcement Friday came just hours after Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a new designed to help Republicans gain five more seats in the midterm elections.
It marked a win for President Donald Trump, who has been urging Republican-led states to reshape districts to give the party a better shot at retaining control of the House.
took up the task first and was quickly countered by . Missouri would become the third state to pursue an unusual mid-decade redistricting for partisan advantage.
Missouri is represented in the House by six Republicans and two Democrats. Republicans hope to gain one more seat.
The special session is to begin Sept. 3.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has US visa revoked
Abbas and 80 other Palestinian Authority officials had their visas revoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of next month’s annual high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly.
That’s according to a State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity Friday to discuss visa issues that are normally confidential.
The State Department said earlier in a statement that the move was in “our national security interests” and accused the officials of “undermining the prospects for peace.”
The Palestinian Authority said it “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, which “contravenes international law and the Headquarters Agreement, especially since the State of Palestine is an observer member of the United Nations.”
— Matthew Lee
Senator says Trump administration plans to remove 700 Guatemalan children
A U.S. Senator says the Trump administration is planning to remove nearly 700 Guatemalan children who had come to the U.S. without their parents.
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said in a letter to the Office of Refugee Resettlement that according to reports from unidentified whistleblowers the office has finalized a plan to deport the children in their custody back to Guatemala.
Wyden said the removals would violate the office’s “child welfare mandate and this country’s long-established obligation to these children.”
The office within the Department of Health and Human Services is who arrive in the U.S. alone.
The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the latest move, which was first reported by CNN. The Guatemalan government declined to comment.
US warns Russia to move toward peace and meet with Ukraine or face possible sanctions
A senior U.S. diplomat at the United Nations delivered the warning at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine saying Russia’s latest drone and missile attacks resulting in numerous civilian casualties “cast doubt on the seriousness of Russia’s desire for peace.”
“These strikes must stop immediately,” Minister-Counselor John Kelley said. “Russia must decide now to move toward peace. The leaders of Russia and Ukraine must agree to meet bilaterally.”
Kelley noted President Donald Trump’s warning that the U.S. could take “further economic measures … if Russia instead chooses to continue this war, measures which could have far-reaching impact on Russia’s future economic prosperity.”
“The United States calls on the Russian Federation to avoid these consequences by stopping the violence and engaging constructively to end the war,” said Kelley, who is the U.S. Mission’s political coordinator.
Trump administration tells states to change sex ed lessons or lose funding
The Department of Health and Human Services this week told 40 states to change parts of sex ed lessons that focus on LGBTQ+ issues.
If they don’t comply in 60 days, they’ll lose federal money for the lessons.
The money comes through the Personal Responsibility Education Program and is aimed at teaching homeless students, those in foster programs, minorities and those in rural areas and places with high rates of teen pregnancy.
The push to change the lessons is part of a broader effort to eliminate
But some states have laws that require teaching about LGBTQ+ issues.
Administration cancels grants for offshore wind, continuing attack on industry Trump hates
The Transportation Department on Friday canceled $679 million in federal funding for a dozen offshore wind projects.
The move was the latest attack by the Trump administration on the reeling U.S. offshore wind industry and comes days after the administration abruptly last week of a nearly complete wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut.
Funding for projects in 11 states was rescinded, including $435 million for a floating wind farm in Northern California and $47 million to boost an offshore wind project in Maryland that the Interior Department has pledged to cancel.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that under Trump, “we are prioritizing real infrastructure improvements over fantasy wind projects that cost much and offer little.”
UN says US withholding over $1 billion will make finances challenging
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the United Nations will follow up with U.S. authorities to get more details on Friday’s White House announcement.
Trump said in a letter he would not be spending $4.9 billion in foreign aid approved by Congress including $520 million for the U.N. regular budget and other U.N. agencies and $838 million for international peacekeeping.
“What can I tell you?,” Dujarric said. “This is going to make our budget situation, our liquidity situation that much more challenging.”
Appeals court blocks Trump administration from ending legal protections for 600,000 Venezuelans
A federal appeals court on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s plans to end protections for 600,000 people from Venezuela who have had permission to live and work in the United States.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling that maintained temporary protected status for Venezuelans while the case proceeded through court.
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco found in March that plaintiffs were likely to prevail on their claim that the administration overstepped its authority in terminating the protections and were motivated by racial animus in doing so. Chen ordered a freeze on the terminations, but the Supreme Court reversed him without explanation, which is common in emergency appeals.
It is unclear what effect Friday’s ruling will have on the estimated 350,000 Venezuelans whose protections expired in April. Protections for another group of 250,000 Venezuelans are set to expire Sept. 10.
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