In negotiations with Republican senators whose support he needs to be confirmed as attorney general, Todd Blanche formally rescinded a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate President Donald Trump’s political allies. But a sweeping audit immunity plan conferred on the president, his sons and the Trump Organization remains in place — given new parameters to appease the senators but still with the potential to wipe away millions of dollars of Trump’s back taxes.
Trump, meanwhile, is making a rare visit to California and Nevada on Tuesday and Wednesday to shore up support for Republicans in the November midterm elections. The president has so far struggled to connect with voters on the economy, as elevated inflation and feelings of uncertainty overshadow the stock market gains he often highlights, alongside a low national unemployment rate.
Here is the latest:
$150M contract for child immigrant legal services going to Houston law firm with ties to Trump administration
The Trump administration is planning to hire a Houston-based law firm with ties to the administration to provide legal services to unaccompanied children, according to a notice scheduled to be posted on the Federal Register this week.
The agreement will award a contract of $150 million to Burke Law Group, with a proposed time period covering one year starting Aug. 15.
One of the founders, Marcella Burkey, was a former Trump appointee to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior. Jeffrey Hall, a former employee and founding partner, was recently appointed and confirmed to serve in the EPA late last year.
The announcement comes days after the federal government allowed a contract to expire on Friday with a network of nearly 100 legal groups after not paying for their services for more than half a year.
Watchdog finds FEMA cuts came without reviewing whether it had adequate staffing for disasters
The Federal Emergency Management Agency may not have a workforce capable of effectively responding to disasters now or in the future.
That’s the assessment of a new report from the Government Accountability Office, the independent watchdog that advises Congress on how taxpayer dollars are being spent.
The agency says more than 4,300 employees separated from FEMA in the 2025 fiscal year, a 55% increase from the prior year.
The workforce cuts came without the agency assessing whether it had the staffing capacity to meet its mission, GAO said. Without such planning, FEMA is not positioned to determine whether it has the numbers it needs in the right positions.
GAO offered several recommendations, including urging Congress to require FEMA to report before the start of each year’s hurricane season on its workforce planning results.
Democratic lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee requested the report.
Trump administration revokes visa of Brazil’s ambassador to US in spat with Lula
The Trump administration has revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador to the United States in retaliation for Brazil’s denial of visas last month for two American diplomats who sought to visit the country ahead of upcoming elections as well as Brazil’s stalling on approving Trump’s nominee to be ambassador in Brasilia.
The State Department said the decision was a reciprocal response to Brazil’s move and officials said the step had been delayed several times to give Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva room to back down, something he did not do.
Officials said it could be quickly reversed if Brazil takes appropriate action and accepts Trump’s ambassadorial choice.
Lula will face Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, whose father once served as Brazil’s president and whose family has many ties with the Trump administration, in the Oct. 4 polls. The administration has numerous issues with the leftist Lula and his policies and has also hosted the younger Bolsonaro, who is seeking to carry on his father, Jair’s, conservative governance.
Wall Street rallies to records, pushing S&P 500 up 1.8%, as profits pile up and oil prices ease
The U.S. stock market rallied to records as companies kept piling up profits and oil prices eased. The S&P 500 shot up 1.8% Tuesday, and the main measure of Wall Street’s health topped its prior all-time high set in June.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.7% to its own record set the day before, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 2.6%. Palantir Technologies and Caterpillar helped lead the way after becoming the latest companies to deliver stronger profits for the spring than expected. Brent crude fell below $80 per barrel, which helped Treasury yields ease in the bond market.
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Guard deployment to Washington into 2029 will cost roughly $1.4B, estimate shows
The extension of the National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C. until January 2029 will cost roughly $1.4 billion, according to a Defense Department estimate provided to Congress.
The figure offers a glimpse of how much taxpayer money will be spent on a deployment that has been criticized by local officials as an infringement of their city’s autonomy and by Democrats who say it has militarized the streets of nation’s capital at the public’s expense.
The cost estimate is for fiscal years 2027-2029 and came in response to questions from Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and was provided to The Associated Press.
The deployment began last summer, when Trump issued an emergency order that launched a law enforcement surge in the city which the administration says was meant to fight crime. Hundreds of armed Guard troops have been deployed to city streets, supporting arrest operations but also helping with snow removal and carrying out beautification projects.
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Trump’s arch could harm the integrity of many of Washington’s historical sites, report says
A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday said the Trump administration improperly terminated a multi-billion program to boost clean energy projects, handing a win to a coalition of nonprofits picked to run the Biden-era effort.
Climate United Fund and other nonprofits won’t have access to their funds immediately as the decision will be put on hold for several days giving the Environmental Protection Agency time to ask the Supreme Court to step in.
The split ruling by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is a loss for the Trump administration in one of its earliest efforts to dismantle President Joe Biden’s campaign to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gases. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, commonly referred to as a “green bank,” is a congressionally authorized program that provided money to nonprofits that would then make loans and invest in small energy projects, energy-efficient buildings and transportation.
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Divided federal appeals court says Trump administration was wrong to terminate climate program
A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday said the Trump administration improperly terminated a multi-billion program to boost clean energy projects, handing a win to a coalition of nonprofits picked to run the Biden-era effort.
Climate United Fund and other nonprofits won’t have access to their funds immediately as the decision will be put on hold for several days giving the Environmental Protection Agency time to ask the Supreme Court to step in.
The split ruling by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is a loss for the Trump administration in one of its earliest efforts to dismantle President Joe Biden’s campaign to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gases. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, commonly referred to as a “green bank,” is a congressionally authorized program that provided money to nonprofits that would then make loans and invest in small energy projects, energy-efficient buildings and transportation.
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Housing prices are a big issue in Nevada
In Nevada, where Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo faces Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford in one of the nation’s most competitive governor’s races, Democrats are putting up billboard signs blaming Trump and Lombardo for the shortage of affordable housing, exploding energy demand from data centers and federal cuts to key state programs.
Trump has tried to sell voters on his income tax cuts and claims of a manufacturing renaissance. But interest rates are high, gasoline costs more because of the Iran war, tariffs are still reshaping the economy and even the White House acknowledges a national shortage of housing.
Staying on message could be difficult for Trump, who called his own housing bill a “yawn.” Past speeches advertised by the White House as being about the economy gave way to Trumpian weaves about his political enemies and capital construction projects.
Democrats complain about Blanche’s deal making for Trump
Democrats say Blanche’s order doesn’t go far enough to prevent the Trump administration from claiming more immunity from tax audits or compensating Trump allies — including people who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — through a previously established process that allows damage claims for government wrongdoing.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Justice Committee, said Blanche’s promises are virtually unenforceable. The fund “can easily be revived with a new order from the Department of Justice 15 minutes after Mr. Blanche is confirmed as attorney general,” Durbin said.
Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general clears critical hurdle after deal with GOP holdouts
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines in support of the nomination of Trump’s former personal attorney, who has aggressively pushed the Republican administration’s priorities since taking over from Pam Bondi in April.
The vote followed a deal struck late Sunday between Blanche and two Republican senators who had been threatening to block his confirmation over the settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service regarding the president’s leaked tax returns.
Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina had said they were withholding their support unless the Justice Department confirmed in writing that it was not moving forward with a $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they were prosecuted for political purposes, which the administration had announced as part of the settlement.
Blanche issued an order Sunday evening confirming “beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.”
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Attacks continue in Gulf region despite talks
A cargo ship reported being “hit by an unknown projectile” early Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz , the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said, without providing further information on the ship. It suffered damage, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey, which did not elaborate.
Yemen’s Houthis, meanwhile, fired at an airport in Saudi Arabia. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Iranian-backed rebels, said a drone hit a “sensitive target” at the airport in the southwestern city of Najran, without providing evidence.
Saree said the attack was in response to what he described as Saudi breaching of Yemen’s airspace over the provinces of Saada and Hajjah. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis recently announced a blockade on Saudi-linked shipping passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that leads to the Red Sea.
Qatar mediating talks between US and Iran
Despite conflicting claims, mediation efforts have been underway between the U.S. and Iran to wind down the war, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Tuesday.
“We’re looking into a diplomatic solution,” he said during a briefing, without elaborating.
Comedian Jenny Yang uplifts immigrants, one grocery store at a time
Stand-up comic Jenny Yang is spending her summer turning cultural grocery stores into comedy clubs for a night in a response to Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Standup Comedy Tour is using the unusual venues in immigrant enclaves and pairing with nonprofits to raise funds for Asian, Latino and Black communities. It’s grown to 20 performances and a possible comedy special on TV.
For one show in Minneapolis, the manager of a supermarket down the block from where an ICE agent fatally shot Alex Pretti fit 150 chairs near the checkout lanes so people could see her show.
Comedians are divided on whether stand-up should stand down on politics, but Yang says “I believe in punching up, not down.”
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Rubio says progress made in Iran, Oman talks and deal on Strait of Hormuz could happen ‘very shortly’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that there has been progress made in talks between Iran and Oman on the status of the critical Strait of Hormuz waterway.
Speaking to reporters after meeting with the vice president of Paraguay at the State Department on Tuesday, Rubio said that “suffice it to say, there’s been progress made in those talks, but not finality yet. We’re hoping that will happen very shortly.”
Rubio said ships continue to transit the strait but the U.S. would like to see more commercial traffic.
US job market continues to show strength despite bumpy economy
U.S. job openings fell slightly in June, but the labor market continued to show resilience to the Iran war’s economic shocks.
The Labor Department said employers posted 7.36 million vacancies, down from 7.54 million in May, in line with economists’ expectations. Layoffs were little-changed at 1.8 million, and the number of people quitting jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects — rose slightly.
So far this year, companies, government agencies and nonprofits have added an average 92,000 jobs a month. That would have been mediocre in years past, but Trump’s immigration crackdown and baby boomer retirements mean fewer people are competing for work, so the economy doesn’t need as many new jobs to keep unemployment from rising. In fact, some economists believe the “break-even″ rate could be nearly as low as zero jobs.
Trump administration to close five smaller US embassies, consulates and other posts while opening others
The Trump administration has informed Congress that it intends to close five smaller U.S. embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions even as it steams ahead with plans to reopen shuttered posts in Libya and Syria and has reopened the long-closed embassy in Venezuela.
In separate notices sent late last week to lawmakers, the State Department said it would close the U.S. embassy in the Caribbean island of Grenada, the consulates in Nagoya, Japan and Medan, Indonesia, the American Presence Post in Winnipeg, Canada and an embassy branch office in Douala, Cameroon.
The closures are expected to save the government roughly $4.4 million per year, according to the notices, which were obtained by The Associated Press.
Markets move, again, on Trump comments
Trump said he’s not happy with energy company profits, though it was the war he launched that enabled their windfalls.
Shares of ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron all fell around 1% before the bell. Brent crude, the international standard, lost $1.87 to $81.90 a barrel.
Also possibly helping to push oil prices lower was comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said Tuesday in an interview on CNBC that “we are in talks with the Iranians.” Bessent added, “There is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the Strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict.”
Big oil reports bigger profits in Iran war windfall
Exxon Mobil on Friday reported that its second quarter profits doubled to $14.53 billion, while Chevron nearly quadrupled its profits to $12.07 billion.
Foreign oil companies are also posting massive increases in profits: Saudi Aramco on Tuesday reported a 44% year-on-year increase in second-quarter net profit to $32.69 billion, driven by higher prices for crude oil, refined products and chemicals. And London-based BP reported its profits more than doubled to $3.9 billion.
US markets poised to open with gains and oil prices slide again as Trump bashes Big Oil
Wall Street was poised to open higher and oil prices flipped to significant losses Tuesday after Trump criticized oil companies for using the Iran conflict to amass excessive profits.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2%, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%. Nasdaq futures jumped 1.1%. Oil prices slid close to 3% early Tuesday after Trump bashed big oil companies.
“They made too much money, too much money,” Trump said on Monday. “They ought to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price.”
FIFA executives distance themselves from Infantino’s World Cup plan
Two senior FIFA executives — coaching great Arsène Wenger and CEO-like Secretary-General Mattias Grafström — distanced themselves Tuesday from their boss Gianni Infantino’s failed plan to sell stakes in future World Cup profits to private investors through a money-making subsidiary to be launched by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner is a son-in-law of Trump.
Wenger said in a statement he knew nothing of the $20 billion plan and that it was “absolutely necessary” to drop the proposal, and Grafström sent an email to all FIFA staff — seen by The Associated Press — calling the last week a “sad and reproachable series of events.” He also said it created “turmoil which is difficult to comprehend and accept.”
Neither directly named their boss nor offered support for Infantino, who has not commented in public on the schism in soccer since a FIFA statement Saturday announcing the proposal had been dropped.
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What to watch as primary voters choose nominees
Michigan is testing the direction of the Democratic Party, as voters choose between a progressive standard-bearer and an establishment-backed candidate for the U.S. Senate. Abdul El-Sayed, backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, is up against four-term Rep. Haley Stevens, supported by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.
Democratic and Republican voters in Michigan are also choosing nominees to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
In Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state, voters are settling a host of races, including a key rematch between Democrats in a Missouri House contest. Virginia Democrats who lost a court battle over trying to redraw districts to their advantage are picking candidates they hope can defeat Republicans in the fall.
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Trump and Newsom, mocking and taunting
As Trump flies to California he’ll likely throw barbs at the governor, eyed as a likely candidate for the next Democratic presidential nomination.
White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said the president plans to “draw a sharp contrast between his commonsense agenda and the radical policies of Democrats like Gavin Newsom.”
Trump routinely mocks Newsom using a derogatory nickname. Newsom taunts the president in turn.
The Democrat wrote on social media on Monday that California is raising its minimum wage next year to $17.40 an hour, more than double the federal minimum. “Donald Trump and the GOP are still defending a $7.25 minimum wage while workers scrape by. Pitiful,” Newsom wrote.
The economy is on Trump’s agenda in California and Nevada
Trump’s rare visit to California and Nevada is meant to draw contrasts with Democrats on the economy, border security and crime in support of Republicans in November elections that will determine whether party control of Congress.
But he’s struggled to connect with voters on the economy as elevated inflation and feelings of uncertainty have overshadowed the stock market gains he often talks about, along with a low national unemployment rate.
Trump is headlining a Republican National Committee fundraising dinner at a golf club his family owns in the Los Angeles suburb of Rancho Palos Verdes on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Trump will discuss the economy at Red Rock casino in Las Vegas.
Only 32% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s handling of the economy in an AP-NORC poll conducted in late July, while 69% characterized the state of the economy as “poor.”
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