Trump appears on White House roof amid talks of historic renovations
President Donald Trump appeared on the roof of the White House on Monday, indicating to the press that he was reviewing potential renovations for the presidential residence. Trump specifically appeared above the West Wing and the press briefing room, with reporters crowded on the White House lawn to see him. There was also heavy security during the appearance due to the president’s exposure. Trump spoke with several people while on the roof, though the White House has not identified them or said what they discussed. The appearance comes just days after Trump announced that he and private donors will fund an estimated $200 million cost of a new ballroom at the White House. TRUMP CONFIRMS 2 NUCLEAR SUBMARINES ARE ‘IN THE REGION’ TO COUNTER RUSSIA White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday during a briefing that the construction is scheduled to begin in September and will be “completed long before the end of President Trump’s term.” TRUMP INSTALLS MASSIVE NEW US FLAGS AT THE WHITE HOUSE – AND THEY DON’T COST TAXPAYERS A PENNY Trump similarly financed the installation of two 88-foot American flags flanking the White House earlier this year, each reportedly costing around $50,000. “The White House is currently unable to host major functions honoring world leaders in other countries without having to install a large and unsightly tent approximately 100 yards away from the main building’s entrance,” Leavitt said, adding the new ballroom will be “a much-needed and exquisite addition.” She said the United States Secret Service will provide the necessary security enhancements and modifications during the construction. The project is intended to provide a dedicated space for hosting official events, state dinners and large ceremonial gatherings. The planned 90,000-square-foot addition will accommodate approximately 650 seated guests and will stay true to the classical design of the White House. Fox Business’ Amanda Macias contributed to this report
Trump answers question on whether he’ll try to run again
President Donald Trump answered Tuesday whether he would try to campaign for the White House a fourth time around. During a phone interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Trump was discussing Bureau of Labor Statistics job numbers that he argues were “rigged” during the 2024 presidential election to inflate former President Joe Biden’s economic performance. While discussing gerrymandering, Trump said he “got the highest vote in the history of Texas” – a claim CNBC anchorman Joe Kernen initially challenged but then admitted a network fact-check showed Trump did get the highest number of votes in Texas. “I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, a record that they say won’t be beaten unless I run again,” Trump said. TRUMP CONFIRMS 2 NUCLEAR SUBMARINES ARE ‘IN THE REGION’ TO COUNTER RUSSIA CNBC anchorwoman Rebecca Quick interjected, “Are you going to run again? The Constitution…” “No, probably not,” Trump responded. “Probably not.” “And you’re not going to, and you’re not going to fire Jay Powell,” Kernen added, referencing tensions between Trump and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Trump circled back to address Quick directly: “I’d like to run,” Trump told the anchorwoman. “I have the best poll numbers I’ve ever had. You know why. Because people love the tariffs, and they love the trade deals, and they love that countries – they love that foreign countries aren’t ripping us off. For years, they ripped us. A friend, and foe and a friend. And the friends were worse.” The 22nd amendment of the U.S. Constitution says a person can be elected president only twice. If someone takes over as president – as a vice president would due to death or resignation – and serves more than two years in that term, the amendment states that person can only be elected president once more. It effectively sets a maximum of 10 years for any person to serve as commander-in-chief. TRUMP GOES AFTER SCHUMER: TELL HIM ‘GO TO HELL’ George Washington set the tradition of stepping down as president after two terms, but the amendment came about in response to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s unprecedented four terms. Roosevelt served during the Great Depression and World War II. Trump earlier this year both teased and distanced himself from the idea of a third term, as some conservative circles have floated changing the 22nd amendment to allow an exception for nonconsecutive presidencies. Before Trump, the last and only other president to serve two nonconsecutive terms was Grover Cleveland in the late 1800s. In May, Trump said he considered it a “compliment” that “so many people” wanted him to run in 2028 but said it was not something he was interested in pursuing. “I have never had requests so strong as that. But it’s something to the best of my knowledge, you’re not allowed to do,” Trump told MSNBC’s Kristen Welker. “There are many people selling the 2028 hat, but this is not something I’m looking to do. I’m looking to having four great years, and turn it over to somebody, ideally a great Republican. A great Republican to carry it forward. But I think we’re going to have four years, and four years is plenty of time to do something really spectacular.” Trump said he believed the MAGA movement could survive without him, floating Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as potential successors.
GOP showdown: South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson accuses Rep. Nancy Mace of ‘ranting and raving’
EXCLUSIVE – As she launched her campaign for South Carolina governor, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace took aim at what she called “weak leadership” in the state. The statement from Mace, which was reported first by Fox News Digital on Monday, appeared to be a subtle dig at the state’s Republican leaders, including longtime South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is a top rival for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Mace and Wilson are considered the front-runners in a crowded GOP primary field in the 2026 race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who is the Palmetto State’s longest-serving governor. Wilson, in an exclusive national interview with Fox News Digital a couple of hours after Mace announced her candidacy, argued that “Mace has been ranting and raving for the last six months about running for governor without actually saying it.” REPUBLICAN FIREBRAND NANCY MACE JUMPS INTO CROWDED SOUTH CAROLINA RACE FOR GOVERNOR Mace told Fox News a week and a half ago, ahead of her campaign launch, “I will fight to the finish, and I will take out South Carolina’s Attorney General, because he’s turned a blind eye on women and on children and on the state for a lot of reasons. He might force me to do this.” Mace, in a bombshell speech on the U.S. House floor in February, alleged that Wilson ignored evidence of sexual assault against her and other women. In her hour-long speech, Mace accused four men, including her ex-fiance, of sexual crimes and said she was among the victims. HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS MEMBER RALPH NORMAN ANNOUNCES BID FOR SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR Wilson vehemently denied Mace’s accusations, saying at the time “that allegation was never made to me — no one in my office.” Wilson, in a recent statement to Fox News, argued that “Mace is a liar who will do anything to get attention to distract from her liberal voting record. I’ve served our country and dedicated my civilian career to protecting children.” And pointing to Mace, Wilson said on Monday that “it’s obvious to me that she thinks about me more than I think about her. I’ve been very busy doing my job here in South Carolina and I really don’t pay that much attention to this person.” “I’m not running against anybody,” he added. “I’m running for the people of South Carolina.” Wilson said as he campaigns for governor, he’s “trying to have a message that is uplifting, a message that is aspiration, and I’m trying to demonstrate to the people of South Carolina that I have a record of accomplishment, a record of success and I would be a stable hand on the wheel of South Carolina.” And in what appeared to be a jab at Mace, he added, “I believe that you can be an agent of change and reform for our state without being an agent of chaos.” Wilson showcased what he called his “real record of accomplishment, supporting and defending victims of crime in South Carolina as well as going after public officials who commit corrupt acts.” And pointing to an issue that Mace regularly spotlights, Wilson said “when it comes to standing up to women and girls in sports and protecting women in private spaces, I’m the only candidate who’s been in court defending South Carolina’s laws.” Mace kicked off her gubernatorial campaign with an event at Charleston’s Citadel, which is South Carolina’s military college and her alma mater. Mace made history as the first female graduate of the Citadel’s Corps of Cadets. But Wilson, in his Fox News Digital interview, highlighted his long military career. “The governor of South Carolina is the commander-in-chief of the South Carolina National Guard,” he noted. “I’ve got nearly 30 years in the military. I have served a combat tour in Iraq. I’m currently a colonel in the national guard. And I’m the only person in this race with real combat experience.” And pointing to his support from law enforcement, Wilson said that he’s been endorsed by 26 sheriffs across the state, including all five in Mace’s congressional district in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. Wilson said his priorities as governor would be “focusing on reforming our education system, investing in our infrastructure, getting rid of fraud, waste and abuse, eliminating the income tax, and being more accountable to the people of South Carolina will be my priorities.” Mace and Wilson are facing off in the Republican gubernatorial primary along with Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Rep. Ralph Norman, and state Sen. Josh Kimbrell. President Donald Trump remains neutral so far in the primary. Trump’s grip over the GOP, thanks to his 2024 victory to win back the White House, is stronger than ever, and his endorsements in GOP nomination races are extremely influential. Asked if she could land the president’s endorsement, Mace told Fox News Digital recently that “I’ll be working very hard if I get in to earn his support.” And in her campaign launch video, Mace used clips of Trump calling her a “fighter” in a speech, and adding that “when she sets her sight on something, she’s tough.” But Wilson emphasized he’s “supported President Trump as attorney general since his first term…I have defended the president in court. I have defended his agenda in court. I have a great relationship with the president.” Wilson added, “I intend to earn his endorsement and earn his support the way he has earned mine. And I’ve had his back for the last eight or nine years.”
Netherlands becomes first NATO ally to buy US weapons for Ukraine
The Netherlands will become the first European state to provide cash to purchase U.S.-made weapons for Ukraine, under a plan agreed to by President Donald Trump and NATO chief Mark Rutte. Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans announced Monday his nation will contribute €500 million ($576 million) to a fund called the NATO Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative. Brekelmans said the funding would go toward Patriot systems and missiles, a mobile surface-to-air interceptor. Developed in the 1980s and still considered one of the U.S.’s most advanced air defense systems, the Patriot can thwart attacks from aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. TRUMP’S NATO DEAL TO ARM UKRAINE WINS OVER GOP SKEPTICS A new Patriot system and the missiles to go along with it could cost around $1.1 billion, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The newest version of the missile costs around $4 million a piece. Last month during a White House meeting with Rutte, Trump promised Europe would spend “billions” on U.S. weapons to arm Ukraine. “Billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment is going to be purchased from the United States, going to NATO… And that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield,” Trump said. TRUMP, RUTTE ANNOUNCE ‘REALLY BIG’ NATO ARMS PACKAGE AMID NEW 50 DAY DEADLINE Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the Netherlands for the funding on X. “Ukraine, and thus the whole of Europe, will be better protected from Russian terror,” he wrote. “I am sincerely grateful to the Netherlands for their substantial contribution to strengthening Ukraine’s air shield,” he added. Rutte also thanked the Netherlands and encouraged other European NATO allies to follow suit. “This is about getting Ukraine the equipment it urgently needs now to defend itself against Russian aggression,” he said in a statement. “I have written to all NATO Allies, urging them to contribute towards this burden-sharing initiative, and I expect further significant announcements from other Allies soon.” The Netherlands has emerged as one of Ukraine’s top defense donors, committing close to €3 billion in military aid since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Dutch support has included tanks, F-16 training, and now, contributions toward strategic air defense platforms like the Patriot. The new Trump-NATO agreement came after Republicans expressed frustration with the nearly $128 billion in aid the U.S. has offered to Ukraine, arguing Europe should take up the burden. At the same time, Trump has increasingly grown impatient with Russian President Vladimir Putin during peace negotiations. White House envoy Steve Witkoff is set to head to Moscow this week before the deadline Trump gave Putin for ending the war. The president has threatened to slap steep tariffs on Russia and any nations that do business with it if this week’s negotiations fail to produce a deal.
Justice Department weighs release of Ghislaine Maxwell interview
The Justice Department is weighing the release of the audio file and transcript of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s interview late last month with Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, senior administration officials told Fox News — the latest in a nearly month-long saga that has consumed the Trump administration and the attention of the public since early July. Blanche’s interviews with Ghislaine Maxwell took place over a two-day period in Florida, where she had been serving out a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Florida. The questions took place at the U.S. Attorney’s office in Tallahassee. Maxwell was transferred last week without explanation to a new, minimum-security women’s federal prison camp in Texas. COMER SUBPOENAS THE CLINTONS, TRUMP’S DOJ IN HOUSE OVERSIGHT’S EPSTEIN PROBE It is unclear how long the tape and transcripts from the interviews between Blanche and Maxwell are, but they do exist, Fox News has learned, and discussions are underway today involving whether — and when — to release them. Anything released by the Trump administration would almost certainly involve heavily redacting any identifying information of individuals named in the transcript in order to protect victims— something Attorney General Pam Bondi has stressed in public on multiple occasions. The Justice Department declined to comment on additional specifics involving the interview or its release. Still, the news comes as the Justice Department and FBI have struggled to quell the mounting public pressure on them to release more information related to the Epstein investigation— underscoring the story’s sticking power in a fast-moving news cycle, and among Trump supporters, who have been some of the leading voices in demanding the information be released. COMER SUBPOENAS THE CLINTONS, TRUMP’S DOJ IN HOUSE OVERSIGHT’S EPSTEIN PROBE This pressure reached a fever pitch on July 7, after the Justice Department said in an unsigned memo that it did not plan to release more information about the investigation. They also said there was no “client list,” as had been suggested. In the face of mounting public protest, Tuesday’s news makes clear the degree to which the Trump administration appears to be rethinking that response to the fallout. Trump, for his part, has called for the Justice Department to release “all credible” evidence in the files. “We’d like to release everything, but we don’t want people to get hurt that shouldn’t be hurt, and I would assume that was why he was there,” he told Newsmax late last week. Also on Tuesday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer issued multiple subpoenas related to the Epstein investigation, including subpoenaing the Justice Department for production of the “complete” Epstein files to the committee “by or before August 19,” according to a letter. The House Oversight Committee subcommittee panel also subpoenaed former government officials for depositions in the Epstein probe, including Bill and Hillary Clinton. The panel voted by unanimous voice vote in late July to subpoena the individuals, and held a separate vote on subpoenaing the Justice Departent. Fox News’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
‘I warned you’: Left-wing governor scraps migrant shelter plan after $1B blowup
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced the closure of all remaining hotel shelters in the Bay State amid the formal termination of her executive emergency focused on the state’s Biden-era migrant influx. Meanwhile, Mike Kennealy — her Republican rival in the 2026 gubernatorial sweeps who also served as the state’s housing secretary under GOP Gov. Charlie Baker — is telling the Democrat, “I told you so.” Healey described her emergency order period as a success, saying that when she took over from Baker, “families were being placed in hotels all across the state, and families were staying in shelter for months – sometimes years – at a time.” “There was no plan in place to reform the shelter system to handle the surge in demand, protect taxpayer dollars or help families leave shelter. We can all agree that a hotel is no place to raise a family. So, we took action,” Healey said, as the state employed hotels, community centers and even a defunct prison to house the influx. IT’LL UPEND THE COMMUNITY: PA TOWN ROILED BY TALK OF MIGRANT HOUSING IN CIVIL-WAR ERA ORPHANAGE In 1983, then-Gov. Michael Dukakis signed what remains the nation’s only statewide right-to-shelter law, which set in motion the conditions for such a migrant housing crisis. Healey and the Democratic-majority legislature in Boston revised Dukakis’ law to a six-month limit on that right, and to require proof of residency as well as proper immigration paperwork with some exceptions. Kennealy said he warned Healey about a “potential, looming migrant crisis – I warned her in writing.” “She didn’t listen,” he posted Tuesday, accusing Healey of “playing politics” with the Biden-era migrant crisis and “selling false hope” to migrants and taxpayers. MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT CONDEMNS RIGHT-TO-SHELTER LAW TURNING BAY STATE INTO ‘DESTINATION FOR MIGRANTS’ “The hotels may be closed for now, but the crisis lives on through the HomeBASE program and runaway spending,” Kennealy said, adding that if elected he will “audit and fix it.” Kennealy’s comments came weeks after a report showed Bay Staters will spend as much as $1 billion cumulatively on the state’s emergency shelter program in FY-2025, with migrant families making up a significant share of those receiving assistance. The costs work out at about $3,496 per week per family, or around $1,000 per person per week for the program, known as the Emergency Assistance system, according to the state’s Executive Office for Housing and Livable Communities. A Healey spokesperson told the Boston Herald on Monday that the governor “inherited a disaster of a shelter system” from Kennealy, whom she said offered scant substantive advice. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Gov. Healey is the one who took action to implement a length of stay limit, mandate criminal background checks, require residents to prove Massachusetts residency and lawful immigration status, and get families out of hotels,” Karissa Hand told the paper. A Kennealy spokesperson told the paper the now-candidate had warned both Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll of the impending crisis in-person. Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
Schwarzenegger pushing back against Newsom redistricting bid in California
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is preparing for a new role. The longtime Hollywood action star who was the last Republican elected governor in Democrat-dominated California is gearing up to oppose the push by current Gov. Gavin Newsom to scrap the state’s non-partisan redistricting commission. “He calls gerrymandering evil, and he means that. He thinks it’s truly evil for politicians to take power from people,” Schwarzenegger spokesperson Daniel Ketchell told Politico. Newsom, whom pundits view as a likely contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, aims to redraw California’s congressional maps, to give the state five more blue-leaning House districts ahead of next year’s midterm elections. The push by Newsom is a counter effort to negate a move underway by Republicans in GOP-dominated Texas to create five more right-leaning congressional districts at President Donald Trump’s urging. NEWSOM VOWS TO FIGHT ‘FIRE WITH FIRE’ IN CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING BATTLE The Republican push in Texas is part of a broader effort by the GOP across the country to keep control of their razor-thin House majority, and cushion losses elsewhere in the country, as the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats in midterm elections. Trump and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House, when Democrats stormed back to grab the House majority in the 2018 midterms. AWOL TEXAS DEMS THREATENED WITH EXPULSION, FELONY CHARGES FOR ABSENCE AMID REDISTRICTING BATTLE “Texas will be the biggest one,” the president told reporters recently, as he predicted the number of GOP-friendly seats that could be added through redistricting in the reliably red state. “Just a simple redrawing, we pick up five seats.” Scores of Texas Democrats in the state legislature fled the state, to prevent Republicans from holding votes to pass the new maps. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has called for those lawmakers to be arrested and prosecuted upon their return to the Lone Star State. The moves by Republicans and Democrats to implement rare mid-decade redistricting is opposed by Schwarzenegger, who championed California’s nonpartisan redistricting system. “He’s opposed to what Texas is doing, and he’s opposed to the idea that California would race to the bottom to do the same thing,” Ketchell added. HOCHUL VOWS TO ‘FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE’ ON REDISTRICTING WHILE HOSTING TEXAS DEMOCRATS WHO FLED STATE Schwarzenegger, during his tenure as governor, had a starring role in the passage of constitutional amendments in California in 2008 and 2010 that took the power to draw state legislative and congressional districts away from politicians and place it in the hands of an independent commission. While the Republican push in Texas to upend the current congressional maps doesn’t face constitutional constraints, Newsom’s path in California is much more complicated. The governor is moving to hold a special election this year, to obtain voter approval to undo the constitutional amendments that created the non-partisan redistricting commission. A two-thirds majority vote in the Democrat-dominated California legislature would be needed to hold the referendum. “The proposal that we’re advancing with the legislature has a trigger only if they move forward, to dismantling the protocols that are well-established,” Newsom said on Monday. “Would the state of California move forward in kind? Fighting? Yes, fire with fire.” Newsom said the people of California would have the final say. “We will offer them the opportunity to make judgments for themselves, again, only if Texas moves forward,” Newsom said.
Trump lifts veil on US submarines in warning shot to Kremlin in ‘clever’ repositioning move
President Donald Trump recently broke with decades of strategic silence when he publicly revealed the repositioning of U.S. nuclear-powered submarines in a thinly veiled warning to Russia. The announcement — targeted at Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman and former President Dmitry Medvedev after his latest nuclear threats — sent shockwaves through the defense world not just for its provocation, but for the sheer fact that it was said out loud. Presidents have long moved military assets like aircraft carriers and bombers to signal resolve. But submarines, especially the covert, nuclear-powered kind, are rarely mentioned. “We rarely, if ever, talk about submarine movements unless there’s been an undeniable accident,” Gene Moran, a former Navy captain and Pentagon strategic advisor, told Fox News Digital. Plenty of other military assets — Patriot batteries, aircraft carriers, even B-52 bombers — are deployed publicly to send a diplomatic message. But this time, the secretive nature of the nuclear submarine positioning may have been the reason for the choice. “Submarine deployments are unverifiable,” said Moran. “That’s what gives them strategic value, but also what makes this announcement clever — if you’re aiming for a headline.” TRUMP CONFIRMS 2 NUCLEAR SUBMARINES ARE ‘IN THE REGION’ TO COUNTER RUSSIA Vice Admiral Mike Connor, former commander of U.S. submarine forces, said Trump’s statement may have sounded bold, but was in fact consistent with long-standing doctrine. “He didn’t really give away too much,” Connor, who now serves as CEO of maritime tech company ThayerMahan, told Fox News Digital. “It’s generally understood, by our potential adversaries, that our submarines are out there, have been out there for 60-plus years, and are able to strike pretty much where they want, when they want, if needed.” “It’s a more gentle message done this way,” Connor added. “It’s not really in your face. It’s just a reminder of what already exists.” The president was vague in revealing his plans, only announcing that nuclear submarines would be positioned in the “appropriate regions” following Medvedev’s accusations that he was escalating the war. Trump told reporters Sunday the submarines are “already in the region, where they should be.” Moran said Trump may have simply aligned a routine rotation with a strategic message. “It doesn’t cost anything,” he said. “But if you do it repeatedly, it begins to reveal where your thresholds are. That has long-term consequences.” He also cast doubt on the depth of coordination behind the announcement, saying “Submarines don’t just move at the snap of a finger.” Matthew Shoemaker, a former defense intelligence official, echoed that point. “It’s certainly unusual to announce it from an operational perspective,” he said, “which means this is primarily about sending a message to the Russians rather than trying to achieve a military goal.” TRUMP REPOSITIONS 2 NUCLEAR SUBMARINES AFTER ‘HIGHLY PROVOCATIVE’ RUSSIAN COMMENTS Meanwhile, Trump’s frustration with Putin has grown in recent weeks amid stalled negotiations to end the war, prompting him to scale back the deadline for Russia to agree to a peace deal. Trump’s disclosure of the submarine presence puts additional pressure on Russia to come to the negotiating table, according to Bryan Clark, a retired submarine officer and director of the Hudson Institute think tank’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology. “We have used very sparingly submarines to try to influence adversary behavior before, but this is pretty unusual, to do it against a nuclear-powered adversary like Russia in response to a nuclear threat by Russia,” Clark told Fox News Digital Monday. “So I think this is trying to essentially push back on Russia’s frequent and long-standing threats to use nuclear weapons in part of the Ukraine conflict.” Mark Cancian, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, believes it’s more likely that two already-deployed U.S. submarines were repositioned rather than any new vessels dispatched. “At any one time there are about a dozen U.S. submarines deployed,” he said. “We probably just moved two of them to different spots. There hasn’t been any report of new submarine sailings — you’d have heard about that.” Retired Navy Capt. Todd Sawhill, who served as a targeting expert with the Joint Staff and U.S. Central Command, said there’s precedent for moving submarines in response to tensions — but rarely is it spoken of this openly. “It is atypical to have a sitting president telegraph it so plainly,” Sawhill said. “It’s consistent with Trump’s desire to direct-message, so in that sense it’s not surprising. But it’s not how these things are usually done.” Experts agree that once a U.S. submarine leaves port, it becomes difficult — though not impossible — for adversaries to track. “These are very tightly controlled pieces of information,” Cancian said. “The U.S. has good confidence that deployed submarines aren’t being followed — though we’ve been wrong before.” Shoemaker noted that geography plays a significant role. “The closer one gets to an adversary’s shores, the more likely they can find and track our subs,” he said. “So it depends on where exactly these subs are sent near Russia.” Moran added that both sides exaggerate their tracking capabilities. “It’s easy to claim you know where your adversary is,” he said. “But with modern submarines, that’s a very difficult task.” Connor also pointed to a recent case that underscored the low-profile potency of submarines. “A few weeks ago, there was a strike on Iranian nuclear weapon component manufacturing sites,” he said. “There was a lot of noise about the fact that some Air Force planes flew from the U.S. and struck two deeply buried targets. And it was more or less a side note that a submarine — who knows which one or where it was —struck 30 targets at the same time.” “It’s a capability that’s always there, not often used and doesn’t need to be talked about too overtly to be effective.” But unlike the Iran strikes, it appears improbable that the submarines dispatched in response to increased tension with Russia would see the same kind of action, according to Clark. That’s because the
9th ex-Biden aide appears before House Oversight investigators in autopen probe
Ex-White House deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed is sitting down with congressional investigators probing whether top Biden administration aides covered up signs of mental decline in the former president. Reed arrived just before 10 a.m. on Tuesday, saying nothing to reporters on his way into the closed-door interview with staff on the House Oversight Committee. The longtime Biden ally is the ninth former White House official to appear in the probe and the sixth to come in voluntarily — three others, ex-White House doctor Kevin O’Connor and former advisors Anthony Bernal and Annie Tomasini, were compelled via congressional subpoena. COMER DISMISSES BIDEN DOCTOR’S BID FOR PAUSE IN COVER-UP PROBE: ‘THROWING OUT EVERY EXCUSE’ House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., is investigating whether former President Joe Biden’s inner circle covered up signs of mental decline, and whether that means autopen signatures were used for executive decisions without Biden’s full awareness. Of particular interest to investigators are the myriad clemency orders signed toward the end of Biden’s presidency. But the former president and his allies have pushed back on any allegations of impropriety. Biden himself told The New York Times last month that he was behind every decision made on pardons and commutations. Reed, like many of those who appeared before him, has a relationship with Biden going back over a decade. He was chief of staff to the vice president under the Obama administration from January 2011 until December 2013. Reed’s tenure in that role was bookended by Ron Klain and Steve Ricchetti, respectively — both of whom have already spoken to House investigators on voluntary terms. It’s not likely, however, that Reed’s testimony will provide any sort of smoking gun for investigators. The Biden allies who have appeared voluntarily so far have all asserted they believed the ex-president was fully capable of being commander-in-chief, though some, like Klain, have conceded his memory got duller over time. Others, like Ricchetti and ex-senior advisor Mike Donilon, suggested they believed Biden remained as sharp as ever and would have been for another four years, sources said previously. In contrast, those who appeared under subpoena all pleaded the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering any substantive questions. LONGTIME BIDEN AIDE SAYS HE STOOD TO EARN UP TO $8M HAD PRESIDENT WON RE-ELECTION Reed was reportedly among the former aides dubbed as part of Biden’s “Politburo” calling shots at the White House toward the end of his term, according to Axios reporter Alex Thompson and CNN host Jake Tapper, who wrote, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.” No lawmakers are expected to sit in for Reed’s transcribed interview; it’s common for such sit-downs to be staff-led by lawyers for both Democrats and Republicans on the committee. It could go on for several hours, however. All the five transcribed interviews before Reed’s took at least four hours. Ricchetti’s notably went roughly eight hours.
Bondi DOJ names and shames 35 sanctuary jurisdictions that ‘put American citizens at risk’
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Justice identified nearly three dozen cities and states across the country on Tuesday that it said were sanctuaries for illegal immigrants and warned that it planned to take legal action against more of those jurisdictions. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement the cities and states, which mostly lean blue, have immigration policies that “impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design.” “The Department of Justice will continue bringing litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions and work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to eradicate these harmful policies around the country,” Bondi said. FEDERAL JUDGE TOSSES TRUMP DOJ LAWSUIT AGAINST SANCTUARY POLICIES IN CHICAGO Four of the 13 states on the DOJ’s list, California, New York, Colorado and Illinois, have already faced lawsuits over their immigration policies. Others on the list include Delaware, Nevada, Minnesota and Washington, D.C. The lawsuit in Illinois is the furthest along in the court process and has not played out in DOJ’s favor at this stage. A federal judge tossed out the DOJ’s claims, saying Illinois’ state and local policies were protected by the Constitution and that the DOJ’s lawsuit encroached on Illinois’ sovereignty. The DOJ could still appeal the decision or amend its complaint. But the DOJ, which has shifted heavily during the Trump administration to focusing on immigration enforcement, has also seen some success. LOUISVILLE MAYOR SHIFTS DOJ POLICY AFTER LEGAL THREAT FROM DOJ Its threats to Louisville, Kentucky, resulted in the mayor there modifying the city’s policy to be more cooperative with the federal government. A DOJ spokesperson said the purpose of the list was to encourage other states and cities to do the same. “This is a chance for these jurisdictions to come to the table and work with us to keep Americans safe,” the spokesperson said. Other cities on the DOJ’s radar include Boston, New Orleans, Seattle and Philadelphia. Four counties were also on the list. A common reason that cities and states become targeted for being illegal immigrant sanctuaries involves detainer policies. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) uses detainers to make federal requests to jails to hold immigrants in custody who could be living in the country illegally so that ICE can arrest them. Sanctuary jurisdictions have policies in place to ignore those notices. In the case of Louisville, for instance, the mayor has agreed to honor the 48-hour period ICE has been requesting to hold suspects so that they are not released before federal authorities can potentially arrest them.