The Justice Department on Friday released transcripts of interviews its No. 2 official did with Jeffrey Epstein’s imprisoned former girlfriend as the Trump administration scrambles to present itself as transparent amid a fierce backlash over an earlier refusal to disclose a trove of records from the sex-trafficking case.
The disclosure represents the latest Trump administration effort to repair self-inflicted political wounds after failing to deliver on expectations that its own officials had created through conspiracy theories and bold pronouncements that never came to pass. By making public two days worth of interviews, officials appear to be hoping to at least temporarily keep at bay sustained anger from President Donald Trump’s base even as they continue to sit on other evidence they had suggested was being prepared for public release.
Here's the latest:
Trump names White House personnel director as ambassador to India
Trump says he’s naming White House personnel director Sergio Gor as ambassador to India and special envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs.
Gor had been tasked with vetting Trump’s choices for administration positions, including the president’s nomination of tech billionaire Jared Isaacman to lead NASA — a bid that was withdrawn in June.
Gor and Donald Trump Jr. also ran a publishing company, Winning Team Publishing, which published two of the president’s books.
Washington school system assures parents ICE banned from campus without a warrant or court order
With schools set to kick off a new year of classes Monday, D.C. Public Schools issued a message Friday seeking to reassure parents concerned that federal law enforcement or Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would target schools with large immigrant populations.
The DCPS statement declared that all student records were protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and could only be shared “with parental consent and a lawful court order.”
The statement added that law enforcement action on any school grounds can only take place “with a valid warrant or a court order.”
DC courts seeing influx of criminal cases from Trump crime crackdown
Hundreds of people have been arrested on the streets of Washington, D.C., since President Donald Trump ordered a crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital. Some of those people are winding up in the same federal courthouse that was flooded with cases against Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol over four years ago.
At least eight cases filed in the district court for the District of Columbia appear to be related to the recent surge in patrols by federal agents and National Guard members, according to an Associated Press review of court records. Many others facing less serious charges are having their cases heard daily in D.C. Superior Court.
Some attorneys who practice at the neighboring courthouses are bracing for a bigger workload as the cases pile up. So far, however, the legal landscape is nothing like the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
“I don’t think we’ve really felt the brunt of it yet, but I expect it to hit,” defense attorney Damon Catacalos said Friday as he waited for a client’s case to be called by a Superior Court judge.
The White House says over 700 people have been arrested since the operation started on Aug. 7. They’re facing a wide range of charges, including assaulting law-enforcement officers and illegal possession of drugs and firearms.
Trump praises new CBO numbers on tariff impact to deficit
President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform celebrated a new Congressional Budget Office update on the impact that tariffs would have on reducing the deficit.
The CBO on Friday issued a new blog post that states tariffs will lower deficits by a combined $4 trillion over the next decade. The latest update is an increase from its last projection in June, that predicted deficits would be reduced by $2.8 trillion over 10 years.
Trump said the CBO, which he called “Radical Left Representatives” had “admitted how incredible my Tariff strategy has been.”
Staffed by some 275 economists, analysts and other employees, the CBO provides Congress with objective, impartial information about budgetary and economic issues.
Its current director is Phillip Swagel, a former Treasury official in Republican President George W. Bush’s administration.
Trump says US will tariff imported furniture
President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform said Friday that his administration would complete a “major tariff investigation” into furniture imported into the U.S. and will issue a report on its findings within the next 50 days.
He said furniture coming from other countries into the U.S. would be tariffed at a rate not yet determined. The intent is to bring the furniture business back to North Carolina, South Carolina and Michigan, among other states, he said.
Putin praises Trump, says he’s ‘the light at the end of the tunnel’ for struggling relations
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised U.S. President Donald Trump Friday, describing the U.S. leader as “the light at the end of the tunnel” for struggling Moscow-Washington relations.
“Our relationship with the United States is at one of the lowest levels it’s been since the end of World War II,” Putin said at an event in Sarov, a closed city about 370 kilometers (230 miles) east of Moscow that has served as a base for Russia’s nuclear weapons program since the late 1940s. “But with the arrival of President Trump, I think that a light at the end of the tunnel has finally appeared.”
Putin also commended Trump’s leadership qualities and said he hoped that the first steps had been taken to ensure the “full-scale restoration” of Russia-U.S. ties. He said that Russian companies were already discussing plans with “American partners” on opportunities for co-operation across the Arctic and in Alaska in areas such as liquified natural gas.
The comments come the same day as Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, appeared in a taped interview for NBC’s Sunday show “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker” saying that there were no plans for a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – a proposal that Trump has repeatedly floated to end Russia’s three-year invasion of their neighbor.
Pritzker to Trump: Illinois wants ‘cheaper groceries,’ not ‘authoritarian power grab’ to cut crime
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker had a cool reaction Friday to President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Chicago might be his next target for a crime crackdown featuring the National Guard like that occurring in Washington, D.C.
The Democrat posted “Things People are Begging For” on X, including cheaper groceries and reversing cuts to Medicaid and food aid for low-income families but not “an authoritarian power grab of major cities.
”Trump has disparaged the Second City for years, repeatedly comparing it to Afghanistan and threatening to “send in the feds” to stem gun violence.
Violent crime in Chicago dropped significantly in the first half of the year, representing the steepest drop in over a decade, according to city data. Shootings and homicides were down more than 30% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same time last year, and total violent crime dropped by over 22%.
Hegseth fires general whose agency’s intel assessment of damage from Iran strikes angered Trump
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired a general whose agency’s initial intelligence assessment of damage to Iranian nuclear sites from U.S. strikes angered President Donald Trump, according to two people familiar with the decision and a White House official.
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse will no longer serve as head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
The firing comes a few months after details of the preliminary assessment leaked to the media. It found that Iran’s nuclear program has been set back only a few months by the U.S. strikes, contradicting assertions from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
▶ Read more about Hegseth
Intel will give US a 10% stake, Trump says
Trump says Intel has agreed to give the U.S. government a 10% stake in its business.
Speaking with reporters on Friday, Trump said the deal came out of a meeting last week with Intel CEO Lip Bu Tan — which came days after the president called for Tan to resign over his past ties to China.
“I said, I think it would be good having the United States as your partner,” Trump said. “He agreed, and they’ve agreed to do it.”
The official announcement is expected to come later Friday, according to a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of an announcement and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Maxwell was moved to a new prison following Justice Department interview
After her interview, Maxwell was moved from the low-security federal prison in Florida where she had been serving a 20-year sentence to a minimum security prison camp in Texas.
Neither her lawyer nor the federal Bureau of Prisons have explained the reason for the move.
The Epstein case had long captured public attention in part because of the wealthy financer’s social connections over the years to prominent figures including Prince Andrew, former President Bill Clinton and Trump, who has said his relationship with Epstein ended years before.
House Oversight Committee receives first round of Epstein documents from Justice Department
The first batch of Epstein-related files from the department includes 33,000 pages of documents, according to committee staff.
“The Committee intends to make these records public after thorough review to ensure any victims’ identification and child sexual abuse material are redacted,” a spokesperson for Oversight Committee Chair James Comer said. “The Committee will also consult with the DOJ to ensure any documents released do not negatively impact ongoing criminal cases and investigations.”
The committee subpoenaed files related to the late sexual predator following a public outcry over the administration’s handling of its promises to release more information related to Epstein conduct and demise. House Democrats seized on the issue and ultimately helped push Comer to subpoena the DOJ for documents along with every living U.S. attorney general as well as Bill and Hillary Clinton.
“The Trump DOJ is providing records at a far quicker pace than anything the Biden DOJ ever provided,” the committee spokesperson continued.
Maxwell recalls meeting Trump in the ’90s
Maxwell recalled knowing about Trump and possibly meeting him for the first time in 1990, when her newspaper magnate father, Robert Maxwell, was the owner of the New York Daily News.
“I may have met Donald Trump at that time, because my father was friendly with him and liked him very much,” Maxwell said, according to the transcript.
Maxwell said her father was fond of Trump’s then-wife, Ivana, “because she was also from Czechoslovakia, where my dad was from.”
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is freed from Tennessee jail so he can rejoin family in Maryland to await trial
Kilmar Abrego Garcia was released from jail in Tennessee on Friday so he can rejoin his family in Maryland while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges.
The Salvadoran national’s case became a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda after he was mistakenly deported in March. Facing a court order, the Trump administration brought him back to the U.S. in June, only to detain him on criminal charges.
Although Abrego Garcia was deemed eligible for pretrial release, he had remained in jail at the request of his attorneys, who feared the Republican administration could try to immediately deport him again if he were freed. Those fears were somewhat allayed by a recent ruling in a separate case, which requires immigration officials to allow Abrego Garcia time to mount a challenge to any deportation order.
▶ Read more about Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Justice Department issues transcripts of interviews with Epstein ex-girlfriend Maxwell
The Justice Department on Friday released transcripts of interviews its No. 2 official did with Jeffrey Epstein’s imprisoned former girlfriend as the Trump administration scrambles to present itself as transparent amid a fierce backlash over an earlier refusal to disclose a trove of records from the sex-trafficking case.
The disclosure represents the latest Trump administration effort to repair self-inflicted political wounds after failing to deliver on expectations that its own officials had created through conspiracy theories and bold pronouncements that never came to pass. By making public two days worth of interviews, officials appear to be hoping to at least temporarily keep at bay sustained anger from President Donald Trump’s base even as they continue to sit on other evidence they had suggested was being prepared for public release.
▶ Read more about Ghislaine Maxwell
Trump filing appeal after a judge said executive order violated law firm’s First Amendment rights
President Donald Trump is filing an appeal after a judge said his executive order targeting a prominent law firm violated the firm’s First Amendment rights.
The executive order forbid the federal government from doing business with anyone who hires the law firm Susman Godfrey, citing the firm’s election-related work performed after Trump’s 2020 loss. Susman Godfrey was one of several law firms targeted by Trump’s executive orders, and the firm sued in April.
In late June, District Court Judge Loren AliKhan granted summary judgment in Susman Godfrey’s favor, noting that noting that by that point every court to have considered a challenge to the law-firm-related orders had found “grave constitutional violations.”
Department of Justice attorney Richard Lawson filed the notice of appeal in the D.C. Circuit Court on Friday. The President is also appealing rulings in other cases brought by law firms.
Hegseth calls arming the National Guard in Washington ‘common sense’
Acknowledging the change announced earlier Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tweeted a news story about his order for troops to carry guns and said, “Common Sense.”
The Pentagon has released few details about the shift or why it was necessary that about 2,000 troops in the nation’s capital for President Donald Trump’s law enforcement crackdown needed to be armed.
Trump expresses frustration that Putin-Zelenskyy peace talks haven’t been scheduled
“We’re going to see whether or not they have a meeting,” Trump told reporters. “It’ll be interesting to see. If they don’t, why didn’t they have a meeting, because I told them to have a meeting. But I’ll know what I am going to do in two weeks.”
Trump said he had begun making arrangements for a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting on Monday soon after concluding White House talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders and speaking by phone with Putin.
Russia’s top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, made clear on Friday that Putin won’t sit-down with Zelenskyy until Ukraine agrees to certain concessions.
Trump says he called for Intel’s CEO to quit because of Tom Cotton
The president said he called earlier this month for Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign after reading something written by Arkansas Republican senator.
Trump didn’t clarify what he was referring to but said that after he met with Tan, he liked him and felt he was “somewhat a victim.”
He backed off his calls for his resignation after Tan professed his allegiance to the U.S. in a public letter and met with Trump.
Trump repeatedly threatens DC Mayor Bowser
Muriel Bowser generally avoids directly criticizing President Donald Trump. Even when she is being harshly critical of Trump’s decisions — publicly stating that his declaration of a federal crime emergency in Washington “makes no sense” — Bowser sometimes seems to structure her statements so as to avoid actually saying Trump’s name.
Trump, meanwhile, seems to be escalating his attacks on Bowser.
In a 2 a.m. Friday social media post, Trump wrote, “Mayor Muriel Bowser must immediately stop giving false and highly inaccurate crime figures, or bad things will happen, including a complete and total Federal takeover of the City!”
Hours later in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters, “Mayor Bowser better get her act straight or she won’t be mayor for long.”
Local DC government leaders bristle at armed National Guard members
Some members of local government have bristled at the Defense Department’s order to arm National Members.
“Trump is once again putting armed military onto the streets of an American city. These are the actions not of a president, but of someone on the march to an authoritarian takeover,” District of Columbia Council Member Charles Allen said in a statement.
As a federal district, the local government’s powers are broadly delegated to it Congress, leaving local officials few avenues to formally block or protest Trump’s plan.
Members of local government have been walking a tightrope of engaging with constituents’ concerns without further antagonizing the administration.
City Council Chair Phil Mendelson wrote on social media that he’d discussed “the affects of the so-called crime emergency,” among other topics, with Washington residents at a town hall last night. Council Member Brianne Nadeau posted a link to report police misconduct to city officials shortly after the Pentagon’s announcement.
Trump displays Putin picture
During his event about FIFA, Trump unexpectedly pulled out a photo of him standing next to Putin during their meeting in Alaska.
Trump said Putin sent the picture and “I’m going to sign this for him.” He added that Putin has “very respectful of me and my country, and not so respectful of others.”
Putin invaded Ukraine more than three years ago, and Trump has been frustrated by his inability to resolve the war.
Speaking of FIFA, Trump suggested that the Russian leader wants to attend the soccer competition in the U.S.
“He may be coming and he may not, depending on what happens,” he said.
Referring to the photo, Trump said, “I thought it was a nice picture of him. OK, of me, but nice of him.”
Certain applicants targeted by pause on visas for commercial truck drivers
After Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a pause in providing U.S. visas to commercial truck drivers, the Trump administration says it applies to certain foreign applicants.
The State Department said Friday that the pause affects those seeking permission to drive a truck under visas for H-2B temporary nonagricultural workers, E-2 investors in U.S. businesses or EB-3 skilled workers.
It said the government is launching a review of the way it screens foreign drivers and that “enhanced vetting” will apply to those who don’t now hold valid visas.
“Applicants must demonstrate the necessary skills, experience, and English language proficiency required to safely operate these vehicles on America’s roads,” the department said.
Trump touches World Cup trophy
Touching the World Cup trophy is an honor usually reserved for countries that win it. But organizers of the 2026 World Cup have made an exception for Trump.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino visited the Oval Office on Friday and noted of the trophy, “Only the FIFA presidents, presidents of countries, and then those who win can touch it because it’s for winners only.”
Then, he added to Trump, “And, since you are a winner, of course you can as well.”
The president did just that, then responded, “It’s pretty heavy.”
He later called the trophy “a beautiful piece of gold” and joked about keeping it and displaying in the Oval Office —- which Trump has redone in a gaudy, gold-hued décor.
Trump was subsequently presented with a ticket to next year’s World Cup final, which organizers said was the first ticket available for the upcoming tournament.
Men in the Oval Office forgo ties
Trump usually wears a tie in the Oval Office, as do top aides and other officials who visit.
But in an unusual move, not only did Trump not wear a tie but none of the men standing around him did either.
Bare collars were also sported by Vice President JD Vance, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Kennedy Center interim head Richard Grenell and Andrew Giuliani, who is heading up the president’s FIFA task force.
It wasn’t clear why they wore the unified look.
Trump says Chicago and New York could be his next targets
The president suggested that other cities will receive similar treatment to D.C.
“I think Chicago will be our next,” he said. “And then we’ll help with New York.”
Trump said people in Chicago are “screaming for us to come.”
Vance says Bolton not being targeted because of his criticism of Trump
Vice President JD Vance says it’s not the case that the Trump administration is targeting former national security adviser John Bolton because he’s a vocal critic of President Donald Trump.
The FBI on Friday searched the home and office of Bolton, who served in the first Trump administration, as part of a criminal investigation into the potential mishandling of classified information.
Vance said in an interview with NBC News’s “Meet the Press” that the investigation was in its early stages. He said the inquiry centers in part on classified documents as well as what he said was a “broad concern” about Bolton. He said if no crime is found during the investigation, no prosecution will be brought, but that if a crime is found “Ambassador Bolton will get his day in court.”
He said “no, not at all” when asked if Bolton was being pursued because of his criticism of Trump and, that if that were the case, “we would just throw out prosecutions willy-nilly.”
Trump makes FIFA announcement
Speaking from the Oval Office alongside FIFA head Gianni Infantino, the president said the FIFA draw would take place at the Kennedy Center on Dec. 5.
Trump has made the Kennedy Center a focal point for his efforts to remake Washington, visiting it earlier in the day and talking extensively about renovations to the building. He referred to it as the “Trump-Kennedy Center.”
ESPN had previously reported that the draw would be held in Las Vegas.
Trump administration says George Mason University illegally used race in hiring and policies
The Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights issued the finding against the public university in Virginia.
The department says the university must review its policies, conduct annual trainings and issue a statement that includes a personal apology from the president. It directs the university to comply within 10 days.
University officials did not respond immediately to an email request for comment on Friday.
The federal investigation follows a complaint by multiple professors accusing the university of favoring faculty candidates based on diversity considerations rather than their credentials.
Trump asks for $2 billion for DC from the same Congress that took $1billion from city budget
President Trump’s announcement Friday that he would seek $2 billion from Congress to beautify Washington D.C. will likely be received with ironic eyerolls from the local government. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council have spent most of 2025 (prior to the current federal takeover crisis) dealing with an artificial budget crisis created by this Congress.
An obscure change in a federal government funding bill forced the district’s government to revert to its 2024 budget parameters, effectively cutting $1.1 billion from its previously balanced budget midway through the financial year.
The Senate approved the funding bill with the cut but immediately followed up with a separate bill that would make the district’s budget whole again. That bill has languished in the House of Representatives for months while Bowser was forced to make drastic moves to avoid layoffs. The hard feelings over the issue remain intense.
Canada will match US exemptions to punishing tariffs, Canadian official says
Canada is dropping retaliatory tariffs to match U.S. tariff exemptions for goods covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada trade pact, a government official familiar with the matter said Friday.
The official said Canada will include the carve-out that the U.S. has on Canadian goods under the 2020 free trade deal that shields the vast majority of goods from the punishing duties.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly ahead of the expected announcement by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
▶ Read more about trade between the U.S. and Canada
Trump says he’ll be leading more White House renovations
“We’re doing some very detailed renovations, fixing things are broken. Fixing floors that are cracked up and not good anymore, and in many cases, they were done in the 50s and 60s and 70s,” Trump told reporters Friday. “We’ll be doing the Lincoln Bathroom which was Art Deco.”
He said of the project, “We’re making it actually incredible.”
According to the White House, the refurbishing of the Lincoln Bedroom and the adjoining sitting room — which featured strong period decor derived and adapted from the historical evidence of the Lincoln era — was completed in November 2005.
Trump suggested the Lincoln Bathroom work could “be done in about a week, two weeks” and said he was considering “doing something on the Executive Office Building” across the street from the White House saying it’d be “all cosmetic.”
Trump has already made extensive changes to the White House, including installing patio seating around the Rose Garden and promising to build a ballroom.
Trump sets $2 billion price tag for beautifying DC
“We’re going to be raising about $2 billion from Congress,” the president told reporters. “Congress is happy to do it.”
Trump has talked about refinishing the roads and sprucing up light poles around the capital.
“It hasn’t been clean” he said. “Now it’s going to be clean.”
Trump had a visible smear of makeup on his hand
The president for a while has been covering bruising on the back of his hand with makeup that doesn’t match his skin tone.
A large spread of makeup could be seen on the back of his hand Friday that appeared more pronounced than usual.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said Trump’s hand bruising is “consistent” with irritation from his “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin.”
Florida conservative Joe Gruters is new RNC chairman after being handpicked by Trump
Republican National Committee members elected Gruters on Friday at their summer meeting in Georgia. He had no opposition.
“Mr. President, thank you for your faith in me,” Gruters said after the vote.
Gruters is a Florida state lawmaker and former state party chairman who was a Trump ally even before the billionaire real estate and marketing mogul first ran for president.
Trump has tightened his grip on the RNC since his first presidential term. Gruters succeeds Michael Whatley, who stepped down to run for U.S. Senate in North Carolina.
▶ Read more about Joe Gruters
More on the redistricting effort in Texas
The Texas Senate has gaveled in for a expected vote on new congressional voting maps for the 2026 midterm elections.
Republicans hope new maps pushed by President Trump will produce five new GOP seats in a bid to hold their slim majority in the U.S. House. Senate approval would send the maps to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to sign into law. Texas’ gerrymandering effort has triggered a ripple effect across several states. California on Thursday passed a bill to put new Democratic-leaning districts to voters in November.
Bolton search is an ‘act of intimidation,’ Trump critic says
Norm Eisen, a former U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic and legal adviser to Democrats during the president’s first impeachment, says the search of Bolton’s home and office is “an obvious act of intimidation.”
“Raiding the home of a high-profile critic in this way is an attack on the fundamental American right to disagree with the government,” Eisen said in a joint statement with Susan Corke, executive director of the group Democracy Defenders Fund.
He contrasted the operation with the 2022 search on Trump’s Florida estate when the president was investigated for keeping classified documents, saying the FBI unsuccessfully negotiated with Trump for a year before executing it.
Trump makes false claim about DC homicides
The president said his crackdown was keeping people safe, claiming it’s “the first time in anybody’s memory that you haven’t had a murder in a week” in the nation’s capital.
That’s not true, however. There were no killings for one week in July and for another week in May, according to local police statistics.
Arming National Guard members escalates Trump’s intervention into policing in DC
And it comes as nearly 2,000 National Guard members are stationed in the city, with the arrival this week of hundreds of troops from several Republican-led states.
The Pentagon and Army said last week that troops would not carry weapons.
The city had been informed about the intent for the National Guard to be armed, a person familiar with the conversations said earlier this week. The person was not authorized to disclose the plans and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Trump says he’ll keep extending TikTok shutdown deadline
The president called national security and privacy concerns related to TikTok and its Chinese parent company “highly overrated.”
“I used TikTok in the campaign,” Trump told reporters.
“I’m a fan of TikTok,” he said. “My kids like TikTok. Young people love TikTok. If we could keep it going.”
His comments follow the White House starting a TikTok account this week.
Congress approved a U.S. ban on TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, sold its controlling stake. But Trump has extended the platform’s shutdown deadline repeatedly since taking office for his second term.
“We’re gonna watch the security concerns” Trump said, but added “We have buyers, American-buyers” and “until the complexity of things work out, we just extend a little bit longer.”
Trump says he’s the ‘chief law enforcement officer’
And, speaking about the Bolton raids, said he “could be the one starting it” if he chose.
The president, in his comments to reporters at the White House Historical Association, said he’s told Attorney General Pam Bondi to “do what you have to do” and that he doesn’t want to know about their work, but suggested he could be much more involved if he chose, saying, “I could know about it. I could be the one starting it.”
“I’m actually the chief law enforcement officer,” he said. “But I feel that it’s better this way.”
Trump says he’d ‘rather not’ be part of a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting
“We’re going to see if Putin and Zelenskyy will be working together. It’s like oil and vinegar a little bit. They don’t get along too well for obvious reasons. But we’ll see,” Trump told reporters. “And we’ll see whether or not I would have to be there. I’d rather not, I’d rather them have a meeting and see how they can do.”
Trump has previously suggested that the White House is working to facilitate a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting in the short term, and that a subsequent, trilateral meeting involving those two leaders and Trump would likely come next.
Trump threatens to fire Federal Reserve official over alleged mortgage fraud
Fed Governor Lisa Cook is under fire from Trump after an administration official alleged Wednesday that she’d falsely claimed two homes as primary residences in 2021. Primary residences often receive lower mortgage rates than homes purchased for rent or as second homes.
“I’ll fire her if she doesn’t resign.” Trump said Friday. His comment came as Cook is attending the Fed’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with Chair Jerome Powell.
Trump has relentlessly demanded that the Fed cut its key interest rate, which he’s said would reduce interest rate costs on the government’s massive $37 trillion debt pile as well as boost the housing market.
If Trump is able to oust Cook, he could install a loyalist and extend greater control over the Fed, traditionally independent from day-to-day politics. The president can’t fire a Fed governor over a disagreement on rates, but can “for cause,” which typically means malfeasance or neglect of duty.
National Guard members on DC streets for Trump’s crackdown will soon be armed, military says
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered that National Guard troops patrolling the streets of Washington for President Trump’s crackdown will be armed, the Pentagon said Friday.
The Defense Department didn’t immediately offer any other details about the new development.
▶ Read more about the federal intervention in Washington, D.C.
Trump arrives at Kennedy Center, which he says he’s going to renovate
The president, making a stop that wasn’t on his public schedule, arrived at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He told reporters at an earlier stop that he planned to show them marble that would be used in sprucing up the center, along with other planned renovations such as painting the columns from gold to white.
Trump has taken over the center by installing himself as chair and replacing the board of trustees with loyalists. He has also hinted he’d like to see the venue renamed the Trump/Kennedy Center.
Trump said he didn’t know about Bolton raid but says former adviser ‘could be a very unpatriotic guy’
The president, speaking to reporters during an unscheduled visit to the White House Historical Association, said he saw the raid of Bolton’s home on television Friday morning but he didn’t know anything about it.
“He is a, not a smart guy. But he could be very a very unpatriotic guy. We’re going to find out.”
He said he expected to be briefed later in the day about the search of Bolton’s home and office.
“I’m not a fan of John Bolton. He’s a real, sort of, a lowlife,” he said.
Trump visits White House Historical Association
The president made a surprise visit Friday morning to the White House Historical Association, which sits less than a block away from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue.
It wasn’t clear what he was doing there and the visit wasn’t on his official schedule.
Trump could be spotted on video posted on social media walking into the building with his chief of staff Susie Wiles.
The association has a gift shop and a replica of the Oval Office as part of its educational center about the White House.
Powell signals Fed may cut rates soon even as inflation risks remain
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday opened the door ever so slightly to lowering a key interest rate in the coming months but gave no hint on the timing of a move and suggested the central bank will proceed cautiously as it continues to evaluate the impact of tariffs and other policies on the economy.
In a high-profile speech that will be closely watched at the White House and on Wall Street, Powell said there are risks of both rising unemployment and stubbornly higher inflation. That puts the Fed in a tough spot, because it would typically cut its short-term rate to boost hiring, while keeping it high — or raising it — to fight inflation.
“The stability of the unemployment rate and other labor market measures allows us to proceed carefully as we consider changes to our policy stance,” Powell said in prepared remarks. That suggests the Fed will continue to evaluate jobs and inflation data as it decides whether to cut rates, including at its next meeting Sept. 16-17.
▶ Read more about Powell and the Federal Reserve
Trump threatens to tighten grip on DC
In an overnight social media post, Trump said he was considering “a complete and total Federal takeover of the City!”
He’s already seized control of the local police department for 30 days, which could be extended with congressional approval.
Trump has claimed the city is in the midst of a crime crisis despite statistics showing a declining problem. The U.S. attorney in Washington has opened an investigation into the numbers, the latest pressure point in a tug of war between the administration and D.C. government.
“Mayor Muriel Bowser must immediately stop giving false and highly inaccurate crime figures, or bad things will happen,” the president wrote.
At Bolton’s home as the FBI search is underway
A few local police cars were stationed across the street from Bolton’s house outside Washington as FBI agents passed in and out. The tan-and-brick structure is set back from a two-lane road on a leafy suburban street.
Reporters and curious neighbors gathered across the street, including a man who gave only his first name as David. He said it appears Bolton is being targeted because of his disagreement with the Trump, a “frightening” prospect.
The crowd grew to include prominent Trump critic George Conway as passing cars slowed near the scene. One driver shouted “shame on you!”
An Iranian operative was charged with plotting to kill Bolton in 2022
The plot was in presumed retaliation for a January 2020 U.S. airstrike that killed the country’s most powerful general. Bolton had by then left the Trump administration but tweeted, “Hope this is the first step to regime change in Tehran.”
Bolton became a strong Trump critic after leaving his administration
In his book “The Room Where It Happened,” Bolton portrayed Trump as grossly ill-informed about foreign policy and said he “saw conspiracies behind rocks, and remained stunningly uninformed on how to run the White House, let alone the huge federal government.”
Trump responded by slamming Bolton as a “crazy” war-monger who would have led the country into “World War Six.”
Trump’s schedule for Friday
The president is scheduled to make an “announcement” at noon ET in the Oval Office. It’s unclear what it will be about.
This is the only event on Trump’s public schedule.
Trump officials previously scrutinized Bolton’s scathing book
Bolton faced scrutiny during the first Trump administration over a book he wrote about his time in government, “The Room Where it Happened,” that officials argued disclosed classified information.
The Justice Department in 2021 abandoned its lawsuit and dropped a separate grand jury investigation.
Bolton’s lawyers have said he moved forward with the book, which was published in 2020, after a White House National Security Council official, with whom Bolton had worked for months, had said the manuscript no longer contained classified information.
Bolton seen at Washington office talking to FBI agents
As the search was ongoing, Bolton could be seen standing inside in the lobby of the Washington building where he keeps an office and talking to two people with “FBI” visible on their vests.
He was spotted by an Associated Press reporter who arrived at the building. He left a few minutes later and appeared to have gone upstairs in the building.
Roger Stone: ‘How does it feel?’
Longtime political adviser Roger Stone, who was prosecuted during the Russia investigation and later pardoned by Trump, was gleeful on social media.
“How does it feel to have your home raided at 6 o’clock in the morning?” he posted.
Intelligence leaders posted online about the search of Bolton’s home
FBI Director Kash Patel, who in a 2023 book he wrote included Bolton in a list of “members of the Executive Branch Deep State,” posted on X: “NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission.” Attorney General Pam Bondi shared his post, adding: “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.”
Bolton has not been detained or charged with any crimes
That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the investigation by name and spoke on the condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.
— Eric Tucker
Bolton’s security clearance was revoked in January
On his first day back in office this year, Trump, a Republican, revoked the security clearances of more than four dozen former intelligence officials, including Bolton. Bolton was also among a trio of former Trump officials whose security details were canceled by Trump earlier this year.
What to know about John Bolton
During Trump’s first term, Bolton served as the president’s third national security adviser for 17 months and clashed with him over Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea. The first Trump administration had unsuccessfully sought to block the publication of a Bolton book that it said contained classified information.
The Associated Press
