Supreme Court Lets Trump Keep Building His $400 Million White House Ballroom — For Now
Chief Justice John Roberts handed Trump an important temporary victory today, allowing construction on the enormous White House ballroom to continue while the Supreme Court considers the administration’s emergency appeal. Lower courts had ordered aboveground construction stopped because Congress had not authorized the project. The administration now argues that stopping halfway through construction creates national-security risks, while preservationists say Trump is effectively remodeling one of the country’s most important public buildings first and asking permission later. Roberts has not decided the underlying dispute, but for the moment, the bulldozers can keep moving.
Iran Threatens a “Devastating” Response as Trump Prepares His Economic D-Day
The Iran war is entering a new phase, although “new” might be generous after nearly six months of confrontation. The Trump administration is promising what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent describes as extraordinarily severe economic measures designed to cut Iran off from international trade and financing. Iran responded today by warning that additional American pressure would bring a “devastating” response. The real test will be China: Washington wants Beijing’s cooperation, while China has already signaled that it does not believe more sanctions are the answer.
Trump Is Sending 1,000 Federal Election Monitors Across the Country
The Justice Department is preparing to deploy as many as 1,000 election monitors for the November midterms, an unusually large federal presence that is already alarming voting-rights experts. The administration says the monitors will help protect election integrity. Critics want to know where these officials will be sent, exactly what authority they will have and whether their presence could intimidate voters or interfere with state election administration. With Trump’s years of claims about election fraud hanging over everything, even routine federal election oversight is now politically radioactive.
Trump Hits the Campaign Trail for Lindsey Graham’s Sister
Trump is heading to South Carolina today to campaign for Sen. Darline Graham ahead of Tuesday’s Republican Senate runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman. Graham was appointed to replace her late brother, Lindsey Graham, and is now trying to win the seat outright despite having little previous political experience. Her performance in the campaign has drawn criticism, including from Republicans, but Trump’s endorsement helped propel her to first place in the initial primary. The runoff is becoming another very clean test of a familiar question: can Trump’s endorsement overcome doubts about the candidate herself?
Court Blocks DOJ’s Attempt to Go After Letitia James — Again
The Trump Justice Department suffered another legal defeat today in its long-running confrontation with New York Attorney General Letitia James. A federal appeals court upheld a ruling blocking DOJ subpoenas targeting James’s office, concluding that John Sarcone, the Trump ally who issued them, had been unlawfully serving as acting U.S. attorney in Albany. James has argued that the investigation is retaliation for the cases she previously brought against Trump and his businesses. The Justice Department says it intends to keep fighting, potentially taking the appointment dispute to the Supreme Court.
Navy May Remove Black WWII Hero’s Name From Carrier and Replace It With Trump’s
A political firestorm is growing over reports that the Navy is considering renaming the future USS Doris Miller after Donald Trump. Miller, a Black sailor who became a hero during the attack on Pearl Harbor, was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions and became an important symbol of Black military service during segregation. His family says it is shocked by the possibility of his name being removed. The controversy is especially striking because Trump would be replacing the name of a decorated serviceman with his own while still serving as president.
Progressive Aisha Wahab Wins Eric Swalwell’s Former House Seat
California state Sen. Aisha Wahab has won the special election to replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell, adding another progressive voice to the Democratic caucus. Her victory matters beyond one safe Democratic district because it follows a string of surprisingly strong performances by left-wing candidates this primary season. Democratic voters in several places are signaling that simply promising to oppose Trump isn’t enough; they increasingly want candidates talking aggressively about affordability, housing, healthcare and corporate power. Party leaders now have to decide whether this is a handful of local results or the beginning of a much larger ideological shift.
Trump Administration Begins Deportations to Haiti After Ending Protections
The first deportation flight to Haiti has landed following the administration’s suspension of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians in the United States. The move comes despite continuing concerns about instability and violence in Haiti and is another significant expansion of Trump’s deportation campaign. The administration argues that temporary immigration protections were never intended to become permanent residency programs. Immigration advocates counter that returning people to countries facing severe insecurity can put deportees directly in danger.
Stars and Stripes Shakeup Raises New Questions About Pentagon Press Freedom
The editor and other senior personnel at Stars and Stripes are being pushed out amid a dispute over the military newspaper’s editorial independence. The publication is unusual: it serves American troops and receives government support but historically operates with legal protections intended to preserve independent journalism. Critics say the personnel changes look like punishment for resisting political interference, while the administration describes the dispute as a management issue. The larger question is uncomfortable for the Pentagon: can a military newspaper meaningfully scrutinize military leadership if its journalists fear losing their jobs for doing it?
Crypto, AI and Prediction-Market Money Is Flooding the Midterms
The people buying political influence in Washington are changing. Reuters reports that cryptocurrency companies, artificial-intelligence interests and prediction-market businesses are pouring unprecedented amounts of money into the 2026 elections, joining—or replacing—traditional industries as some of Washington’s most aggressive political spenders. That matters because Congress is simultaneously writing rules governing many of these businesses. With control of both chambers potentially hanging on a relatively small number of races, industries facing billions of dollars in future regulation have discovered that spending a few hundred million dollars on politics can look like a remarkably inexpensive investment.
Perhaps the cost of the ballroom should come from the money appropriated for the Supreme Court. Since Robert seems to support the desecration of one of our most important buildings, he should be enthusiastic to donate the funds from the Supreme Court budget.