Trump Administration

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has tapped Robert O’Brien to become his next national security advisor, replacing John Bolton. The post, which does not require Senate confirmation, comes with a staff of several hundred specialists from the Pentagon, State Department and U.S. intelligence agencies. O’Brien will become the fourth national security advisor to serve Trump, following …

USA Today reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is heading to the Middle East Tuesday as the Trump administration again sent mixed messages about how the U.S. would respond to the crippling attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure. Pompeo has blamed Iran for Saturday’s strikes on the Abqaiq oil processing plant and a key Saudi oil field, where an estimated …

Just in from the Department of Justice: The United States today filed a lawsuit against Edward Snowden, a former employee of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA), who published a book entitled Permanent Record in violation of the non-disclosure agreements he signed with both CIA and NSA. The lawsuit alleges that Snowden published …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Sean Spicer flashed across the screen in a neon green puffy shirt for his debut on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars — at least he chose a blinding lime over Trump orange. He danced a salsa with professional Lindsay Arnold to the Spice Girls “Spice Up Your Life,” and while he earned some respect for the judges …

The Associated Press reports: The House Oversight Committee says it is investigating whether Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao acted improperly to benefit herself or her family’s shipping company. Two Democratic leaders sent a letter Monday asking Chao to turn over documents related to the New York-based company, Foremost Group. Chao’s father and sisters own the company, which transports material to and …

Politico reports: Acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ken Cuccinelli on Sunday defended the Trump administration’s decision not to grant temporary protected status to Bahamians displaced by Hurricane Dorian, saying the government there is “capable of taking care of their own.” “The Bahamas is a perfectly legitimate country capable of taking care of their own,” Cuccinelli said on …

Mediaite reports: White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said that the Trump administration won’t let “a bunch of liberals and socialists” use mass shootings carried out by “bad actors who should not have firearms in the first place” to take people’s guns from them. Bill Hemmer — filling in for Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday — brought up how Trump …

USA Today reports: American Pharoah has it all these days. By becoming the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years in 2015, the horse secured a life of pampering and mating at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud Farm in Versailles, Kentucky. He also enjoys visits from figures such as Vice President Mike Pence, who visited the horse on the farm in March …

Axios reports: Former national security adviser John Bolton resigned the day after a Monday discussion about Iran policy in which President Trump raised the possibility of relieving some sanctions, a person close to Bolton tells Axios. What happened: Bolton did not favor giving the Iranians relief and believed the maximum pressure campaign was working, the person, who spoke on condition …

Bloomberg reports: The Trump administration scrapped three border wall projects that it said it intended to build using money found from cost savings in constructing other portions of the barrier along the southern border. In a court filing on Friday (Sept 13), the administration said it had determined the savings weren’t sufficient to pay for the additional 20 miles of …

The New York Times reports: Last spring, the Giulianis filed for divorce after 16 years of marriage, setting off a rancorous battle that, like most everything Mr. Giuliani touches, demanded attention. In caustic legal proceedings this summer, the separated couple has battled over things as prosaic as her kitchen renovations and as rarefied as his splurges — $7,131 on fountain …

The Associated Press reports: Federal prosecutors have recommended bringing criminal charges against Andrew McCabe, the former deputy director of the FBI and a frequent target of criticism by President Donald Trump, a person familiar with the decision said Thursday. McCabe was fired from the FBI just before his retirement in March 2018 after the Justice Department’s internal watchdog concluded that …

Politico reports: The U.S. government concluded within the last two years that Israel was most likely behind the placement of cell-phone surveillance devices that were found near the White House and other sensitive locations around Washington, D.C., according to three former senior U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter. But unlike most other occasions when flagrant incidents of foreign spying …

The New York Times reports: The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the Trump administration to bar many Central American migrants from seeking asylum in the United States. The court said the administration may enforce new rules that generally forbid asylum applications from people who had traveled through another country on their way to the United States without being denied asylum …

ABC News reports: Wednesday marks six months since a White House press secretary last came to the podium in the briefing room to field questions from reporters in a traditional format and the Trump administration has no plans to resume the daily and sometimes combative encounters with the White House press corps. “President Trump communicates directly with the American people …

Axios reports: President Trump addressed the reasons behind John Bolton’s removal as national security adviser on Wednesday, telling reporters that Bolton “made some very big mistakes” and was “not getting along with people in the administration.” The tumultuous working relationship between Trump and his ultra-hawkish adviser ended suddenly on Tuesday. Trump tweeted that he’d fired Bolton, who then claimed to …

Fox News is thrilled to report: The Supreme Court is considering an emergency appeal from the Justice Department that would allow them to enforce, for now, the Trump administration’s ban on asylum for anyone trying to cross the southern border by transiting through a third country. The Justice Department on Tuesday filed a supplemental brief with the justices, criticizing a …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump has ordered White House officials to conduct a sweeping crackdown on homelessness in California, citing the state’s growing crisis, according to four government officials aware of the effort. The talks have intensified in recent weeks. Administration officials have discussed using the federal government to get homeless people off the streets of Los Angeles and …

Newsweek reports: National Security Adviser John Bolton insists he resigned from his position at the White House, despite a tweet from President Donald Trump implying Bolton had been let go from the Trump administration. It is unclear whether Bolton got to talk to Trump before his termination decision was made. Trump broke the news by tweeting, “I informed John Bolton …

Reuters reports: The news that a cabinet member in the Trump administration had threatened to fire politically-appointed staff at the agency in order to force the NOAA to contradict the advice of its own scientists prompted immediate condemnation. The head of the environmental group the Sierra Club, Michael Brune, called on Ross to resign to “maintain the dignity of the …