What to know today
- EPSTEIN FILES: President Donald Trump again defended Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has faced heat for her handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein. He later questioned "why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody."
- UKRAINE WAR: Trump denied that he was considering sending long-range missiles to Ukraine, telling reporters that he does not think his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, should attack Moscow. Trump announced yesterday that the U.S. would send Patriot missiles to Ukraine through NATO.
- ARIZONA PRIMARY: Democrats are holding a primary for the special election in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District to fill the seat of Rep. Raúl Grijalva, who died in March.
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Senate Republicans narrowly advance Trump’s $9 billion spending cut package
Senate Republicans tonight took the first step toward advancing a package of spending cuts proposed by Trump as they race to pass the measure by a Friday deadline.
The procedural vote on the $9.4 billion rescissions package, which seeks to claw back previously approved funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, passed 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance breaking a tie.
Three Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, all members of the Appropriations Committee — joined with every Democrat in voting against it. The proposal must clear one additional procedural hurdle before the Senate can hold a final vote.
Trump says Powell’s role in the Fed’s headquarters renovation 'sort of is' a fireable offense
Trump said tonight that he thinks Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell could be fired over the central bank's headquarters renovation running over budget.
Asked by a reporter about whether the renovation project was cause for dismissing Powell, Trump said: "I think it sort of is."
The Trump administration has recently focused on the cost of the renovations to argue Powell should be fired. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Sunday that Trump's authority to fire Powell was “being looked into.”
Powell has defended the renovations, saying he takes "seriously our responsibility as stewards of the public’s money.”
Trump: 'I don’t understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody'
Trump said that the contents of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were "boring," and that he doesn't understand the ongoing interest in the case.
“He’s dead for a long time. He was never a big factor in terms of life. I don’t understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody," Trump told reporters after being asked about frustration from his supporters over handling of the case.
"It's pretty boring stuff. It's sordid, but it's boring, and I don't understand why it keeps going. I think really only pretty bad people, including fake news, want to keep something like that going. But credible information? Let them give it — anything that's credible, I would say, let them have it," Trump added.
Earlier today, Trump said that Attorney General Pam Bondi should release "whatever she thinks is credible" in terms of records pertaining to the Epstein case.
On the campaign trail, Trump fanned conspiracy theories linked to Epstein’s 2019 death in prison, and said he would have “no problem” looking into a list of Epstein's clients if elected.
Pete Hegseth orders the removal of 2,000 National Guard troops from Los Angeles
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the removal of 2,000 National Guard troops who were mobilized in response to protests in Los Angeles last month over immigration raids, a Pentagon official said today.
“Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
The deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops came after a series of raids by immigration authorities in Los Angeles prompted sometimes-violent protests in parts of the city that were quelled with arrests and the use of “less lethal” weapons.
The Trump administration’s decision to deploy the troops drew fierce criticism from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called it an “assault” on Democracy and invoked “authoritarian regimes” who “begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves.”
Texas Democrats bash redistricting plans after Trump says he wants to pick up 5 congressional seats there
The Texas House Democratic Caucus criticized the state's redistricting plans as an effort by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to "grab political power" in the wake of devastating floods that killed at least 132 people in Central Texas.
“Greg Abbott is trying to use a Texas flooding tragedy to grab political power instead of answering questions about how his management failed," the caucus said in a statement today.
"Greg Abbott is choosing this special session to put lines on a map over the lives that were on the line in Kerr County. Abbott and the Texas GOP are doing this because they want to send more Trump Allies to Washington who will create more chaos that no Republican, Democrat, or Independent voted for last year. Texas House Democrats are going to fight this and use whatever means necessaries to do so," the caucus added.
Trump told reporters earlier today that he’s aiming for Republicans to pick up five House seats in Texas as state lawmakers look into redistricting during a special session this summer.
Trump claims his uncle taught the ‘Unabomber’ at MIT, where Ted Kaczynski was not a student
Trump said during remarks at an artificial intelligence summit in Pennsylvania today that his uncle, John Trump, who was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, taught the “Unambomber” Ted Kaczynski when he was a student.
Kaczynski, who was sentenced to life in prison for staging a series of bombings across the U.S., did not attend MIT. He received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 1962 and later earned master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Michigan.
“My uncle was at MIT, one of the great professors, 51 years whatever, longest serving professor in the history of MIT, three degrees in nuclear, chemical and math. That’s a smart man. Kaczynski was one of his students. Do you know who Kaczynski was? There’s very little difference between a mad man and a genius,” Trump said, adding that he asked his uncle what kind of student Kaczynski was.
“He said, ‘Seriously, good. He said, ‘He’d correct— He’d go around correcting everybody.’ But it didn’t work out too well for him,” Trump said.
Though Harvard and MIT have allowed cross-registering since the 1910s, a copy of Kaczynski’s transcript that he published in a 1999 memoir lists the courses he took as an undergraduate. Harvard course catalogs from 1958 through 1962 — the years Kaczynski attended the school — indicate that the courses on the transcript were taught at Harvard.
John Trump, who held an honorary or staff role at MIT for 52 years, and held a title of professor at the school for 49 years, was not the longest-serving professor the university has had, an MIT spokesperson told Newsweek in 2024.
ACLU objects to Trump administration removing up to 115K unauthorized immigrant kids from Head Start
The ACLU filed a legal objection today to a new Department of Health and Human Services policy that removes thousands of unauthorized immigrant children from Head Start.
Last week HHS announced that effective immediately Head Start would be “reserved for American citizens.” A department analysis of the change estimated the number of children who would be removed ranged from 12,000 to 115,000.
The ACLU objected to the policy in a new amended complaint in its ongoing lawsuit related to HHS changes at Head Start.
Head Start does not check the immigration status of participants, who are mostly 4-year-olds, and it’s not known how many undocumented children currently participate in the program.
HHS estimates the change will save $374 million for U.S.-born children who will now be able to enroll in the program. According to HHS, many Head Start programs have waiting lists and they are unable to serve every family who wants services.
In Central Washington state, where thousands of migrant farmworkers come every year to pick and pack fruit, the policy change is viewed as “awful” by those who support the program and has led to confusion.
“We have not heard anything official about how we are supposed to implement the new directive,” said EPIC Early Learning CEO Mamie Barboza, who operates the Head Start program in Yakima, Washington. “It has contributed to the spirit of fear in our communities.”
HHS says the cost of changing policies will cost about $21 million.
Joel Ryan who is the executive director of the Washington State Association of Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program that is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, says the change requiring Head Start programs to check the status of 4-year-olds in the program is part of an “ongoing assault” that includes layoffs of Head Start staff at HHS headquarters and regional offices around the country.
“I think it’s discriminatory and cruel and mean-spirited,” he said.
HHS says the agency has rescinded a former interpretation of a 1998 law that overhauled welfare reform which allowed unauthorized immigrants to enroll in Head Start and other benefit programs. It argues that Head Start is a “federal public benefit.”
The ACLU and the other plaintiffs disagree. “In the thirty years since Congress enacted [the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996]” Head Start has never been considered a “federal public benefit”…” they wrote.
There are more than 17,000 Head Start centers operating around the country serving more than 700,000 children nationwide.
Vance Boelter indicted on federal murder charges in the killing of Minnesota lawmaker, her husband
The Minnesota man accused of fatally shooting the state’s former house speaker in what authorities have described as a politically motivated assassination claimed that the state’s governor wanted him to kill two U.S. senators, officials said today.
Vance Boelter, 57, made the claims in a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel that was found in Boelter’s car after the shootings last month at two lawmakers’ homes, said acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson, who called the letter part of an effort by Boelter to excuse his crimes.
Thompson said there was no evidence Boelter targeted U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar or Tina Smith. Thompson said the letter, which also included claims that Boelter had carried out missions for the military in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, would be made public in an unsealed search warrant.
Senate Republicans shrink Trump’s spending cut package ahead of a key vote
Senate Republicans are making changes to a $9.4 billion package of spending cuts proposed by Trump as they race to pass the measure by a Friday deadline.
After a lunch meeting today with White House budget director Russell Vought, they agreed on one significant change: removing about $400 million in cuts to PEPFAR, the Bush-era foreign aid program to combat HIV/AIDS, which has been credited with saving millions of lives.
It was done with the aim of securing the simple-majority needed to pass the rescissions package through the Senate, after several Republicans expressed opposition to those cuts.
Schumer says he spoke to Mamdani and will meet with him soon
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that he spoke to Zohran Mamdani on the phone last night and that he plans to meet with the mayoral hopeful in New York City sometime soon.
Schumer was also asked if Mamdani has to do more to assure Jewish New Yorkers who are concerned about his refusal to condemn the "globalize the intifada" slogan.
"What the 'globalize the intifada' means is really wrong and should be condemned and I look forward to my discussions with Mr. Mamdani," he said.
Neither of the top two Democrats in Congress — Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both New Yorkers— have endorsed Mamdani in the race.
