Highlights from Sept. 26, 2025
- SUPREME COURT DECISION: The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to withhold $4 billion in foreign aid. The decision puts on hold an earlier ruling by a federal judge that the administration must spend the funds by September's end.
- BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: The Trump Administration has requested the Supreme Court decide whether Trump's executive order purporting to end birthright citizenship is constitutional.
- NETANYAHU SPEECH: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly today on the war in Gaza and the recognition of a Palestinian state by a growing list of Western countries. Ahead of the speech, dozens of U.N. delegates walked out of the room in protest.
- SHUTDOWN WATCH: Congressional leaders appear to be no closer to reaching a deal to fund the government by the Sept. 30 deadline to avoid a shutdown.
State Department announces it will revoke Colombian president's visa
The State Department said in a statement posted on social media tonight that it will revoke Colombian President Gustavo Petro's visa after an incident in which he addressed pro-Palestinian protesters in New York today.
"Earlier today, Colombian president @petrogustavo stood on a NYC street and urged U.S. soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence. We will revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions," the State Department wrote.
Petro was in New York for the U.N. General Assembly, which wrapped up today. After he left the United Nations, Petro can be seen in video shared by Reuters addressing pro-Palestinian protesters while bearing a Palestinian flag, saying, in Spanish, per an NBC News translation, "We are going to present a resolution that says that the United Nations is ordered to set up an army for the salvation of the world, whose first task is to liberate Palestine."
"The great army has to be bigger than that of the United States. That is why from here, from New York, I ask all the soldiers of the United States Army: Don't point your rifles at humanity. Disobey Trump’s order, obey humanity’s order," Petro said in the video.
The revoked visa is a sharp rebuke after the United States this month added Colombia to a list of countries that aren't cooperating in efforts to combat drug trafficking for the first time in nearly three decades.
Neither Petro, nor his office or the Colombian Foreign Ministry, which also shared a video of the incident, have responded on social media to the State Department’s post.
Bondi announces added security for ICE officers following Dallas facility shooting
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a social media post tonight that she would deploy Justice Department agents to Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, citing what she said was an "onslaught of violence" against ICE officers.
"The Department of Justice will not stand idly by in the face of such lawlessness. At my direction, I am deploying DOJ agents to ICE facilities—and wherever ICE comes under siege—to safeguard federal agents, protect federal property, and immediately arrest all individuals engaged in any federal crime," Bondi wrote.
The announcement comes the same week that a 29-year-old Texas gunman fired on a Dallas ICE facility with the intent of killing ICE agents, federal authorities said. No ICE agents were injured in the shooting, which killed one immigrant detainee and injured two others.
The Justice Department is also directing the Joint Terrorism Task Forces to investigate those involved in acts of domestic terrorism, including violence and efforts to obstruct against federal agents, Bondi said.
Bondi, Trump and other administration officials have threatened to investigate what the president has called the "radical left," and marshal the federal government against what White House chief of staff Stephen Miller referred to as "a vast domestic terror movement."
"Assets mobilizing. This campaign of terrorism will be brought down," Miller wrote in a social media post responding to Bondi's announcement.
Trump asks Supreme Court to rule on plan to end birthright citizenship
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court today to definitively rule on whether the president’s executive order purporting to end automatic birthright citizenship is constitutional.
The two appeals, arising from cases in Washington state and New Hampshire, will likely determine once and for all whether the contentious proposal can move forward.
It has long been assumed that anyone born on U.S. soil becomes a citizen, with the exception of children of diplomats, as laid out in the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
Trump says Microsoft should terminate a top executive 'immediately'
Trump said on Truth Social today that Microsoft should "immediately terminate" its president of global affairs, Lisa Monaco.
Monaco previously held a number of top government national security roles, including serving as deputy attorney general for the duration of the Biden administration.
Monaco began working for Microsoft in July, according to a LinkedIn post.
Trump said Monaco was "corrupt and total Trump deranged" and claimed that she is a "menace to U.S. national security, especially given the major contracts that Microsoft has" with the government.
A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment on the post.
It is highly unusual for a president to call for a company to fire a private citizen from their job, but just months ago Trump also requested that Intel fire its CEO. However, after meeting with Intel's chief executive, Trump said his story was "amazing" and dropped the demand.
Trump refers to 'productive discussions' toward reaching a deal to end Israel-Hamas war
Trump said in a social media post tonight that the United States is engaged in "very inspired and productive discussions with the Middle Eastern Community," amid ongoing negotiations for a peace deal in the Israel-Hamas war and that there is "more Goodwill and Enthusiasm" to reach an agreement.
"Intense negotiations have been going on for four days, and will continue for as long as necessary in order to get a Successfully Completed Agreement. All of the Countries within the Region are involved, Hamas is very much aware of these discussions, and Israel has been informed at all levels, including Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu," Trump wrote.
Earlier today, Trump had floated the possibility of a peace deal, telling reporters after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered remarks at the U.N. General Assembly, “I think we have maybe a deal on Gaza,” even as Netanyahu has strongly opposed growing support for recognizing a Palestinian state.
A senior White House official said that a “deal” hasn’t actually been reached to end the war and nothing is settled.
The president is optimistic but the official’s tone was less optimistic in looking at where things actually stand even as the president continues to work on getting a deal done.
National Guard won’t be paid during shutdown, if it happens
If the government shuts down on Wednesday, National Guard troops that are currently deployed in Washington D.C. would still be required to work and would do so without pay until the funding issue is resolved, according to a source familiar with the plans.
Those troops would receive deferred paychecks once the disagreement between the White House and Congressional Democrats has been resolved, thanks to a law passed in 2019 that no longer requires Congress to retroactively approve the funds for deferred paychecks.
In the past, government agencies have posted their contingency plans for a potential shutdown online but most agencies have not made those public yet.
Powerhouse attorney Robert B. Barnett, known for representing the Obamas and Clintons, dies
Robert B. Barnett, a powerhouse Washington attorney who became a fixture in the political and publishing worlds as the literary representative for Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton and dozens of other leaders, has died at age 79.
One of Barnett’s partners at Williams & Connolly, Michael F. O’Connor, told The Associated Press that he died Thursday night at Sibley Memorial Hospital of an “undisclosed illness.” Additional details were not immediately available.
U.S. preparing options for military strikes on drug targets inside Venezuela, sources say
U.S. military officials are drawing up options to target drug traffickers inside Venezuela, and strikes within that country’s borders could potentially begin in a matter of weeks, four sources told NBC News.
Those sources are two U.S. officials familiar with the planning and two other sources familiar with the discussions. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the plans publicly.
Striking inside Venezuela would be another escalation in the Trump administration’s military campaign against alleged drug targets and its stance toward Venezuela’s government.
Trump says he's ordering Amelia Earhart records to be declassified
Trump said in a social media post today that he would order for records concerning the late famed pilot Amelia Earhart to be declassified.
"I have been asked by many people about the life and times of Amelia Earhart, such an interesting story, and would I consider declassifying and releasing everything about her, in particular, her last, fatal flight!," Trump wrote.
"Her disappearance, almost 90 years ago, has captivated millions. I am ordering my Administration to declassify and release all Government Records related to Amelia Earhart, her final trip, and everything else about her," he added.
Earhart would have been the first woman to fly around the world before she vanished over the Pacific Ocean in 1937.
Supreme Court allows Trump to withhold $4 billion in foreign aid funding
The Supreme Court handed another win to the Trump administration today by allowing it to withhold $4 billion in spending on foreign aid that was appropriated by Congress.
A federal judge had previously ruled that the administration would have to spend the funds by the end of the month, but the Supreme Court’s decision puts that on hold.
The brief order noted that the government has made a “sufficient showing” that the groups that sued were barred from bringing the lawsuit in question under a law called the Impoundment Control Act.
The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, also noted that “the asserted harms to the Executive’s conduct of foreign affairs appear to outweigh the potential harm” to the plaintiffs, which are various groups that receive foreign aid funds.
