Appeals court sides with Trump in Oregon National Guard case; demolition of White House's East Wing facade underway for ballroom project
This version of Rcrd91103 - Politics and Government | NBC News Clone was adapted by NBC News Clone to help readers digest key facts more efficiently.
President Donald Trump met with the prime minister of Australia. They signed an agreement on Australia's rare-earth minerals and discussed trade and the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.
What to know today
- NATIONAL GUARD: A federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration can send National Guard troops into Oregon, despite the state’s opposition. The 2-1 ruling said President Donald Trump most likely “exercises his statutory authority” in ordering the deployment of troops.
- WHITE HOUSE DEMOLITION: Construction crews started demolishing part of the East Wing of the White House as part of Trump’s project to build a new ballroom. Trump said in July that the project “won’t interfere with the current building,” but photos today showed the removal of the facade.
- TRUMP-ALBANESE MEETING: Trump met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House, where they signed an agreement on Australia’s rare-earth minerals and are discussing trade and the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.
- SHUTDOWN DAY 20: As the government shutdown enters another week with no end to the stalemate in sight, air travel delays are worsening around the country, and the federal agency that oversees the U.S. nuclear stockpile is set to furlough most of its staff. Meanwhile, the Senate rejected the House-passed short-term spending bill for the 11th time.
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Biden completes course of radiation treatment for prostate cancer
Former President Joe Biden, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in May, completed a course of radiation treatment today, his office said.
Biden underwent several weeks of treatment, according to his office.
It was not immediately clear whether Biden, 82, will require additional treatment or measures for his care.
Biden’s daughter Ashley Biden posted a video on her Instagram story of the former president at a University of Pennsylvania medical facility ringing the bell — a tradition for cancer patients marking the completion of, or reaching a major milestone of, cancer treatment.
John Thune says Trump’s embattled pick for Office of Special Counsel won’t get confirmed
Trump’s nominee to lead a key federal whistleblower agency appears unlikely to secure confirmation after several Senate Republicans indicated today that his pick doesn’t have their support.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., asked whether the White House should pull the nomination of far-right former podcaster Paul Ingrassia, said, “I think so.”
“He’s not going to pass,” he added.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., separately told NBC News that he will oppose Ingrassia’s nomination.
Demolition of the White House’s East Wing facade starts for Trump’s ballroom project
Construction crews today started demolishing part of the East Wing of the White House as part of Trump’s project to build a new ballroom, according to an administration official.
Trump said in July that the project “won’t interfere with the current building.”
“It’ll be near it, but not touching it, and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of,” Trump said at the time.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions about how much of the structure it plans to demolish and why it’s happening after Trump’s earlier insistence that the White House itself wouldn’t be touched.
Trump’s Argentina beef import plan will ‘harm’ U.S. ranchers, industry warns
The American cattle ranching industry is blasting Trump’s proposal to purchase beef from Argentina in an effort to lower supermarket beef prices.
“This plan only creates chaos at a critical time of the year for American cattle producers, while doing nothing to lower grocery store prices,” Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, said in a statement today.
Trump floated purchasing beef from the South American nation yesterday aboard Air Force One to push down U.S. beef prices by increasing the overall supply.
“We would buy some beef from Argentina,” Trump told reporters, “If we do that, that will bring our beef prices down.”
Senate rejects House-passed Republican stopgap bill for 11th time
The Senate tonight rejected the House-passed funding bill for the 11th time.
The vote was 50-43. The legislation would reopen the government and keep it open until Nov. 21, giving congressional appropriators more time to try to finish full-year funding bills.
Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Angus King, I-Maine, who caucuses with the Democrats, voted in favor of passing it. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was not present for the vote; he has consistently voted for the bill.
Democrats have an advertising advantage in this year’s biggest elections
Democrats have something important in common across the three highest-profile elections coming in November: an ad-spending edge.
Money doesn’t buy everything in campaigns — or else the history books would look very different. But the data, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact, tells a story about the state of each race.
Take California, where the Democrats supporting the ballot measure for a gerrymander that would help paint some Republican-held seats blue have long held a massive spending edge. It’s even more pronounced in the last week, as the opposition has virtually pulled its money off of the airwaves ahead of the vote.
In Virginia’s gubernatorial election, Democrat Abigail Spanberger has benefited from a consistent 2-to-1 spending edge, which she has used to stay tightly focused on an economic message — as her Republican opponent, Winsome Earle-Sears, has been hammering Spanberger on social issues and on the violent texts sent several years ago by the Democratic attorney general nominee.
Illinois urges Supreme Court to deny Trump's request to allow deployment of National Guard
The state of Illinois and city of Chicago filed their response to the Trump administration’s emergency Supreme Court application for a pause on a federal judge's ruling that blocked the administration from deploying members of the National Guard on the streets of Chicago.
“The Framers carefully apportioned responsibility over the 'militia' — today, the National Guard — between the federal government and the States, granting the federal government the authority to call up the militia only for specific purposes and at specific times,” attorneys for Chicago and Illinois wrote.
They argued that the conditions on the ground do not require the National Guard’s deployment. “No protest activity in Illinois has rendered the President unable to execute federal law,” they wrote. “As the lower courts recognized, the Broadview protests, which have been ongoing for months, have drawn only small groups and never hindered the continued operation of the ICE facility there.”
“The isolated, unconnected incidents occurring elsewhere in the Chicago area likewise do not support federalizing the Guard ... as the lower courts correctly concluded,” the attorneys added.
The Supreme Court is likely to wait for a reply from the Trump administration before it rules on the case.
National Guard troops could remain in D.C. into 2026, court filing says
National Guard members deployed in Washington are “likely to remain here indefinitely — potentially through at least the summer of 2026,” the D.C. Attorney General's office said in a court filing today.
The filing cited evidence the Trump administration has turned over as part of the AG's lawsuit challenging the continued deployment of the guard in the city.
"First, discovery has made clear that Defendants have no intention of ending this deployment soon. General [Leland] Blanchard has told his officers 'to plan and prepare for a long-term persistent presence,' which he believes may run at least through the celebration of 'America 250' in the summer of 2026," the filing said, referring to the nation's 250th birthday celebration in July.
The Trump administration has already extended "the deputation of all National Guard troops until at least November 30," the filing said.
The AG's office contended it needs a judge to stop the deployments because the administration is "engaged in a long-term law enforcement operation in the District — a grave 'incursion on [the District’s] sovereignty' that 'constitutes proof of an irreparable harm.'”
Trump brings Herschel Walker onstage during collegiate baseball event at White House
Trump, who is hosting Louisiana State University’s winning baseball teams in the White House of the East Room, pulled up his recently confirmed ambassador to the Bahamas, Herschel Walker, onstage for brief remarks this afternoon.
Trump introduced Walker, a former University of Georgia college football star who went on to play in the NFL, by saying: "I'm not sure that LSU loves this guy, but they do respect him. There's nobody like him." Walker said he “absolutely loved” Trump and congratulated the LSU players.
Walker ran a tumultuous and unsuccessful campaign as a Republican candidate for a Senate seat in Georgia three years ago. He'll be the first U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas in nearly 15 years.
Potential 2028 presidential contenders hit the trail in this year’s big campaigns
As Detroit rapper Gmac Cash’s “Big Gretch” blared through the speakers at a union hall, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer walked out onto the rally stage. But the Democrat wasn’t campaigning in her home state.
Whitmer found herself in New Jersey on Saturday morning, just more than two weeks before voters there select their next governor, in one of two gubernatorial contests in the country this year.
“Some of you might know me as ‘Big Gretch,’” Whitmer said. “Some people refer to me as ‘that woman from Michigan.’ However you know me, I am damn glad to be here in the Garden State this morning.”
The two-term governor then made her pitch for Rep. Mikie Sherrill to join the ranks of Democratic governors — a speech that also doubled as a potential preview of a Whitmer pitch to lead the Democratic Party.
James Comey wants ‘vindictive’ case dropped and Trump’s prosecutor disqualified
Former FBI Director James Comey filed motions today seeking the dismissal of the criminal charges against him, arguing that the lawyer Trump named to prosecute him, Lindsey Halligan, wasn’t properly appointed and that the case was politically motivated.
Comey’s team argued that the indictment arose from “multiple glaring constitutional violations and an egregious abuse of power by the federal government” and that the “bedrock principles of due process and equal protection have long ensured that government officials may not use courts to punish and imprison their perceived personal and political enemies.”
Halligan, a former insurance lawyer who is interim head of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, was “defectively appointed to her office as an interim U.S. Attorney,” Comey’s attorneys argued, adding that her appointment “violated the congressionally designed and constitutionally compelled means for the Attorney General to appoint an official as interim U.S. Attorney.”
Comey’s team went on to argue that “because no properly appointed Executive Branch official sought and obtained the indictment, the indictment is equally a nullity.”
Appeals court allows Trump’s deployment of National Guard in Portland
A federal appeals court ruling today will allow the Trump administration to send National Guard troops into Oregon against the state’s wishes, hitting pause on a lower court’s order that had barred the deployment.
“After considering the record at this preliminary stage, we conclude that it is likely that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority,” the panel of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges wrote in a 2-1 ruling.
Justice Department attorneys had argued in a court filing that U.S. District Judge Karen Immergut’s ruling temporarily halting the deployment “improperly impinges on the Commander in Chief’s supervision of military operations, countermands a military directive to officers in the field, and endangers federal personnel and property.”
Immergut, a Trump nominee, said in her order that it appeared Trump was acting in bad faith with exaggerated claims of violence in the city, including that it was “war ravaged” with “ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa” and “crazy people” who “try to burn down buildings, including federal buildings” every night.
Chicago school increases security after a 'potential threat'
A Chicago public elementary school added police security at arrival and dismissal times as authorities investigate a “potential threat” against a staff member, according a letter the principal sent to the community.
“We were recently made aware of social media posts with language that resemble a potential threat to a staff member,” Principal Dawn Iles-Gomez of Nathan Hale Elementary School wrote.
Chicago Public schools provided a copy of the letter after NBC News inquired about a viral online video showing a woman at a “No Kings”-related event Saturday gesturing to her neck as if she were holding a gun. Some people online thought the gesture was mocking the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Online users identified her as a CPS teacher.
A CPS spokesperson told NBC News that the district was aware that an employee was recorded at a protest this past weekend and is the subject of posts on social media. The spokesperson did not confirm whom they were referring to.
“Chicago Public Schools (CPS) remains committed to creating and maintaining a welcoming, safe, and inclusive teaching and learning environment, free from harassment, bias, or harm of any kind,” the spokesperson added. “While CPS does not comment on specific personnel matters the District follows a consistent process when allegations of misconduct are reported. Employees found to have violated Board policy are subject to disciplinary action.”
CPS also released a copy of the letter indicating threats had come its way.
“Out of an abundance of caution, CPD will provide us with additional safety support at our school’s arrival and dismissal tomorrow,” read the letter.
Below is the letter school officials sent to the larger Hale school community:
Dear Hale Parents, and Staff,
Safety continues to be my top priority, which is why I am writing to notify you of a situation involving our school. We were recently made aware of social media posts with language that resemble a potential threat to a staff member. We take all potential threats extremely seriously to ensure the safety of our school community. The Chicago Police Department (CPD) and the CPS Office of Safety and Security have been notified, and CPD is currently investigating this situation further. I will update you once the investigation is complete. Please know that we are taking this situation very seriously. Out of an abundance of caution, CPD will provide us with additional safety support at our school’s arrival and dismissal tomorrow.
Thank you for your continued partnership. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly.
Sincerely,
Principal Iles-Gomez
Putin and Zelenskyy detail what it would take to end their war
After Trump’s White House meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his phone call with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, details are emerging about what each side says it will take to end their yearslong war. NBC News’ Keir Simmons reports for "TODAY."
Kenny Loggins rips use of 'Danger Zone' in AI video showing Trump dumping on 'No Kings' rallyers
"Danger Zone" singer Kenny Loggins is not all right with his "Top Gun" theme song's being used in an artificial intelligence Trump video showing Trump dropping apparent fecal matter on "No Kings" protesters from a fighter jet.
Loggins, the Oscar-nominated and Grammy-winning king of the soundtrack whose hits also include the "Footloose" theme and "I'm Alright" from "Caddyshack," asked that his song be "removed immediately" from the video.
“This is an unauthorized use of my performance of ‘Danger Zone!’ Nobody asked me for my permission, which I would have denied," he wrote on Instagram.
“I can’t imagine why anybody would want their music used or associated with something created with the sole purpose of dividing us. Too many people are trying to tear us apart, and we need to find new ways to come together. We’re all Americans, and we’re all patriotic. There is no ‘us and them’ — that’s not who we are, nor is it what we should be," he wrote.
"We’re in this together, and it is my hope that we can embrace music as a way of celebrating and uniting each and every one of us.”
Asked to comment on Loggins' request, the White House responded with a meme from "Top Gun": Tom Cruise's Maverick character saying, "I feel the need for speed."
Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel
Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today in Israel, a senior White House official said.
Witkoff confirmed by text message that the meeting happened.
Israel said it had begun the “renewed enforcement of the ceasefire” yesterday after it launched strikes in Gaza over what it said was Hamas' violation of the truce with attacks on Israeli soldiers that killed two.
Trump clarifies he wouldn't put U.S. boots on the ground in Gaza to 'eradicate' Hamas
Speaking with reporters, Trump clarified his previous remarks about the possibility of eradicating Hamas in Gaza if it doesn't abide by the ceasefire agreement with Israel, making it clear he wouldn't deploy U.S. troops to Gaza.
"No, it won't be on the ground at all," he said, adding that he has the power to tell Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to break the ceasefire and have Israel Defense Forces eradicate members of Hamas. "I could tell him go in and take care of it."
Trump added that "they're going to be very good, they're going to behave, they're going to be nice, and if they're not, we're going to go and we're going to eradicate them."
He also suggested that the people who attacked Israeli troops over the weekend in Gaza weren't acting on the part of Hamas' leadership.
"I don't believe it was the leadership, but they had some rebellion in there among themselves, and they killed some people. ... But this is a violent group, you know, you probably noticed over the last 100 years, this is a very violent group of people, and they got very rambunctious and they did things that they shouldn't be doing. And if they keep doing it, then we're going to go in and straighten it out, and it'll happen very quickly and pretty violently, unfortunately."
Trump says he doesn't think Ukraine will win the war
Asked about the war in Ukraine, Trump told reporters he did not think Ukraine would win, an apparent change in rhetoric.
"They could still win it," he said. "I don't think they will, but they could still win it."
"Anything can happen," he added a moment later.
Trump said last month that he thought Ukraine, with the European Union's support, could win back its territory.
Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday after he held a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Zelenskyy sought during the meeting to press the administration for long-range missiles that could strike deep into Russia.
After the meeting, Trump seemed to again shift his stance on concessions Ukraine might need to make to end the war, saying last night that Russia and Ukraine should try to end it by keeping territory they currently control.
Trump confirms the Australian PM invited him to Australia
Trump confirmed that Albanese invited him today to visit Australia.
"In fact, I’ve been invited to go, and I’ll have to give it serious consideration," Trump said. "It’s a real possibility."
"Indeed," Albanese chimed in.
Trump says the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarined deal is moving ahead 'very, very quickly'
Asked whether he was interested in expediting nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, Trump said, "we are doing that, yeah."
"We have them moving very, very quickly," Trump said, referring to the AUKUS deal, which would see Australia spend $239 billion on the submarines over three decades.
Trump and Albanese sign agreement on rare earth minerals
Trump and Albanese signed an agreement on rare earth minerals.
"Today’s agreement on critical minerals and rare earths is just taking it to the next level, seizing those opportunities, which are before us," Albanese said.
The agreement comes as China announced it would impose export controls on rare earth minerals, prompting Trump to threaten to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese exports.
Trump said that the two leaders will also discuss trade, submarines and military equipment, referring to the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.
Australian prime minister arrives at the White House
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived at the White House for his meeting with Trump.
President Trump greets Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House on Monday. Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images
Ahead of the meeting, Albanese said in a post on X that "we’ll work hard here to create benefits for Australians back home, from regional security to trade and investment."
This is the first formal meeting between the two leaders. Albanese’s office said yesterday that he plans to discuss his country’s rare-earth minerals, trade and the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.
DOJ indicates it might try to disqualify James Comey’s defense attorney
The Justice Department indicated in a court filing last night that it might try to disqualify James Comey’s attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, from its case against the former FBI director.
The filing cited Fitzgerald's alleged involvement in media disclosures when Comey was fired as FBI chief in 2017, claiming that Comey used the lawyer "to improperly disclose classified information."
"This fact raises a question of conflict and disqualification for current lead defense counsel,” the filing said. The Justice Department asked the judge to implement a “filter team” to review evidence that could “inform a potential conflict and disqualification issue for the current lead defense counsel,” it said. That evidence included communications between Comey and several attorneys, including Fitzgerald, the filing said.
Comey's team fired back in a filing today, writing, "There was no 'leaking' of classified information to the press by either Mr. Comey or his counsel. Full stop."
“There is no good faith basis for attributing criminal conduct to either Mr. Comey or his lead defense counsel. Similarly, there is no good faith basis to claim a 'conflict' between Mr. Comey and his counsel, much less a basis to move to disqualify lead defense counsel,” the filing by Comey lawyer Jessica Carmichael said.
The prosecutors' filing referred to a 2019 Justice Department inspector general report that found that Fitzgerald played a role in media disclosures in 2017 after Comey’s dismissal.
The report concluded that some information Comey shared with his attorneys was classified, but said the inspector general “found no evidence that Comey or his attorneys released any of the classified information contained in any of the memos to members of the media.”
When the FBI took steps to delete the information from Fitzgerald’s computer accounts, Fitzgerald “voluntarily and promptly” cooperated with law enforcement, the report said.
Comey was indicted last month on charges that he made a false statement to Congress and obstructed a congressional proceeding. The charges stem from testimony he gave to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020 reaffirming his previous comments to the committee denying he had authorized a leak to the media about an FBI investigation of the Clinton Foundation.
Comey has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
FBI investigates hunting stand with direct sight line to Air Force One
The FBI is investigating a suspicious hunting stand found in a tree near Palm Beach International Airport with a direct sight line to where Trump would have exited Air Force One. NBC’s Garrett Haake reports for "TODAY."
Supreme Court agrees to review law that bars drug users from having firearms
The Supreme Court this morning agreed to decide whether a federal law that bars frequent users of illegal drugs from possessing a firearm violates the Constitution’s right to bear arms.
The Trump administration, which is defending the law despite its overall support for gun rights, had asked the justices to hear its appeal of an appeals court ruling in favor of Ali Daniel Hemani, an alleged regular user of marijuana who was charged with violating the law.
It is the same law that Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, was convicted under in June 2024 before being pardoned by his father.
Trump suggests that the Ukraine-Russia war stop at the current 'battle lines'
Trump said last night that Russia and Ukraine should try to end their war by allowing each other to keep the territory they currently control after years of fighting.
Trump was asked on Air Force One if he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their meeting Friday to cede all of Ukraine's Donbas region to Russia.
"No, we never discussed it," Trump said. "We think that what they should do is just stop at the lines where they are, the battle lines. You have a battle line right now. The rest is very tough to negotiate," he said.
Asked what should happen to the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, Trump said, "Let it be cut the way it is. It’s cut up right now. I think 78% of the land is already taken by Russia. You leave it the way it is right now."
"They can negotiate something later on down the line," he added.
Trump's comments come after he hosted Zelenskyy at the White House and held a separate call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, in which the two leaders agreed to meet soon in Budapest, Hungary.
Government shutdown fuels new round of flight delays
As the government shutdown enters a new week, air travel delays are worsening across the country from Newark and Philadelphia to Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas. It comes as the federal agency that oversees the United States' nuclear stockpile is set to furlough most of its staff. While in Washington, there’s still no end in sight to the partisan stalemate and the House is not even in session as Democrats and Republicans battle. NBC’s Ryan Nobles reports for "TODAY."
Patrol vehicle hit by shrapnel as Marines fired live artillery over interstate, California Highway Patrol says
The Marines Corps has launched an investigation after the California Highway Patrol said shrapnel from an artillery shell, fired during a live-fire demonstration touted by the White House, struck a law enforcement vehicle.
No injuries were reported when an artillery round “detonated overhead prematurely” during Saturday’s 250th anniversary celebration for the Marines Corps at Camp Pendleton, the highway patrol said.
But at least one of its patrol vehicles, on hand to help stop and divert traffic on Interstate 5 through the base during the demonstration, was damaged, the highway patrol said in a statement Sunday.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom had been critical of the plan to fire live munitions over the interstate in the days leading up to Saturday’s celebrations, which were attended by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who both spoke at the event.
Trump says Gaza ceasefire still in place after Israeli strikes
Trump insisted that the ceasefire in Gaza is still in place after Israel launched strikes in the enclave and traded accusations with Hamas that each side had violated the fragile truce he helped broker.
“We wanna make sure that it’s going to be very peaceful with Hamas,” Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One late yesterday after Israel carried out a wave of strikes in response to what it said were a series of Hamas attacks on Israeli forces in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed yesterday that it had begun “renewed enforcement of the ceasefire” after the first major test of the deal.
Australia could get Trump’s attention with a major bargaining chip
Trump is having his first formal meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House this morning, where the U.S. ally’s reserves of critical minerals could serve as a bargaining chip as the United States fights a trade war with China.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss trade and investment, defense cooperation, Indo-Pacific stability and the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, Albanese’s office said yesterday.
