White House ballroom construction can continue, Supreme Court rules

President Donald Trump announces new drug-pricing deals in the Oval Office today.  Annabelle Gordon / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Trump announced a new round of drug-pricing agreements with international pharmaceutical companies and some smaller biotechs today, part of a push to make healthcare more affordable for Americans.

Deals were signed with nine companies, including Astellas, BeOne Medicines, CSL, BridgeBIO, Sun Pharmaceutical, Teva and UCB.

These companies have offered drugs to state Medicaid programs at most-favored-nation prices, Trump said at an Oval Office event with executives of the companies, describing it as “a tremendous discount, which should bring down the cost of your medical care by tremendous amounts.”

U.S. patients pay by far the most for prescription medicines, often nearly three times more than in other developed nations, and Trump has been pressuring drugmakers to lower their prices to what patients pay elsewhere.

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Trump called for both parties tonight to back tax incentives to keep movie and television production in the U.S.

Annabelle Gordon / Bloomberg via Getty Images

“I am going to suggest that Republicans and Democrats get together, and immediately craft Legislation to save the Movie, Television, and Entertainment Business in America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He said meetings were “being set up” between the leaders of both parties, adding that money was being lost in California. He also argued that however much money is spent on the tax incentives “will be made up tenfold by the money pouring into the Treasury’s coffers.”

“Congress should approve, immediately, a Federal Production Incentive to create Entertainment Jobs in America. It can be done quickly, accurately, efficiently and, importantly, will benefit ALL of America,” Trump wrote.

Trump will meet with “highly respected” oil refiners and distributors tomorrow to discuss ways to expand U.S. refining capacity with an "ultimate goal" to lower gas prices, according to a White House official.

The official said people at the meeting would include Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, National Energy Dominance Director Jarrod Agen and a mix of small, medium and large refineries and distributors.

“President Trump is laser-focused on ensuring his successful energy dominance agenda translates into the most cost savings possible at the pump for consumers,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement.

“As part of that commitment, the President will meet with industry leaders to collaborate on the best ways to increase refining capacity, further unleash American energy dominance across the entire supply chain, and bring down prices for the American people,” Rogers said.

Adam Gray / Getty Images file

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is expected to step down in the coming days after the White House accepted his resignation, according to a person familiar with the matter and a White House official.

NBC News reported last week that Driscoll had told close associates that he wanted to leave the administration by Labor Day. Driscoll visited the White House last week to discuss his future, according to three U.S. officials, but it wasn’t clear what came of the meeting.

Driscoll, who has been well regarded by many Republicans and Democrats, has been rumored to be leaving the administration for months. He has served in the role since February 2025, and has been a close associate of Vice President JD Vance.

Driscoll is the latest high-profile official at the Defense Department to depart; Navy Secretary John Phelan and the Army chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, were pushed out this spring.

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The U.S. military is not planning to send troops or personnel to polling places during the 2026 midterm elections, according to Gen. Dan Caine, the country’s highest-ranking military officer.

Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the pledge in a letter to Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., who had asked him and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the role of the armed forces during the November elections.

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 Diko Betancourt / Anadolu via Getty Images

Trump touted his recently announced deal for Venezuelan oil but acknowledged it might not bring gas prices down ahead of the midterm elections.

"I think it’s going to have a tremendous impact. Ultimately prices are going to come down," Trump told reporters.

"Now, will it before the election? I can’t tell you that," he said, adding that he believes it will go "much faster" than the several years predicted by analysts. "Could be a little bit, but it's going to go fast," he said.

Trump added, "There are those who say it’s the greatest deal ever made."

Asked whether he could see himself supporting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for president in 2028, Trump said it was too early to say.

"I think he's doing a fantastic job, but it's very early to talk about that. We have to get through the midterms first," he told reporters when he was asked about an NBC News report that Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has told close friends and associates that he is considering a run.

"I think he's a very good guy, but I'll bet there's a lot of people considering it that that you don't know about. You probably have a lot of people," Trump said.

The Supreme Court handed Trump a win today by allowing him to move forward indefinitely with the construction of his new White House ballroom.

The court, divided 5-4, granted an emergency request filed by the Trump administration, blocking lower court rulings that would have put the aboveground part of the project on hold. That followed an interim decision along similar lines Chief Justice John Roberts issued on Aug. 21.

The legal challenge was brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which argued that the president did not have unilateral authority to proceed with construction.

In the unsigned ruling, the court said the trust most likely does not have legal standing to bring the underlying lawsuit. The court did not reach any conclusion about whether Trump has authority to carry out construction without congressional approval.

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Vice President JD Vance described Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s Democratic nominee for the Senate, as “evil” at a campaign rally here today.

“I realize that there’s something about Abdul El-Sayed that is very, very evil and on the rise in the United States of America today,” said Vance, addressing several hundred people at an event put on by MAGA Inc., a super PAC closely aligned with Trump.

“And it’s people who see themselves not as citizens of a common nation fighting for every single person — whether they’re Jewish or Christian, whether they’re white or Black or brown — but see themselves as fighting for one group at the expense of others, and that is how, ladies and gentlemen, you destroy the United States of America,” Vance added.

El-Sayed, who is Muslim, recently apologized for his response after an attack on a Michigan synagogue in March. In a video he posted to social media then, El-Sayed condemned the attack while adding that “hurt people hurt people” — comments that critics have characterized as wrongly empathetic toward someone who violently targeted Jewish people.

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One of the largest pro-AI groups involved in the midterm elections announced a new effort today to shift public opinion on data centers, as they have become a flashpoint in the battle for control of Congress and state and local governments.

The effort includes an initial multimillion-dollar ad campaign in Kansas, Ohio and Wisconsin to promote what its backers believe are responsible policies to govern data center growth. In addition, the group announced the formation of a new political organization that will support state and federal candidates ahead of the November elections.

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When Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, filed his most recent campaign finance report in July, he boasted a war chest of more than $6 million. But the cash is not for Husted’s battle with Democrat Sherrod Brown in what is expected to be one of the year’s most expensive Senate races. Rather, it is the remaining balance in an account that Husted established years ago to fund his long-held ambition of being governor.

The fact that the money is parked there is on a list of worries that have cropped up around Husted this summer as he runs to keep the seat he was appointed to after JD Vance won the vice presidency. The National Republican Senatorial Committee, for example, warned this month that the politically fraught issue of data centers for artificial intelligence companies could doom Husted.

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Trump promoted AI data centers on social media this morning and said the "only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor."

"If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign. The good news is that there are plenty of other places that want them. If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame," he wrote on Truth Social of the controversial centers, which have faced increased bipartisan opposition in recent weeks.

"China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement. Actually, they can’t believe it is happening!" Trump added.

Vice President JD Vance, speaking to reporters while en route to an event in Michigan, took a softer tone when he was asked about Trump's remarks.

"Well, what the president said about data centers is they’re an important part of the AI economy. When people build them, they have to build the power plants along with the data centers. I think probably 99% of the backlash to data centers has come in areas where building a data center means higher utility and higher electricity for the people on the ground," he said.

"If you build a data center, you should be putting power back into the grid, not taking it out. And if that is happening, I don’t think the data centers are that controversial. It’s when the utility bill gets so much higher, that’s when it’s a real problem."

Vance will apeak shortly at a MAGA Inc. political event in Sterling Heights, Michigan, in the highly competitive 10th Congressional District.

Vance is campaigning alongside Senate Republican candidate Mike Rogers, gubernatorial candidate John James and House candidate Mike Bouchard Jr. Treasury Secretary Sean Duffy is also expected attend.

James represents the 10th District, and his decision to run for governor has opened his House seat to a race between Bouchard and former prosecutor Christina Hines on the Democratic side. Last week, Cook Political Report shifted its prediction for the district from “Leans Republican” to “Toss Up.”

James faces state Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic nominee, while Rogers, a former House member, will square off against Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, the former health director of Wayne County.

Vice President JD Vance in Michigan today. Saul Loeb / Pool via AFP-Getty Images

The prediction marketplace platform Kalshi has hit former U.S. Rep. George Santos with its first-ever lifetime ban after finding he bet against his own announced plans to attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.

“The Compliance Department found that Santos made these statements with the intent to manipulate the price of the Yes or No contracts that he intended to purchase. Ultimately, these statements did in fact manipulate the price of said contracts,” the company said.

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Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and other U.S. officials this morning announced the closure of 270 truck driving schools as part of a crackdown on fraud in the trucking industry.

“Today what we are announcing is an emergency executive shutdown of 110 driving schools,” Duffy said, adding that those schools accounted for 5,000 violations related to drivers not satisfying an English proficiency requirement.

“We had tens of thousands of illegal driver’s licenses issued across the states,” he said. “A number of American families whose lives have been ruined, they’ve lost a loved one, or a loved one has been injured by a commercial driver who should have never had a commercial driver’s license.”

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration head Derek Barrs said the federal government has also proposed the removal of an additional 160 schools for lacking adequate training procedures and employing unlicensed instructors.

Trump threatened today to forcefully strike Iran after Washington and Tehran exchanged fire for the first time in a month.

“We’re going to hit them hard,” Trump told Fox News, according to the broadcaster’s chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.

The president vowed there would be “a response” after Iran retaliated to U.S. strikes with an attack on American bases in Jordan.

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Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for the Senate in Michigan, apologized to the state’s Jewish Democratic Caucus on Saturday for comments he made after an attack on a synagogue in March, which he tied to Israel’s actions in the Middle East.

“My comments may have been misconstrued to justify something I did not mean to justify,” El-Sayed told reporters after he addressed the caucus at a party convention in Lansing. “To anyone who feels like my comments might have been hurtful, I’m really sorry. That was not my intention.”

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MyPillow founder Mike Lindell has long denied Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election. Now, he’s refusing to accept his own election loss in the GOP primary for governor of Minnesota.

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Saturday rejected Lindell’s bid for a full recount of his Aug. 11 loss to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth after she won the Republican primary by 45,000 votes.

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters at the Group of 20 finance ministers' meeting here that international pressure could cause Iran's economy to collapse "within weeks or months," but he added that “the economy doesn’t have to collapse,” Tehran just hast to “come to their sense.”

Bessent said of Iran's retaliatory strike last night that “they are lashing out kinetically because they are losing economically,” and he thanked the European Union for its “fulsome support” of ramped-up sanctions against the country.

Bessent also downplayed any impact of the war on U.S. growth. “We will get to the other side of this Iran conflict,” he said.

The House is scheduled to return today from a five-week summer recess with a top priority of avoiding a government shutdown before the midterm elections.

The House will only be in session for four days this week and will return again Sept. 14, after Labor Day, when the Senate will also come back from its lengthy break. From there, the House has just three weeks left in session before Election Day on Nov. 3.

Here’s what could be on the agenda for House Republican leaders before the midterms, when their paper-thin majority will be on the line.

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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, yesterday renewed his call for free and fair elections in Venezuela, just two days after the Trump administration announced that the U.S. would take over 65 billion barrels of oil from the South American nation.

“There need to be democratic, free elections in Venezuela,” Cruz told NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” adding later in the interview that elections should take place there “midway through next year.”

The acting Venezuelan president, Delcy Rodríguez, took over after U.S. forces captured then-President Nicolás Maduro in January and brought him to the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges.

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A national reading room and bookmobile aimed at drawing attention to the Jeffrey Epstein files will begin a tour Sept. 8 in Dallas, just ahead of the Republican midterm convention in the city that’s poised to feature Trump, and appear in battleground states and districts through Election Day, organizers told NBC News.

Called the “Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room,” the traveling exhibit offers up some 3.5 million pages of the Epstein files released by the Trump administration due to a law passed by Congress. It is organized by the nonprofit Institute for Primary Facts and the anti-Trump group Defiance.

The bookmobile has been trotted out earlier this year, appearing in Washington in July. Now, the groups say it will make two-dozen stops in states such as Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa and Florida across eight weeks leading up to the Nov. 3 midterm election.

Supporting the effort are Epstein survivors like Dani Bensky, who has called on the Justice Department to prosecute Epstein’s fellow perpetrators.

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., said yesterday that Democrats should not prioritize impeaching Trump if they win control of the House in the upcoming midterm elections, but instead should focus on making life more affordable for Americans.

Clyburn told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that if Democrats take back the House, he feels confident that their first order of business would be making the country accessible and affordable for all citizens.

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For more than a decade, one of Trump’s greatest strengths has been the devotion of his base — voters who were reluctant to criticize him and quick to defend him in public settings. Many of them have lost or strained friendships with their vehement support and insistence that he is virtually infallible.

But in late-August conversations with Trump voters across eight of the nation’s most competitive congressional districts, running along Interstate 80 from central New Jersey to Omaha, Nebraska, there was a new willingness among Trump voters to voice their critiques on issues including inflation, the war with Iran and the White House ballroom construction.

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U.S. forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in their first military action in a month yesterday, breaking a lull in fighting during an intermittent war that has lasted more than six months. Iran swiftly vowed to retaliate for what it called a deadly attack.

Forces with the Revolutionary Guard Corps were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the strait, according to Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command. The U.S. military last week completed clearing sea mines from the strait’s international shipping routes.

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