Pam Bondi out; Trump says he will order pay for all DHS employees

Blanche, whom Trump named to temporarily lead the Justice Department after Bondi was ousted today, has held two critical positions in his last two jobs.

Most recently, he served for more than a year as deputy attorney general, the No. 2 spot overseeing the department’s daily operations. But just as crucially, he was also Trump’s personal attorney.

Blanche helped Trump survive multiple criminal cases between his terms in office, defending him from prosecutors and appearing by his side during his conviction in New York in a hush money case. The president has said he did nothing wrong.

Blanche, 51, a Denver native, is “a very talented and respected Legal Mind,” Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the move.

Read the full story here.

Hegseth has taken steps to block or delay promotions for more than a dozen Black and female senior officers across all four branches of the military, some of whom are seen as having been targeted because of their race, gender or perceived affiliation with Biden administration policies or officials, according to nine U.S. officials familiar with the process.

The process within the Army, the Air Force, the Navy and the Marines is structured to ensure the most qualified officers get promoted. Hegseth’s decision to intervene in the process has raised concerns among some officials within those military branches and the White House, the nine U.S. officials familiar with the situation said.

“There is not a single service that has been immune to this level of involvement by Hegseth,” one of the U.S. officials said.

Read the full story here.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was pressed about the Trump administration's claims of widespread voter fraud at a Turning Point USA event tonight, with some audience members booing the student who asked whether it's worth pursuing Trump's top legislative priority, the SAVE America Act.

“Voter fraud is incredibly rare,” the student said before citing statistics from the Heritage Foundation and the Brennan Center for Justice. "So my question to you is, is it worth it to risk millions of Americans from voting in order to prevent a few hundred cases of voter fraud?”

The crowd responded to the question with a mix of cheers and boos.

“First of all, thank you for the question. There’s no need to boo. It’s an honest question. I’m happy to give you an honest answer,” Leavitt said.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said tonight that the Justice Department should turn the page on the Epstein files.

“I think that to the extent that the Epstein files was a part of the last year of this Justice Department, it will — should not be a part of anything going forward,” he told Fox News’ Jesse Watters in an on-air interview.

Trump has said it’s time for the country to move on from the files. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office in February, Trump said about Epstein: “I think it’s really time for the country to get onto something else.”

Bondi came under widespread criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans, including the MAGA base, for her handling of the Epstein files. The House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena this year for her to testify before the panel. It's unclear whether she will testify now that she's no longer attorney general.

The newly named acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, sidestepped tonight when he was asked about Trump’s perceived political foes.

In an interview on Fox News, Blanche did not directly answer a question about whether he would pursue cases against New York Attorney General Letitia James, former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

“We don’t talk about investigations, but I can tell you that the Department of Justice is working hard every day. It was working yesterday, and we’re going to keep working tomorrow,” Blanche told Fox News’ Jesse Watters, while he acknowledged that Trump is frustrated and said “everybody” is frustrated.

The Justice Department under Bondi pursued but failed to secure convictions of Trump's top political targets. NBC News has reported that some Trump allies saw that as a contributing factor to her dismissal.

In addition to dismissing the Army chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, Hegseth fired two other Army generals today, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the action.

They are the chief of chaplains, Maj. Gen. William Green, and the commanding general of Army Transformation and Training Command, David Hodne.

Jared Wise, a former Jan. 6 defendant who was later employed by the Trump administration, resigned today from the Justice Department, where he was working with the “weaponization working group.”

“I returned to Washington to fully expose the abuses by the FBI and DOJ against J6 defendants, but it became clear that this will only happen from outside of government. So I left and will do so,” he wrote on X.

Wise, who had been an FBI agent before he was arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, was seen on video yelling “kill ’em” at police officers defending the Capitol during the 2021 riot.

He was on trial when Trump pardoned Jan. 6 defendants and was then hired to work under Ed Martin, who is leading a project to compile a report on the supposed weaponization against Jan. 6 rioters.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ousted the Army chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, four U.S. military officials said.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed George’s departure in a statement today, saying on X that George, the Army’s top officer, would be “retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and General Randy George at the Pentagon, last year. Jim Watson / AFP - Getty Images file

“The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement,” Parnell added.

Hegseth has long eyed removing George, who took the chief post in September 2023. Hegseth has removed other senior officials he believes are associated with previous administrations. George was senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during the Biden administration.

Read the full story here.

NATO’s secretary general is heading to the White House next week as Trump lashes out over European allies’ refusal to join the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran.

NATO and the White House said today that Mark Rutte’s travel was planned long in advance. He has often sought to tamp down Trump’s long-simmering ire toward the trans-Atlantic alliance, and his practice of refusing to criticize the U.S. and insist there is no larger NATO issue has in turn angered some of his European counterparts.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks with President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 21. Mandel Ngan / AFP - Getty Images file

Trump is again vowing to reassess U.S. membership in NATO once the Iran war is over, having called it a “paper tiger” in a recent interview with The Telegraph.

Trump’s main issue right now is NATO members’ refusal to show “courage” and lead the fight in clearing the Strait of Hormuz so oil-bearing ships can once again safely pass. He has also expressed anger that the United Kingdom, Spain and France have declined to allow the U.S. unfettered use of their airspace and military bases for attacks on Iran.

Read the full story here.

House Republican leaders have no plans to bring back members early next week to deal with funding for DHS, according to a senior Republican source.

During a private conference call today, GOP leadership gave no indication to members that there would be a change in the schedule, according to a separate source, a House lawmaker who was on the call.

Right now, the House is scheduled to return to session April 14 after a two-week recess. That means the DHS shutdown will continue at least until then.

The Senate used its pro forma session today to send back to the House a bill to fund DHS, minus money for immigration enforcement and the Border Patrol. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., announced yesterday that they would pursue the route of funding most of DHS with the bill and then separately funding ICE and Customs and Border Protection in a party-line “budget reconciliation” bill that could bypass a Senate filibuster.

One year after "Liberation Day," when he announced a minimum baseline tariff of 10% on all countries in the Rose Garden, Trump today signed two executive orders imposing tariffs on some pharmaceuticals and metals.

The first executive order imposes a 100% tariff on pharmaceuticals not made in America from countries that do not have "most favored nation" agreements. The tariff is capped at 15% for pharmaceutical imports from the European Union, Japan, Korean and Switzerland and at 10% for pharmaceutical imports from the United Kingdom because those nations have separate trade deals.

The second executive order imposes up to 50% tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper. An administration official told reporters that the new tariffs will affect the final value of imported metals items, with some being subject to 25% or 50% tariffs. Some items with less than 15% of certain steel content will be subject to a 0% tariff.

The House Oversight Committee plans to review the status of the subpoena that requires former Attorney General Pam Bondi to appear before the committee regarding the release of the Epstein files. 

A committee spokeswoman said: “Since Pam Bondi is no longer Attorney General, Chairman Comer will speak with Republican members and the Department of Justice about the status of the deposition subpoena and confer on next steps.”

The deposition had been scheduled for April 14.

Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif., have sent a letter to Defense Department Inspector General Platte Moring asking for information about “potential violations of federal securities laws related to insider trading.”

“Recent reports of equity trading that occurred shortly before significant government policy announcements suggest that federal officials are disclosing material non-public information for financial gain,” the letter reads, “These actions undermine public interest and market integrity, and demand oversight by each of your respective authorities, as well as by Congress.”

Schiff and Warner said tn a news release today that they sent the letter because of media reports detailing "a surge in short-term call option activity tied to a widely traded S&P 500-tracking exchange-traded fund shortly before President Trump announced a 90-day pause on certain tariffs in April 2025."

Bondi said on social media this afternoon that she will move into an "important private sector role" that she is "thrilled" about after she transitions out of her role as attorney general.

"Over the next month I will be working tirelessly to transition the office of Attorney General to the amazing Todd Blanche before moving to an important private sector role I am thrilled about, and where I will continue fighting for President Trump and this Administration," Bondi said on X.

Bondi said it has been the "honor of a lifetime" to lead Trump's "historic and highly successful efforts to make America safer and more secure," adding that it has been the "most consequential first year of the Department of Justice in American history."

Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance will travel to Hungary next week, where the vice president will meet with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for bilateral meetings, the White House announced today.

The Justice Department has issued a legal opinion arguing that President Donald Trump does not have to turn over his presidential records to the National Archives at the end of his administration.

The Presidential Records Act of 1978 requires presidential documents be sent to the National Archives and Records Administration. In an opinion released Thursday, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel found the law “is unconstitutional for two independent but interlocking reasons.”

It exceeds Congress’ powers and it does so at the expense of the autonomy of the presidency, T. Elliot Gaiser wrote in the opinion, noting that Congress can’t order the papers of Supreme Court justices to be sent to the archives.

The National Capital Planning Commission voted to approve President Donald Trump’s plans to build a new White House ballroom, which has faced steep opposition from critics.

The commission, which is led by Trump appointees, met last month to evaluate the plans and public comments, many of which were negative. Critics have blasted the project as “appalling,” a “monstrosity” and “vulgar” in the public comments.

Read the full story here.

A small group of about two dozen protesters gathered outside of the National Capital Planning Commission in Washington, DC ahead of the Commission’s final vote on Trump’s proposed East Wing Ballroom project at the White House. The meeting this afternoon was scheduled after the planning commission failed to hold a vote last month due to the high volume of public comment received in response to the proposal. 

Jon Golinger, a Democracy Advocate with the nonprofit organization Public Citizen, led the protest and read excerpts from the 35,000 public comments the planning commission has received on the project. Golinger told the group that “this fight is not going to end today,” promising to watch how the battle plays out in court and potentially even in Congress.

The NCPC also plans to hear a presentation about Trump’s proposed “Independence Arch,” which Golinger said “raises the same global concerns” as the ballroom project. 

Gary Rush, a local DC resident who attended the protest, criticized President Trump’s proposed renovations, calling the White House ballroom project “absolutely outrageous,” and accused Trump of treating the White House “like it is his personal property.” 

A local architect who only wished to be identified as Carolinn said that she feels personally affected by the plans, particularly because the “Independence Arch” would block the view into Arlington Cemetery where her parents are buried. She told reporters that the proposed construction projects pose threat to the historical legacy of Washington and are “hitting a lot of different groups right at the heart.”

Trump announced in a post on Truth Social that he has named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to serve as acting attorney general.

Trump said that Blanche is a "very talented and respected Legal Mind."

Before the president's second term in the White House, Blanche served as one of Trump's personal lawyers, defending him in several of the indictments against him.

In a post on X, Blanche praised Bondi, saying she led DOJ with "strength and conviction and I’m grateful for her leadership and friendship."

"Thank you to President Trump for the trust and the opportunity to serve as Acting Attorney General," he said. "We will continue backing the blue, enforcing the law, and doing everything in our power to keep America safe."

Todd Blanche to be acting attorney general after Pam Bondi firing

02:36

Attorney General Pam Bondi has been fired, a senior administration official and a source familiar with the matter told NBC News.

President Donald Trump had grown “more and more frustrated” with Bondi in recent days, a person familiar with White House deliberations said, adding that while he likes her as a person, he doesn’t think she has “executed on his vision” in the way that he wants.

Read the full story here.

Trump fires Attorney General Pam Bondi

02:06

The Colorado Court of Appeals has thrown out election denier Tina Peters’ nine-year prison sentence, finding that the lower court violated her First Amendment right to free speech related to her allegations of election fraud.

“The trial court’s comments about Peters’s belief in the existence of 2020 election fraud went beyond relevant considerations for her sentencing,” a three-judge panel wrote in a 77-page opinion that also upheld her conviction on charges including official misconduct in connection with a security breach of Mesa County’s voting system.

“Her offense was not her belief, however misguided the trial court deemed it to be, in the existence of such election fraud; it was her deceitful actions in her attempt to gather evidence of such fraud. Indeed, under these circumstances, just as her purported beliefs underlying her motive for her actions were not relevant to her defense, the trial court should not have considered those beliefs relevant when imposing sentence.”

The judges wrote that it was “apparent” the lower court imposed the sentence it did because Peters continued to espouse election denying views.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin yesterday rescinded a rule that DHS expenditures over $100,000 be personally approved by his office, ending a widely criticized policy implemented by his predecessor, Kristi Noem, that critics said put a particular burden on the Federal Emergency Management Agency ’s work aiding disaster response and recovery.

The decision marks the first major action by the new homeland security leader, sworn in last week, to change a policy implemented by Noem, whom Trump fired in March.

Read the full story here.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill in the House of Representatives this morning that would severely limit the sale of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China and a selection of other countries, closing what experts say are critical loopholes in America’s AI export controls.

Led by Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Wash., the Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware (MATCH) Act would tighten existing export controls for semiconductor manufacturing equipment — the specialized tools used to create AI chips — if it were to become law. The new restrictions, along with cooperation from allies to implement similar rules, would be likely to curtail China’s ability to build a fully domestic AI supply chain.

Read the full story here.

Trump said in a post to Truth Social that he would "soon sign an order to pay ALL of the incredible employees at the Department of Homeland Security."

The partial government shutdown impacting DHS is the longest in U.S. history. Federal workers at most DHS agencies have gone without pay as the shutdown stretched on, and lengthy security lines at airports led to travel frustration across the country. Late last month, Trump moved to sign an order to pay TSA officers after thousands called out of work and hundreds quit. The staffing shortage caused hourslong waits at several airports.

Trump praised congressional Republicans, saying that the party was "unified" and "moving forward on a plan that will reload funding for our FANTASTIC Border Patrol and Immigration Enforcement Officers."

Republican leaders in Congress announced a plan yesterday to end the shutdown.

Trump is frustrated with Attorney General Pam Bondi and is considering replacing her, according to eight people familiar with the situation.

One person close to Trump told NBC News that the decision may be “imminent.”

Trump has grown “more and more frustrated” with Bondi, a person familiar with White House deliberations said, adding that while he likes her as a person, he doesn’t think she has “executed on his vision” in the way that he wants.

Two of the sources told NBC News that Trump and Bondi had a heated confrontation at the White House last week, although they did not specify what it was about.

Read the full story here.

Voting rights organizations have sued the Trump administration today over Trump’s executive order targeting mail-in ballots.

“The President lacks authority to issue such directives, and USPS and the other Defendants lack authority to carry them out,” ACLU’s Jessie Rossman writes on behalf of the organizations. “Presidential power must come from the Constitution itself or an act of Congress. The Constitution does not grant the President power to regulate federal elections or USPS, and Congress has not delegated any such authority to him.” 

“The Constitution forbids this attempted usurpation of power,” Rossman writes. “The President’s role is to execute the laws enacted by Congress—not to create new ones. Because the Executive Order exceeds the President’s constitutional and statutory authority and intrudes upon powers reserved to the states and Congress, it is unlawful and must be set aside.” 

They’re asking a federal judge in Massachusetts to declare that the president may not not override or coerce states to change their rules and regulations on mail-in voting, and also rule that the president may not compel the United States Postal Service to take action as a result of the order.

The League of Women Voters, Association of Americans Resident Overseas, and US Vote Foundation are among the groups to have brought this suit.

On Wednesday, the Democratic campaign committees similarly sued the Trump administration over it’s executive order on mail-in ballots, saying they are “severely harmed by the President’s unlawful attempts to upturn the electoral playing field in his own favor and against his political rivals. Tens of millions of Plaintiffs’ members and supporters are likewise injured by the Order’s directives that erect obstacles for casting ballots that will be counted, frustrate the fair administration of federal elections, and mandate unlawful disclosures of protected information.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is criticizing House Republicans this morning for not immediately passing the DHS funding bill that excludes funding for ICE and CBP.

The Senate sent it to the House this morning for the second time.

“The Senate did its work twice to fund key parts of DHS without funding the lawlessness of ICE and Border Patrol,” Schumer said in a statement. “House Republicans need to get to work and end the longest Republican shutdown in history.”

Schumer argued that Republicans "own" the DHS shutdown, which he said is the longest government shutdown in history.

Former President Barack Obama endorsed the Democratic-backed candidate in next week's Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

“Wisconsin Supreme Court justices have a profound responsibility: protecting the rights of the people and delivering on the promise of equal justice under the law,” Obama wrote in a social media post.

“Judge Chris Taylor is the only candidate running for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court with a proven record of delivering on that promise. I hope Wisconsin voters join me in supporting her candidacy for Wisconsin’s highest court,” he added.

The House took no action this morning on the Senate-passed DHS funding bill during a very quick pro forma session.

The House adjourned and will reconvene Monday for another pro forma session.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., spoke to reporters after attending the minutes-long pro forma session of the Senate where he sent the DHS funding bill that leaves out money for ICE and CBP back to the House.

It was a rare appearance of the majority leader at a pro forma session, which typically does not involve doing Senate business.

The Republican leaders' plan to move forward with a two-track plan to fund DHS through the spending bill and a budget reconciliation package later this year is “not a positive development” for negotiations to codify ICE reforms, Thune said, adding that “there are still conversations going on.”

Republican leaders plan to make the reconciliation package, which would fund ICE and CBP through the end of Trump’s term, “as narrow and focused as possible,” Thune said, adding that attempts to add things to it like the SAVE Act would slow the legislation down.

'Reconciliation is hard and cumbersome, but we’re going to ... hop on it right away,” he said.

House Democrats' flagship super PAC and its affiliated nonprofit raised a combined $69 million in the first quarter of 2026, with House Majority PAC President Mike Smith calling it “our strongest fundraising start to an election year ever.”

It’s nearly double the $37 million that the group raised in the first quarter of 2024, the same point during the last election, amid Democratic bullishness about capturing the House majority this fall.

Smith said the money helps the Democratic goal of “expanding the map and building momentum nationwide” and added, “We're grateful to the supporters fueling this fight, and we're ready to build on this momentum to take back the House majority and elect Hakeem Jeffries as the next Speaker.”

It's not yet clear how much money House Majority PAC's Republican counterpart raised in the first quarter, nor is it clear how much money flowed into House Majority PAC as opposed to its nonprofit arm, House Majority Forward. House Majority PAC raised nearly $9 million in January and February, according to its most recent Federal Election Commission filings.

The National Capital Planning Commission will vote today on Trump's plans for a White House ballroom.

The commission's chair, who is among several of the panel's members appointed by Trump, announced last month that the vote would be held in early April rather than immediately after public testimony, as would typically happen. Ahead of the hearing, the commission was deluged with largely negative public comments about the plans.

Earlier this week, a federal judge temporarily blocked construction of the ballroom, saying Trump did not have the legal authority to make such major changes to the White House. The Justice Department promptly filed a notice of appeal.

"The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families," the judge wrote in his decision. "He is not, however, the owner!"

Just weeks after Bluffton City, Indiana, Common Council member Blake Fiechter was endorsed by Trump for a state Senate seat, he backed out of the race.

“I felt like I was on a raft alone trying to navigate,” he told WANE-TV of Fort Wayne in February.

So Trump, with his sights set on unseating the Indiana Republican lawmakers who defied him on a redistricting vote last year, threw him a lifeline. In early March, Fiechter and five other Republican candidates Trump is backing for state Senate seats were at the White House and getting their picture taken behind the Resolute Desk.

The next day, Fiechter was back in the race.

Millions of dollars have flooded into Indiana’s Republican Senate primaries ahead of the May 5 primary as Trump seeks revenge on the legislators who refused to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries to boost the party ahead of the midterm elections. It was a rare rebuke for Trump, who has otherwise maintained a firm grip on the Republican Party since he returned to office.

Read the full story here.

The Senate just sent the House the original version of its DHS funding bill, which funds the department except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

Senators used a procedure that did not require the Senate to repass the bill. Instead, the senators tabled the House’s amendment to the bill and sent the original measure back to the House.

It’s not clear when the House could act on the bill. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., rejected this bill when it was sent to his chamber last week. Instead, House Republicans had passed a separate short-term bill to fund the department, which did not have enough support in the Senate.

As the U.S. heads toward November’s midterm elections, a growing number of investors and political observers are turning to prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket to gauge who might win.

The pitch? A faster and more accurate alternative to traditional polling. 

But an analysis out of Vanderbilt University and co-written by Josh Clinton, a professor of political science and senior analyst for the NBC News Decision Desk, found that even the most active markets showed limited predictive powers.

Read the full story here.

Senate Republicans could again try to pass a bill this morning to fund the Department of Homeland Security for the rest of the fiscal year except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News.

Senators are making the move because the House amended the previous bill that the Senate passed, substituting its text for a short-term spending bill that the lower chamber passed last week. That means the Senate needs to re-pass the full-year funding bill so that the House can take it up.

While senators are on a two-week break, the move would come during a pro forma session this morning. The House is also in recess and has a morning pro forma session today, but it’s not clear if its leaders would or could try to act on the Senate measure. 

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. said earlier this week that the Senate Budget Committee will draft a bill to extend ICE and CBP funding for three years using what's known as the budget reconciliation process, which would allow Senate Republicans to bypass a Democratic filibuster and advance the measure with a simple majority. 

The move would take funding for ICE and CBP off the table for the rest of Trump’s term and would take away the need to negotiate with Democrats on a path forward to fully funding ICE and CBP in exchange for reforms to immigration enforcement actions.

In his prime-time speech last night, the president argued that the U.S. had to act on its own to neutralize the threat from Iran because many of America’s allies wouldn’t help.

Read the full analysis here.

Trump hailed the U.S. military’s “unstoppable” prowess in the war with Iran, telling Americans in a prime-time address last night that the conflict, now entering its second month, will end “shortly” without offering a definite timeline.

Delivered on Day 32 and framed as an operational update, Trump’s speech offered the clearest public case yet for the conflict, arguing it is necessary for the security of the free world and laying out a framework that he said would measure American success.

Read the full story here.