Supreme Court sharply limits use of race in redistricting; House votes to renew foreign spy program
This version of Trump Supreme Court Tps Comey Warsh Congress Dhs Fisa Live Updates Rcna342563 - Politics and Government | NBC News Clone was adapted by NBC News Clone to help readers digest key facts more efficiently.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine testified to House lawmakers about the Iran war and the Pentagon's budget request.
What to know today
- SCOTUS REDISTRICTING: The Supreme Court further weakened the Voting Rights Act, ruling this morning that a congressional map in Louisiana was a racial gerrymander even though it was drawn to comply with the landmark law aimed at protecting minority voters.
- HEGSETH, CAINE TESTIFY: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, faced questions from House lawmakers for six hours about the Iran war and the Defense Department's budget request for the upcoming fiscal year. Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst testified that the war has cost the U.S. $25 billion so far.
- FED CHAIR NOMINEE: The Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady at what is likely to be Jerome Powell’s last policy meeting as chair after a path opened in the Senate to confirm President Donald Trump's nominee to replace him, Kevin Warsh. The Senate Banking Committee voted this morning to advance Warsh’s nomination. Powell said he would remain on the Fed's board of governors but vowed to keep a "low profile."
- COMEY COURT APPEARANCE: Former FBI Director James Comey made his first court appearance, a day after an indictment alleged he threatened Trump's life by posting a photo of seashells on Instagram that read "8647."
What the Supreme Court’s ruling on race and redistricting means for 2026 elections — and beyond
The Supreme Court today gave Republicans a freer hand to redraw election maps without decades-old guardrails put in place to protect representation by racial minorities.
House votes to renew foreign spy program, but GOP chaos stalls push to end DHS shutdown
House Republicans went into today expecting to pass two big pieces of legislation. They ended up falling short on one of them.
The GOP-controlled House voted to renew a powerful foreign surveillance program, but a dispute over the farm bill delayed final passage of a Senate-approved budget resolution that would jump-start the process to fund ICE and the Border Patrol for the rest of Trump’s term.
The House voted 235-191 to extend the critical spy program, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which expires this week.
House lawmakers appeared to be on track to pass the budget resolution Wednesday night. But that was before a bloc of Republicans unhappy with provisions in the unrelated farm bill withheld their votes on the budget, forcing GOP leaders to negotiate with them on the House floor with the vote still open and the cameras rolling.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., later moved the heated talks into his private office. As the impasse hit the three-hour mark, leaders announced no further votes would be held tonight as they tried to find a solution.
House vote held open for 2-plus hours on GOP bill that would move to reopen DHS
The House vote on the Senate approved budget resolution to start the reconciliation process to reopen the Department of Homeland Security has been open now for more than two hours.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and his leadership team were talking to members on the floor but eventually brought them to the leadership offices. Several Republicans have issues concerning the farm bill, which the House was scheduled to start considering later tonight, and are withholding their votes for the unrelated budget resolution that is on the floor now.
There are five Republicans voting no on the budget resolution, but they can change their votes until the gavel comes down. Earlier today, several Republicans initially voted no on the procedural rule and then flipped to yes.
The budget resolution would start the reconciliation process that would allow Republicans to fund ICE and the Border Patrol by simple majorities in both chambers, bypassing the need for Democratic support in the Senate.
‘86 it’: Restaurant workers say the term at the center of James Comey’s indictment is ‘everyday lingo’
Leila Register / NBC News; Getty Images
Federal prosecutors say former FBI Director James Comey’s use of the term “86” on Instagram was a threat “to do harm” to Trump — but some food service workers say the term is “everyday lingo” to them.
“It’s probably the most overused word in hospitality,” said Mike Reyes, 45, who has worked in the hospitality industry for years, currently as an operational excellence consultant at FLIK Hospitality Group.
“Any time you’re out of anything, it’s 86-ed” — meaning it’s unavailable and needs to be replenished or replaced — he said, adding that he first heard the term when he started his first restaurant job at age 14.
It’s now also the centerpiece of a federal indictment against Comey in North Carolina. He has been charged with two counts of threatening the president’s life by posting a picture of seashells on the beach last year that had been arranged to read “86 47.”
Attorneys in Louisiana redistricting case ask Supreme Court to expedite certification of today's ruling
Attorneys for Phillip Callais, who the Supreme Court sided with today in a major voting rights case, are asking the court to expedite its certification and transmission of the ruling to a lower court for implementation.
Traditionally, the clerk of the Supreme Court doesn’t send a certified copy of the judgement and opinion to the lower court until 32 days after the entry of the judgement.
But here, attorneys for Callais argued, “Those 32 days could matter.”
The Louisiana primary is scheduled for May 16, and the second party primary is set for June 27, meaning “a delay of 32 days might well endanger this process,” the attorneys wrote in their court filing.
They said the Louisiana Legislature is considering pushing back those deadlines to allow for the congressional elections to occur in a newly drawn map, “But even if primary elections are pushed back, and the Legislature moves the election back as far as November 2026 (a return to Louisiana’s pre-Act 640 primary system), time is still of the essence.”
“Jurisdiction should be returned to the District Court as soon as possible so that it can oversee an orderly process and ensure that, in the event of a judicial remedy, all parties — which would include the State of Louisiana, the Louisiana Secretary of State, the Robinson Appellants, and another set of intervenors — are heard,” the attorneys added.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the request for expedited transmission in the coming days.
Trump says U.S. is considering pulling troops from Germany amid tension with Chancellor Merz
Trump said today that the U.S. is weighing a troop reduction in Germany a day after he criticized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Yesterday, he accused Merz of thinking it was “OK” for Iran to have a nuclear weapon after Merz said that Iran was “humiliating” the U.S. and that Washington had no strategy in its negotiations with Tehran.
The two leaders argued as King Charles has emphasized the "special" relationship between the U.K. and the U.S. and the importance of the broader NATO alliance, which includes Germany.
As Comey is indicted, Trump is said to be happy with acting Attorney General Blanche
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has become the second Justice Department leader in seven months to secure an indictment against Comey, a longtime target of Trump’s ire. And Trump is happy with Blanche’s performance in the job, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
Blanche, who was the second-in-command at the Justice Department under former Attorney General Pam Bondi and was also Trump’s personal lawyer, then took over. Asked recently, Trump told reporters that Blanche was doing a “fantastic job.”
According to the person familiar with the discussions around the position, Trump has said he feels Blanche would be a great attorney general. But he hasn’t made a final decision about whether to nominate him for the job permanently, the person said. The position requires Senate confirmation.
Staunch pro-Trump House Republican calls Comey indictment a 'stretch'
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, today made the rare move of breaking with the Trump administration over the Comey indictment.
“I think it’s a stretch,” Nehls told reporters when he was asked whether the message Comey posted of seashells spelling out “8647” warranted an indictment.
“I think you could indict Comey every day of the week, all day long, for all the bad things that he did while he was a director, because, to me, he’s garbage," said Nehls, one of Trump’s staunchest allies in Congress. "He’s garbage. I’m not a fan of his. I think he should go to prison, quite honestly. But for this, I don’t know. Maybe this is, this is probably just a start.”
Meanwhile, some members who have broken with Trump in the past supported Comey’s indictment. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., condemned Comey’s seashell message.
“Director Comey can play cute and say, ‘Oh, I didn’t really mean assassination.’ But when you’re saying ‘8647,’ I think people are smart enough to understand what that actually means,” Lawler said. “And given the fact that there were three assassination attempts against the president as of this weekend, I think people have to recognize that their words matter, their conduct matters.”
“One would think the former director of the FBI would take seriously threats against public officials, whether he likes them or not,” Lawler concluded.
Supreme Court sharply limits use of race in redistricting in a win for Republicans
The Supreme Court further weakened the Voting Rights Act today, ruling that a congressional map in Louisiana was a racial gerrymander even though it was drawn to comply with the landmark law aimed at protecting minority voters.
The justices, split 6-3 with the court’s conservatives in the majority, told states they can almost never consider race when they draw maps to comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which was enacted to protect minority voters who long faced discrimination in elections.
Conservative Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, said that while there may be extreme situations when the use of race can be justified to draw maps, no such conditions existed in the Louisiana case. As a result, the new map was an “unconstitutional racial gerrymander,” he added.
The decision means Louisiana will need to redraw its map. Other states could try to do so, as well, although there is little time this year with primaries underway ahead of November’s midterm congressional elections. Louisiana’s primary is May 16, just two weeks away.
Tax me, wealthy Democrats say, as they try to prove they’re ‘class traitors’
From lawmakers on Capitol Hill to candidates for governor, a swath of ambitious, high-net-worth Democrats are tapping into rising populist sentiments by proposing higher taxes on themselves.
Senators introduce bipartisan bill to ban Chinese vehicles and auto parts
A bipartisan Senate duo introduced a bill today to ban importing Chinese-made vehicles and auto parts, weeks ahead of Trump’s planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Sens. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., introduced the Connected Vehicle Security Act, which would ban automobiles, parts and vehicle software made in China or in partnership with China, as well as other adversarial nations, from the U.S. market.
The Commerce Department issued a rule last year that restricted such vehicles and parts from the U.S. market, but Moreno and Slotkin spoke of the importance of codifying it into law. Yesterday, more than 70 House Democrats signed a letter urging Trump to block Chinese automakers from the U.S. market ahead of his meeting with Xi next month. In January, Trump suggested an openness to allowing Chinese automakers into the U.S. market in a speech before the Detroit Economic Club.
In an interview, Slotkin said Trump’s upcoming meeting with Xi was the impetus for introducing the legislation now.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren blocks attempt to authorize White House ballroom
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., blocked an attempt by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to unanimously pass his bill to authorize the White House ballroom without using federal taxpayer dollars.
“This bill to rubber-stamp Trump’s latest vanity project is a giant slap in the face to American families,” Warren said, “Americans right now today are selling their blood just to pay their bills. And what’s the Republican solution? Dump more money into Donald Trump’s golden-crusted vanity project, and let’s do it on a fast track, because it’s that urgent.”
Paul introduced the bill as a group of Senate Republicans also introduced a separate bill to pay for the ballroom using appropriated funds, which aren’t needed because private donations have been made to cover the cost of construction.
“My proposal today doesn’t involve any tax money. Congress doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel here. I have a straightforward bill, which I will move to pass in a moment to give this project clear legal authority to proceed,” Paul said. “By passing my bill, we can help build the ballroom with no more legal delays, no more bureaucratic delays, improved reporting and progress updates from Congress and no added cost to taxpayers.”
Obama criticizes Supreme Court conservative majority over Voting Rights Act ruling
Former President Barack Obama criticized the Supreme Court’s conservative majority over its ruling today weakening the Voting Rights Act.
“It serves as just one more example of how a majority of the current Court seems intent on abandoning its vital role in ensuring equal participation in our democracy and protecting the rights of minority groups against majority overreach,” Obama wrote on X.
He went on to call the ruling a setback that can be overcome if Americans “who cherish our democratic ideals continue to mobilize and vote in record numbers” during this year’s midterms and future elections.
Trump aims to defeat dissident Republicans in key May primaries
Trump’s yearslong revenge tour against selected members of his own party faces big tests in May as he looks to oust multiple Republican lawmakers who have crossed him in the past.
Primaries in Kentucky, Indiana and Louisiana are Trump's best chances to beat Republican apostates on issues from redistricting to Jeffrey Epstein to impeachment, as he looks to further tighten his stranglehold on the GOP.
Trump has issued endorsements in a slew of races, and he and his political machine encouraged some candidates to run and others to drop out, deployed top lieutenants to outside groups and spent millions of dollars on the airwaves.
Acting attorney general says 'I do not know' what a jury will do with the Comey seashells case
Asked by NBC News today how confident he was that the case against Comey over an Instagram photo of seashells would ultimately result in a conviction, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said he did not know what a jury would do with the case.
“If there’s a prosecutor in this country that speaks about what a jury will do, they are not living up to their oath. I know that a grand jury returned a two-count indictment. I know that this case was investigated for the past year. I do not know what a jury of his peers will do at a trial that will come at some point in the future.”
Under the Justice Manual, “a prosecutor may commence or recommend federal prosecution only if he/she believes that the person will more likely than not be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by an unbiased trier of fact and that the conviction will be upheld on appeal.”
Asked by another reporter whether every posting of 8647 would result in federal charges, Blanche said, “Every case is different; every threats case is different.”
“Nobody in this room has any idea what happened during a grand jury investigation between May 15 and yesterday,” he said.
House Armed Services hearing ends after six hours
The House Armed Services hearing just concluded after six hours.
Rep. Maggie Goodlander questions cost of war
Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., questioned Hegseth and Hurst about the cost breakdown of the ongoing Iran war after Hurst earlier said that it has cost taxpayers $25 billion so far.
"$25 [billion] just reflects the costs of the war," Hurst said, adding that Pentagon officials would provide lawmakers with a cost breakdown after the hearing. "So we've already spent the dollars on munitions and things like that, so we're factoring in costs of munitions expended in that total."
The $25 billion number, he added, "reflects the munitions that have been spent to date and other operational costs."
Powell staying at Fed after chair term ends, says Pirro's announcement was not enough
Powell says that after his term ends as chair May 15, he will be staying at the Federal Reserve. He noted Pirro’s announcement Friday, ending the probe against him but also cautioning that she could reopen it.
“I’ve said that I will not leave the board until this investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality, and I stand by that,” Powell said.
He continued: “I’m encouraged by recent developments, and I’m watching the remaining steps in this process carefully. My decisions on these matters will continue to be guided entirely by what I believe is in the best interest of the institution and the people we serve. After my term as chair ends on May 15, I will continue to serve as a governor for a period of time to be determined."
He also said that he plans to "keep a low profile as a governor."
Trump talks Comey indictment and says he believes his life was 'probably' in danger over seashell photo
The president spoke about the new indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, who appeared in court today to face counts in connection with allegations that he threatened Trump's life by posting an Instagram photo of a seashell formation that spelled "8647."
The president told reporters that the numbers are "a mob term for 'kill him.'" The term is also commonly used in the restaurant industry.
He added, "I think of it as a mob term. People think of it as something that has to do with disappearing."
Asked whether he believed his life was in danger due to Comey's post, the president answered, "Probably."
Trump added, "People like Comey have created tremendous danger, I think, for politicians and others."
He also called the former FBI director a "dirty cop" and "crooked man."
Trump dodges questions about the Supreme Court redistricting ruling
Asked by reporters about his reaction to today's Supreme Court ruling striking down the practice of considering race when drawing congressional districts, the president said he didn't know about the ruling.
"You have to tell me — when did the ruling come out?" he asked reporters, adding that he's been meeting with astronauts and contractors working on the White House ballroom all day.
When he was told that the Supreme Court ruling might help Republicans gain more favorable district maps in the South, Trump responded, "That's good, that's the kind of ruling I like."
He was later asked whether he believed more Republican-led states should pursue redrawing their congressional maps following the ruling. He said that it would depend on the state and governor, but he thought some probably should.
After voters in Virginia and California approved new congressional maps that benefit Democrats, some Republican officials have expressed caution about embarking on more redistricting pushes.
Trump previews release of UFO files: 'They said they saw things they wouldn’t believe'
Answering questions from reporters while meeting with the Artemis II astronauts, the president said the federal government is going to be releasing "as much as we can in the near future" from files related to alien and extraterrestrial life.
"I think some of it's going to be very interesting to people," Trump said, adding that during his first term, "I interviewed some pilots, very solid people, and they said they saw things they wouldn't believe, so you're going to be reading about it."
In February, the president said he was directing agencies to release files related to aliens, extraterrestrial life and UFOs. And earlier this month, Trump said the files' "first releases will begin very, very soon."
Trump meeting with Artemis II astronauts
The president is meeting with the four astronauts who orbited the moon in NASA's recent Artemis II mission.
Trump congratulated the astronauts and joked about whether a president could go up to space.
Mohammad Sharifullah found guilty of conspiracy to support terrorism in case involving Abbey Gate attack
Mohammad Sharifullah has been found guilty on one count of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization in a trial related to the 2021 suicide bombing at a Kabul airport during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
But the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia was unable to convince the jury that the conspiracy Sharifullah was found guilty of actually led to the deaths of U.S. service members or Afghan civilians. “Deadlocked and have been for some time,” a note from the jury read at 1:32 p.m.
May 29 will be the next hearing to discuss how to handle the deadlocked issue.
There is no sentencing date yet. Sharifullah could face life in prison.
The trial stems from the Aug. 26, 2021, bombing at Abbey Gate outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, during the U.S. evacuation. The attack, claimed by ISIS-K, killed 13 U.S. service members and scores of Afghan civilians.
Prosecutors allege Sharifullah was an ISIS-K member who supported terrorist operations, including the Abbey Gate attack. He was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and jurors were also asked to decide whether any death at Abbey Gate resulted from that conspiracy.
Comey makes initial court appearance after being indicted
Former FBI Director James Comey made his initial appearance in federal court this afternoon before Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick, a day after he was indicted over an Instagram post.
Comey's attorney, Pat Fitzgerald, said he is going to be filing several motions in the Eastern District of North Carolina, including a motion on vindictive prosecution.
Fitzgerald is asking the Department of Justice to preserve its records.
Comey, who was escorted out of the courtroom by a U.S. marshal, turned toward the gallery and smiled on his way out.
There was no plea, because he cannot be arraigned here in Virginia.
GOP Rep. Austin Scott says he disagrees with Army chief firing
Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., at the beginning of his questioning time told Hegseth, "I do want you to know I disagree with the firing of [former Army chief of staff] Gen. George. I've sent you a letter, I look forward to seeing the responses on that."
Scott added that he expected the National Defense Authorization Act, which funds the Pentagon, will need a bipartisan vote to pass.
"We're going to lose some Republican votes; we're going to have to have some Dem votes to do the things that we have to do to fund the Department of Defense," he said.
Kennedy Center director grilled about renovation plans
This morning, attorneys representing the government and the DC Preservation League cross-examined Matt Flocka, the acting president and executive director of the Kennedy Center, as part of a lawsuit to halt the closure of the performing arts venue.
Flocka, who studied construction management and until March focused on the facilities and operations at the Kennedy Center, testified he had numerous conversations with Trump about renovations to the Kennedy Center. They spoke as frequently as several times a day.
Attorney Abbe Lowell, who represents the plaintiffs, zeroed in on Trump’s statement that the steel of the Kennedy Center would be exposed, which he believed contradicts Flocka’s statement to the court. “You will see exposed steel on the outside of the building,” Flocka conceded.
“How can anyone argue the events of the East Wing will not be repeated,” Lowell asked Flocka.
“Because we have no plans to demolish the center,” Flocka responded.
“The gravity of the situation is not lost on me,” Flocka insisted, repeating that there are no plans to knock the center down.
Lowell asked Flocka if he was familiar with the saying “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
Flocka and Lowell also faced off over what constitutes material changes to the facade of the Kennedy Center, the removal of the weeping willows, planted to symbolize the grief of the nation over Kennedy’s death.
Flocka argued that it was not a material change. “We took them out because of a maintenance need. We are looking for an appropriate replacement. I completely acknowledge the weeping willow mourning to President Kennedy,” Flocka said. He added that he thought weeping cherry blossoms could be a good substitution because “the weeping nature” is what is important.
Lowell also questioned Flocka about plans to submit an updated Capitol Building Plan, which has not been updated since 2021, to Congress. “I want to talk to the appropriators,” Flocka said.
“There is a gulf of difference” between talking to appropriators and submitting a Capitol Building Plan to lawmakers, Lowell replied. Flocka said he wanted to do both.
Attorneys for the government focused on water damage at the Kennedy Center, as Flocka argued that it is imperative to close to make much-needed repairs before congressional funding expires in 2029.
Flocka detailed how the roof has failed, allowing water to erode cement and metal holding up 2,200-pound soffits above the public’s head. He said that water intrusion has caused stalactites to form on the ceiling of the electrical vault. Electrical equipment, which is original to the building, has rusted and could cause a fire or explosion. “Band-Aid” supports are currently preventing the loading dock under the Hall of States from collapsing. Stagehands call their work area “the swamp” because of constant moisture.
“Not prioritizing this work and prioritizing the programming has put us in this situation,” Flocka said.
In contrast to what we heard yesterday during Beatty v. Trump, The Reach will host the memorial to President John F. Kennedy rather than the memorial remaining open. But the bust, which weighs thousands of pounds, cannot be moved.
House Armed Services Committee hearing resumes
The committee is back from recess and is again questioning Hegseth and Caine.
House Armed Services Committee in recess
The committee is taking a quick break from the hearing featuring Hegseth and Caine.
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan calls on Hegseth to focus on nation and not political parties
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., called on Hegseth in her line of questioning to speak about the war with Iran without speaking about political divisions.
Houlahan, who previously served in the Air Force, said Hegseth brought up the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Vietnam in his opening statement.
"Those are stunning examples to me of something that didn't go our way," she said. "We had the opportunity to execute on those wars quite well, but we didn't accomplish any mission, in my opinion."
Hegseth said about the war with Iran, "This effort is not those efforts."
"That's exactly it. Is this war shaping up to be that war?" Houlahan said.
"We're shaping up to get the same kind of Democrats we got in those wars who were naysayers from the beginning, undermining the progress of troops. We're two months in," Hegseth said.
"Can we just have a conversation about the country and the nation, and not about parties?" the congresswoman said.
Hegseth said, "The Democrat Party wanted to socially engineer the Department of War — we've had to undo that."
Rep. Don Bacon criticizes high-profile Pentagon firings
During the hearing, Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said he had some concerns about a string of recent firings at the Pentagon, including of the Navy secretary.
"I share a bipartisan concern of the firings that we’ve seen at the Pentagon for the six service chiefs," Bacon told Hegseth. "We had a huge bipartisan majority here that had confidence in the chief of staff and the secretary of Navy. I would just point out it may be constitutionally right ... but it doesn’t make it right or wise."
Supreme Court arguments wrap up in case on whether Haitian and Syrian migrants should be protected from deportation
The Supreme Court arguments in the challenge to the Trump administration's efforts to strip temporary protected status for Haitians and Syrians in the U.S. have ended after about two hours.
The justices will deliver their opinion on the case later this year.
Sauer delivers rebuttal after justices question both sides
Solicitor General D. John Sauer delivered a brief rebuttal repeating and summarizing his earlier arguments after the justices had the opportunity to question both sides.
The oral arguments will conclude after his remarks.
Liberal justices focus several questions on race and Trump's comments about immigrants
Liberal justices asked Geoffrey Pipoly, the lawyer for the Haitian plaintiffs, about how race and Trump's comments about immigrants affect the case.
Justice Elena Kagan questioned how justices should think about "the racial component" of his argument.
"You can argue that there was just like, across-the-board 'we have to get rid of all these TPS and the statutory requirements weren't followed' and all of that," she said. "But the injection of this racial component into it, I guess I don't quite see how that operates when all of these programs went."
Pipoly pointed to Trump's and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's prior comments about nonwhite immigrants.
"I would point you back to both the president's statements and the secretary's statements," he said. "The secretary herself described people from Haiti and from 18 other all nonwhite countries as 'killers, leeches, entitlement junkies,' saying, 'We don't want them, not one,' while simultaneously enacting a policy, another humanitarian form of relief for white and only white South Africans."
Later, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson asked whether it was Pipoly's view that "the reason why the president was saying all of the TPS programs have to go is because the TPS program relates to countries that have large minority or large racial compositions."
"Yes, that's exactly right," he responded.
Lawyer representing Haitians in TPS case alleges Trump’s ‘racial animus’ spurred effort to end deportation protections
Geoffrey Pipoly, the lawyer arguing for maintaining temporary protected status for Haitians in the U.S., said former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's decision to terminate their protections from deportation was "a sham."
"The true reason for the termination is the president's racial animus towards nonwhite immigrants and bare dislike of Haitians in particular," Pipoly said. "The president has disparaged Haitian TPS holders specifically as undesirables from a quote, 'shithole country,' and days after falsely accusing them of, quote, 'eating the dogs' and 'eating the cats' of Americans, he vowed that he would terminate Haiti's TPS, and that is exactly what happened."
Justice Alito questions lawyer about how the case could change judicial review of TPS decisions
Justice Samuel Alito pressed the attorney for the Syrian plaintiffs, Ahilan Arulanantham, on how his arguments could change the bar for judicial review of a homeland security secretary's determinations about temporary protected status for migrant groups.
"One of the points that General Sauer made was that, if we accept your arguments, it will create a hole in the judicial review bar that you could drive a convoy of trucks through," Alito said.
"And you have now said repeatedly that it's necessary for the secretary to turn square corners, which seems to open, which seems to support what he says, that if we depart from the ordinary meaning of the review bar, then it is always going to be possible to pick procedural thoughts in, to raise procedural objections to what's been done," he said.
Arulanantham replied that his side's argument that the secretary did not adequately consult other departments and agencies "is extremely narrow."
"We don't argue about the levels," he said. "We don't argue about the amount. All we say is it has to be about a subject, deliberation about a subject. So they have to talk about country conditions."
Hegseth attacks House Democrat for calling Iran 'a quagmire'
As Hegseth responded to a GOP lawmaker on the committee, the defense secretary attacked the last Democrat whose turn it was for questioning, Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif.
"The way you stain the troops when you tell them, two months in ... congressman, you should know better. Shame on you, calling this a quagmire, two months in the effort," Hegseth said.
"What they've undertaken, what they've succeeded, the success on the battlefield that could create strategic opportunities, the courage of a president to confront a nuclear Iran, and you call it a quagmire, handing propaganda to our enemies," he said to Garamendi. "Shame on you for that statement — and statements like that are reckless to our troops."
Hegseth said that Garamendi calling the Iran war a quagmire "undermines the mission."
"Your hatred for President Trump blinds you to the truth of the success of this mission and the historic stakes that the president is addressing, which the American people support," Hegseth said.
Conservative justices appear skeptical of arguments of lawyer representing Syrian migrants in TPS case
Justice Clarence Thomas, a conservative, asked the first questions for the lawyer arguing in favor of maintaining temporary protected status for Syrian migrants in the U.S.
Thomas pressed the lawyer, Ahlian Arulanantham, on whether it was OK for the court to be reviewing a determination on TPS by the homeland security secretary.
"Would you be kind enough to say what else is reviewable under — despite the the jurisdiction-stripping provision, because it seems pretty broad," Thomas said, referring to the TPS statute in question. "It says there is no judicial review of any determination of the attorney general."
The lawyer said he agreed the statutory language was "broad," but pointed to other legal language related to the secretary consulting with other agencies before making a decision.
"The secretary also has an obligation to review conditions in the foreign state," Arulanantham said. "So we think that there then should be review over just whether the fact, did she in fact review the conditions in the foreign state — not if she got it right, but did she review it?"
Later, Justice Samuel Alito seemed to side with the administration on the issue of whether the TPS designations could be faced with judicial review.
"We have to say, look, 'determination' is a very broad word," he said. "It's used all the time by, in many different statutory provisions. It's used all the time by this court. If we apply ordinary meaning of that term here, I really don't understand how you can prevail."
Separately, Justice Amy Coney Barrett questioned whether part of the judicial review argument of the plaintiffs' attorney, who was making the point that decisions should be made in consultation with other agencies, was "a box-checking exercise."
"Why would Congress permit review of the procedural aspect, when really what everybody cares about much more is the substance?" she asked.
Arulanantham said he believed it was "because Congress, and us too, and the millions of people who live with TPS holders have some faith in government, and they believe that if there is consultation, the decisions will be better."
Lawyer starts defense of TPS for Syrian migrants at Supreme Court
Plaintiffs' lawyer Ahilan Arulanantham has started his arguments in favor of maintaining temporary protected status for Syrians in the U.S.
"The bottom line is this, the secretary can terminate TPS, but he must turn square corners, follow the rules Congress set," he said.
Arulanantham argued the then-secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem, did not consult the State Department about armed conflict in Syria before moving to terminate TPS, a move that he suggested had endangered the plaintiffs.
House Armed Services Committee resumes hearing
Lawmakers are back from votes and the hearing featuring Hegseth and Caine has resumed.
Liberal justices point to Trump's derogatory statements about immigrants
Liberal justices are questioning Sauer on whether derogatory statements Trump has made about immigrants could be viewed as discriminatory in this case, which is one of the arguments the plaintiffs make.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor pointed to Trump calling Haiti and African nations "shithole" countries, among other remarks. She also pointed to Trump lamenting why the U.S. could not take more immigrants from several northern European countries.
Sotomayor said she did not see how Trump's statements were not "showing that a discriminatory purpose may have played a part in this decision."
Sauer countered that "not a single one of them mentions race or relates to race," referring to Trump's comments.
Sotomayor replied that the president's comments did have to do with race.
"It certainly does when you’re saying we’re taking people from these countries’ TPS program, which are all nonwhite, but instead we should be taking people from Norway, Sweden or Denmark," she said.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson then pointed to Trump having said that immigrants are "poisoning the blood" of the U.S.
"If you could look at those statements in context again, they're clearly talking about problems —" Sauer started to respond.
"What about 'bad genes'?" Jackson interjected, referring to Trump's derogatory suggestion that certain immigrants' genes are lacking.
Sauer said the quotes had been presented "wrenched from context."
"You can look at each one of those statements, they're talking about problems of crime, poverty, welfare dependency — again, problems that have been emphasized again and again by not just President Trump, not just the secretary, but many others who favor a tough immigration policy," Sauer said.
Liberal justices press Sauer on issue of judicial review
The three liberal justices are pressing Sauer on whether there can be judicial review of factors leading up to a decision by the homeland security secretary to cancel temporary protected status for people fleeing strife or natural disasters in their home countries.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked whether there could be a review in a hypothetical situation in which a secretary posted on X saying the department would terminate temporary protected status for a certain group effective tomorrow despite a requirement to give them 60 days' notice under the law.
Sauer maintained that such a decision would not be reviewable, nor would the steps leading to that decision.
Later, Justice Elena Kagan said the judicial review of a secretary's determination of a country's conditions, which prefaces the stripping of TPS from a given group if such conditions have improved, is different than judicial review of procedures leading up to the determination.
"Basically Congress has said this can be the weirdest, strangest, most arbitrary conclusion as to country conditions, and the courts still can't do anything," Kagan said. She added, "That's a different thing than to say that all the things that the statute says that the secretary is supposed to do in order to determine country conditions are themselves unreviewable."
House Armed Service Committee on a break
The House Armed Services Committee, where Hegseth and Caine are testifying, is in recess while lawmakers head to the House floor to vote.
Committee Chair Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said he expects the break to last 20 to 25 minutes.
Pentagon official says the Iran conflict has cost $25 billion so far
In response to questions from Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Defense Department official Jules Hurst said that the federal government has spent about $25 billion on the war so far.
He added that "most of that is in munitions, there's part of that that's obviously O&M and equipment replacement," as well.
Rep. Joe Courtney says extended troop deployments in Middle East, other regions is 'hitting readiness as hard as anything I've seen'
Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., questioned the extended deployments of troops in the Middle East and in other regions and warned that they're harming military readiness.
"We have three carrier strike forces in Central Command," said Courtney, listing other carriers deployed to other parts of the world, including near Japan.
"Gerald Ford is on Day 312 of its deployment," he said, referring to one of the carriers in the Middle East. "They've gone through fires, plumbing problems, and again, an extended deployment, which, in my opinion, is hitting readiness as hard as anything I've seen in the time that I've been on this committee."
Courtney, who has served in Congress since 2007, asked Caine how these extended deployments square with the military's national security strategy.
Caine said that the president employs "national force and power based on the political and security situations that a president deems appropriate to use that military force."
"There's always trade-offs in all of these things," he said. "I am confident that the president always carefully considers these readiness trade-offs and I'm sure he has done so in this case based on the military options that we've presented with the associated risks."
Solicitor General Sauer delivers opening arguments at the Supreme Court hearing on temporary protected status
Solicitor General D. John Sauer began his argument in the Supreme Court hearing on challenges to the temporary protected status program by saying that the law establishing the protection from deportation for certain groups of migrants precludes judicial review of decisions by the homeland security secretary to cancel the status.
“The provision thus bars judicial review of both the secretary’s ultimate decision whether to designate, extend or terminate and of each antecedent step along the way to that determination," he said.
The question of whether courts have the ability to review aspects of a temporary protected status decision is central to the administration's argument.
Sauer's argument met immediate skepticism from liberal Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
Hegseth defends Trump's budget request for defense, bashes Trump critics
In his opening statement, Hegseth defended Trump's budget request for the military for the next fiscal year, which begins in October, and touted progress already made by the Defense Department.
"President Trump's War Department has begun to turn the lights back on in manufacturing towns across this country, and once again, forging a lethal arsenal of freedom where critical supply chains are threatened," he said.
He continued, "Every policy we pursue, every budgetary item we request, serves to ensure the department remains laser-focused on increasing lethality and survivability of our forces from the front lines to the factory floors. This is a historic budget."
Hegseth said that the military's "biggest challenge, biggest adversary" is "the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans" over the Iran war.
Pam Bondi to testify in House Oversight Committee’s Epstein investigation on May 29
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will testify next month before the House Oversight Committee about her role in handling the release of the Epstein files, Republicans on the committee said.
“We have secured Bondi’s appearance for May 29,” an X account for the Republican members of the Oversight Committee wrote following weeks of demands from Democrats on the committee that Bondi should testify despite the fact that she is no longer serving as attorney general.
Supreme Court oral arguments begin
Supreme Court oral arguments have kicked off in a case that will ultimately decide whether the administration can move forward with revoking temporary protected status for Haitians and Syrians living in the U.S.
The hearing was supposed to begin at 10 a.m., but it started late as the court released decisions, including a ruling on a major redistricting case.
Top Dem on House Armed Services slams White House strategy on Iran
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, lambasted Hegseth and the White House in his opening statement over the U.S. strategy on Iran.
"One of the big questions that we need to get answered today is, where is this going? What is the plan to achieve our objectives? We've seen the cost, and the cost is very, very high," Smith said during the hearing.
Smith continued: "As we sit here today, Iran's nuclear program is exactly what it was before this war started. They have not lost their capacity to inflict pain. They still have a ballistic missile program. They're still able to blockade the Strait of Hormuz and have the ships that are capable of doing that. What is the plan to get that to change? And most disturbingly, the president keeps telling us it's over."
He also criticized Trump and the administration over its other goals, including the desire to "dominate the entire Western Hemisphere, including, apparently, annexing Canada and invading Greenland."
"How is any of that realistic?" Smith said.
Senate banking committee advances Kevin Warsh's nomination to be Federal Reserve chair
The Senate banking committee voted 13 to 11 to advance Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh.
All Democratic members of the committee voted to oppose Warsh's nomination and most did not attend the vote.
Speaking immediately before the vote, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., warned that "members of this committee who vote for Mr. Warsh and help facilitate President Trump's takeover of the central bank will come to regret it."
"Unfortunately, it will be American families that will pay the price," Warren added.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., after voting in favor of Warsh, said he disagreed "with everything the ranking member had to say," referring to Warren's comments.
Tillis had blocked Warsh's nomination while the Justice Department investigated current Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The DOJ said it was dropping the probe on Friday, clearing the way for Warsh to proceed.
His nomination still requires a full Senate vote in the coming weeks.
Hearing featuring Hegseth and Caine kicks off
The House Armed Services Committee hearing featuring testimony from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine has begun.
They will testify over the administration's budget request for next fiscal year, and lawmakers are expected to press the pair over the state of the war with Iran.
Trump discussed extending Iran blockade for months if needed in meeting with energy industry executives
Trump and other top administration officials met with a group of energy industry executives yesterday to discuss topics that included the administration’s possible next steps in continuing the blockade of Iran’s ports “for months if needed”and how to minimize impacts on American consumers, a White House official tells NBC News.
The official said the gathering discussed many topics, including domestic energy production, progress in Venezuela, oil futures, natural gas and shipping.
The meeting, which was hosted by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent included White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and executives from Chevron, Trafi, Vitol and Mecuria among other companies.
According to the White House official, the executives “all spoke highly of the actions President Trump has taken to unleash American energy dominance, and said the President is doing all the right things right now” including changes to the Jones Act and invoking the Defense Production Act.
Axios was first to report this meeting.
Protestors swarm Hegseth as he arrives on hill for hearing
Hegseth entered the Rayburn House Office Building ahead of his hearing before the House Armed Services Committee and was swarmed by protestors.
Several demonstrators were dressed in “code pink” t-shirts, who shouted at the defense secretary about committing war crimes.
One protestor dangled a pair of pink handcuffs near Hegseth’s face as he entered a holding room.
The hearing is set to begin at 10:00am.
Top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine to leave post in June
Ambassador Julie Davis will be stepping down as chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv in June after serving in the post for less than one year, the State Department has confirmed.
The career ambassador will be leaving Kyiv as peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have stalled and the U.S. has lifted oil sanctions on Russia to manage soaring energy costs in the wake of the U.S. war with Iran.
Davis' departure marks the second U.S. ambassador to leave the critical position since the start of the second Trump administration. Her predecessor, Bridget Brink, departed last April over disagreement with the president’s policy “to put pressure on Ukraine, the victim, rather than on Russia, the aggressor,” she wrote in an op-ed in the Detroit Free Press.
Brink also expressed horror over Trump’s treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an Oval Office meeting in February of last year.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott has denied reports Davis is leaving for similar reasons telling NBC News, “It is false to suggest Ambassador Davis is resigning over differences with Donald Trump.”
“Ambassador Davis has been a steadfast proponent of the Trump Administration’s efforts to bring about a durable peace between Russia and Ukraine,” Pigott said in a statement. “She is retiring after a distinguished 30-year tenure as a career foreign service officer. She will continue to proudly advance President Trump’s policies until she officially departs Kyiv in June 2026 and retires from the Department.”
Davis has also been serving as U.S. ambassador to Cyprus, one of several U.S. diplomatic posts operating under limited staffing since the start of the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran.
Trump’s picture is coming to some U.S. passports
A series of U.S. passports with a large image of Trump on the inside cover will be issued this year as part of the country’s 250th anniversary, the State Department announced yesterday.
“As the United States celebrates America’s 250th anniversary in July, the State Department is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed U.S. Passports to commemorate this historic occasion,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in an email to NBC News. “These passports will feature customized artwork and enhanced imagery while maintaining the same security features that make the U.S. Passport the most secure documents in the world.”
Hegseth and Caine to testify on the Hill today
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, are expected to face questions this morning about the Iran war as they testify before House lawmakers.
The House Armed Services Committee hearing is set to focus on the Pentagon's budget request for fiscal year 2027, but lawmakers could press Hegseth and Caine on the cost of the war, the state of U.S. weapons supplies, and the impasse in talks with Iran over ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump's national security team has presented the president with options for reopening the strait, a vital shipping route, including the possibility of more aggressive military operations there.
The president said in a Truth Social post this morning that "Iran can't get their act together."
"They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal," he wrote. "They better get smart soon!"
Trump warns Iran ‘better get smart soon’ as he weighs military options over Strait of Hormuz
Trump warned today that Iran “better get smart soon” as he weighed military options for the Strait of Hormuz with peace talks at an impasse.
Members of Trump’s national security team presented him with multiple options this week for how to handle the continuing bottleneck in the strait after negotiations failed to reopen the critical waterway, a U.S. official and a person familiar with the meeting told NBC News.
Gas prices hit $4.23 per gallon, a new high for the year
U.S. gas prices have hit a fresh record since the start of the war with Iran, rising to an average nationwide of $4.23 per gallon today, according to the motor club AAA.
The milestone comes as oil prices have surged higher over the past week amid a dual blockade by the U.S. and Iran of the Strait of Hormuz, the key chokepoint in the region for transiting crude and petroleum-based products out of the Persian Gulf.
Legal experts shellshocked over new Comey indictment
Multiple legal experts lambasted the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey on charges he “knowingly and willingly” made “a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon, the President of the United States” by posting a picture on Instagram last May showing seashells arranged on a beach in the shape of the numbers “8647.”
Interest rates expected to hold steady at Fed meeting likely to be Powell’s last as chair
The Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates steady today at what is likely to be Chair Jerome Powell’s last policy meeting as the leader of the world’s most influential central bank.
Last week, a clear path opened up for Trump’s nominee to replace Powell, Kevin Warsh, to be confirmed by the Senate, when the Justice Department said it would close a criminal investigation into Powell and the central bank.
James Comey indicted over seashell photo that officials say threatened Trump
The Justice Department secured an indictment yesterday charging former FBI Director James Comey with threatening the life of Trump by posting a photo of seashells on Instagram.
The two-count indictment alleges that a reasonable person would interpret the image of the shells, arranged to spell out “86 47,” as “a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States.”
Supreme Court weighs Trump attempt to remove protections from thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants
WASHINGTON — Tackling one prong of the Trump administration’s hard-line policies, the Supreme Court today will weigh its effort to remove legal protections from thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants in the United States.
If the administration wins the case, it would be able to continue with its plan to strip temporary protected status, or TPS, from about 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians. In the meantime, the protections remain in place.
