Trump administration live updates: Karoline Leavitt announces departure as White House press secretary
Meanwhile, Trump-endorsed Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., was forced into a GOP primary runoff with Rep. Ralph Norman.
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What to know today<!–>
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- LEAVITT LEAVING: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is departing her role at the end of the month. Trump said Leavitt, 28, the youngest White House press secretary in U.S. history, will step down to “spend more time with her beautiful young children and family.”
- WISCONSIN UPSET: Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has won the Democratic primary in the race for governor, NBC News projects, dealing a major upset to democratic socialist Francesca Hong.
- MINNESOTA MATCHUP: Minnesota state House Speaker Lisa Demuth won the Republican primary for governor, defeating Trump ally Mike Lindell and setting up a general election matchup against Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Trump renews legislative push to make daylight saving time permanent<!–>
Trump is reviving a push to make daylight saving permanent, as senators could consider a House-passed bill once they return from August recess.
“Leave it as it is now, and never change again,” Trump wrote on Truth Social about the current state of the clock, calling it an issue the entire political spectrum could get behind.
“I am asking Republican Senators to PASS THE SUNSHINE PROTECTION ACT, ASAP,” he added.
Trump has made the measure a pet project, pressing Congress to send it to him multiple times. He also brought up the legislation in an interview with conservative commentator Wayne Root yesterday, saying it was popular to eliminate standard time and claiming it was costly to change clocks twice a year. He even claimed that later sunsets could reduce crime.
“Criminals sleep late, you know. They do their crime in the evening,” Trump said, calling daylight saving time “good for sports, good for crime, good for everything.”
A Senate version of the bill stalled last year after Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., objected to fast-tracking its passage, saying that some parts of the country would have dramatically later sunrises in the winter and that dark morning commutes could be hazardous. NBC News reported last month that Cotton has the “same concerns” he previously did and intended to ask Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., not to bring up the legislation for a vote.
Clocks are set to fall back one hour on Nov. 1.
Hegseth says Colombia asked Pentagon to carry out joint military operations to ‘fight against narco-terrorism'<!–>
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said today that Colombia has authorized joint military operations with the U.S., saying the country’s newly sworn-in president, Abelardo De La Espriella, asked the Defense Department to help “in its fight against narco-terrorism.”
Hegseth said Colombia was joining the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, a group Trump established in March of 17 countries that pledged to crack down on cartels and transnational gangs — or as Hegseth put it during a trip to Panama City, Panama, today, “We do bad things to bad people.”
Hegseth made the announcement mere days after broad swaths of Colombia have been devastated following a 7.4-magnitude earthquake. He said the Defense Department is mobilizing to help with disaster response.
In his speech, Hegseth urged members of the coalition to leave the International Criminal Court, claiming it poses a threat to the countries’ sovereignty and suggesting that it is trying to investigate U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
“I strongly encourage every ACCC member to leave the ICC and reject their attempts to rob your governments and your courts of your sovereignty,” he said.
Hegseth met with Colombian Defense Minister Jorge Eduardo Mora, flanked by other officials from the U.S. and Colombia, including Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who was born in Colombia and advises Trump on Latin American policy.
The U.S. has already carried out military operations in neighboring Ecuador.
Extremism expert charged in case targeting Southern Poverty Law Center’s use of informants<!–>
A former official at the Southern Poverty Law Center faces federal charges in connection with a case the Justice Department brought over the way the organization made payments to informants who provided details about extremist organizations.
Heidi Beirich has been charged in federal court in Montgomery, Alabama, her attorney said. Attorney General Todd Blanche said at an unrelated news conference today that the case involved allegations that Beirich “was part of the effort to open bank accounts in completely fictitious companies’ names and make payments that to individuals for reasons that were not accurate as described.” CNN first reported on the charges against Beirich.
“A free and fair society does not use the justice system to silence its political opponents,” Beirich attorney Michael J. Proctor said in a statement. “Heidi Beirich has dedicated her life to fighting hate groups and extremist movements like the KKK, neo-Nazis, and other white supremacists. She has combatted these hateful, ugly, and un-American extremists and their repeated uses of violence and intimidation in order to promote a fairer, safer, and more just America. Her decades-long record of success dismantling hate groups—and the resulting threats to her life—speak volumes. For this, she has been indicted.”
How David Crowley pulled off the ‘unbelievable’: Winning in Wisconsin after dropping out<!–>
One of the unlikeliest political resurrections in Wisconsin history was born in a moment of sheer panic for state Democrats.
Daniel Boczarski / Getty Images for WisDems<!–>
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Rep. John Larson’s defeat in Connecticut makes it 10 House members who have lost primaries this year<!–>
Longtime Democratic Rep. John Larson’s defeat in Connecticut yesterday makes him the 10th House member to lose a primary so far this cycle — an unusually high figure as Democrats push their leaders to pass the torch to a new, more progressive generation and Republicans continue to reckon with a party rebuilt in Trump’s image.
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That’s layering on top of extra, mid-decade redistricting, which has driven yet more instability by packing some districts with handfuls of new voters with no loyalty to their incumbent representatives.
Taken together, it’s why more incumbents have lost primaries this election cycle than in any other year since 1970, national redistricting years excepted.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to step down<!–>
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is departing her role at the end of the month.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP file<!–>
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Trump said Leavitt, 28, the youngest White House press secretary in U.S. history, will step down to “spend more time with her beautiful young children and family.”
Leavitt said on X that the decision to leave the administration was “bittersweet” and that she would continue to work with Trump as an outside adviser.
Blanche dodges questions on Fauci, Comey and Reflecting Pool case<!–>
Blanche sidestepped a question about last week’s criminal referral of Dr. Anthony Fauci for contempt of Congress while indicating nothing was imminent.
“I don’t have an update,” he said. “As you guys know, when the Department of Justice receives a referral from Congress, there’s a process. There’s a process of how we take it in and how we investigate it. But any update that I would expect to come from this department would be if there’s ultimately a decision made, and that certainly won’t be anytime soon.”
Asked by NBC News about a defense filing questioning the strength of the criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey, Blanche said, “I’m not going to comment on a defense filing in any case, because that’s not fair to any of the parties involved.”
“There’s a lot of cases as a prosecutor that I felt were definitely going to get convictions and that didn’t or that it was a tough conviction. There’s cases that were really, really tough that got convictions, and so I’m certainly not going to act like I have a crystal ball and predict what’s going to happen with that case at trial,” he added.
Asked about Trump’s continued criticism of the decision to drop charges against people accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and whether he was taking any further action, Blanche said, “I don’t have an update on that” case.
DOJ announces charges in massive marriage fraud scheme<!–>
Attorney General Todd Blanche announced charges today against 11 people “for allegedly overseeing an extensive, decade-long marriage fraud scheme involving more than 1,000 sham marriages between Chinese nationals and United States citizens.”
Aaron Schwartz / Bloomberg via Getty Images<!–>
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Blanche said the facilitators would advertise the service to people from China seeking green cards, charging as much as $100,000 to arrange the marriages. The facilitators then paid U.S. citizens as much as $30,000 for participating, he said.
The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, said the facilitators arranged sham wedding ceremonies “complete with officiants, wedding attire, photographers and attendees.” They also coached the couples through citizenship interviews and then helped them file for divorce after their green cards were secured, McDonald said.
Blanche called the case “one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in United States history,” describing it as “a yearslong, multimillion-dollar cottage industry to criminally assist people who would not or legally could not otherwise become citizens of the United States.”
State Department forms task force to address foreigners trying to secure citizenship for their children by giving birth in U.S.<!–>
The State Department has launched a task force to try to end efforts by foreign nationals to exploit U.S. immigration laws to secure citizenship for their children.
“American citizenship is not for sale,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on X announcing the task force.
Rubio alleged that organized criminal networks have been profiting from the efforts and defrauding the U.S. visa system by “arranging travel and housing, and even forging documents, all to enable foreign nationals to obtain citizenship for their children.”
In the last month, the task force has revoked more than 600 visas from foreign nationals allegedly associated with the fraud, according to the State Department.
“The Secretary has broad discretionary authority to revoke visas — and the Trump Administration is committed to exercising that authority to protect the American people and the integrity of our immigration system,” the State Department said.
Since the start of Trump’s second term, the State Department has revoked more than 175,000 visas as the administration has focused on restricting immigration to the U.S.
Trump signed a pair of executive actions last week aimed at trying to stop foreigners from giving birth in the U.S. to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children. The Supreme Court rejected his effort to end birthright citizenship.
Former Jack Smith deputies join group behind many of Trump administration’s legal woes<!–>
Two of former special counsel Jack Smith’s top deputies are joining an organization that routinely challenges the Trump administration in court, including a recent effort that temporarily halted the “anti-weaponization” fund.
J.P. Cooney and Molly Gaston are joining Democracy Forward, which filed more than 150 lawsuits against the Trump administration last year alone. They will join a new anticorruption practice focused on “the Trump-Vance administration’s unprecedented self-dealing,” along with “emerging governmental and private threats to democratic institutions” and the Justice Department’s retreat from public corruption enforcement.
Molly Gaston and J.P. Cooney.<!–> t=6k–> Gaston & Cooney PLLC<!–>
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Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said in a statement that the Trump administration “continues to engage in unprecedented levels of corruption, with members of the administration and their allies displaying wanton disregard for the rule of law in order to benefit financially, politically, and legally,” and that Cooney and Gaston would help the organization hold the Trump administration accountable.
“We are thrilled to welcome J.P. Cooney and Molly Gaston, who have dedicated their careers to serving the American people and the rule of law, to enhance our ability to protect communities throughout the nation from ongoing governmental abuses and the weaponization of DOJ against the people,” Perryman said.
Cooney and Gaston were career Justice Department attorneys who were fired by the Trump administration in early last year and are challenging their dismissals as unlawful. Cooney ran for the Democratic nomination for a congressional seat this year but ended his campaign after the Virginia Supreme Court blocked a new congressional map from taking effect.
“For years, we represented the United States in holding the most powerful accountable for public corruption and civil rights abuses,’ Cooney and Gaston said in a joint statement. “Given this administration’s deprioritization of such enforcement at a time of unprecedented self-dealing throughout the federal government, we are privileged to join Democracy Forward’s incredibly talented and courageous team in the fight for accountability.”
Trump sued over paid early access to his Truth Social posts<!–>
Trump and his media company face a lawsuit in New York over a paid Truth Social service that gives subscribers early access to Trump’s posts.
The lawsuit, filed by The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation, calls the practice “unconstitutional.”
The service, called “Truth API,” allows financial firms and other organizations to receive Trump’s posts before the general public does for a fee of up to $100,000 a month.
Trump has used the platform to make major announcements during his second term, including announcements on economic policy and global affairs, that can move markets.
The groups argue that selling faster access gives paying subscribers preferential access to official government information and violates the First and Fifth amendments.
“The First Amendment guarantees equal access to the President’s public announcements,” the lawsuit says, arguing that “there is no legitimate interest, let alone a significant one, in permitting President Trump to profit from selling government information.”
The Fifth Amendment, the lawsuit argues in part, bars “granting preferential access to crucial government information for arbitrary and irrational reasons, as is the case here.”
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the practice unconstitutional and block the defendants from posting official government information exclusively on Truth Social while it maintains a paid API, or application programming interface, which allows computer systems to communicate.
A spokesperson for Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, defended the paid access in a statement in response to the lawsuit, asserting that other platforms and news outlets that report on information from Trump offer subscription APIs.
“One of those channels is Truth Social, which was founded as an uncancellable haven for free speech after the President was unjustly deplatformed,” the spokesperson said. “Now, left wing activists are trying to wrongfully weaponize the courts to censor him again and harm our shareholders.”
Hong says she ‘fully’ supports Crowley in Wisconsin governor’s race<!–>
Hong expressed her support for Crowley in the Wisconsin governor’s race, saying on X that she will work with him to get him elected this fall.
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“Congratulations to David Crowley and his team,” she said. “I fully support him and look forward to working with him to defeat Congressman Tiffany in November.”
She also called the past year of campaigning “one of the greatest joys of my life,” pointing to her travels across the state and discussions with Wisconsin voters.
“This campaign was not about getting one person into office,” she said in the post. “It is about building a movement for permanent affordability and a government that puts working people first. Our movement is strong, and the work isn’t done. I am overwhelmingly proud of our team and the work they have done to achieve that goal.”
Four crew members, two rescuers killed in Red Sea attack; U.S. strikes ship in Gulf of Oman<!–>
Four crew members were killed in an attack by Iran-backed Houthis on a cargo ship in the Bab el Mandeb strait yesterday, the Yemeni Transport Ministry said, while the U.S. military said it struck a container ship trying to sail toward an Iranian port.
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The deaths aboard the Egyptian-owned Tihamah, if they are confirmed, would be the first deaths in a Houthi strike on shipping since the U.S. and Israel launched the Iran war Feb. 28.
Warnings of a possible shoulder-fired missile led to Trump’s secret plane swap, official says<!–>
Warned of a fresh Iranian plot to kill him, Trump huddled with senior advisers in Turkey in the final hours of the NATO summit last month to see how he would make it home safely, a U.S. official said.
Catering trucks parked at Air Force One on the tarmac at Ankara International Airport in Turkey, last month.<!–> t=9i–>Alex Brandon / AP<!–>
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S.C. Sen. Tim Scott endorses Darline Graham in Senate primary<!–>
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., today endorsed the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister, GOP Sen. Darline Graham, in the special election to replace her brother.
Scott’s endorsement came hours after Graham was projected to advance to a runoff in the special election alongside Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and weeks after she was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to fill the rest of Lindsey Graham’s term following his sudden death.
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“If I were going to endorse in the South Carolina GOP Senate primary, I wanted to do so with confidence. After watching Darline Graham in the Senate and on the campaign trail, I’m confident she’s the real deal. Her first-place finish last night was remarkable, but not surprising. She is a conservative stalwart, a hard worker, and represents our beloved state with class, humility, and dignity,” Scott, who also chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, wrote in a post on X.
Graham earned Trump’s endorsement in the race even before she officially launched her campaign. In yesterday’s primary, she faced Norman, Rep. Russell Fry and former Gov. Mark Sanford.
In Scott’s post this morning, he waved at several policy positions that have set Darline Graham apart from her brother — including her decision to call for the abolition of the filibuster in order to pass Trump’s key priorities. Graham’s move came in the wake of criticism that she was running for Senate with no previous political experience besides her brother being a longtime senator.
“I know she is making her brother proud, but Darline has already proven to be her own person: focused on pocketbook issues, defending our South Carolina values, and delivering for the people she represents. Her priorities are our priorities,” Scott added in his post.
The support from South Carolina’s other senator comes among speculation that Trump may make a rare double-endorsement and support Norman, too. The president did so earlier this year in the state’s gubernatorial primary after his preferred candidate in that race advanced to a runoff.
Inflation remained stubborn in July as wages slowed for workers<!–>
Inflation as measured by the consumer price index rose 0.1% from June to July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said today, showing that costs broadly remained elevated for consumers amid volatile energy prices.
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From a year ago, inflation dropped slightly to 3.4% from 3.5%. But in another troubling sign for consumers, it remains above the rate of wage growth, which as of last month was pacing at 3.2%, according to the BLS.
Average hourly earnings slipped 0.2% from a year earlier, as well, the agency said today.
Crowley accepts Democratic nomination for governor in speech aimed at unifying party<!–>
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Crowley delivered a speech to formally accept the Democratic nomination for Wisconsin governor, striking a conciliatory tone and saying that Wisconsin voters have “something much bigger to unite around.”
He pointed to shared goals of “keeping MAGA extremism from bringing the chaos we see in Washington into our neighborhoods right here in the state of Wisconsin.”
Crowley also thanked his supporters, his family and Hong, saying that her campaign “reminded people across Wisconsin that there are no long shots when it comes to believing in a better future and fighting to expand opportunities to every family.”
Crowley framed his opponent in the general election, Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, as a divisive politician who stands with the president.
“Tom Tiffany stood with those who tried to overturn a free and fair presidential election instead of defending our democracy,” Crowley said. “He’s worked in lockstep with Donald Trump to slash programs that Wisconsin families depend on, including SNAP and health care for our children, our seniors and veterans and working families.”
Tiffany, who was endorsed by Trump, previously voted against certifying Joe Biden’s election wins in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Democrat backed by Blue Dogs and Bernie Sanders wins primary as parties prepare to battle for the House<!–>
Yesterday’s primaries are setting the matchups in around a half-dozen competitive House races that will be key to the fight for the House majority in November, including in a hotly contested Democratic target in Wisconsin.
Rebecca Cooke won the Democratic primary in Wisconsin’s 3rd District, NBC News projects, and will take on two-term GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden in the fall.
The race will be a rematch from 2024, when Cooke lost to Van Orden by about 3 percentage points even though Trump carried the district by 7 points.
Democratic Rep. John Larson loses his primary to opponent calling for generational change<!–>
Democratic Rep. John Larson of Connecticut has lost his primary race to former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, NBC News projects, becoming the latest example of Democratic voters’ push to sweep out incumbent House members and replace them with younger leadership.
Larson, 78, has been a fixture in Connecticut politics, having served for more than a decade in the state Legislature and almost three decades in Congress. A former member of party leadership, he touted his work on Social Security in Congress and had been backed by the state’s congressional delegation, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and key unions.
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Progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan wins Minnesota Democratic Senate primary<!–>
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan has won the Democratic primary for the Senate in Minnesota, NBC News projects, notching another major victory for her party’s progressive wing.
Flanagan defeated moderate Rep. Angie Craig in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Tina Smith, who endorsed Flanagan along with Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and other progressive leaders. She would be the first Native American woman in the Senate if she is elected in November.
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Trump says security threat spurred secret plane swap in Turkey<!–>
Trump confirmed last night that he secretly switched planes when he traveled back from Turkey in July, saying a security threat prompted the clandestine maneuver.
Trump told reporters that the “Secret Service and the military” made the decision.
“They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane,” he said. “I guess there was a threat out there.”
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Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman advance to GOP Senate primary runoff in South Carolina<!–>
Appointed Sen. Darline Graham was forced into a Republican Senate primary runoff by Rep. Ralph Norman yesterday, raising the prospect that GOP voters will again reject a candidate endorsed by Trump.
Graham, who was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to fill the remainder of her late brother Lindsey Graham’s term in July, is looking to also take his place on the November ballot for a full six years in the Senate. Trump encouraged her to run and then endorsed her in a primary that featured 10 GOP candidates, including Norman, Rep. Russell Fry and former Gov. Mark Sanford.
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Minnesota GOP picks Lisa Demuth over Trump-backed Mike Lindell for governor against Democrat Amy Klobuchar<!–>
Minnesota state House Speaker Lisa Demuth won the Republican primary for governor, NBC News projects, defeating Trump ally Mike Lindell and setting up a general election matchup against Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Demuth’s victory was an upset over Lindell, the MyPillow founder and election conspiracy theorist. Lindell had been leading in limited public polling heading into Election Day, and Trump endorsed him.
But attacks on Lindell from fellow Republicans — including questions about his residency raised by the chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party — hampered his campaign in the final weeks before the primary, as members of the Minnesota GOP sought a nominee who could beat Klobuchar in the general election.
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David Crowley pulls off upset over Francesca Hong in Wisconsin’s Democratic primary for governor<!–>
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has won the Democratic primary in Wisconsin’s race for governor, NBC News projects, dealing a major upset to democratic socialist Francesca Hong.
The result marks a dramatic turnaround for Crowley, who had dropped out of the race roughly a month ago after initially struggling to gain traction only to re-enter days later with outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ endorsement.
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/
