Elect a Clown, Expect the Circus

The State Department yesterday announced that it will release a limited edition U.S. passport design featuring Trump’s face on the inside cover and other images to celebrate the 250th anniversary of independence. Finya Swai reports for POLITICO. 

The White House is developing guidance that would allow agencies to get around Anthropic’s supply chain risk designation and onboard new models, including Mythos, according to sources. One source described the White House efforts as a way to “save face and bring em back in.” Maria Curi and Ashley Gold report for Axios. 

Google has signed a classified deal with the Defense Department to use its AI models for “any lawful government purpose,” a source told The Information. The agreement was reported less than a day after Google employees demanded CEO Sundar Pichai block the Pentagon from using its AI amid concerns that it would be used in “inhumane and extremely harmful ways.” Jess Weatherbed reports for The Verge. "

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has reinstated dozens of employees who lost their jobs under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. FEMA is taking steps to “stabilize” its workforce ahead of hurricane season and the World Cup, said a FEMA spokesperson. Scott Dance reports for the New York Times. 

The Trump administration released a report yesterday criticizing former President Joe Biden’s administration for anti-Christian bias through its enforcement actions against Christian universities, its Title IX gender-identity rules, and its handling of parental concerns. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement that the Biden administration had “abused its authority by unfairly punishing Christian families and schools.” Hannah Psalma Ramirez, Isa Dominguez, and Bianca Quilantan report for POLITICO. 

Trump said yesterday that he would nominate Dr Nicole Saphier, radiologist and former Fox News Channel contributor, for surgeon general, after Dr Casey Means’ nomination stalled in the Senate over concerns about her experience and stance on vaccines. Means said in an interview that her nomination fell apart after a “yearlong smear campaign against me,” which she said was an effort to impugn the MAHA movement. Ali Swenson and Meg Kinnard report for AP News. 

Trump’s announcement earlier this week that he was considering withdrawing U.S. troops from Germany shocked defense officials, who scrambled to find out if the president was serious, according to three defense officials. The Pentagon “was not expecting it and has not been planning any kind of drawdown,” said a congressional aide. Jack Destch, Paul McLeary, and Stephanie Bolzen report for POLITICO. 

The U.S. Air Force has agreed to buy an undisclosed number of interceptor drones from Powerus, a company backed by Trump’s sons, according to the company’s director. Annie Massa reports for Bloomberg. "

The Trump administration is considering the introduction of government oversight over new AI models, according to U.S. officials and other sources. The administration is discussing an executive order to create an AI working group that would bring together tech executives and government officials to examine potential oversight procedures. The shift comes as the White House wants to avoid any political repercussions if a devastating AI-enabled cyberattack were to occur, sources said. Some officials are pushing for a review system that would give the government first access to AI models, the sources added. Tripp Mickle, Julian E. Barnes, Sheera Frenkel, and Dustin Volz report for the New York Times. 

The Department of Homeland Security failed to effectively secure smartphones used by staff in its intelligence office, raising the risk of cyberattacks and unauthorized access to sensitive information, the department’s inspector general said in a report published yesterday. Madeleine Ngo and Hamed Aleaziz report for the New York Times. 

The Education Department opened an investigation yesterday into Smith College, an all-women’s institution in Massachusetts, for admitting transgender women. Jamie Ding reports for AP News. "

Trump yesterday signed a new counterterrorism strategy that places drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere and loosely defined “left-wing” domestic extremist movements at the center of U.S. national security priorities. The strategy expands the traditional definition of terrorism to include transnational criminal organizations and “violence-secular political groups” like Antifa. Nick Popli reports for Time. 

The Ben Franklin Fellowship, an invite-only, Washington-based, conservative group, is helping the State Department identify and recruit diplomats aligned with Trump’s ideology, while also dismantling diversity-focused hiring practices, critics say. Supporters argue the fellowship is restoring merit-based advancement and supporting an “America First” agenda. Michael Crowley and Edward Wong report for the New York Times."

A national missile defense system, like Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome,” could cost taxpayers $1.3 trillion over 20 years, according to a government report published yesterday. The estimate was provided by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office using an executive order issued by Trump in January 2025 as a blueprint. Even if the system is built, the report concluded, an adversary like Russia or China that has a large arsenal of nuclear weapons could overwhelm it, and some missiles would hit their targets.  John Ismay reports for the New York Times.  

The Department of Homeland Security yesterday announced that David Venturella, who has been overseeing contracts for detention centers at DHS, will serve as the acting director of ICE. Aaron Pellish reports for POLITICO.  

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary has left his post, Trump said yesterday on social media, adding that Kyle Diamantas will serve as the FDA's acting commissioner. Asked by reporters if he fired Makary or asked him to resign, Trump replied, “Well, I don't want to say, but Marty is a great guy. ... He was having some difficulty.” Peter Sullivan reports for Axios.  

Vice President JD Vance is bringing in longtime Trump ally Cliff Sims as a new national security adviser, Vance said. A source added that an exact start date has not been determined, but Cliff is expected to join imminently. Sophia Cai reports for POLITICO. "

"Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled yesterday that four parts of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s portion of the Republicans’ budget reconciliation package do not comply with Senate rules. These parts, dealing with immigration enforcement, will need to be reworked or risk Democrats forcing a floor vote on each provision that would be subject to a 60-vote threshold, according to a statement from Budget Committee Democrats last night. Jordain Carney and Jennifer Scholtes report for POLITICO.  

Citizenship lists that the Trump administration has ordered be compiled and shared with state election officials this year are likely to be incomplete and unreliable for determining voter eligibility, the Justice Department told a federal judge yesterday. Zach Montague and Adam Sella report for the New York Times.  

The Justice Department yesterday accused the Yale School of Medicine of violating anti-discrimination laws. Yale is the second medical school targeted in the past eight days over its admissions policies that the government said illegally favored Black and Hispanic applicants over more qualified White and Asian students. Michael C. Bender reports for the New York Times.  

A Justice Department ethics lawyer reportedly told acting Attorney General Todd Blanche shortly after he took office as deputy attorney general in 2025 that he must recuse himself from matters involving Trump in his personal capacity due to his prior role as Trump’s defense attorney. Katelyn Polantz, Evan Perez, and Hannah Rabinowitz report for CNN.  

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s last-minute decision to cancel the deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland caught Pentagon staff and European allies by surprise, sources said. Three defense officials said it was unclear why Hegseth had even issued the order. “We had no idea this was coming,” said one of the U.S. officials, adding that European and American officials have spent the last 24 hours on the phone trying to understand the decision and figure out if more surprises are coming. Paul McLeary and Jack Detsch report for POLITICO. 

The Trump administration planned to start work at the site of the proposed Triumphal Arch by piggypacking on an unrelated contract for engineering services at the White House grounds more than a mile away,emails obtained by the Washington Post show. The move would allow the administration to bypass a potentially lengthy public bidding process. Sarah Blaskey and Jonathan O’Connell report. "

The Treasury Department’s general counsel, Brian Morrissey, resigned yesterday, just hours after the Trump administration announced the creation of a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” that could soon make payments to Trump’s political allies who claim that the Biden administration improperly targeted them, three sources said. Andrew Duehren reports for the New York Times.

Trump said yesterday he would ask the Justice Department to open an investigation into an error regarding mail-in ballots in Maryland. The Maryland State Board of Elections announced last week that it had been “made aware of an error” that led to some voters receiving ballots for the wrong party in the state’s upcoming primaries. The state “sent out 500,000 Illegal Mail In Ballots, and they got caught!” Trump said. Jacob Wendler reports for POLITICO."

U.S. Cyber Command is launching a task force to speed up the adoption of AI tools with powerful hacking capabilities, according to three sources. The task force was announced to staff two weeks ago, two sources said. John Sakellariadis, Maggie Miller, and Jacob Wendler report for POLITICO.  

A draft Trump administration executive order, which could be released as early as today, would expand federal oversight of advanced AI systems by asking tech companies to voluntarily submit powerful frontier models for government review up to 90 days before public release, according to multiple sources. Jacob Wendler, Dana Nickel, Dasha Burns, and Josh Hewitt Jones report for POLITICO. "

White House adviser Kurt Olsen last year sought to ban voting machines used in more than half of U.S. states by asking whether the Commerce Department could declare their components national security risks, according to two sources. The idea emerged as Olsen and other officials brainstormed about how the federal government could take control over elections from U.S.states, the sources said. Erin Banco, Jonathan Landay, and Alexandra Alper report for Reuters.  

The White House approved a secret $9 billion request to help U.S. intelligence agencies acquire advanced AI chips and infrastructure, as shortages in computing capacity have limited their ability to run the latest AI models on classified systems, according to current and former U.S. officials. The funding still requires approval from Congress. Dustin Volz and Julian E. Barnes report for the New York Times. "

Bessent said yesterday that the Treasury Department has been working on a mock-up of a $250 note bearing Trump’s face. The move would mark a dramatic remaking of U.S. money, which is currently only allowed to bear images of the deceased. Bessent acknowledged that any policy change would require approval from Congress. Alan Rappeport reports for the New York Times.  

The Pentagon this week announced a $9.7 billion contract with Dell Technologies. The deal is drawing scrutiny as Trump earlier this year purchased more than $1 million in Dell stock, raising concerns about a potential conflict of interest. The White House yesterday denied any conflict, saying that Trump’s investments are managed independently by his children and advisers. Eric Lipton reports for the New York Times.  

The White House is split into three camps over how to regulate AI,  according to two senior White House officials. One faction, which includes former AI Czar David Sacks, favors less regulation to help the industry compete against China, while others like Hegseth advocate for greater barriers to Mythos-type models. A proposed executive order requiring AI companies to voluntarily share advanced models with the government before release was abruptly paused last week after last-minute objections, but officials say it may still return in revised form. Diana Nerozzi and Sophia Cai report for POLITICO. "

"The Trump administration plans to drop its controversial $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, two senior administration officials told Axios. “This has become a distraction,” a second administration official said. “The president believes government was weaponized against people — it wasn't just him. But this isn't the time and vehicle for it.” The Justice Department complained on social media about the Virginia court ruling, which temporarily barred any disbursements from the fund, but said, “the department will abide by [it].” Marc Caputo reports. 

The Defense Department has designated its press office a classified space and banned journalists from accessing it to meet with affairs officers, according to four sources, who confirmed the change in security status took effect in recent weeks. The move, which officials say is tied to housing speechwriters who handle classified information, further restricts media access amid an ongoing legal dispute over Pentagon press policies that have limited reporters' access to the building. Scott Nover reports for the Washington Post. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has blocked the promotion of eight Navy captains to one-star admirals, including two female and two Black officers, according to current and former U.S. officials. At the same time, Hegseth is trying to promote at least one member of his inner circle who was previously passed over for promotion several times, some of the people said. Lara Seligman reports for the Wall Street Journal.  

The Trump administration is dismantling a $368 million deep-ocean observation system that was put in place a decade ago to monitor coastal environments, marine ecosystems, and powerful currents that affect the global climate. Eric Niiler reports for the New York Times. "

lousubcap said:

...The Trump administration has hired Elias Irizarry, a convicted Jan. 6 rioter who later expressed remorse, to work inside the Defense Department’s Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict Office. Two sources characterized the work Irizarry will be doing as among the most delicate that the Pentagon performs, with all positions requiring top-secret security clearance. Several employees have raised concerns about the appointment, questioning how anyone convicted of an assault on democracy could be trusted for such a sensitive role in the U.S. government. Tara Copp and Salvador Rizzo report for the Washington Post.

Trump yesterday indicated that he will not nominate Bill Pulte to be the director of national intelligence once his temporary appointment expires early next year. Reuters reports.

The Defense Department has reduced its list of recognised faiths and belief systems from 211 to 31, Military.com has learned. This latest revision to the faith codes comes at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to a memo, and is meant to streamline the system and make chaplain support more practical and usable. Nick Mordowanec reports.

The Pentagon is expected to cancel a plan to send Tomahawk missiles to Germany partly because officials are concerned Russia will view it as an escalation, according to two European officials and one U.S. official. Paul McLeary, Stefanie Bolzen, and Chris Lunday report for POLITICO.  

Anthropic is reportedly working with the National Security Agency by installing around six of its engineers in the NSA to help deploy its Mythos AI model for offensive cyber operations, two sources said. Cristina Criddle and Demetri Sevastopulo report for the Financial Times. "