The Senate confirmed President Donald Trump's first judicial pick of his second term on a brisk Monday evening, introducing a new dynamic to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Whitney Hermandorfer, Trump's latest appointee, steps into the position previously held by an Obama-era appointee, the Daily Caller reported.
Whitney Hermandorfer's lifetime appointment reflects a broader initiative by the Trump administration to accelerate judicial nominations.
This strategic move is part of a broader surge to fill judicial vacancies, markedly redefining the pace and politics of judicial confirmations. Hermandorfer was confirmed in a decisive party-line vote, highlighting the current political divide and emphasizing Senate Republicans' focus on judicial appointments following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune emphasized the swift processing of judicial nominees. He underscored the administration's commitment to appoint judges who recognize their roles within the judicial system, launching this initiative with Hermandorfer’s appointment.
Whitney Hermandorfer, aged 38, represents the new wave of judicial appointees under Trump's administration. She possesses extensive legal experience, having clerked for notable Supreme Court Justices and led litigation efforts in Tennessee.
The debate around her confirmation was marked by sharp partisan differences. Senate Republicans lauded her judicial philosophy, while Democrats, led by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, criticized her focus on contesting reproductive and transgender rights.
The current count of about 50 federal bench vacancies represents a significant reduction since Trump’s first term, signaling a swift reshaping of the judiciary.
Trump praised Hermandorfer for her defense of girls' and women's sports, a stance that aligns with his administration's traditional values.
Schumer expressed strong dissent, focusing on Hermandorfer's professional emphasis on limiting certain rights, which he believes makes her unfit for the appellate court.
Such appointments reveal the deep ideological divisions that not only reflect in legislative debates but also in the broader judicial philosophy shaping America's legal landscape.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, under Chairman Chuck Grassley, aims to quicken the pace at which Trump’s remaining judicial nominations are confirmed, evidencing a rigorous legislative push.
With her confirmation as the 384th roll call vote of the 119th Congress, Hermandorfer's appointment epitomizes a key moment in Trump's ongoing strategy to reshape the judiciary swiftly.
Hermandorfer's confirmation may influence future legislative interpretations and judicial decisions, potentially altering significant aspects of law and governance.
This changing judicial landscape is expected to have long-term effects on legal precedents and the balance of power within the judiciary.
The broader implications of these shifts are poised to shape the legal narrative in the United States, affecting everything from individual rights to broader policy decisions.
Attorney General Pam Bondi fired the ethics official who advises her and other top Justice Department officials of their ethical obligations, a source in the DOJ told ABC News on Monday.
Joseph Tirell posted about his dissmissal on LinkedIn on Monday, including a photo of his termination notice, which apparently didn't include a reason for the firing.
"Until Friday evening, I was the senior ethics attorney at the Department of Justice responsible for advising the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General directly on federal employee ethics," Tirrell said in the post. "I was also responsible for the day-to-day operations of the ethics program across the Department."
His firing appears to be part of the DOJ purge of personnel who participated in former Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into and case against President Donald Trump.
Around 35 DOJ employees have been fired so far, and 15 more are likely on the chopping block.
While no official word about why Tirell was fired has been given, a theory has been espoused by several former officials.
Tirell was director of the DOJ's Ethics Office when Smith disclosed that he had been gifted $140,000 in pro bono legal services while he was special counsel.
Tirell apparently signed off on the gift as following the regulations and requirements of the agency, an ethical lapse that could have led to his firing.
The purge is itself a development that has arisen out of the "Weaponization Working Group" formed by Bondi when she first took office as U.S. Attorney General.
The DOJ leadership under Trump is concerned that its personnel could work against Trump the way various personnel did during his first administration.
It's a valid concern because it happened both while he was in office and after.
The DOJ reportedly has tried to distinguish personnel who were only obeying orders from the higher ups from those who seemed to have ill will toward Trump and acted against him on their own initiative.
Trump vowed while campaigning to get rid of what he called the deep state, which is made up of longtime officials who have more sympathies for Democrat administrations than Republican ones.
At least within the DOJ, Trump's pledge is being taken very seriously.
At the recent National Association of Hispanic Journalists conference in Chicago, former White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest opened up about the tumultuous day following the 2016 presidential election, the Guardian reported.
Josh Earnest described the challenge of managing communications after Donald Trump was elected, marking it as his most difficult day at work.
Earnest, who helmed the Obama administration's communications during Barack Obama’s second term, cited November 9, 2016, as particularly daunting due to the unexpected election outcome. His role was integral in shaping the public messages during this critical transition.
Leading up to the elections, the Obama administration had been vocal about the risks associated with a potential Trump presidency. This caution was partly based on intelligence reports suggesting Russian interference in the electoral process.
Earnest emphasized how the administration had to align its communication strategies, despite having previously issued stark warnings about Trump's candidacy. The shift towards facilitating a smooth transition was paramount, he noted during his chat.
The obligation to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, including the exchange of nuclear codes, was a weighty responsibility, presenting a significant contrast to the Obama team's prior critiques of Trump.
Following the election results, there was a palpable sense of shock and disheartenment among the communications staff, as recounted by Earnest. President Obama swiftly convened his team to reassess and realign their focus for the remaining two months of his tenure.
Central to Obama's message to his communications team was a reminder of their overarching duty to prioritize the nation's best interests above all. This conversation provided the groundwork for Obama's public speech later that day.
Earnest recalled these discussions as being pivotal in redirecting the team’s morale and focus, underlining the theme of unity and patriotism that Obama stressed: "We are Americans first. We’re patriots first. We all want what’s best for this country."
After concluding his tenure at the White House in January 2017, Earnest took on roles that kept him close to the media spotlight. He worked as a media pundit during Trump’s presidency, where his commentary leaned towards what he described as bordering on entertainment rather than journalism.
Since 2018, Earnest has been a top spokesperson for United Airlines, navigating different challenges in the corporate sector. Despite his shift away from politics, his insights continue to draw attention, illustrating the ongoing interest in the experiences of Obama’s communication team.
Trump's opinion of Earnest was notably harsh; he once criticized Earnest publicly for his messaging style, describing him as "so bad, the way he delivers a message." These criticisms underscored the tense relations between the incoming and outgoing administrations during the transition period.
The challenge of balancing professional integrity with the demands of political communications was a recurring theme in Earnest's reflections. His experiences underscore the intricate balance required in the role of a White House press secretary, especially during a highly charged election transition.
Earnest's narrative at the NAHJ conference provided a rare glimpse into the inner workings and emotional toll on the White House staff during one of the most contentious elections in recent history.
As political dynamics continue to evolve, the insights from figures like Earnest serve as valuable lessons on the significance of communication, unity, and professionalism in the face of national transitions.
President Trump's $16 million settlement with CBS News is a demoralizing blow for the Democrats and the "Fake News" machine that supports them.
The deal adds to a streak of impressive wins for Trump, who has spent months steamrolling over liberal opponents in media and higher education.
Trump accused CBS of interfering in the 2024 presidential election with its favorable editing of an interview with Kamala Harris, his Democratic rival.
The 60 Minutes interview featured a clipped version of Harris' response to a question about Israel. A teaser that appeared on Face The Nation included a longer portion of Harris' long-winded answer.
Critics of CBS accused the network of helping Harris, who was frequently criticized on the campaign trail for spewing "word salad." The network vehemently denied conscious manipulation.
"'60 Minutes' gave an excerpt of our interview to ‘Face the Nation’ that used a longer section of her answer than that on ‘60 Minutes.' Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response," the network said at the time.
Trump sued CBS in October for trying to "tip the scales" in the home stretch of a dramatic and heated election campaign. Initially, Trump's lawyers demanded an eye-watering $10 billion in damages before doubling the number to a staggering $20 billion.
Some CBS honchos quit the network in protest as parent company Paramount started negotiating with the second Trump administration, which has the power to approve a planned merger between Paramount and Skydance Media.
Trump rejected Paramount's initial offer of $15 million - with Trump lawyers pushing for over $25 million with a full apology. Finally, in July, Paramount caved.
The company agreed to pay $16 million towards Trump's presidential library. CBS also agreed to release all unedited transcripts of its interviews with presidential candidates in the future, and they will pay Trump's legal fees.
“CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle,” a Trump spokesperson said. “President Trump will always ensure that no one gets away with lying to the American People.”
CBS did get one victory: they are not required to apologize.
Trump had previously settled a defamation case with ABC News, which agreed to pay $15 million towards Trump's future library over comments from anchor George Stephanopoulos. Trump has also extracted concessions from "woke" universities and law firms.
The president is not done, as he pushes Congress to defund public broadcasters NPR and PBS over their partisan advocacy.
Elon Musk's AI company issued an explanation and an apology for an anti-Semitic outburst by its chatbot, Grok.
xAI said the incident was caused by a since-deleted coding update that caused Grok to echo "extremist" posts on X.
Musk has touted his chatbot as an uncensored and "politically neutral" alternative to the "woke" ChatGPT, but finding a balance has proven difficult.
Within days of a new update touted by Musk, Grok responded to queries about the Texas floods with comments praising Adolf Hitler.
Grok said that Jewish-sounding names "keep popping up in extreme leftist activism, especially the anti-white variety" and suggested that Hitler would "spot the pattern and handle it decisively, every damn time."
The offensive posts were promptly deleted, and xAI later provided an explanation for what happened.
The company blamed a coding change that made Grok "susceptible to existing X user posts; including when such posts contained extremist views."
"First off, we deeply apologize for the horrific behavior that many experienced. Our intent for @grok is to provide helpful and truthful responses to users."
"After careful investigation, we discovered the root cause was an update to a code path upstream of the @grok bot. This is independent of the underlying language model that powers @grok," the company said.
The update was active for 16 hours and has since been removed, the company said.
"The update was active for 16 hrs, in which deprecated code made @grok susceptible to existing X user posts; including when such posts contained extremist views. We have removed that deprecated code and refactored the entire system to prevent further abuse. The new system prompt for the @grok bot will be published to our public github repo," the company said.
"We thank all of the X users who provided feedback to identify the abuse of @grok functionality, helping us advance our mission of developing helpful and truth-seeking artificial intelligence."
Musk has also fallen under scrutiny over his own erratic posts, many of which have targeted President Trump and his agenda in recent weeks.
Musk apologized in June for a series of inflammatory messages, including a baseless assertion, later deleted, that Trump is in the Epstein files.
Earlier this month, Trump lamented that his former ally had "gone off the rails" after Musk launched a third political party in protest of Trump's megabill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, becoming law.
President Trump has named Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to be the new boss of NASA, at least temporarily.
In a post announcing the pick, Trump lauded Duffy for a "tremendous" job in his current role and acknowledged his new role would be short-lived.
“Sean is doing a TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country’s Transportation Affairs, including creating a state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control systems, while at the same time rebuilding our roads and bridges, making them efficient, and beautiful, again,” Trump wrote.
“He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important Space Agency, even if only for a short period of time. Congratulations, and thank you, Sean!”
The shuffle still leaves NASA without a permanent leader. Trump had picked billionaire and private astronaut Jared Isaacman but withdrew the nomination in late May, citing a "thorough review" of his "prior associations."
Isaacman is a close associate of Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and a former Trump ally who has since turned against the president. Trump has said it would have been inappropriate for Isaacman to lead NASA, given his ties to Musk, the biggest player in the private space industry.
“I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon’s corporate life," Trump explained in another post.
Duffy can be expected to faithfully execute Trump's agenda of government reform, which has prioritized cost-cutting and ending left-wing initiatives such as DEI.
Duffy is taking over from acting administrator Janet Petro, who is also the director of the Kennedy Space Center, NASA's primary launch center.
"Honored to accept this mission. Time to take over space. Let’s launch," Duffy wrote.
The change in leadership comes after the White House issued a controversial budget request that would trim NASA down to its smallest size since the early 1960s.
The plan cuts research programs like Mars Sample Return, while prioritizing ambitious feats like putting humans on Mars and returning to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
The administration envisions a leaner NASA that is more reliant on support from private industry, but the budget has faced pushback in Congress, with lawmakers on the Senate Appropriations Committee voting to reject it last week.
Isaacman praised Trump's nomination of Duffy, writing, "Short of a new nominee, this was a great move. NASA needs political leadership from someone the President trusts and has confidence in.”
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Donald Trump is expressing his extreme displeasure with ongoing controversy over Attorney General Pam Bondi's refusal to release files on convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, amid reports FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino may resign over the issue, and reaction from Trump supporters is not positive.
In a lengthy post Saturday on Truth Social, Trump said: "What's going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?' They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We're on one Team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening.
"We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and 'selfish people' are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein. For years, it's Epstein, over and over again.
"Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration, who conned the World with the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, 51 'Intelligence' Agents, 'THE LAPTOP FROM HELL,' and more? They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher Steele Dossier that they used on me, and now my so-called 'friends' are playing right into their hands.
"Why didn't these Radical Left Lunatics release the Epstein Files? If there was ANYTHING in there that could have hurt the MAGA Movement, why didn't they use it? They haven't even given up on the John F. Kennedy or Martin Luther King, Jr. Files. No matter how much success we have had, securing the Border, deporting Criminals, fixing the Economy, Energy Dominance, a Safer World where Iran will not have Nuclear Weapons, it's never enough for some people.
"We are about to achieve more in 6 months than any other Administration has achieved in over 100 years, and we have so much more to do. We are saving our Country and, MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, which will continue to be our complete PRIORITY.
"The Left is imploding! Kash Patel, and the FBI, must be focused on investigating Voter Fraud, Political Corruption, ActBlue, The Rigged and Stolen Election of 2020, and arresting Thugs and Criminals, instead of spending month after month looking at nothing but the same old, Radical Left inspired Documents on Jeffrey Epstein. LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB — SHE'S GREAT!
"The 2020 Election was Rigged and Stolen, and they tried to do the same thing in 2024 — That's what she is looking into as AG, and much more. One year ago our Country was DEAD, now it's the 'HOTTEST' Country anywhere in the World. Let's keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Supporters of Trump expressed their own outrage at the president's remarks.
One woman who calls herself a "Magadonian wife and mother" indicated: "This statement breaks my heart, Mr. President. I have four daughters, and live in Texas, where families lost little children. I can't even begin to comprehend the flipped narrative that 'it was so long ago' 'why are we still talking about this' and 'nobody should care.' These victims were someone's daughters, sisters, nieces, granddaughter. Someone's child. Please reconsider, sir.
"I voted for everything you are doing! Accountability was not something negotiable. I, my family, and those we convinced to give you a chance are all counting on you to bring sick perversion to account. Otherwise it will continue to happen. If we are not the voice of the victims then who? Respectfully and with much gratitude for all the promises you keep. Please let this one be one, as well. ~Much love to you and yours."
Another told Trump: "We want the ELITE PEDOS exposed! You promised us that. Pam promised us that. Kash [Patel] promised us that. Now it's OUR fault [because] we want that promise fulfilled and call Pam out every time she lies? What else has she lied to us about?"
As WorldNetDaily reported, there have been numerous reports that if Bondi remains as attorney general, then either FBI Director Kash Patel or Bongino may quit.
Journalist and Trump ally Laura Loomer said: "We might not have a Deputy FBI Director by Monday. We could possibly see a weekend resignation from the FBI by Dan Bongino.
"Source tells me Kash Patel agrees with Bongino's sentiment and also agrees that Blondi needs to be removed from her post as AG.
"Now it's up to President Trump to step in. The MAGA base would like to see Trump FIRE Blondi. She is a massive liability to this otherwise great administration."
Naturally, a president wouldn't want people working under him who investigated him and his allies, so it's no surprise that President Donald Trump continues to purge DOJ staff members who did so under the previous administration.
More than 20 people who worked on then-Special Counsel Jack Smith's two cases against Trump were the latest to be canned this week, and a source in the administration said that 15 more people could be fired in the near future.
With around 15 previous firings, the total could reach 50 until it's all said and done.
Smith is long gone, and anyone who worked under him is soon to follow.
Sources said that among those fired in this wave were paralegals, finance and support staff, as well as the final two prosecutors in North Carolina and Florida.
The DOJ's "weaponization working group" established by Attorney General Pam Bondi right after she was confirmed to the positon identified the employees who were fired.
The working group was tasked with distinguishing "improper investigative tactics and unethical prosecutions" from "good faith actions by federal employees simply following orders."
One of the employees fired, public affairs specialist Patty Hartman, complained about the so-called retribution behind the firings to CBS in an interview.
"The rules don't exist anymore," Hartman said. "There used to be a line, used to be a very distinct separation between the White House and the Department of Justice, because one should not interfere with the work of the other. That line is very definitely gone."
Hartman may be a little off on her timeline for when the "retribution" started in Washington.
Trump was most definitely punished for daring to win office as a political outsider, threatening the status quo and bringing about change that a lot of people--even some Republicans--did not want.
The line she's talking about was pretty much destroyed when the DOJ under former President Joe Biden decided to use its power to prosecute a presidential candidate and nominee on specious charges that didn't end up holding water.
Why would Trump let people stay in his administration who think what was done to him is justice?
His actions make perfect sense and no one should have expected anything different.
A TikTok user identified as @skitheteamroski claimed that he was fired from working at Alligator Alcatraz after he posted video footage from the pop-up immigrant detention center on social media and alleged that detainees were being held in "deplorable conditions."
The first video showed the employee laying on a bunkbed and was captioned "LIVE FROM ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ...TUNE IN FOR THE ONLY AVAILABLE LIVE FOOTAGE FROM THE 'CONCENTRATION CAMP' THAT TRUMP BUILT."
Subsequent videos depicted the man and coworkers rescuing a turtle at the site, driving a golf cart through the facility, and looking at a food item ostensibly served to detainees.
"Doesn't look very appetizing, does it?" he asked his coworkers. The videos did not reveal what position the man held at the facility.
He also started a GoFundMe to raise money to hire a lawyer after he was fired.
"Many people want me to share my side of the story of what's actually going on inside, but I can't fully explain and show what I know without having a lawyer just in case this situation gets pushed to the next level," the man, idenitifed as a Jacksonville resident, wrote.
He said he would like to get the facility shut down.
There have been other reports of poor conditions--giant mosquitoes, a lack of running water, and being fed only one maggot-infested meal a day--from lawmakers and relatives of detainees.
Most of those reports are coming from people who want desperately to stop Trump's efforts to rein in and reform the country's broken immigration system, however.
FEMA officials have rebutted the claims and said that detainees are being treated humanely.
"Detainees have access to potable water from on-site tanks refilled by 6,000-gallon trucks. Each individual is issued a personal cup they can refill at any time, and bottled water is provided at meals. Tanks are regularly sanitized, flushed, and tested to ensure water quality. Full-size showers are available daily with no restriction on bathing water," the Division of Emergency Management told Daily Mail.
"Detainees receive three meals per day plus the option of a late evening meal upon request, and there is working air conditioning throughout the facility," the statement continued.
"Detainees have access to regular phone and video calls with their attorneys or families."
The statement was consistent with one by the Department of Homeland Security, which asserted, "All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members."
A former adviser to Democrat candidates including Hillary Clinton and Colorado Governor Jared Polis said he was "almost speechless" after hearing anti-police comments made by New York's Democrat mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani during a 2020 interview.
Mamdani, who is Black and Muslim, has been strongly criticized by the left and right since winning the Democrat primary.
Among other things, he has refused to disavow the phrase "globalize the intifada," which is a de facto call for violence.
In July 2020, Mamdani appeared on the "Immigrantly" podcast espousing rhetoric to defund the police, and the interview recently went viral on social media.
He referred to the history of the New York Police Department (NYPD), saying, "You can see that we have invested in a system that functions in many ways to punish poor Black and Brown people."
He gave examples of the NYPD overstepping their bounds, such as removing a homeless person from a train or responding to someone "surviving, you know, going through domestic violence."
Former Democrat adviser Dan Turrentine blasted Mamdani on "The Morning Meeting Podcast" when co-hosts Mark Halperin and Sean Spicer brought up the viral podcast.
"I'm almost speechless. Like, that is so enraging," Turrentine said. "It's crazy. I hope it hurts him. Like, when I hear that, and I try to have an open mind, hope that whoever our next mayor is makes this city a great place. I live [here]. We have children here. New York City police officers put themselves in such harm's way. This city is full of crazy people on subways. I, our children go on it. The number of times that there are homeless people who are, like, out of their mind who come up to kids, who scream at them right near - to say the police are the [problem], I hope our party condemns him."
Turrentine said he thinks the city has made progress with crime until recently and can't afford to go backward.
Obviously, Mamdani is a bad candidate for New York City and will cause great harm if he is elected.
However, Mamdani has disavowed those earlier comments, which were made in the wake of the George Floyd death and all the protests that followed.
"I will not defund the police. I will work with the police because I believe the police have a critical role to play in creating public safety," he said during a mayoral debate in June.
Many candidates who called for defunding the police in 2020 disavow it now, so it's not surprising that he has changed his tune.
That doesn't mean anyone should vote for him, but it would be good to focus on the real reasons for not doing so rather than grasping onto something that doesn't represent his current views--or at least his current stated views.