Political Glance
President Donald Trump has removed former U.S. Rep. Billy Long as IRS commissioner less than two months after his confirmation, a White House official said Friday.
It was not immediately clear why Long was dismissed. His quick exit makes him the shortest-tenured IRS commissioner confirmed by the Senate since the position was created in 1862.
Long said in a social media post that Trump had nominated him for an ambassadorship.
“It is a honor to serve my friend President Trump and I am excited to take on my new role as the ambassador to Iceland. I am thrilled to answer his call to service and deeply committed to advancing his bold agenda. Exciting times ahead!” the former Missouri congressman wrote on X.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as acting IRS commissioner, according to the White House official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trump removes Billy Long as IRS commissioner, giving him the shortest-ever tenure in the role
Justice Department launches grand jury probe of N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James
The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a federal grand jury investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James, according to two sources familiar with the investigation who weren't authorized to speak publicly.
James won a civil fraud case against President Trump and his companies in 2023, resulting in millions of dollars in penalties linked to fraud allegations.
The DOJ is seeking more information from James about the suit, and appears to be operating under a theory that James may have deprived Trump and his adult children of their rights as part of that case, the sources said.
The DOJ declined to comment.
Trump has repeatedly singled out James for public criticism dating back to when she first launched the civil case against him in 2022. He has accused James — a Democrat who is Black — of acting with political motivations against him and referred to her as "racist."
Trump administration fires ex-acting FBI director seen as champion of rank-and-file staff
The FBI is firing the former acting director who led the bureau at the start of the Trump administration and refused to turn over a list of agents who worked on Jan. 6 cases.
Brian Driscoll, who has returned to a career post at the bureau since departing its top spot, has been asked to leave by Friday, a source familiar confirmed to The Hill.
Driscoll has been viewed as a champion of the bureau’s rank-and-file staff. He declined to turn over a list of the thousands of FBI agents who worked on investigations into those that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The request to do so sparked a lawsuit from FBI staff members who feared the list would be used to target agents and could lead to retribution.
The FBI declined to comment.
Fourth ruling blocks Trump birthright citizenship order nationwide
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman already signaled she would block the restrictions nationwide, but she did not have jurisdiction at the time because the case rested with an appeals court.
Last week, the appeals court sent the case back to Boardman so she could issue the ruling.
The new phase of litigation follows the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision along ideological lines curtailing judges’ ability to issue universal injunctions. The high court still left the door open for nationwide blocks when needed to provide plaintiffs “complete relief” or when judges certify a nationwide class action.
Boardman insisted she was not “resurrecting” a universal injunction and Thursday’s ruling “comports with old and recent Supreme Court precedent.”
Trump signs action forcing universities and colleges to submit admissions data
Donald Trump signed an executive action on Thursday forcing colleges and universities to submit data to prove they do not consider race in admissions, as the White House intensifies its scrutiny of higher education institutions that receive federal funding.
The Trump administration is accusing colleges of using personal statements and other proxies in order to consider race, despite a 2023 supreme court ruling reversing affirmative action, as part of its wider attack on diversity-, inclusion- and equality-related initiatives at American institutions.
“Although the Supreme Court of the United States has definitively held that consideration of race in higher education admissions violates students’ civil rights,” the presidential memorandum reads, “the persistent lack of available data – paired with the rampant use of ‘diversity statements’ and other overt and hidden racial proxies – continues to raise concerns about whether race is actually used in practice.”
In the memorandum, Trump directs the education secretary, Linda McMahon, to require that higher education institutions submit “the data necessary to verify that their admissions do not involve unlawful discrimination”. McMahon is to overhaul the US higher education database, expand the scope of required admissions reporting and increase accuracy checks to help provide additional “transparency”.
Trump announces federal law enforcement will patrol DC
The White House announced on Thursday that it will use federal law enforcement officers to help police Washington D.C.
The move comes one day after President Donald Trump threatened to take over the city’s police force in response to an attempted hijacking that left one Trump administration staffer injured.
“Washington, DC is an amazing city, but it has been plagued by violent crime for far too long,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “President Trump has directed an increased presence of federal law enforcement to protect innocent citizens. Starting tonight, there will be no safe harbor for violent criminals in D.C.
The effort will begin as a seven-day operation, with “the option to extend as needed,” according to a White House statement. Increased law enforcement will be present on the streets at midnight, led by the U.S. Park Police, with participation from all members of the “Making DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force” established under a March executive order.
'Alligator Alcatraz' construction in Florida Everglades halted by federal judge
A federal judge on Aug. 7 ordered a temporary halt to further construction at an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," while a lawsuit over its environmental impact unfolds in court.
At a hearing in Miami, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued an order halting any new construction at the facility through Aug. 12, according to the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. Williams' temporary restraining order "means that new construction, including filling, paving, installation of new infrastructure, and installation of new lighting, must stop immediately," according to a statement from a coalition of Florida environmental and conservation groups.
The statement added: "That will last for 14 days while the parties complete their hearing on the conservation groups’ motion for a preliminary injunction. Meanwhile, the lawsuit, originally filed by the groups on June 27, is allowed to proceed."
The lawsuit, among other things, alleges that the center "poses serious threats to the sensitive Everglades ecosystem, endangered species, clean water, and dark night skies."
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