NationalWatch

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., allowed a Biden-appointed member of the Federal Trade Commission to keep her job, at least for now, as part of a lawsuit centered on President Donald Trump’s authority to remove members of independent agencies without cause.

A three-judge panel said Tuesday that a lower court’s decision that Trump unlawfully fired FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter could remain in place and that the firing was squarely at odds with Supreme Court precedent. 

“The government has no likelihood of success on appeal given controlling and directly on point Supreme Court precedent,” the panel wrote in an order.

Slaughter was abruptly fired after Trump took office, rehired when Judge Loren AliKhan ruled in her favor last month, and then re-fired days later when the appellate court briefly paused Ali Khan’s decision.

FTC FIRINGS TAKE SPOTLIGHT IN TRUMP’S FIGHT TO ERASE INDEPENDENCE OF AGENCIES

The three-judge panel, comprising two Obama appointees and one Trump appointee, lifted that pause on Tuesday, which allows Slaughter to return to work. The Trump administration can appeal the decision.

Department of Justice attorneys had argued for the appellate court to grant the Trump administration a stay, pointing to the Supreme Court’s decision to do the same in a recent separate case involving other independent agencies.

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“The court’s reinstatement of a principal officer of the United States—in defiance of recent Supreme Court precedent staying similar reinstatements in other cases—works a grave harm to the separation of powers and the President’s ability to exercise his authority under the Constitution,” the attorneys wrote.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening…

-Army secretary reveals how Rangers bypass Pentagon red tape to counter exploding drone threat

-Fani Willis ordered by Georgia court to search for Trump-related records

-Trump’s Labor Day crime crackdown in DC nets 70 arrests, including illegal immigrants

Trump plans to move Space Command to Alabama, countering Biden order to keep it in Colorado

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Space Command’s headquarters would move from Colorado to Alabama — capping off a yearslong fight over where the command should be based. 

While Space Command has been operating out of Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Trump during his first term pushed for the command’s headquarters to go to Huntsville, Alabama. However, former President Joe Biden announced in 2023 that the command would remain based in Colorado. 

“The U.S. Space Command headquarters will move to the beautiful locale of a place called Huntsville, Alabama, forever to be known from this point forward as Rocket City,” Trump told reporters Tuesday…READ MORE.
 

White House

RUMOR MILL RUN: Trump responds to bizarre weekend rumors of his death: ‘I was very active’

PRICELESS PAYDAY: Treasury Department reveals which jobs could secure a major tax break from Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’

HEALTH REVELATION: Former FBI Director Robert Mueller has Parkinson’s disease: report

World Stage

DRUG BOAT TAKEDOWN: Trump announces US military conducted ‘lethal strike’ on Venezuelan drug boat in Caribbean

Capitol Hill

HAWKEYE FAREWELL: Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa makes it official: She’s not seeking reelection in 2026

HIGH STAKES: Government shutdown, Epstein files, DC crime: Congress returns to mountain of drama

CONFIRMATION WAR: Top Senate Republican ready to go nuclear, ‘roll over’ Democrats with rule change to confirm Trump nominees

Across America 

BIOLOGY VS. IDENTITY: Red state argues trans bathroom case will be ‘death knell’ for left-wing agenda

KILLER’S LAIR: Bryan Kohberger’s apartment, essays revealed in hundreds of photos released by Idaho police

BLOODY WEEKEND: At least 58 shot, 8 killed in Chicago over Labor Day weekend as city rejects Trump’s help

NOT SO FUNNY: Tow truck driver slapped with federal charge after hauling away ICE vehicle: ‘He can laugh behind bars’

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sharpened his criticism of Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., on Tuesday as the debate over how to handle transparency in the Jeffrey Epstein case rages on Capitol Hill.

“I would describe virtually everything Thomas Massie says, as related to this issue, as meaningless,” Johnson told reporters, delivering his harshest remarks yet against the Kentucky Republican.

The jab came minutes before Massie introduced a measure designed to bypass Johnson and force a vote on legislation compelling the release of a wide range of Department of Justice (DOJ) records tied to Epstein. Johnson, meanwhile, is backing a separate resolution authorizing the House Oversight Committee’s inquiry into the case.

Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., are spearheading a discharge petition — a rare procedural move that allows lawmakers to circumvent leadership if a majority of House members sign on. 

A NEXT STEP IN THE JEFFREY EPSTEIN INVESTIGATION INVOLVES HIS ‘BIRTHDAY BOOK’

Massie told Fox News Digital he expected enough signatures to hit that threshold by the end of this week.

“I think there’s a real good chance of that,” he said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the petition had two signatures: Massie and Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.

Asked about Johnson’s comments, Massie blasted House leaders’ measure as a “placebo resolution.”

“He copied three pages out of my resolution. I mean, we wrote this from scratch. So if he thinks it’s meaningless, why is he copying it and taking the teeth out of it?” Massie said. “He is afraid of President Donald Trump. Mike Johnson’s speakership just hangs on that thread.”

The DOJ has already begun turning over thousands of files to the Oversight Committee under a bipartisan subpoena, though at least some redactions are expected. 

Johnson argued his approach balances transparency with privacy concerns for Epstein’s victims.

He told reporters Tuesday, “I would not put much stock into what Thomas Massie says.”

EPSTEIN ESTATE HIT WITH NEW HOUSE SUBPOENA FOR ‘CLIENT LIST,’ CALL LOGS

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“The House Republicans have been very consistent about maximum disclosure and maximum transparency with the Epstein files, but we had to do it in a way that would protect the innocent victims of these horrific crimes,” Johnson said. “We have achieved that. Now we have a resolution that will accomplish that desired end. And what people want to do with this for political purpose is, to me, this is really just shameful.”

Massie and Khanna plan to hold a press conference Wednesday with several of Epstein’s victims to promote their resolution. Those victims also met Tuesday with Johnson and members of the Oversight Committee.

The showdown underscores intensifying GOP divisions over how to handle the DOJ’s handling of Epstein’s case, which was reignited after an internal memo effectively declared the matter closed earlier this year.

The Treasury Department announced on Labor Day that nearly 70 jobs across eight sectors could benefit from President Donald Trump’s tax cut on tipped wages, a campaign promise he signed into law this summer. 

Workers who can expect to stop paying taxes on tipped wages as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act include those in the food and beverage industry, the events and entertainment sector, hospitality and guest services, personal services, personal appearances and wellness jobs, home services, recreation and instructional professions and delivery and transportation jobs. 

A preliminary list outlines the 68 jobs that “customarily and regularly received tips” on or before Dec. 31, 2024, and are likely to qualify for “No Tax on Tips” included in Trump’s megabill, which narrowly passed through Congress this summer. 

The Treasury Department said an official list will subsequently be open to public comment. Those in the healthcare, performing arts and athletic fields will not qualify for the deduction, according to a Treasury document obtained by Fox News. 

HERE’S THE MONEY PEOPLE IN EACH STATE COULD POCKET UNDER TRUMP’S ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ SAVINGS

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News’ Rich Edson that many workers collect overtime pay when they work Labor Day. 

TRUMP SIGNS ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL’ BILL IN SWEEPING VICTORY FOR SECOND TERM AGENDA, OVERCOMING DEMS AND GOP REBELS

“The One Big Beautiful Bill is no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security” and a deduction on auto loans for American-made cars, Bessent said at Martin’s Tavern in Washington, D.C., on Monday. 

Bessent said cutting taxes on tips is going to “help the bottom 50% of wage earners who just got eviscerated under the Biden administration” and said this is one way to tackle America’s “affordability crisis.”

Tax cuts on tips and overtime will create real wage increases for working Americans, the secretary told Fox News.

Among the eight sectors laid out by the Treasury Department, several jobs are slated to benefit. 

For food and beverage services, bartenders, wait staff, food restaurants, chefs, fast food workers, dishwashers, bakers, host staff, restaurant, lounge and coffee shop workers are all expected to receive no tax on tips. 

As for the entertainment industry, gambling workers, dancers, musicians, singers, DJs, performers, digital content creators, lobby attendants, ushers, ticket takers and locker room, coatroom and dressing room attendants will also likely cash in on the tax cut. 

Bellhops, concierges, hotel and motel desk clerks and housekeepers should all benefit in the hospitality business. 

In home services, repair workers, landscapers, electricians, plumbers, heating and AC mechanics and installers, appliance installers or repairers, home cleaning workers, locksmiths and roadside assistance workers are all included. 

For the personal services and wellness industries, event planners, event photographers and videographers, personal care and service workers, event officials, pet caretakers, tutors, nannies and babysitters, skincare specialists, massage therapists, shampooers, manicurists and pedicurists, eyebrow threading or waxing technicians, makeup artists, fitness trainers, tattoo artists and piercers, tailors and shoe repairers are also listed. 

Golf caddies, self-enrichment teachers, recreational and tour pilots, tour guides and escorts, travel guides and sports and recreation instructors can also expect a tax cut on tips in the recreational profession. 

Finally, for the transportation and delivery industry, parking and valet attendants, taxi and rideshare drivers, chauffeurs, shuttle drivers, goods delivery people, personal vehicle and equipment drivers, water taxi operators, charter boat workers, pedicab and carriage drivers and home movers should all benefit.

Congress unanimously passed the bipartisan No Tax on Tips Act separately from Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” earlier this year.

The Senate bill established a new tax deduction of up to $25,000 for tips, but the One Big Beautiful Bill Act does not include a cap on the tax deduction for tipped wages.

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While Trump’s megabill clashed on partisan lines, Democratic senators rallied behind the tax cut for tips, including Nevada’s Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen.

“Working Americans— from servers, to bartenders, delivery drivers, and everything in between— work hard for every dollar they earn and are the ones who deserve tax relief, not the ultra-rich,” Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said earlier this year, celebrating Rosen’s leadership to pass the No Tax on Tips Act.

A legal fight over public school bathrooms and transgender students is now in the hands of the Supreme Court, where South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson believes it will be a “death knell” for what he calls the “radical, hard-left agenda.”

South Carolina asked the Supreme Court to pause a federal appeals court order granting one transgender high school student access to boys’ bathrooms, a move the state says clashes with its law requiring facilities be based on biological sex and comes just months after the Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender treatments for minors.

In an emergency filing last week, Wilson, alongside state officials, said the ruling leaves the Berkeley County School District “stuck between an impossible rock and hard place.” 

“I believe that this case in the Fourth Circuit, that could ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, will be a death knell in that radical, hard-left agenda,” Wilson told Fox News Digital in an interview Tuesday. “This case is not only about the state’s ability to protect students’ privacy and safety, but it’s about the rights of the students themselves to be secure in their schools.”

DENVER SCHOOL’S ALL-GENDER BATHROOMS VIOLATE TITLE IX, EDUCATION DEPARTMENT FINDS

The case brings biology-based bathroom rules for students back before the nation’s highest court, just months after the Supreme Court upheld a state ban on gender transition treatments for minors — a decision South Carolina says should guide lower courts.

“It underlines the importance of states’ ability to protect their own students and their own constituencies within their states,” Wilson said. “This is one of the issues that was brought up in the Skrmetti decision.”

The Fourth Circuit ruled last month that the student, identified in court documents as “John Doe,” be allowed an exception to use the boys’ restroom pending the lawsuit. The decision relies heavily on Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, where the court held that banning a transgender boy from using the boys’ restroom violated the Equal Protection Clause and Title IX.

But South Carolina officials argue that Grimm is an outdated “discredited outlier” and that federal courts should follow the United States v. Skrmetti decision, since “the Plaintiffs are unlikely ultimately to prevail,” according to the emergency injunction. In the Skrmetti decision, the justices ruled in favor of Tennessee’s ban on medical gender transition procedures for minors.

SCOTUS RULES ON STATE BAN ON GENDER TRANSITION ‘TREATMENTS’ FOR MINORS IN LANDMARK CASE

“As both this Court and the Fourth Circuit have acknowledged, a primary reason for this biology-rooted convention is the promotion of privacy,” the emergency filing reads. “But recent social developments have sought to change that. Over the past fifteen years, the number of children and adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria has skyrocketed.”

The contested South Carolina law, enacted in July 2024, stipulates that school districts risk forfeiting 25% of the state’s Department of Education funding if they permit transgender students to use facilities different from their biological sex.

Doe and his parents first sued the state in November 2024. 

In January, the Trump administration’s Education Department directed K-12 schools and colleges to recognize Title IX protections strictly on the basis of biological sex — reversing the Biden administration’s 2024 rewrite of the rule. Title IX is the federal law that bars discrimination on the basis of sex in any program or activity receiving government funding. Under former President Joe Biden’s 2024 rule, the term “sex” was broadened to cover gender identity and sexual orientation.

CDC OFFICIAL INCLUDES ‘PREGNANT PEOPLE’ TERMINOLOGY AND PRONOUNS IN RESIGNATION LETTER

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Doe’s attorney, Alexandra Zoe Brodsky, told Fox News Digital in a statement that “South Carolina wants the Supreme Court to take the extraordinary remedy of intervening in an ongoing lower court appeal – all because the state wants to stop one ninth grader from using boys’ restrooms while that appeal proceeds.”

“This case does not present the sort of emergency that would justify such intervention,” the statement continued. “As the Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit recently observed, ‘there’s zero evidence that [our client’s] use of boys’ restrooms presents even a remote possibility of harm to anyone. But the evidence of state hostility toward him overwhelms.’ Indeed, no classmate has ever complained about our client using boys’ restrooms. Yet South Carolina is rushing to the Supreme Court to get a permission slip to subject him to state-mandated discrimination at school, including the school discipline that drove him out of middle school last year. The Supreme Court should deny South Carolina’s unusual request.”

The Supreme Court could issue an emergency response as early as Friday. The Court’s decision could come without full briefing or oral argument, as is typical of rulings made outside the high court’s normal, full process.

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa formally announced on Monday that she will not run for re-election in next year’s midterms.

“Having been raised in a family who has given me so much love and support, now as our family ages and grows, it’s my time for me to get back to then. After a tremendous amount of prayer and reflection, I will not be seeking re-election in 2026., the 55-year-old Ernst,” who was first elected to the Senate in 2014, said in a video posted to social media.

Ernst, a retired Army Reserve and Iowa National Guard officer who served in the Iraq War, has been wrestling for months over whether to run for re-election in 2026.

TRUMP NOT ON BALLOT BUT FRONT-AND-CENTER IN 2025 ELECTIONS

“This was no easy decision,” the senator said in her video announcement.

The senator’s decision to retire rather than seek a third six-year term creates an open seat in Iowa. 

GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson, a former TV news anchor who is in her third term representing Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, which covers the northeastern portion of the state, is planning on running to succeed Ernst, multiple sources confirmed last week to Fox News.

FOUR KEY SENATE SEATS THE GOP AIMS TO FLIP IN NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Iowa was once a top battleground state that former President Barack Obama carried in his 2008 and 2012 White House victories. But the state has shifted to the right in recent election cycles, with President Donald Trump carrying the state by eight points in 2020 and by 13 points last November.

Republicans currently hold both of the state’s U.S. Senate seats – Ernst and longtime Sen. Chuck Grassley  – and all four of Iowa’s congressional districts, as well as all statewide offices except for state auditor, which is held by Democrat Rob Sand, who’s running for governor next year.

But Democrats in Iowa are energized after flipping two GOP-held state Senate seats in special elections so far this year.

Four Democrats are already running for Senate in Iowa. The field includes state Rep. Josh Turek, a Paralympian wheelchair basketball player, state Sen. Zach Wahls, Knoxville Chamber of Commerce executive director Nathan Sage and Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris.

SENATE DEMOCRATS RECRUITING TOP CANDIDATES IN PUSH TO WIN BACK MAJORITY

Ernst first grabbed national attention 11 years ago with her “make ’em squeal” ads as she won the high-profile Senate election in the race to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin.

The senator, thanks to her military background, has often taken the lead on defense issues. She is the first female combat veteran to serve in the Senate, and made combating sexual assault in the military a priority, having been a survivor of sexual assault herself.

Since Trump’s White House victory in 2016, Ernst has tried to strike a balance between her support for the president as she hued to a more traditional Republican agenda. 

But earlier this year, Ernst sparked a controversy after she said, “We are all going to die,” when responding a voter at a town hall meeting who raised concerns over Medicaid cuts in the GOP’s sweeping domestic policy bill.

Republicans are aiming to not only defend, but expand, the current 53-47 Senate majority in next year’s elections.

Senate Republicans enjoyed a favorable map in the 2024 cycle as they flipped four seats from blue to red to win back the majority.

KEY HOUSE GOP MODERATE DON BACON OF NEBRASKA WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION

But the party in power—clearly the Republicans right now—traditionally faces political headwinds in the midterm elections. Nevertheless, a current read of the 2026 map indicates the GOP may be able to go on offense in some key states.

In battleground Georgia, which Trump narrowly carried in last year’s White House race, Republicans view first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff as the most vulnerable Democrat incumbent up for re-election next year.

They’re also targeting battleground Michigan, where Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring at the end of next year, and swing state New Hampshire, where longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen decided against seeking a fourth six-year term in the Senate.

Also on the NRSC’s target list is blue-leaning Minnesota, where Democratic Sen. Tina Smith isn’t running for re-election.

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But the GOP is defending an open seat in battleground North Carolina, where Republican Sen. Thom Tills decided against seeking re-election. And Republicans will likely be forced to spend resources to defend Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio – who was appointed to succeed former senator and now-Vice President JD Vance – as he faces off next year against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Meanwhile, Democrats are also targeting moderate Sen. Susan Collins – who has yet to announce her expected 2026 re-election – in blue-leaning Maine. 

President Donald Trump is slated to make an announcement related to the Department of Defense Tuesday, with all eyes on an update of the location of Space Command’s headquarters.

While Space Command has been operating out of Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Trump has pushed for the command’s headquarters to move to Huntsville, Alabama. However, former President Joe Biden announced in 2023 that the command would remain based in Colorado. 

RENAMED DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE COMING ‘SOON,’ TRUMP SAYS

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed to Fox News that Tuesday’s announcement was related to the Defense Department. 

The agency initially posted a livestream link for Trump’s 2 p.m. announcement with a description that the event was related to Space Command’s headquarters. The description was subsequently updated to remove the mention of Space Command.

The Associated Press also reported Tuesday that Trump will announce plans to move Space Command from Colorado to Alabama. 

TRUMP’S WHIRLWIND WEEK AHEAD TO INCLUDE MEETING WITH NATO CHIEF, ‘MAJOR’ ANNOUNCEMENT ON RUSSIA

The announcement comes as both Colorado and Alabama have been vying to house Space Command, which Trump established in 2019 as a new combatant command to oversee U.S. military space operations and is currently involved in Trump’s Golden Dome initiative. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital when asked about Space Command’s headquarters. 

Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report. 

House and Senate lawmakers are returning to Washington from their home turfs to face a litany of critical battles in the coming weeks.

Tuesday marked the end of Congress’ annual August recess, and legislators are being met with several deadlines, ranging from averting a partial government shutdown to possibly extending President Donald Trump’s grip on D.C.’s police force.

COMER SUBPOENAS THE CLINTONS, TRUMP’S DOJ IN HOUSE OVERSIGHT’S EPSTEIN PROBE

Government funding

The House and Senate will overlap for just 14 days between Tuesday and the Sept. 30 government funding deadline, and no agreement has been reached yet on fiscal year (FY) 2026 spending priorities.

It’s likely that a stopgap extension of FY 2025 funding levels – called a continuing resolution (CR) – will be needed to avert a shutdown, which could have politically damaging consequences for Republicans while they control both Congress and the White House.

Democrats, unhappy with Republican efforts to rescind prior appropriated funds via the rescissions process, have signaled they’re ready to play hardball.

Any funding bill will need to pass through the Senate’s filibuster threshold, meaning Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., can only lose a handful of votes. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is still calling for a bipartisan process, but trust across the aisle is wearing thin.

A White House official told reporters on Friday they believe a clean CR, meaning without any changes or riders attached, would put Democrats in a difficult position and that rejecting one would pin the blame for a shutdown on the left.

Republicans themselves will have precious little room for error, however. Two special elections in safe blue seats between now and Sept. 30 are poised to shrink the House GOP majority from three seats to two.

CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS FACE BRUISING BATTLE TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Epstein files

A bipartisan effort to force a House-wide vote on releasing the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) records on Jeffrey Epstein is expected to move full-throttle this week, even as the DOJ has already agreed to hand a tranche of files over to the House Oversight Committee.

Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., are leading what’s known as a discharge petition, a mechanism for forcing a vote on legislation over the wishes of House leaders. That’s if the petition gets a majority of House lawmakers’ signatures.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., publicly condemned the effort in July, dismissing discharge petitions as a tool of the minority party and asserting that all Republicans were in favor of transparency in Epstein’s case.

Khanna told NBC News’ “Meet The Press” over the weekend that the petition would go live on Sept. 2, and that he and Massie have more than enough commitments to force a vote.

CAPITOL HILL PREPARES FOR HIGH-STAKES BATTLE OVER TRUMP CRIME PACKAGE, DC POLICE AUTHORITY

DC police order

This week will also see the end of Trump’s 30-day hold over Washington, D.C.’s, police force, barring congressional action to extend it.

Trump federalized the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) last month as part of a wider effort to crack down on crime in the capital city. Under D.C.’s Home Rule Act, his authority over the local police can last 30 days unless Congress passes a joint resolution to extend it.

The president suggested in August, however, that he could bypass Congress on the issue if he declared a national emergency — a move that some Republicans are already on board with. Additionally, Trump’s deployment of federal troops into the District does not have a statutory end date.

It’s not clear yet which route will be taken, but a leadership aide told Fox News Digital last month that House leaders were working with the White House on a package of legislation addressing D.C. crime.

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Trump’s nominees

Senate Republicans were unable to get a deal in place to advance dozens of low-level nominations before leaving Washington last month.

Currently, Trump has 145 nominees scheduled on the executive calendar with more expected to make their way through committee as lawmakers continue their workflow.

And Republicans are willing to go nuclear on Senate Democrats to get their nominees through. That would mean unilaterally changing the rules in the upper chamber without Democrats weighing in.

The Senate GOP is set to meet this week to discuss the proposed rule changes, which could include shortening the debate time for certain nominees, bundling nominees together into a package or skipping the cloture vote on some nominees altogether. 

A recent Wall Street Journal-NORC poll of adults in the U.S. revealed widespread sour economic sentiments, with just 31% indicating that they think the American dream — that a person can get ahead by working hard — remains true.

A whopping 46% indicated that they believed it previously held true but no longer does, while 23% indicated that the idea of the American dream never held true. The nearly 70% of individuals taking those views marks the greatest level in nearly 15 years of polls, according to the Journal.

The survey of adults conducted between July 10-23, 2025 has an “overall margin of sampling error is +/- 3.39 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level, including the design effect,” the study methodology section of the survey notes.

NEW NGA CHAIR SAYS AMERICA IS ‘EXCEPTIONAL’ IN PUSH TO REVIVE A FADING DREAM

Many people are concerned about the cost of groceries, with 28% extremely concerned about food prices, 28% very concerned, and 30% somewhat concerned, while just 10% were not very concerned and just 4% had no concern about the issue.

While 66% in the survey indicated that they have shifted to cheaper products to cut grocery store costs in the last year, just 33% indicated that they have not done so. 

I’M GEN Z AND MANY IN MY GENERATION LOST FAITH IN THE AMERICAN DREAM. PROVE THEM WRONG

Only a quarter of those surveyed agreed that people like them and their family have a good shot of increasing their standard of living — just 6% strongly agreed, while 19% somewhat agreed, 23% strongly disagreed and 19% somewhat disagreed, and 32% did not agree or disagree. The 25% statistic of those indicating they have a good chance of bettering their living standard marked a record low for polls dating to 1987, the Journal reported.

A large majority of those surveyed indicated that, in comparison to their parents’ generation, it has become more difficult to purchase a home. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TOUTS LOW LABOR DAY GAS PRICES, RISING WAGES FOR WORKERS

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While 58% indicated that it is now much harder to buy a home, 23% felt that it is a little more difficult, 2% thought it is much easier, 5% felt it is a bit easier, and 11% did not see any difference in home-buying difficulty.

A judge on Tuesday found that President Donald Trump acted unlawfully when he federalized the National Guard and deployed a handful of Marines to address anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement riots and protests in California.

Judge Charles Breyer’s opinion echoed remarks he made during a three-day trial last month when he questioned if presidents have any limits on when they can use the military for domestic purposes.

“I go back to the thing that I’m really troubled by: What limiting factors are there to the use of this force?” Breyer asked during the trial.

Trump federalized about 4,000 National Guard members in June to support federal authorities in California as they carried out immigration raids, despite Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s vehement objections.

TRUMP AND NEWSOM FIGHT OVER NATIONAL GUARD HEADS TO TRIAL IN CALIFORNIA

Breyer’s decision comes as most of the National Guard members have since been demobilized. Attorneys for California said during the trial, though, that 300 of them remained, which they argued was a “significant” number.

“That’s certainly a large enough number of soldiers to constitute a Posse Comitatus Act violation,” a state attorney said.

While the judge’s decision may have minimal impact on the ground in California, the case could still have nationwide implications as Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth deploy National Guard members in Washington, D.C., and threaten to do so in other blue cities to address street crime. The Trump administration is likely to appeal Breyer’s decision, which could result in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and even the Supreme Court weighing in on the administration’s unconventional use of the National Guard.

TRUMP AND NEWSOM ON COLLISION COURSE AS FIGHT OVER NATIONAL GUARD INTENSIFIES IN COURT

Breyer, a Clinton appointee and brother to retired liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, said Trump violated the Posse Comitatus Act, a 150-year-old law that says the military cannot typically engage in domestic law enforcement.

One witness during the trial, Major General Scott Sherman, who oversaw National Guard activity in California, testified that soldiers were trained on how to stay in compliance with the Posse Comitatus Act, which Breyer said was evidence that it was relevant to the lawsuit. The Trump administration said the law was not applicable in the case.

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The judge’s decision comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit quickly halted an emergency order Breyer issued in June in which he ordered Trump and Hegseth to hand control of the National Guard back to Newsom.

The courts must be “highly deferential” to the president when reviewing his deployment of the National Guard, the appellate court found. The Trump administration is likely to appeal Breyer’s decision, meaning the Ninth Circuit will likely once again be asked to weigh in on Trump’s use of the military in California.

This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.

EXCLUSIVE: Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said U.S. soldiers are improvising with government credit cards to buy and test battlefield gear as they adapt to the exploding drone threat — as the Army shifts its long-term posture toward countering China in the Indo-Pacific.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Driscoll described how elite units like the 75th Ranger Regiment are bypassing the Pentagon’s cumbersome procurement system to test new drones, sensors and weapons in real time. At the same time, he said the Army is aligning with the Pentagon’s assessment of China as the nation’s “pacing threat,” building a force optimized for the Indo-Pacific but still capable of deploying worldwide at a moment’s notice.

After a visit with the regiment at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, on Tuesday, Driscoll said Rangers “basically just use their corporate credit card to go online and purchase things to test, and they will find what works.” 

“They’ll do a lot of that outside the traditional procurement process. That flexibility lets them innovate and test at a speed that’s just really hard to do in the conventional force,” he added. 

‘THRILLED TO BE HERE’: ARMY SECRETARY SAYS GUARD TROOPS EAGER FOR DC CRIME FIGHT

Driscoll described the 75th Ranger Regiment as “live G.I. Joe dolls.” Watching them train in close-quarters battle, he said, you can’t help but notice their sheer size and physicality as they wedge themselves through doorways during room-clearing drills. That raw power, he added, is a reminder of why the U.S. invests so heavily in maintaining elite infantry forces.

But even America’s premier ground fighters are being forced to rethink how they operate. Driscoll said the age of slipping silently onto an objective under cover of night — fast-roping from a Black Hawk, breaching doors, and overwhelming defenders — is vanishing. 

The spread of cheap battlefield technology, from drones to acoustic sensors to loitering munitions, has made stealth insertions far more difficult. “We don’t really own the night like we used to,” he said, noting that night-vision gear and detection tools that were once expensive and rare are now accessible to adversaries at scale.

That shift, he argued, has turned special operators into improvisers. Rangers and other elite units are now experimenting with disposable drones, commercial quadcopters and custom-built weapons to stay ahead. 

Unlike conventional forces bound by long acquisition cycles, these units have the flexibility to innovate quickly. 

The idea is for Rangers to test rapidly, see what works, and then pass those lessons along to the rest of the Army.

The problem, he acknowledged, is what comes next. While small-unit experimentation is thriving, scaling those solutions across the broader force runs headlong into bureaucratic red tape. 

HEGSETH TEARS UP RED TAPE, ORDERS PENTAGON TO BEGIN DRONE SURGE AT TRUMP’S COMMAND

Driscoll pointed out that Congress once gave the Army a dozen broad funding categories it could move money between — say, vehicles in one bucket, drones in another. Today, he said, there are more than 1,400 narrowly drawn “buckets,” some tied to specific makes and models, making it nearly impossible to pivot quickly. That rigidity might not matter for tanks or trucks, but with drone technology evolving every few weeks in Ukraine, he said, the Army risks falling behind.

Driscoll visited the airfield just weeks after a shooting on base at Fort Stewart, where Hunter is located. He met with students of the criminal investigation division (CID), which is currently leading the probe into the shooting. Five soldiers were injured after a sergeant allegedly opened fire with a personal handgun he brought on base. 

While he praised the CID’s “speed and professionalism” with the investigation, Driscoll added, “The Army wants zero of these incidents, and so we are looking at everything we can to try to ensure it never happens again.”

Driscoll spoke with Fox News Digital ahead of an expected global force posture review set for late summer or early fall. That review may lead to sizable shifts in the number of troops deployed at bases throughout Europe, the Middle East or the Indo-Pacific. 

Driscoll said the Army is aligning itself with the Pentagon’s assessment of China as the nation’s “pacing threat.”

He emphasized that the service is designing its force to be effective in the Indo-Pacific — particularly in providing the logistics, sustainment and long-term presence needed to deter or fight a peer competitor.

At the same time, Driscoll cautioned against focusing too narrowly on one theater. “Human history has been pretty difficult to predict where the next conflict may unfold,” he said, stressing that the Army must remain capable of deploying anywhere the president and defense secretary direct. That flexibility, he argued, is a defining feature of land power.

Driscoll declined to outline his full recommendations for the upcoming review but made clear one priority: counter-drone measures. “With the Secretary of Defense’s support, we are putting together plans to make a pretty aggressive investment in how to counter the threat from drones across the world and here at home,” he told Fox News Digital.

In his tenure, Driscoll has kicked off the Army Transformation Initiative, a top-to-bottom modernization drive he says is essential for the Army to remain decisive against peer adversaries like China.

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“If you look at what the Army was like in the late 1990s as it went into the counterinsurgency operations of the early 2000s, we really haven’t changed all that much,” he said. 

Now, “the Army is running as fast as it possibly can to try to reinvent itself, to be ready for modern warfare.”

President Donald Trump is now demanding a definitive answer on the controversy surrounding COVID-19 vaccines.

“It is very important that the Drug Companies justify the success of their various Covid Drugs. Many people think they are a miracle that saved Millions of lives. Others disagree! With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer, and I want it NOW,” he declared in a Monday Truth Social post. 

CVS, WALGREENS PULL BACK COVID VACCINES IN MORE THAN A DOZEN STATES FOLLOWING NEW GUIDELINES

“I have been shown information from Pfizer, and others, that is extraordinary, but they never seem to show those results to the public. Why not??? They go off to the next ‘hunt’ and let everyone rip themselves apart, including Bobby Kennedy Jr. and CDC, trying to figure out the success or failure of the Drug Companies Covid work. They show me GREAT numbers and results, but they don’t seem to be showing them to many others. I want them to show them NOW, to CDC and the public, and clear up this MESS, one way or the other!!!” he continued.

After COVID-19 pandemic erupted during Trump’s first term in office, he presided over Operation Warp Speed, an effort to help accelerate the development and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines.

“I hope OPERATION WARP SPEED was as ‘BRILLIANT’ as many say it was. If not, we all want to know about it, and why???” he wrote in the post on Monday. “Thank you for your attention to this very important matter!”

PREVIOUS CDC DIRECTORS ACCUSE RFK JR. OF ENDANGERING ALL AMERICANS IN NY TIMES ESSAY

In a post on X, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. thanked the president for his “commitment to Gold Standard Science.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders responded to Trump’s comments by suggesting that Operation Warp Speed was a success.

CDC OFFICIAL INCLUDES ‘PREGNANT PEOPLE’ TERMINOLOGY AND PRONOUNS IN RESIGNATION LETTER

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“Mr. Trump: You were right about the success of Operation Warp Speed & the COVID vaccine when you said that it saved ‘tens of millions of lives.’ Vaccines have also helped eliminate polio, measles & smallpox. Don’t backtrack. Stick with the scientists, not conspiracy theorists,” Sanders wrote on X.

U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., will not seek re-election next year, according to media reports. 

The move will mark the end of Nadler’s 34 years in Congress where he has been a leading liberal voice on a range of issues. 

“Watching the Biden thing really said something about the necessity for generational change in the party, and I think I want to respect that,” Nadler told the New York Times. 

REP. NADLER CONDEMNS TRUMP ADMIN AFTER STAFF MEMBER HANDCUFFED DURING CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE SECURITY SWEEP

That was evident when Nadler, 78, was forced to give up his House Judiciary Committee leadership at the beginning of the term when it became clear a younger, more energetic colleague would beat him. 

Nadler has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, warning fellow Democrats about Trump’s leadership style. The two have sparred dating back to the 1980s over Manhattan development projects. 

“I’m not saying we should change over the entire party,” he said. “But I think a certain amount of change is very helpful, especially when we face the challenge of Trump and his incipient fascism.”

DEM REP. NADLER PICTURED WITH HEAD DOWN, EYES CLOSED DURING TESTIMONY FROM OTHERS OF MIGRANT CRIME VICTIMS

He ultimately succeeded in steering articles of impeachment through his committee in 2019. 

Nadler didn’t discuss who could potentially succeed him, saying multiple candidates could run to replace him. 

But a person familiar with his thinking told the Times that Nadler planned to support Micah Lasher, who represents parts of the Upper West Side in the New York State Assembly, should he run.

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In speaking with the Times, Nadler said he was confident of the Democrats‘ chances of taking back control of the House next year. 

“Then you can cut the reign of terror in half,” he said.

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he will award former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

“As President of the United States of America, I am pleased to announce that Rudy Giuliani, the greatest Mayor in the history of New York City, and an equally great American Patriot, will receive THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM, our Country’s highest civilian honor,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Details as to time and place to follow. Thank you for your attention to this matter.  MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

TRUMP BACKS NYPD AFTER GUNMAN KILLS OFF-DUTY OFFICER IN MANHATTAN OFFICE TOWER SHOOTING

The announcement comes a day after Giuliani was seriously injured in a car crash in New Hampshire.

Although rumors circulated that the former mayor was hurt in a targeted attack, his spokesman said Giuliani had pulled over after being flagged down by a woman who was fleeing domestic violence and needed help calling 911.

After officers arrived, Giuliani left in his rental car, which was later struck from behind at high speed on the highway.

JUDGE TELLS CUOMO TO STOP USING TAXPAYER MONEY TO ‘RESURRECT HIS PUBLIC IMAGE’ IN LEGAL CASE

Giuliani was hospitalized with multiple injuries, including “a fractured thoracic vertebrae,” multiple lacerations and contusions and injuries to his left arm and lower leg, Michael Ragusa, spokesman and head of security for Giuliani, said in a statement on Sunday.

Ragusa gave an update on Giuliani’s condition to Fox News Digital on Monday.

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“Mayor Giuliani’s condition continues to improve, and he is expected to be discharged from the hospital within the next few days,” Ragusa said in a statement. “This is a man who survived 9/11—so a little car accident won’t be slowing him down. He is eager to return to business and continue fighting for this country, as he has proudly done for the past 50 years.”

Giuliani joined Trump’s legal team in 2018, representing the president during the Robert Mueller inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace and Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump praised Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser for cooperating with his administration amid a deployment of National Guard troops to the city to help combat crime.

“Wow! Mayor Muriel Bowser of D.C. has become very popular because she worked with me and my great people in bringing crime down to virtually nothing in D.C.,” Trump posted on his Truth Social Monday.

“Her statements and actions were positive, instead of others like [Illinois Gov. J.B.] Pritzker, [Maryland Gov.] Wes Moore, [California Gov. Gavin] Newsom, and the 5% approval-rated mayor of Chicago, who spend all of their time trying to justify violent crime instead of working with us to completely eliminate it, which we have done in Washington, D.C., now a crime-free zone,” he added.

DC MAYOR BOWSER REVERSES COURSE, ADMITS TRUMP’S FEDERAL CRIME CRACKDOWN IS WORKING

Trump further claimed that Bowser’s approval rating has gone up.

“In a short period of time, 25%, and the people of D.C. are thanking her for stopping crime wherever she goes,” he wrote. “It’s not a miracle, it’s hard work, courage, and being smart. The top law enforcement officer in L.A. said, during the riots and when I sent the troops in early, that they couldn’t have done it without us.”

“They were completely overwhelmed! If we hadn’t gone in early, on top of the Palisades fires, L.A. would have lost the Olympics. Congratulations to Mayor Muriel Bowser, but don’t go woke on us,” he added. “D.C. is a giant victory that never has to end!!!”

Last week, Bowser said crime numbers in the city were down.

BLUE CITIES IN TRUMP’S CROSSHAIRS AFTER DC POLICE TAKEOVER

“Carjackings are down 87% since the federal surge started, violent crime is down 45%, arrests are up 20%, and illegal gun recoveries are up 12%,” Fox DC reported.

“The most significant thing that we are highlighting today is the area of crime that was most troubling for us in 2023, and we have driven it down over the last year,” Bowser said at a Wednesday news conference.

“We know that when carjackings go down, when the use of guns goes down, when homicide or robbery go down, neighborhoods feel safer and are safer,” she added.

On Monday, Attorney General Pam Bondi said 1,599 arrests have been made and 165 illegal guns have been seized in the days since Trump’s crime crackdown.

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Trump has threatened to deploy Guard troops to other Democratic-run cities to combat crime.

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont says if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doesn’t step down as Health and Human Services secretary in President Donald Trump’s administration, Americans will need to speak out.

“We’ve got to rally the American people. This is a huge issue,” Sanders told Fox News Digital on Monday.

Sanders, the ranking member of the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said “I’m not a scientist, I’m not a doctor, but I do talk to scientists, and I do talk to doctors, and the evidence is overwhelming. It’s not contestable. Vaccines work. They save millions and millions of lives.”

WHY BERNIE SANDERS IS CALLING ON RFK JR. TO RESIGN

And the progressive champion and 2016 and 2020 Democratic presidential nomination runner-up warned that “if Kennedy and his friends are able to make people think that vaccines are not safe, it will be a real public health crisis for America.”

Sanders is among a growing list of politicians and officials who warn that Kennedy, the longtime environmental activist and vaccine skeptic who Trump picked late last year as his health secretary in his second administration, is jeopardizing the health of Americans with his controversial moves.

BIPARTISAN FURY AT CDC: SENATORS DEMAND PROBE, REJECT VACCINE GUIDANCE AS ILLEGITIMATE

“Mr Kennedy and the rest of the Trump administration tell us, over and over, that they want to Make America Healthy Again. That’s a great slogan. I agree with it. The problem is that since coming into office, President Trump and Mr Kennedy have done exactly the opposite,” Sanders wrote this past weekend in an opinion piece in the New York Times.

And Sanders said that “despite the overwhelming opposition of the medical community, Secretary Kennedy has continued his longstanding crusade against vaccines and his advocacy of conspiracy theories that have been rejected repeatedly by scientific experts.”

Sanders’ call for Kennedy to resign came after last week’s firing of Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director Susan Monarez, less than a month after she was confirmed. The firing of Monarez came after she refused Kennedy’s directives to adopt new limitations on the availability of some vaccines, including approvals for COVID-19 vaccines.

Four other top CDC officials resigned in protest hours later, accusing the Trump administration and Kennedy of weaponizing public health.

CDC DIRECTOR SUSAN MONAREZ REFUSES TO BE FIRED AS OTHER OFFICIALS CALL IT QUITS

Sanders, who was interviewed Monday after headlining the New Hampshire AFL-CIO’s annual Labor Day breakfast, charged in his statement over the weekend that Kennedy “has absurdly claimed that ‘there’s no vaccine that is safe and effective’.”

“Who supports Secretary Kennedy’s views?” Sanders asked. “Not credible scientists and doctors. One of his leading ‘experts’ that he cites to back up his bogus claims on autism and vaccines had his medical license revoked and his study retracted from the medical journal that published it.”

The incident received rare bipartisan pushback by some members of Congress.

But the White House defended the firing of Monarez, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt telling reporters on Thursday that the president has the “authority to fire those who are not aligned with his mission.” 

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“The president and Secretary Kennedy are committed to restoring trust and transparency and credibility to the CDC by ensuring their leadership and their decisions are more public-facing, more accountable, strengthening our public health system and restoring it to its core mission of protecting Americans from communicable diseases, investing in innovation to prevent, detect and respond to future threats,” Leavitt argued.

Fox News Bonny Chu and Landon Mion contributed to this story

MANCHESTER, N.H. – With Congress back in session this week, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky are reigniting their push for the Justice Department to release files in the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Khanna says that “people are going to be outraged” after seeing a news conference he and Massie are holding on Wednesday with 10 victims of the late convicted sex offender.

The news conference is part of the effort by Khanna and Massie to pass through the House a bill requiring the Justice Department to release its files on the Epstein case.

“These victims haven’t spoken for decades. When Epstein got that lenient plea deal, no one talked to the victims or their lawyers,” Khanna said Monday in a Fox News Digital interview.

A NEXT STEP IN THE JEFFREY EPSTEIN INVESTIGATION INVOLVES HIS ‘BIRTHDAY BOOK’

“My belief is, when the American people actually hear the victims for the first time, they are going to sympathize, their hearts are going to be broken, and all the victims are saying is for closure,” he predicted.

EPSTEIN ESTATE HIT WITH NEW HOUSE SUBPOENA FOR ‘CLIENT LIST,’ CALL LOGS

Khanna argued that “there are a lot of other rich, powerful men, politicians, business leaders, who have committed abuse and who have not been held accountable. That’s what we’re going to hear on Sept. 3, and people are going to be outraged, and I don’t see how, after that, the House can’t vote for the release of these files.”

The White House’s handling of the Epstein case sparked outcry earlier this summer, after the Justice Department and the FBI appeared to close the book on their investigation after announcing they had uncovered no evidence of an Epstein client list.

The move infuriated many of President Donald Trump’s MAGA supporters and allies – who had anticipated blockbuster revelations – with some calling for Attorney General Pam Bondi to be fired.

And the president aggravated some in MAGA world a month ago by calling the Epstein case a Democratic hoax and arguing that “PAST supporters” had “bought into this bullsh–.”

TRUMP DOJ HANDING EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS TO HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ON FRIDAY AS SUBPOENA DEADLINE LOOMS

Khanna and Massie are optimistic they have the votes.

“I’m confident we’re going to get the 218 votes for the discharge petition,” Khanna told Fox News Digital, as he was interviewed ahead of addressing the New Hampshire AFL-CIO’s annual Labor Day breakfast.

“We’ve got 212 Democrats and 12 Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert. Look, this is not about Donald Trump, and it’s not partisan. This is about justice for the victims of rich and powerful men who abused underage girls.”

And he emphasized that “in this country, people want transparency. They want accountability. I’m confident we’re going to get the 218 votes for the discharge petition.”

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Epstein died by suicide in a New York federal prison in 2019 while awaiting federal charges related to sex trafficking, 

In the ensuing years, there has been intense speculation and theories on who else may have been involved in the sex ring the financier allegedly operated.

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, the bipartisan National Governors Association (NGA) is focused on reigniting the American Dream, NGA Chair Gov. Kevin Stitt, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. 

“I’ve lived the American Dream,” the Oklahoma governor said, explaining that Democratic and Republican governors “can all agree that we want to teach the next generation that America is exceptional, and that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.”

During the NGA’s summer meeting in Colorado Springs, Stitt announced his marquee initiative as the incoming chair, focusing on the economy, education and investing in artificial intelligence. 

“There’s no such thing as equal outcomes, but we want equal opportunities to go chase your dreams through hard work, through entrepreneurship and free markets,” Stitt explained. 

DEMOCRATIC PARTY TENSIONS SEEP INTO BIPARTISAN GROUP AS GOVERNORS RESISTING TRUMP’S AGENDA RECONSIDER DUES

The NGA hosted Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier this summer in Colorado Springs. 

INCOMING NGA CHAIR ‘DISAPPOINTED’ IN DEM GOVERNORS ‘PLAYING POLITICS’ IN BIPARTISAN GROUP

Stitt said he hopes to feature more speakers at NGA events who embody the American Dream, mentioning Vice President JD Vance, former President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as potential guests. 

NGA Vice Chair Gov. Wes Moore, D-Md., shared his own American Dream story during the NGA’s summer meeting, telling the crowd that the “American Dream is never a singular dream.”

“It’s a continuation,” Moore said. “It’s a dream that was born generations ago. It’s a dream that was borne by people who, even if they did not know us, they fought for the hope of us. The United States is the most unique experiment in the history of the world. Period. Full stop.”

Stitt said his own story reflects the American Dream, telling Fox News Digital that he grew his nationwide company from just “$1,000 and a computer” before being elected governor in 2018. 

The Oklahoma governor is term-limited this year. When asked about his legacy, Stitt said he is proud to have accomplished “education freedom” and becoming a top-10 state where people are moving. 

“We were having teacher walkouts, we were having billion-dollar budget deficits, we had no money in savings, and we had this kind of second-class feel as a state,” Stitt said of his home state before he took office. “I’m a fourth-generation Oklahoman, and we weren’t doing as well as we could have, and I wanted to bring this bravado.”

Looking ahead to next year, Stitt said he is monitoring the gubernatorial race closely as several candidates have already declared their candidacies. 

“Behind the scenes, I’m certainly going to let Oklahomans know who I think is the best one to replace me, but if we can get a couple of good businessman governors and people that are focused on the next generation, not the next election, we can absolutely keep this momentum in Oklahoma going, and we can continue to be a top-10 state,” Stitt said. 

As for his own political future, Stitt said he plans to return to his company as “our Founding Fathers envisioned,” adding that “politics shouldn’t necessarily be a profession where to climb the ladder.”

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“When I told Oklahomans, I came from the business world and I said, I’m always going to focus on the next generation, not the next election,” Stitt concluded. “That’s why Oklahomans are starting to thrive, because we’re not making political decisions, we’re making the right decisions for the citizens of Oklahoma.”

After the long holiday weekend, President Donald Trump will begin contending with significant legal disputes unfolding on multiple fronts. From the Federal Reserve to trade policy to deportations of illegal immigrants, here’s a look at the high-stakes legal showdowns shaping Trump’s week. 

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, a Biden appointee, signaled on Friday she will seek to rule quickly on whether Trump acted unlawfully in moving to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations. She didn’t make a ruling during the two-hour hearing but told both sides to submit more filings by Sept 2. Only then will she decide whether to issue an order that temporarily protects Cook’s job while the case continues.

TRUMP SAYS HE’S ‘ALWAYS’ READY FOR LEGAL FIGHT AS OUSTED FED GOVERNOR PLANS LAWSUIT

Trump’s unprecedented attempt to oust Cook sets the stage for a high-stakes legal battle likely bound for the Supreme Court. 

Trump fired Cook on Aug. 25, which prompted her to sue him in federal court three days later. Her lawsuit names as defendants Trump, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

It is not clear if Cook has attempted to enter the Federal Reserve’s main headquarters in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood in D.C. since Trump’s letter terminating her. The Federal Reserve declined to say whether Cook has tried to work from her office, is working remotely, or retains access to the email and other resources she needs for her job. 

Before Cook filed her suit, a Fed spokesperson acknowledged the potential legal feud and wrote in an Aug. 26 statement that the Fed will “abide by any court decision.” 

COOK’S POTENTIAL EXIT HANDS TRUMP GREATER SWAY OVER FED BOARD SHAPING US MONETARY POLICY

In a different legal case, Judge Cobb issued a temporary order preventing the Trump administration from carrying out expedited deportations of illegal immigrants. The policy would have allowed some to be deported without first going before an immigration judge.

In an Aug. 29 opinion, Cobb ruled that the Trump administration’s plan to quickly deport illegal immigrants who had lived in the U.S. less than two years violated their right to due process.

“In defending this skimpy process, the government makes a truly startling argument: that those who entered the country illegally are entitled to no process under the Fifth Amendment,” Cobb wrote, adding that the government could accuse “not only noncitizens, but everyone.”

“The government could accuse you of entering unlawfully, relegate you to a bare-bones proceeding where it would ‘prove’ your unlawful entry, and then immediately remove you,” Cobb added.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S EXPANDED DEPORTATION PLAN OVER DUE PROCESS CONCERNS

Meanwhile, on the trade front, a federal appeals court said on Friday that Trump overstepped his authority by using emergency powers to impose new tariffs on imported goods. 

The court said that power lies squarely with Congress or within existing trade policy frameworks. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the court allowed the tariffs to remain in effect until mid-October. 

TRUMP CALLS TARIFF WINDFALL ‘SO BEAUTIFUL TO SEE’ AS CASH SAILS IN

The setback chips away at Trump’s trade policy, long a centerpiece of his economic agenda, which leans heavily on tariffs to raise revenue and exert pressure on foreign trading partners. Trump has previously said that tariff revenue could offset the cost of his “One Big Beautiful Bill” and add hundreds of billions to the U.S. economy.

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Tariff revenues rose steadily from approximately $17.4 billion in April to $23.9 billion in May, before climbing to $28 billion in June and peaking at $29.6 billion in July. According to the Treasury Department’s latest “Customs and Certain Excise Taxes” data, released on Aug. 28, total tariff revenues have reached $183.1 billion for the fiscal year. 

At the current pace, the U.S. could collect as much tariff revenue in just four to five months as it did over the entire previous year.

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, his family revealed to the New York Times.

Mueller is the former special counsel who led the Russia investigation into President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Mueller, 81, was diagnosed in 2021 and retired from public life the following year after briefly teaching law, according to a family statement provided to The Times.

“Bob was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the summer of 2021. He retired from the practice of law at the end of that year. He taught at his law school alma mater during the fall of both 2021 and 2022, and he retired at the end of 2022,” the statement said.

HOUSE INVESTIGATORS NIX MUELLER TESTIMONY IN EPSTEIN PROBE OVER HEALTH CONCERNS

“His family asks that his privacy be respected,” they added.

Recently, Mueller has struggled with speech and mobility, leaving him unable to comply with a congressional subpoena regarding the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. 

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The former FBI director served the Bureau from 2001 to 2013 and became a central figure in American politics during Trump’s first term.