This week Trump pushed boundaries to new extremes, while the judicial branch pushed him back on others. In the aftermath of NYT reporting that Trump had switched Air Force One planes to return from the NATO summit in Turkey due to security concerns, federal agents showed up at the homes of some Times reporters with subpoenas, an extraordinary measure of targeting the press. At the same time, Trump and his regime suffered some dramatic losses and pushback from judges this week on his IRS settlement, his attempts to interfere with midterms, and his efforts to avoid payment to E. Jean Carroll, which this week he finally made.
In the days after the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran had hatched a new plot to kill Trump, he returned to strikes against them, bringing the U.S. back into an active war. Trump, who is used to relying on his impulses and improvisation, gyrated from saying the U.S. would control the Strait of Hormuz and charge a 20 percent protection fee, to flip-flopping back to alleged investments from Gulf states. It was unclear where Trump’s Iran War, which he is running unilaterally, was heading, or how it could possibly end.
As Trump pressed to ramp up deportations, this week three men were killed by ICE, two of whom were shot in their cars despite not being ICE agents’ intended targets. While the Department of Homeland Security sought to pull back traffic stop arrests in the aftermath, Trump overruled them the next day. Notably, the ICE agents did not have body cameras in any of the incidents, despite promises to equip officers two months ago.
This week Trump lost one of his closest allies with the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, while the state of Sen. Mitch McConnell, who has been out of public sight for weeks, is unknown. While speaking of the loss of Graham, Trump pivoted to his SAVE America Act, continued his push to interfere in the midterms, and baselessly cast doubt about election results. Overall, it was a week of pandemonium.
- On Wednesday, at the NATO summit, Trump made an unusual number of gaffes, calling Iran the “Islamic Republic of Japan;” renaming the JCPOA as PCPOC; referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was sitting next to him, as “President Putin;” calling Elon “Leon,” and more.
- Trump left the summit by unexpectedly switching plans to fly on his former Air Force One out to Turkey, before changing planes in Britain to the newer AF1 donated by Qatar for the second leg of the trip. Trump had flown to the NATO summit on the newer AF1.
- Trump claimed on Truth Social that the last minute change was “for old time’s sake,” and would allow U.S. troops stationed in Britain to see his new AF1, a move that if true, would be unprecedented.
- On Wednesday, NYT reported that security precautions had led Trump to use the older AF1, finding that the newer plane was not equipped with all the defensive countermeasures of the older AF1. The switch to the older AF1 came at the recommendation of the Secret Service.
- On Thursday, WSJ reported Israel had shared intelligence with the U.S. indicating that Iran had come up with a fresh plot to kill Trump. At a funeral for Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, mourners chanted for Trump’s death, and held a banner saying, “We Will Kill Trump.”
- Trump had alluded to the threat at the NATO summit, telling reporters, “They want to take out the U.S. leader — me,” adding, “I’m on every list. I saw this morning, I’m on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I’ve been a little bit lucky, but that maybe doesn’t last very long.”
- Trump had also threatened to strike Iran’s civilian infrastructure, a war crime, telling reporters, “In one day, we could knock down every single bridge in Iran,” adding, “They have desalinization plants. We’ll take them out if we have to,” and “maybe we’ll take over Kharg island.”
- On Friday, the Trump regime issued subpoenas to the NYT reporters who had covered the story of security concerns on the new AF1, including in some cases federal agents showing up at the reporters’ homes, an extraordinary escalation.
- The Times also said an FBI official had contacted a reporter and a senior editor there to ask that their Wednesday story be held, calling it an issue of national security, but being unwilling to explain why. The official also asked them to disclose their sources, which the Times declined.
- The Times lawyer said in a statement, “The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” calling it a “brazen act.”
- CNN reported that Trump had been fuming about the security concerns surrounding the Qatari AF1, and was embarrassed and angry when it became public through reporting that the plane could not be flown home from the NATO summit.
- NYT reported Trump summoned FBI Director Kash Patel to the White House on Friday, where he spent eight hours, to oversee the investigation of the Times from the White House rather than from FBI headquarters, a major departure from traditional practice.
- On Monday, a federal judge voided Trump’s settlement with the IRS of his $10 billion lawsuit in a scathing ruling, finding that both sides, Trump’s personal lawyers and lawyers for the DOJ and IRS, had misused the legal system to “provide some legitimacy,” and calling it self-dealing.
- The judge’s ruling also prohibited Trump and his sons and businesses from referring to the settlement for future legal proceedings, potentially nullifying the part of the settlement that had blocked the IRS from pursuing past tax claims against them.
- The judge also referred Trump’s primary lawyer Alejandro Brito and Todd Blanche to the Florida bar for potential disciplinary proceedings; referred Blanche to the New York bar for its continuing investigation; and referred top DOJ official Stanley Woodward Jr. to the D.C. bar.
- On Friday, Trump said that he would not sign the landmark bipartisan housing bill, posting on Truth Social that it was “in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” calling the non-passage “CRAZY.”
- Later when asked by reporters, Trump called the housing bill “so unimportant,” adding, “When I look at the bill, it’s a bill,” and “When I look at the SAVE America Act, it’s about saving America.” Trump later refused to sign the bill before the deadline, and it became law.
- As GOP officials in Georgia pushed for paper ballots in response to Trump’s demands, an audit by outgoing Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger found just 23 “discrepancies” out of the 1.11 million ballots cast in Georgia’s runoff elections, and all on paper ballots.
- On Thursday, Trump fired the two Democratic members of the Election Assistance Commission, an independent federal commission, and the one Republican appointed member resigned, after members resisted his efforts to require documenting U.S. citizenship before registering.
- The fourth member of the commission, Republican commissioner Donald Palmer, resigned earlier in the year. The firings marked the first test of the Supreme Court ruling on independent agency boards. The move was not likely to have a major impact on November midterms.
- On Friday, a federal judge dismissed Trump’s DOJ lawsuit to obtain an unredacted copy of New York’s statewide voter registration, finding “It has long been recognized that the Elections Clause entrusts the administration of federal elections to the States,” the 12th regime loss.
- On Monday, a federal judge appointed by George W. Bush dismissed a 13th voter roll case, this time against West Virginia, finding, “Given the lack of an adequate basis or purpose, one is left to wonder what the real purpose was for the Justice Department to go to the trouble of filing civil actions like this.”
- New Mexico’s AG said in a statement that the DOJ was hindering the state’s probe of Epstein’s ranch, saying the DOJ had failed to respond to a February request for unredacted files containing names of Epstein survivors, witnesses, co-conspirators, and other essential individuals.
- On Wednesday, a Manhattan federal appeals court rejected Trump’s request to issue an “immediate administrative stay” of a federal court judge hours earlier, who had ordered him to pay E. Jean Carroll $5.8 million for the 2023 sexual abuse and defamation case.
- WSJ reported on internal riffs at Sullivan & Cromwell after the law firm helped Trump with his appeal of an $83 million defamation verdict won by Carroll, despite the firm’s co-chairman previously assuring partners that the firm would stay out of Trump’s Carroll cases.
- On Wednesday, the Milwaukee County Circuit Court fined former judge Hannah Dugan $5,000, but gave her no jail time, after the Trump regime alleged she helped an undocumented immigrant evade federal agents in 2025. Trump’s DOJ disagreed with the decision not to give her jail time.
- On Wednesday, faculty unions sued Texas Tech, alleging censorship over the school’s requirements for professors to disclose whether their course covered race, sexual orientation, or gender identity, and if so to get approval from the Board of Regents before teaching it.
- On Friday, the bipartisan 21st Century Road to Housing Act was set to become law at midnight, 10 days after being delivered by Congress, in what would have been the last major bill signing ahead of midterms, and a win desperately sought by Republicans ahead of midterms.
- On Friday, Trump posted on Truth Social, claiming, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks,’” adding, “We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them…that the Cease Fire is OVER!” Iran denied that they had asked to continue talks.
- Later Friday, the U.S. demanded that Iran publicly state that the Strait of Hormuz was open, and that it would stop attacking ships, for negotiations to move forward. Tehran responded defiantly, telling reporters that activity in the strait “rests exclusively with Iran.”
- Later Friday, Trump threatened on Truth Social that should “the Iranian Government act on its threat…to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate” him, “1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow.”
- On Saturday, Trump posted, “Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing…to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran,” adding, “PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!”
- Trump also attacked NYT reporter Maggie Haberman, who spoke about his gaffes at NATO, saying she had “covered me incorrectly for ten years,” and “has made a living off her bad reporting,” threatening she “will pay the price” when his lawsuit against NYT goes to court.
- Trump revived questions about his health, posting he had “just finished a perfect physical at Walter Reed, I do it every six months,” adding, “I requested another Cognitive Test, the only President to do so, three times.” The White House claimed he was referring to his May physical.
- On Monday, Trump told Fox News that the U.S. was “taking over the Strait,” and “We’re going to keep the Strait and we’ll probably run it. Maybe we’ll call it the guardian angel of the Strait,” and adding, “we should be reimbursed for that.”
- Trump claimed that the fee would cover “any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World.” Shortly after, he posted on Truth Social, “We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE.”
- Trump also said that the U.S. would impose fees in the strait “at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped.” Notably both members of the Trump regime and international bodies like the United Nations had said that collecting tolls was illegal under international law.
- The post was part of an early morning barrage of 35 Truth Social posts sent in 90 minutes, on topics ranging from Lindsey Graham, to the Great American State Fair, UFC fights, alleged voter fraud, and his request to South Carolina’s governor to appoint Graham sister, which he did.
- Later Monday, CBS News reported that Trump had formally notified Congress that military action “commenced on July 7,” in a message sent on Friday, saying strikes would be “limited, measured, planned, and executed in a manner designed to minimize civilian casualties.”
- On Tuesday, Trump abandoned his idea for a 20% protection fee, posting on Truth Social that “based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership,” he would replace it with “Trade and Investment Deals” that he claimed Gulf States would make in the U.S.
- Trump’s flip-flop highlighted not only how he relied on impulse and improvisation in confronting an adversary that would not bend, unlike NATO and Venezuela, but also how he was unilaterally making all foreign policy decisions, many on the fly.
- NYT reported that according to his financial disclosures, Trump’s holding company received a $2 million payment from a South Korean aluminum company, Base Group, that had challenged the Commerce Department’s penalties on certain exports from South Korea to the U.S.
- On Wednesday, a federal judge approved a $1.5 million settlement between the SEC and Elon Musk over violations in his acquisition of Twitter, while expressing “significant misgivings” about “red flags,” adding its fairness was “for our citizenry to decide at the ballot box.”
- MSNOW reported the Trump regime’s DOJ attorneys overseeing approval of mergers are moving ahead with approvals without enforcing antitrust laws meant to prevent companies from becoming single-source providers and price gouging.
- FT reported that rare earth companies MP Materials, Energy Fuels and Phoenix Tailings, which were financed by billions in support from the Trump regime, were selling their products to Japan and South Korea, as U.S. demand had yet to materialize.
- ProPublica reported Brig. Gen. Eric Widmar, the senior legal adviser to the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced he would retire nearly a year before his term was over, citing “personal reasons.” Experts said the departure raised serious questions that Congress should be asking.
- NYT reported Defense Department Sec. Pete Hegseth blocked the promotions of another seven of the 22 senior Navy officers to two-star admiral rank, five of whom were women or people of color. The board had determined the candidates were the Navy’s highest performers.
- Among those cut by Hegseth was Rear Adm. Amy Bauernschmidt, who was picked as the first woman to command the crew on a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in 2020. Hegseth did not give any explanation for the blocked promotions.
- Reuters reported that the USDA revised June U.S. beef export sales down by 90%, after publishing incorrect data citing unusually large sales to Italy and Chile. The move renewed concerns about the reliability of USDA data after the agency underwent steep staffing cuts.
- On Friday, Trump denied $227 million in disaster aid requests for four blue states, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, for a snowstorm in February. Two days earlier, he approved FEMA funds for six Republican-led states, and extolled their GOP leaders.
- On Thursday, the airport in Palm Beach, Florida was officially renamed the President Donald J. Trump International Airport, and a bridge in Jefferson County Tennessee was renamed the President Donald J. Trump Bridge. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent attended the latter unveiling.
- On Monday, Bessent showed off a $100 bill with Trump’s signature on it on Fox News. Trump later told Newsmax, “It’s always an honor to have your name on something like that, and it’s on all the currency,” adding, “I don’t fight them, believe it or not.”
- On Wednesday, Bessent announced on X that the U.S. mint would make $1 gold coins with Trump’s face on it as part of the 250th anniversary, the latest example of Trump and his regime working to leave a mark with placements of his name and likeness.
- On Wednesday, a federal appeals court denied Trump’s request to halt the removal of his name from the Kennedy Center, saying he had failed to prove that the center would be “irreparably injured” without his name attached to it.
- A report on the Kennedy Center by Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, based on documents from whistleblowers, accused the Trump appointed board of rushing through no-bid projects that net Trump “stylistic whims,” and often resulting in shoddy work.
- On Thursday, Trump continued his alteration to the White House. Scaffolding was put up by the North Portico columns. Members of the regime said Trump was repairing the iconic columns at the building’s front entrance. It was unclear what changes Trump would make.
- On Friday, WAPO reported Trump planned to install a permanent fence around Lafayette Square, a public park across from the White House frequently used by tourists and protestors, citing the fencing as a security measure.
- On Friday, the Pentagon said the National Guard would remain activated in D.C. through Inauguration Day 2029, citing a commitment to support local police and federal law enforcement “until law and order are fully restored in our Nation’s Capital.”
- On Monday, Trump posted that the regime drained the Reflecting Pool “in order to fix the scars and damage” made by the “Vandals two weeks ago,” lying that “The slashes were 300 yards long, and the floor of the pool was cut and then pulled upward, with great force, by these thugs.”
- A CNN crew who visited the pool on Monday reported that there were no signs of long gashes in the recently installed lining. Other news outlets posted images of the empty pool with a similar observation.
- Later Monday, Trump complained about news reports, posting that the lining “was slashed with a knife, or a box cutter” and that even the algae blooms were “caused by vandals,” adding, “these Country hating sleazebags should pay a big price for the damage done.”
- WAPO reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had invited more than 60 countries to a meeting next week to address the “resurgence of transnational far-left terrorism.” The meeting alarmed some U.S. career and political officials and some European allies.
- Trump’s counterterrorism czar, Sebastian Gorka, has discussed using the foreign terrorism label to go after Americans the regime affiliates with so-called antifa, a linkage that would allow the regime to unlock investigative tools, such as surveillance.
- On Wednesday, Trump posted on Truth Social that his regime would be asking the Supreme Court to rehear its case on birthright citizenship under Rule 44, claiming, “This miscarriage of justice will destroy America if they don’t change their absolutely insane decision.”
- On Wednesday, the children of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national, called for an independent inquiry after their father was shot by ICE, who called him an “illegal alien,” and claimed he “weaponized his vehicle” and tried to run over an agent in Houston.
- The shooting came as Trump renewed his push to increase deportations, with apprehensions doubling in recent weeks. ICE arrested people at immigration check-ins, during traffic stops, and on the streets. ICE agents had shot more than 20 people since September.
- The three men who were in the van with Araujo were detained by ICE after the shooting. Their families told The New Republic that ICE was pressuring them to sign self-deportation orders, before they could presumably become witnesses.
- NYT reported that Araujo was not the intended target of the ICE operation. Agents were looking for two men they believed drove a white van. Araujo had lived in the U.S. for 35 years, and was on his way to work with the three other men.
- On Thursday, Mexico’s foreign minister said the country would file a criminal complaint over the deaths of several Mexican nationals during ICE operations, marking Mexico’s most confrontational move against Trump’s immigration policies so far.
- On Saturday, Harris County’s attorney general and Houston area officials expressed frustration with the lack of cooperation from federal authorities in their independent investigation of the shooting, calling it unacceptable and unprecedented.
- On Monday, ICE agents shot and killed Johan Sebastian Guerrero, a Colombian man, in Biddeford, Maine. ICE initially claimed that they monitoring the last known address of someone for whom they had a removal order, and that he “weaponized his vehicle”at law enforcement
- Later Monday, DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin told Maine Sen. Angus King that his initial report was wrong, and that the man who was shot was “NOT the target of the warrant.” DHS also reversed in a statement and said an ICE officer fired his weapon “fearing for public safety.”
- The Embassy of Colombia said it was helping Guerrero’s family, and had requested information from DHS “regarding the circumstances surrounding this lamentable death.” Outgoing President Gustavo Petro called it a targeted killing “at the hands of the U.S. government.”
- On Tuesday, DHS changed its policy, telling ICE officers to suspend most vehicle stops, with exceptions when executing a criminal warrant or working with partner agencies.
- Later Tuesday, a 28 year-old man in St. Augustine, Florida was struck and killed by a tractor trailer while fleeing from ICE agents in the parking lot of a gas station and convenience store, the third death at the hands of ICE in one week.
- On Wednesday, Trump defended ICE, posting on Truth Social, “The men and women of ICE are doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done,” adding, “We CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!”
- Trump also posted that ICE should continue traffic stops, encouraging ICE officers to be “judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job.” DHS did not have an immediate response.
- NYT reported that the first health inspection report on Delaney Hall, where federal agents had been restricted from access, found contaminated food, food improperly cooked or stored, staff members not washing hands, and a long list of other violations.
- On Monday, Minnesota state prosecutors said they had received key evidence from the DOJ in the Renee Good and Alex Pretti shootings, more than half a year after the shootings, following a lawsuit brought by state and local officials against DHS and the DOJ.
- Trump appointed Matthew Wielicki to run the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which is responsible for compiling the flagship National Climate Assessment required by Congress. Wielicki had no formal training in climate science, and argued against climate change.
- Wielicki resigned in 2023 from his untenured position as an assistant professor of geosciences at the University of Alabama, blaming DEI initiatives. He called himself a “professor-in-exile,” frequently criticizing climate scientists on his podcast.
- On Friday, the Trump regime finalized a rule narrowing the definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act, limiting protections. The rule allowed oil and gas drilling, mining, logging, and other development so long as the animals were not injured or killed.
- The rule ended safeguards in place for more than 50 years, since 1973. Environmentalists warned that the change could cause some species to go extinct. The Trump regime baselessly claimed they were returning the law to its original intent.
- On Monday, Trump signed executive orders dramatically shrinking the size of two national monuments in Utah, Grand Staircase-Escalante from 1.87 million acres to about 181,500 acres, and Bears Ears from from about 1.36 million acres to about 121,100 acres.
- In cutting the millions of acres, Trump cited the Antiquities act, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, which gave presidents broad authority to establish monuments. It was unclear if presidents had the authority to shrink monuments.
- NYT reported Rubio was essentially the viceroy of Venezuela, including having control over the country’s finances and distribution of its natural resources, overseeing day to day operations, and deciding who could do business there. Rubio was in constant contact with Delcy Rodríguez.
- On Friday, a federal judge, appointed by Trump, granted the DOJ’s motion to dismiss the cases against Proud Boys for Jan. 6, but warned about Trump’s efforts to lift penalties on those who instigated the insurrection, with the judge saying he was doing so under protest.
- The judge wrote, “Moving forward, if this Nation’s experiment in self-government is to last another 250 years, the American people — no matter their partisan preferences — will have to act together to preserve, protect and defend that miracle through our constitutional framework.”
- On Saturday night, GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, 71, one of Trump’s closest allies, died. Graham had just returned from Ukraine, meeting with Zelensky, and was pushing for Russian sanctions. The preliminary cause of death was a tear in his aorta.
- On Sunday, Trump appeared on CNN, and when asked about Iran, Trump cut off the host and said, “Don’t talk about it,” saying he was on to speak about his friend Graham, adding of CNN, “We’re trying to have CNN go on a normal path. And we’ll do that.”
- Trump told NBC News that hours before his death, Graham said he “was tired, but he wanted to pass the SAVE America Act,” a notion he repeated during the day. Axios reported that Graham was focused on Russian sanctions, Iran, and normalizing Israel Saudi Arabia relations.
- GOP Sen. John Cornyn told reporters on Monday he wanted Graham’s toxicology report released “to rule out any foul play,” saying, “I saw the initial diagnosis…but given where he was and the sorts of things he was advocating for, I think we just ought to resolve all those questions.”
- On Sunday evening, after being out of the public eye for weeks, Sen. Mitch McConnell, 84, released a photo of himself and his wife in the hospital with a statement explaining his absence. Congress was set to go back into session on Monday after a weeks-long recess.
- GOP Sen. Ron Johnson cast doubt on McConnell’s health on Monday, saying in an interview, “I just heard from some other source that was an older photo,” adding, “So, I really don’t know. I haven’t talked to Mitch. I certainly wish he and his family well. I hope he can recover.”
- On Monday, attorneys general from 12 blue states filed a lawsuit challenging Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros, saying it would bring broadcast network CBS and pay TV channels like MTV and BET with WBD’s CNN, TNT, and others under Trump ally the Ellison’s control.
- Later Monday, asked about McConnell on Newsmax, Trump said, “Well, I don’t hear much. I was never a huge fan,” and added fuel to the rumors about McConnell’s health, saying, “I hope he’s going to be fine. I don’t know if he’s fine.”
- On Monday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would “be making a Speech to the Nation on Thursday evening, at 9 P.M. Eastern.” No details on the topic were given.
- MSNOW reported Trump planned to appear alongside leaders of DHS, ODNI, FBI, and CIA, and claim declassified intelligence revealed foreign national plans to interfere in the 2020 election. Trump told Newsmax, “Our elections are crooked and we’ve got to straighten them out.”
- Washington Reporter reported that Trump’s speech would focus on the 2020 Georgia election, and that he planned to baselessly claim that the state’s two senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, were illegitimate because of election fraud.
- On Tuesday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on his Thursday speech, “It’s really big news. It’s really big news,” baselessly claiming that “Our country has to shape up…without free and fair elections you don’t have a country.”
- While Republicans and regime officials had pushed Trump to focus on affordability ahead of midterms, he continued to focus on his grievances and baseless election lies.
- On Tuesday, Trump posted an image of European leaders in the Oval Office with a map showing Canada and Greenland as part of the U.S., his latest provocation.
- CNN reported the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission found Elon Musk likely broke the law when he handed out $1 million checks to voters during the 2024 election. The board referred two complaints to the Brown County district attorney’s office for possible action.
- On Tuesday, Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett appeared before Congress to request additional security funding, for the first time in seven years, citing an environment of increased threats to them and their families.
- Reuters reported that in internal discussions at HHS, Sec. Robert Kennedy Jr. pushed to spend billions to prove a link between vaccines and autism, and to eliminate the federal immunization schedule for American children entirely. He faced pushback within the regime.
- The CDC reported the number of confirmed cyclospora infections nationally doubled in recent days to 1,645 cases, a number likely vastly underreporting cases, as last summer the CDC quietly scaled back its comprehensive system for tracking food-borne illness outbreaks.
- On Tuesday, Trump paid E. Jean Carroll $5.6 million from the civil case in which he was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming her, after exhausting all appeals.
- On Wednesday, Blanche was set to begin what was expected to be a contentious Senate confirmation hearing, testing the boundaries of tethering the head of the DOJ to the presidency, allowing the department to pursue Trump’s perceived enemies and political agenda.

Protesters gather near a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility Scarborough, Maine, one day after the shooting of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

