Good afternoon. It’s a high-stakes, fast-moving day on Capitol Hill and at the White House as the country braces for Donald Trump’s address to the nation tonight. I’ll be covering it live and will bring you a full breakdown the moment it ends—especially if it signals anything beyond recycled talking points.
What’s raising alarms this afternoon is the sharp escalation in Trump’s rhetoric toward Venezuela, where he is now openly demanding the return of land and oil and framing U.S. claims in aggressive, confrontational terms. Multiple signals suggest military action is on the table—and the timing matters. It’s coming just two days before the Epstein files must be released.
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Here’s what you missed:
The New York Times has confirmed that the Trump administration plans to dramatically expand efforts to strip naturalized Americans of citizenship by directing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to pursue 100–200 denaturalization cases per month, a sharp escalation critics warn could politicize citizenship revocation and create fear among millions of law-abiding immigrants
The White House installed new plaques beneath portraits on President Donald Trump’s “Presidential Walk of Fame” that harshly attack and mock former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama with derogatory language and disputed claims, while portraying Trump’s own presidency in glowing, celebratory terms—moves the administration says Trump personally authored.
Donald Trump claimed Venezuela “took all of our oil” illegally and said the U.S. wants it back, escalating rhetoric over energy and foreign policy disputes.
Politico has confirmed that the Donald Trump administration has quietly asked U.S. oil companies about returning to Venezuela after President Nicolás Maduro leaves power, but low oil prices, political risk, and decaying infrastructure have so far led companies to reject the idea despite White House hopes of reclaiming seized U.S. energy assets
Donald Trump said Venezuela seized U.S. land and oil rights and expelled American companies during a previous administration, vowing the U.S. would reclaim those interests and resources.
NBC News has confirmed that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services terminated seven grants totaling millions of dollars to the American Academy of Pediatrics—funding programs to reduce sudden infant deaths, improve teen and young adult health, prevent birth defects like fetal alcohol syndrome, and support early autism detection—citing misalignment with agency priorities, a move the AAP says will harm children and families and that intensifies its ongoing lawsuit against Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy.
Trump confirms Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino is leaving: “Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show.”
Donald Trump spent the afternoon attacking Senator Raphael Warnock on Truth Social for a recent Meet the Press interview:
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr told senators the FCC is “not formally an independent agency” because the president can remove commissioners, contradicting the agency’s prior stance and prompting criticism as courts weigh expanding presidential control over traditionally independent regulators.
NBC News has confirmed that two families sued Meta, alleging its platform Instagram enabled deadly “sextortion” scams in which strangers blackmailed their teenage sons—Levi Maciejewski (13, Pennsylvania) and Murray Dowey (16, Scotland)—arguing Meta knew for years that design choices like public-by-default accounts and open messaging exposed teens to predators, prioritized growth over safety, and failed to act before dozens of teen boys nationwide died by suicide after similar scams.
A federal judge blocked the Donald Trump administration from limiting congressional visits to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities, ruling that a seven-day notice rule and bans on visiting certain sites violate federal law guaranteeing lawmakers access, as Judge Jia Cobb said the restrictions hinder oversight of rapidly changing detention conditions.
Billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new head of NASA after a 67–30 vote, following a withdrawn and later renewed nomination by President Donald Trump, and will take charge amid funding uncertainty while pushing to return astronauts to the moon and compete with China in a renewed space race.
Retired Tennessee officer Larry Bushart sued Perry County officials after spending 37 days in jail over a Facebook meme referencing the killing of Charlie Kirk, arguing authorities violated his First Amendment rights by arresting him for protected political speech before prosecutors dropped the charge.
See you this evening.
— Aaron
