Good evening, everyone. I just got back home from Mitch McConnell’s residence, and they weren’t too happy I was there. The moment I started filming nearby, someone got on the phone, seemingly wanting me to leave. I have the latest, though.
Meanwhile, Trump’s ballroom project was shut down by a federal court again. The U.S. believes Russia could be planning to test NATO’s resolve with a possible incursion. Trump is renewing efforts to fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and Trump voters are regretting their vote.
People have told me to stop this investigative work. I will not.
Here’s the news:
Mitch McConnell:
Senator Mitch McConnell effectively cast his first vote in weeks Thursday, but it didn’t actually count, after Sen. John Boozman voted “yes” on his behalf by proxy at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on the farm bill, a practice not allowed on the Senate floor but sometimes permitted in committees. Due to specific rules of the Agriculture Committee, however, Boozman’s proxy vote for McConnell wasn’t counted, and the bill failed to advance out of committee on a 10-11 vote after Democrats held firm on demanding a two-year SNAP extension. The same day, McConnell’s office announced the 84-year-old senator had been released from a rehabilitation hospital and would continue intensive physical therapy at home, following his June 14 fall; he hasn’t voted on the Senate floor since June 11. Boozman said he’d spoken with McConnell by phone the night before and praised him as a “steadfast champion” for Kentucky’s farmers and rural communities throughout his career.
I went to Mitch McConnell’s home today. Based on the presence of his Capitol Police detail, I can confirm he’s there.
Mitch McConnell's senior adviser David Popp dodged a reporter's questions on Capitol Hill Thursday about why the senator hasn't released a video update, ducking silently into an elevator rather than responding, a pattern also seen from other top McConnell staffers like Communications Director Stephanie Penn and Senior Adviser Robert Steurer.
For the second consecutive day, Congress’s Attending Physician Dr. Brian Monahan was seen leaving McConnell’s D.C. residence, according to video from Alysia McMillan.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear criticized Sen. Rand Paul’s push to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt for pleading the Fifth after appearing in person, calling it hypocritical that Paul hasn’t demanded similar accountability from Mitch McConnell, who Beshear noted has been absent from work for seven weeks without even releasing a video to prove he’s okay.
Ballroom:
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that Trump’s administration must halt construction of its $400 million, 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom because the project lacks congressional approval, siding 2-1 with historic preservationists who sued to stop it. The D.C. Circuit panel, made up of Judges Rao, Millett and Garcia, wrote that “whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help.” The court stayed its ruling for two weeks to let the administration appeal to the Supreme Court, and Trump has already said he plans to do so, calling it an “unjust decision.” The decision upholds an earlier April 16 order from District Judge Royce Lemon barring aboveground work, though underground construction on bunkers and “national security facilities” can continue.
Trump reacted with a lengthy social media post quoting dissenting Judge Neomi Rao, whom he nominated, and described the ballroom complex as including bomb shelters, a hospital, and “Top Secret Military Facilities,” calling the ruling a “National Security threat.” He has argued Congress’s approval isn’t needed because the project is funded through hundreds of millions raised from corporations and wealthy donors rather than public money, though Congress refused his administration’s $1 billion request in May and Democrats have alleged $350 million from a tax cuts law was redirected toward the project. Government lawyers maintain the ballroom’s security features are essential to protect the president and White House from threats like drones and biohazards, an argument preservationist attorneys rejected as not amounting to a national security emergency.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued in December 2025 just after the East Wing’s demolition, said the ruling affirmed “the American people’s right to voice their opinions about the historic places they cherish.” President Brent Leggs said the group’s position has been consistent that “only Congress can authorize the construction of a ballroom at the White House,” and welcomed the court upholding the preliminary injunction even though it’s temporarily stayed. The ruling comes the same week a National Park Service assessment found Trump’s separate proposed 250-foot triumphal arch near the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery could compromise the historical significance of nearby sites. The ballroom, envisioned to seat 999 people, had already won final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission on April 2 despite the ongoing legal fight.
Other news:
In an interview with Punchbowl News, Trump deflected when asked whether Democrats might try to impeach him if they retake the House in the midterms, initially claiming “a lot of people are saying I’m one of the greatest presidents ever” before reporter Jake Sherman pushed back, prompting Trump to eventually say only “it’s hard to believe they could.”
Democratic lawmakers have already filed at least two House resolutions calling for his impeachment, citing accusations including “abuse of presidential power by calling for the execution of members of Congress,” intimidation of federal judges, militarization of domestic law enforcement, and unconstitutional detentions and deportations. In a notable shift, Trump also softened his stance on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, whom he’d previously branded “Low IQ” and a “THUG” but now calls “a nice guy” he thinks he could work with. Despite mounting public frustration over the economy and the Iran war, including from his own voters, Trump denied facing any real backlash and instead blamed congressional Republicans, saying, “They’re angry at Republicans, but they’re not angry at me.”
An Ohio mother who voted for Trump broke down in tears during an MS NOW segment Thursday, saying she’d hoped the president’s economy “was going to be so much better” and that rising costs, including gas prices, have made it so “you can’t afford to breathe at this point.” Her emotional testimony reflects a broader pattern of buyer’s remorse among Trump voters, with a conservative super PAC, Americans for Prosperity Action, finding one in five reliable GOP voters across several swing states are considering staying home or voting Democratic in the midterms. Despite just 32% of voters approving of his economic performance and Democrats overtaking Republicans on economic trust for the first time in nearly a decade, Trump has dismissed affordability concerns as a “hoax” and insists he’s delivered the “greatest economy we’ve ever had.”
A White House spokesperson didn’t dispute concerns about high prices but instead pointed to a memorandum with Iran as easing costs, while Trump has already begun shifting blame preemptively, telling Punchbowl News that any midterm losses would reflect voters being “angry at Republicans” rather than at him. Other recent segments have captured similar frustration, including a three-time Trump voter demanding he “make it better” after a year in office, and voters angry over his $2 billion in reported 2025 earnings even as many Americans struggle with basic costs.
Trump is renewing his effort to remove Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook after the Supreme Court rebuffed his first attempt in a 5-4 June ruling that faulted the process rather than the merits, requiring him to start over and give Cook clear notice and a chance to respond. Dan Scavino, head of the Office of Presidential Personnel, sent Cook a letter Wednesday giving her 21 days to respond to allegations that she made false statements on mortgage documents, arguing the claims bear on her “honesty, trustworthiness, and competence” and constitute cause for removal. Cook’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, called the allegations “as baseless now as they were a year ago” and framed the move as an attempt to undermine the Fed’s policy independence, vowing to challenge it again. The push comes as Trump has repeatedly criticized the Fed for not cutting interest rates more aggressively and has expressed a desire to secure a “majority” of the seven-member board, having already appointed three governors. The underlying wrongdoing allegations against Cook have not yet been litigated, and a ruling on the merits could set precedent for when a Fed board member can be legally removed “for cause.”
Recent US intelligence assessments suggest Vladimir Putin could attempt a limited attack, ranging from a cyberattack to a small-scale incursion, on a NATO member within the next few years to test the alliance’s resolve and commitment to Article 5, with the Baltics or Poland seen as the most likely targets. US and NATO officials believe Putin may pursue this path if he can’t secure a face-saving end to the Ukraine war, and NATO spokesperson Martin O’Donnell said the alliance is “always thinking through and preparing for any number of scenarios” without commenting on classified intelligence.
The assessment follows a string of Russian encroachments on NATO territory, including a May drone strike on a Romanian apartment building, Polish airspace violations shot down by NATO jets last September, and an explosive-laden drone tied to Russian intelligence found this week at a German airport, prompting a meeting of Germany’s National Security Council. These concerns are compounded by a severely depleted US munitions stockpile, with nearly 80% of THAAD interceptors and roughly half of Patriot interceptors expended in the Iran war, even as Russian long-range strikes have driven a 60% rise in Ukrainian civilian casualties since January. Trump has privately complained about reports of dwindling stockpiles, while publicly insisting on Truth Social that the US has “massive amounts” of munitions and that new production is ramping up, as US-led diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war remain stalled.
Sen. Bill Cassidy announced Friday he’ll vote to confirm Todd Blanche for attorney general, a decision likely to be decisive since Republicans need 50 of their 53 senators and Cassidy had been considered a critical holdout. Despite concerns about “episodes of apparent lawfare,” Cassidy said “even critics admit that Mr. Blanche knows the law and is a hands-on administrator,” acknowledging he’d face criticism for the vote. His support comes even as Sen. Lisa Murkowski joined Susan Collins in opposing Blanche, citing concerns about DOJ “politicization” and skepticism over the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund she called a “slush fund,” a defection that would have blocked confirmation with McConnell out indefinitely had Cassidy also voted no. Trump had lashed out at Murkowski in a Thursday interview with Punchbowl News, saying “she’s not good,” while it remains unclear how McConnell, who has voted against other Trump nominees like Hegseth and RFK Jr., would have voted had he been present. Blanche’s path had already been rocky, with Sens. Cornyn and Tillis initially withholding support over the anti-weaponization fund and audit-immunity concerns until Blanche provided written assurances and met privately with Epstein survivors, a meeting survivor Dani Bensky called “not productive” though Blanche characterized it differently.
Wisconsin police used the Flock license plate reader network to determine that Edward Abrams-Phillips “travels to Michigan frequently,” a state where marijuana is legal, and used that travel pattern as probable cause to search his car for weed when he returned to Wisconsin, where it remains illegal. Court records show police tracked his vehicle hitting multiple Flock cameras over the course of an April 2025 day, from Wisconsin into Michigan and back, before intercepting and pulling him over near Green Bay. The charging document explicitly cited his frequent trips to Michigan as a “known source State for Marijuana” as justification for the stop and search. Abrams-Phillips had originally been wanted for bail jumping tied to domestic violence charges, but that charge was ultimately dismissed, leaving him convicted only of the marijuana possession charge stemming from the Flock-enabled search. The case illustrates how license plate reading networks marketed for public safety are being used to build pretexts for searches based on lawful interstate travel between states with differing drug laws.
Debora Kapisha, a Zambian-born medical-surgical nurse at Maine Medical Center who works with dialysis patients and has a pending asylum case, was released Thursday evening after a weeklong detention by ICE, following pressure from colleagues and community members. ICE detained her July 30 while she was traveling through Boston’s Logan International Airport, with the agency claiming she entered the U.S. legally in 2024 on a five-month visa but “failed to depart” before it expired, though her union and employer say she’s been living and working legally while her asylum case remains pending. National Nurses United and the Maine State Nurses Association held a news conference celebrating her release while vowing to keep advocating for her, with colleagues emphasizing the tough, understaffed unit she works in.
The Senate voted 86-11 to pass sweeping sanctions legislation against Russia and Iran, renamed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 in honor of the late Republican senator whose death helped push the long-stalled bill forward. The measure targets major buyers of Russian oil and gas with sanctions and tariffs, limited to the five biggest importer countries, while also adding sanctions on Russian leaders, family members and oligarchs, and, after a last-minute request from Trump, extending sanction authority aimed at Iran’s weapons and energy sectors. Senate Majority Leader John Thune argued the bill would cut off funding sustaining “Putin’s war machine” as Ukraine faces what he called Europe’s largest conflict since World War II, though the bill drew criticism from some Democrats and Sen. Rand Paul over concerns it grants Trump excessive tariff authority. The deal was struck July 28 by a bipartisan group including Graham’s sister and successor, Sen. Darline Graham, along with Sens. Blumenthal, Britt, Shaheen, Wicker and Risch, who said passing it was the best way to honor Graham’s legacy. The bill now heads to the House, where its fate is uncertain.
The Senate confirmed dozens of Trump’s nominees Friday in a party-line 51-47 vote, just before lawmakers left for a five-week recess, covering officials at the Departments of Defense, Energy, State and other agencies. Confirmed nominees included David Cummins to lead the TSA, Cameron Hamilton to head FEMA, Hal Duncan as OMB deputy director, and Francis Brooke as Treasury deputy secretary, along with several ambassadors, including former Rep. David Brat as ambassador to Australia. The batch confirmation was made possible by a rule change Senate Republicans made last year allowing lower-level nominees to be approved as a package rather than through individual votes. After completing the expedited process, Republicans estimate only a small number of civilian nominees will remain awaiting confirmation.
New Jersey resident Stephanie Duluc, 37, is suing the New York Yankees for $10 million after a bat flew out of a Cleveland Guardians player’s hands during a June 2 game and struck her in the head and hands while she sat behind home plate, an injury the lawsuit says left her with a traumatic brain injury and unable to return to her job as a senior health care executive; the complaint alleges the netting meant to protect her section had a gap and was “materially lower” than netting elsewhere in the stadium, and seeks damages for past and future medical costs, lost earnings, pain and suffering, and emotional distress.
See you soon.
— Aaron
