
Democrats walk out of Bove, Pirro meeting as panel advances controversial Trump nominees
Bove, one of President Trump's former criminal defense attorneys who is now in the No. 3 spot in the Justice Department, has been nominated for a lifetime appointment as a jurist on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
He has been accused by a whistleblower of saying the administration should consider telling the courts 'f— you' and defy any injunctions imposed by judges blocking their use of the Alien Enemies Act.
Pirro, a former county judge and Fox News host, was confirmed as a nominee for U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.
The meeting made for an unusual scene, as Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) appealed to Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) on personal terms after the GOP chairman cut off requests for continued debate and did not allow all Democrats to speak on the Bove nomination.
'You are a good man. You are a decent man, why are you doing this? What is Donald Trump saying to you that are making you do something which is violating the decorum of this committee, the rules of this committee, the decency and the respect that we have each other to at least hear each other out?' Booker said.
'This is unjust. This is wrong. It is the further deterioration of this committee's integrity with a person like this. What are you afraid of?'
Booker then left alongside the rest of his colleagues, a rare protest leaving the Democratic side of the dias completely empty.
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Chicago Tribune
5 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
The Tribune's Quotes of the Week quiz for July 26
It was another hot and humid week in Chicago. With dangerous heat engulfing the city, residents again turned to box fans and AC units for relief from the soaring temps — that is despite recent spikes in electric costs. The heat subsided only to welcome thunderstorms that knocked out power for 50,000 ComEd customers. But it wasn't all doom and gloom this week. After years of construction, four North Side Red Line stations reopened Sunday, and in some good news for homeowners, Mayor Brandon Johnson said he won't seek a property tax hike in his upcoming budget proposal. Gov. JB Pritzker, along with 17 other Democratic governors, petitioned the Trump administration to release nearly $7 billion in withheld federal education grants. On Friday, the Department of Education did just that. But local education leaders are still struggling with their own funding problems. At Thursday's Chicago Board of Education meeting, Chief Budget Officer Michael Sitkowski reiterated that Chicago Public Schools has identified $165 million in spending reductions, including cuts to its administrative staff and vendor contracts, but the district is still searching for a solution to its $734 million budget deficit. Two of the four defendants in the 'ComEd Four' case were sentenced this week. Ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore and the utility's former lobbyist Michael McClain will spend two years in prison for their part in the elaborate scheme to bribe then-House Speaker Michael Madigan. New Tribune reporting shows arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are up in Chicago since President Donald Trump took office, and local children recently received deportation letters from the Department of Homeland Security. Meanwhile, on Friday, a federal judge in Chicago blocked the Trump administration's challenge over sanctuary policies in the state of Illinois. In global news, the United States cut short ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas on Thursday, while hunger and malnutrition surges in Gaza. France also announced this week that the country will recognize Palestine as a state. Three big names in the world of celebrity and entertainment passed away this week. Malcolm-Jamal Warner, the 54-year-old actor best known for his role as teenage son Theo Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show,' died in an accidental drowning Sunday in Costa Rica. Ozzy Osbourne, lead singer of Black Sabbath and godfather of heavy metal, died at the age of 76, just weeks after his farewell show. And professional wrestling legend Hulk Hogan died Thursday after suffering cardiac arrest. He was 71. Plus, the Chicago Cubs and White Sox play each other in this weekend's City Series at Rate Field. It's a matchup with stakes for both teams, as the Sox come off their best roadtrip since September 2022 and the Cubs just dropped from first place in their division. That's it for the headlines! Now here's the Tribune's Quotes of the Week quiz for July 20 to 26. Missed last week? You can find it here or check out our past editions of Quotes of the Week.


The Hill
5 minutes ago
- The Hill
Five unanswered questions around Trump and the Epstein saga
The controversy over Jeffrey Epstein rumbles on, despite President Trump's efforts to put it behind him. It's been almost three weeks since a joint, unsigned memo from the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) insisted 'no incriminating 'client list'' had been found among material related to Epstein. The memo also contended that there had been 'no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.' The statement caused a firestorm – including among many Trump supporters, who had been primed to expect big revelations about Epstein, the sexual predator and disgraced financier who died, apparently of suicide, in 2019. Attorney General Pam Bondi had said in a February Fox News interview that an Epstein client list was 'sitting on my desk right now to review.' In previous years, people very close to Trump, including his eldest son Don Jr. and Vice President Vance, had suggested there was a nefarious motive behind the failure to disclose more material about Epstein. But even as the controversy moves on, there are many unanswered questions. Here are five of the biggest. What happens with Ghislaine Maxwell? Developments around Maxwell, the British socialite and Epstein associate, have been among the most intriguing new developments. Todd Blanche, the second highest ranking figure in the DOJ, met with Maxwell in Tallahassee, Fla., on Thursday and Friday. Maxwell received a 20-year prison sentence in 2022 for conspiring with Epstein in his abuse. The unusual move by Blanche, who served as one of Trump's personal attorneys before ascending to his current role at the DOJ, has become a partisan flashpoint. Democrats and other Trump critics are warning of the prospect of some kind of quid-pro-quo deal, in which Maxwell would be offered a pardon, or at least some level of clemency, in return for exculpatory words on Trump. 'The conflict of interest just stares you in the face,' Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a speech on Thursday. Blanche has defended the meetings as a straightforward pursuit of more information. In a statement on Tuesday, he said, 'President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say.' There are reasons to be skeptical about whether lenient treatment of Maxwell would quel the controversy. It might just as easily ratchet it up. But on Friday, before leaving for a trip to Scotland, Trump notably did not rule out a pardon or clemency of Maxwell. 'I'm allowed to do it but it's something I have not thought about,' he told reporters at the White House. How does Trump's case against the Wall Street Journal go? The Epstein matter has seen Trump go into full legal battle against the Wall Street Journal, its parent company News Corporation and media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Trump says he was defamed by a Journal story that alleged a letter bearing his name and a drawing was included in an album put together by Maxwell to mark Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003. The president is seeking $10 billion in damages. The Journal has stood by its story and has continued to report vigorously on Trump and Epstein. On Wednesday, days after Trump filed his suit, the Journal reported that Trump had been told by the DOJ back in May that his name was mentioned in the Epstein files – though the news organization noted that such a mention is not, in itself, evidence of wrongdoing. The fact that neither Trump nor Murdoch are inclined to back down sets up a striking clash, not least because of the Murdoch family's role at Fox News. Is Pam Bondi in trouble? Some Republicans and other Trump allies plainly blame Bondi for at least part of the political mess in which they find themselves. They contend that the attorney general's comments in the February Fox interview were the spark that ignited the flame of controversy that is now burning the president. A former attorney for Trump and Epstein told the BBC this week that the DOJ had 'jumped the gun a bit' in overhyping the information that they had. 'They were in favor, for good reasons, of disclosing and full transparency, but they didn't know what they had yet,' David Schoen told the BBC's 'Newsnight.' Meanwhile, Politico reported this week on GOP disquiet over Bondi's role, quoting one unnamed senior House GOP aide saying, 'I think she, from pillar to post, handled this thing so badly and bizarrely.' But voices close to Trump, including White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, have publicly defended Bondi, stressing her work to advance Trump's broader agenda. The New York Times also reported on Thursday that Bondi 'felt blindsided and annoyed' by demands from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that the DOJ should probe actions taken by the Obama administration in relation to Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Will Republicans rally around Trump? The Epstein controversy has been unusually damaging to Trump because it has cracked the unity of the GOP and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) base. A Wall Street Journal poll released on Thursday evening, found that 69 percent of all registered voters – and a striking 54 percent of Republicans – had either little or no confidence that the DOJ had fully investigated the Epstein matter. Elected Republicans have also made a stand, at least in some cases. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is leading an effort to force the DOJ to release as much documentation as possible on Epstein. In a separate, closely-watched vote on a House panel this week, three Republicans – Reps. Nancy Mace (S.C.), Brian Jack (Ga.) and Scott Perry (Pa.) – voted with Democrats to subpoena the DOJ for Epstein documents. Republicans are also expected to receive plenty of hostile questioning on the Epstein matter from their constituents while the House is on its summer recess. All of that being said, Trump's overall grip on the GOP is tight. He may well be able to bring his party into firmer line. How long does the story keep making headlines? The new lease of life for the Epstein story shows no real signs of dying down – much to Trump's displeasure. Indeed, actions that he or his allies have taken have injected new fuel into the furor. Trump's case against the Journal and Blanche's meetings with Ghislaine Maxwell both fall into that category. Critics allege that some other actions taken by the Trump administration, including the rash of loud allegations against the Obama administration over the 2016 election, are intended as a distraction from the Epstein matter. If that's the case, they haven't really worked. It's always possible that some major domestic or world event could intervene and banish Epstein from the headlines. But Massie, the maverick Kentucky Republican leading the fight for more disclosure, told reporters this week that he expected public demands on the issue to grow stronger over the summer. If that proves true, it's very bad news for Trump.


The Hill
5 minutes ago
- The Hill
Polls turn sour on Trump as he hits new lows with independents
President Trump is facing his most challenging political moment of his second term, with rough poll numbers and growing furor over his administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Trump saw some of his lowest approval ratings of his second term over the past week, with his net approval in the Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) average falling to more than 9 points underwater. He's seen declines, in particular, among independents and on his handling of certain key issues like immigration. At the same time, he's trying to tame an ongoing headache stemming from the controversial case of the financier and convicted sex offender. While his numbers certainly haven't bottomed out, they indicate to a tough moment for Trump after a series of major victories in recent months. Lee Miringoff, the director of the Marist University Institute for Public Opinion, said Trump's quickly shifting political fortunes are part of his skill at 'keeping the focus moving all the time,' which requires redirecting people's attention to his benefit. 'But you do take a cost that your victories are short-lived, and the net effect is there's still an awful lot that people feel has not been accomplished and that he hasn't fulfilled a lot of campaign promises, even though some of it clearly was written and spoken of during the campaign,' he added. Just a few weeks ago, Trump was in a considerably stronger place politically. His 'big, beautiful bill' was able to overcome a number of congressional roadblocks, and he signed it into law on July 4, his previously stated goal. In June, the Supreme Court didn't settle the legal scrutiny around Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship, but it handed him a win by stopping lower-court judges from issuing nationwide injunctions. That same month, the number of immigrants detained after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally dropped to a record low, and Trump ordered strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, followed by a ceasefire between Israel and Iran that's held. In the lead-up to and during some of that time, Trump's approval rating showed signs of modest improvement. His net approval rating fell underwater for the first time in the DDHQ average for his second term in early March, and it stayed net negative through the end of his first 100 days back in office. It started to tick up in mid-May, and his approval rating returned to net positive for a day on June 5. But since then, several measures of the public's opinion on the administration have been going in the wrong direction for Trump. His net approval rating reached its lowest point yet in the DDHQ rating Monday, falling 9.2 points in the negative, while his disapproval rating in the RealClearPolitics average reached its highest point Wednesday at 52.7 percent. Some polls have been better for Trump, with an Emerson College Polling survey only showing him 1 point underwater, but multiple major pollsters have found him trending in the wrong direction recently, including Morning Consult, YouGov/The Economist and Gallup. The Gallup poll could particularly be a warning sign for Trump and the GOP, with 37 percent of respondents saying they approve of his job performance, down from 40 percent last month and 43 percent in May. The major group driving the downturn appears to be independents, with only 29 percent saying they approve of him, equivalent to the lowest level he had with them through either of his terms in office. Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo said the numbers are evidence that any grace period Trump enjoyed has ended. 'The honeymoon is over because, per usual, the chaos and instability of the Trump administration has not led, has not resolved, has not given the results the working people need to improve their daily lives,' he said. He pointed to continued inflation amid Trump's tariff policy, along with the public witnessing major raids from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detaining people at places like schools, hospitals and churches. One eye-opening finding from recent polling has been Trump starting to struggle with how the public views his handling of immigration, an issue that has long been one of his biggest strengths. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found this month that the president's approval on the issue fell to a second-term record low of 41 percent. The downturn began after the increase in ICE raids in California. A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research gathered similar findings. Meanwhile, the Epstein files have dominated national attention for the past few weeks and have stirred significant backlash, including from some of Trump's MAGA base. An Emerson poll showed more than half of all respondents disapproved of Trump's handling of the Epstein files, while only 16 percent approved. Republicans have indicated they weren't too concerned about the polls, pointing to the Democrats' record-low approval ratings of late and the continually steady support Trump has among his base. Despite the frustration related to the Epstein files, polls haven't found any notable drop in Republicans' backing of Trump, with 85 percent to 90 percent approving of him in most cases. Republican strategist Dave Carney said the Epstein case is a 'distraction' compared to other issues that the average person cares about, like affordability. He said he's not worried about this becoming a major issue for now, but the administration should release the documents to move on. 'Communications is a vital part of getting anything accomplished,' Carney said. 'They just got off on the wrong foot on this. They just need to fix what they can and move on.' Republican strategist Brady Smith argued that a benefit for Trump of not having to worry about reelection is he can move forward with policies that he believes are in the country's interest even if the poll numbers suggest they're not popular. 'One of the big takeaways here is with the president unable to seek another term in the White House, he doesn't have to play to the polls as much,' he said. 'He's able to put into practice what he campaigned on, and deportations and securing of the border was top of the list. Voters knew what they were voting for at the time.' But Democrats are hoping the numbers and pressure on Trump will be an opportunity for them as they look toward the midterms, particularly as Trump's signature legislative achievement, the 'big, beautiful bill,' also has performed poorly in the polls. 'There are no future electoral consequences for him,' Democratic strategist Roy Occhiogrosso said. 'There are future electoral consequences as soon as next year for the Republican Party.' Despite Trump following through on campaign promises like instituting tariffs and rooting out illegal immigration, Miringoff said the shift among independents and others against Trump on key issues may illustrate the difference between campaigning and governing. 'It hasn't looked as nice as it was packaged running against the Democrats,' he said, adding that implementing the tariffs has been 'more complicated' than how Trump described it in his campaign messages. He said Trump's 'magic' always has been 'keeping the ball moving' so the public's attention doesn't stick too much to any one issue, but he's having more difficulty moving on from these issues dragging him down in polling. 'He's been masterful at that throughout his public career, and now he's having significant problems turning the page,' Miringoff said.