Trump news at a glance: political battle in Texas escalates and president under fire for firing labor statistics chief
'There are consequences for dereliction of duty,' Abbott said in a statement on Monday, after the Republican-dominated House issued civil arrest warrants in an attempt to compel the return of the members who fled the state in order to deny the legislature a quorom.
'This order will remain in effect until all missing Democrat House members are accounted for and brought to the Texas Capitol.'
Democrats hold 62 of the 150 seats in the legislature's lower chamber, so as long as at least 51 members remain out of Austin, the Texas legislature cannot move forward with any votes, including a plan to redraw the state's congressional maps to give Republicans five more seats in Congress.
Here are the key US politics stories of the day:
Texas Democrats in the state legislature denied its speaker a legislative quorum Monday by leaving the state, forestalling plans proposed by the White House to redistrict Texas's congressional lines to more greatly favor Republicans. Texas governor Greg Abbott has threatened arrest, fines, felony charges of bribery and expulsion against the lawmakers.
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The former Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioners and non-partisan economic groups have criticized Donald Trump's shock firing of BLS commissioner Erika McEntarfer after the July jobs report data revealed jobs growth stalled this summer.
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About 600 former Israeli security officials, including previous heads of the Mossad and the military, have urged Donald Trump to pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza as the country's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, considers expanding the conflict.
In an open letter, the former officials said an end to the war was the only way to save hostages still held by Hamas.
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Mike Johnson became the highest ranked US official to visit the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Republican House speaker drawing measures of praise and condemnation for his trip in support of Israeli settlements amid a worsening starvation crisis in Gaza.
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More than 40 people protesting the war in Gaza and worsening humanitarian crisis were arrested outside the Trump International hotel in New York City on Monday evening.
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Donald Trump's special envoy is expected in Moscow days before the US president's deadline on Friday for Russia to make progress on ending the war in Ukraine or face increased US sanctions.
Trump said Steve Witkoff would visit Moscow on Wednesday or Thursday. When asked what message Witkoff would take to Russia and what Vladimir Putin could do to avoid new sanctions, the US president answered: 'Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.'
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The US state department has prepared plans to impose bonds as high as $15,000 for some tourism and business visas, according to a draft of a temporary final rule. The bonds would be issued to visitors from countries with significant overstay rates, under a 12-month pilot program.
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The Trump administration is seeking to block veterans from receiving abortions at hospitals run by the Department of Veterans Affairs in cases of rape or incest, or when a veteran's pregnancy has imperiled their health, according to new paperwork filed by the administration.
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The Swiss stock market has plunged, the cabinet has held crisis talks and the country's president has been accused of mishandling a vital phone call with the White House after Donald Trump hit the country with a shock 39% export tariff.
News Corp, part of the Murdoch family media empire, has announced it will bring a version of the brash rightwing New York tabloid to California in early 2026.
Marjorie Taylor Greene said that she feels the Republican party has lost touch with its base – but she said she has no plans to leave the party.
More than a dozen Democratic members of Congress signed on to a letter that urges the Trump administration to recognise Palestinian statehood, in a draft copy shared with the Guardian.
Catching up? Here's what happened on 3 August 2025.
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Daily Mail
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Tim Scott smacks down CBS anchor over Trump question
A top Republican in the U.S. Senate stepped up to defend his Christian faith and relationship with President Trump during an interview on CBS Tuesday. Republican South Carolina Senator Tim Scott appeared on 'CBS Mornings Plus' to promote his new book on Christian faith in America. CBS anchor Adriana Diaz bluntly asked Scott about how he reconciles his 'support for President Trump when many people see his actions as lacking Christian values.' Diaz mentioned Trump's hardline immigration policies as well as cuts to foreign aid. Scott, a practicing Christian, fired back: 'Being able to put ourselves back on solid ground is really important.' He then listed off a slew of actions taken under Trump, which he sees as policy wins for all Americans, including Christians, including his big tax bill and lowering inflation. 'When we passed the Trump tax cuts in 2017, we lowered the taxes for a single mother by 70%. If you look at the expansion of the child tax credit, $2,200 today, it was $2,000 when we first passed it, it was only $1,000 before we passed it,' Scott said, harkening back to Trump's first term. On foreign aid, Scott pointed to Trump's action on PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which Trump has 'reinforced' to provide 'billions of dollars to Africa for AIDS.' 'I would say, without any question, the most compassionate approach to providing the best future for the American people is by giving them as many of their resources to make their own decisions,' Scott argued. The South Carolina Republican was additionally asked if he agreed with Trump's recent firing of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Statistics (BLS). Although Scott did not give a direct answer on whether or not he believed the former BLS Commissioner had been a 'political hack,' he did share the belief that the agency had been 'mismanaged.' Trump and Scott have had a long history together, as far back as their time as rivals during the 2016 presidential primary election. Scott is the longest-serving African American in U.S. Senate history, and the only one to have served in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The senator is doing media rounds to promote his new book on Christian faith in America, 'One Nation Always Under God: Profiles in Christian Courage.' In the book, Scott's overall argument is that America has shifted from its Judeo-Christian values. Scott has long been outspoken about his Christian faith. Fox News host Ainsley Earhardt then asked Noce how she knew Scott was 'the one.' 'God shows you the path,' Noce responded. She added that she ignores critics who say they got married because he was a presidential nominee and are 'upset he is a black man.' Tim Scott became a stepfather after marrying Mindy Noce last year. Fox & Friends host Ainsley Earhardt questioned the couple about the criticism they've received - particularly from ABC's The View, who suggested the senator only got engaged to be in the running for vice president. 'They are ridiculous, period. It is not just comments about me, they get paid to tear people down,' Scott replied. He added he 'goes into prayer' when the negativity about their relationship surfaces.
The Guardian
15 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa says sitting on Trump's sports council will be ‘an honor'
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has spoken of his pride at being named to Donald Trump's council on sports, fitness, and nutrition. Tagovailoa joins two other current NFL stars on the council, Nick Bosa and Harrison Butker, who have been backers of Trump's Maga movement. While Tagovailoa has not publicly expressed his support for the president, who once described NFL players who knelt for the national anthem as 'sons of bitches', he said he was happy to align himself with Trump. 'I think it's pretty cool – it's an honor, [to serve on the council]' Tagovailoa said on Wednesday. 'I don't know too much about it, but it's an honor.' Trump has revitalized the council under an executive order that will also being back the presidential fitness test for American children, which was phased out during the Obama administration. Tagovailoa said he did not know why he had been named to the council. When Trump announced the council's members he mispronounced Tagovailoa's name. On Wednesday. the quarterback laughed off the president's error. 'I don't think he's had the worst – I heard a couple worse at Alabama,' said Tagovailoa. 'It is what it is, I don't take that to heart.' Earlier this week, Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley said he had declined his invitation to sit on the council. 'A couple months ago, it was brought to my team about the council,' Barkley told reporters after Monday's Eagles practice session. 'So I'm not really too familiar with it. I felt like that I am going to be super busy. Me and my family thought it would probably be of best interest to not accept that. I was definitely a little shocked when my name was mentioned. I'm assuming it's something great, so I appreciate it but was a little shocked when my name was mentioned.' NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will also be a member of the council.
The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
A far-right ‘1st Amendment' group lost its defamation lawsuit. Now the New York Times is suing them back
The New York Times is firing back against the far-right 'paramilitary group' that accused the paper of defamation, filing a new lawsuit after the organization's $100 million case was thrown out of court. In a complaint that was filed in New York this week, the Times is suing 1st Amendment Praetorian for 'reasonable costs, attorney's fees, and disbursements pursuant to New York Civil Rights Law' while noting that the paper incurred at least $50,000 in legal fees defending against the organization's 'meritless' litigation. It is a lawsuit under anti-SLAPP provisions designed to protect First Amendment rights. 'Judge [Mary Kay] Vyskocil's careful opinion granting our motion to dismiss recognized that the claims against The Times were meritless,' a New York Times spokesperson told The Independent. 'New York's anti-SLAPP law therefore requires that 1st Amendment Praetorian pay the costs of The Times's defense. Fee shifting is an important deterrent to frivolous lawsuits against the press and The Times looks forward to recovering its costs.' The Independent has reached out to the 1st Amendment Praetorian for comment. 1st Amendment Praetorian, otherwise known as 1AP, initially brought its lawsuit against the Times in January 2023 in response to several articles the outlet published about the scrutiny the group had received surrounding the January 6 Capitol attack. These reports were in relation to the House committee that investigated January 6 issuing a subpoena to 1AP and its founder Robert Patrick Lewis in November 2021. 'The subpoena compelled 1AP to produce documents pertaining to the events leading up to and transpiring on that day. The Committee specifically sought documents related to the security that 1AP had provided to allies of President Trump—including Stop the Steal campaign organizer Ali Alexander and Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn—as well as various social media posts made by 1AP on or around January 6, among other materials,' the Times noted in its complaint this week. 'The subpoena also compelled Mr. Lewis to appear for a deposition before the Committee.' Following the subpoena of Lewis, the Times published an article in January 2022 that reported on the close ties 1AP had with allies of Donald Trump who were looking to undermine confidence in the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden. 'By their own account, members of the 1st Amendment Praetorian helped to funnel data on purported election fraud to lawyers suing to overturn the vote count,' Times reporter Alan Feuer reported in that article. 'They guarded celebrities like Michael T. Flynn, Mr. Trump's former national security adviser, at 'Stop the Steal' rallies, where huge crowds gathered to demand that Mr. Trump remain in office. And they supported an explosive proposal to persuade the president to declare an emergency and seize the country's voting machines in a bid to stay in power.' In subsequent articles by Feuer later that year, it was noted that 1AP had provided security for Flynn amid Trump's efforts to overturn the election results, adding that the group also helped former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell gather open-source intelligence about claims of election fraud. Additionally, citing the House committee's description of the organization, 1AP was described as 'far-right,' 'extremist,' and a 'paramilitary group' similar to the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. 1AP filed a $100 million lawsuit in January 2023 against the Times and Feuer, alleging that the articles and social media posts sharing the pieces defamed the group by 'stating or implying to their Twitter followers and readers that 1AP 'stormed the Capitol' on January 6, 2021.' The paper would reply in court that none of the social media posts presented in the complaint mentioned 1AP and that the articles in question never stated that the group stormed the Capitol. 1AP would later file an amended complaint that alleged the Times made 24 materially false statements about the group, once again seeking $100 million in compensatory and punitive damages. In March of this year, the court granted the Times' motion to dismiss the complaint with prejudice. In its ruling, the court stated that 1AP not only failed to sufficiently show that the Times published any alleged defamatory statements with actual malice, but also didn't show 'any level of specificity' with its defamation claim. Beyond that, many of the supposed defamatory statements the group highlighted were not 'of or concerning' 1AP, with the group also failing to even show that many of the statements were false. Meanwhile, at the time of its lawsuit, Rolling Stone suggested that 1AP was taking on a highly litigious stance in an effort to distance itself from other right-wing organizations and figures associated with the Capitol attack. Instead, the organization was attempting to rebrand itself as a 'civil liberties group' and 'non-partisan.' 'The litigation is part of a pattern of high-dollar defamation suits brought by 1AP that are ostensibly attempting to clear its reputation,' the magazine reported in February 2023. 'Seen in another light, the lawsuits present a vivid irony: They are filed by an organization that presents itself as a protector of first amendment rights, against parties who've leveraged their own freedom of the press to raise concerns about 1st Amendment Praetorian.' Rolling Stone added: 'The court blitz complicates efforts to scrutinize 1AP, which the Jan. 6 Committee's final report describes as a 'paramilitary group,' and whose founder Lewis has touted the need for a 'second American revolution.'' Citing New York's anti-SLAPP law, which gives publishers increased protections against frivolous lawsuits and allows them to recover damages incurred in defending against those complaints, the Times is now demanding that 1AP pay its attorneys' fees in the dismissed case. ' The Times incurred more than $50,000 in legal fees and costs to defend against 1AP's lawsuit that had no basis in law or fact,' this week's complaint alleges, adding: 'The District Court's opinion makes clear that 1AP both commenced and continued its Action without a substantial basis in fact and law.' The New York Times pushing back against a Trump-adjacent organization over what was ultimately deemed a frivolous and baseless complaint comes at a time when the current president has used the courts to bully media companies with his own 'meritless' lawsuits. Trump, who is currently suing the Wall Street Journal and its owner Rupert Murdoch for $10 billion over a Jeffrey Epstein article, recently obtained a $16 million settlement from Paramount in his lawsuit over a CBS News interview with Kamala Harris. That settlement – which was similar in the amount Disney paid Trump to settle his ABC News lawsuit – came shortly before his administration approved Paramount's $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, which also came just days after CBS announced it was cancelling the late-night show of outspoken Trump critic Stephen Colbert.
