Trump nominates former defense attorney Emil Bove for federal appeals court vacancy
President Donald Trump announced he is nominating Justice Department official and his former defense attorney Emil Bove to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, a controversial nomination that would come as he continues to attack so-called "activist" judges for blocking his agenda.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump praised Bove as "SMART, TOUGH, and respected by everyone."
"He will end the Weaponization of Justice, restore the Rule of Law, and do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN," Trump added.
There are currently two vacancies on the court, and if confirmed, Bove he would serve a lifetime appointment on the federal bench.
This is a breaking news story. Check back soon for updates.
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CBS News
3 minutes ago
- CBS News
Intel leaders say new intelligence shows Iran's nuclear sites could take "years" to rebuild
The heads of two key American intelligence agencies issued statements Wednesday on what they said was "new" intelligence on the damage resulting from the recent U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, each noting the Iranian program was likely to have been set back by "years." The statements were released after President Trump decried a leaked, preliminary assessment produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency that said Tehran's nuclear program had only been pushed back by a matter of months. Mr. Trump had ordered airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities late Saturday, adding to a more than weeklong Israeli campaign against targets in Iran. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement Wednesday that "a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran's Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes." "This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years," Ratcliffe's statement said. It added the agency would continue to collect "additional reliably sourced information" to share with policy makers, and, when possible, to provide updates to the public. A CIA spokesperson declined to elaborate on the intelligence referenced by Ratcliffe's statement, including the confidence level associated with it or whether it included Israeli or other foreign intelligence. Earlier on Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard also wrote on X that "new intelligence confirms what President Trump has stated numerous times: Iran's nuclear facilities have been destroyed." "If the Iranians chose to rebuild, they would have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordow, Esfahan) entirely, which would likely take years to do," Gabbard's statement read. An intelligence official later confirmed to CBS News that the information shared by Gabbard was based on new American intelligence, but declined to specify its confidence level. Neither of the statements directly addressed some of the questions raised by lawmakers and nonproliferation experts in the aftermath of the strikes about what kinds of residual nuclear capabilities Iran may have retained. There are also conflicting views about whether Iranian officials had managed to transport enriched uranium away from the sites before they were bombed. The DIA assessment indicated at least some of the enriched uranium had been moved, according to one source familiar with it. But when asked whether enriched material was successfully moved during a press availability following the NATO summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday, President Trump said, "We think we hit them so hard and so fast, they didn't get to move." The president also said the U.S. and Iran were expected to hold talks "next week." The format remains unclear, for now, but special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff is expected to lead the talks, if they happen, two U.S. officials told CBS News. Witkoff has spoken with the Iranian foreign minister, and recently, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance have also become more involved in the diplomacy, a U.S. and regional diplomat told CBS News. Both Ratcliffe and Gabbard were slated to participate in a classified Senate briefing on Tuesday on the U.S. strikes in Iran, but the session was cancelled and rescheduled for Thursday. The House is expected to be briefed on Friday. It is unclear whether both leaders will still participate in both briefings. Ratcliffe and Gabbard's statements on Wednesday also included criticism of the leak to media outlets of the DIA assessment, which a spokesperson for that agency later said was issued with low confidence and would be refined as additional intelligence becomes available. The initial DIA report said the entrances to two Iranian nuclear sites — including the Fordo facility — were sealed off in the strikes, but that Iran could reconstitute elements of its program once it dug out and made repairs to water and electrical systems, according to sources familiar with it. The assessment also provided a range of possibilities for how long it could take for Iran to regain access to the underground facilities and resume some operations, ranging from a few months to less than a year, one source familiar with the assessment told CBS News. Administration officials have blasted those findings, which are at odds with Mr. Trump's repeated assertions that Saturday night's airstrikes "obliterated" Iran's nuclear facilities. Speaking from the NATO summit, Mr. Trump said the airstrikes set back Iran's program by "basically decades." "They said it could be limited or it could be very severe. They really didn't know," Mr. Trump said of the U.S. intelligence assessments. Appearing alongside the president, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Wednesday the damage to the sites was extensive. "If you want to make an assessment of what happened at Fordo, you'd better get a big shovel and go really deep, because Iran's nuclear program is obliterated," he told reporters. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said in a press availability on Sunday following the strikes that a full battle damage assessment of the strikes "will take some time." He said at the time that the three targets "sustained extremely severe damage and destruction." Hegseth is set to lead a press briefing Thursday morning, which Mr. Trump said "will prove both interesting and irrefutable." , , and contributed to this report.
Bloomberg
7 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Gold Steadies as Traders Mull Mideast Truce, Fed's Rate-Cut Path
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Fox News
8 minutes ago
- Fox News
A Big, Beautiful weekend on the Hill: 'Everybody having fun yet?'
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was ebullient Tuesday afternoon. The South Dakota Republican just concluded a lengthy lunch meeting with fellow GOPers and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about the Big, Beautiful Bill. "Good afternoon. Everybody having fun yet?" Thune asked the Congressional press corps as he approached the microphone in the Ohio Clock Corridor of the Capitol for his weekly exchange with reporters. "Ask us around 3:45 Sunday morning," suggested yours truly. If you are an insomniac… Or don't want to see the National Symphony Orchestra Pops perform Dolly Parton's musical canon at the Kennedy Center… Or you don't have tickets to see the Savannah Bananas play at Nats Park this weekend… The U.S. Senate may be the place for you. Action on the Big, Beautiful Bill could happen at any time of the day or night this weekend. The Senate is attempting to pass the Big, Beautiful Bill sometime on Saturday or Sunday. Maybe even early Monday. Presuming Senate Republicans can pass the bill. "If the bill is going to pass, do you expect that you at least have two or three members on your side who would vote no?" I asked Thune. "Could be," replied Thune. "Why?" I countered. "Well, we've got a lot of very independent thinking senators who have reasons and things that they'd like to have in this bill that would, in their view, make it stronger," answered Thune. "Hopefully when push comes to shove and everybody has to say yes or no, we'll get the number of votes that we need." There's more political pushing and shoving in the U.S. Senate than there is in a line of fourth graders waiting for the water fountain after recess. And senators may advance beyond pushing and shoving to actual fighting as Republicans grouse about the bill's contents. It's about the math. Senate Republicans can still lose three votes and pass the bill with a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Vance. Fox was told that the bill was in trouble if there are ten potential noes now. But if the universe of prospective nays is only five, they can probably whittle that down enough to pass the bill. Here are the GOP senators worth keeping an eye on because of possible problems they could have with particular provisions in the legislation: Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., Rick Scott, R-Fla., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Mike Lee, R-Utah, John Kennedy, R-La., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, John Curtis, R-Utah and Jim Justice, R-W.V. That's 11. And many of those on the list could vote yes. They may hold out until the end to either score a provision in the bill they want. Or, they want to understand the final product. "We don't know what's in the bill. The parliamentarian has thrown out some provisions," said Kennedy. "Look, I'm labor. I'm not management. But I got one vote, the same as management does. And I'm willing to work nights. I'm willing to work weekends. But what I'm not willing to do is have someone pat me on the head and say 'shut up and just vote for it.'" Kennedy said he unearthed "a few things in this bill that we weren't told about. And I'm not happy." With hat tips to boxing analysts Al Bernstein and Larry Merchant, Thune reverted to discussing the physicality of senators. "When push comes to shove, you're looking at whether or not you're going to allow the perfect to become the enemy," said Thune. "You have to recognize that this is a process whereby everybody doesn't get everything they want." One of the most outstanding issues remains SALT, the deduction for state and local taxes in high-tax states. "We'll have a solution on that in 24 to 48 hours," said Bessent after his huddle with GOP senators. "I know that there are a lot of conservatives who don't like it," said White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on Fox Business. "A lot of very important people in the House, who want it as big as it can be. And, Secretary Bessent is in there working with people to find exactly the right number that'll land the bill." So when does the Senate finish? "The question of when will the Senate get it done, that's a great question," said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo. "They've had it for over six weeks. I'm waiting." The Senate will likely take a procedural vote to formally get on the bill on Friday. If the Senate votes to get on the bill, 20 hours of clock time starts to run under special Senate budget rules. The procedural vote only needs a simple majority. The 20 hours of time is split. Democrats will probably burn all 10 of their hours. Republicans will use a few of their hours. So, the Senate probably begins its "vote-a-rama" on the bill late in the wee hours of Saturday morning. A "vote-a-rama" is where the Senate takes hours and hours of consecutive roll call votes on amendments to the package. It would culminate with passage of the Big, Beautiful Bill in the Senate late Saturday or early Sunday. Note that it is impossible to game out when this could happen. But frankly, a final vote could come at any time of the day or night all weekend long – if not early Monday. Also, this scenario presumes everything goes swimmingly. The most recent vote-a-rama ran just under ten hours earlier this year. A 2021 vote-a-rama consumed 14 hours and 48 minutes, with the Senate considering a total of 40 amendments. We believe this vote-a-rama might be on the longer end. Here's the other wild card: How fast can the House pivot to pass the bill and align with the Senate? House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., signaled the House may aim to vote on Tuesday. Also, the "72-hour rule" to allow the House to read the bill before voting does not apply. The Senate is sending back to the House an "amendment" to the original House plan. Thus, the "72-hour rule" is not in play under these circumstances. However, the question is if Johnson faces pressure to let the bill marinate for a few days. But some House conservatives aren't happy with the Senate measure. "We're not going to get jammed on this. We're just not," said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, believes the Senate should just accept the House measure – since the House could barely pass its version in May. "We did the hard work of threading a very tight needle with this legislation. So it does not need to come back looking too much different from what we ended up passing out of the House," said Pfluger. So the question is whether the Senate can pass its bill. And if the House can accept whatever the Senate passes. So, as I said, if you don't have a lot to do this weekend, Capitol Hill may be the spot to be. Especially at 3:45 Sunday morning.
