President Donald Trump explained his decision to slap a new round of sanctions against Russia during a press conference in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
Trump took questions from reporters while meeting with Mark Rutte, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. One reporter asked him about the Treasury Department's announcement that it had approved sanctions on two Russian state-owned oil companies, Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company and Lukoil OAO.
"I just felt it was time," Trump said. "We've waited a long time. I thought that we'd go long before the Middle East."
Trump then boasted of all the conflicts he's helped end.
“Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine. Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort to end yet another war. We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
During the news conference, Trump said he also canceled a planned Budapest summit between himself and Putin, telling reporters, “It just didn’t feel right to me. It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get, so I canceled it.”
The University of Virginia made a deal with the Trump administration to cease investigations after facing threats of a federal investigation over accusations of civil rights violations, according to reports on Wednesday.
"The Justice Department announced the deal. It was the first time a public university had cut a far-reaching agreement with the Trump administration, which is carrying out an extraordinary campaign to shift the ideological tilt of the higher education system," according to The New York Times.
The investigation is expected to end, at least for now.
"The government has stripped billions of dollars from elite universities, including Harvard, which has been the target of investigations from multiple federal agencies," The Times reports.
The university reached a deal with the White House as James E. Ryan resigned from his role as university president in June. The administration apparently saw Ryan "as an obstacle in its bid to root out policies focused on diversity, equity and inclusion."
Ryan is the first university president to be pressured out of his position by the administration.
Fury erupted Wednesday as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's Pentagon introduced what he called the "next generation" of press corps after forcing out media organizations and journalists who refused to sign a loyalty pledge.
Hegseth's right hand and chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell made the announcement Wednesday on X.
"Today, the Department of War is announcing the next generation of the Pentagon press corps. We are excited to announce over 60 journalists, representing a broad spectrum of new media outlets and independent journalists, have signed the Pentagon’s media access policy and will be joining the new Pentagon press corps. Twenty-six journalists across 18 outlets were among the former Pentagon press corps who chose to sign the DOW media access policy," Parnell wrote.
"New media outlets and independent journalists have created the formula to circumvent the lies of the mainstream media and get real news directly to the American people," Parnell added. "Their reach and impact collectively are far more effective and balanced than the self-righteous media who chose to self-deport from the Pentagon. Americans have largely abandoned digesting their news through the lens of activists who masquerade as journalists in the mainstream media. We look forward to beginning a fresh relationship with members of the new Pentagon press corps."
Noticeably missing from the list of media organizations is Fox News — and instead, "sycophants" and "yes men" from super conservative Turning Point USA, among others, have made the cut, according to The New Republic.
Social media users reacted to the update:
"The Pentagon Propoganda Corps," Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) wrote on X.
"They didn't self-deport; they were pushed out for refusing to let the Pentagon pre-approve their stories. This isn't a new press corps. It's a compliant one. What happens when the only news you get is government-approved?" Investor Thomas Antony wrote on X.
"Wait a minute. The pledge required them to not go where they did not have clearance to go, and to not ask questions about subjects they did not have clearance to discuss. Those same rules applied to me as a Captain in the Marine Corps with a Secret Clearance," EMS helicopter pilot Ken Cox wrote on X.
"Fluffers and propagandists, not journalists," writer Carla Marinucci wrote on X.
President Donald Trump raged at the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday after the newspaper published a report about the U.S. lifting key restrictions on Ukraine's long-range missile use.
The report says the Trump administration lifted a "key restriction" that enables Ukraine to "step up attacks on targets inside Russia and increase pressure on the Kremlin."
"The unannounced U.S. move to enable Kyiv to use the missile in Russia comes after authority for supporting such attacks was recently transferred from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon to the top U.S. general in Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who also serves as NATO commander," the report reads in part.
Trump responded in a post on Truth Social.
"The Wall Street Journal story on the U.S.A.’s approval of Ukraine being allowed to use long range missiles deep into Russia is FAKE NEWS!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. "The U.S. has nothing to do with those missiles, wherever they may come from, or what Ukraine does with them!"
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) is "strongly" considering running for the Senate after Texas Republicans redistricted her House seat to make it more competitive for Republican candidates, according to a new report.
Politico reported on Wednesday that Crockett has not made a final decision, but has begun considering the opportunity since the Republican-led legislature in Texas passed a new election map that eliminated five Democratic-held seats. She made the comments on Wednesday during an interview on SiriusXM’s “The Lurie Daniel Favors Show.”
“I am looking,” she said. “Because if you want to take my seat of 766,000 away, I feel like there has to be some karma in that to where I take your seat that is for 30 million away.”
If she decides to enter the Senate race, Crockett will join a host of other Democrats. For instance, Rep. Collin Allred (D-TX) and Rep. James Talarico (D-TX) are also in the race.
“The question will be whether or not we believe that we’ve got enough juice to expand the electorate and looking at those cross tabs and looking at which demographics are more inclined to come out, who normally do not vote,” Crockett said. "If we can expand the electorate, then I will strongly be considering hopping in the Senate race.”
President Donald Trump announced over the summer that he wouldn't touch any of the historic White House in the construction of his massive gold ballroom. The New York Times reported, citing a senior administration official, that not only has it been proven not to be true, but the project is "far more extensive than he initially let on."
“It’ll be views of the Washington Monument. It won’t interfere with the current building. It’ll be near it but not touching it,” the president said. “And pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of.”
As it turns out, it's cheaper to completely "demolish the East Wing to construct the ballroom, rather than build an addition," the official explained.
They also intend to add security features.
Trump claimed that he was paying for the project himself; however, he has held events with big donors and corporate sponsors who are contributing millions of their own money to the project.
Trump has demanded that the Justice Department issue him $230 million in personal restitution for the investigations into him or his campaign. The gold ballroom project is estimated to cost $250 million.
Indiana Republican leadership has descended into mudslinging at each other over frustration at getting the votes to pass President Donald Trump's election-rigging scheme to eliminate two Democratic districts in the state.
On Wednesday, Politico reported that the state Senate President Pro Tempore, Rodric Bray, believes that chamber still doesn't have the votes to do a mid-decade gerrymander as was done in Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina, with a number of Republican lawmakers resisting pressure from Trump as well as party leaders. A spokeswoman for Bray said, “The votes aren’t there for redistricting.”
The entire state's GOP congressional delegation has endorsed the proposal, as well as Gov. Mike Braun, and Trump has sent Vice President JD Vance to the state multiple times to lobby for them to move ahead.
In response to the news, allies of Trump in the state are pushing back, insisting they can, in fact, get the votes. Braun's office said he “is still having positive conversations with members of the legislature and is confident the majority of Indiana statehouse Republicans will support efforts to ensure fair representation in Congress for every Hoosier.”
But one of the most heated responses came from Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, who issued a lengthy statement attacking the Republicans holding up the effort.
"The people of Indiana did not elect a Republican supermajority so our Senate could cower, compromise, or collapse at the very moment courage is required," wrote Beckwith. "The Indiana Republican-controlled Senate is failing to stand with President Trump, failing to defend the voice of Hoosier voters, and failing to deliver the 9-0 conservative map our citizens overwhelmingly expect. For years, it has been said accurately that the Indiana Senate is where conservative ideas from the House go to die. As President of the Senate, I am no longer willing to let that reputation stand unchallenged. We are not elected to fail. We are elected to show up and speak on behalf of our constituents."
"I am calling on my Republican colleagues in the Indiana Senate to find your backbone, to remember who sent you here, and to reclaim Indiana's rightful voice in Congress by drawing a 9-0 map," Beckwith thundered.
President Donald Trump announced he was providing emergency funding to states where he won presidential contests.
In a series of posts on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump said that he had spoken to the governors of Missouri, Nebraska, and Alaska.
"I just spoke with Governor Mike Kehoe, of the Great State of Missouri, and told him that I am approving $2.5 Million Dollars in individual assistance after severe storms, high winds, large hail, flash flooding, and tornadoes, which occurred earlier this year," Trump wrote. "I won 'The Show Me State' three times in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and it is my Honor to deliver for these incredible Patriots!"
In another post, the president said he would never let Alaska down because he "won BIG" in three of the state's elections.
"I just informed Governor Mike Dunleavy that, based on his request, I am approving $25 Million Dollars to help Alaska recover from the major typhoon they experienced earlier this month. It is my Honor to deliver for the Great State of Alaska, which I won BIG in 2016, 2020, and 2024 — ALASKA, I WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!" Trump insisted.
The president also noted that he approved $15 million for Nebraska's storm recovery efforts.
A defecting Democrat was called out by his own party on Wednesday, with a leading Democrat telling CNN, "I certainly disagree."
Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA), the House Minority Whip, responded to anchor Brianna Keilar's questions about the government shutdown and pushed back on Sen. John Fetterman's (D-PA) remarks.
"I don't care if it's Republicans doing that or my own party doing those things. I think that's the truth that our government must be open and we can negotiate all of these very important kinds of priorities," Fetterman told CNN on earlier in the day.
Keilar asked Clark if she agreed with Fetterman.
"Fetterman said he's fighting for both the 2 million Pennsylvanians who are on [the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program], and also the 420,000 Pennsylvanians who are receiving the [Affordable Care Act] subsidies that you all are demanding an extension to. And he says it's fundamentally wrong to shut the government down, which is something Democrats have argued in the past when Republicans are doing it. At this point in time, because of this budget, we hear you, we hear Democrats saying it's different. It's not fundamentally wrong. Explain that. I mean, why? And why do you think that John Fetterman has it wrong here?"
Clark said there was a difference between this shutdown with the current Trump administration compared to others she has served under, or any in recent history.
"We have a president who, from the moment he took office, has been using the budget, which it is federal law, and under the Constitution, that we here in Congress set the budget as his private slush fund," Clark said. "He takes it from programs he doesn't like, and he gives it to programs he does like. We've watched this very recently in the Department of Education, where he has decimated special education funding in this country, something that many, many parents and schools deserve and need in order to provide for all of our students. He has done this over and over again. And so at each point in this budget process, we have said, 'You have to abide by the law. You have to respect that we are voted and elected to represent people,' and that when Congress sets budgets, setting the levels for SNAP, for our veterans benefits, for health care in this country, that is something that you should abide by. Not only does he not do that, he uses his bully pulpit to take more from the senator."
She described how the current stalemate is not like the past.
"I believe that we are in a situation here where Senator Fetterman sees no difference in how this administration is approaching this budget, and acting lawfully and constitutionally, and putting the needs of the American people first and any other administration. I certainly disagree with him about that, because what we're seeing here is a Speaker [Mike] Johnson in the House, when we said we cannot — we you know, we have opposed this budget at every single point. But let's not shut down government. Let's come together and talk about this,'" Clark said.
Johnson hasn't had the same response, she added.
"His response he has shut down the House. He has shut down the House and said, 'I simply don't care. I don't care what happens to federal workers. I don't care what happens to these snap programs. I don't care what happens to people's health care,'" she added.
"And so the idea that somehow when they control the House, the Senate, and the White House, that this is on Democrats is really a preposterous one to me. And they have you have seen them try to cover for their inexcusable strategy of taking healthcare funding, of taking food programs away from our kids and our seniors in order to fund tax cuts. That is the strategy. That is what they are doing," Clark said.
"And the fact that they are inflicting even more pain and injecting further cruelty by threatening to not repay people who federal workers who are working without pay, it just further shows the callousness on which they view working people at the same time, we have a president who, what is he talking about? He's talking about building a ballroom. Let that sink in for working people in this country," she said.
Fetterman is expected to have a potentially tough primary for breaking with his own party on key issues and frequently defending President Donald Trump.
No permits or plans have been submitted for the reconstruction of the new gold ballroom at the White House, a project initiated by President Donald Trump during the government shutdown, and a stop-work order has been issued.
Designer Sarah Boardman has spent the past two days on Threads, sounding the alarm that in a normal world, the National Capital Planning Commission would be in "charge of the construction, preservation, and all plans for the White House."
Boardman pointed out, "They do not have permission yet, and this is one of the agencies that is closed due to the shutdown. They absolutely did this on purpose."
"I just looked up all the permit records for the White House. There are none for this ballroom abomination. There are no applications. And it clearly says that we own this building," Boardman wrote on Threads with screen captures of the website.
Reuters and The Guardian also picked up on it, noting that the White House announced it would submit the plans to the planning commission only after the demolition began.
"White House officials insist demolition is allowed without the commission’s approval," said The Guardian. "Will Scharf, the Trump-appointed head of the commission, who is also a White House staff secretary, said in September there was a difference between demolition and rebuilding work, and only the commission can approve new construction."
She also looked up specific permits the construction company itself has pulled for the area, and there is no permit listed under their name for 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Her screen capture (below) also showed that there is a "stop work order" and "notices" on the East Wing construction.
"Trump’s decision to appoint his own loyalists to the agency is likely to exacerbate concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the ballroom renovation, which critics have described as a 'presidential vanity project,'" the Beast reported.
The designer said that asbestos remediation would likely take six months to a year, though it doesn't appear to be part of the project.
Given that it is a public and historic project involving hazardous materials, the typical timeline is four to five years, Boardman continued. This is because the project would undergo public discussion, and preparation would likely require at least two years to ensure that both the workers and materials are vetted for safety.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which The Guardian explained is "a leading historic preservation non-profit created by Congress," sent a letter to the White House saying that demolition plans are “legally required” to go through public review. The group "urged" the president to pause his teardown.
“We are deeply concerned that the massing height of the proposed new construction will overwhelm the White House itself – it is 55,000 sq ft – and may also permanently disrupt carefully balanced classical design of the White House with its two smaller, and lower, East and West Wings,” the letter says.
"Attention \u2014 There are Notices or Stop Work Orders on this Property" reads public permit website from Washington, D.C. (Photo: screen capture via Sarah Boardman)
An interior designer sounded the alarm this week about a key safety issue facing the demolition of the East Wing of the White House: asbestos.
Taking to Threads for the past two days, Sarah Boardman noted that, given the age of the structure, there likely was some asbestos involved in the construction.
The first part of the East Wing construction began in 1902, but by 1942, another massive renovation began to expand the East Wing.
It should have been top of mind to the Trump administration, as the West Wing of the White House underwent a massive remediation project of asbestos in 2019 that required top advisors to relocate to the second floor of the building while it was being done.
It wasn't until 1989 that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a ban on most products containing asbestos. A court overturned most of the ban, and only a few products have been specifically banned. That, however, includes all new uses of the substance, the EPA describes.
One reason Boardman is aware that no asbestos remediation has occurred is that the White House would have needed to obtain a permit from Washington, D.C. In fact, there haven't been any permits requested for the project.
"I just looked up all the permit records for the White House. There are none for this ballroom abomination. There are no applications. And it clearly says that we own this building," Boardman wrote on Threads with screen captures of the website.
She also looked up specific permits the construction company itself has pulled for the area, and there is no permit listed under their name for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Her screen capture (below) also showed that there is a "stop work order" or "notices" on the East Wing construction.
The National Capital Planning Commission is the agency in "charge of the construction, preservation, and all plans for the White House," Boardman pointed out. "They do not have permission yet and this is one of the agencies that is closed due to the shutdown. They absolutely did this on purpose."
"Trump’s decision to appoint his own loyalists to the agency is likely to exacerbate concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the ballroom renovation, which critics have described as a 'presidential vanity project,'" the Beast reported.
As Boardman explained in her version of a "fast timeline," the "drawings, planning, permissions, permitting" usually take "2-3 years." Whereas asbestos remediation, she said, would likely take six months to a year. Given it is a public and historic project with hazardous materials, it normally would take four to five years because the whole project would have public discussion, and preparation for it would likely take a minimum of two years to ensure the workers and materials were vetted for safety.
"The other part of this demolition at the White House is different. Parts of that building were built not just in 1814 and 1840," Boardman continued, citing the construction and repairs that began after the White House was burned on Aug. 24, 1814, by Canadians who were under the rule of the British at the time.
"Lots of renovations in the '50s, '60s and '70s which have more nefarious materials being used. We are under such strict guidelines when taking apart building like this. They are absolutely not allowed to demo a building like this in the manner that they are. In Chicago, we have to recycle all demo materials," Boardman added.
A video showing construction unfolding on Wednesday revealed that there were no individuals in protective suits, typically used for asbestos remediation. Dust and debris continue to fly into the air, and the only method being used to keep down the dust is a water hose.
"Attention — There are Notices or Stop Work Orders on this Property" reads public permit website from Washington, D.C. (Photo: screen capture via Sarah Boardman)
a live look at the demolition of the White House's East Wing for Trump's ballroom
An analyst stunned by a new detail in President Donald Trump's $230 million Department of Justice demand said Wednesday it is "hard to fathom how bad this is."
Greg Sargent, staff writer and podcast host at The New Republic, argues that Trump is turning the presidency into "a massive Bribe Delivery System" and that he's likely to get the payout from the DOJ.
"It’s hard to fathom how bad this is. Start with the claims themselves: In 2023, Trump sought damages from DOJ from the Russiainvestigation, which he’s called a 'hoax' for years. But while that probe had some serious problems, DOJ’s inspector general concluded it was legitimately predicated, and a GOP-led Senate committee, chaired by the fellow who’s now Trump’s secretary of state, confirmed in August 2020 that Russia did attempt to swing the election to Trump. Of course his campaign’s potential role in this had to be investigated," Sargent writes.
One of the people who will decide on Trump's payment demands is Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former personal attorney for Trump. Blanche, who is now second in command at the DOJ, also met with convicted sex trafficker and Jeffrey Epstein's former partner Ghislaine Maxwell in July.
But that's not even the worst part — the payment can probably be completed without even being revealed publicly, Sargent explains.
"Regardless, for Trump to continue seeking these payments as president is even more wildly corrupt. The conflict-of-interest issues involved in Blanche making this decision are obvious. This is probably unconstitutional too," he writes.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is investigating the demand and said that the payments can be made without immediate public disclosure.
“Our reading is that, even though this is a private settlement, it doesn’t have to be disclosed anywhere until there is an accounting of where all the money has gone at the end of the year,” Raskin told The New Republic.
“The domestic emoluments clause says the president may not receive any compensation at all from the U.S. government or the states beyond his official salary,” Raskin said. “This means he cannot be ordering government officials to write checks to the president.”
President Donald Trump and his supporters are furious at the National Football League over the selection of Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican rap star who has criticized the administration, to perform at the upcoming halftime show. But the NFL is making clear that its decision won't be renegotiated.
According to ESPN, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell "addressed the Bad Bunny controversy at his news conference following the NFL's fall meeting. It is the first time he has commented on the move announced in late September that garnered worldwide attention, including an increase in streams of Bad Bunny's music, along with backlash."
"It's carefully thought through," Goodell told the conference. "I'm not sure we've ever selected an artist where we didn't have some blowback or criticism. It's pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people that are watching." He added of Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, "He's one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world. That's what we try to achieve. It's an important stage for us. It's an important element to the entertainment value."
Trump himself recently jumped into the controversy, telling the right-wing Newsmax network during an interview, "I don't know who he is. I don't know why they're doing it. It's, like, crazy. And then they blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it's absolutely ridiculous."
In addition to the criticism of Trump, MAGA supporters are enraged that Bad Bunny is expected to perform the halftime show in Spanish. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) proclaimed the performer's work is "demonic" and asserted it's further proof English must be made the official language of the United States.
Meanwhile, Turning Point USA, an infamous far-right youth activist group that is still reeling from the murder of founder Charlie Kirk during a political event in September, has announced plans to put on its own "alternative" halftime show packed with performers they deem patriotic and pro-American.
"Attention \u2014 There are Notices or Stop Work Orders on this Property" reads public permit website from Washington, D.C. (Photo: screen capture via Sarah Boardman)