SmartNews

Trump heads to Federal Reserve building — with sworn enemy and an axe to grind

President Donald Trump was headed to the Federal Reserve building on Thursday afternoon with an avowed enemy.

Trump claimed that the Federal Reserve renovation budget, which was under $2.5 billion, has now increased to over $3.1 billion. He brought it up in a Truth Social post announcing that he was headed to tour the building, along with several lawmakers, including Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC).

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IRS eyes drastic move to comply with Trump's order

The IRS is considering eliminating alternative-language options for tax filers in response to President Donald Trump's order designating English the official language of the United States, reported The Washington Post on Thursday.

That could mean that the IRS would no longer supply forms translated into Spanish or other languages, or provide free translators for people trying to work through issues with their tax filings.

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'This is bad': New poll reveals exactly who is tanking Trump's approval ratings

A new Gallup poll shows that President Donald Trump has fallen to his lowest point in his second term. The group driving that decline is a key one that helped him win in 2024: independents.

"Six months into his second term, President Donald Trump’s job approval rating has dipped to 37%, the lowest of this term and just slightly higher than his all-time worst rating of 34% at the end of his first term," the report Thursday said.

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Republican senator admits the quiet part out loud when it comes to Epstein files

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) took to the Senate floor on Thursday, where he confessed that he wants to give the president "cover" on Jeffrey Epstein.

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) submitted a list of demands that Democrats want for the release of files related to the Epstein investigation.

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‘Fraud!’ MAGA lawmaker explodes after Dem slams genocidal rhetoric

Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) took aim at Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) on Thursday after being called out on previous comments espousing genocidal rhetoric toward Palestinian civilians and children.

On Tuesday, Fine wrote in a social media post that, while Hamas continues to hold any Israeli hostages, Palestinian civilians and children should continue to “starve away.” His comments were in response to an ABC News report detailing the death of 15 Palestinian civilians – including four children – who had died in the past 24 hours due to malnutrition amid famine.

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Newly unearthed photos show top Trump official partying with Jeffrey Epstein

Another member of President Donald Trump's inner circle has been shown with ties to deceased financier and child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein: Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

According to The Daily Beast, in addition to taking trips on Epstein's private plane, recently resurfaced pictures "show RFK Jr. at a New York Academy of Art gala with Epstein in in 1994, while files from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office show a listing for 'Kennedy, Bobby & Mary' in Epstein’s 'little black book,' which featured contacts for socialites and politicians, as well as the girls he sexually assaulted."

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Ex-Pam Bondi staffer says Trump cutting 'hidden pardon' deal with Ghislaine Maxwell

A former official who worked with Attorney General Pam Bondi in Florida predicted that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche would strike a "hidden pardon" deal with Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

As Blanche was reportedly meeting with Maxwell on Thursday, Bondi's former border czar, Dave Aronberg, called the move "extraordinary."

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'Fired up': Insider reveals GOP's looming 2026 terror

Amid Trump’s falling poll numbers, Republicans are hoping to weaponize Democratic threats of impeachment to bolster their performance in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.

Speaking with NBC News, one senior Republican strategist suggested that dangling the threat of impeachment over the heads of Republican voters “will be the subtext of everything we do, whether it’s said overtly or not,” speaking with the outlet on the condition of anonymity.

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'Trouble buying it': Expert warns Trump close to triggering second schism with MAGA base

President Donald Trump is risking another MAGA schism if his administration offers a pardon to convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, according to a report.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the president's former criminal defense lawyer, was meeting with the Jeffrey Epstein accomplice to discuss the case against the late financier, and some of Trump's media allies are seemingly preparing the MAGA base for the possibility of a pardon, reported The Bulwark's Will Sommer.

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Trump gets warning that White House official is leaking after 'hearsay' exposed to media

President Donald Trump ought to be concerned about leaks coming from senior administration officials about the Jeffrey Epstein case, according to a conservative writer.

Alarmingly specific details about the matter, including full-throated personal disagreements, keep finding their way into media reports about the administration's handling of the case, and The Bulwark's William Kristol warned the president that evidence of a cover-up was creeping into view.

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Trump’s 'train of trashy turmoil' is coming off the tracks: analyst

President Donald Trump is used to having near-total control of both Republican members of Congress and his supporters, but like a “drunk trying to do jumping jacks,” his latest efforts to deflect from scrutiny over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein are “no longer working,” writes Salon White House columnist Brian Karem in an op-ed published Thursday.

“He has already tried to deflect this by going after (former President Barack) Obama, accusing him of treason, but Trump’s distractions aren’t working this time,” Karem wrote. “For the first time, maybe in his life, Trump can’t convince his crowd that man didn’t land on the moon.”

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Todd Blanche risks 'being played' after Ghislaine Maxwell experts fired at DOJ: analyst

President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer is meeting with Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, outside of her federal prison on Thursday — and one legal analyst is warning he could get played.

Speaking to MSNBC as now-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche was in a Florida federal courthouse, Lisa Rubin said that Blanche is far from an expert on the case.

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Trump's ex-aide bewildered by extent of Epstein PR 'botch'

President Donald Trump's former communications director said on Thursday that she can't fathom how he "botched" the public relations around his latest scandal.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Attorney General Pam Bondi told Trump in May that he was included in the documents around the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Meanwhile, ABC News released a video of an Epstein deposition in which he confirms he "socialized" with Trump.

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