All posts tagged "white house"

Trump's 'pathetic' insecurity exposed as White House spins humiliating losses: analysts

President Donald Trump has been losing on multiple fronts and these losses have now taken a "humiliating turn," The New Republic reported in its podcast on Monday.

In a conversation between Zeteo reporter Asawin Suebsaeng and Greg Sargent, staff writer at The New Republic and the host of the podcast The Daily Blast, the two analysts described a number of Trump's failures, including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, the Supreme Court striking down his tariff policy and birthright citizenship case, the Justice Department ending its case against his perceived foe Fed Chair Jerome Powell and his redistricting battle going south.

"I never would downplay the severity of the damage that he and his gang are causing and are likely to continue causing, on historic levels, between now and whenever they’re out of office. I’m not downplaying that at all," Suebsaeng said. "Having said that, they are losing more—and in some cases a lot more—than they and their cult would ever publicly admit, or especially President Donald Trump would ever be willing to admit. Otherwise his ego would cave in on itself."

"At the same time, there is a pathetic weakness and massive gaping hole of insecurity that undergirds all of this MAGA authoritarianism," Suebsaeng added.

The White House has tried to spin these losses, including U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's announcement that the Justice Department dropped the investigation of Powell. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has attempted to brush off the move and claimed it was still an ongoing investigation, but "under a different authority."

"Swin, note how Leavitt has to pretend that Trump cares about the details of the renovation and that he’s just got the best interests of the taxpayer at heart," Sargent said. "I don’t know which is worse here—the absurdity of that, the insulting absurdity of it, or the need to reassure the audience of one that he’s winning. They’re both bad."

'Only a matter of time': Politico pinpoints Trump official likely on the chopping block

FBI Director Kash Patel is likely next on the White House chopping block, according to reports coming out of Washington, D.C.

“It’s only a matter of time,” an anonymous official told Politico's Dasha Burns.

Patel's drinking has become a focal point recently, accusations he denies, but Burns wrote on X that "there are several reasons" why Trump wants Patel out of his cabinet.

"Top among them is the number of negative stories centered on Patel," according to Burns. The anonymous official told her that it's “not a good look for a Cabinet secretary,” and Trump is tired of the distraction he's causing.

Patel has been dogged by controversy since taking over the FBI in February 2025.

The Atlantic reported he alarmed colleagues with excessive drinking and unexplained absences — including a "freak-out" in which he mistook a routine IT error for a firing. He sued The Atlantic for $250 million over the story, then watched a separate defamation lawsuit get thrown out this week.

He has also faced scrutiny for reportedly using FBI jets to visit his girlfriend, assigning her a SWAT security detail, and ordering polygraph tests on bureau officials to find out who had said negative things about him. The Intercept reported this week he previously admitted to two alcohol-related arrests.

Admin broke law to hand over millions in taxpayer funds for new construction project: NYT

President Donald Trump's administration handed millions in taxpayer funds to a company already working on a White House refurbishment, a report has shown.

Trump chose the Maryland-based Clark Construction to build his $400 million ballroom, but an investigation from the New York Times exposed a separate deal with the firm to work on another job. The National Park Service's request to repair two ornamental fountains in Lafayette Park would have cost the admin $3.3 million, according to estimates drafted by the Biden administration in 2022.

Trump has since issued Clark Construction with an $11.9 million contract, which has since increased to $17.4 million. David A. Fahrenthold, Luke Broadwater, and Andrea Fuller noted that the agency issued the contract without accepting bids from other companies.

This decision was backed by an "urgency" exception primarily used in times of war or in the aftermath of natural disasters. The NYT trio wrote, "By law, federal agencies are generally supposed to seek competing bids to find the vendor that provides the best deal.

"Unlike the ballroom project, which Mr. Trump says will be funded by private donations, the bill for the fountain repairs is being paid by the government. This contract has not been previously reported.

"The Trump administration did not post it in public databases of federal spending, although agencies are typically supposed to report new contracts within three business days. Contracting experts said those documents revealed that the government had repeatedly used unusual procedures to bypass competition for the project and increase the price it expected to pay.

"The Park Service, for instance, added more than $1 million to the contract’s cost estimate by accounting for inflation. Twice."

Stephen J. Kirk, an independent consultant who ran an estimate of the fountain repairs in 2022, has questioned how the Trump admin came to issue a $17.4 million contract.

"They just took the cover page of my estimate and just added a bunch of money to it. I didn't add those extra millions on there."

“As fountains go, it’s not a complicated fountain,” said Dominic Shaw, whose Texas-based company, Waterline Studios, helped refurbish the Lafayette Park fountains in 2007.

Shaw added that these particular fountains would be "bottom" of the list in terms of "complexity" when it came to renovations or repairs.

Alarm bells as Trump memo gives White House license to destroy tens of millions of emails

Fresh guidance delivered to White House staffers could make destroying government documents that much easier for President Donald Trump's administration, a report has claimed.

An email from the Executive Office of the President issued new guidance on how staffers would save and log internal information and government documents.

The new records preservation policy is a "significant departure from historical practice," according to White House Counsel David Alan Warrington, who wrote to staffers to inform them of the change.

Trump's administration has been challenged in court by the Office of Legal Counsel for its preservation of documents. The law states that presidents and their staff preserve records related to government activity and that those records be turned over to the National Archives at the end of each administration.

The latest directive found in the memo did not make clear whether the documents would be turned over at the end of Trump's admin, and did not note the specifics of how Trump or Vice President JD Vance would preserve records.

Jason R. Baron, a University of Maryland professor who focuses on the intersection of archives and the law, warned that the latest internal memo is a license to make recordkeeping discretionary rather than mandatory.

Baron told The Washington Post that the memo provides nothing that "prevents the White House from directing the transfer or destruction of White House records, including tens of millions of e-mails, either before or after the end of the president’s second term in office."

The Washington Post reporter Maegan Vazquez added, "Baron pointed to a section of the memo that says EOP components are 'free to retain' previous record-preservation policies, noting that this also means they are free not to. 'While paying lip service to the need to preserve White House records, the memo actually gives EOP staff license to do the exact opposite,' he said.

"The new guidance says such texts must be preserved only 'when they are the sole record of official decision-making, government action, or contain unique information not available elsewhere.'

"Staffers are 'encouraged' to memorialize the information in those exchanges 'in a more accessible format, such as an email or memorandum,' it adds, rather than directly taking a screenshot or otherwise sharing the relevant exchange in its entirety."

'Feel a little shame:' Ex-Trump aide scolds journalists attending 'humiliation ritual'

A former Trump official had harsh words for anyone planning to attend the upcoming White House Correspondents' Dinner.

"If you're going to partake in the humiliation ritual that Donald Trump is going to thrust upon you, feel a little bit of shame for going," Sarah Matthews, the former White House deputy press secretary from 2020 to 2021, said on the Bulwark Podcast on Thursday. "You cannot pay me enough to attend that dinner."

The annual White House Correspondents' Dinner will take place on Saturday. Trump is expected to go on a scripted tirade and attack members of the media, according to the Daily Beast.

Matthews said in the podcast that she's been "on the anti-Trump side" for the past five years. She resigned on Jan. 6, 2021, in light of the Capitol riot.

"I was never fully bought in on the MAGA brand," she said. "I'm happy to be on this side of things now...feels good to know we were right."

'Start the clock': Dem senator predicts Kash Patel ouster after bombshell drinking report

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel could be next to be ousted from his Donald Trump Cabinet post, according to a Democratic Party lawmaker.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) took to Bluesky and suggested an exclusive from The Atlantic would be enough to see Patel removed from his post. He wrote, "Stooge Patel getting sloshed at the 'Poodle Room' in Vegas? You simply cannot make this up!! Too good. Start the clock."

Former Trump administration staffer Olivia Troye, who is running for a Democratic Party House seat nomination in Virginia, added, "Remember when I warned this would happen if Kash Patel became FBI Director? I said he was unfit. He threatened to sue me. Now he is the Director—and it’s happening."

Patel has exhibited erratic behavior, including unexplained absences and what witnesses described as "bouts of excessive drinking" that have alarmed FBI staff, according to Sarah Fitzpatrick's investigation in The Atlantic.

Most alarming was Patel's "freak-out" when temporarily locked out of the FBI computer system due to an IT error. "He panicked, frantically calling aides and allies to announce that he had been fired by the White House, according to nine people familiar with his outreach," a source said.

The ensuing chaos forced the White House to field emergency calls from Congress and FBI leadership asking who was now in charge of the nation's premier law enforcement agency.

"Patel, according to multiple current officials, as well as former officials who have stayed close to him, is deeply concerned that his job is in jeopardy," wrote Fitzpatrick. "He has good reasons to think so — including some having to do with what witnesses described to me as bouts of excessive drinking."

The White House has reportedly already begun talks about who could replace Patel if he is let go.

"Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information and private conversations, they described Patel’s tenure as a management failure and his personal behavior as a national-security vulnerability," said the report.

White House yanks nomination for Kristi Noem's old deputy: report

Troy Edgar will rejoin the Department of Homeland Security in the same role as deputy secretary under new DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin after the White House withdrew his nomination for ambassador of El Salvador on Monday, Politico reported.

Edgar was the agency's number two under now ousted former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and was expected to work in a new role, but that has reportedly shifted, according to two administration officials and two others who are close to the administration and commented to Politico about the change under conditions of anonymity.

In December, Edgar seemingly departed from the department after President Donald Trump announced his nomination as ambassador to El Salvador. He had a hearing in March, but now things have changed.

No official statement has been made inside the department about Edgar's return to his former position, but he returned to DHS headquarters once Trump removed Noem from her role, an administration official said.

"And on internal documents — as well as the public DHS leadership page — Edgar is listed again in the deputy secretary position in recent days, the administration official said. The DHS website was updated last week," according to Politico.

Last month, The National Review reported that Edgar was Mullin's top pick to help lead the agency.

"The Admin is withdrawing Troy’s nomination and the withdrawal is expected to be transmitted to the Senate today," a Trump administration official told Politico. "Troy never resigned from his DHS position so he was able to return."

'It's just not safe': Trump admin funding cut marked by experts as a 'threat'

A White House budget proposal for 2027 has infuriated experts who believe Donald Trump's administration would make air travel dangerous.

Cuts to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) were flagged by the document, which if passed could see the agency's funding cut drastically. Experts speaking to The Hill warned there could be a dangerous privatization effort at play from the Trump admin, which may be seeking an alternative to the TSA.

The White House requested a TSA budget of $11.7 billion for Fiscal Year 2027, including 53,199 positions and 50,398 full-time equivalents (FTEs). This marks a reduction of 8,385 positions and 9.439 FTEs from 2026.

Further cuts were proposed by the new budget, including 2,462 Transportation Security Officer (TSO) positions and 4,351 TSO FTEs. The congressional justification document reads, "Despite these reductions, TSA will maintain all priority mission-critical positions to ensure operational effectiveness and mission continuity."

Despite the documents assuring further use of the TSA, experts believe the changes made to the organization and how many staff members it keeps on will undeniably push the department towards privatization.

Johnny Jones, AFGE (American Federation of Government Employees) TSA Council 100 secretary treasurer and AFGE Local 1040 president, said, "I would not personally want to fly if I knew the whole entire system was privatized because it’s just not safe for the American people."

"Because that’s all privatization is — bottom line is profit. P is for profit, not for people,” he continued. “It’s very important that people understand what privatization is. It has nothing to do with your security or your safety. It has everything to do with somebody making a profit."

An AFGE spokesperson went on to suggest this had been a cut the union had been expecting. They said, "This is something we have expected, it is part of Project 2025. We take this threat very seriously and will be in the fight to ensure it doesn’t happen."

President George W. Bush signed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act on November 19, 2001. The TSA officially began operations on February 17, 2002, taking over airport security screening from private contractors to enhance aviation safety nationwide.

Trump exposed in latest White House East Wing court filing: analysis

Donald Trump may have partly written the most recent White House East Wing court filing with his legal team, an analyst has claimed.

Trump has faced a series of legal challenges against his White House renovations, particularly a $400 million ballroom project and the refurbishing of the Eisenhower Building's exterior. A legal team working for Trump asked an appeals court yesterday (April 3) for an emergency ruling, which, if granted, would allow construction on the East Wing to continue.

The documents making the argument to the appeals court appear to have been partly written by the president himself, according to CBS News' Arden Farhi.

He wrote, "The opening pages of the court filing are loaded with exclamation points ('Time is of the essence!'), parenthetical asides, misplaced capital letters ('Almost 400 Million Dollars of private donations'), and multiple adjectives for emphasis ('shocking, unprecedented, and improper injunction') – all rhetorical flourishes of the president's online posts.

"One sentence runs 130 words and covers more than half a page. 'Private donors and American Patriots singlehandedly funded the 300 to 400 Million Dollar project (depending on finishes), which is on budget and ahead of schedule.

"'No taxpayer dollars are being used for the funding of this beautiful, desperately needed, and completely secure (for national security purposes) ballroom,' the filing reads."

It has not been confirmed whether Trump wrote any part of the recent legal filing. The administration has put in new fiscal requests for this year, which include hundreds of millions of dollars for the project.

The administration’s fiscal 2026 proposal includes more than $377 million “for repairs and renovations to the executive residence,” with another $174 million projected for 2027, according to budget documents reported by Politico.

An Office of Management and Budget spokesperson told Politico that the totals include not only work on the residence itself, but also security-related costs, adding the funding is for “a number of renovations, not just the executive residence.” The budget does not specify which projects the money would fund, Politico noted Friday.

Trump Jr. eyes White House ballroom for wedding – but plan hits major snag: insider

Donald Trump Jr. is eyeing up the unfinished White House ballroom for his wedding, but may have to change his plans, an insider has claimed.

An unnamed source suggested Donald Trump's son would like to host his wedding to fiancée Bettina Anderson at the unfinished White House ballroom. The source told People the White House ballroom is "a consideration" for Trump Jr., and not just because of the wedding.

The source said, "This would set them up for future political roles, whether Don Jr. goes after the presidency or something else." Whether the venue is a possibility for Trump Jr. and Anderson remains to be seen. The insider added, "The ballroom probably has to be finished."

Trump has faced several legal troubles over the White House ballroom construction, with his administration proposing further funding for the build.

That represents “a mammoth 866 percent increase over the $39 million estimated to have been spent in fiscal 2025 on sprucing up the area of the White House where the president lives.”

The MAGA leader's proposal also seeks to classify $350 million of the spending as mandatory, a designation reserved for programs Congress is required to fund, such as Social Security and Medicaid.

Trump has made upgrading the White House complex a priority in his second term. Earlier this week, Trump posted about his current and future building plans for the White House and other government buildings.

"The National Trust for Historic Preservation sues me for a Ballroom that is under budget, ahead of schedule, being built at no cost to the Taxpayer, and will be the finest Building of its kind anywhere in the World," the president complained in a Truth Social post on Tuesday. "I then get sued by them over the renovation of the dilapidated and structurally unsound former Kennedy Center, now, The Trump Kennedy Center... where all I am doing is fixing, cleaning, running, and 'sprucing up' a terribly maintained, for many years, Building, but a Building of potentially great importance."