Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that nothing is "off the table" for cities with high crime rates and that others could see federal law enforcement on their streets — including in Republican-led states.
Why it matters:President Trump's activation of federal law enforcement and the National Guard in Los Angeles and Washington D.C. has been met with backlash and controversy, but his administration has continued to double down on the move, with Chicago the latest city on notice.
It would be "the end of the United States" if President Trump's sweeping global tariffs are ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Sunday.
Why it matters: The administration is putting maximum pressure on the high court — and the court of public opinion — in an attempt to frame the future of Trump's trade regime in existential terms.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s “Make America Healthy Again” movement has thrown the nation's public health leadership into chaos — but it's also playing into a larger and more popular food fight.
The big picture: Americans are asking louder questions about what’s on their plates — and, for many, Kennedy’s call to overhaul the food supply resonates.
Americans across the political spectrum support efforts to increase food regulation, a major priority for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — but there's a partisan split over his views on childhood vaccines.
Why it matters: Polling shows the broad popularity of some of Kennedy's views, even as he deeply divides the country over vaccines — and throws the federal agencies he oversees into chaos.
The MAHA movement has scrambled political alliances by forcing a Republican administration to choose between placating its base — which is intent on cleaning up the food supply — or siding with powerful agriculture interests, some of which helped get President Trump elected.
The tension was apparent this month, when a leaked Make America Healthy Again Commission draft report infuriated some of the MAHA faithful by not calling for new rules governing the use of pesticides.
Why it matters: Many in today's GOP understand the political value of challenging big food and agriculture businesses and not alienating some of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s grassroots base that Republicans need in the midterm elections.
New voices and previously hidden stories have been reinterpreting U.S. history and reshaping museums for the last 20 years, drawing conservative criticism that President Trump is now wielding against the Smithsonian.
Two of President Trump's key economic policies appear headed for the Supreme Court: high global tariffs and his unprecedented firing of a Federal Reserve board member.
Why it matters: These cases could not only have an enormous impact on the U.S. economy, but they could also reverberate throughout the global financial system.
Senior White House officials believe some European leaders are publicly supporting President Trump's effort to end the war in Ukraine, while quietly trying to undo behind-the-scenes progress since the Alaska summit, Axios has learned.
The White House has asked the Treasury Department to compile a list of sanctions that could plausibly be imposed by Europe against Russia.
Why it matters: Two weeks after the summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, there has been little clear progress toward ending the war. Frustrated Trump aides contend the blame should fall on European allies, not on Trump or even Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As Democrats nationwide blast President Trump's National Guard-backed policing crackdown in Washington, D.C., one Democratic governor who called in the National Guard is seeing violent crime decline in her state's largest city.
Why it matters: New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's move in April helped cut homicides in Albuquerque by 24% in the first half of the year — but she rejects comparisons to what Trump is doing in D.C.
Retailers are ramping up promotions for the Labor Day weekend, warning shoppers — some subtly, others bluntly — to "buy now before prices rise."
Why it matters: Global tariff rates are in flux after a court declared much of Trump's trade agenda to be illegal. Still, retailers' pre-tariff inventory is nearly depleted — and what hits shelves next will have already been subject to higher tariffs rates that companies are passing on to consumers.
Centuries' worth of experience walked out of key government agencies this summer, including high-level departures from the CDC, Pentagon and intelligence community just in the past week.
Why it matters: President Trump and his allies believe the "Deep State," scientific establishment and federal bureaucracy were overdue for a purge. They're ushering in a government in which the officials maintaining nuclear weapons, monitoring medical trials or guarding state secrets have shorter resumes and smaller staffs — likely for many years to come.
Republicans most favor Democrats' least favored government agency: ICE. It's only one example of a widening partisan gap in how Americans view key government agencies, a new Pew Research poll found.
Why it matters: Beyond majority approval of the National Park Service and Veterans Affairs, Democrats and Republicans diverge sharply in their views of agencies tied to immigration, law enforcement, and public health.
