Though its backers remain optimistic, a bill blocking U.S. support for Israel’s war in Lebanon exposed rifts among Democrats. The post House Dems Coming Around on Iran War — But Won’t Vote to Stop Israel’s Destruction of Lebanon appeared first on The Intercept.
The House Oversight Committee released the transcript of the interview with former Attorney General Pam Bondi regarding her handling of the Epstein files, during which she repeated that she delegated oversight of the review and investigation of the files to Todd Blanche. The committee also released the transcript of a prison guard working the night that Epstein died.
An uncomfortable description of a threatening parasite by a Trump administration official is drawing startled reactions.Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins spoke at an oversight hearing on Thursday about the spread of the New World Screwworm that threatens cattle ranches."It's a vexing challenge that we thought we had beaten in the 1970s," Rollins said. "You need about 400 million sterile flies per week to mate with the bad flies...the larva [of the screwworm] is what actually eats the flesh."Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) called the confirmation of screwworm "alarming." Oklahoma Republican gubernatorial candidate Charles McCall noted that cattlemen across his state are "extremely nervous, and for good reason.""NEW WORLD Screwworm. Totally fine," political commentator Owen Shroyer posted on X. The account FactPost dug up and posted a Fox News clip of Sec. Rollins saying in November that, "We have screwworm under control.""This is what Trump and his cabinet members ALWAYS do," wrote Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI). "Tell you that a problem is going to resolve itself by a certain time and then hope you forget once that turns out not to be true.""Did the screwworms buy a pardon from Trump?" joked writer Grant Stern.We are treating the confirmed case of New World Screwworm in a Texas cattle ranch with the utmost seriousness and are responding aggressively alongside our state partners @TAHC.USDA's proactive actions bought us nearly a year to prepare, as models had projected New World… pic.twitter.com/Ws5ceLc9ew— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) June 4, 2026
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins faced sharp questioning from Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) during a tense House Agriculture Committee hearing.Rollins was repeatedly unable to answer basic questions about the farm economy.Craig documented the administration's record with data: the U.S. lost 15,000 farms in 2025, farmers face $28 billion in losses, and 70% cannot afford necessary fertilizer. Farm diesel prices hit $5.41 per gallon in May —up 95% year-over-year. When Rollins blamed the Biden administration, Craig countered, "Joe Biden is no longer the president. Mr. Trump is. Your party controls Congress. You own these numbers." When discussing fertilizer, Craig asked what share of farmers can't afford it this planting season. Rollins instead broke down fertilizers by categories. "Oh, my God!" Craig cut in, adding, "70% is the answer." Found by the Farm Bureau, which worked with more than 5,700 farmers to obtain the amount. The hearing intensified over SNAP fraud rates when Rollins disputed United States Department of Agriculture, or USDA, data showing 1.6% fraud, prompting Craig to state, "I honestly don't think you understand the difference between error rates and fraud rates." Rollins then accused Craig of grandstanding, but Craig warned the administration must understand family farmers are suffering, not thriving.Watch the video below. Your browser does not support the video tag.
President Donald Trump keeps telling Americans that diplomacy with Iran is going well, a deal is close and "it will all work out well in the end."
President Trump loves the UFC ring on the White House South Lawn so much that he thinks it could stay there permanently.On his official TikTok account Tuesday, Trump posted a video titled “MAYBE WE’LL NEVER TAKE IT DOWN,” comparing the arena to France’s Eiffel Tower, which was originally supposed to be temporary but stayed up. Like the tower, Trump said, the arena is “quite attractive to a lot of people” so “maybe we’ll never ever take it down.”“People don’t know that in Paris, France, the Eiffel Tower, 1889 it was built. It was supposed to be taken down immediately after the world’s fair, and then they said … ‘Leave it up a little bit longer, and then they said, ‘Let’s leave it up longer and longer and longer,’” Trump said.“Well, they never took it down, and you know we’re building something in front of the White House that’s quite attractive to a lot of people. Really, it’s going to have the big UFC fight on June 14, and I’m looking at i,t and maybe we’ll never ever take it down,” the president added.The UFC arena is being built for a June 14 fight scheduled as part of Trump’s Freedom 250 festivities, coinciding with Flag Day and Trump’s 80th birthday. Paid for by the UFC’s parent company, TKO Sports, the $60 million arena dwarfs the surrounding landscape and the White House behind it.Is Trump trying to avoid paying for the arena to be taken down? Taxpayers are already expected to foot the bill for security for the fight, which the White House hasn’t said anything about and will probably be quite high. While the Eiffel Tower was only supposed to stay up for 20 years after its construction in 1889, it remains open to the public and is a major tourist attraction.A UFC arena on the White House grounds would be closed to anyone who isn’t authorized by the president to be there. Trump has already turned part of Pennsylvania Avenue into a (ostensibly temporary) parking lot for America 250 events and bulldozed the White House’s East Wing to make room for an unpopular ballroom. What’s another permanent eyesore on what used to be considered the “People’s House”?
The House Oversight Committee said Thursday it was asking the Justice Department to investigate sexual misconduct allegations made by Jeffrey Epstein’s former assistant, Sarah Kellen, against two of his associates
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) said on Thursday he will not vote to confirm acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as the permanent head of the Department of Justice. The admission is notable, considering Fetterman sometimes votes in favor of Trump nominees during the Senate confirmation process. Last year, he was the sole Democrat to back the […]
The House Oversight Committee released on Thursday the full transcript of former Attorney General Pam Bondi's closed-door testimony last week, showing that Bondi was aiming to move away from the Department of Justice's handling of the release of the Epstein files.The transcript also revealed that she told lawmakers that Todd Blanche, her former deputy attorney general and current Trump nominee for attorney general, was responsible for overseeing the Epstein files, CNN reported.“He was in charge of the process and the entire release of the Epstein files,” Bondi said.Lawmakers asked Bondi why the additional 3 million documents had not been publicly released yet following the first batch of 3 million files. She said the DOJ was not withholding other documents and argued remaining files were "either duplicates or privileged materials, despite bipartisan criticism that Trump’s Justice Department has withheld or overreacted to documents, while accidentally sharing information of Epstein’s victims," according to CNN."To my knowledge, they’ve all been released," Bondi said.She told the congressional leaders that any questions surrounding further documents should be directed to FBI Director Kash Patel.President Donald Trump fired Bondi from her position as attorney general in April. She and the department had faced mounting backlash over the release of the Epstein files and the rollout of the documents, which included names and personal information of survivors.