Melania gives Congress private deadline as she works around Trump's team: report

First lady Melania Trump gave Congress a private deadline to pass her signature foster care bill, and she is pursuing it largely outside the usual White House channels, according to a new report in Politico. At a bipartisan roundtable with the House Ways and Means Committee in April, the first lady publicly called foster care legislation a "moral imperative." Then, behind closed doors, she set a target, Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) told the outlet: "I want this on Donald's desk by the August recess." The Fostering the Future Act, which expands housing, education and workforce help for young people aging out of foster care, passed the House unanimously.The Senate has not moved it out of committee, and lawmakers are set to leave Washington around Aug. 10. At a White House picnic the day the House passed the bill, both Trumps urged the Senate to hurry. "Hopefully, it will quickly pass in the Senate," the president said. He has not publicly pressed senators since.The deadline reflects a first lady who increasingly operates on her own track. Her office, not the State Department, has led her effort to reunite children displaced by the Russia-Ukraine war, negotiating directly with Moscow and Kyiv, the White House said. She has also shown a willingness to diverge from the administration's message. She broke with the White House on Epstein, calling for survivors to testify as the president's team tried to move past the scandal, and last week put her own spin on a Supreme Court ruling her husband celebrated, voicing support for the LGBTQIA+ community.A recent book recounted how she resisted Trump's overhaul of the White House grounds and lost.

When Teen Chaos Meets a Country Afraid to Say No

Gov. Wes Moore on ‘responsibility’ to show ‘patriotism is not political’

Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.) joins Meet the Press NOW to preview his upcoming address on America’s 250th birthday as President Trump prepares to deliver his own remarks.

Bannon warns the ‘old politics are gone’ amid Democrat socialist surge

Conservative commentator Steve Bannon weighed in on the stunning primary wins by far-left Democrat candidates, declaring that the country is entering a new era in politics. The […]

'You're screaming in front of children!' Right-wing activist all he can handle in Philly

A right-wing influencer got more than he bargained for during a livestream in Philadelphia when a passerby challenged him in a heated, curse-laden exchange.Jack Posobiec was in Philadelphia on Friday outside Independence Hall as the city held its Red, White, & Blue To-Do, a citywide patriotic celebration tied to the July 4 weekend. As Posobiec was in the middle of his stream, a man in a purple shirt can be heard off-camera shouting, "You are the enemy!"Posobiec, a Turning Point USA-aligned influencer and Human Events host known for spreading the debunked "Pizzagate" hoax, has long crusaded against birthright citizenship. The clash came days after the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship in a 6-3 ruling, striking down Trump's executive order, a defeat that drew fury from Trump allies.Posobiec invited the angry gentleman to join him on camera as the man shouted curse words over the right trying to overturn birthright citizenship."Sir, there's no cursing. No cursing," Posobiec insisted. "Can you do no cursing?"The man delivered a blunt response."Probably not."The man informed Posobiec that his mother was English and his father was Irish."Do I get to stay in the country when you guys pass laws that kick out all the Irish and all the Italians and all the people of color?" the man demands to know, pointing a finger.The man added that conservatives have four votes to overturn birthright citizenship, echoing warnings from some analysts that the fight is far from over."Oh I can't wait. It's gonna be great," Posobiec exclaims. "For illegal aliens. You understand it's for illegal aliens, right?"The man fired back, "It's not. You guys are white anglo-saxon protestant white supremacists."The passerby got more agitated, accusing Posobiec of voting for the wrong people when the far-right provocateur insisted he was "Catholic and Polish.""I'm not allowed to vote for who I want to, Sir?" Posobiec retorts. "How is that freedom?""You vote for someone who wants to kick you out of the country," the bewildered man responds.As the man starts shouting obscenities again, Posobiec insists birthright citizenship will be overturned because it's unlawful."We're having a great day, and you're screaming in front of children!" Posobiec complains.Crazy lib tried to scream at the Poso family in Philly Even my kids were dunking on him pic.twitter.com/xMy3L9bdSN— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) July 3, 2026

Wes Moore on democratic socialist gains: Voters want ‘someone who is going to fight for them’

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) on Friday argued the recent rise in democratic socialist candidates stems from an appetite within the Democratic Party for fighters, but not necessarily for direct challengers to President Trump. “I actually don’t think people are looking for someone who can fight against the president,” the Democratic official told The Hill’s Judy…

Unnerved ex-officials uncork stark analogy as Trump spy chief cleans house on 'deep state'

President Donald Trump's controversial new intelligence chief is clearing house, and career officers warn the man swinging the axe doesn't know what he's cutting.Bill Pulte, Trump's loyal acting director of national intelligence, began notifying dozens of intelligence officials of their terminations Thursday, part of a downsizing Trump ordered when he installed Pulte at the office two weeks ago, MS NOW reported Friday. An intelligence official, who spoke anonymously citing fear of reprisal, told the outlet that leadership is targeting workers it believes are "deep state" and accused them of failing to hand up a complete picture of available intelligence.But former officials aren't buying his rationale. Several told MS NOW they had never heard of intelligence officers withholding information from their superiors. "The premise is absurd," one said. Another questioned how Pulte, who ran the federal housing agency and has no intelligence background, could reach such a conclusion within days of arriving.“I have a real question of how he would know this. This isn’t a guy who is familiar with intelligence,” a former official told the outlet. “How is he going to get to the bottom of this and rely on any information with a matter of fidelity? It would be like me taking over a hospital and firing dozens of surgeons in a matter of days.”The cuts follow Pulte's earlier removal of six political appointees who served under his predecessor, Tulsi Gabbard. His arrival has drawn alarm across party lines: he took the post without ever holding a security clearance, and he can stay in the acting role past November's midterms under federal vacancy rules. Critics note his office doesn't collect intelligence of its own, relying instead on the CIA, the NSA and more than a dozen other agencies to supply it.Democrats and some Republicans fear the purge is less about efficiency than about clearing out analysts who might resist Trump's election claims. The ODNI says it is providing "elite, apolitical intelligence that keeps America safe."

Europe Has Replaced Most US Cuts Within NATO, Top Commander Says

European NATO allies have mostly replaced the assets that the US has cut from its rescue plans in case of a war in Europe, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe Sir John Stringer said in an interview.