issued a formal order terminating it<\/a>.<\/p>\nArticle continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Trump said Thursday he was signing two executive actions on immigration: one limiting the number of people eligible for U.S. citizenship after being born in the United States and the other focused on stopping people from coming to the U.S. to give birth. It\u2019s a sign that even after Trump\u2019s first attempt at limiting birthright citizenship was rejected by the Supreme Court, he\u2019s ready to try again.<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019m very good at grass.\u2019 Why Trump goes into the weeds on one of his favorite topics<\/p>\n
President Trump will tell you: The grass is always greener on his side of the fence.<\/p>\n
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And tell you. And tell you.<\/p>\n
Trump has spoken repeatedly of his prowess with green lawns since returning to the White House \u2014 at some events even spending more time talking about it than the war in Iran, the economy or November\u2019s midterm elections.<\/p>\n
It was on the president\u2019s mind just five weeks after his second inauguration, when he pointed out the Oval Office window during an interview with The Spectator. \u201cYou see the grass outside, right?\u201d he asked before detailing his plans to pave over much of it. \u201cSome people would like to leave it. But the problem is, you can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Trump has kept on the topic constantly ever since. All told, he\u2019s mentioned grass in at least 45 public events or interviews over the past 18 months \u2014 or at least once every 12 days. That doesn\u2019t include the numerous social media posts he\u2019s also made on the topic.<\/p>\n
Trump bounces between confidence and pragmatism on midterms<\/p>\n
The president maintained that Republicans can hold onto control of Capitol Hill and he told Punchbowl News he\u2019s \u201cworking hard\u201d to make it happen.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m going to fight,\u201d he said, noting this week\u2019s trip to western states and the upcoming GOP midterm convention that was his idea.<\/p>\n
Still, Trump noted the historical trends that go against Republicans. \u201cEven good presidents, they tend to lose in the midterms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He even called House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries a \u201cnice guy\u201d and recalled a \u201cgood meeting\u201d with him, even though he and the would-be speaker have been \u201charsh\u201d with one another publicly.<\/p>\n
Trump also pushed back against the idea that his presidency would effectively end if Democrats win a majority in the House, Senate or both.<\/p>\n
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\u201cTo some degree,\u201d he said. But he nodded to the presidential veto. \u201cI have great blocking power,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m a great blocker.\u201d<\/p>\n
A deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz may require a compromise from Trump<\/p>\n
Any concession would be tough for the Republican president, who\u2019s insisted there\u2019s no truth to his sagging poll numbers, the sluggish economy and the U.S. military\u2019s dwindling stockpiles of key weapons following the Iran war he launched with Israel more than five months ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe divides the world into winners and losers, and this would make him a loser,\u201d said Eliot Cohen, who served as counselor of the State Department in the George W. Bush administration. \u201cAnd the image of being a loser, I think, would be intolerable for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The sticking point has been over control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world\u2019s oil normally flows. While both sides say a deal is close, the Trump administration has ruled out any arrangement that would cement Iran\u2019s grip over the waterway, including Tehran charging fees.<\/p>\n
But Iran has insisted on some measure of control, saying the strait will not go back to being an open international waterway as it was before the war.<\/p>\n
Trump backs Johnson as House leader but is less enthusiastic about Sen. Thune<\/p>\n
The president praised House Speaker Mike Johnson, a stalwart Trump loyalist, and said he should be the Republican leader even if the GOP loses its narrow majority.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHe\u2019s great. We work together great,\u201d Trump told Punchbowl News. Sometimes, the president mused, \u201cwe\u2019re one heart attack away from losing the House in Congress,\u201d yet Johnson has still delivered major pieces of Trump\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s even a thought of anybody challenging him,\u201d Trump insisted.<\/p>\n
Trump wasn\u2019t so effusive about Senate Majority Leader John Thune.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to get into that. It\u2019s early,\u201d Trump said when asked whether he\u2019d support Thune\u2019s reelection as leader.<\/p>\n
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Trump said he gets along with the South Dakota senator but lamented the leader\u2019s opposition to scrapping the filibuster and the Senate\u2019s inability to pass the president\u2019s proposals to expand federal power over elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a shame he doesn\u2019t have the votes,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
Trump says Republican voters are frustrated with Congress \u2014 but not him<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s job approval rating of 33%, according to the latest AP-NORC polling, is as low as it has been in his second presidency \u2014 the kind of numbers that hurt a president\u2019s party in midterm elections. But Trump insisted to Punchbowl News that he isn\u2019t the real target of voter frustration, especially among Republicans.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThey\u2019re not angry at me, but they are angry at Republicans\u201d on Capitol Hill, he said.<\/p>\n
He cited voter turnout in presidential elections, alluding to analyses that show he\u2019s attracted sporadic voters and flipped some historically Democratic-leaning voters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe question is, will they vote? Because a lot of them are very angry at Republicans to be honest with you,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
The president maintained that Republicans can hold their House and Senate majorities this November. But his overall argument was clear: If they don\u2019t, it\u2019s not his fault.<\/p>\n
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US employers unexpectedly cut 23,000 jobs last month amid strain from the Iran war<\/p>\n
And Labor Department revisions shaved 103,000 jobs off payrolls in May and June. But the unemployment rate dipped to 4.1% as Americans left the job market.<\/p>\n
The June jobs numbers from the Labor Department on Friday marked a sharp reversal for the American labor market.<\/p>\n
Hiring had rebounded this year from a lackluster 2025 in the face of the conflict in the Persian Gulf that has sent energy prices surging and put a strain on family budgets. Job growth had been solid, if unspectacular. Some businesses are having trouble filling vacancies. Others are using technology to do the work humans used to do.<\/p>\n
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Trump promises he\u2019ll tap his campaign chest to help Republicans<\/p>\n
The Republican president is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign money but told Punchbowl News in an interview released Friday that he\u2019ll unleash the funds to help GOP candidates ahead of the November midterms.<\/p>\n
Trump says he has as much as $800 million to spend.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI control it,\u201d he emphasized.<\/p>\n
Notably, he did not offer any details about when or where he\u2019ll distribute the campaign cash.<\/p>\n
Many Republicans have been counting on Trump\u2019s super PAC being a key part of the GOP\u2019s defense of their House and Senate majorities. The president\u2019s political funds are a key part of Republicans\u2019 overall financial advantage in the midterm campaign, despite individual Democratic Senate and House candidates outraising their Republican opponents in many key races across the country.<\/p>\n
Trump says he\u2019d leave Blanche as acting AG whatever the Senate decides<\/p>\n
The president told Punchbowl News he\u2019ll leave his acting attorney general at the Justice Department even if his nomination fails.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019ll be very sad,\u201d Trump said, but, \u201cwe\u2019ll all survive. Todd will survive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump called Blanche \u201cfair\u201d and said he\u2019s \u201cnot a radical flamethrower.\u201d But he acknowledged the political realities.<\/p>\n
He singled out Sen. Murkowski as one of his Republican critics but said he has no regrets about his relationship with the Alaska Republican or other GOP senators, including Louisiana\u2019s Bill Cassidy, who could now determine whether Blanche is confirmed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do what you have to do,\u201d Trump said. \u201cJust so you understand, they voted to impeach me. … In all fairness, you think that I\u2019m going to support somebody that voted to impeach me?\u201d<\/p>\n
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Cassidy and Murkowski were among the Republicans who voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges in 2021 after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.<\/p>\n
Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she\u2019ll oppose Todd Blanche\u2019s attorney general nomination<\/p>\n
The Alaska Republican announced on social media that she\u2019ll vote against confirming the acting attorney general for the permanent job.<\/p>\n
Murkowski complimented Blanche personally after private meetings with him but said she\u2019s concerned he cannot lead an independent Justice Department under President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration,\u201d she said. \u201cI hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed, but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murkowski\u2019s decision puts Blanche\u2019s nomination on the brink of failing in a chamber where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority. She joins Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine in opposition, and Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has missed Senate votes since early June because of health problems.<\/p>\n
That leaves Sen. Bill Cassidy as the potentially deciding vote given that all Democrats are expected to vote against Blanche.<\/p>\n
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