Darkoshi

Posted by Matt Kiser

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/09/04/day-1688/

Today in one sentence: Senators from both parties confronted Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his firing CDC Director Susan Monarez, his overhaul of the CDC, and replacing the agency’s vaccine advisory panel with vaccine skeptics; fired CDC director Susan Monarez said she was removed after refusing a directive to “preapprove the recommendations of a vaccine advisory panel newly filled with people who have publicly expressed antivaccine rhetoric”; the Trump administration blocked the release of a government-funded study that linked moderate drinking to higher risks of cancer, liver disease, and early death; the Justice Department opened a mortgage fraud probe into Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, issuing subpoenas tied to properties in Michigan and Georgia after Trump-appointed housing chief Bill Pulte accused her of lying on loan applications; Trump’s nominee to the Federal Reserve said he would take “unpaid leave” from the White House rather than resign if confirmed; Trump asked the Supreme Court to overturn a federal appeals court ruling that his tariffs were illegal and that he had no authority to impose them under emergency powers; a dozen federal judges criticized the Supreme Court for using emergency rulings to overturn lower-court decisions in Trump-related cases; and even Mitch McConnell is concerned that Trump’s second presidency is “the most dangerous period since before World War Two.”

1/ Senators from both parties confronted Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his firing CDC Director Susan Monarez, his overhaul of the CDC, and replacing the agency’s vaccine advisory panel with vaccine skeptics. In a combative Senate Finance Committee hearing, lawmakers pointed to reports of high-risk patients being denied Covid shots under his new limits. “Effectively, we’re denying people vaccine,” Sen. Bill Cassidy said, a Republican who backed Kennedy’s confirmation. Kennedy, however, rejected the criticism as lies, told senators they were “making stuff up,” and called Monarez “untrustworthy,” despite earlier describing her as “unimpeachable.” More than 20 medical and public health groups have urged his resignation, warning his policies put American lives at risk. (New York Times / Washington Post / NPR / Politico / Associated Press / Axios / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNBC)

2/ Fired CDC director Susan Monarez said she was removed after refusing a directive to “preapprove the recommendations of a vaccine advisory panel newly filled with people who have publicly expressed antivaccine rhetoric,” according to her Wall Street Journal op-ed. “Once trusted experts are removed and advisory bodies are stacked, the results are predetermined. That isn’t reform. It is sabotage.” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. denied giving that order and said Monarez was “lying,” adding he fired her because she told him she wasn’t “trustworthy.” Monarez’s firing followed Kennedy’s overhaul of the CDC’s vaccine panel and restrictions on mRNA research that led to mass resignations. Meanwhile, a whistleblower complaint from two former NIH leaders accused the Trump administration of politicizing grants, canceling vaccine studies, and spreading “hostility” toward vaccines inside the agency. (The Hill / Axios / STAT News / New York Times / Axios / NBC News / Politico)

3/ The Trump administration blocked the release of a government-funded study that linked moderate drinking to higher risks of cancer, liver disease, and early death. The three co-authors were told last month the study wouldn’t be published or included in the required reports to Congress. “People are going to get sick who might have avoided getting sick, because they might have decreased their drinking,” one of the study’s authors warned. Instead, the Trump administration is relying on a National Academies report, which downplayed alcohol’s cancer risks and suggested moderate drinking could have benefits. The report includes members with ties to the alcohol industry. Further, the upcoming changes to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are expected to eliminate alcohol limits, reversing decades of federal policy that capped daily consumption. (Vox / STAT News)

4/ The Justice Department opened a mortgage fraud probe into Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, issuing subpoenas tied to properties in Michigan and Georgia after Trump-appointed housing chief Bill Pulte accused her of lying on loan applications. The inquiry is led by Ed Martin, a Trump loyalist running the department’s “weaponization” unit, which is also investigating Trump critics Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James. No charges have been filed against Cook, Schiff, or James. DOJ lawyers, nevertheless, told a judge that Cook’s defense was meaningless, writing that “An opportunity to tell one’s side of the story only matters if one has a side of the story to tell.” Cook, who has sued to block Trump from firing her before her term runs through 2038, called the move “unprecedented and illegal,” while her lawyer said the probe is a “politicized investigation” and insisted “the questions over how Governor Cook described her properties […] are not fraud.” (Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / NBC News / New York Times / Bloomberg / Associated Press)

5/ Trump’s nominee to the Federal Reserve said he would take “unpaid leave” from the White House rather than resign if confirmed, a plan Democrats said would gut the Fed’s independence. Stephen Miran promised to “act independently, as the Federal Reserve always does,” but Senator Jack Reed called the setup “ridiculous.” Senator Elizabeth Warren said he would be Trump’s “puppet” whose “every vote […] will be tainted.” Republicans, meanwhile, showed no opposition, signaling a likely party-line confirmation. (Bloomberg / New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post / CNBC / Axios / Associated Press / NPR)

6/ Trump asked the Supreme Court to overturn a federal appeals court ruling that his tariffs were illegal and that he had no authority to impose them under emergency powers. Solicitor General D. John Sauer demanded a decision by Sept. 10, warning that “The stakes in this case could not be higher.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that the ruling “is already adversely affecting ongoing negotiations” and warned that undoing $750 billion–$1 trillion in tariffs could cause “catastrophic” consequences. Trump, meanwhile, claimed that without tariffs the U.S. faced “devastation” and an “economic catastrophe,” despite the small businesses that sued said the tariffs “are inflicting serious harm on small businesses and jeopardizing their survival.” (Washington Post / Associated Press / Reuters / CNN / Axios / Wall Street Journal)

7/ A dozen federal judges criticized the Supreme Court for using emergency rulings to overturn lower-court decisions in Trump-related cases. Ten of the 12 judges said the court needs to better explain those rulings, arguing that they appear to validate attacks on judges, with one saying, “It is inexcusable […] They don’t have our backs.” Since January, the Supreme Court has granted the Trump administration’s emergency requests in 17 of 23 cases, often with little reasoning. (NBC News / The Hill / Axios)

8/ Even Mitch McConnell is concerned that Trump’s second presidency is “the most dangerous period since before World War Two.” McConnell compared Trump’s tariffs to the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Act and warned that isolationist policies echo the “America First” movement of the 1930s. He said the U.S. is “not prepared like we should be” to face Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and their proxies. And on Ukraine, McConnell warned that “what we need to do is avoid the headline at the end of the war, ‘Russia wins, America loses.’” (The Guardian / The Hill)

⏭️ Notably Next: Trump’s D.C. police takeover authority ends Sept. 9; Congress has 26 days to pass a funding measure to prevent a government shutdown; and the 2026 midterms are in 425 days.

✏️ Notables.

1. Trump asked the Supreme Court to let him fire FTC commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, after lower courts reinstated and ruled her termination illegal. (CNBC)

2. FBI agents seized computers, phones, and documents from John Bolton’s home and office, including folders labeled “Trump I-IV” and “statements and reflections to allied strikes,” court papers showed. Prosecutors said they are pursuing possible violations of the Espionage Act and stressed, “Law enforcement is actively reviewing evidence and interviewing witnesses.” (Washington Post)

3. A federal judge ruled that Trump’s “pocket rescission” attempt to cancel $11.5 billion in foreign aid without Congress was illegal, writing: “There is not a plausible interpretation of the statutes that would justify the billions of dollars they plan to withhold.” (Politico)

4. Northwestern president Michael Schill resigned after the Trump administration froze $790 million in research funding, forcing the school to cut more than 400 jobs. The White House said it “looks forward to working with the new leadership, and we hope they seize this opportunity to make Northwestern great again.” (Bloomberg / New York Times)

5. Washington, D.C. sued to stop Trump’s National Guard deployment, arguing the 2,000+ troops, including out-of-state units, amount to unlawful domestic policing under the Posse Comitatus Act and violate the Home Rule Act, citing a recent ruling that found a similar Los Angeles deployment illegal. (Associated Press / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)

6. The Pentagon approved the Naval Station Great Lakes as a staging hub for ICE operations in Chicago, which will serve as a “primary processing location” seven days a week for about 45 days. (Washington Post / NBC News)

7. Trump’s Los Angeles military deployment cost nearly $120 million. Gov. Gavin Newsom called the operation “political theater” that sent “millions of taxpayer dollars down the drain,” citing $71 million for food and shelter and $37 million for payroll as the Pentagon’s initial 60-day, $134 million estimate stretched to 89 days. (Los Angeles Times / New York Times)

• Today last year: Day 1324: "It doesn’t have to be this way."
• Five years ago today: Day 1324: "Losers."
• Six years ago today: Day 958: "I don't know."
• Seven years ago today: Day 593: We're in Crazytown.

Support today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member

Subscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/09/04/day-1688/

Posted by Matt Kiser

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/09/03/day-1687/

Today in one sentence: More than 1,000 current and former HHS employees called on Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign, warning he “continues to endanger the nation’s health” and is “compromising the health of this nation”; Florida plans to become the first state to end all childhood vaccine mandates, including for children attending public school; California, Washington, and Oregon formed the West Coast Health Alliance to set their own vaccine guidance, saying the CDC could no longer be trusted under the Trump administration; Trump called the effort to release the Jeffrey Epstein files a “Democrat hoax that never ends” as nearly a dozen women stood at the Capitol detailing how Epstein abused them as teenagers; federal judge ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze about $2.2 billion in Harvard research grants; House Republicans voted to form a new subcommittee to re-investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol; and Newsmax sued Fox News.

1/ More than 1,000 current and former HHS employees called on Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign, warning he “continues to endanger the nation’s health” and is “compromising the health of this nation.” In a letter to him and Congress, the signatories cited Kennedy’s firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez, the resignations of four senior CDC leaders, and appointments they called “political ideologues who pose as scientific experts.” They urged Trump and Congress to replace him, saying the nation’s health policy must be “informed by independent and unbiased peer-reviewed science.” HHS, meanwhile, responded that “the CDC has been broken for a long time” and that restoring trust will take “sustained reform and more personnel changes,” adding that Kennedy and his team have “accomplished more than any health secretary in history […] to Make America Healthy Again.” (ABC News / CNN / Axios / USA Today / The Hill)

2/ Florida plans to become the first state to end all childhood vaccine mandates, including for children attending public school. Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, a longtime vaccine skeptic, said children would no longer need shots for measles, mumps, chickenpox, polio, and hepatitis, calling mandates “wrong and drips with disdain and slavery” and asking, “Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body?” Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would work with lawmakers to repeal mandates in state law. Vaccination rates in Florida, meanwhile, have already fallen to 89% among kindergartners, below the 95% needed to block measles outbreaks, with exemptions rising to 5%. CDC data shows routine vaccines have prevented 508 million illnesses, 32 million hospitalizations, and 1.13 million child deaths since 1994. “It’s a very troubling development,” Columbia University professor James Colgrove said. “It’s probably going to be catastrophic. Anyone who knows anything about public health can see this is a train wreck.” (Washington Post / The Guardian / NPR / CNBC / New York Times / Associated Press / Axios / NBC News / CNN / Wall Street Journal)

3/ California, Washington, and Oregon formed the West Coast Health Alliance to set their own vaccine guidance, saying the CDC could no longer be trusted under the Trump administration. The states said the agency had become “a political tool that increasingly peddles ideology instead of science,” warning its dismantling was “placing lives at risk” and that politicizing vaccine guidance “undermines public trust at precisely the moment we need it most.” Health and Human Services, meanwhile, claimed that the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices “remains the scientific body guiding immunization recommendations” and promised “Gold Standard Science, not the failed politics of the pandemic.” In June, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel and replaced them with several vaccine skeptics, saying a “clean sweep” was needed to restore “public confidence in vaccine science.” (Associated Press / CNN / New York Times / STAT News / Axios / NBC News / Axios)

4/ Trump called the effort to release the Jeffrey Epstein files a “Democrat hoax that never ends” as nearly a dozen women stood at the Capitol detailing how Epstein abused them as teenagers. “We are real human beings. This is real trauma,” Haley Robson said, a registered Republican, inviting Trump to meet her face-to-face. Another survivor, Chauntae Davies, said Epstein’s “biggest brag forever was that he was very good friends with Donald Trump.” The women backed a bipartisan measure from Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna to force the Justice Department to release all records within 30 days. “I only need two [more] of 200 Republicans,” Massie said, noting four have signed so far. Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, opposed the petition as “poorly written” and pointed to the Oversight Committee’s release of 33,000 documents this week that critics said were “97 percent” already public. (ABC News / The 19th / Associated Press / New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / NBC News / NPR / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / The Hill / Politico)

⏭️ Notably Next: Trump’s D.C. police takeover authority ends Sept. 9; Congress has 27 days to pass a funding measure to prevent a government shutdown; and the 2026 midterms are in 426 days.

✏️ Notables.

1. A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze about $2.2 billion in Harvard research grants and vacated all freezes and terminations issued since April. Judge Allison Burroughs said the Trump administration’s actions violated the First Amendment, Title VI, and the APA, writing that officials “used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country’s premier universities.” She added there was “little connection between the research affected by the grant terminations and antisemitism,” and barred similar funding actions in retaliation for protected speech. The White House condemned the ruling and said it would appeal, saying “Harvard does not have a constitutional right to taxpayer dollars.” (NBC News / ABC News / Bloomberg / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)

2. A federal appeals court blocked Trump from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members, ruling there was “no invasion or predatory incursion.” The majority said illegal migration “is not the modern-day equivalent of sending an armed, organized force,” while Judge Andrew Oldham dissented that the decision “contravenes over 200 years of legal precedent.” The Department of Homeland Security, meanwhile, said “unelected judges are undermining the will of the American people.” (CNN / Washington Post / NBC News / NPR / Axios)

3. The Trump administration carried out a strike on a small boat in the southern Caribbean, killing 11 people it called Tren de Aragua “narco-terrorists,” though it gave no legal authority and showed no proof the boat carried drugs. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, nevertheless, said they “knew exactly who was in that boat,” and Secretary of State Marco Rubio added “what will stop them is when we blow them up,” because it “will happen again.” (NPR / CNN / Bloomberg / Washington Post / New York Times)

4. Trump said he may send federal troops to New Orleans, even though city officials reported crime has dropped to near 50-year lows. “We’ll straighten that out in about two weeks,” Trump said, while Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry added that “We will take President @realDonaldTrump’s help from New Orleans to Shreveport!” New Orleans leaders rejected the idea, calling it unnecessary and pointing to “a significant reduction in crime” from existing federal and state cooperation. (NPR / New York Times / Politico / NBC News / Axios / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal)

5. The Pentagon canceled Sen. Mark Warner’s classified visit to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency after Laura Loomer attacked him and the agency’s director online. Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office blocked the trip and asked, “How did a trolling blogger get access that there was a classified meeting going on?” Loomer took credit, claiming without evidence that “Deep State actors” were trying to “sabotage Trump under the Trump admin.” (Washington Post / New York Times)

6. Trump’s advisers privately discussed offering New York City Mayor Eric Adams a federal job to push him out of the mayor’s race. A Department of Housing and Urban Development position was reportedly floated, though Adams’s campaign said “at no time” was he offered one. Adams, who was indicted last year on bribery and campaign finance charges but Trump’s Justice Department ordered the case dropped, is polling in the single digits and removing him could give Andrew Cuomo a clearer path to consolidate support against Zohran Mamdani. (New York Times/ New York Magazine / Politico)

7. Trump’s Justice Department asked two Missouri clerks for access to Dominion voting machines from 2020 – both refused. One clerk said, “I just told him we upgraded our machines,” while the other warned it was “punishable by Federal charges to allow unauthorized access or tampering to election equipment.” The DOJ and White House declined to explain why federal officials were seeking old machines tied to Trump’s false claims of a stolen election. (Washington Post)

8. House Republicans voted to form a new subcommittee to re-investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, giving Rep. Barry Loudermilk subpoena power and a mandate to issue a report by 2026. Loudermilk claimed the prior Democratic panel contained “more politics than there was truth,” while Speaker Mike Johnson vowed to “uncover the full truth.” Rep. Jamie Raskin, meanwhile, called the effort “House Republicans’ ongoing complicity” and pointed to “the constantly growing criminal records” of rioters Trump pardoned. (Washington Post / Politico / The Hill)

9. Newsmax sued Fox News, accusing them of running an “exclusionary scheme” to “maintain its dominance” in “right-leaning pay TV” that resulted “in suppression of competition […] that harms consumers.” The lawsuit cited internal Fox messages where Tucker Carlson warned that “an alternative like Newsmax could be devastating to us,” Fox News president Jay Wallace said the network was on “war footing,” and Rupert Murdoch wrote that Newsmax “should be watched.” (Variety / Associated Press / CNN)

• Today last year: Day 1323: "Whoever heard you get indicted for interfering with a presidential election where you have every right to do it."
• Four years ago today: Day 227: "Almost un-American."
• Five years ago today: Day 1323: "Playing with fire."
• Six years ago today: Day 957: Always good to be prepared.

Support today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member

Subscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/09/03/day-1687/

Posted by Matt Kiser

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/09/02/day-1686/

Today in one sentence: A federal judge ruled that Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles was illegal; Trump will deploy the National Guard to Chicago; after a federal appeals court ruled most of his global tariffs illegal, Trump vowed to ask the Supreme Court “tomorrow” to overturn the decision; Trump canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid using a “pocket rescission”; a federal judge blocked Trump’s effort to secretly fly more than 600 Guatemalan children out of the U.S. over Labor Day weekend; the Trump administration is weighing a plan that would give Palestinians a digital land “token” in exchange for their property so Gaza can be redeveloped into luxury resorts and “AI-powered” cities; the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released 33,295 pages of Justice Department records on Jeffrey Epstein; Trump plans to issue an unconstitutional executive order requiring voter ID for “every single vote” and banning nearly all mail-in ballots; Trump said he would award Rudy Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom; a D.C. grand jury refused to indict two people accused of threatening to kill Trump; and Trump addressed online rumors that he was dead, calling them “fake news.”

1/ A federal judge ruled that Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles was illegal, saying the administration “systematically used armed soldiers” and turned them into “a national police force with the President as its chief.” Judge Charles Breyer found the deployment violated the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the military from carrying out civilian law enforcement. “There were indeed protests in Los Angeles, and some individuals engaged in violence. Yet there was no rebellion, nor was civilian law enforcement unable to respond,” Breyer wrote. He blocked the Trump administration from using troops for arrests, searches, patrols, or crowd control, but delayed enforcement of his order until Sept. 12 to allow an appeal. Gov. Gavin Newsom said: “No president is a king — not even Trump.” (CalMatters / Politico / New York Times / NBC News / CNN / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / NPR)

2/ Trump will deploy the National Guard to Chicago, saying “we’re going in […] We have the right to do it, because I have an obligation to protect this country.” Trump also called Chicago “a hellhole right now,” referring to shootings and murders over the Labor Day weekend as justification for his plan to deploy federal forces despite opposition from Illinois and Chicago officials. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called Trump’s remarks “unhinged,” while Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson said there is no “emergency” in Chicago. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, meanwhile, said “We haven’t taken anything off the table” and confirmed plans to “add more resources” to ICE operations. (Associated Press / Politico / New York Times / ABC News / Washington Post / ABC News / NBC News)

3/ After a federal appeals court ruled most of his global tariffs illegal, Trump vowed to ask the Supreme Court “tomorrow” to overturn the decision. The 7–4 ruling said he exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and affirmed that tariffs are “a core Congressional power,” though it allowed the duties to remain in place until Oct. 14 while the case proceeds. Trump called the ruling “an emergency,” warning it “would be an economic disaster for the United States” and that “our country will be weak, pathetic and not rich […] If you take away tariffs, we could end up being a third-world country.” Trump also claimed that “We’re taking in $17 trillion,” but Treasury data shows tariff revenue this year totaled about $142 billion. (Axios / CNBC / Bloomberg / New York Times / Axios / CBS News / New York Times / CNBC / Axios / Washington Post / Bloomberg / Reuters)

4/ Trump canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid using a “pocket rescission,” notifying Congress and triggering an immediate 45-day hold that runs past the Sept. 30 fiscal year deadline. The White House targeted State Department and USAID accounts, including peacekeeping and the Democracy Fund. The Government Accountability Office, however, has already ruled pocket rescissions illegal, and Senator Susan Collins said it was “a clear violation of the law.” Democrats called it an “absurd, illegal ploy” and warned Republicans not to be “a rubber stamp for this carnage.” (Politico / CNN / The Guardian / New York Times)

5/ A federal judge blocked Trump’s effort to secretly fly more than 600 Guatemalan children out of the U.S. over Labor Day weekend. Judge Sparkle Sooknanan issued a 4 a.m. order after flights were already loaded with minors, and later told government lawyers, “I have the government attempting to remove minor children from the country in the wee hours of the morning on a holiday weekend.” Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign claimed the flights were “repatriations” requested by parents, not deportations, but immigrant advocates disputed that and said many children still had pending legal cases. (Associated Press / Washington Post / NPR / New York Times / NBC News / CBS News / ABC News / Politico)

• More than 1.2 million immigrant workers disappeared from the labor force this year. Trump has claimed his deportation efforts target “dangerous criminals,” but most people detained by ICE have had no criminal convictions, while farmers and contractors reported wasted crops and stalled projects. A labor economist warned the border influx “is essentially stopped,” cutting off a workforce that normally fuels half of U.S. job growth. (CBS News / Associated Press)

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized sending up to 600 military lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges, as immigration courts face a backlog of about 3.5 million cases and more than 100 immigration judges have been fired or resigned in recent months. The(Associated Press)

6/ The Trump administration is weighing a plan that would give Palestinians a digital land “token” in exchange for their property so Gaza can be redeveloped into luxury resorts and “AI-powered” cities. The 38-page proposal calls for the “voluntary” removal of Gaza’s 2 million residents, offering $5,000, rent and food subsidies to those who leave. The plan projects a fourfold return on $100 billion in investment funding and would place Gaza under U.S. control for at least a decade. (Washington Post)

• The Trump family booked up to $5 billion in paper wealth after World Liberty Financial’s crypto token began trading. The family holds just under a quarter of all tokens. (Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / The Hill)

7/ The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released 33,295 pages of Justice Department records on Jeffrey Epstein. Democrats said the “overwhelming majority” was already public and that the new disclosure contain fewer than 1,000 pages of U.S. Customs and Border Protection flight-location records from 2000 to 2014. Republicans, however, said more disclosures were coming and subpoenaed Epstein’s estate for items including a “birthday book” and any “client list.” Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna, meanwhile, filed a discharge petition to force wider releases and called the committee’s approach a “placebo,” with Massie saying people were handed “a nothingburger.” Speaker Mike Johnson pushed back, saying, “I would describe virtually everything Thomas Massie says related to this issue as meaningless.” (Washington Post / The Hill / Politico / Axios / The Hill / NPR / NBC News / Politico)

⏭️ Notably Next: Trump’s D.C. police takeover authority ends Sept. 9; Congress has 28 days to pass a funding measure to prevent a government shutdown; and the 2026 midterms are in 427 days. (Politico / NBC News)

✏️ Notables.

1. Trump plans to issue an unconstitutional executive order requiring voter ID for “every single vote” and banning nearly all mail-in ballots. The Constitution, however, gives the president no authority over elections, which are run by states and can only be changed by Congress. And, a federal judge has already struck down most of Trump’s earlier order on voter registration for exceeding presidential power. Trump, nevertheless, posted: “Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote. NO EXCEPTIONS! […] Also, No Mail-In Voting, Except For Those That Are Very Ill, And The Far Away Military.” (Reuters / The Guardian / Wall Street Journal / New York Times)

2. Trump said he will move U.S. Space Command from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama – reversing Biden’s 2023 decision. He admitted Colorado’s mail-in voting “played a big factor” in the move, calling the system “very corrupt.” Colorado lawmakers warned the relocation “weakens our national security” and vowed to fight it. (Associated Press / Politico / Axios)

3. Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe called a special session to redraw the state’s congressional map – hours after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a new map giving Republicans more seats. Kehoe’s proposal targets Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s district and includes a ballot measure making citizen initiatives harder to pass. (Associated Press)

4. A federal appeals court allowed the Trump administration to terminate $16 billion in Biden-era grants awarded to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (Politico / New York Times / ABC News / Associated Press)

5. The Transportation Department canceled $679 million in funding for 12 offshore wind projects. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy claimed, “Wasteful wind projects are using resources that could otherwise go toward revitalizing America’s maritime industry.” The administration also withdrew a $716 million loan guarantee for transmission upgrades in New Jersey and halted construction of the nearly finished $4 billion Revolution Wind project off Rhode Island and Connecticut, citing unspecified “national security concerns.” (New York Times / PBS News)

6. Trump said he would award Rudy Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom, calling him “the greatest Mayor in the history of New York City, and an equally great American Patriot.” The decision came two days after Giuliani was hospitalized from a car crash despite his disbarment, criminal charges in Georgia and Arizona, and a $148 million defamation judgment he later settled. Giuliani’s spokesperson said: “There is no American more deserving of this honor.” (USA Today / CNN / New York Times / Associated Press)

7. A D.C. grand jury refused to indict two people accused of threatening to kill Trump. It was U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s fourth failed attempt to secure an indictment, and local grand juries have repeatedly rejected her cases in recent weeks, including one over a thrown sandwich. (NBC News / Associated Press)

8. Trump addressed online rumors that he was dead, calling them “fake news.” Following several days without public appearances and photos showing bruises on his hand, Trump said he was “very active” over the weekend and that he “NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE.” (Axios / NBC News)

• ✨ Well, that’s fantastic. Jerry Nadler will step down from Congress after 34 years, citing “generational change” and conceding that a younger Democrat “can maybe do better.” Nadler, 78, said Israel was committing “war crimes and mass murder without question” in Gaza and vowed to block offensive U.S. weapons sales. On Trump, Nadler said: “This is the most severe threat we’ve had to our system of government since the Civil War.” (New York Times)

• Five years ago today: Day 1322: "Why would he do this?"

Support today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member

Subscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/09/02/day-1686/