A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed the White House to continue construction on a $400 million ballroom project as lawsuits play out. The decision replaces a temporary order from Chief Justice John Roberts previously issued hours before a lower-court decision halting the work would have gone into effect. The lawsuit will return to lower courts, but documents say that key portions of the project could be complete within months — a quick timeline
compared with a typical legal case.
Venezuelans are expressing outrage and the oil industry is waiting for details on President Donald Trump’s announcement that Venezuela ’s acting president has agreed to give an unnamed U.S. company control of vast amounts of the South American country’s untapped oil reserves, at cost. Trump called it “THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!” but critics say U.S. consumers won’t benefit for many years.
Global crude prices are rising again after renewed warfare between the United States and Iran, the first significant military action in a month. The global energy supply shock has for the first time kept average prices Americans pay at the pump above $4 throughout August, according to the AAA.
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The president acknowledged “it could be a little bit” before his new oil deal in Venezuela has any impact on gas prices. He previously said Americans would face lower prices as a result of the deal, which comes as the Iran war pinches oil prices.
“Ultimately, prices are going to come down,” he told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “Now, will it happen before the election? I can’t tell you that.”
Asked about analysts who say it could take years to see any impact, Trump said that “it’ll go fast.”
“If it was two years, you know, that’s a short period of time,” he said.
A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed the White House to continue construction on a $400 million ballroom project as lawsuits play out.
The decision replaces a temporary order from Chief Justice John Roberts previously issued hours before a lower-court decision halting the work would have gone into effect.
The lawsuit will return to lower courts, but documents say that key portions of the project could be complete within months — a quick timeline compared with a typical legal case.
The Trump administration asked the justices to intervene after federal courts found the project must halt because it didn’t have congressional approval.
The lawsuit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation argued that President Donald Trump has no unilateral authority to undertake the work, which has included demolishing the East Wing. The group’s lawyers accused the White House of trying to “outrun the courts” by accelerating construction.
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Asked about reports Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may be mulling a 2028 presidential run, Trump responded that Hegseth was “talking about it, and I think he’s a very good guy.”
“But I’ll bet there’s a lot of people considering it that you don’t know,” Trump told reporters.
He added of Hegseth, “He’s done a great job. And right now, all he loves is — and all he cares about is — the military, and taking care of the military.”
Hegseth responded to suggestions that he was mulling a run for the White House by posting on X, “100% false.”
The president during his exchange with reporters sidestepped whether a U.S. strike on Iran’s Larak Island on Sunday was a limited military action or could be a prelude to return to open conflict with Tehran.
Trump again asserted that the U.S. and Israeli bombardment has left Iran a “a failed nation.” He said much of it’s political leadership has been killed, Iran’s economy is staggered by surging inflation, and it’s military devastated.
Still, Trump said more strikes might be necessary.
“That doesn’t mean we won’t smack them,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll see what happens.”
Trump suggested he’s not necessarily opposed to Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh raising interest rates because of inflationary pressures, but he said that he thinks interest rates are “too high.”
The president picked Warsh to lead the Fed after blasting his predecessor as chair, Jerome Powell, for not aggressively slashing its benchmark rates.
Powell held off on large rate cuts due to the inflationary pressures created by Trump’s tariffs — and those pressures have continued as the Iran war has increased energy prices.
But, for the moment, Warsh appears to have a pass from Trump.
“I have a lot of respect for him and he’ll do what he has to do,” Trump said. “I think our interest rates are too high.”
The president was asked about Democratic candidates who want to use Medicare to provide universal access to health care — and he said his approach to have confidential drug pricing deals was superior.
“Well, this is much bigger, much better, much less expensive,” Trump said in response to the reporter’s question. “And it’s something that works. The other doesn’t work.”
Trump said providing universal health insurance through the government would cost too much money and lead to higher taxes.
But Trump’s own policies, including the expiration of subsidies for insurance through the Affordable Care Act, could lead to fewer people having insurance and facing higher costs.
Massive changes to Medicaid, the government’s safety-net health program for low-income Americans, passed into law last year could result in 10 million more uninsured individuals over a decade, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates.
The White House has been mum on a lot of the details of an agreement that would give the U.S. a stake in Venezuela’s oil reserves, including the name of the private operator in the project.
That operator is North America Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), owned by Alejandro Betancourt, a source familiar with the deal confirmed. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
The company currently produces about 200,000 barrels a day, which makes it the second-largest private operator in Venezuela behind Chevron.
The new venture will have the rights to 17 fields, some of which once had been jointly run by Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA and Chinese or Russian operators, the source said. NABEP already operates fields in the area and has infrastructure there, including pipelines and rigs.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
—- Regina Garcia Cano
The president said nine more pharmaceutical companies would sell their drugs to state Medicaid programs at discounts under his so-called “most favored nation” pricing system.
Trump spoke while seated in the Oval Office, flanked by aides and business executives to highlight his program to have the stick prices for prescription drugs match or be lower than what is charged overseas.
The nine companies are Alcon, Astellas Pharma, BeOne Medicines, BridgeBio, CSL, Kyowa Kirin, Sun Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and UCB.
Trump has tried to use his efforts to have initial prices for prescription drugs before insurance-related discounts to tell voters worried about inflation that he is tackling affordability issues.
It’s unclear how much in savings will actually materialize for consumers as insurance already pays at a discount, although the administration has claimed more than $500 billion in savings over a decade.
El-Sayed recently responded to comments Vance made where he said he’s like to travel back in time and tell his Democratic voting grandfather about the Michigan Senate nominee because he wouldn’t believe the kinds of comments he makes.
El-Sayed responded by referring to Vance’s wife, Usha Vance, the daughter of Indian immigrants, saying, “So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no ...”
“Whatever you want to talk about, Abdul, keep my wife’s name the hell out of your mouth because she’s way out of your league,” Vance said on stage to cheers from the crowd.
Speaker Mike Johnson is in no rush to push forward the sanctions package that’s designed to help Ukraine and won overwhelming Senate approval earlier this month after being negotiated by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Leading Democrats are worried the package gives Trump too much authority to impose tariffs that could be harmful to Americans.
“Congress does not need to greenlight new tariff authority for the President to impose those sanctions on Russia today,” wrote Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Richard Neal, the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, and Rep. Don Beyer, the senior House Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee, joined by Senate Democrats, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Ron Wyden.
Daniel Balson, of the advocacy group Razom for Ukraine, urged the House to act, saying the bill is backed by the president and is main bill “that has a chance of becoming law.”
The vice president spent much of his speech in Michigan lambasting the Michigan Democratic Senate candidate and trying to make the case that El-Sayed is a dangerous alternative to Republican Mike Rogers.
He criticized El-Sayed for his association with controversial streamer Hasan Piker and portrayed him as darkly divisive, saying that, “There’s something about Abdul El-Sayed that is very, very evil and on the rise in the United States of America today.”
The longshot legislation would also block the president or other federal officials from renaming Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron or Lake Erie and prohibit any federal funds from being used for any name changes.
“Americans are struggling to afford groceries, housing, and everyday essentials, and yet this President chooses to pick petty fights with our closest ally,” said Rep. Tim Kennedy, D-New York.
“Canada is not our enemy. It is our neighbor, our ally, and one of Michigan’s most important economic partners,” said Michigan Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell.
The legislation comes after Trump’s executive order renaming the body of water amid his trade dispute with Canada.
John James, the Trump-backed Republican candidate for Michigan governor, talked about kitchen table topics, including schools, healthcare and the price of gas, in front of hundreds at an industrial warehouse in a northern suburb of Detroit.
“When the vice president of the United States comes to Michigan, it sends a message,” James said. “It sends a clear message that Michigan matters.”
In the run-up to midterms, Vance, also has spent time acknowledging voters’ concerns about the cost of living. But Trump has often dismissed affordability as a Democratic political talking point.
Justice Samuel Alito reported being paid a book advance of just over $33,000 last year, according to an annual financial disclosure report that also disclosed two paid European trips for conferences.
His first book is titled “So Ordered: An Originalist’s View of the Constitution, the Court, and Our Country.” It is expected to be released Oct. 6 and focus on his judicial philosophy.
Most justices have now written books. Some have reported advances worth millions, often for personal memoirs. Other payments have been reported across multiple annual disclosure reports.
Alito also reported paid travel to Italy, the United Kingdom and Arizona for participation in conferences and events.
Required financial disclosure reports for the other justices were released in June, but Alito routinely requests extensions. He did not report any gifts.
The White House said that Trump on Tuesday will meet with a mix of large and small refinery companies to discuss ways to increase America’s capacity to refine oil into gasoline.
The meeting occurs as the Iran war has driven prices at the pump to a national average of $4.08, a 28% increase over the past year, according to AAA.
The White House has said that increasing the number of refineries and expanding the capacity at existing facilities would eventually reduce prices for consumers. The administration also sees the need for more refineries to process oil from Venezuela.
Also attending the meeting will be Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Jarrod Agen, the director of the White House National Energy Dominance Council.
The highest-ranking officer in the U.S. military says there are no plans to send troops to polling places during November’s midterm congressional elections, addressing concerns among Democrats that the Trump administration could use the military to interfere with the vote.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the statement in a letter to Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who recently asked Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to confirm they won’t send troops to the polls.
“The Joint Force has no plans to send Federal military personnel or Federalized members of the National Guard to polling places during the 2026 elections,” Caine wrote. “Likewise, the Joint Force has no plans to use such personnel to seize ballots, voting machines, or other election-related material.”
Brian and Linda Brennan were waiting to see the vice president in the suburban Detroit suburb of Sterling Heights on Monday.
Brian Brennan, 77, said he doesn’t know if he’s optimistic about Republicans’ chances in the midterms because of the Iran war and concerns about the economy, but said he hopes conservative voters will turn out. He views issues with affordability as short-term pain for long-term gain.
“You’ve got to suffer a little bit for the end result,” Linda Brennan, 76, said.
She noted gas was up to $5 a gallon in 2022 during former President Joe Biden’s time in office.
The couple said they expect Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to fight for the Republican nomination for president in 2028 and would be happy with either.
“We’re Catholics. We’re conservatives,” Linda Brennan said. “We’re just for faith and family. Not real complicated.”
The vice president spoke to reporters before he flew to Michigan on Monday about the AI video that Trump posted on social media over the weekend that featured a stylized imaginary attack on Iran’s Kharg Island, which is key to its oil exports and Trump has repeatedly threatened.
Vance then said the president “would be the first to say he doesn’t make announcements about military actions on social media, but I think that he’s sending a message to the Iranians.”
Despite the vice president’s puzzling comment, Trump makes virtually all of his announcements on military action and most other matters on his social media account.
Vice President JD Vance tried to clarify Trump’s critique on social media that data center opponents would leave their communities “backwards and poor.”
The vice president told reporters that Trump was stressing the importance of data centers for artificial intelligence and that “ 99% of the backlash to data centers has come in areas where building a data center means higher utility and higher electricity (prices) for the people on the ground.”
Vance said companies building data centers should build power plants to generate their own electricity in accordance with the administration’s policies.
“If you build a data center, you should be putting power back into the grid, not taking it out, and if that is happening, I don’t think the data centers are that controversial,” Vance said.
The vice president’s speech Monday is an opportunity for him to assuage concerns among conservative Jewish activists about his views toward Israel and his association with controversial figures like Tucker Carlson. It’s closed to the news media and comes at an extraordinarily sensitive time for Jewish Americans and the U.S. relationship with Israel.
Concerns about antisemitism have surged across the political spectrum ahead of the midterm elections. Republicans are eager to portray Democrats as hostile toward Jews and Israel, but they’re also dealing with their own internal schisms, with younger Republicans more likely to say the U.S. is too supportive of Israel.
Vance suggested last month that some Israeli officials have sought to manipulate U.S. public opinion in order to prolong the war with Iran. “If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world,” Vance said in June.
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The online prediction market platform Kalshi said Monday that it has permanently banned former U.S. Rep. George Santos after concluding the former Republican congressman likely engaged in insider trading when he bet against his attendance at the State of the Union address.
The convicted ex-congressman had repeatedly discussed his intention to attend the State of the Union, which came just four months after he was granted clemency by President Donald Trump in a fraud case that led to his expulsion from the U.S. House. On the eve of Trump’s speech, Kalshi put the odds of Santos attending at close to 75%.
Then, minutes into the speech, Santos posted on X that he had been waylaid at the airport. Immediately, several social media users accused him of running another scheme.
The president posted on social media that U.S. communities that don’t have data centers will “end up being backwards and poor.”
“If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame,” Trump told the public. “China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement.”
There has been a backlash across the country to the construction of data centers needed to further develop artificial intelligence. The public has expressed concerns about their use of electricity and water, and their secretive development by tech companies. Many Americans are also worried that AI could increase economic disparities and cause widespread job losses.
Data center advocates stress that the local taxes these facilities pay can help fund public schools, reducing the financial burden on homeowners.
