Day 1679: "I’m not a dictator. I’m a man with great common sense and a smart person."

1/ Trump ordered the Pentagon to create “specialized units” in the National Guard to police “civil disturbances.” The executive order creates a national “quick reaction force” and a deputized Guard unit in Washington, D.C., that would enforce federal law under Trump’s control. Trump said troops are “ready to go anywhere” with less than 24 hours’ notice. Legal experts, however, said the plan “threatens fundamental liberties and public safety.” Meanwhile in Washington, more than 2,200 Guard troops are now armed with M17 pistols and M4 rifles while patrolling the streets. (CNN / New York Times / Axios / Wall Street Journal / ABC News / NBC News)

2/ Trump threatened to send National Guard troops into Chicago, calling the city “a mess” and saying “When we’re ready, we’ll go in and we’ll straighten out Chicago just like we did D.C.” Trump added: “I’m not a dictator. I’m a man with great common sense and a smart person.” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, meanwhile, rejected Trump’s plan, saying “There is no emergency in Chicago that calls for armed military intervention. There is no insurrection.” Pritzker warned the deployment would be both “a dangerous power grab” and unconstitutional, and vowed that “the first thing we’re going to do is take him to court.” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said, “The guard is not needed. This is not the role of our military.” (NBC News / Axios / New York Times / CNN / Politico / NPR / Wall Street Journal)

3/ A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda hours after immigration agents detained him at an ICE office in Baltimore. On Friday, Abrego Garcia was freed from a Tennessee jail after months in custody, but immigration officials immediately notified him they planned to deport him. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said he was being processed “for deportation,” though Ugandan officials said they hadn’t received any U.S. request. His lawyers, meanwhile, said the government tried to force him into a guilty plea by offering deportation to Costa Rica instead, warning that otherwise he faced being sent “halfway across the world.” On Monday, Judge Paula Xinis stepped in and ruled that the government was “absolutely forbidden at this juncture to remove Mr. Abrego Garcia from the continental United States” while reviews whether his due process rights were violated. (Associated Press / New York Times / NPR / NBC News / Axios / Wall Street Journal / The Guardian / CNN / Washington Post / Bloomberg)

4/ Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, who is seeking a pardon from Trump, told the Justice Department she never saw him “in any inappropriate setting” with girls introduced by Jeffrey Epstein. “I actually never saw the President in any type of massage setting,” Maxwell told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former defense lawyer. She added that Trump “was a gentleman in all respects,” denied the existence of an Epstein client list, claimed she never recruited underage girls despite her conviction, and dismissed reports tying Trump, Bill Clinton, or Prince Andrew to abuse. Prosecutors have long described Maxwell as a “serial liar,” but the Justice Department released her interview with Blanche in an effort to quiet Trump’s supporters after backtracking on promises to release all Epstein files. Days later, Maxwell was moved from a Florida facility to a lower-security prison in Texas. (Politico / New York Times / Axios / Washington Post / Associated Press / ABC News / CNBC / The Guardian / Wall Street Journal / Reuters / NBC News / Axios / Semafor)

5/ The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Jeffrey Epstein’s estate for records, including his financial history, flight logs, nondisclosure agreements, and a leather-bound “birthday book,” which was compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell. Chairman James Comer said the estate “is in custody and control of documents that may further the Committee’s investigation,” and ordered delivery by Sept. 8. Comer also demanded “any document or record that could be reasonably construed to be a potential list of clients involved in sex, sex acts or sex trafficking” facilitated by Epstein. The panel will also question former U.S. attorney Alex Acosta on Sept. 19 about the 2008 non-prosecution deal he struck with Epstein. The subpoena follows Democrats’ complaint that the Justice Department’s release of 33,295 Epstein-related files were primarily “recycled content already made available to the public.” (Washington Post / New York Times / CNBC / Axios / Politico / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)

The midterm elections are in 435 days.

✏️ Notables.

• More than 180 FEMA employees warned Congress that Trump’s policies and unqualified leadership put the country at risk of “another national catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina.” The letter cited canceled grants, stalled contracts, and staff diverted to immigration enforcement as evidence that FEMA’s disaster response has been gutted. DHS, meanwhile, dismissed the criticism, saying the administration was cutting “red tape” and that “change is always hard.” (Politico / Washington Post / New York Times)

• Trump said the Justice Department will sue California over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to redraw the state’s congressional map, calling the effort illegal. At the same time, he praised Texas Republicans for approving a mid-decade redistricting plan that to give Republicans “five more seats” in Congress. Newsom responded to Trump’s threat on social media with a one-word post: “BRING IT.” (Washington Post / CNBC)

• The Trump administration ordered construction to stop on a $4 billion offshore wind farm that was nearly finished and set to power 350,000 homes. Federal officials cited unspecified “national security” concerns, though no details were provided. Connecticut’s attorney general warned Trump would “own the resulting cost increases for ratepayers.” (New York Times / NPR)

• FBI agents searched the Maryland home and Washington office of John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, as part of a probe into whether he “illegally shared or possessed classified information.” In 2019, Trump said he fired Bolton, who insisted that he resigned, over how Trump handled sensitive foreign policy matters involving North Korea, Afghanistan, and Iran. Bolton later wrote a book that painted a picture of an out-of-control president consumed by his own re-election. Trump denied knowing about the raid in advance, but called Bolton “a real sort of a low life,” while JD Vance insisted the investigation was “not politically motivated.” (Politico / NBC News / New York Times / NPR / Washington Post / Axios / NBC News / Associated Press / CNN / CNBC / USA Today / Politico)

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency after its preliminary report contradicted Trump’s claim that U.S. strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program. The Pentagon attributed Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse’s removal to a vague “loss of confidence.” (Washington Post / New York Times / Associated Press / NBC News / Axios / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / ABC News)

• Trump said he’s considering renaming the Department of Defense as the Department of War, reviving the title the Pentagon held until 1947. Trump argued the older name reflected a period of U.S. “victory” and said, “I don’t want to be defense only. We want offense too.” Any formal change would require congressional approval. (Politico / NBC News)