1/ Trump said he doesn’t want Somali immigrants in the U.S., calling them “garbage,” saying they “contribute nothing,” and claiming they “ripped off that state for billions of dollars” and should “go back to where they came from and fix it” after he was asked if Minnesota’s governor should resign over a state fraud case. He then tied the issue to the National Guard shooting in Washington, even though the suspect was Afghan and the case had no connection to Somalia, a country more than 1,700 miles away. Trump comments came as the administration prepared to send about 100 ICE officers into the Minneapolis–St. Paul area to arrest Somalis with final deportation orders. Minnesota officials warned the operation could sweep up citizens in a state where most residents of Somali descent are U.S. citizens. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / CBS News / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Axios)
2/ Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem urged Trump to expand the travel ban from 19 countries to about 30 to 32 after the DC shooting of two National Guard members. She said she recommends “a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies,” while Trump has separately said he plans to “permanently pause migration from all third world countries.” In the days after the shooting, the administration stopped visa processing for Afghans, paused all asylum decisions, and ordered reviews of green cards and past asylum approvals. The move follows a June proclamation that imposed full or partial entry restrictions on 19 nations. (CNN / Bloomberg / CBS News / Axios / New York Times / The Guardian)
3/ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the second U.S. strike on a suspected drug boat that killed two survivors, saying he didn’t see anyone in the water because of the “fog of war.” He said he watched only the first Sept. 2 strike and “didn’t stick around,” while insisting Adm. Frank Bradley had “complete authority” and “made the right call” to order the follow-up strike. Bipartisan lawmakers in both chambers have launched investigations and are demanding audio, video, and orders for the mission amid reports that Hegseth gave a verbal directive to “kill everybody” on the boat. Trump, meanwhile, backed Hegseth and praised Bradley, but said he “didn’t know anything” about the second strike and “wouldn’t have wanted” it, even as he warned the U.S. would “start doing those strikes on land, too” against people “making cocaine” or selling drugs into the U.S. The Pentagon’s law-of-war manual labels shooting shipwrecked survivors as “clearly illegal.” (Associated Press / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / New York Times / The Hill / CNN / Axios)
- Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, ending his 45-year U.S. sentence for drug trafficking and leading to his release from federal prison. Prosecutors had said Hernández helped move more than 400 tons of cocaine toward the U.S. while taking bribes. Lawmakers from both parties criticized the pardon as at odds with the administration’s anti-drug campaign. (New York Times / Associated Press / Washington Post / CNN)
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4/ Bipartisan negotiations to extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies stalled, leaving Congress less than a month before more than 20 million Americans face premium hikes that will average 114%. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said lawmakers weren’t close to the 60 votes needed to renew the tax credits. Republicans are split as some want the subsidies to lapse, others are concerned about rising costs in their districts, and many insist that any extension must include tighter abortion limits. Democrats have rejected to adding new abortion language and want a simple renewal. They plan to force a vote next week on a multiyear extension that Republicans are expected to block. Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, hasn’t committed to allowing a House vote on any proposal. (Bloomberg / NBC News / The Hill / Politico)
5/ The Trump administration said it will start cutting SNAP funds to Democratic-led states next week unless they turn over detailed data on program recipients, including names and immigration status. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins claimed the move was an effort to fight “rampant fraud,” citing unverified claims of dead people and duplicate recipients on the rolls, while USDA threatened in a statement to “pull their administrative funds” if “Democrat States” don’t comply. 22 states and the District of Columbia have sued, and a federal judge has already issued a temporary injunction after finding USDA’s actions likely violated administrative law and could cause irreparable harm if SNAP funds are cut. (Washington Post / Associated Press / CNBC)
6/ Michael and Susan Dell pledged $6.25 billion to seed $250 deposits into 25 million “Trump accounts” for children 10 and under who aren’t covered by the federal program. Trump praised the donation and said the program gives families a stake in stock market growth, while Dell said “the smartest investment we can make is an investment in children.” The federal program created under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will give $1,000 to children born between 2025 and 2028 and allow parents to open the accounts starting July 4, 2026. The accounts must invest in low-cost index funds and can’t be accessed until the child turns 18. (CNBC / Associated Press / Reuters / Bloomberg / New York Times / USA Today)
7/ Trump, 79, posted more than 150 messages on Truth Social between 7 p.m. and midnight. He averaged one post every two minutes for five hours, mixing attacks on Democrats with reposted conspiracy claims like Alex Jones’ allegation that Michelle Obama used Biden’s “autopen” to issue pardons, “lock her up” accusations that Nancy Pelosi “planned” the Jan. 6 riot, and self-praising videos such as one declaring “Christmas is officially great again.” Hours later, he resumed posting and wrote: “TRUTH SOCIAL IS THE BEST! There is nothing even close!!!” (The Guardian / Axios / HuffPost / The Independent / Daily Beast)
8/ Trump appeared to repeatedly fall asleep during a televised Cabinet meeting, leaning back and closing his eyes for long stretches as his secretaries offered updates and praised his leadership. He briefly jolted awake to thank Housing Secretary Scott Turner for doing a “great job.” Earlier in the session, Trump delivered a rambling monologue in which he insisted he felt “sharper than I was 25 years ago,” bragged that he got “all As” on his physical, and told his team, “We’re saving our country.” (New Republic / Daily Beast)
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