Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is back on Capitol Hill to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee on the department's priorities, one day after he refused to say whether President Donald Trump and his family would still get immunity from IRS audits after the administration abandoned plans for a $1.776 billion compensation fund that would have benefited the president's allies.
Meanwhile, former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of retaining classified information under a deal with the Justice Department that could allow him to avoid prison time, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.
Here's the latest:
Trump says he’s going to NBA Finals to root for the Knicks
Calling himself a “big fan” of the New York Knicks and owner James Dolan, the president — born in Queens — said he’ll be attending at least one game at Madison Square Garden.
“The answer is yes — he’s invited me. I’m going,” Trump told reporters at an Oval Office event on Thursday.
Trump said he watched the beginning and end of the Knicks’ Game 1 win over the San Antonio Spurs, though he missed the middle “because I talked to generals all night long.”
A sports enthusiast, Trump said he was amazed by the play of Spurs star Victor Wembanyama.
Asked if he would be attending Game 3, scheduled for Monday, or Game 4, Trump said: “Monday, could be Monday. Maybe I’ll do both.”
Trump says Biden was ‘the same guy’ as ever when they met in Oval Office after 2024 election
The Republican president frequently attacks his predecessor, but he hedged on Thursday when asked whether he noticed any cognitive decline while talking with former President Joe Biden.
“No, it was the same guy,” Trump said. “He was fine as far as I was concerned.”
Recalling a 2024 presidential debate that raised concerns about Biden’s health, Trump took credit for what he described as a strong performance.
“Something happened during the debate,” Trump said. “It could have been me. You know, I thought I had a very good debate.”
Biden made an appearance in New York this week at a tour stop for Jill Biden's new memoir.
Trump says he was only kidding about keeping UFC cage at the White House
The president, speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, said a UFC octagon being built on the South Lawn will come down after the June 14 bout. He said his previous comment was made “jokingly,” and he expressed dismay that some people believed it.
It comes two days after Trump released a video on social media comparing the cage to Paris’ Eiffel Tower, which was built to be temporary for the 1889 World’s Fair but became permanent. In the video, Trump drew a parallel with the octagon, saying, “Maybe we’ll never ever take it down.”
Trump urged to stop Israel from annexing and encroaching on territory for a Palestinian state
Arab and Islamic countries are urging the U.N. Security Council, especially the United States, and the international community to act to end Israel’s annexation campaign in Gaza and the West Bank.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, told reporters Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu already has Israeli forces occupying 60% of Gaza, and wants 70%. And he said Israeli construction plans will separate the northern and southern West Bank, and sever east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as their capital, delivering “a deadly blow to the two-state solution.”
Mansour said Trump has told Netanyahu there must be “no annexation,” stressing, “he has the tools to stop Netanyahu in his tracks.”
Mansour was surrounded by many ambassadors from the U.N.’s 22-member Arab Group and 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation who support Security Council action against Israeli annexation.
Trump said it ‘would be great’ if Putin and Zelenskyy met
The president, when asked about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggesting a meeting with Putin, said he was glad to hear they were discussing a meeting and said, “They should get it done.”
Trump said he wouldn’t say what compromises he requested Putin make to settle the war, but said, “They’re going to both make compromises. I suggested those compromises.”
Trump says that Pulte won’t be the ‘permanent’ director of national intelligence
The president’s pick of Bill Pulte to be the acting director of national intelligence has triggered pushback from some Republican and Democratic senators.
But Trump stressed in response to an Oval Office question that Pulte, who currently serves as Federal Housing Finance Agency director, would not be nominated to the position of coordinating 18 federal agencies involved in national security issues.
“He’s not going to be permanent because, you know, I don’t think he’d want to be permanent,” Trump said.
The president said that Pulte is “a very smart guy” and he may look at past elections that Trump claims, without credible evidence, were “rigged” against him.
But Trump said other candidates were being considered to be nominated for the Senate confirmed post.
“We’re interviewing people right now,” Trump said.
Trump’s track record hasn’t been great for jobs mining coal
The U.S. president bragged at an Oval Office event to back the coal industry that his policies are putting coal miners back to work, but the numbers tell the exact opposite story.
“They’re all going back to work,” Trump claimed.
Since Trump became president in 2025, the U.S. has lost 1,800 coal mining jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The job losses translate into more than 4% of the coal mining workforce. Employment in the coal mining sector was hurt by the pandemic and rebounded during much of the term of former President Joe Biden. Coal mining jobs began to decline in late 2024 and the losses have been sustained during Trump’s second term.
Rubio assures Kuwait of US support in meeting with FM after Iranian strike on airport
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has assured Kuwait of U.S. support for the country a day after Iran launched a retaliatory airstrike on Kuwait’s international airport.
In a meeting on Thursday with Kuwait’s foreign minister, Rubio “reiterated the commitment of the United States to Kuwait’s security, to ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon, and restoration of freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz,” the State Department said in a statement.
Rubio “also condemned Iran’s outrageous and unacceptable attacks targeting Kuwait International Airport and other parts of the country and expressed condolences for those killed and injured in that attack,” it said.
Trump does show-and-tell with Reflecting Pool
The president kicked off an event at the White House about coal by showing off what he said was “nice clean water” filling up the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after the renovation he directed.
The president held up for reporters images of the refinished pool and a poster boasting of the length of the basin. He then had an aide play a video on a small laptop screen showing water bubbling back into the drained pool.
“The water is pouring in as we speak,” Trump said.
Trump says Reflecting Pool work is done and it’s set to be filled with water
The president's renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is done, and it's set to be filled with water any day now, his administration says.
Trump noted the work to paint the shallow basin a deep shade, which he calls "American flag blue," was completed on Wednesday. The administration said in a court filing it's set to be filled with water no later than Sunday.
Trump announced the project in April, inspired by a friend's complaint. The cost is estimated at $1.5 million to $2 million, but records show at least $14.8 million worth of contracts has been awarded for the project.
Critics argue the Republican president is focusing too much on personal projects.
A nonprofit filed a lawsuit to stop work at the “dark grey” pool, claiming the new paint color suggested a “theme park.” The pool was built in the 1920s and is an iconic Washington site.
House poised to pass Ukraine aid over the objections of Republican leaders
The House is on course to pass legislation that would aid Ukraine and sanction key segments of the Russian economy despite opposition from Republican leaders who warn the bill will undermine negotiations designed to achieve a comparable but stronger result.
The legislation, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, seeks to cement U.S. assistance for Ukraine by providing more than $1 billion in security and reconstruction aid. It would make another $8 billion available for Ukraine’s defense through loans.
The vote Thursday could generate the House's second major foreign policy break this week with Trump. It comes one day after the House for the first time approved a war powers resolution aimed at halting the U.S. military action against Iran.
Some Republican governors are rebranding June with conservative alternatives to Pride
June is widely recognized as Pride Month, but a handful of Republican governors have bestowed alternative titles that both supporters and opponents view as counterprogramming.
Without directly saying the idea was to replace Pride, the governors of Indiana and Tennessee rebranded June as Nuclear Family Month to celebrate units made up of “one husband, one wife and any biological, adopted or fostered children.”
In Alabama, it’s Strong Families Month, intended to coincide with Father’s Day.
The governors of Utah and Arkansas deemed it Fidelity Month, which emphasizes fidelity to faith, country and family — without comment on how those families might be comprised.
Pride organizations say the efforts to rename the month won't affect their parades and other celebrations. The festivities were born out of protest more than 50 years ago, and organizers say that remains essential to their purpose.
Trump expected to announce $700 million in new support for struggling coal industry
The president is again seeking to boost the struggling U.S. coal industry, with an announcement expected Thursday to spend nearly $700 million to support coal-fired power plants and coal exports.
A White House official said the administration will use authority under a Cold War-era national defense law to support 13 coal plants across the country and help build coal plants in Alaska and West Virginia.
If built, the plants would be the first new U.S. coal plants since 2013. The money will also help restart a coal-fired power plant in Maryland and support construction of a long-delayed coal export terminal in Oakland, California.
Environmentalists said the plan would “put polluters first” and jeopardize Americans’ health.
American Airlines temporarily suspends some of its summer routes due to steep jet fuel costs
American Airlines is temporarily suspending some of its routes this summer, as steep jet fuel costs continue to strain carriers' budgets amid the war with Iran.
In a statement, American said it had adjusted service for “select routes” in August and September — and that affected travelers would be offered alternative arrangements or refunds. The Texas-based airline cited elevated fuel costs, and maintained that these changes were in line with wider industry trends.
American also said that it was not cutting any of its routes indefinitely and that it was proud to “offer an industry-leading network with more flights than any other U.S. airline.”
Still, the summer suspensions could cause more headaches for travelers already facing fewer flights options and higher price tags across their budgets. Airlines around the world have canceled numerous flights or similarly trimmed schedules through the coming months — and many have are also hiking fees or cutting other perks in efforts to save money.
Supreme Court sides with Trump administration on federal regulation of telecom companies
The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration Thursday in a case about the power of federal regulators to enforce data privacy laws on telecommunications companies.
The 8-1 decision upheld one of the Federal Communications Commission’s key tools, though the companies also won a concession from the Republican administration that could shift the regulatory landscape.
The appeal from telecommunications giants Verizon and AT&T challenged a combined $100 million in penalties imposed after the agency determined the companies had failed to safeguard customer location data.
The companies argued that the FCC’s process was unconstitutional because it gave them little opportunity to tell their side of the story in front of a jury.
The administration defended the fines as an essential regulatory tool. But the government also said companies did not have to pay the penalties right away, a regulatory shift in the company’s favor.
The Supreme Court agreed.
Ex-national security adviser John Bolton will plead guilty in classified information case: AP source
The former Trump administration national security adviser has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of retaining classified information under a deal with the Justice Department that could allow him to avoid prison time, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.
The deal would resolve a criminal case filed in October that charged Bolton with 18 counts of either retaining or sharing diary-like notes with family members that officials said contained classified information as he was preparing a memoir of his time in government.
Under the agreement, Bolton would also face a $2.25 million fine, said the person, who insisted on anonymity to discuss a deal that hadn’t been made public. Any prison sentence would be capped at five years, but the agreement allows for him to avoid time behind bars, though the punishment will ultimately be up to a judge.
A rearraignment, which typically signals a plea agreement, is scheduled for June 26.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
— Eric Tucker
Senate begins voting on bill to fund ICE and Border Patrol as Democrats try to derail it
The Senate is beginning a long series of votes Thursday on legislation to fund President Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies, moving toward passage of a three-year fix as Democrats have blocked the money for months in protest.
The roughly $70 billion bill to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol would end the blockade by Democrats who demanded policy changes after the fatal shootings of two protesters by federal agents in January. The bill would fund the agencies for three years, through the end of Trump's term.
First, though, Republicans must beat back a potential gauntlet of amendments Democrats plan to offer, including to try and permanently ban Trump's $1.776 billion settlement fund for allies who he believes have been politically persecuted. Democrats have said their first amendment Thursday morning will be to eliminate the fund and send the immigration spending bill back to committee.
US jobless aid filings, a proxy for layoffs, hit highest level since Iran war began in February
The number of Americans filing for jobless aid hit their highest level in four months last week, but layoffs remain historically low despite ongoing economic uncertainty brought on by the war in Iran.
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending May 30 increased by 13,000 to 225,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the most since early February, before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran, but still a historically low level. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected 211,000 new applications.
Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.
Despite historically low layoffs, the labor market seems to be mired in what economists call a "low-hire, low-fire" state. That's kept the unemployment rate low at 4.3%, but left many of those out of work struggling to find new employment.
Trump officials went after dozens of colleges. Now they’re rewriting the rules for all of academia
A year ago, the White House was unleashing a blitz on higher education. At one campus after another, Trump officials opened investigations and cut federal funding unless schools fell in line with the Republican president's political agenda.
Now, after a campaign that put dozens of universities under investigation, Trump's administration is taking a wider approach, moving to rewrite the federal rules that govern all of higher education. Demands that were being pressed on individual schools are being written into the fine print for thousands of U.S. universities.
“We’re coming over the higher education system and course correcting,” Nicholas Kent, undersecretary for the Education Department, said in an Associated Press interview. Unlike investigations that target individual campuses, he said the new tactic has power “to affect 6,000 institutions.”
The shift comes after federal judges blocked Trump's administration from making crippling cuts at Harvard and the University of California, Los Angeles. It also follows a mass exodus in civil rights lawyers who traditionally guide investigations against universities. Still, Trump hasn't backed down from his campaign to end what he calls "wokeness" run amok in academia.
Buffalo named Donald Trump for his golden locks is a sensation at a Bangladesh zoo
With his shock of golden hair and trim 700-kilogram (1,500-pound) build, Donald Trump has been drawing crowds from across Bangladesh since he arrived at the national zoo last week.
The rare albino buffalo became a sensation when a farmer noticed that his blond tuft of hair resembled the distinctive locks of the U.S. president. After a video of the pale horned mammal went viral on social media, large numbers of people started showing up at the farm outside Dhaka to see him for themselves.
The animal was originally meant to be slaughtered for the Muslim festival of sacrifice. But citing security concerns, the government ordered him transferred to the zoo in the capital, where large crowds are now braving sweltering heat to see him.
“There is a resemblance to Donald Trump in its eyes, hairstyle, and skin color,” said Mohammed Nasim, a student in Dhaka. “And just as Donald Trump has a distinctive personality and lifestyle, this buffalo, after going viral, is now living a similar kind of life, enjoying a lot of attention and special treatment.”
Trump slams the 4 Republicans who voted in favor of war powers resolution
The president says the symbolic House vote approving a war powers resolution that would halt the U.S. military action against Iran, was "meaningless."
Still, Trump is livid that four House Republicans joined the Democrats in supporting the resolution.
“The Democrats are fueled by Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Trump said in a post on his social media site. “They would rather have our Country fail than give me another, of many, victories. The four Republicans, that’s a whole other story - They’re GRANDSTANDERS! They should be ashamed of themselves.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent refuses to say whether Trump remains exempt from IRS audits
Bessent refused to say Wednesday whether Trump and his family would still get immunity from IRS audits after the administration abandoned plans for a $1.776 billion compensation fund that would have benefited the president's allies.
“There’s continuing litigation, and I’m unable to comment on ongoing litigation,” Bessent told lawmakers at the Senate Finance Committee hearing.
It was a frustrating answer for Democratic lawmakers looking to get answers from Bessent at a hearing ostensibly focused on the Treasury Department’s budget and came a day after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche seemed to indicate that the portion of the settlement dealing with the IRS audit immunity would still be in effect for the Republican president.
After several failed attempts to get Bessent to answer, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said, “It’s been very clear you’re dodging this and you’re trying to use it as an excuse. It’s just outrageous on behalf of the American public.”
Trump says he'll nominate Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general
Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general, tapping his former personal lawyer who has aggressively pursued the Republican president's agenda while leading the Justice Department in an acting role.
Trump said at a dinner at the White House that he plans to nominate Blanche formally on Thursday, according to a video of the event posted on social media by a White House aide.
“We are going to make him permanent attorney general,” Trump said at the Rose Garden event.
Blanche was brought into the Justice Department as deputy attorney general and was elevated after Bondi’s ousting over her failed efforts to prosecute Trump’s perceived political opponents. Blanche insisted he wasn’t auditioning for the permanent post but made clear through splashy moves since taking the reins his intent on proving his loyalty to Trump.