Trump asks SCOTUS to let him remove Lisa Cook from Fed Reserve

(WASHINGTON) — FBI Director Kash Patel kicked off two days of questioning on Tuesday from congressional committees about his tenure leading the FBI so far. He’s also facing questions about the assassination of conservative activist and influencer Charlie Kirk last week.

In his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, Patel addressed his handling of the Kirk investigation — something he faced criticism for after he shared on social media at one point that a suspect was in custody, but then had to backtrack an hour and a half later.

Ranking Member Dick Durbin, a Democrat, slammed Patel during his opening remarks on Tuesday, saying Patel sparked “mass confusion” in his posts about Kirk’s killing. Patel stood by his performance, touting the fact that Kirk’s suspected shooter was caught in less than 36 hours.

Patel said he directed authorities to release the photo of the suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, in the Kirk shooting. Kirk was killed in Utah on Wednesday and Robinson was apprehended after his father recognized him in photographs released by authorities, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said on Friday. His father told Robinson to turn himself in, with the 22-year-old initially saying no, but later changing his mind, officials said.

Patel contends this only happened because he ordered “against all law enforcement recommendations,” as he said on X on Saturday, the release of video and enhanced photos of the suspect.

“We cannot do our job without the American public and credible reporting in the media,” Patel said. “And that’s why Tyler Robinson is in custody today about to face charges.”

Patel addressed criticism that he has faced for how he handled the investigation on “Fox & Friends” on Monday morning.

“I was telling the world what the FBI was doing as we were doing it. I continue to do it. I challenge anyone out there to find a director who has been more transparent and more willing to work the media with high profile cases or any cases that the FBI [is] handling.”

For his part, President Donald Trump is standing behind Patel. Asked for his thoughts on Patel’s performance Tuesday morning, Trump said he supports Patel and that he has “confidence in everyone in the administration.”

Patel is facing questions on a host of other issues while he has been at the helm of the FBI, including the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The Trump administration has been dealing with blowback it received from MAGA supporters for its decision to not release more materials related to the investigation into Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide in jail in 2019.

Epstein, whose private island estate was in the U.S. Virgin Islands, has long been rumored to have kept a “client list” of celebrities and politicians, which right-wing influencers have baselessly accused authorities of hiding.

The Justice Department and FBI announced in July that they had found no evidence that Epstein kept a client list after several top officials like Patel, before joining the administration, had themselves accused the government of shielding information regarding the case.

Patel squarely blamed former U.S. Attorney and Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, who initially oversaw the Epstein investigation. Acosta resigned amid controversy over his role in a 2008 plea deal with Epstein and defended his decision, saying his goal “was straightforward” and included putting Epstein behind bars.

“I’m here to testify that the original sin in the Epstein case was the way it was initially brought by Mr. Acosta back in 2006. The original case involved a very limited search warrant, or set of search warrants, and didn’t take as much investigatory material it should have seized,” Patel said. “If I were the FBI director, then it wouldn’t have happened.”

Patel testified that Epstein was not an FBI informant as some have claimed.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump underwent vascular testing after he had swelling in his legs, with all results within normal limits, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.

Leavitt said Trump noted “mild swelling in his lower legs,” which prompted the White House medical team to evaluate him.

“The president underwent a comprehensive examination including diagnostic vascular studies, bilateral lower extremity intravenous doppler ultrasounds were performed and revealed chronic venous insufficiency, a benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70,” Leavitt said in the Thursday White House press briefing.

There was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease and an echocardiogram showed normal cardiac structure and function, Leavitt said, adding that all results from testing were “within normal limits.”

Leavitt also address photos circulated online that show minor bruising on the back of the president’s hand, attributing the bruising to “with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking.”

“The president remains in excellent health,” Leavitt said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Thursday said individual Medicaid recipients do not have a right to sue over their state’s decision to cut off Planned Parenthood from the government-funded health insurance program for low-income residents.

The 6-3 decision, which broke along ideological lines, was a significant victory for conservative efforts to defund the private health clinic network, clearing the way for other states to follow suit.

“The Supreme Court rightly restored the ability of states like South Carolina to steward limited public resources to best serve their citizens,” said John Bursch, the attorney who defended South Carolina before the high court.

Planned Parenthood draws more than a third of its revenue from government grants, contracts and Medicaid reimbursements for non-abortion care, like cancer screenings and contraception treatments.

“Today’s decision is a grave injustice that strikes at the very bedrock of American freedom and promises to send South Carolina deeper into a health care crisis,” Planned Parenthood South Atlantic president Paige Johnson said in a statement.

The organization, which said it has served more than 50,000 state Medicaid beneficiaries so far this year, vowed to continue operations at its two South Carolina clinics.

At issue in the case was whether the Medicaid Act — which guarantees a “free choice of provider” that is willing and qualified — allows beneficiaries to sue their state if the government infringes on the ability see a preferred provider.

In 2018, South Carolina’s Republican Gov. Henry McMaster issued executive orders disqualifying Planned Parenthood from participation in the state’s Medicaid program, which is a jointly funded federal-state initiative.

Julie Edwards, a Medicaid beneficiary and type-1 diabetic who sought medical care at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia, South Carolina, sued the state alleging a violation of the law.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the court’s majority, said that Congress never intended to allow individual recipients to sue states to enforce terms of the Medicaid Act and that it retains the sole responsibility through power of the purse.

“It generally belongs to the federal government to supervise compliance with its own spending programs,” Gorsuch wrote.

In dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, said that the decision thwarted the will of lawmakers and undermined a key civil rights law.

“Today’s decision is likely to result in tangible harm to real people,” she wrote. “At a minimum, it will deprive Medicaid recipients in South Carolina of their only meaningful way of enforcing a right that Congress has expressly granted to them. And, more concretely, it will strip those South Carolinians — and countless other Medicaid recipients around the country — of a deeply personal freedom: the ability to decide who treats us at our most vulnerable.”

South Carolina’s two Planned Parenthood clinics have served mostly low-income, minority women for more than 40 years.

“By denying Medicaid enrollees the ability to enforce their right to choose among qualified providers, the Court has effectively closed the courthouse doors to those seeking to protect their access to care,” said Jane Perkins, legal director at the National Health Law Program, a nonprofit advoacy group. “This decision disproportionately impacts low-income individuals who rely on Medicaid for essential health services.”

Anti-abortion groups, which have long targeted Planned Parenthood as the nation’s largest provider of abortion services, hailed the Supreme Court decision.

“Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer-funded gravy train is swiftly coming to an end,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America.

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