All posts tagged "white house"

White House yanks nomination for Kristi Noem's old deputy: report

Troy Edgar will rejoin the Department of Homeland Security in the same role as deputy secretary under new DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin after the White House withdrew his nomination for ambassador of El Salvador on Monday, Politico reported.

Edgar was the agency's number two under now ousted former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and was expected to work in a new role, but that has reportedly shifted, according to two administration officials and two others who are close to the administration and commented to Politico about the change under conditions of anonymity.

In December, Edgar seemingly departed from the department after President Donald Trump announced his nomination as ambassador to El Salvador. He had a hearing in March, but now things have changed.

No official statement has been made inside the department about Edgar's return to his former position, but he returned to DHS headquarters once Trump removed Noem from her role, an administration official said.

"And on internal documents — as well as the public DHS leadership page — Edgar is listed again in the deputy secretary position in recent days, the administration official said. The DHS website was updated last week," according to Politico.

Last month, The National Review reported that Edgar was Mullin's top pick to help lead the agency.

"The Admin is withdrawing Troy’s nomination and the withdrawal is expected to be transmitted to the Senate today," a Trump administration official told Politico. "Troy never resigned from his DHS position so he was able to return."

'It's just not safe': Trump admin funding cut marked by experts as a 'threat'

A White House budget proposal for 2027 has infuriated experts who believe Donald Trump's administration would make air travel dangerous.

Cuts to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) were flagged by the document, which if passed could see the agency's funding cut drastically. Experts speaking to The Hill warned there could be a dangerous privatization effort at play from the Trump admin, which may be seeking an alternative to the TSA.

The White House requested a TSA budget of $11.7 billion for Fiscal Year 2027, including 53,199 positions and 50,398 full-time equivalents (FTEs). This marks a reduction of 8,385 positions and 9.439 FTEs from 2026.

Further cuts were proposed by the new budget, including 2,462 Transportation Security Officer (TSO) positions and 4,351 TSO FTEs. The congressional justification document reads, "Despite these reductions, TSA will maintain all priority mission-critical positions to ensure operational effectiveness and mission continuity."

Despite the documents assuring further use of the TSA, experts believe the changes made to the organization and how many staff members it keeps on will undeniably push the department towards privatization.

Johnny Jones, AFGE (American Federation of Government Employees) TSA Council 100 secretary treasurer and AFGE Local 1040 president, said, "I would not personally want to fly if I knew the whole entire system was privatized because it’s just not safe for the American people."

"Because that’s all privatization is — bottom line is profit. P is for profit, not for people,” he continued. “It’s very important that people understand what privatization is. It has nothing to do with your security or your safety. It has everything to do with somebody making a profit."

An AFGE spokesperson went on to suggest this had been a cut the union had been expecting. They said, "This is something we have expected, it is part of Project 2025. We take this threat very seriously and will be in the fight to ensure it doesn’t happen."

President George W. Bush signed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act on November 19, 2001. The TSA officially began operations on February 17, 2002, taking over airport security screening from private contractors to enhance aviation safety nationwide.

Trump exposed in latest White House East Wing court filing: analysis

Donald Trump may have partly written the most recent White House East Wing court filing with his legal team, an analyst has claimed.

Trump has faced a series of legal challenges against his White House renovations, particularly a $400 million ballroom project and the refurbishing of the Eisenhower Building's exterior. A legal team working for Trump asked an appeals court yesterday (April 3) for an emergency ruling, which, if granted, would allow construction on the East Wing to continue.

The documents making the argument to the appeals court appear to have been partly written by the president himself, according to CBS News' Arden Farhi.

He wrote, "The opening pages of the court filing are loaded with exclamation points ('Time is of the essence!'), parenthetical asides, misplaced capital letters ('Almost 400 Million Dollars of private donations'), and multiple adjectives for emphasis ('shocking, unprecedented, and improper injunction') – all rhetorical flourishes of the president's online posts.

"One sentence runs 130 words and covers more than half a page. 'Private donors and American Patriots singlehandedly funded the 300 to 400 Million Dollar project (depending on finishes), which is on budget and ahead of schedule.

"'No taxpayer dollars are being used for the funding of this beautiful, desperately needed, and completely secure (for national security purposes) ballroom,' the filing reads."

It has not been confirmed whether Trump wrote any part of the recent legal filing. The administration has put in new fiscal requests for this year, which include hundreds of millions of dollars for the project.

The administration’s fiscal 2026 proposal includes more than $377 million “for repairs and renovations to the executive residence,” with another $174 million projected for 2027, according to budget documents reported by Politico.

An Office of Management and Budget spokesperson told Politico that the totals include not only work on the residence itself, but also security-related costs, adding the funding is for “a number of renovations, not just the executive residence.” The budget does not specify which projects the money would fund, Politico noted Friday.

Trump Jr. eyes White House ballroom for wedding – but plan hits major snag: insider

Donald Trump Jr. is eyeing up the unfinished White House ballroom for his wedding, but may have to change his plans, an insider has claimed.

An unnamed source suggested Donald Trump's son would like to host his wedding to fiancée Bettina Anderson at the unfinished White House ballroom. The source told People the White House ballroom is "a consideration" for Trump Jr., and not just because of the wedding.

The source said, "This would set them up for future political roles, whether Don Jr. goes after the presidency or something else." Whether the venue is a possibility for Trump Jr. and Anderson remains to be seen. The insider added, "The ballroom probably has to be finished."

Trump has faced several legal troubles over the White House ballroom construction, with his administration proposing further funding for the build.

That represents “a mammoth 866 percent increase over the $39 million estimated to have been spent in fiscal 2025 on sprucing up the area of the White House where the president lives.”

The MAGA leader's proposal also seeks to classify $350 million of the spending as mandatory, a designation reserved for programs Congress is required to fund, such as Social Security and Medicaid.

Trump has made upgrading the White House complex a priority in his second term. Earlier this week, Trump posted about his current and future building plans for the White House and other government buildings.

"The National Trust for Historic Preservation sues me for a Ballroom that is under budget, ahead of schedule, being built at no cost to the Taxpayer, and will be the finest Building of its kind anywhere in the World," the president complained in a Truth Social post on Tuesday. "I then get sued by them over the renovation of the dilapidated and structurally unsound former Kennedy Center, now, The Trump Kennedy Center... where all I am doing is fixing, cleaning, running, and 'sprucing up' a terribly maintained, for many years, Building, but a Building of potentially great importance."

White House app triggers alarm bells as experts fear it's spying on Americans

Digital privacy researchers were reportedly concerned over the White House's news app — not just its "rose-tinted view of the president" — but what it can actually do

Some experts have questioned whether the app, which was apparently downloaded about 700,000 times in the first week alone, could serve as a surveillance tool to keep an eye on the American public, The Washington Post reported. It shares updates from President Donald Trump's social media feeds and has an Immigration and Customs Enforcement tip line to encourage users to report "suspected criminal activity" directly from the app.

There were also questions about what the administration hoped to accomplish with the app.

"Experts said it is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to develop a state media apparatus as an alternative to what it calls the 'fake news' mainstream media — reassuring his backers that all is well even amid one of the most turbulent moments of his presidency," according to The Post.

"The app has also raised some alarms from digital privacy researchers who delved into its software and reported that they had found mechanisms by which it could log users’ location," The Post reported. "They also said they found evidence of integrations with third-party tools from providers that included Huawei — a Chinese smartphone maker that [is] under sanctions by the U.S. government. Some widely circulated social media posts warned people not to install it."

A White House official has denied that the app will collect any user locations and also claimed it has no Huawei software integrations.

White House seeks 'sycophant interns' willing to work for free as economy crumbles: report

The White House has started looking for interns — but there is a catch — it's unpaid, and applicants are required to be Trump administration fans.

The White House Internship Program gives young workers 10- to 12-week in-person working experiences throughout the administration, The New Republic reported. And while the economy takes a downturn, it appears the Trump team has an idea of who they want to hire for the roles.

"As the U.S. job market continues to crumble, Donald Trump’s White House is looking to hire a new batch of sycophant interns—but won’t pay them for their devotion or their time," according to The New Republic.

The application also has a series of very specific questions.

“Describe how President Trump’s vision for the country has influenced your decision to apply to the White House Internship Program,” one portion of the application read.

“In your view, which current Cabinet Secretary do you most admire and believe best demonstrates effective leadership?” Another question asks.

The biggest difference between the previous internship opportunities and Trump's administration is the compensation and expanding reach to different applicants.

"Notably, the posting for the White House’s internship program made no mention of payment or a stipend, while during President Joe Biden’s administration, White House interns were paid a stipend of $750 per week," The New Republic reported. "A June 2022 press release announcing the paid internships stated that unpaid federal internships had been a 'barrier to hardworking and talented students and professionals.'"

'Minuscule!' White House scoffs at impeachment petition as signatures balloon

The White House has called a grassroots movement seeking the impeachment of President Donald Trump "minuscule" despite the rising number of signatures, according to a Newsweek report.

Nearly 200,000 people have signed the Change.org petition as of Tuesday, which has nearly doubled since January. The petition cites its main concerns and several reasons for launching the campaign:

"Greed, corruption, and a lack of accountability in leadership have run rampant under Donald Trump's administration. This is not a matter of political views but of human rights and justice. The exploitation of the American people and the blatant disregard for our wellbeing has reached unprecedented levels. As citizens of this nation, we find ourselves under policies that threaten our rights, our democracy, and our future."

It also describes the economy as in "shambles" after Trump's leadership.

The White House has responded to Newsweek with the following statement:

"80 million Americans sent President Trump to the White House, the number of individuals signing this online petition is minuscule in comparison and they are free to express their Trump Derangement Syndrome however they see fit," said White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson.

Trump is the only president to have been impeached twice.

His first impeachment in December 2019 was on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after he allegedly pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate political rival former President Joe Biden while withholding military aid; he was acquitted by the Senate. His second impeachment in January 2021 came after the January 6 Capitol attack, with charges of incitement of insurrection for allegedly encouraging supporters to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election results; he was again acquitted by the Senate.

Trump flip-flops on nominee as White House scrambles to shore up troubled pick's support

The White House was pushing to reaffirm its support for troubled surgeon general nominee Casey Means on Tuesday after President Donald Trump suggested he could withdraw her nomination.

Trump said this weekend that he would be open to pulling his support for Means, who is the sister of Calley Means, a White House senior adviser, The Hill reported.

“Well, we’re looking at a lot of different things. I don’t know how she’s doing in the nomination process. I’m more focused on Iran,” Trump demurred. “But, you know, something like that would be possible. We certainly have a lot of, we have a lot of great candidates.”

The White House cleared up its stance on supporting Means by Monday with a statement from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, which was obtained by The Washington Post.

"Dr. Casey Means has spent her entire career as an entrepreneur, bestselling author, and researcher bringing attention to America’s chronic disease epidemic and how our healthcare system is failing the American people," Leavitt said.

Means has struggled to maintain support from Republicans, including allies of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who have shared doubts about her taking the top health role. Democrats have signaled they would not vote to approve her as surgeon general and Republicans have privately said they were not convinced that they would approve her.

Former White House insider predicts Trump's next Iran move: 'Less bad outcome'

President Donald Trump has signaled he is likely to retreat from the ongoing Iran war, a former White House insider said on Tuesday.

Bill Kristol, conservative analyst and editor-at-large for The Bulwark, shared what he thinks Trump and his administration will do next as the war now reaches the fifth week.

"Where he’s heading is toward the exits," Kristol wrote.

Kristol also suggested that Trump could be backing off on his demand to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, citing White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's vague comment with reporters on Monday that the administration was "working toward" establishing operations again in the crucial waterway.

He also referenced a Wall Street Journal report early Tuesday that indicated the end could be near.

"President Trump told aides he’s willing to end the U.S. military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed. . . . He decided that the U.S. should achieve its main goals of hobbling Iran’s navy and its missile stocks and wind down current hostilities while pressuring Tehran diplomatically to resume the free flow of trade," The Journal reported. "If that fails, Washington would press allies in Europe and the Gulf to take the lead on reopening the strait, the officials said."

It's unclear what Trump will do next, but the signs have pointed to withdrawing, Kristol wrote.

"And if that wasn’t enough of a tell, Trump seemed to all but confirm the reporting this morning when he posted that other countries were going to have to figure out how to get oil through the strait themselves. '[T]he U.S.A won’t be there to help you anymore,' he added," Kristol explained.

"All in all, it seems more likely than not that Trump plans on walking away rather than escalating," Kristol added. "I think this would be a less bad outcome of this reckless and feckless 'excursion' than introducing ground troops. But it will still be a bad outcome for the United States and the world. And I’m afraid it won’t be the last bad outcome we’ll experience from having an unbelievably irresponsible individual as our president."

Karoline Leavitt melts down over double chin turkey photo

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was the latest person in the Trump administration to demand photographers remove a photo she deemed unflattering, according to reports on Tuesday.

Leavitt was apparently unhappy with an image of herself, a turkey and her son around Thanksgiving and disliked it so much that she reached out to the agency that captured it, The New Republic reported. Since then, the image has been removed from Agence France-Presse's collection and also scrubbed from Getty's archive.

"The photo, taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Andrew Caballero-Reynolds at a very low angle, is pointed up at Leavitt, who is smiling in a manner that gives her a double chin, while she is holding her son. A turkey they were looking down at, 'Waddle,' is also featured in frame very prominently," according to The New Republic.

This isn't the only time the White House has found a photo problematic. Leavitt's request comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also apparently had an issue with recent photos of himself.

The Pentagon apparently shut out photographers from attending press briefings on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war in Iran after Hegseth's staff decided recent photos of him were "unflattering," The Washington Post reported. The images from the March 2 briefing came after Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed during a joint U.S.-Israeli military strike on Feb. 28. It was the first time Hegseth had appeared in the briefing room and spoken to press since June 26.

AFP has denied that there was a formal request to remove the image of Leavitt, who made it clear she did not like it.

“While we were made aware that White House staff found the photo unflattering, we want to be clear that there was no formal request to remove it, nor was there any external pressure involved,” AFP’s director of brand and communications Grégoire Lemarchand told The Daily Beast.

The White House bullied Getty into deleting this photo of karoline leavitt..... pic.twitter.com/bpq9FkNB3x
— Covie (@covie_93) March 31, 2026