Good morning, everyone. Lots to cover this morning. Todd Blanche was confirmed in the dead of night, but the SAVE Act did not pass, and that left Trump empty-handed and fuming as Republicans leave Washington, D.C. without any movement on the bill. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico is being forced to ration water, Iran is planning to keep Trump locked into the war through the midterms, and Trump is growing very frustrated with his Homeland Security Secretary.
Even on a Saturday, the news does not stop, and neither do I. Our next paid subscriber live will be early next week, and I’ll be on MS NOW bright and early tomorrow morning at 7 AM, so tune in!
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Here’s the news:
Trump left empty-handed and reportedly fuming after Senate Republicans headed for the exits in the predawn hours Saturday without passing his strict proof-of-citizenship SAVE America Act, despite weeks of the president ramping up pressure on Majority Leader John Thune and even demanding senators nuke the filibuster to force it through. Rather than deliver Trump’s top priority, GOP senators led by Mike Lee, Ron Johnson, and Rick Scott called Trump directly after a tense standoff and got him to accept a fallback: trying to jam elements of the voting bill into a broader Iran war funding package when Congress returns in September.
Trump had publicly warned it would be “unfortunate” if Thune couldn’t deliver, telling Punchbowl News “he’s trying hard” but stopping short of guaranteeing success, and the failure had already become a rallying cry for his online allies pressuring senators to refuse adjournment until the bill passed. Even Lee, who had led the holdout push, admitted disappointment but conceded “we are not in a position right now where we have the wherewithal to pass it,” and when the Senate finally moved to adjourn near daybreak, his lone objections weren’t enough to stop it. The setback came even as Thune notched other Trump wins overnight, confirming Todd Blanche as attorney general, passing a Russia sanctions package, and approving stopgap government funding, underscoring that the one demand Trump couldn’t get met was the one he wanted most.
Iran:
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine is reportedly working quietly toward an exit from Trump’s six-month Iran war, privately warning other top officials that continued airstrikes may not be enough to secure a ceasefire even as Trump appears to believe more bombing could force a deal. According to CNN, Caine has discussed the war’s limits with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President JD Vance to coordinate messaging before raising the issue with Trump, with one source describing it as “his way of protecting the military.”
The talks come as Trump has lashed out at reports of depleted missile stockpiles, reportedly berating Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a Cabinet meeting last week for being unaware of shortages Trump believed had already been fixed; the Washington Post reported the shortages, mainly of long-range guided missiles and interceptors, contributed to fewer strikes over the past week, though Hegseth denied the account. Caine’s office declined to discuss his private conversations, while a White House official defended him as “an incredible asset” whose military operations have been overwhelmingly successful. Hegseth told Congress last month the war has already cost roughly $37.5 billion and requested an additional $67 billion for Middle East operations.
Tehran is deliberately dragging out nuclear negotiations to keep Trump entangled in the Iran conflict through November's midterms, hoping to inflict the kind of political damage that sank Jimmy Carter during the 1979-81 hostage crisis, with Iranian officials and state media openly discussing the midterms as a strategic lever. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said this week that reaching the second, nuclear-focused phase of talks could take two to four months, even after agreeing on a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, abandoning the original 30-day timeline and laying out additional demands like lifting sanctions, ending the port blockade, and unfreezing Iranian assets. Analysts and Iranian commentary frame the conflict as a dilemma for Trump, warning that continuing the war could tank his popularity further while backing down risks alienating his base, with some in Tehran believing a Democratic takeover of Congress would force him into serious negotiations while others argue Iran should extract concessions now, before a weakened, post-midterm Trump has less incentive to deal and more incentive to lash out.
Puerto Rico:
Puerto Rico began mandatory 48-hour rotating water shutoffs across San Juan and six surrounding municipalities on August 7, affecting over 180,000 accounts, as historic drought exposed a water utility, PRASA, that loses roughly 59 to 65 percent of all treated water to leaking pipes, faulty meters, and aging infrastructure, far above the 20 percent international standard for a well-run system. The crisis was accelerated by a June 2026 rupture at three points in the island’s 72-inch Superaqueduct pipeline in Bayamón, which left over 120,000 customers without adequate service and prompted the governor to activate the National Guard, compounding damage from a nearly year-long pump failure at the Finca Rosso I station that regulators were slow to fund. July 2026 was San Juan’s driest in over 120 years, with about 36 percent of Puerto Rico now in severe drought and no near-term relief expected, since the island’s chief meteorologist says recovery requires multiple tropical systems plus winter rains.
The economic toll has been severe, with small businesses paying thousands weekly for private water deliveries, several hotels and restaurants closing, and the United Retailers Association estimating up to $20 million in daily losses, while PRASA, rated a “D” by civil engineers with $3.9 billion in unmet infrastructure needs, now has $2.3 billion in projects under construction and $4.7 billion more planned as part of the island’s largest water system modernization effort in decades. Officials have given no end date for rationing, warning shutoff windows could extend to 72 hours if reservoir levels, including the critically low Carraízo reservoir serving San Juan, continue to drop.
Other news:
The Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general early Saturday in a 50-49 mostly party-line vote, with only Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joining Democrats in opposition, ending weeks of uncertainty over his nomination. Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney, called the confirmation an honor in a post on X, thanking senators for staying late into the early morning hours before a planned recess to complete the vote. His path had been jeopardized largely by concerns over the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund tied to Trump’s IRS settlement and an audit-immunity deal for Trump and his family, but holdout Republicans Bill Cassidy, John Cornyn, and Thom Tillis ultimately backed him after he agreed to rescind the fund, though a legal loophole could still revive it. Critics, including Sen. Adam Schiff and former federal prosecutor Laurie Levenson, warned Blanche has never shed his identity as Trump’s defense lawyer and could be emboldened to pursue the president’s political enemies without guardrails, concerns amplified by his recent indictment of former FBI Director James Comey.
Trump amplified calls that Lisa Murkowski, Alaska’s Senator, is a “traitor” for voting against Todd Blanche:
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted Republicans for confirming Todd Blanche as attorney general, saying they’ve “handed Trump an excuse on a silver platter” to continue his “pervasive, breathtaking corruption.” In a post on X, Schumer argued that installing the president’s former personal attorney as the nation’s top law enforcement official makes it impossible to root out corruption, adding, “Every senator who voted to confirm him has now branded themselves as an enabler, too.” He said Blanche “has no intention of stopping Trump’s corruption” since he “advanced his career enabling it,” and vowed Senate Democrats, who unanimously opposed the nomination, will keep resisting what he called the administration’s “assault on the rule of law and undermining of democratic values.”
Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin after a string of off-message remarks angered the president's outside allies, though a senior administration official says there are no current plans to fire him. The tension peaked in early August when Mullin told the National Governors Association that immigration doesn't steal jobs "in all industries" and could help offset low labor-force participation in some areas, prompting influencer Laura Loomer to publicly call for his firing over insufficient deportation progress; Mullin quickly walked it back with a post declaring "NO amnesty for illegal aliens. Ever." The remarks followed other perceived missteps, including Mullin briefly halting immigration vehicle stops after two fatal shootings of immigrants before Trump reversed the policy without warning, his push to cancel July 4th fireworks over lightning that Trump personally overruled, and comments suggesting some Haitians with temporary protected status could remain in the U.S. shortly after the Supreme Court let the administration end those protections.
The Senate voted 90-6 early Saturday to pass a short-term funding bill averting a government shutdown ahead of the midterm elections, keeping federal money flowing at current levels through Dec. 11 to allow time for a full-year funding deal. The bipartisan measure includes a Democratic-demanded provision aimed at stopping Trump from blocking federal grants to blue states for political reasons, along with adjustments preserving SNAP and WIC food programs, disaster relief, and national security funding. Neither party wanted to risk a shutdown given a broad anti-incumbency mood affecting both sides heading into November’s elections. The bill now heads to the House, which must pass it and send it to Trump by Sept. 30 to prevent a shutdown starting Oct. 1; the Senate has since adjourned for the month and won’t return until Sept. 14.
Trump publicly called on U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro to “re-visit her hastily made decision” to drop vandalism charges against former Olympian David Hearn, one of several people accused of damaging the Reflecting Pool’s lining, in a Friday Truth Social post. The push comes a day after a federal judge dismissed the case but left the door open for prosecutors to revive it later, following the DOJ’s determination that shoddy installation work, rather than deliberate vandalism, made the damage difficult to pin on the defendants. Trump disputed that conclusion, claiming witnesses saw vandalism and that “the flexible areas of the material were cut with a knife.” The pressure follows days of Trump publicly criticizing Pirro, telling reporters he thought she “choked” and that he hadn’t yet decided her fate, while Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has similarly insisted vandals were responsible for cutting the pool lining.
Taylor Swift had the audio muted on a video Team Trump posted using her song “August” over footage of the president and first lady, with the account sarcastically captioning it, “I’m sure Taylor Swift is going to be super excited we used her song!” The video is now completely silent.
The first Trump-announced Patriot Games kicks off Sunday through Tuesday at SPIRE Academy near Cleveland, Ohio, with a $250,000 scholarship fund awaiting two winners, and ESPN broadcasting the event after finally releasing details Thursday. Each state is expected to send one boy and one girl aged 14 to 17, with teens from tribal nations and U.S. territories also eligible, though it’s unclear whether Trump himself will attend. The schedule includes a field-day-style mix of events: a “Presidential Qualifier,” dodgeball, and kickball on Sunday; unspecified “Varsity Circuit” and “Operation Endurance” competitions Monday; and tug-of-war, pop-a-shot, and an obstacle course finale on Tuesday, drawing on Presidential Fitness Test skills and a “military-inspired boot camp circuit.” Trump first announced the games in December as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations, originally planning to hold them in Washington, D.C., before SPIRE Academy was selected as host last month.
Kristi Noem became the first woman honored on Pierre’s Trail of Governors on August 7, with a statue depicting her alongside her horse, sculpted by John Lopez and funded through private donations, alongside a Capitol portrait unveiling. Reactions were mixed: some celebrated the recognition of South Dakota’s first female governor, while others called the tribute excessive for a living official, particularly given the added cost of including the horse.
Rep. Nancy Mace posted on X that "every single Muslim holding public office in America is a Trojan horse, and a threat to both national security and our republic," followed by claims that New York City is being "overrun" by people who want to "see this country burn," calling it "an invasion."
Greenland's government issued a "strong warning" after Trump-linked Texas company Greenland Energy landed drilling equipment on the island's eastern coast without obtaining required approval, insisting "all future logistical matters must be advised and approved" by the mineral resources authority beforehand. The move comes as Trump renews threats to claim Greenland, even posting a menacing Truth Social image of himself looming over a Greenlandic village just two days after the equipment arrived; Greenland Energy executives claim up to $1tn in crude may lie beneath the Jameson Land region and plan to spend $60m drilling wells there, though the area appears to fall within a protected wetland conservation zone. The company has drawn scrutiny for its political ties, having hired Dr. Phil to produce a documentary on the project and appointed a director working on Trump's Golden Dome missile defense plan, while chair Larry Swets, who has access to Trump's circle, insists the drilling isn't related to American annexation despite earlier falsely claiming at a community meeting that permission had already been granted.
A federal judge ruled that Education Secretary Linda McMahon acted illegally when she moved last year to waive a decades-old contracting priority for blind vendors operating dining facilities on Army bases, part of a broader administration push against disability rights programs. The 1936 Randolph-Sheppard Act requires the government to prioritize blind entrepreneurs for snack bars, cafeterias, and vending machines on federal property, and four blind vendors along with two advocacy groups sued after McMahon claimed, without solid evidence, that the program “adversely affects the interests of the United States.” In a ruling, Maryland Chief Judge George L. Russell found McMahon failed to follow required procedures, including publishing supporting documentation and allowing public comment, and noted the factual claims she relied on were, by the administration’s own admission, incorrect.
Typhoon Dolphin struck Japan’s Okinawa prefecture Saturday, injuring six people, mostly elderly residents who fell in strong winds, and cutting power to more than 50,000 buildings across Okinawa and Kagoshima, while domestic airlines canceled flights and the storm packed sustained winds of 162 kph with gusts up to 216 kph. China is bracing for landfall between late Sunday and early Monday, likely between Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, having designated Dolphin an orange-category typhoon and raised its emergency response level while halting ports, ferries, some construction, and flights, including a full Sunday shutdown at Ningbo Lishe International Airport. Forecasters warn parts of eastern Zhejiang could see over 600 mm of rain through August 12, with Beijing authorities preparing flood-control and evacuation plans for the capital as a precaution. Taiwan has canceled 78 mostly international flights and expects heavy rain, though no evacuations have been ordered, while China’s demand that ships in the Taiwan Strait heed its traffic instructions during the storm drew sharp criticism from Taipei, which called the move “ridiculous” and rejected Beijing’s claim to control access to the strait.
Federal prosecutor Will Rosenzweig sued the Justice Department Friday, alleging his September 2025 firing over years-old blog posts critical of Trump violated his First Amendment rights, coming just two weeks before he was set to try a multimillion-dollar Medicare fraud case. He was terminated less than three hours after conservative commentator Natalie Winters publicized his defunct blog and tagged senior DOJ officials, receiving an email signed by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi while he was away observing Rosh Hashana with his family. The lawsuit, filed in Miami federal court, seeks reinstatement, backpay, and a ruling declaring the firing unlawful, describing Rosenzweig as a highly praised prosecutor who’d recovered millions in taxpayer money through healthcare fraud cases and had recently been told he’d receive a special parking spot for his performance. His attorneys argue the firing reflects a broader pattern of DOJ purges targeting officials seen as opposed to the administration, and the complaint warns that conditioning government employment on political loyalty “has no place” in America, comparing it to practices in Havana and Caracas. A DOJ spokeswoman declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
Russian drone and missile attacks killed four people, including a 3-year-old child, in Kyiv and its surrounding region early Saturday, with a grandmother, grandfather, and their grandson dying after drones destroyed their home in the Brovary district, while a separate ballistic missile strike on civilian infrastructure in Kyiv killed at least one more person. Ukraine's air force said it downed 135 of 151 drones along with intercepting some of six ballistic missiles Russia launched overnight, but Kyiv's depleted Patriot interceptor stockpiles, strained further by the separate Iran war, are increasingly unable to keep pace, with Ukraine shooting down just under 60% of the roughly 9,000 drones and missiles Russia fired last month. Zelenskyy renewed his push for more sanctions targeting Russian ballistic missile production and pleaded for more interceptors, while also seeking to manufacture Patriot ammunition domestically or gain Elon Musk's permission to use Starlink to guide strikes on Russian missile launchers.
Families retrieved the bodies of eight victims Saturday, a day after a 14-year-old boy killed his two grandparents at home before opening fire at Debsirin Nonthaburi School near Bangkok, fatally shooting five school staff members and then himself, using a compact gun legally registered to his grandfather. Sixteen people remain hospitalized, seven in critical condition, most of them students between 12 and 14, while forensic officials said most victims died from a single gunshot wound to the chest or head. Classes have been suspended through August 14 as mourners left flowers outside the school and grieving parents came to collect their children’s belongings, with one father saying his son, who was present during the shooting, remains too shaken to sleep alone. The attack adds to a recent string of high-profile shootings in Thailand, which has one of Asia’s highest rates of civilian gun ownership, following a February incident where a 17-year-old stole a police gun and killed one person in a hostage standoff at a southern Thai high school.
Conservative outsider Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in as Colombia’s president Friday in Cali rather than the capital, a deliberate signal of his hard-line stance toward illegal armed groups, after narrowly defeating Petro ally Sen. Iván Cepeda in a June runoff. The 48-year-old, who has never held public office and self-funded his campaign with wealth from his career as a lawyer and businessman, pledged to break from outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s negotiation-based approach, warning armed groups they must surrender or be declared “military targets,” and plans to align Colombia with Trump’s regional “Shield of the Americas” anti-drug coalition. His inauguration drew King Felipe VI of Spain, U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, and fellow right-leaning Latin American leaders like Argentina’s Javier Milei and Chile’s José Antonio Kast, reinforcing what one analyst called a broader rightward shift across the region.
See you soon.
— Aaron
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