Appeals court finds Trump’s tariffs unconstitutional but leaves them in place for now

The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday fired at least eight employees who signed a letter criticizing the agency’s leadership under Administrator Lee Zeldin and Trump.

The declaration of dissent, signed by more than 170 employees in late June, “contains inaccurate information designed to mislead the public about agency business,’' an EPA spokesperson said.

“Thankfully, this represents a small fraction of the thousands of hard-working, dedicated EPA employees who are not trying to mislead and scare the American public,” the spokesperson said.

EPA declined to say how many employees were disciplined, but the agency’s largest union said at least six probationary employees who signed the letter were fired, along with at least two career employees.

The union, part of the American Federation of Government Employees, condemned the firings as “an assault on labor and free-speech rights.”

More than 14,000 mainly migrants who hoped to reach the United States have reversed course and turned south since the U.S. president’s immigration crackdown began.

That’s according to a report published Friday by the governments of Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica with support of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The phenomenon, known as “reverse flow” migration, is largely made up of Venezuelan migrants who fled their country’s long-running economic, social and political crises only to encounter U.S. immigration policy no longer open to asylum-seekers.

Migration through the treacherous Darien Gap on the border of Colombia and Panama peaked in 2023 when more than half a million migrants crossed. That flow slowed somewhat in 2024, but dried up almost completely early this year.

The report said northward migration dropped 97% this year.

▶ Read more about the reverse flow

Since sending the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington, the president has openly mused about sending troops to some of the nation’s most Democratic cities — including Chicago and Baltimore — claiming they are needed to crack down on crime.

Though most violent crime has fallen in recent years in the cities he has called out, Trump said Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker “should be calling me, and he should be saying, ‘Can you send over the troops please?’ It’s out of control.”

Whether Trump can repeat what he’s done in LA and the nation’s capital — call up the National Guard and have it assist a surge of federal law enforcement and immigration officers — is an open question and likely to become a point of contention should he press forward.

▶ Read more about how Trump has used troops in cities, what the law allows and what could come next

Jim O’Neill, a former investor, critic of health regulations and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s deputy, is taking control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention following a tumultuous week in which its director was forced out.

O’Neill was picked to be interim director, supplanting Susan Monarez, a longtime government scientist who been director for less than a month. Her lawyers said she refused “to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts.”

A former associate of billionaire tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel, O’Neill previously helped run one of Thiel’s investment funds and later managed several other projects. He has no training in medicine or health care and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in humanities.

O’Neill said Friday on social media that he looks forward to working with CDC staff and “announcing additions to the senior leadership in the weeks ahead.” He is to remain as HHS deputy.

▶ Read more about O’Neill

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys’ concerns are related to his human smuggling case in Tennessee.

They say administration officials keep attacking him with prejudicial and false statements and are asking a federal judge to order officials involved with his case to hold back on their comments. Those would include Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Abrego Garcia became a flashpoint over Trump’s immigration polices when he was wrongfully deported to El Salvador.

The Republican administration is trying to deport him again, this time to Uganda.

The Justice Department and the acting U.S. attorney who is prosecuting the human smuggling case declined to comment.

DHS said in a statement: “If Kilmar Abrego Garcia did not want to be mentioned by the Secretary of Homeland Security, then he should have not entered our country illegally and committed heinous crimes.”

Charles Borges, chief data officer, said in a letter to Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano that he is resigning due to the agency’s actions against him since he filed his whistleblower complaint this week.

“I have suffered exclusion, isolation, internal strife, and a culture of fear, creating a hostile work environment and making work conditions intolerable,” Borges wrote.

The Project Government Accountability Office, which is representing him in his whistleblower case, posted the letter on its website.

Borges’ attorney said he “no longer felt that he could continue to work for the Social Security Administration in good conscience, given what he had witnessed.” It added that he would continue to work with the proper oversight bodies.

Borges alleged that more than 300 million Americans’ Social Security data was put at risk by Department of Government Efficiency officials who uploaded sensitive information to a cloud account not subject to oversight.

The SSA declined to comment.

The administration has approved $329 million in arms sales to Ukraine for equipment and services to keep up its Patriot air defense systems and Starlink satellite internet platform.

The State Department said Friday that it notified Congress of the sales, including $179.1 million in equipment and other support for the air defense systems, which are crucial to knocking down stepped-up Russian airstrikes.

Another $150 million sale is for satellite communications services for Starlink terminals, which were provided by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company and help facilitate battlefield communications and power drones.

The previous day the U.S. announced an additional $825 million sale to Ukraine, including extended-range missiles and related equipment to boost defensive capabilities.

Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said in a statement: “Federal Courts have repeatedly done what Republican senators won’t do — say in black-and-white that Donald Trump’s tariff spree is illegal and cannot continue.”

Wyden said the sweeping tariffs are causing prices to rise for all manner of essential goods and Democrats intend to force votes on repealing them whenever possible.

“Ultimately Congress must seize back power over trade,” he added, “and make clear that Trump can’t pay for billionaire tax cuts on the backs of working families.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Martínez said his government is willing to receive hundreds of Guatemalan minors who arrived unaccompanied and are being held in U.S. facilities.

The Central American nation is particularly concerned about minors who could age out of facilities for children and be sent to adult detention centers, he said. The exact number of children to be returned remains in flux, but the figure officials are currently discussing is a little over 600.

That would be almost double what Guatemala previously agreed to. The head of the country’s immigration service said last month that the government was looking to repatriate 341 unaccompanied minors who were being held in U.S. facilities.

Martínez said no date has been set yet for the return of the children.

“If allowed to stand, this Decision would literally destroy the United States of America,” the president said on his social media platform.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that the president had no legal right to impose the sweeping tariffs but left in place for now his effort to build a protectionist wall around the economy.

The court found that Trump was not legally allowed to declare national emergencies and impose import taxes on almost every country, largely upholding a decision by a specialized federal trade court.

But the court tossed out a part of that ruling striking down the tariffs immediately, allowing the administration time to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The decision complicates Trump’s ambitions to upend decades of trade policy unilaterally. Trump has alternative laws for imposing import taxes, but they would limit the speed and severity with which he could act.

His tariffs — and their erratic rollout — have shaken global markets, alienated trading partners and allies and raised fears of inflation and slower economic growth.

Gov. Mike Kehoe is calling Missouri lawmakers into a special session to redraw the state’s districts as part of a growing national battle between Republicans and Democrats seeking an edge in next year’s congressional elections.

Kehoe’s announcement Friday came just hours after Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a new congressional voting map designed to help Republicans gain five more seats in the midterm elections.

It marked a win for President Donald Trump, who has been urging Republican-led states to reshape districts to give the party a better shot at retaining control of the House.

Republican-led Texas took up the task first and was quickly countered by Democratic-led California. Missouri would become the third state to pursue an unusual mid-decade redistricting for partisan advantage.

Missouri is represented in the House by six Republicans and two Democrats. Republicans hope to gain one more seat.

The special session is to begin Sept. 3.

Abbas and 80 other Palestinian Authority officials had their visas revoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of next month’s annual high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly.

That’s according to a State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity Friday to discuss visa issues that are normally confidential.

The State Department said earlier in a statement that the move was in “our national security interests” and accused the officials of “undermining the prospects for peace.”

The Palestinian Authority said it “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, which “contravenes international law and the Headquarters Agreement, especially since the State of Palestine is an observer member of the United Nations.”

A U.S. Senator says the Trump administration is planning to remove nearly 700 Guatemalan children who had come to the U.S. without their parents.

Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said in a letter to the Office of Refugee Resettlement that according to reports from unidentified whistleblowers the office has finalized a plan to deport the children in their custody back to Guatemala.

Wyden said the removals would violate the office’s “child welfare mandate and this country’s long-established obligation to these children.”
The office within the Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for migrant children who arrive in the U.S. alone.

The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the latest move, which was first reported by CNN. The Guatemalan government declined to comment.

A senior U.S. diplomat at the United Nations delivered the warning at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine saying Russia’s latest drone and missile attacks resulting in numerous civilian casualties “cast doubt on the seriousness of Russia’s desire for peace.”

“These strikes must stop immediately,” Minister-Counselor John Kelley said. “Russia must decide now to move toward peace. The leaders of Russia and Ukraine must agree to meet bilaterally.”

Kelley noted President Donald Trump’s warning that the U.S. could take “further economic measures … if Russia instead chooses to continue this war, measures which could have far-reaching impact on Russia’s future economic prosperity.”

“The United States calls on the Russian Federation to avoid these consequences by stopping the violence and engaging constructively to end the war,” said Kelley, who is the U.S. Mission’s political coordinator.

The Department of Health and Human Services this week told 40 states to change parts of sex ed lessons that focus on LGBTQ+ issues.

If they don’t comply in 60 days, they’ll lose federal money for the lessons.
The money comes through the Personal Responsibility Education Program and is aimed at teaching homeless students, those in foster programs, minorities and those in rural areas and places with high rates of teen pregnancy.

The push to change the lessons is part of a broader effort to eliminate what Trump calls “gender ideology.”

But some states have laws that require teaching about LGBTQ+ issues.

The Transportation Department on Friday canceled $679 million in federal funding for a dozen offshore wind projects.

The move was the latest attack by the Trump administration on the reeling U.S. offshore wind industry and comes days after the administration abruptly halted construction last week of a nearly complete wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Funding for projects in 11 states was rescinded, including $435 million for a floating wind farm in Northern California and $47 million to boost an offshore wind project in Maryland that the Interior Department has pledged to cancel.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that under Trump, “we are prioritizing real infrastructure improvements over fantasy wind projects that cost much and offer little.”

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the United Nations will follow up with U.S. authorities to get more details on Friday’s White House announcement.

Trump said in a letter he would not be spending $4.9 billion in foreign aid approved by Congress including $520 million for the U.N. regular budget and other U.N. agencies and $838 million for international peacekeeping.

“What can I tell you?,” Dujarric said. “This is going to make our budget situation, our liquidity situation that much more challenging.”

A federal appeals court on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s plans to end protections for 600,000 people from Venezuela who have had permission to live and work in the United States.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that maintained temporary protected status for Venezuelans while the case proceeded through court.

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco found in March that plaintiffs were likely to prevail on their claim that the administration overstepped its authority in terminating the protections and were motivated by racial animus in doing so. Chen ordered a freeze on the terminations, but the Supreme Court reversed him without explanation, which is common in emergency appeals.

It is unclear what effect Friday’s ruling will have on the estimated 350,000 Venezuelans whose protections expired in April. Protections for another group of 250,000 Venezuelans are set to expire Sept. 10.

▶ Read more about the ruling on Venezuela immigrants

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday signed into law a new congressional voting map designed to help Republicans gain more seats in the 2026 midterm elections, delivering a win for President Donald Trump and his desire to hold on to a slim GOP majority in the U.S. House.

The Texas map drafted in rare mid-decade redistricting prompted fierce protests from Democrats and sparked a gerrymandering tug-of-war for voters in states across the country.

“Texas is now more red in the United States Congress,” Abbott said in a video he posted on X of him signing the legislation.

Before Texas lawmakers passed their new map, California passed a bill asking voters to approve new Democratic-leaning districts to counter any Republican gains in Texas.

▶ Read more about redrawn Texas maps

The Trump administration is planning to send officers to Chicago for an immigration crackdown in its latest move to expand federal law enforcement presence in major Democratic-run cities.

That’s according to two U.S. officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because plans have not been made public.

A Homeland Security Department official says operations in the nation’s third-largest city are expected to last about 30 days and may start as early as Sept. 5. Another U.S. official said timing for what could be a sustained operation resembling Los Angeles is awaiting final approval.

The Trump administration asked the military this week for use of the Naval Station Great Lakes, north of Chicago, to support immigration enforcement.

Sen. Susan Collins, the Republican chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, says in a carefully-worded statement that its an “attempt to undermine the law” for President Donald Trump’s to cancel roughly $5 billion in foreign aid that was already approved by lawmakers.

“Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law,” Collins, a Maine Republican, said.

She has been pushing for Congress to work through a series of annual appropriations bills — something it has not done successfully for years. But as Trump seeks to dominate the federal government, Collins, a moderate Republican, has found herself increasingly at odds with the president.

“Instead of this attempt to undermine the law, the appropriate way is to identify ways to reduce excessive spending through the bipartisan, annual appropriations process,” she said.

President Donald Trump’s move to cancel nearly $5 billion in foreign aid without congressional approval is enraging Democrats, setting up a clash over funding ahead of a potential government shutdown at the end of September.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who was essential to preventing a government shutdown in March, said in a statement that Trump’s move was a sign that Republicans would not work across the aisle to pass another funding package in the coming weeks.

Republicans control both chambers of Congress, but will need votes from some Democrats to meet the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.

“Today’s announcement of the administration’s plan to advance an unlawful ‘pocket rescission’ package is further proof President Trump and congressional Republicans are hellbent on rejecting bipartisanship and ‘going it alone’ this fall,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in a statement.

Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries have been calling on Republican leaders to meet with them to discuss a funding package, but say they have so far refused.

Riyad Mansour told U.N. reporters that he had just learned about Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s decision to revoke visas of a number of Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization officials ahead of next month’s annual gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly.

“We will see exactly what it means and how it applies to any of our delegation, and we will respond accordingly,” he said.

Mansour said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is leading the delegation to the high-level meetings and is expected to address the General Assembly — as he has done for many years — and to attend a high-level meeting on the afternoon of Sept. 22 on a two-state solution co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia.

The State Department said Palestinian representatives assigned to the Palestinian Authority mission at the United Nations, which is led by Mansour, will be granted waivers so they can continue their New York-based operations.

Trump’s budget office is telling Congress it won’t spend funding for nearly $5 billion in foreign aid projects that had already been approved by lawmakers, just weeks before the end of the fiscal year.

It’s a flex on Congress’s authority that hasn’t been used in nearly 50 years, in part because it’s so legally dubious. Here’s why.

Usually, funding rescissions from the White House have to be approved by Congress, but because this rescission request was made so close to the end of the fiscal year, Congress doesn’t have time to act within the 45-day window it’s given under law to either accept or reject the request.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office, which acts as a watchdog for Congress, has already weighed in to say that such a move — called a “pocket rescission” — is illegal. Essentially, it allows a president to subvert Congress’ constitutional power over government funds.

But the White House went ahead and did it anyways, setting up a clash with lawmakers as they try to work out a funding package in the coming weeks.

The White House is targeting nearly $5 billion in funds, using a maneuver known as a pocket rescission that essentially defies the will of Congress. Here’s the programs affected:

• $3.2 billion for development assistance grants, which included programs like food security research, a fund meant to counter Chinese influence abroad, initiatives meant to spur businesses to engage in climate solutions
  
• $520 million for the UN regular budget, and other organizations such the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
  
• $838 million for contributions to international peacekeeping operations
  
• $322 million for the Democracy Fund, which is meant to encourage democracy and inclusiveness in other nations

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Ukrainian officials want to meet with President Trump and European leaders next week to discuss recent developments in efforts to end the three-year war with Russia.

The proposed meetings appeared designed to add momentum to the push for peace, as Zelenskyy expressed frustration with what he called Russia’s lack of constructive engagement in the process while it continues to launch devastating aerial attacks on civilian areas.

Trump has bristled at Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s stalling on an U.S. proposal for direct peace talks with Zelenskyy and said a week ago he expected to decide on next steps in two weeks if direct talks aren’t scheduled.

Trump complained last month that Putin “talks nice and then he bombs everybody.” But he’s also chided Ukraine’s attacks, and a major missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight from Wednesday to Thursday that killed at least 23 people drew no public condemnation from the Trump administration.

▶ Read more about Russia’s war in Ukraine

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked the visas of a number of Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization officials ahead of next month’s UN General Assembly session at which the two groups had been previously represented.

In a statement, the State Department said Friday that Rubio had also ordered that some new Palestinian official visa applications be denied. The statement didn’t specify how many visas had been revoked or how many applications had been denied.

“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” the department said. “Before the PLO and PA can be considered partners for peace, they must consistently repudiate terrorism — including the October 7 massacre — and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by U.S. law and as promised by the PLO.”

Palestinian representatives assigned to the Palestinian Authority mission at the United Nations will be granted waivers so they can continue their New York-based operations, it added.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is relinquishing one of his several Trump administration jobs to Russell Vought, who’s taking on another post.

Rubio posted on social media Friday that the Office of Management and Budget director would take over the U.S. Agency for International Development “to oversee the closeout of an agency that long ago went off the rails.”

Vought replied on social media, “Happy to help! Let’s go!”

Rubio joked during this week’s cabinet meeting that the coming Labor Day holiday would be very meaningful to him “as someone with four jobs.” In addition to serving as chief U.S. diplomat and heading up USAID, Rubio has been serving as acting national security adviser and leading the National Archives and Records Administration.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sent the message to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees Thursday night, amid an exodus of leaders at the Atlanta-based agency.

The White House this week moved to dismiss CDC Director Susan Monarez after she was in the job less that a month, and three top CDC officials resigned in protest. In the email Thursday night, Kennedy said he was committed to working with CDC employees. He said HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill will also serve as Acting CDC Director.

Kennedy also said he and President Trump “are aligned on the commonsense vision for the CDC,” which Kennedy described as a focus on infectious diseases and those spread through the air or contact with contaminated surfaces.

He also noted the planned launch of a Biothreat Radar Detection System, which would expand the advanced molecular detection work performed by the CDC center focused on emerging infectious diseases. That center’s director, Dr. Daniel Jernigan, was one of the CDC officials who resigned this week.

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Former national security adviser John Bolton waves as he arrives at his house Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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FILE - Hunter Biden, left, and Ashley Biden attend Maisy Biden’s commencement ceremony in Philadelphia, May 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

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The president has ended Secret Service protection for his onetime national security adviser John Bolton and members of Biden’s family, including the former president’s adult children.

The decision to strip Harris of protection is certain to raise alarms among security experts who view continuity of protection as essential in a polarized climate. The run-up to the 2024 election was particularly charged, with Trump facing two assassination attempts. The Secret Service played a crucial role in protecting the now-president.

A senior Trump administration official said an executive memorandum was issued Thursday to the Department of Homeland Security ending Harris’ security detail and security services.

Those had been extended from six to 18 months by the Biden administration, so they would have ended in July 2026, but now they’ll be terminated Monday.

The move to drop Harris’ Secret Service protection comes as the former vice president is about to embark on a book tour for her memoir, titled “107 Days.” The book is scheduled to be released next month.

Schumer says Kennedy’s tenure leading the Department of Health and Human Services has been marked by chaos.

“RFK Jr.’s stubborn, pigheaded, and conspiracy-based attacks on proven science are going to make many more people sick and cause more deaths,” Schumer, a New York Democrat said in a statement. “Americans are in greater danger every day Robert Kennedy Jr. remains as HHS Secretary.”

Senate Democrats uniformly opposed Kennedy’s confirmation in February, but criticism of how he’s handled the job has only increased since the Trump administration moved to fire Susan Monarez, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kennedy is scheduled to appear before a Senate panel next week.

The president said in a Thursday letter to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson that he would not be spending $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid.

The letter was posted Friday morning on the X account of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Trump is using what’s known as a “pocket rescission” in which a president submits a request to Congress to not spend approved funds toward the end of the fiscal year, so that Congress can not act on the request in time and the money goes unspent as a result. September is the final month in the government’s fiscal calendar.

President Trump has revoked Secret Service protection for former Vice President Kamala Harris. That’s according to a senior White House official.

Former vice presidents typically get federal government protection for six months after leaving office, while ex-presidents do so for life. But another person familiar with the matter says then-President Joe Biden quietly signed a directive that had extended protection for Harris beyond the traditional six months.

The people insisted on anonymity Friday to discuss a matter not made public.

▶ Read more about Harris’ Secret Service protection

It’s not unusual for the president to spend a day away from the public eye. On Thursday, Trump received an intelligence briefing and signed executive orders, but both of those events were closed to the news media.

A case that could provide the Trump administration with new and expansive power over the traditionally independent Federal Reserve will get its first court hearing Friday.

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has requested an emergency injunction to block President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire her over allegations that she committed mortgage fraud when she purchased a home and condo in 2021. She was appointed to the Fed’s board by former president Joe Biden in 2022.

If her firing is allowed to stand, it would likely erode the Fed’s longstanding independence from day-to-day politics. No president has ever fired a Fed governor in the agency’s 112-year history. Economists broadly support Fed independence because it makes it easier for the central bank to take unpopular steps such as raising interest rates to combat inflation.

▶ Read more about Lisa Cook and the Federal Reserve

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