Donald Trump has confirmed that he "wouldn't mind" slashing the staff at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which he claims has been "way too high for way too long." The president told the Wall Street Journal earlier today that he wants Bill Pulte - his new acting director of national intelligence, who has no national intelligence experience - to continue scaling back an office already significantly reduced during Trump's second term. When asked how long Pulte will serve in the acting role, Trump replied: "It depends how long it takes to get somebody through," adding that he has five interviews lined up for the permanent position before abruptly switching to talking about interest rates.
Meanwhile, in a stunning development that has surprised absolutely no one, something the president said yesterday turned out to be false. During a rambling set of remarks on Thursday, Trump announced plans to build a promenade on the east side of the Lincoln Memorial - possibly to be named after himself - claiming the original 1912 plans by architect Henry Bacon intended the monument to face the Potomac River to its west. The president then baffled historians by suggesting the memorial was constructed "back to front." In reality, Bacon's original competition entry, available on the National Archives website, clearly shows the east-facing front was always the front. Where Trump got the idea remains unknown, though it's worth noting he was mocked on social media weeks ago for sharing an AI-generated image of the memorial facing the wrong way.
The Justice Department sent an attorney to observe ballot processing in Los Angeles this morning, a day after Trump baselessly alleged "BIG cheating" in California's elections. A spokesperson for the county registrar-recorder told CNN the assistant US attorney arrived this morning, received an overview of the public observation program, and participated in a walkthrough - noting that ballot processing is already open to public observation. Several key races remain uncalled, partly due to the significant number of mail-in ballots, which apparently counts as "cheating" when you're losing.
In a development that could make Marbury v. Madison spin in its grave, a Justice Department lawyer has argued that no court has the authority to halt construction of Trump's $400 million White House ballroom and secure underground facility - only Congress can stop it. The Trump administration is asking the DC circuit court of appeals to reverse a lower court decision blocking the ballroom's construction on the site of the demolished East Wing. The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued in October after construction began without completing required review and approvals. During a hearing, Justice Patricia Millet asked whether the project could be stopped if it amounted to "complete lawlessness by the government." Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Yaakov Roth replied: "On these theories, I think that's right," arguing Congress could pass a law to authorize or block the specific action. Thad Heuer, representing the historic trust, responded that under Marbury v. Madison, "it is emphatically the province of the judicial department to say what the law is," adding: "The government's position, apparently, is that even a lawless action of this type could never be stopped by the court. That is entirely wrong."
Trump also told reporters that his team is looking into AI companies giving the American public a stake in their firms, after senior US officials held preliminary discussions about the government buying shares. "There's something very interesting about it, where it almost becomes a partnership with the American public," he said. "We'll look into that." He added that he will meet with AI executives at the White House "probably next week" - specifically, "all the big ones."
On the topic of the Kennedy Center - from which a judge ordered his name removed - Trump claimed "a lot of people" have asked him to stay involved and "get it fixed," though he declined to name these mysterious individuals. As for funding his proposed Lincoln Memorial promenade, Trump assured reporters it's "not a lot of money" and they have "a lot of sources of funding" that wouldn't require going back to Congress - which is probably for the best, given Congress's current mood.
Finally, Trump's legal team has rejected a request by the BBC to hand over financial information as part of his $10 billion defamation case against the broadcaster. The president's lawyers accused the BBC of a "fishing expedition" after the broadcaster asked for details to support Trump's claims he suffered reputational and financial damage from a Panorama documentary about the January 6 Capitol riots. The BBC had spliced together two parts of Trump's speech from that day. Four people died on January 6, and five police officers died afterwards, including from suicide. Trump's lawyers called the request "disproportionate" and encompassing "individuals and entities that have no connection to the issues in dispute."