US suspends visas for Gazans after far-right influencer posts

The Palestine Children's Relief Fund, a US-based charity, called on the Trump administration to "reverse this dangerous and inhumane decision."

1939 AMERIKA DENIES GERMAN JEWS ASYLUM

AFP
Sat, August 16, 2025 


Far-right influencer and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer called for the US to stop giving wounded Gazans visas for medical treatment (STEPHANIE KEITH)STEPHANIE KEITH/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFPMore


The US government said Saturday it is suspending visitor visas for Gazans after a far-right influencer with the ear of President Donald Trump complained that wounded Palestinians had been allowed to seek medical treatment in the United States.

The announcement came one day after a series of furious social media posts by Laura Loomer, who is known for promoting racist conspiracy theories and claiming that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were an inside job.

"All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days," the State Department, which is led by Marco Rubio, wrote on X.

In a series of posts on X Friday, Loomer called on the State Department to stop giving visas to Palestinians from Gaza who she said were "pro-HAMAS... affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and funded by Qatar," without providing evidence.

Loomer's target was the US-based charity HEAL Palestine, which said last week it had helped 11 critically wounded Gazan children -- as well as their caregivers and siblings -- arrive safely in the US for medical treatment.

It was "the largest single medical evacuation of injured children from Gaza to the US," the charity said on its website.

- 'Dangerous and inhumane' -

"Truly unacceptable," Loomer wrote in another X post. "Someone needs to be fired at @StateDept when @marcorubio figures out who approved the visas."

"Qatar transported these GAZANS into the US via @qatarairways," she said. Qatar is "literally flooding our country with jihadis," she added.

Loomer said she had spoken to the staff of Republican Tom Cotton, who chairs the Senate intelligence committee, adding that they were "also looking into how these GAZANS got visas to come into the US."

Republican Congressman Randy Fine explicitly commended Loomer after the visa change was announced, in a sign of her sway over some US policy.

"Massive credit needs to be given to @LauraLoomer for uncovering this and making me and other officials aware. Well done, Laura," Fine wrote on X.

The Palestine Children's Relief Fund, a US-based charity, called on the Trump administration to "reverse this dangerous and inhumane decision."

Over the last 30 years the charity has evacuated thousands of Palestinian children to the US for medical care, it said a statement.

"Medical evacuations are a lifeline for the children of Gaza who would otherwise face unimaginable suffering or death due to the collapse of medical infrastructure in Gaza."

Though Loomer holds no official position, she wields significant power, and is reported to have successfully pushed for the dismissal of several senior US security officials she deemed disloyal to Trump.

In July, Loomer took aim at a job offer made to a highly qualified Biden-era official for a prestigious position at the West Point military academy. The Pentagon rescinded the offer one day later.

Trump also fired the head of the highly sensitive National Security Agency, Timothy Haugh, and his deputy Wendy Noble in April at the apparent urging of Loomer, after she met with the president at the White House.

"No other content creator or journalist has gotten as many Biden holdovers fired from the Trump admin!" Loomer posted on X Saturday.

nr/dl/sla


US suspends visas for Gaza residents after right-wing social media storm

Al Jazeera
Sat, August 16, 2025 


The headquarters of the Department of State in Washington, DC [File: Mark Schiefelbein: AP Photo]


The United States has announced that it is halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a “a full and thorough” review, a day after social media posts about Palestinian refugees sparked furious reactions from right-wingers.

The Department of State’s move on Saturday came a day after far-right activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer posted on X that Palestinians “who claim to be refugees from Gaza” entered the US via San Francisco and Houston this month.

“How is allowing for Islamic immigrants to come into the US America First policy?” she said on X in a later post, going on to report further Palestinian arrivals in Missouri and claiming that “several US Senators and members of Congress” had texted her to express their fury.

Republican lawmakers speaking publicly about the matter included Chip Roy of Texas, who said he would inquire about the matter, and Randy Fine of Florida, who described the alleged arrivals as a “national security risk”.

By Saturday, the State Department announced it was stopping visas for “individuals from Gaza” while it conducted “a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days”. It did not provide a figure.

The US issued 640 visas to holders of the Palestinian Authority travel document in May, according to the Reuters news agency. B1/B2 visitor visas permit Palestinians to seek medical treatment in the US.

Loomer greeted Saturday’s State Department announcement with glee.

“It’s amazing how fast we can get results from the Trump administration,” she said on Saturday, though she later posted that more needed to be done to “highlight the crisis of the invasion happening in our country”.

The decision to cut visas comes as Israel intensifies its attacks on Gaza, where at least 61,827 people have been killed in the past 22 months, with the United Nations warning that “widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease” are driving a rise in famine-related deaths.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing to seize Gaza City as part of a takeover of the Strip, forcibly displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to concentration zones.

US stops visitor visas for people from Gaza

Jasper Ward
Sat, August 16, 2025 

REUTERS


Smoke rises following an Israeli strike, in Khan Younis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department on Saturday said it was halting all visitor visas for individuals from Gaza while it conducts "a full and thorough" review, a move that has been condemned by pro-Palestine groups.

The department said "a small number" of temporary medical-humanitarian visas had been issued in recent days but did not provide a figure.

The U.S. issued more than 3,800 B1/B2 visitor visas, which permit foreigners to seek medical treatment in the United States, to holders of the Palestinian Authority travel document so far in 2025, according to an analysis of monthly figures provided on the department's website. That figure includes 640 visas issued in May.

The PA issues such travel documents to residents of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The department’s website did not include a breakdown for the two territories.

The State Department's move to stop visitor visas for people from Gaza comes after Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and an ally of President Donald Trump, said on social media on Friday that the Palestinian "refugees" had entered the U.S. this month.

Loomer's statement sparked outrage among some Republicans, with U.S. Representative Chip Roy, of Texas, saying he would inquire about the matter and Representative Randy Fine, of Florida, describing it as a "national security risk".

The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the move, saying it was the latest sign of the "intentional cruelty" of the Trump administration.

The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund said the decision to halt visas would deny access to medical care to wounded and sick children in Gaza .

"This policy will have a devastating and irreversible impact on our ability to bring injured and critically ill children from Gaza to the United States for lifesaving medical treatment—a mission that has defined our work for more than 30 years," it said in a statement.

Gaza has been devastated by a war that was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.

Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza since then has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.

The U.S. has not indicated that it would accept Palestinians displaced by the war. However, sources told Reuters that South Sudan and Israel are discussing a plan to resettle Palestinians.

US halts visas for Gazans after Loomer highlights their arrival at airports

Susie Coen
Sat, August 16, 2025 
TELEGRAPH, UK


An injured Gazan teenager arrives at Washington Dulles International Airport on Aug 09 as part of a humanitarian evacuation by Heal Palestine. Meanwhile, Laura Loomer has hit out at Gazan arrivals fearing retribution against Americans - Mehmet Eser/Zuma Press/ShutterstockMore


The US has halted all visitor visas for people from Gaza after Laura Loomer, the far-Right activist, shared videos allegedly showing evacuees from the wartorn enclave arriving at US airports.

“All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days,” the US state department wrote in a statement posted on X.

Laura Loomer wants arrivals stopped before ‘one of these Gazans goes rogue and kills Americans for Hamas’ - John Lamparski/Getty

On Friday, Ms Loomer, a Maga loyalist, posted several times about Heal Palestine, a humanitarian aid group, allegedly facilitating the evacuation of Gazans injured by Israeli forces to the US for medical treatment.

According to its website, the NGO has helped evacuate 148 people from Gaza, including 63 injured children.

It claims to have carried out the largest single medical evacuation of injured children from Gaza to the US in July. This included 11 critically injured children, with their caregivers and siblings.

Among those evacuated were Seba, 12, who lost both legs in a school bombing and Anas, eight, who is the sole survivor of a bombing that killed his entire family.

Injured Palestinian teenagers in need of care are among the Gazans seen arriving at US airports - Zuma Press/Avalon

Ms Loomer took credit for the state department’s halt on medical humanitarian visas for Gazans on Saturday, saying it had been in response to the “release of my reports yesterday exposing flights of Gazans arriving at airports all across the US”.

Writing on X, Ms Loomer said: “The Trump administration needs to shut this abomination down ASAP before a family member of one of these Gazans goes rogue and kills Americans for Hamas.”

She also called for those responsible for approving humanitarian visas to the children and their families to be fired.

Her posts were picked up by some pro-Israel Republicans.

“Deeply concerned about the incoming flights – including to Texas – allegedly filled with folks from Gaza as reported by @LauraLoomer. Inquiring,” Congressman Chip Roy wrote on Friday.

Florida Republican Randy Fine said: “Massive credit needs to be given to @LauraLoomer for uncovering this and making me and other officials aware.”

Palestinians seek aid supplies from trucks that entered Gaza - Dawoud Abu Alkas TPX/Reuters

The US government halting visas for children injured in Gaza comes amid continued outrage over the conditions faced by those in Gaza.

A baby girl and her parents were reportedly killed by an Israeli airstrike on Saturday, according to Nasser hospital officials and witnesses.

Motasem al-Batta, his wife and the girl were killed in their tent in the crowded Muwasi area.

Israel’s military says it is dismantling Hamas’ military capabilities and takes precautions not to harm civilians.

Muwasi is one of the heavily populated areas in Gaza where Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said his forces plan to widen the coming military offensive.

Desperate Palestinians resort to living in tents on the beach in Gaza - Mahmoud Issa/Anadolu via Getty

The mobilisation of forces is expected to take weeks, and Israel may be using the threat to pressure Hamas into releasing more hostages.

It comes as the United Nations was warned that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza were at their highest since the war began.

Palestinians are reportedly drinking contaminated water as diseases spread, while some Israeli leaders continue to talk openly about the mass relocation of people from Gaza.

Gazans scramble for food as limited aid arrives. Many are forced to drink contaminated water risking the spread of disease - Hamza Z H Qraiqea/Anadolu via Getty

Another 11 malnutrition-related deaths occurred in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry said on Saturday, bringing the malnutrition-related deaths during the war to 251.

The UN and partners say getting aid into the territory of more than two million people, and then on to distribution points, remains highly challenging with Israeli restrictions and pressure from crowds of hungry Palestinians.

The UN human rights office claims at least 1,760 people were killed while seeking aid between May 27 and last Wednesday.

State Department halts Gaza visitor visas

Ashleigh Fields

THE HILL
Sat, August 16, 2025




The State Department on Saturday said it would halt Gaza visitor visas to the U.S.

“All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days,” the department wrote in a Saturday statement on the social media platform X.

The Hill has reached out to the State Department for additional comment.

The move comes a week after President Trump refrained from criticizing Israeli leaders’ efforts to ramp up strikes and increase control in Gaza.

“I know that we are there now trying to get people fed. … As far as the rest of it, I really can’t say. That’s going to be pretty much up to Israel,” Trump told reporters in early August, committing to leading humanitarian aid efforts in the war-torn region.

Several nations and human rights groups have said starvation is persistent among Gazans, urging countries and organizations to aid in food and resource distribution.

In response to on the ground reports, Germany halted military exports to Israel, seeking to dismantle prior support for the use of force in the Gaza Strip.

France, Canada and the United Kingdom also expressed concerns with Israeli operations and announced their intent to recognize Palestinian as an independent sovereign state.

Seventy to 75 percent of Gaza is under Israeli control, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has denied reports about starvation.

Netanyahu said the government’s plans are to overtake parts of the Gaza Strip, which he said are under the control of Hamas.

“Israel’s Cabinet, Israel’s security Cabinet, instructed the IDF to dismantle the two remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City and the Central Camps,” he added, referring to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). “Contrary to false claims, this is the best way to end the war, and the best way to end it speedily.

In Washington, leaders across the aisle have become increasingly critical of Israel and the situation in Gaza.

“We each have to continue to have an open heart about how we do this, how we do it effectively, and how we take action in time to make a difference, whether that is stopping the starvation and genocide and destruction of Gaza, or whether that means we are working together to stop the redistricting that is going on, taking away the vote from people in order to retain power,” House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) said during a Thursday event, referencing redistricting efforts across the country.

Clark is the highest-ranking House Democrat to use the term “genocide” to describe the crisis in Gaza.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


US halts visitor visas used for medical trips from Gaza

Kayla Epstein - BBC
Sat, August 16, 2025 


[AFP via Getty Images]

The US State Department announced it was halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza.

The pause was issued to conduct a "full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days," the agency said on X.

The decision has drawn condemnation from some Palestinian rights groups.

Palestine Children's Relief Fund said in a statement that the decision "will have a devastating and irreversible impact on our ability to bring injured and critically ill children from Gaza to the United States for lifesaving medical treatment".

The State Department's policy shift comes after far right activist Laura Loomer wrote a series of posts on X criticising the visa programme and urging the Trump administration to "shut this abomination down."

In subsequent posts on X Saturday, Loomer took credit for the shift and thanked Secretary of State Marco Rubio for temporarily halting the visas.

The Palestinian Children's Relief Fund says it has evacuated 169 children from Gaza in 2024 as part of its treatment abroad programme, bringing them to the Middle East, Europe, South Africa, and the US for care.

Two and a half years into a war that followed Hamas' 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, Gaza has seen much of its medical infrastructure damaged and now faces dramatic food shortages.

Humanitarian groups have alleged that an Israeli blockade beginning in March has prevented non-governmental organisations from delivering sufficient food into Gaza. The Israeli government says its rules on aid are intended to prevent the food from being taken by Hamas.

UN-backed food security organisations, humanitarian groups, and journalists reporting within Gaza have warned of famine conditions in Gaza.

In late July, the BBC joined international news outlets Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, and Reuters in issuing a public statement warning that journalists in Gaza faced starvation.

"For many months, these independent journalists have been the world's eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza. They are now facing the same dire circumstances as those they are covering," the outlets wrote.

The U.S. Government Turned Away Thousands of Jewish Refugees, Fearing That They Were Nazi Spies

In a long tradition of “persecuting the refugee,” the State Department and FDR claimed that Jewish immigrants could threaten national security

The U.S. Government Turned Away Thousands of Jewish Refugees, Fearing That They Were Nazi Spies

Trump posted a photo of me sitting by my tent - then a bulldozer arrived

Jake Horton - BBC Verify in Washington DC
Sat, August 16, 2025 


[BBC]

President Donald Trump was riding along in his motorcade through Washington DC last Sunday on the way to his golf club when he saw something that clearly irked him - a homeless tent encampment on a patch of grass.

"The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY," he posted on Truth Social that morning, along with four photos.

One of these showed a man sitting in a camping chair by his tent, who I would eventually learn was Bill Theodie. Four days later, Mr Theodie was forced to move after the president announced a crackdown on homelessness in the nation's capital.

"That's me," he said when I showed him the photo Trump posted, which was the first time he had seen it.

"That is insane that he just leaned out the window and takes a picture of me and then posts it on social media in a negative way, using it as his political tool."

[BBC]

On Monday, Trump announced his administration would be "removing homeless encampments from all over our parks, our beautiful, beautiful parks".

"We have slums here, we're getting rid of them," he said from behind the podium in the White House press room.

After the announcement, BBC Verify decided to investigate the photos that the president had posted.

We matched visual clues in the pictures of the tents - including a bend in the road alongside the grassy area where they were pitched - to a location on Google streetview.

The encampment was about a 10-minute drive from the White House, and less than that from the BBC office in Washington - so I headed down there to see what had happened to the site that had caught the president’s attention.

When I arrived local officials were there warning people they could soon be forced to move.

I also found Mr Theodie, a 66-year old from Missouri, sitting in the same camping chair.

He had seen Trump drive by before.

"The president's motorcade is pretty long," Mr Theodie said. "I've seen it coming through here three times."

"You know, I understand he doesn't want to see mess, that's why we go out of our way to maintain it clean. We're not trying to disrespect the president or any other person who comes by."

He told me he had been living at the site for years and works in construction, though he's been out of full-time employment since 2018. Normally, he can pick up just a few shifts a month.

On Thursday, Mr Theodie and the other residents there were told to pack up and leave immediately.

A local reporter filmed as a bulldozer was sent in to dismantle tents and other belongings people left behind.

"They said you need to pack it up or they are going to bulldoze it. They didn't come for talking, it was go, go, go," Mr Theodie said.

Wayne Turnage, the deputy mayor of the DC Department of Health and Human Services, said city authorities have removed encampments across the capital before.

This is usually done with at least a weeks notice, he said, but the process has been fast-tracked following Trump's announcement.

Mr Theodie says he doesn't feel safe sleeping in a shelter [BBC]

The homeless encampment was the largest in the city, according to the local authority - with 11 people living next to one of the main routes out of Washington DC.

Before the latest crackdown, there were 97 people living in homeless encampments in the city this year, a big drop from 294 in 2023, the figures show.

The estimated amount of people experiencing homelessness is 5,138 this year, down from 5,613 in 2024, according to the city's yearly snapshot.

The latest data from the Community Partnership, an organisation that works to reduce homelessness, shows about 800 people are unsheltered, while about 4,300 others have some sort of temporary housing.

The White House said it will offer to place people sleeping on the streets in homeless shelters and provide access to addiction or mental health services - but if they refuse, they will face fines or jail time.

"You can't just snatch people up and threaten them with arrest or force people to go to a shelter," said Mr Theodie. "I don't want to go to a shelter - they're bad places."

Organisations that work with homeless people say the system is flawed as shelter capacity is often limited.

US Supreme Court allows cities to ban homeless camps

Since leaving the site, Mr Theodie has spent three nights in a motel in Virginia after someone who saw the removal gave him money to cover it.

"If I wasn't blessed by that person, I don't know what I would have done. I probably would've sat down on the curb all day," he said.

"This room is jammed packed full of stuff, my tent and my belongings… but it's so good to sleep in a bed, to take a shower, to use a private bathroom, it feels absolutely amazing."

Mr Theodie said he will try to find a new spot when he checks out of the motel: "My best option is to try to find a safe place to set my tent up. I don't know where that's going to be, but I would like to stay in DC."

I also met George Morgan, a 65-year old from Washington DC, at the encampment. He said he had only been living there for two months, after he had to move out of an apartment he could no longer afford.

Mr Morgan says he spent his last money to make sure his dog could stay with him in a motel [BBC]

When I called to see what had happened to him after the encampment was removed, he was in a motel reception area with his dog, Blue, after someone covered the cost of a night there for him too.

"We're sitting here to see if we're able to get another night. I had to pay $15 dog fee - which was the last money I had."

When I last spoke to Mr Morgan, he had been able to extend his stay at the motel through the weekend - but said he didn't know what next week would bring.

"I have to play it by ear as I have no money. God has always come through, so I'll see what God sets up next."

[BBC]

Draft ‘Make America Healthy Again’ report treads lightly on pesticides, processed foods

Meg Tirrell, Sarah Owermohle, CNN
Fri, August 15, 2025 

The Trump administration’s strategy to “Make America Healthy Again” will bypass aggressive action on farm-used pesticides or regulatory crackdowns on ultraprocessed foods, according to a draft document obtained by CNN.

The MAHA Commission, led by US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is set to release in the coming weeks its finalized recommendations for addressing chronic diseases among American children. It is the second installment from the MAHA Commission, which in May issued a report laying out the main culprits it saw driving the chronic illnesses.

“President Trump pledged to Make America Healthy Again, and the Administration is committed to delivering on that pledge with Gold Standard Science. Until officially released by the White House and MAHA Commission, however, any documents purporting to be the second MAHA Report should be disregarded as speculative literature,” White House Spokesman Kush Desai said.

A former federal official familiar with the document noted those briefed by the White House on the report have said the policies in the draft document appear to line up with what they were told.

Kennedy has publicly railed against ultraprocessed foods, overprescription of medicine and Americans’ exposure to commonly used pesticides in commercial farming. Yet the draft MAHA document, dated August 6, stops short of recommending some of the MAHA movement’s key priorities — like targeting specific pesticides such as glyphosate — rankling many of Kennedy’s longtime supporters.

The draft report says the Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency will prioritize research and precision technology that helps farmers reduce pesticide use. It also says the EPA “will work to ensure that the public has awareness and confidence in EPA’s robust pesticide review procedures.”

Hundreds of MAHA advocates signed onto a letter late last week that pressed President Donald Trump to rebuke a congressional proposal that would shield pesticide and “forever” chemical manufacturers from lawsuits linked to their products. The signees — which include former Kennedy campaign supporters, MAHA influencers and the nonprofit he chaired, Children’s Health Defense — argue that there is significant evidence that these chemicals are linked to cancers, liver disease and other complications.

That letter has since swelled to 350 signees, according to its organizers, who believe their efforts can pressure the administration to change the report before its public release.

“No one’s trying to take away farmers’ rights to grow food in a responsible manner. All we’re asking is that companies whose products cause harm should be held liable in a court of law,” said David Murphy, former Kennedy finance director and the founder of United We Eat, a coalition of farmers and healthy food advocates.

“That seemed like a reasonable request to us,” Murphy said in an interview prior to the draft MAHA documents’ circulation.

Commercial farming groups have argued against further pesticide regulations, and blasted the first MAHA report’s suggestion of links between chemicals such as glyphosate and atrazine and chronic health problems.

Those farm groups’ blowback prompted public assurances from Kennedy and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins that the administration prioritizes farmers and Americans’ confidence in the food supply.

Defining processed foods

The administration will launch awareness campaigns around the benefits of whole foods, but is not unveiling any regulatory crackdown on ultraprocessed snacks that were key targets of the initial MAHA report.


The draft document nods to new dietary guidelines, expected later this year, and an “education campaign” alongside their release.

The draft also cites a recent effort from the health and agricultural departments to define ultraprocessed foods, a first step in regulating their ingredients and marketing.

While the draft also suggests that the FDA will take an aggressive approach to authorizing new additives in Ultraprocessed foods, it stops short of recommending any crackdown on current products.

Earlier this month, former FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler proposed a much bolder approach to declare that widely used ingredients in processed foods, like refined sugars and flours, are no longer considered safe.

“The first report, despite the hallucinated references, was a strong indictment of this country’s neglect of the health of our children,” Marion Nestle, the Paulette Goddard professor emerita of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, wrote in an email. “It promised that the second report would state policies to address those problems. No such luck.”

Nestle added that the report contradicts broader Trump administration policy by recommending improvements to hospital food, nutrition assistance programs and childcare programs, many of which have seen funding cuts.

Others, such as Dr. Jim Krieger of Healthy Food America, hoped the report would recommend new labeling requirements for foods with high added sugar, saturated fats, sodium and other sweeteners.

“Despite all the attention to ultraprocessed foods in the first MAHA Commission report, the sole mention now of ultraprocessed foods is that the government will come up with a definition,” Krieger said. “What about removing them from schools? Restricting marketing? A ultraprocessed label on the front of food packages?”
New research priorities

The MAHA Commission will also launch an education campaign “to improve health and fertility in women and men seeking to start a family” and start a research initiative aimed at the root causes of infertility. The draft states that research effort will also focus on improvements to maternal and infant health outcomes.

HHS will convene a working group to “evaluate prescription patterns” for antidepressants, antipsychotics, stimulant sand other behavioral drugs. The first MAHA report argued that prescriptions of these medicines have soared in children. The group will draw in a range of health agencies including the US Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Administration for Children and Families and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

The draft also nods to Kennedy’s longtime goal to overhaul the childhood vaccine schedule, noting that HHS will work with the White House Domestic Policy Council on a framework for recommended vaccines and a strategy for addressing vaccine injuries. Kennedy had announced several of these priorities before, including a plan to overhaul the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

Childhood cancer is briefly mentioned in the draft document; it states that NIH and the White House Office of Science and Technology will develop an AI-driven tool to “transform research and clinical trials on pediatric cancer.”

CNN’s Sandee LaMotte contributed to this report.

Opinion

RFK Jr. Is Breaking His Two Big Promises to MAHA Diehards

Robert McCoy
Fri, August 15, 2025 





The true believers of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement are fuming over a New York Times report Friday, which reveals that a leaked draft of the White House MAHA Commission’s second report does not endorse directly restricting pesticides and ultraprocessed foods.

When the first report was published in May, Forbes’s Chloe Sorvino notes, many adherents of the MAHA movement championed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. believed it “didn’t go far enough” in its 25 mentions of pesticides as potentially harmful to human health. At the same time, the report struck fear in the hearts of many in the agriculture industry.

Last month, ahead of the upcoming second report, the White House reportedly promised farm lobbyists that the administration would side with them over MAHA by refusing to restrict pesticide use. The Times report suggests that the White House delivered on that promise.

The news will be sure to upset the 500 people who signed onto a July letter, by the anti–Big Ag group United We Eat, urging Kennedy to ban pesticides. Some in MAHA land are already up in arms.

“Behold the power of Big Ag & Chemical Co’s,” Fox News’s Laura Ingraham wrote on X.

“Republicans in the pay of Big Food [and] Pharma are thwarting MAHA,” tweeted Jeffrey A. Tucker, a libertarian writer and president of the Brownstone Institute. “Keep it up and they will lose the midterms.”

Nutritionist Marion Nestle wrote this week that the second MAHA report will expose a faultline in Trump’s 2024 movement: “MAHA versus the realities of MAGA.” If the final report resembles the leaked draft, then it would seem that MAHA’s losing this fight.

Bad diets, too many meds, no exercise: A look inside the latest 'Make America Healthy Again' report

AMANDA SEITZ
Fri, August 15, 2025 

US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., conducts a news conference, on April 16. - Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

WASHINGTON (AP) — A report that U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promised will improve the health of America’s children does not call on the government to make significant changes to its food or farming policies, according to a draft document obtained by The Associated Press.

The “Make America Healthy Again” strategy report is supposed to be one of Kennedy’s signature achievements as the nation’s health secretary, giving the government a roadmap to help its citizens lose weight, reduce chronic diseases and exercise more. Before coming to Washington, Kennedy had spent much of his career decrying the harms of chemicals sprayed on crops, prescription drugs, ultraprocessed foods, and vaccines.

His coalition, then, has expected him to take bold action as the nation’s top health leader. But a draft of the so-called “MAHA” report, first reported by The New York Times Thursday night, mostly calls on the government to further study chronic diseases, bad air quality, Americans’ diets and prescription drug use.

The report lays out four problem areas – poor diet, chemical exposure, lack of physical activity and overuse of medications -- that are to blame for chronic diseases in the U.S.

The White House has held off on publicly releasing the report, which was submitted to President Donald Trump on Tuesday. The latest report is the policy companion to a “MAHA” report released in May, which was found to have several errors in it.

White House spokesman Kush Desai refused to confirm whether the copy obtained by the Associated Press was a final version, though HHS officials have insisted the report has been finalized since Tuesday.

“Donald Trump pledged to Make America Healthy Again, and the Administration is committed to delivering on that pledge with Gold Standard Science,” Desai said. “Until officially released by the White House and MAHA Commission, however, any documents purporting to be the second MAHA Report should be considered as nothing more than speculative literature.”

Some in the agricultural industry had warily anticipated the report, fearing it would call for bans or investigations into the use of pesticides and herbicides that farmers in the U.S. regularly spray on crops to control weeds and enhance yields. Other farmers were concerned about how the report may target the use of corn syrup, a common sweetener, in American foods. Both products have been a central talking point in Kennedy’s “MAHA” movement, which has attracted a diverse coalition of suburban and rural moms, Trump supporters and liberals concerned about the nation’s food supply.

Instead, the report calls for an “awareness” campaign to raise confidence in pesticides.

Concerns from the agricultural industry waned as the report hit the president’s desk, with one of Kennedy’s closest advisers, Calley Means, calling for MAHA supporters to work with major farm companies on Tuesday.

Means also acknowledged that the “pace of political change” can be frustrating.

“We need to build bridges,” Means said, adding that: “We are not going to win if the soybean farmers and the corn growers are our enemy.”

Means did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. A spokesman for Kennedy also declined to comment.

The report urges the National Institutes of Health – which is facing a 40% cut to its budget under the Trump administration – to undertake several studies on Americans’ health, including research on vaccine injury, autism, air quality, water quality, prescription drugs, and nutrition.

The report also calls for changes to the foods served in schools and hospitals, something that will be hard to deliver with the Trump administration’s funding cuts, said Kari Hamerschlag, the deputy director of the food and agriculture at the nonprofit Friends of the Earth. Earlier this year, the Republican-led administration wiped out $1 billion set aside that helped food banks and schools procure food directly from local farmers.

“This is not going to transform our food and farming system,” Hamerschlag said. “This is not going to make people healthier. They need to put resources behind their recommendation

Draft of Trump’s Health Blueprint Avoids Industry Crackdown

Rachel Cohrs Zhang, Kristina Peterson and Skylar Woodhouse
Fri, August 15, 2025 

BLOOMBERG


Robert F. Kennedy Jr., US secretary of Health and Human Services, left, and President Donald Trump during a news conference at the White House on May 12.

(Bloomberg) -- A draft of the Trump administration’s highly anticipated blueprint on health policy takes a softer approach to regulating companies than many had feared, a relief for industry and setback for environmental activists.

The draft report, which has been reviewed by Bloomberg News, has parts that go beyond previous announcements. They are mostly about boosting research in areas such as the risks of microplastics and how antidepressants are prescribed for children. It also refers to plans to boost fertility rates and getting whole milk into public schools.

The draft was dated Aug. 11, but could still see changes before it’s finalized, according to people familiar with the discussions who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter. In particular, the report’s tone around pesticides is far less critical than Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his allies have been in the past. That raised concerns earlier this week from some of his supporters in the so-called Make America Healthy Again movement, according to the people.

The policy agenda is the second installment in a two-part process to carry out an executive order that President Donald Trump signed in February. The first report detailed research about what the administration viewed as the root cause of chronic disease among children, and the second was intended to lay out policies to address those root causes. The strategy was due to be submitted to the president on Aug. 12, but hasn’t been publicly released.

The White House declined to confirm the draft’s authenticity, but industry officials said it was largely in line with what they had been briefed on by the administration. Still, the report appeared in flux before its public release, with the debate centered on the wording of the pesticide provisions.

“Until officially released by the White House and MAHA Commission, any documents purporting to be the second MAHA Report should be disregarded as speculative literature,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai.

The document aligns with the administration’s strategy to create change by pressuring industries, rather than through new regulations or laws. Officials have employed the strategy with food companies, health insurers and pharmaceutical producers so far.

Pesticides Approach

The draft takes a lighter touch on pesticides, after a backlash from the agricultural community before the first report’s release prompted an internal debate over the issue.

The document calls for continually evaluating the current framework to “ensure that chemicals and other exposures do not interact together to pose a threat to the health of our children.” It references measuring the “cumulative exposure” to chemicals. That could rankle farmers and agriculture firms, which say that pesticides are safe to use and disputes language that suggests they could be harmful to Americans.

Kennedy has been skeptical of some vaccines, and the document calls for more research on vaccine injuries. The draft has vague pronouncements such as “ensuring scientific and medical freedom” and making sure Americans have the “best” vaccination schedule.

The agency will launch a “MAHA education campaign” to promote the early adoption of lifestyle changes that may increase fertility rates among men and women, including through new partnerships with federally funded family planning facilities, according to the draft, which didn’t provide specific examples of what would be taught.

Kennedy has repeatedly raised concerns over declining sperm counts and testosterone rates, especially among teenage boys, to explain declining US birth rates.

Processed Foods

The draft report criticizes “highly processed foods,” listing poor diet among the top drivers of children’s chronic diseases, but didn’t propose any significant new restrictions on the industry. The administration has already begun the process of defining “ultra processed foods,” which it said will be used to develop future research funding and policies.

The report refers to highly processed foods more often than ultra-processed foods and doesn’t distinguish between the terms. Ultra-processed foods typically involve some industrial steps or ingredients, unlike whole foods such as fruits and vegetables. Many packaged foods are generally considered ultra-processed.

The report also pointed to forthcoming revised dietary guidelines, which Trump officials have estimated will be released in the fall. Kennedy has said those guidelines will encourage people to eat “whole foods,” and will be simple and easy to understand.

The draft report previews several public health awareness campaigns it plans to launch, including a “Real Food First” push to “prioritize whole, minimally processed foods over packaged and highly processed alternatives.”

Whole Milk

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary has indicated the dietary guidelines will take a new approach toward saturated fat. The draft report included one hint of what could be coming, by specifically calling to remove the restrictions around serving whole milk in schools. Because the current dietary guidelines recommend limiting consumption of foods high in saturated fat to less than 10% of calories daily, schools serve only skim and 1% milk.

The draft calls for increased oversight and enforcement of advertisements for direct-to-consumer drugs. The report suggests that social media influencers and telehealth companies – categories that have historically fallen into a regulatory gray area – should be subject to greater oversight when promoting drugs.

Lawmakers have been pressuring the federal government to take action on the influx of advertisements from telehealth companies that offer copycat weight-loss medications. That includes allegations that Hims & Hers Health Inc. omitted safety information in advertising.

--With assistance from Ilena Peng, Charles Gorrivan and Madison Muller.

Bloomberg Businessweek

Trump Admin’s MAHA Agenda Brings Politics to the Dinner Table

Jamie Wilde
Fri, August 15, 2025 


Photo via Franki Chamaki

Major food brands are rushing to overhaul their ingredient lists before the release of the Trump administration’s second “Make America Healthy Again” report. The new report, which is expected to outline strategies for addressing claims made in the first, was supposed to go live this week but has been delayed.

Under MAHA, companies have been scrutinized for their use of seed oils, high-fructose corn syrup and artificial dyes. Whether or not MAHA’s health claims are accurate and its policies enforceable, the food and beverage industry is entering the conversation and trying to use the moment as a marketing opportunity, according to several reports Thursday.

Tuning the Brand Voice

Most major brands that shoppers see on cereal boxes, snacks, and drinks are putting out announcements about how they’re aligning with MAHA guidelines:

Froot Loops-maker WK Kellogg and Lucky Charms-maker General Mills both plan to eliminate artificial food dyes from their cereals. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola intends to release a cane-sugar version of its soda in the US, and PepsiCo said it’ll do the same with its namesake soda (plus add some trendy probiotics).

The impacts go beyond groceries. Fast food chain Steak ’n Shake turned its recent switch from vegetable oil to beef tallow into an advertising campaign, while Bloomberg reports Starbucks is looking into how it could swap out canola oil at its cafes.

But using MAHA as a marketing moment could backfire. American shoppers are increasingly discerning, with only about half trusting food companies and a growing number scanning food labels, according to Ketchum. Companies want to fix that relationship and get on the Trump admin’s good side. At the same time, getting too cozy with MAHA policies could alienate customers who disagree with the initiative’s claims.

Tastes Can Change: Chobani’s founders warned that ingredient swaps can be a lengthy process (supply chains aren’t shuffled overnight) and one that not all customers like, not just because of their political beliefs. Case in point: General Mills, which promised this summer to remove artificial dyes from all its cereals, previously removed dyes from Trix cereal in 2016. But the cereal brand brought back the vibrant colors following customer backlash. One customer called the reformulated Trix, which used natural veggie-based dyes, “basically a salad.”

White House Denies Trump Slung Insults at Epstein Victims in Private

Trump even accused the victims of colluding with Democrats.

Laura Esposito
Fri, August 15, 2025 

The White House is pushing back on reports that President Donald Trump has been lashing out at Jeffrey Epstein’s sex abuse victims behind closed doors.

Sources told Rolling Stone that Trump has repeatedly criticized victims and their families as they publicly pressure him to release the so-called “Epstein files”—even as his administration ramps up efforts to bury the scandal.

Trump, who was close friends with Epstein for more than a decade, reportedly told members of his inner circle that the convicted sex offender’s accusers are just trying to make him look bad—or imply he did something wrong. At times, according to the report, Trump even accused the victims of colluding with Democrats.

“None of this is true,” a White House official said in response to a request for comment. “Just another desperate attempt by the failing Rolling Stone.”

But Rolling Stone reporter Asawin Suebsaeng, who co-authored the story with Nikki McCann Ramirez, pushed back during an appearance Thursday night on MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes, telling guest host Antonia Hylton that their reporting was based on sources “in and out of the Trump administration.”

“One of the things that got us onto reporting this out is that public facing, Trump is often very garrulous in how he insults his enemies, big and small, who come after him or who he feels like they’re coming after him, especially when he’s sitting as leader of the free world,” Suebsaeng said.

“But for some reason, he was conspicuously silent about these families and these individual accusers.”

He added that once they began digging, sources confirmed that Trump has been “getting really, really annoyed in recent weeks” with Epstein’s victims—and even accused them of being Democratic operatives.

“When it comes to the character and politicking of Donald Trump,” Suebsaeng added, “sadly par for the course.”

The latest controversy comes as the White House is also firing warning shots at members of their own party.

The controversy comes as the White House is also taking aim at members of its own party. On Thursday, Trump sent a thinly veiled warning to Rep. Thomas Massie, who has partnered with Rep. Ro Khanna in a bipartisan push to force a House vote on releasing documents from the Epstein investigation

On Thursday night, Trump posted screenshots on Truth Social of a polling report that found the lawmaker’s break with Trump has made him susceptible to a primary challenger.

The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.

Trump has privately pondered if Epstein accusers are just ‘Democrats’ trying to make him look bad, report claims

James Liddell
Fri, August 15, 2025

President Donald Trump has privately labeled some of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking victims as “clearly” Democrats, a new report claims.

Survivors of Epstein’s abuse have for weeks publicly criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the files linked to the disgraced financier.

Behind closed doors, the president has allegedly grown frustrated as his efforts to move past the uproar have been undermined.

Trump has allegedly questioned whether some survivors and their families are “just trying to make him look bad,” two people familiar with the conversations told Rolling Stone.

The sources said the president has also criticized those who have spoken out for “implying that he did something wrong during his time as one of Epstein’s friends and party companions,” the magazine reported.

The president allegedly dismissed some of those women making media appearances as “clearly of a ‘Democrat’ political affiliation,” the sources said. He also questioned whether some of them are coordinating with prominent liberal attorneys or groups, they added.

A White House official denied the report and dismissed its claims as false.

“None of this is true,” they said. “Just another desperate attempt by the failing Rolling Stone.”

The president has found himself at the center of a MAGA firestorm after refusing to release the so-called Epstein files, which the Republican pledged to release on the 2024 campaign trail.

After weeks of unrelenting uproar over the Justice Department’s announcement in early July that there was no evidence Epstein had a “client list,” Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly briefed Trump in May that his name was mentioned in the files, according to The Wall Street Journal. The president is now suing the newspaper for $10 billion over the reporting.

Trump has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with the sex offender’s case. The White House says the president threw Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago for being a “creep.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi has faced flak for the DOJ’s announcement last month that there was no evidence of a ‘client list’ (Reuters)

It was compounded by reports earlier this month that Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence convicted on child sex trafficking charges, had been transferred to a minimum security Texas prison facility after the DOJ spoke with her last month in Florida

Sisters Annie and Maria Farmer, who accused Epstein of assaulting them and testified against Maxwell in her trial, told CNN the Trump administration’s “chaotic” approach to the case and sidelining of victims “has a real cost for survivors.”

Danielle Bensky, who accused Epstein of abusing her in 2004, told NBC News that it “feels like we’re being erased.”

California Representative Ro Khanna announced plans to bring Epstein survivors to Washington, D.C (Getty Images for Court Accountab)

Lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle have also continued to push for the whole, unredacted release of the Epstein files.

Republican rebel Thomas Massie and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna announced Monday plans to bring Epstein survivors to Washington, D.C., in a bipartisan push to get Congress to release the controversial “files” in the case.

Last month, Trump baselessly suggested that any mentions of his name in criminal case files related to the late pedophile would be there as a result of Democratic efforts to ensnare him in a “hoax.”

Opinion: Why Trump’s Maxwell Hypocrisy Is Laid Bare by D.C. Power Grab

Michael Daly
Fri, August 15, 2025
DAILY BEAST

Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty

When he announced he was taking over the Washington, D.C. police department and deploying hundreds of federal agents along with the National Guard, President Trump declared that street criminals are beyond redemption.

“A lot of them are homegrown criminals, and these are bad people,” he said. “They’re not going to be an asset. They will never be an asset to society. I don’t care.”

Compare that to what Trump had to say on July 28 about a convicted sex criminal who targeted undercharged girls in a scheme that claimed hundreds of victims, including two 13 year-olds who had been made more vulnerable by the recent death of a parent.


“Well, I’m allowed to give her a pardon, but I—nobody’s approached me with it,” Trump said of Ghislaine Maxwell. “Nobody’s asked me about it. It’s in the news... but right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it.”

Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein are pictured together in an undated photo. / Government handout

Also compare it to what Trump said in July of 2020, after Maxwell was indicted for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse numerous minors. Epstein was a longtime friend of Trump’s, before they had a falling out sometime after 2002. Epstein had taken his own life in a federal lock-up in 2019, having been remanded on the same sex trafficking charges that were then lodged against Maxwell.

“I haven’t been following it too much,” Trump said of Maxwell’s arrest and the possibility she might name prominent personages as being complicit. “I just wish her well, frankly.”

Trump continued, “I’ve met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well, whatever it is.”

Maxwell was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Her only hope of not spending most of her remaining days behind bars seemed to be a long shot appeal to the Supreme Court.

Jeffrey Epstein (left) and Donald Trump in 1997. / Davidoff Studios Photography / Getty Images

But then, on July 17, the Wall Street Journal published a story headlined “Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump.” The article reported that the 2003 book marking Epstein’s 50th birthday had been assembled by Maxwell and included a typewritten message from Trump inside a drawing of a naked woman, with a signed “Donald” in the pubic area.

Trump’s immediate response was a defamation suit claiming the newspaper had “falsely claimed that he authored, drew and signed” the letter. The suit sought damages “not to be less than $10 billion.”

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. on August 14, 2025. / MANDEL NGAN / AFP via Getty Images

A week later, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, once Trump’s personal criminal lawyer, traveled to Florida to meet with Maxwell for nine hours over two days. One immediate result was that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) made a singular exception to a long-standing rule barring sex offenders from minimum security “Club Fed” style facilities— Maxwell was transferred from the low security Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee in Florida to the minimum security Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas.

But while Trump has effectively shrugged at Maxwell’s sexual assault of girls in their early teens, he voiced outrage on Trump Social when a group of unarmed teens battered DOGE blunderkind Edward “”Big Balls” Coristine in what was described as an attempted carjacking.

“Crime in Washington, D.C., is totally out of control,” Trump’s post began. “Local ‘youths’ and gang members, some only 14, 15, and 16-years-old, are randomly attacking, mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent Citizens, at the same time knowing that they will be almost immediately released. They are not afraid of Law Enforcement because they know nothing ever happens to them, but it’s going to happen now! The Law in D.C. must be changed to prosecute these ‘minors’ as adults, and lock them up for a long time, starting at age 14.”

Federal Bureau of Investigation and Metropolitan Police Department officers conduct a traffic stop near the U.S. Capitol on August 14, 2025 in Washington, D.C. / Kayla Bartkowski / Getty Images

Trump then got to the case that prompted the diatribe.

“The most recent victim was beaten mercilessly by local thugs. Washington, D.C., must be safe, clean, and beautiful for all Americans and, importantly, for the World to see. If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore. Perhaps it should have been done a long time ago, then this incredible young man, and so many others, would not have had to go through the horrors of Violent Crime. If this continues, I am going to exert my powers, and FEDERALIZE this City. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”

Trump did not mention 19-year-old Coristine even by nicknames, but lest anybody doubt who he was talking about, he posted a photo of a bloodied Big Balls after the assault.

It is worth noting that Trump does not seem to have expressed similar sympathy for the victims of Maxwell who have “had to go through the horrors of Violent Crime.”

Violent crime happens to be declining in D.C. The battering of Big Balls nonetheless prompted Trump to follow through with his threat to “FEDERALIZE” the nation’s capitol.

“I just signed some executive orders,” Trump said at the press conference on Monday. “I’d like to have Will please come up and we’ll let the people know what we signed.”

President Donald Trump shows crime statistics as he delivers remarks during a press conference in the White House on August 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C. / Andrew Harnik / Getty Images

Will Scharf, the White House staff secretary, approached with two blue binders containing the latest of the many executive orders issued in recent months as part of Trump’s efforts to consolidate his power.

“A short while ago in the Oval Office, President Trump signed two crucial executive actions to deal with the emergency crime conditions we currently face in the District of Columbia,” Scharf announced. “The first of these was an executive order, as President Trump said before, invoking his powers under section 40 of the Home Rule Act, to take federal control of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.”

Scharf continued, “Along with that executive order, President Trump signed the statutorily required notification letters to Mayor Bowser and to the relevant House and Senate committee leaders. The second major executive action that President Trump signed was a presidential memorandum directing the secretary of defense to utilize the National Guard to address the conditions we see on our streets here in D.C. It also authorized the secretary of defense to work with state governors to utilize their National Guard units if necessary as well.”

Trump opened the two binders and displayed his distinctive Sharpie signature on each of the orders inside.

Supporters of President Donald Trump gather outside the Capitol building in Washington D.C. on January 06, 2021. Rioters stormed the Capitol as lawmakers were set to sign off on President-elect Joe Biden's electoral victory. / Anadolu / Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesMore

On January 20, Trump had waited until he was in front of the news cameras to actually sign the very first executive order of his second term.

“First you have a list of pardons and commutations for events that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021,” Scharf said then as he presented the newly-inaugurated president with a first blue binder.

“OK, and how many people is this?” Trump asked.

“I think this order will apply to approximately 1500 people, sir,” Scharf said.

“So, this is Jan. 6,” Trump said. “These are the hostages. Approximately 1,500 for a pardon.”

‘Yes,” the Scharf said.

“Full pardon,” Trump said.

Trump added that there were six commutations that would require further examination.

“The commutations will either stay that way or, it’ll go to a full pardon,” he said.

Trump proceeded to affix his signature.

“So this is a big one,” he said.

The pardons and commutations for people Trump has called heroes and patriots included 169 people who had been convicted of assaulting police officers—some 140 officers were injured. But that did not stop Trump from now trying to pass himself off as a defender of the thin blue line in the fight for law and order.

He said he had seen footage from the night before in D.C. of people resisting the cops who had been deployed on his orders.

Members of the National Guard patrol near Union Station on August 14, 2025 in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy federal officers and the National Guard to the District in order to place the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under federal control. / Kevin Dietsch / Getty ImagesMore

”They fought back against law enforcement last night and they’re not going to be fighting back long because I’ve instructed them and told them whatever happens—you know, they love to spit in the face of the police as the police are standing up there in uniform,” Trump continued. “They’re standing and they’re screaming at them, an inch away from their face, and then they start spitting in their face. I said, you tell them, you spit and we hit.

He added, “It’s a disgusting thing. I’ve watched that for years, for three or four years.”

He was apparently not including what he has called “a love fest,” the Jan. 6 riot where his followers made spitting seem mild as they battered cops with everything from their own batons to a flagpole bearing the American flag. One cop, who is still on the job and therefore under Trump’s direct command as of this week, recalled to the Daily Beast that a now-pardoned Trump supporter had tried to gouge out one of his eyes at the Capitol.

Trump spoke as if none of that ever happened. The likely holder of the all-time record for freeing cop bashers continued his pose as the president behind the badge.

A protester flips off officers in a Metropolitan Police Department patrol car on August 13, 2025 in Washington, D.C. / Andrew Leyden / Getty Images

“You can see (cops) want to get at it and they’re standing there and the people are spitting in their face and they’re not allowed to do anything,” Trump said. “But now they are allowed to do whatever the hell they want.”


As Trump told it, an improving situation he calls a crisis is the fault of the local elected officials.

“This dire public safety crisis stems directly from the abject failures of the city’s local leadership,” he claimed.

The D.C. takeover provide Trump with a handy distraction from Epstein and Maxwell. A lawyer who had had close dealings with many of the victims told the Daily Beast that they have harder feelings about Maxwell than they do about Epstein because she is a woman and used that to win their trust with the intent of then violating it. The lawyer says victims are outraged that the number two in the DOJ spent nine hours talking to Maxwell—that being nine hours more than a senior official should have been talking to a convicted sex offender who preyed on underaged girls.

The lawyer says the victims fear the special treatment will culminate in Maxwell walking free.

Meanwhile, the president who pardoned supporters who assaulted cops at the capitol is using some of those same cops for an exercise in diversion called “take back our capital.” He is also establishing a “quick reaction force” ready to be deployed within an hour to address civil disturbances anywhere in America. You have to wonder if the nation’s capital is only the latest city that will see troops in the streets to address a non-existent crisis.

Whatever Trump decides to do, numerous Republican leaders who surely know better are almost certain to say nothing for fear of suffering Trump’s wrath. They will again prove they merit a nickname of their own.