Trump’s Team Attempted to Block Peter Mandelson’s UK Ambassador Appointment
Donald Trump’s presidential transition team reportedly intervened multiple times in UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.
The president’s aides communicated to Starmer’s national security adviser and former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney on several occasions their preference for Mandelson’s predecessor, Karen Pierce, to remain in the role.
A source close to Trump indicated that this message was delivered during a December 2024 meeting in Palm Beach.
Later that month, the transition team contacted Powell to express dissatisfaction with Pierce’s treatment and opposition to Mandelson’s appointment.
"Trump’s aides were particularly exercised that Mandelson could be made ambassador after he had made disparaging public remarks about the president in the past," according to officials.
Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles was reportedly among those displeased with Mandelson’s appointment, with one source describing Mandelson as "arrogant" and rude to staff.
Mandelson was dismissed after nine months in the position following revelations about his connections to a convicted child sex offender.
In February, additional files disclosed that Mandelson had passed sensitive information to the convicted offender during his tenure as business secretary, including market-sensitive details that prompted a criminal investigation.
Trump’s Awkward Oval Office Moment with Japan’s Prime Minister
Donald Trump created an uncomfortable moment for Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the Oval Office on Thursday. When a Japanese reporter asked why the US attacked Iran without warning allies such as Japan, Trump joked about Imperial Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Prime Minister Takaichi later explained to Trump that Japan’s ability to deploy military forces overseas remains limited by the constitution drafted by the United States after World War II.
Gold Coin Commemorates Trump for US 250th Birthday
A federal arts commission approved the final design for a 24-karat gold commemorative coin featuring Donald Trump’s image to celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday on July 4.
Profile in Courage Awards Given to Trump Opponents
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Foundation announced on Thursday that it is awarding Profile in Courage awards to notable opponents of Donald Trump: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the people of the Twin Cities in Minnesota.
Senator Thom Tillis Opposes Filibuster Removal
Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who has shown willingness to cross Trump since announcing he will not seek re-election, stated he will not vote to eliminate the filibuster to enforce changes to US election law.
Trump Administration Considers Occupying or Blockading Iran’s Kharg Island
The Trump administration is reportedly considering occupying or blockading Iran’s Kharg Island to pressure Iran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz. This report, not yet independently verified, cites four anonymous sources.
"He wants Hormuz open. If he has to take Kharg Island to make it happen, that’s going to happen. If he decides to have a coastal invasion, that’s going to happen. But that decision hasn’t been made," a senior administration official told Axios.
"We’ve always had boots on the ground in conflicts under every president, including Trump. I know this is a fixation in the media, and I get the politics, but the president is going to do what’s right," a second senior official said, adding no decision has been finalized.
Kharg Island is a five-mile-long coral island in the Persian Gulf located approximately 16 miles from the Iranian mainland. It serves as a critical processing hub through which 90% of Iran’s oil exports typically flow. The island had largely been spared during the initial two weeks of US-Israeli attacks in the ongoing conflict.
However, the US bombed the island’s military installations last week, leaving oil export facilities untouched. President Trump warned he would reconsider not targeting oil facilities if Iran or other countries interfered with the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
The vital waterway has been effectively blocked since Iran began attacking ships in response to US and Israeli actions, causing a significant increase in oil prices.
US Veteran Charged with Conspiracy Over ICE Protest Refuses to Plead Guilty
A US veteran arrested on federal conspiracy charges following a June 2025 protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told he refuses to plead guilty and is prepared to face justice.
Bajun Mavalwalla, who served as a US Army sergeant conducting foot patrols in Panjwai, Afghanistan—a region known as the birthplace of the Taliban and one of the most dangerous areas in Kandahar Province—emphasized the fundamental right to protest.
"The right to protest is supposed to be fundamentally American," Mavalwalla said. "It’s among the rights that when I joined the military, I thought I was joining to protect. You can’t do it violently. You can’t do it in a way that harms other people, but you have a right to stand up for what you believe in."
State Department Establishes New Humanitarian Bureau After Foreign Aid Overhaul
The US State Department announced on Friday the creation of a new bureau to manage responses to natural disasters and humanitarian crises worldwide, marking the culmination of the Trump administration’s significant foreign aid restructuring, according to a senior department official who spoke to the Associated Press.
Following the Trump administration’s takeover in January 2025, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) was dismantled, with thousands of officials dismissed and most grants canceled before the agency was absorbed into the State Department, reported.
The new Bureau of Disaster and Humanitarian Response will employ approximately 200 officials, operate through 12 global hubs, and manage an annual budget of roughly $5.4 billion.
The bureau’s focus will be narrowly defined on "life-saving" aid, excluding projects related to climate change and what the official described as "social causes." It will also oversee global food security efforts.
IRS Glitch Masks $51 Million in Political Donations, Watchdog Reports
A technical malfunction at the understaffed Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is obscuring millions of dollars in campaign contributions to state-level election groups, including key gubernatorial and attorney general races, a campaign finance watchdog informed .
The Campaign for Political Accountability (CPA), a nonprofit tracking corporate spending, reported that $51 million in donations from the second half of 2025 remain unaccounted for due to this error.
CPA researchers identified the discrepancy in February, a time when donor and spending lists from the previous year are typically published after the January 31 deadline. However, these disclosures remain missing.
The issue arises as these organizations face another filing deadline in the coming weeks, with no indication that the problem will be resolved in time.
