Construction crews at the White House are working 20 hours a day on a ballroom the Chief Justice says is likely illegal.
Five justices let the work continue Monday by ruling that nobody has the right to sue over it, but never decided whether the ballroom is legal. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that federal law forbids erecting a building on park grounds in Washington without express authority from Congress, and Congress has passed no such law.
Donald Trump won again by ignoring the rules and building faster than the courts could stop him. This time he spent at least $300 million of our money on a project he promised would not touch the East Wing or cost taxpayers a dime.
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Pentagon quietly installs 3 retired colonels turned conservative influencers, 1 million X followers combined, in undisclosed civilian roles as they defend Defense Secretary Hegseth online, the Post reports.
Today’s GovBrief News
Treasury Secretary Bessent mocks Canada's military as "two submarines from the Edmonton mall" and blames Prime Minister Carney for the trade war after Trump's 50% tariffs took effect.
Source: The Hill
August 31, 2026
Trump personally asks Apple to rename Lake Ontario "Lake America" on its maps, Interior Secretary Burgum says, days after Google complied and MapQuest refused.
Source: Axios
August 31, 2026
Trump calls the Iran war "relatively little" and weighs new strikes, after the Washington Post reported military leaders warned Hegseth prolonged operations weaken US defenses elsewhere.
Source: CBS New
August 31, 2026
Agriculture Department defunds 2 of 3 programs studying the foodborne parasite Cyclospora and moves the third to Iowa, where no scientist will follow, during a record outbreak, POLITICO reports.
Source: Ars Technica
August 31, 2026
FTC and over 20 states sue Amazon, alleging it secretly bid in its own ad auctions since 2018 to overcharge sellers more than $20 billion.
Source: The Wall Street Journal [gift link]
August 31, 2026
Army Secretary Driscoll resigns after tension with Defense Secretary Hegseth over readiness and the ousting of top generals, leaving the Army without a Senate-confirmed leader.
Source: USA Today
August 31, 2026
Pentagon gives 3 million personnel ChatGPT and Musk's Grok for unclassified work, days after a judge ruled it unlawfully retaliated against Anthropic for refusing surveillance and weapons uses.
Source: NOTUS
August 31, 2026
Federal judge pauses Florida and Texas's bid to revoke the abortion pill mifepristone nationwide until after the midterms, at the FDA's request during its safety review.
Source: Stateline
August 31, 2026
Supreme Court lets White House ballroom construction continue 5-4, Chief Justice Roberts dissenting, as the 65% complete project could finish before courts decide its legality.
Source: SCOTUSblog
August 31, 2026
38 Minnesota church protesters including ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon seek dismissal, saying Homeland Security used over 90 customs summonses to gather phone and travel records without judicial approval.
Source: The New York Times [gift link]
August 31, 2026
General Services Administration awards $1.1 million to one contractor for White House bowling alley lighting and an unexplained basement "studio," 12 years after Republicans killed an Obama-era renovation.
Source: Politico
August 31, 2026
Speaker Johnson endorses Ohio Rep. Max Miller's reelection as a "great member" while the Ethics Committee investigates allegations he abused his ex-wife and 2-year-old daughter.
Source: The Washington Post [gift link]
August 31, 2026
Trump administration shuts 270 trucking schools it says helped undocumented immigrants get commercial licenses, 110 of them tied to over 5,000 drivers who failed English tests.
Source: The Chicago Sun-Times
August 31, 2026
White House orders agencies to make Login.gov the default sign-in for federal websites within 2 years, weeks after congressional auditors said it still hasn't fixed fraud threats.
Source: NextGov
August 31, 2026
Small Business Administration stages $1 million Shark Tank-style pitch contest September 18 judged by Nicki Minaj and other Trump supporters, hosted by actor Dean Cain.
Source: Mediaite
August 31, 2026
Los Angeles County opens a free financial clinic offering small businesses individual debt counseling and capital coaching as part of a 2024 economic mobility program.
Source: KNBC Los Angeles
August 31, 2026
Smithsonian puts the National Museum of the American Latino in a building it already owns, bypassing congressional approval after Trump's budget stripped the museum's funding.
Source: Reuters
August 31, 2026