Senior Trump official says president hasn’t decided when to nominate replacement for Lisa Cook
Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said on CNN today that Donald Trump hasn’t “made a final call” on when he plans to nominate a replacement for Lisa Cook – the Federal Reserve governor he moved to fire this week.
Hassett’s comment came after Trump suggested at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday that he had a candidate in mind. Asked about possible replacements for Cook during his marathon televised cabinet meeting, Trump said: “We have some very good people for that position.”
“I think, maybe in my own mind, I have somebody that I like,” Trump added, before saying that he would also consult Scott Bessant, the treasury secretary, and Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary.
A reminder that Cook has not been charged with a crime, and her lawyer has said the president has “no authority” to remove her from her position. Trump has claimed that Cook has engaged in mortgage fraud, and noted that he has “some very good people” in mind to replace her while taking questions during his three-hour long cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
In his CNN interview, Hassett said that the president would “respect judgment of the legal system”, possibly referring to the lawsuit that Cook is expected to file to challenge her attempted firing.
Key events
Trump administration moves to tighten duration of visas for students and media
The Trump administration aims to tighten the duration of visas for students, cultural exchange visitors and members of the media, according to a proposed government regulation issued today, part of a broader crackdown on legal immigration.
This latest move would create new hurdles for international students, exchange workers and foreign journalists who would have to apply to extend their stay in the US rather than maintain a more flexible legal status.
The proposed regulation would create a fixed time period for F visas for international students, J visas that allow visitors on cultural exchange programs to work in the US, and I visas for members of the media. Those visas are currently available for the duration of the program or US-based employment.
There were about 1.6 million international students on F visas in the US in 2024, according to US government data. The US granted visas to about 355,000 exchange visitors and 13,000 members of the media in fiscal year 2024, which began on 1 October 2023. The student and exchange visa periods would be no longer than four years, the proposed regulation said. The visa for journalists – which currently can last years – would be up to 240 days or, in the case of Chinese nationals, 90 days. The visa holders could apply for extensions, the proposal said.
The Trump administration said in the proposed regulation that the change was needed to better “monitor and oversee” the visa holders while they were in the United States.
The public will have 30 days to comment on the measure, which mirrors a proposal put forward in 2020 at the end of Trump’s first term in office.
The Trump administration has increased scrutiny of legal immigration, revoking student visas and green cards over ideological views and stripping legal status from hundreds of thousands of migrants.
In a 22 August memo, US Citizenship and Immigration Services said it would resume long-dormant visits to citizenship applicants’ neighborhoods to check what it termed residency, moral character and commitment to American ideals.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff’s announcement that Donald Trump is to chair a “large” White House meeting on Gaza later today to discuss the “comprehensive plan” the administration is putting together for the so-called day after is notable as it appears this is the first time that Witkoff has revealed the existence of such a plan, the Times of Israel writes.
He told Fox News yesterday: “Many people are going to see how robust it is and how well-meaning it is, and it reflects President Trump’s humanitarian motives.”
You may remember that Trump made headlines last month when he said he’d be unveiling a new plan to get aid into Gaza, but never followed through.
With so much at stake for Palestinian people still in Gaza, we’ll bring you more on the meeting as we get it through the afternoon.
Former British prime minister Tony Blair and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will participate in the meeting on Gaza at the White House later today and present the president with ideas for a post-war plan, Axios is reporting, citing two sources with knowledge.
The meeting will also include a discussion of how to increase aid flows into Gaza, according to Axios. The devastated territory is experiencing a widespread, man-made famine, with a quarter of all Palestinian people there starving as a result of Israel’s obstruction of aid.
My colleague, Tom Ambrose, is covering the developments in the Middle East today, as Israel carries out a raid in the in the old city of Nablus, and ten Palestinians have died from starvation in the last 24 hours, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Today, Donald Trump is also expected to chair a meeting on Gaza at the White House, according to special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Tom will bring you the latest as it happens.
Senior Trump official says president hasn’t decided when to nominate replacement for Lisa Cook
Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said on CNN today that Donald Trump hasn’t “made a final call” on when he plans to nominate a replacement for Lisa Cook – the Federal Reserve governor he moved to fire this week.
Hassett’s comment came after Trump suggested at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday that he had a candidate in mind. Asked about possible replacements for Cook during his marathon televised cabinet meeting, Trump said: “We have some very good people for that position.”
“I think, maybe in my own mind, I have somebody that I like,” Trump added, before saying that he would also consult Scott Bessant, the treasury secretary, and Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary.
A reminder that Cook has not been charged with a crime, and her lawyer has said the president has “no authority” to remove her from her position. Trump has claimed that Cook has engaged in mortgage fraud, and noted that he has “some very good people” in mind to replace her while taking questions during his three-hour long cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
In his CNN interview, Hassett said that the president would “respect judgment of the legal system”, possibly referring to the lawsuit that Cook is expected to file to challenge her attempted firing.
Department of Transportation to take back control of DC’s Union Station
The US transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said that his department is taking back control of Union Station from Amtrak –the railroad company that receives federal subsidies and has managed the daily operations of the DC transportation hub for over a year.
At a launch event for a new fleet of high-speed trains, Duffy said that the station has been “neglected for decades” and is “showing its age”.
“By reclaiming station management, we will help make this city safe and beautiful at a fraction of the cost,” Duffy added.
Trump briefed on Minneapolis school shooting
Donald Trump said that he has been “fully briefed” on the school shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, today. “The FBI quickly responded and they are on the scene. The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Local authorities said a shooting occurred during at Annunciation Catholic school in south Minneapolis. At least five children have been injured.
The shooter has been “contained” and there is no “active threat” to residents, according to Minneapolis city officials.
Kilmar Ábrego García’s lawyers reopen immigration proceedings to seek asylum
Earlier today, Kilmar Ábrego García’s lawyers said their client wants to seek asylum in the US, for fear of torture and persecution if deported to Uganda. The district federal judge presiding, Paula Xinis, said that this would be operate on a “separate track” from the habeas corpus lawsuit Ábrego’s lawyer filed this week.
Judge Xinis has set a hearing for 6 October on the administration’s plans to deport Ábrego.
The judge added that Ábrego cannot be deported until then, extending the temporary restraining order which stipulates that Ábrego must remain at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility where he is currently detained.
Attorney general says 84 arrested on Tuesday in DC
The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, said that federal law enforcement made 84 arrests on Tuesday in the nation’s capital. She added that there have been 1,178 total arrests since the beginning of the surge in DC earlier this month.
Maanvi Singh
Catalina “Xochitl” Santiago had already made it past the security line at the El Paso airport when two border patrol agents called her in for questioning and whisked her away to an immigration detention center.
Nearly a month after her arrest, she and her family still aren’t clear why she is detained. Santiago is a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program – which has allowed her to legally live and work in the US.
“They have no legal basis for why they detained her or why they’re holding her or why they’re trying to deport her,” said her spouse, Desiree Miller. And immigration officials have yet to provide her or her family any clear answers, she added.
Since her arrest on 3 August, Santiago’s case has alarmed immigration advocates across the US, as it illustrates the increasing vulnerability of hundreds of thousands of young people who arrived in the US as children and were granted temporary protections from deportation through the Obama-era Daca program.
Although there have been no regulatory changes to the program, the administration has tried to strip 525,000 Daca recipients, also known as Dreamers, of benefits. In July, Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security assistant press secretary, claimed, falsely, that “Daca does not confer any form of legal status in this country” and urged recipients to self-deport.
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