Trump admin updates: Trump marks 1 year since assassination attempt in Butler, PA

Trump reflected on the death of Corey Comperatore, who was killed at the rally.

Last Updated: July 13, 2025, 8:43 PM EDT

President Trump defended his attorney Pam Bondi on Saturday as leadership at the Justice Department and the FBI face turmoil over its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

Trump praised Bondi for doing a "fantastic job" and urged his "boys" and "gals" to stop criticizing her. "LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB — SHE’S GREAT!" he posted on his social media platform.

On Sunday, the president and first lady Melania Trump are attending the FIFA Club World Cup in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Jul 08, 2025, 2:15 PM EDT

Trump says he approved sending defensive weapons to Ukraine

President Donald Trump commented further on Tuesday about the apparent reversal on sending more weapons to Ukraine.

The Pentagon last week froze the shipment of some air defense and precision guided weapons to Kyiv and said all munition shipments oversees were under review. On Monday, Trump announced he was planning to send more weapons to the country as it fights Russia's invasion.

"We wanted to put defensive weapons because Putin is not -- he's not treating human beings right. He's killing too many people. So we're sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine and I have approved that," Trump said as he met with his Cabinet at the White House on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump speaks next to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, July 8, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

A reporter then asked the president, who was flanked on one side by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, "So who ordered the pause last week?"

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Trump responded.

Jul 08, 2025, 2:14 PM EDT

Trump floats federal government running Washington

During his Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, President Donald Trump floated the possibility of taking over governance of Washington.

"We have tremendous power at the White House to run places when we have to," Trump said. "We could run D.C. We're looking at D.C. We don't want crime in D.C. We want the city to run well."

"I mean, in the sense that we would we would run it so good, it would be run so proper, we'd get the best person to run it. And we know the crime would be down to a minimum, would be much less," the president continued. "And, you know, we're thinking about doing it, to be honest with you. We want a capital that's run flawlessly, and it wouldn't be hard for us to do it. And we've had a good relationship with the mayor and we're testing it to see if it works."

President Donald Trump speaks as Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of State Marco Rubio look on during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, July 8, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Jul 08, 2025, 1:07 PM EDT

Netanyahu will be at White House again to talk Gaza, Trump says

President Donald Trump said during his Cabinet meeting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will return to the White House on Tuesday evening to discuss Gaza.

"We're going to be talking about, I would say, almost exclusively Gaza," Trump said.

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, July 8, 2025.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said he is hopeful a 60-day Gaza ceasefire agreement will be reached by the end of the week, with the deal including 10 live hostages and nine deceased hostages being released.

"We're meeting, at the president's direction, with all the hostage families to let them know," Witkoff said. "And we think that this will lead to a lasting peace in Gaza."

House Speaker Mike Johnson met with Netanyahu at the Capitol earlier Tuesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Speaker Mike Johnson meet at the U.S. Capitol, July 08, 2025 in Washington.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Jul 08, 2025, 1:05 PM EDT

Trump slams Putin, says he's considering sanctions

President Donald Trump criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin as he took questions on the Russia-Ukraine war, saying he was "very unhappy" with Moscow's latest attacks on Kyiv.

"We get a lot of bull---- thrown at us by Putin. If you want to know the truth. He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless," Trump told reporters.

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, July 8, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

The president was then asked if he supported an effort by congressional Republicans, specifically Sen. Lindsey Graham, to impose greater sanctions on Russia.

"I'm looking at it, yeah. No, I'm looking at it," Trump said.

Pressed further if he would sign the measure should it come to his desk, Trump replied: 'It's an optional bill. It's totally at my option. They pass it totally at my option and to terminate totally at my option. And I'm looking at it very strongly."

Related Topics

Sponsored Content by Taboola