Trump admin updates: White House officials hold prayer vigil for Charlie Kirk

Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey and Progressive Caucus Chair Emerita Rep. Pramila Jayapal rallied more than 150 Georgetown University students on Tuesday morning during a walkout protesting President Trump’s federal takeover of Washington.

“This is not about policing. This is about political theater, because Trump's political rating is going down because he knows that he is vulnerable," Markey said at the rally. Markey blasted Republicans in Congress who he said are “standing in lockstep” with the president.

“They do whatever he wants, and even if they disagree with him, they sit in silence,” Markey told ABC News “That's why people at the grass roots [level], students, activists, have to stand up, raise their voices, and let them know that this can be a huge political price that they will have to pay."

The students protested President Trump’s federal takeover as they returned to school amid weeks of turmoil in the district. Students from Georgetown University kicked off the first of four coordinated responses to the federal siege -- with students at Howard University, George Washington University, and American University planning to hold similar demonstrations throughout the day.

“We're turning out students on Georgetown’s campus and across D.C. to stand up and give that strong show of force to Trump to say, ‘we will not tolerate your occupation, we will not tolerate our campus compliance with this occupation,'" said American University student Kaden Ouimet, a student rep for advocacy group Free DC/

-ABC News' Arthur Jones II

The White House put out a statement Tuesday calling on Congress to move forward and confirm E.J. Antoni, Trump's nominee for BLS commissioner, following the jobs revision data released earlier in the day.

"The stark revisions underscore the urgent need for Congress [to] confirm E.J. Antoni, President Trump's nominee for BLS commissioner, and begin the major reforms needed to restore Americans' trust in the data after years of inaccuracy that has misled policymakers and eroded confidence," the White House said in its statement.

Trump fired BLS commissioner Erika McEntarfer last month following the release of the July jobs numbers, which showed a slowdown from previous months.

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart

A White House spokesperson, in a statement provided to ABC News, said ICE’s Operation Midway Blitz will "make Illinois communities safer" and is consistent with the Trump administration's commitment to arresting and deporting "dangerous criminal illegal aliens."

The White House's statement did not address ABC News’ question to clarify whether National Guard or other military troops were being ordered to Chicago by the administration.

“For years, Democrat politicians looked the other way while criminal illegal aliens terrorized American communities — even embracing ‘sanctuary’ policies to protect these sick criminals. No more. The Trump Administration is committed to arresting and deporting these dangerous criminal illegal aliens and Operation Midway Blitz, honoring Katie Abraham who was killed by a criminal illegal alien, will make Illinois communities safer,” said Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, in a statement.

-ABC News’ Isabella Murray

The Pentagon’s top two officials were in Puerto Rico on Monday visiting with U.S. troops operating in a key area of the Trump administration’s operations against South American drug cartels.

Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were greeted by Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón, who posted photos of their arrival on her social media account. After speaking to some U.S. military personnel at an undisclosed airstrip, they traveled to the USS Iwo Jima amphibious assault vessel, which is located off the southeast coast of Puerto Rico and carries MV-22 Ospreys, AV-8 Harrier jets, and 2,200 Marines.

The three-ship USS Iwo Jima amphibious ready group are some of the eight vessels that have been made available to U.S. Southern Command for counter-cartel operations. The Iwo Jima and the other two ships are participating in an exercise off Puerto Rico.

Reuters published a recent photo of an MQ-9 Reaper drone armed with Hellfire missiles as it taxied on a runway at the airport in Aguadilla, which is located on the western part of Puerto Rico. It is believed the boat targeted by a U.S. airstrike last week in the Caribbean may have been struck by a missile fired from a drone like the MQ-9 Reaper.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez