Trump admin updates: US military is preparing for possible activation of National Guard in DC
Trump will conduct a press conference about crime in DC on Monday morning.
President Trump has announced a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for Friday, Aug. 15 in Alaska.
The Trump administration is also once again escalating its clash with Harvard University, with Commerce Secretary Lutnick sending a letter Friday to Harvard President Alan Garber that accuses Harvard of violating its legal and contractual obligations related to federally funded research programs and patents.
Lutnick said the Commerce Department is launching an "immediate comprehensive review" of Harvard’s federally funded research programs.
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Marjorie Taylor Greene wants Trump to commute the sentence of George Santos
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wants President Donald Trump to commute the sentence of former disgraced New York Congressman George Santos, who recently reported to federal prison.
The congresswoman, a close ally of the president, sent a letter on Monday to the Office of the Pardon Attorney requesting that Trump commute Santos’ sentence.
“I wholeheartedly believe in justice and the rule of law, and I understand the gravity of such actions. However, I believe a seven-year sentence for such campaign-related matters for an individual with no prior criminal record extends far beyond what is warranted,” Rep. Greene said in the letter.
Rep. Greene says Santos’ crimes “warrant punishment,” but says the sentencing “is an abusive overreach by the judicial system.”
“Commuting his sentence would acknowledge the severity of his actions and simultaneously provide a path forward in allowing him to make amends for his crimes and strive to better serve the people in his community,” the letter states.
The move by Rep. Greene comes after Trump said during an interview on Newsmax that aired Friday that no one talked to him about a pardon for Santos when asked if he’d be open to granting him one.
Trump said Santos’ seven-year sentence was a “long time,” but was quick to point out “he lied like hell.”
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller and Lalee Ibssa
Trump to sign EO forming Olympics 2028 task force
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday creating a task force to help oversee the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, a White House official confirmed to ABC News.
"The creation of this task force marks an important step forward in our planning efforts and reflects our shared commitment to delivering not just the biggest, but the greatest Games the world has ever seen in the summer of 2028," Casey Wasserman, the chairperson and president of LA28, said in a statement about the task force.
The task force was first reported by the Hollywood Reporter.
Trump has long touted that he helped secure the 2028 Olympics in the U.S. during his first term and has expressed his excitement for the event.
“The President considers it a great honor to oversee this global sporting spectacle in his second term. Sports is one of President Trump’s greatest passions, and his athletic expertise, combined with his unmatched hospitality experience, will make these Olympic events the most exciting and memorable in history," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement about the task force.
-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart
Anonymous victims oppose Epstein grand jury files release
The federal judge who oversaw Jeffrey Epstein’s prosecution in New York on Monday posted to the docket anonymous letters from purported victims saying the Trump administration’s push to publicize grand jury material would re-victimize them.
The docket does not make clear the origin of the letters but the judge’s chambers confirmed they were properly filed by an attorney for the purported victim.
-ABC News' James Hill, Katherine Faulders, Peter Charalambous and Aaron Katersky
Trump megabill could add $4.1T to deficit over next decade, new analysis states
A new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said President Donald Trump's sweeping tax cut and spending bill passed last month will create $718 billion in additional debt-service costs, bringing the law's overall debt projection to $4.1 trillion over 10 years.
"As a result, and net of any changes in borrowing for federal credit programs, the agency estimates that the legislation will increase debt held by the public at the end of 2034 by 9.5 percentage points relative to CBO's January 2025 baseline budgetary projections of gross domestic product (GDP). Other factors, such as administrative actions affecting tariffs and immigration, also have affected deficits and debt since January 2025 and will be reflected in CBO's next baseline," the report stated.
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Previously, the CBO said the Senate's final version of Trump's massive policy and tax bill would add $3.4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. The new analysis released on Monday comes after Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., requested an update on the bill's impact on the debt.
-ABC News' Lauren Peller