August 26

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Block Foreign Aid Payments

The Trump administration petitioned the Supreme Court to block court-ordered foreign aid payments, escalating a standoff over executive authority to withhold congressionally approved funds. The request represented a continuation of the administration's broader strategy of using the Supreme Court as a venue to override lower court orders reinstating spending the executive branch had unilaterally frozen.

Polymarket adds Donald Trump Jr. as adviser after 1789 Capital investment

On Aug. 26, 2025, Polymarket said Donald Trump Jr. joined its advisory board and that 1789 Capital made a strategic investment in the prediction-market company. Reuters reported the investment terms were not disclosed, but a source said it was in the double-digit millions of dollars.

Trump Orders Death Penalty for Every DC Murder Despite 40-Year Federal Ban

Trump signed an executive order directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for every murder committed in Washington DC, overriding a 40-year federal moratorium on capital punishment for DC crimes. The order applied to cases prosecuted under newly federalized DC law enforcement. Legal experts immediately challenged the order, noting it conflicted with both DC law and established federal prosecutorial guidelines on capital charges.

Trump turns Cabinet meetings into loyalty tests

Trump restructured Cabinet meetings to function as staged loyalty performances, requiring each Cabinet secretary to publicly declare support for his DC takeover and National Guard deployment policies before conducting agency business. Secretaries who expressed any reservation were publicly rebuked. Former Cabinet officials and governance scholars described the format as borrowing from authoritarian governance patterns where institutional meetings serve propaganda functions.

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Trump Media and Crypto.com announce CRO treasury company through SPAC deal

On Aug. 26, 2025, Trump Media, Crypto.com and Yorkville Acquisition Corp. announced a business combination to create Trump Media Group CRO Strategy, a public digital asset treasury company focused on buying CRO tokens. Reuters reported the deal deepened President Donald Trump's ties to the crypto industry.

Bessent defends Fed independence a day after Trump fires Cook

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that Federal Reserve independence was "critical" to US financial credibility, a statement issued just 24 hours after Trump sent Lisa Cook a termination letter. Bessent's remarks were widely interpreted as a damage-control message to bond markets, which had sold off on news of the Cook firing. The contradiction between Bessent's public defense and Trump's action highlighted divisions within the administration over central bank strategy.

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Fed Governor Cook sues after defying Trump removal

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook filed a federal lawsuit challenging her termination, reporting to work at the Fed as if still in office and participating in a scheduled board meeting. Cook's legal team argued the Federal Reserve Act's "for cause" removal protection was constitutional under Humphrey's Executor v. United States and its successor cases. The standoff created an unprecedented dual-authority dispute over who constituted the legal Fed board.

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