Monday morning news: August 4, 2025

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WH defends Trump’s firing of BLS director » White House Cabinet members are defending President Trump’s firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics director.

Trump terminated Erika McEntarfer Friday after the bureau’s most recent jobs report came in lower than expected, and job gains from the previous two months were revised down hundreds of thousands.

Trump claims the jobs reports were rigged to make him look bad.White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is backing the president’s decision, claiming the numbers didn’t make sense.

HASSETT: When I first saw the big revisions -which by the way were the largest revisions going all the way back for 50 years if we exclude the COVID years- when I saw those revisions, I thought it must be a typo. I’ve never seen a revision like this.

Democratic California Senator Alex Padilla tells NBC’s Meet the Press the bureau is just one of many government agencies Trump is weaponizing.

PADILLA: When he’s trying to weaponize the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that tells you a lot about their insecurity about the economy.

White House Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says the president is the president and has the right to choose who works in the executive branch. Trump says the next person appointed to the job will be “competent and qualified.”

Senate adjourns without votes on Trump nominees » Senators are headed home for their August recess without a deal to approve several of President Trump’s appointees to key posts.

Negotiations broke down over the weekend. In order to clear the way for the nominees’ approval, Democrats wanted the GOP to unfreeze funding for causes like foreign aid and the National Institutes of Health.

Republican Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin tells Fox News:

MULLIN: We started at $800 million dollars for pet projects for Schumer. And then they kept raising the number, to $1.3 billion. And a lot of this had to do with money going to Gaza, which, keep in mind, Hamas hasn’t even released the hostages.

Mullin, referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The president thought Schumer’s demands were going too far and encouraged senators to reject them, calling them political extortion. Schumer accused Trump of pulling the plug on negotiations.

TX Dems walk out to prevent redistricting vote » State Democratic lawmakers in Texas left their state Sunday, hoping to block a Republican effort to draw new boundary lines for congressional districts aimed at helping secure an additional handful of seats for the GOP.

The legislature is convening for the rare mid-decade redistricting at President Trump’s request, and GOP leaders are hoping to vote on the new maps today.

But to conduct official business, at least 100 of the 150 members of the Texas House must be present, and a Democratic spokesman says at least 51 lawmakers have walked out.

Former Obama Administration Attorney General Eric Holder tells ABC’s This Week:

HOLDER: This is an authoritarian move by the White House to try to make sure that they can rig the midterm elections in 2026. And so I think that a Democratic response that is responsive, that is responsible, and that is temporary, is appropriate given these facts.

The walkout could expose Democratic lawmakers to fines and other penalties. Texas’s attorney general has even threatened arrest, but legislative walkouts are civil violations, so lawmakers couldn’t legally face jail time.

Israeli minister fuels fury for praying at holy site » An Israeli national security minister widely considered an extremist sparked outrage Sunday, leading a prayer at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site.

Itamar Ben-Gvir prayed at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in the complex known in Judaism as the Temple Mount. A decades-old agreement bars Jews from worshiping there. Anyone can visit, but only Muslims are allowed to pray.

Ben-Gvir was there on a yearly day of mourning in Judaism, calling for Israel to conquer Gaza. Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Palestinian leaders all condemned the prayers.

In the past, Ben-Gvir has been convicted of supporting terrorist groups and inciting anti-Arab racism in Israel.

Gaza: New hostage photos spark outrage » Also in Israel, tens of thousands of protestors converged on Tel Aviv over the weekend, furious over new Hamas propaganda videos showing two emaciated Israeli hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now accusing Hamas of not wanting a ceasefire. He’s also asking the International Red Cross to bring food and medical care to the hostages in Gaza.

Hamas says it won’t put down its weapons until a Palestinian state is recognized. Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon says his country won’t stop fighting, either.

DANON: They believe that because of the international pressure and the lies they spread, they can get whatever they want. But they are mistaken. We will not leave the hostages behind.

At least 50 hostages, both alive and dead, are still believed to be in Hamas custody.

Trump repositions nuclear subs to up pressure on Russia » President Trump is repositioning two nuclear submarines amid increasing tension with Russia.

Trump didn’t give specifics but says moving the subs is a response to a recent threat from Russian security official and former president Dmitry Medvedev, who called a recent ultimatum from Trump “a step toward war.”

Trump says Russia has until Friday to secure a ceasefire with Ukraine or face increased economic sanctions. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller:

MILLER: All options are on the table to deal diplomatically, financially, and otherwise with the ongoing war in Ukraine so we can achieve peace.

Miller, talking to Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.

Trump has also told Medvedev to “watch his words.”

I’m Mark Mellinger.

Straight ahead: previewing a handful of religious freedom cases on Legal Docket. Plus, David Bahnsen untangles US tariff policy on the Monday Moneybeat.

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