Closing summary
This concludes our live coverage of the second Trump administration for the day. Here’s the latest:
The US Department of Justice ended its criminal investigation of Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, which was widely seen as politically motivated revenge for his refusal to lower interest rates as Donald Trump wants. Senator Thom Tillis had threatened to withhold his deciding vote to confirm the president’s nominee, Kevin Warsh, as Powell’s successor unless the investigation of Powell ended.
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Dick Durbin, wrote to Jeanine Pirro, the former Fox News host serving as US attorney for the District of Columbia, demanding that she explain her threat that she could later reopen the investigation into Powell, and asking whether Fed governor Lisa Cook is still under investigation. The senators also asked what role Trump had played in the investigations.
The justice department also announced that it is taking steps to “strengthen the federal death penalty”, including by bringing back firing squads.
En route to his beach resort, Trump engaged in a social media posting spree, mixing racist attacks on Hakeem Jeffries and Candace Owens with six posts about construction projects he has ordered to put his own stamp on the nation’s capital.
A strategist for billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer, who has spent $120m of his fortune in his campaign to be the next governor of California, drew attention on Friday to the fact that corporate interests are spending big to try to defeat him.
Pentagon kills two more suspected drug smugglers in Eastern Pacific
US Southern Command said in a press release issued minutes ago that it has killed two suspected drug smugglers in a strike on a small boat in the Eastern Pacific on Friday.
The statement was accompanied by video of a massive explosion striking the boat.
Since the first strikes last September, the Pentagon has now taken responsibility for killing 183 suspects in 54 attacks, which are considered extrajudicial killings by legal experts.
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