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Top White House officials encouraged potential Bondi replacement to make case to Trump for AG job: Sources

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FIRST ON FOX: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche huddled with President Donald Trump in the hours after Pam Bondi was forced out last week to make his pitch for the job full-time, Fox News Digital confirmed. 

Blanche was encouraged by top White House officials to speak with the president while other names, like Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, briefly circulated as possible contenders, two sources familiar told Fox News Digital. During that conversation, Blanche made his case for why he should be the next attorney general.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed to Fox News Digital that the president and his then-deputy attorney general spoke on Thursday, as did a source familiar with Blanche’s movements that day. 

Trump announced Bondi’s departure from the Justice Department and in the same social media post last Thursday said that Blanche would be taking over the role in an acting capacity, as Fox News and Fox News Digital previously reported.

HOMAN VOWS IMMIGRATION MISSION ‘WON’T SKIP A BEAT’ AS BONDI EXITS DOJ

The next moves could prove crucial for Blanche if he wants to clinch the president’s nomination – and with the countdown ticking to the midterm elections, he only has a few months to convince the president he can lead the roughly 120,000-employee DOJ before a potential party power change in Congress.

“It’s really Todd’s role to lose at this point,” one of the sources who spoke with Fox News Digital said. 

A 30-year department veteran, however, speculated that Blanche won’t get the nomination and will continue to run the DOJ in an acting capacity.

PAM BONDI ALREADY FIRED AS ATTORNEY GENERAL, CABINET OFFICIAL TEED UP AS REPLACEMENT: SOURCES

“The safest thing for Trump to do is just to keep Blanche, the ultimate loyalist, in place as Acting, at least through the midterms, and avoid a confirmation fight,” former DOJ prosecutor Kevin Flynn told Fox News Digital. “In terms of advancing Trump’s retribution agenda, I think Blanche could do pretty much everything as Acting [Attorney General] as a confirmed AG could do.”

Trump fired Bondi on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, during an Oval Office meeting ahead of his speech to the nation on the war in Iran, Fox News Digital first reported a day after her ouster.

Trump confirmed her departure on Truth Social at 1:17 pm, roughly 45 minutes after the report became public. 

In the hours after Bondi was dismissed and before Trump made his official DOJ personnel announcement, Blanche allegedly had a consequential conversation with the president where he was informed he would be acting attorney general. Blanche lobbied to get the full-time position in a following discussion, one source familiar said. 

They also said that Blanche went to the White House a few times for various reasons in the days after he became acting AG.

The other source said it was this follow-up conversation that provided the president with the confidence to give Blanche the nod – at least for now.

Trump told his one-time personal attorney, “Here’s your audition,” the source paraphrased.

Blanche “got a call from POTUS after leaving a podcast taping on Thursday following the report on Fox,” a spokesperson for the Justice Department told Fox News Digital.

When Leavitt was asked if the two chatted on Thursday, the president’s spokesperson replied, “Yes they spoke.”

Neither the DOJ nor White House would comment on what the two discussed last week and whether Blanche made his case for a promotion.

Either way, now it’s up to Blanche to prove he’s up for the job full-time. 

His first test was a Tuesday afternoon press conference focused on Trump’s push to crack down on fraud.

Blanche likely passed the pulse test as he showered praise on the president and said there would be no love lost if he wasn’t selected to be the next attorney general. “I love working for President Trump,” he said. “It’s the greatest honor of a lifetime. And if President Trump chooses to nominate somebody else and asks me to go do something else, I’ll say, ‘Thank you very much, I love you, sir.'”

He got to work right away shaping the DOJ. 

On Thursday, Blanche announced his appointment of Trent McCotter as the principal associate deputy attorney general. He also stood up the new DOJ fraud division at Tuesday’s press conference and put Colin McDonald in charge as assistant attorney general for the Fraud Division.

Additionally, he took two trusted advisers with him to the attorney general’s office, Shane Hedges and James McHenry.

Blanche will likely need to differentiate himself from Bondi and distance himself from her failures – namely the Jeffrey Epstein files debacle – if he wants longevity in the role, one of the sources familiar told Fox News Digital.

US INTERIM ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE CALLS SPECULATION SURROUNDING BONDI’S FIRING ‘SIMPLY NOT TRUE’

In February 2025, Bondi said she had the Epstein files on her desk. A trickle of releases over the next year would yield no new investigations or prosecutions related to the sex trafficker’s crimes and left Americans unsatisfied. 

The source familiar said every move Bondi made after that was an effort to “clean up” her broken promise to release the Epstein client list. 

Convincing Trump he’s the right guy for the job is only the first hurdle. Blanche would also need to get past Congress and a confirmation process that is sure to be grueling. 

Bondi passed with a Senate vote of 54–46, with all 53 Republicans and lone Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., voting for her to be attorney general. Every other Democrat voted against her confirmation. 

Blanche, with the legacy of Bondi tied to his tenure in the Trump administration, could face an uphill battle even with some Republicans who have grown critical of the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files.

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Warsh’s $226 million fortune under scrutiny as Fed nominee faces Senate confirmation

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Kevin Warsh heads into his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday morning vying to be the richest-ever chair of the Federal Reserve amid mounting questions over his sizable financial portfolio.

Newly released disclosures reveal the extent of Warsh’s wealth but leave key portions of his holdings unclear, which could complicate his path toward confirmation since the position he is up for wields enormous influence over financial markets. 

The disclosures are likely to draw scrutiny from lawmakers due to potential conflicts of interest and concerns over transparency, both central focuses of the confirmation process — particularly at a time when the central bank’s credibility is already under a microscope.

TRUMP’S PICK TO LEAD THE FEDERAL RESERVE MEETS GOP SENATOR HOLDING UP HIS CONFIRMATION

According to documents submitted to the Senate last week, Warsh reported assets valued at roughly $135 million to $226 million, positioning him to become the wealthiest chair in the Federal Reserve’s history if confirmed.

The nearly 70-page filings, released by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics as part of the standard vetting process for senior nominees, detail a portfolio spanning investments, board roles and other financial interests.

TRUMP’S FED PICK DISCLOSES $131M FORTUNE AS NOMINATION FACES HEADWINDS

Still, the disclosures leave some gaps.

For example, certain holdings are listed in broad ranges or lack full detail, a common feature of such filings but one that can draw scrutiny when nominees are poised to oversee institutions with vast influence over financial markets.

In fact, a note from a government ethics official attached to the filings says Warsh is currently out of compliance with ethics rules for certain holdings where he did not disclose the funds’ underlying assets.

The Office of Government Ethics said the rest of the filing meets federal requirements and that Warsh would return to full compliance once he divests those assets, which he has pledged to do within 90 days of confirmation.

That dynamic could prove especially sensitive for Warsh as lawmakers weigh potential conflicts of interest and the steps he would need to take to avoid them.

Beyond that, the filings also underscore the scale of wealth tied to his family. 

They do not include the far larger fortune connected to his wife, Jane Lauder — granddaughter of Estée Lauder’s founder — which Forbes estimates at about $1.9 billion. Separate disclosures show Lauder holds millions of dollars in additional assets, further adding to the family’s overall financial footprint.

TRUMP’S FED PICK KEVIN WARSH FACES UNEXPECTED ROADBLOCK OVER ONGOING POWELL PROBE

Warsh’s potential ascent comes at a turbulent moment for the central bank.

Senators are still weighing ethics concerns tied to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, with at least one Republican vowing to block Warsh’s confirmation over the issue.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who has been holding up the nomination, said he supports Warsh but will not back his confirmation until a Justice Department investigation into Powell is resolved. But that’s unlikely considering President Donald Trump’s push for the probe and refusal to back off pressuring DOJ to investigate. 

On Jan. 11, Powell confirmed that the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into his congressional testimony regarding the renovation of the Federal Reserve’s two historic buildings on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall.

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That probe comes as the Federal Reserve faces mounting pressure on multiple fronts, including a Supreme Court case testing its independence and persistent cost-of-living concerns weighing on President Donald Trump’s economic agenda.

Against that backdrop, scrutiny of Warsh’s finances — and how he manages them — is likely to intensify as his nomination advances.

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Mexico pyramid shooter who took hostages and killed 1 is identified

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A gunman who fatally shot a Canadian tourist and wounded more than a dozen others atop a historic pyramid in Mexico on Monday has been identified, according to officials.

Authorities identified the gunman as 27-year-old Julio Cesar Jasso, a Mexican national, according to a state official who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly.

Jasso later died by suicide after turning the gun on himself, and security officials found a gun, a knife and ammunition. Authorities said he acted alone, with the State of Mexico government confirming he was the sole assailant on Monday night.

Officials said seven of the victims were struck by gunfire, while others were hurt in the chaos as people scrambled to get down from the pyramids, with some falling during the panic.

EX-TV REPORTER ALLEGEDLY TURNED ROADSIDE GUNMAN, GRILLED VICTIMS ON ETHNICITY BEFORE OPENING FIRE

Those hospitalized included tourists from several countries, among them the United States, Colombia, Russia, Brazil and Canada, authorities said. The victims ranged in age from 6 to 61.

Footage circulating in local media appears to show the suspect positioned atop the structure as visitors rushed for safety below, with gunfire echoing across the site.

The Teotihuacan complex, located just outside Mexico City, is one of the country’s most visited archaeological landmarks, drawing millions of international visitors each year to its towering pre-Hispanic structures.

MOSCOW-BORN GUNMAN DEAD AFTER KYIV SHOOTING RAMPAGE LEAVES AT LEAST 6 DEAD, 14 WOUNDED: ZELENSKYY

The shooting took place shortly after 11:30 a.m. when dozens of tourists were at the top of the Pyramid of the Moon.

Security measures at the site have changed in recent years, with routine entry screenings no longer consistently in place, according to a local guide.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on social media that the shooting would be investigated and that she was in touch with the Canadian Embassy.

SUSPECTED BLUE CITY GUNMEN KILL INNOCENT GIRL IN REVENGE SHOOTING AT HOME: SHERIFF

“What happened today in Teotihuacán deeply pains us. I express my most sincere solidarity with the affected individuals and their families,” she wrote.

Anita Anand, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, said on X that as a “result of a horrific act of gun violence, a Canadian was killed and another wounded in Teotihuacán” and that her “thoughts are with their family and loved ones.”

Later in the evening, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson also expressed “deep concern” and sadness over the deaths and numerous injuries, and said in a post on X that the U.S. is “ready to provide support as needed while Mexican authorities continue their investigation.”

The National Institute of Anthropology and History said in a statement that the Teotihuacán archaeological site will remain closed until further notice.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Blue state poured thousands of dollars into study on reparations as effort launches

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Washington reportedly began a study on “reparative actions” for descendants of slavery on Friday after allocating $300,000 to the effort.

Last year, the Washington State Legislature funded a study to examine the history and impact of slavery in the U.S. as it relates to “the geography of the former Washington and Oregon territories.” 

The state also wants to analyze how residents were impacted by state laws and systems regarding criminal justice, economics and education, according to the Washington State Department of Commerce.

CHICAGO MAYOR LINKS RESTAURANT INDUSTRY TO ‘SLAVERY’ AS TIPPED WAGE FIGHT INTENSIFIES

State documents show that the legislature approved $300,000 to fund the project. The Washington State Department of Commerce reserved 10% of the money for administrative costs to manage the program and the remaining funds will be distributed yearly through fiscal year 2026 to 2027, beginning July 1 to the end of June.

The department is open to philanthropic or private donations to “expand the scope and depth of the study.”

Ashley Gardner, the lead director of the project, vowed a thorough review of the historical injustices during an info session last month.

“We intended to leave no research stone unturned,” Gardner said, according to Seattle Times reporting.

The amount of funding provided by the state resulted from consultation with the Commission on African American Affairs. The commission is a representative of the African American community in Washington advising the governor, legislature and state agencies on public policy and its execution.

TOP UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL POINTS TO REPARATIONS AS THE ‘KEY TO DISMANTLING SYSTEMIC RACISM’

Researchers must have a Ph.D. qualification in history, African American studies, sociology and several other listed social science and liberal arts degrees with a “direct focus” on “reparations or United States chattel slavery.” The study sought candidates with an “expertise in calculating the present value of uncompensated slave labor for direct victims of the United States chattel slavery.”

The launch of the study came after the state issued a survey to residents to help inform policy recommendations within the study.

“We’re tasked with looking at the national picture, and understanding, is Washington culpable, and if it is culpable, to what degree?” Marvin Slaughter Jr., co-lead of the valuation and policy team, said. 

The research team, the Washington Department of Commerce and the Commission on African American Affairs did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

CHICAGO SUBURB LOCALS HOPE REPARATIONS ADDRESSES ‘AFFORDABILITY PRESSURES’ AS BLACK POPULATION DWINDLES

Washington follows several other local municipalities and states spanning from coast to coast looking to study the harms of slavery, Jim Crow-era policies, and redlining policies that led to housing discrimination in order to issue reparations in some form. Many others have already conducted a study, which resulted in reports on a detailed review of the past that linked to researchers’ policy recommendations.

A Chicago suburb — Evanston, Illinois — went as far as paying $25,000 in cash to Black residents to address past racial housing discrimination through its program. 

As far as what reparations would look like in Washington, researchers reportedly believe it is too early to determine.

“Should it be cash payments? Should it be pensions? Should it be health care?” asked Thomas Craemer, the co-lead of the valuation and policy team on the research project.

“There’s a number of ideas,” he continued. “This is a research project. We’re not actually making any decisions, and we don’t want to. We want to let the community speak to us and to guide us.” 

Despite efforts to issue reparations, some of the programs are facing obstacles due to budgetary or legal pressures. The cities of Evanston and San Francisco have been hit with lawsuits over alleged racial discrimination due to their reparations efforts.

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