Alito not expected to retire this term, cooling Supreme Court vacancy speculation: sources

April 17, 2026 5:23pm EDT / Fox News

President Trump said amid SCOTUS retirement speculation he is ‘prepared’ to appoint up to three Supreme Court justices

By Alec Schemmel, Ashley Oliver, Shannon Bream, Fox News

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is not expected to step down this term and has already hired all four law clerks for the upcoming annual term despite speculation the high court justice was weighing retirement, multiple sources said.

Alito “is not stepping down this term and is in the process of hiring the rest of his clerks for the next term,” a source told Fox News Digital. Two other sources told Fox News that Alito is not retiring this term, which lasts until the Supreme Court’s new year kicks off in October.

Justices tend to hire their clerks two to three years in advance, although that process is not necessarily indicative of a justice’s retirement plans.

The revelation that Alito is reportedly not planning to step down comes after President Donald Trump told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo he is “prepared” to appoint up to three Supreme Court justices if vacancies arise. Trump added he has a shortlist of nominees in mind, though he did not mention any names.

TRUMP REVEALS HE HAS MULTI-PICK SCOTUS PLAN READY AS RETIREMENT SPECULATION HEATS UP

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito Oct. 7, 2022, in Washington, D.C.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“In theory, it’s two or three, they tell me — if you just read statistics — it could be two, could be three, could be one,” Trump told Bartiromo. “I don’t know. I’m prepared to do it. But when you mention Alito, he is a great justice.”

Trump said he thinks Alito, who has sided with him on most high-profile cases, is “in very good physical health” and called him “one of the great justices of our time.”

“Justice Alito is an unbelievable justice,” Trump said.

JONATHAN TURLEY: KAMALA HARRIS BACKS RADICAL PLAN TO BLOCK TRUMP SCOTUS PICKS

President Donald J. Trump greets Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Samuel Alito as he departs from a ceremony to swear in Secretary of Defense Mark Esper in the Oval Office at the White House July 23, 2019, in Washington.(Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Rumors about Alito, 76, potentially retiring have grown because of his age, his two-decade tenure on the bench and speculation that he may want to make sure a conservative successor is confirmed by the current Republican-led Senate before the upcoming midterm elections. Former President George W. Bush nominated him for the nation’s highest court in 2005.

The rumors were further fueled when it was revealed Alito was treated last month for dehydration after becoming ill at a Federalist Society dinner. A Supreme Court spokesperson clarified at the time that the justice was “thoroughly checked” and quickly returned to the bench.

TRUMP DISMISSES CALLS FOR ALITO, THOMAS TO STEP DOWN FROM SUPREME COURT, CALLING THEM ‘FANTASTIC’

Justice Clarence Thomas, an appointee of President George H. W. Bush, has drawn less retirement speculation despite being one year older than Alito at 77 and in his own lengthy tenure. Thomas has been a conservative fixture on the court for more than three decades and holds a record as the second-longest serving justice in history.

President Donald Trump and Supreme Court justices Clarence Thomas, center, and Samuel Alito(Getty Images)

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters earlier this week he would recommend Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, or Mike Lee, R-Utah, as top candidates if Alito were to retire. Grassley said he hoped Alito would not step down but said his committee is “fully prepared” to process a nominee before the midterm elections.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Tuesday the GOP majority would be able to fill a Supreme Court vacancy quickly.

“That’s a contingency I think around here you always have to be prepared for. And if that were to happen, yes, we would be prepared to confirm,” Thune said.

Fox News’ Bill Mears contributed to this report.

Lead prosecutor on probe into ex-CIA Director John Brennan is removed from case, sources say

April 17, 2026 / 7:25 PM EDT / CBS News

By Daniel Klaidman

The lead career federal prosecutor in Miami who was overseeing a criminal investigation into whether former CIA Director John Brennan lied to Congress is no longer assigned to the case, multiple sources confirmed to CBS News on Friday.

Maria Medetis Long, who is the head of the national security section for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of Florida, informed lawyers who have clients involved in the matter late this week that she was off the case, several of them confirmed.

Medetis Long did not explain the reason for her removal, though a source familiar with the matter told CBS it came about after she informed U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones that she did not believe there was not enough to make a case.

CNN first reported that she has been removed from the case, after resisting pressure to quickly bring charges against Brennan.

A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed the personnel shift, and said that Medetis Long remains employed by the Justice Department.

“As a matter of routine practice, attorneys are moved around on cases so offices can most effectively allocate resources,” a department spokesperson said. “It is completely healthy and normal to change members of legal teams.”

Medetis Long referred all questions to a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office.

Among the attorneys now assigned to the case is Chris DeLorenz, a department official confirmed. His involvement in the case was reported earlier by Bloomberg Law.

DeLorenz was a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon during the investigation into President Trump’s retention of classified records who most recently worked as an adviser in the deputy attorney general’s office.

He recently left Washington to serve as an assistant U.S. attorney in Miami.

The abrupt personnel shift comes at a time when the Justice Department has been trying to more quickly progress its investigation into Brennan.

The probe was sparked by a referral from the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee last October over allegations Brennan lied to Congress about the CIA’s role in crafting the intelligence assessment into Russia’s efforts to meddle in the 2016 presidential election.

In the referral, Chairman Jim Jordan claimed that Brennan “falsely” denied that the CIA relied on a dossier prepared by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele during the drafting of the intelligence assessment and falsely told the committee that the CIA had opposed including the Steele dossier in the assessment.

The so-called Steele dossier contained salacious allegations against then-candidate Donald Trump that have not been verified.

A former CIA official is set to be interviewed by federal prosecutors and FBI agents in early May as part of the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation, according to a different source familiar with the matter.

The person is a witness, not a target of the probe, and has been interviewed more than once.

He was asked about the decision to include the Steele dossier in the annex to the Intelligence Community Assessment released in 2017, and he was also asked about a disagreement that CIA officials had with Brennan over the Obama administration’s conclusions that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election was aimed at helping Hillary Clinton and hurting President Donald Trump, the source added.

Both of those events took place in 2016, well outside the statute of limitations, but prosecutors are probing whether Brennan committed perjury when testifying under oath about these events before Congress in 2023.

Greg Brower, former U.S. attorney for the District of Nevada under President George W. Bush, disputed the Justice Department’s notion that the removal of the prosecutor from the Brennan case is considered “normal.”

“This kind of move is extremely unusual – not ‘normal and healthy’ as DOJ has suggested,” he told CBS News, noting it presents a similar fact pattern from last year when the top federal prosecutor in eastern Virginia was ousted after he expressed concerns over the strength of the evidence in the cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Miami is also investigating a separate referral from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in which she claimed, without evidence, that Brennan and other Obama-era officials “manufactured” the 2017 assessment.

The status of that probe, which is also being handled by federal prosecutors in Miami, remains unclear.

That office is also separately reviewing documents in connection with former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Trump, according to sources familiar with the matter. The status of that remains unclear.

Trump announces US blockade on Iranian ports throughout the Strait of Hormuz

2026-04-17T23:25:23.951Z / CNN

By Ileya Robinson-Williams, CNN

Published 7:25 PM EDT, Fri April 17, 2026

Trump announces US blockade on Iranian ports throughout the Strait of Hormuz

President Trump sends the US navy to the Strait of Hormuz to block Iranian oil shipments. Trump adds fuel to an ongoing feud with Pope Leo. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reports on the week at the White House.

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伊朗议长：特朗普一小时内七项声明“全部是谎言”

2026年4月18日 07:38 / 联合早报

伊朗议长卡利巴夫4月18日凌晨贴文说，霍尔木兹海峡的事务将由伊朗决定，不是由美国说了算。 （法新社）

伊朗议会议长卡利巴夫星期六（4月18日）凌晨在社交媒体发文说，美国总统特朗普在一小时内接连发布的七项声明“全部是谎言”。

卡利巴夫在贴文中直指特朗普就美伊谈判撒谎，称特朗普“在一个小时内提出了七个说法，全部是谎言”。

卡利巴夫还说，霍尔木兹海峡事务将由伊朗决定，不是由美国说了算。

他说，船只只有在获得“伊朗授权”的情况下才能通过“指定航线”。他强调，这条海峡的开放或关闭将取决于海峡的实际情况，而非公开发表的声明。

他还指责美国正在搞“媒体战术”，并坚称伊朗不会受其影响。

美国新闻网站Axios星期五引述美国官员和知情人士称，特朗普政府正在考虑解冻200亿美元（约254亿新元）的伊朗资金，换取伊朗放弃浓缩铀库存。特朗普接受哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）采访时否认这一说法，他说：“不，我们一分钱也不会付。”

Supreme Court Justices Alito and Thomas not planning to retire this year, sources say

April 17, 2026 7:16 PM EDT / CBS News

By Jan Crawford

Jan Crawford CBS News Chief Legal Correspondent

Jan Crawford is CBS News’ chief legal correspondent and a recognized authority on the Supreme Court. Her 2007 book, “Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for the Control of the United States Supreme Court” (Penguin Press), gained critical acclaim and became an instant New York Times Bestseller.

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Jan Crawford

Sources close to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito confirm that he is not planning to retire this year. Sources close to Justice Clarence Thomas also tell CBS News that he does not plan to step down.

That indicates that this year, with the midterm elections on the horizon, President Trump will not be able to plan on an opportunity to make his fourth nomination to the Supreme Court.

Alito’s plans were first reported by Fox News. Alito and Thomas are two of the core members of the court’s conservative majority.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Obama urges Virginians to vote yes on redistricting measure that could give Democrats 4 more House seats

2026-04-17T13:44:50-04:00 / Fox News

The video was released on the eve of the final day of early voting ahead of Tuesday’s statewide referendum

By Paul Steinhauser , Michael Dorgan Fox News

Published April 17, 2026 1:44pm EDT

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6393253633112

Proposed redistricting would ‘disenfranchise millions of Virginians’: former governor

Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin discusses early voting underway in Virginia as state Democrats seek to redraw the congressional map on ‘The Will Cain Show.’

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Former President Barack Obama is urging Virginians to vote in favor of a congressional redistricting ballot measure that, if passed, could give Democrats a big boost in this year’s midterm elections.

“By voting yes, you have the chance to do something important — not just for the Commonwealth, but for our entire country,” Obama said in the video. “By voting yes, you can push back against the Republicans trying to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterms.”

The video by the former president, who remains one of the most popular former presidents and whose favorable ratings among Democrats remain high a decade after leaving the White House, was released Friday on the eve of the final day of early voting ahead of Tuesday’s statewide referendum.

If the ballot measure is successful, it would give the Democrat-controlled legislature — rather than the current nonpartisan commission — temporary redistricting power through the 2030 election. It could result in a 10-1 advantage for Democrats in Virginia’s congressional delegation, up from their current 6-5 edge.

OBAMA ENDORSES VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT COULD HELP DEMS GAIN 4 SEATS

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6393305271112

That would give Democrats four additional left-leaning U.S. House seats ahead of the midterms as the party tries to win back control of the chamber from the GOP, which holds a razor-thin majority.

“By voting yes, you can take a temporary step to level the playing field. And we’re counting on you,” Obama said in the video.

Republicans call the Democrats’ redistricting effort an “unconstitutional power grab.” Democrats counter that it’s a necessary step to balance out partisan gerrymandering already implemented by Republicans in other states at the urging of President Donald Trump.

The video by Obama is the former president’s latest effort tied to the referendum. He has previously appeared in ads released by Virginians for Fair Elections, the Democrat-aligned group working to pass the ballot initiative.

Virginians For Fair Maps, the leading Republican-aligned group opposing redistricting, is using past comments by Obama against political gerrymandering in its ads opposing the referendum.

“Because of things like political gerrymandering, our parties have moved further and further apart, and it’s harder and harder to find common ground,” the former president says in a clip showcased in the spot.

A separate group that is also urging Virginians to vote no has sent mailers across the state featuring Obama’s image alongside a six-year-old quote from the former president saying, “For too long, gerrymandering has contributed to stalled progress and warped our representative government.”

Supporters of redistricting have dramatically outraised and outspent groups opposed to the referendum. But polling suggests support for the ballot initiative is only slightly ahead of opposition amid a surge in early voting.

Virginia is the latest battleground in the high-stakes fight between Trump and the GOP versus Democrats over congressional redistricting.

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE RUNS THROUGH VIRGINIA AS COURT OKS HIGH-STAKES REDISTRICTING VOTE

President Donald Trump on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One in Washington, D.C., Thursday, April 16, 2026.(Graeme Sloan/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, Trump last spring first floated the idea of rare, but not unheard of, mid-decade congressional redistricting.

The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP’s fragile House majority to keep control of the chamber in the midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.

When asked by reporters last summer about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, “Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.”

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map.

But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country.

Among those leading the fight against Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.

REPUBLICANS TARGET VIRGINIA GOVERNOR IN BID TO DEFEAT DEMOCRAT-BACKED REDISTRICTING

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an election night press conference at a California Democratic Party office Nov. 4, 2025, in Sacramento, Calif.(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)

California voters in November overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that temporarily sidetracked the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and returned the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature.

That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the move by Texas to redraw their maps.

The fight quickly spread beyond Texas and California.

Republican-controlled Missouri and Ohio and swing state North Carolina, where the GOP dominates the legislature, have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push.

In blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge late last year rejected a congressional district map drawn by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the midterms.

Republicans in Indiana’s Senate in December defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House. The showdown in the Indiana statehouse grabbed plenty of national attention.

Florida is next up.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference April 10, 2025, in Miami.(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Two-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers in the GOP-dominated legislature are hoping to pick up an additional three to five right-leaning seats through a redistricting push during a special legislative session that kicks off April 28.

Hovering over the redistricting wars is the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule in Louisiana v. Callais, a crucial case that may lead to the overturning of a key provision in the Voting Rights Act.

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If the ruling goes the way of the conservatives on the high court, it could lead to the redrawing of a slew of majority-minority districts across the county, which would greatly favor Republicans.

But it is very much up in the air when the court will rule and what it will actually decide.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.

Oil prices plummet after Iran says Strait of Hormuz is “completely open”

April 17, 2026 / 2:20 PM EDT / CBS News

By Mary Cunningham

Mary Cunningham is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. She previously worked at “60 Minutes,” CBSNews.com and CBS News 24/7 as part of the CBS News Associate Program.

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Oil prices plummeted by around 10% on Friday after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

The West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, fell by $10.33, or 10.91%, to $84.36, according to oilprice.com. Brent, the international standard, dropped $8.89, or 8.94%, to $90.05 a barrel.

U.S. motorists also experienced relief at the pump, with average gasoline prices falling to $4.08 per gallon for regular on Friday, after hitting $4.17 on April 9, the highest level so far this year, AAA data shows. Gas prices are closely tied to the price of crude, which accounts for 51% of the cost of a gallon of gas.

Oil prices jumped after the war in the Middle East began on Feb. 28, at times brushing up against nearly $120 a barrel. The cost spiked due to a slowdown in traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for oil shipments through which one-fifth of the world’s oil supply normally flows.

Prices fell on Friday after Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, posted on X, “In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran.”

A U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and vessels remains in effect, President Trump said on Truth Social. On Friday, the U.S. Central Command said “19 ships have complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and return to Iran” since the blockade started earlier this week.

Stocks rallied Friday with the S&P 500 up 1.09%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.84% as of 2 p.m. ET. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.28%.

In another positive sign for investors, Mr. Trump signaled the U.S. could be closer to reaching an agreement with Iran, telling Bloomberg on Friday that a deal to end the war is mostly complete and that Iran has agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely, a key point of contention in negotiations.

The president said on Thursday he’s open to extending the two-week ceasefire agreed to by the U.S. and Iran on April 8.

Edited by Mark Osborne

Senior U.S. officials could be back in Pakistan for Iran talks within days, sources say

2026-04-17T13:17:00-0400 / CBS News

By Margaret Brennan, Margaret Brennan Moderator, “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan;” Chief foreign affairs correspondent

Margaret Brennan is moderator of “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on CBS. Based in Washington, D.C., Brennan is also the Network’s chief foreign affairs correspondent and a contributing correspondent to 60 Minutes. Additionally, she appears regularly on the “CBS Evening News,” leading coverage from Washington when news breaks on the political and foreign affairs fronts.

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Margaret Brennan, Olivia Gazis, Olivia Gazis

Olivia Gazis covers intelligence and international security matters for CBS News. Twice Emmy-nominated, she has traveled worldwide with the secretary of state and contributes reporting on intelligence, foreign policy and other security topics across CBS News broadcast, radio, online and streaming platforms.

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Olivia Gazis, Sara Cook, Sara Cook

Sara Cook is a White House producer and multi-platform reporter for CBS News. She has covered three presidential campaigns and the Obama, Biden, and Trump administrations.

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Sara Cook, Gabrielle Ake, James LaPorta
James LaPorta National security coordinating producer

James LaPorta is the national security coordinating producer for the CBS News’ Washington bureau. He is a former U.S. Marine veteran infantryman and veteran of the Afghanistan war.

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James LaPorta

Updated on: April 17, 2026 / 2:25 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington— Amid a tightening American naval blockade of Iran’s ports and coastline in the narrow maritime chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz, the Trump administration is weighing a renewed diplomatic push that could send senior officials back to Pakistan within days, according to several people familiar with the deliberations.

While still tentative, the effort is aimed at reviving negotiations with Iranian representatives in hopes of reaching a longer-term peace deal with Tehran. No firm date had been finalized as of Friday morning, but talks could resume as soon as Monday, underscoring the fluid and uncertain nature of the talks.

At the center of the potential outreach is Vice President JD Vance, who is being considered for a return trip to Islamabad, where back-channel negotiations have quietly taken place. He would likely be joined by Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, who has played an increasingly visible role in the administration’s effort to broker agreements in the region.

Mr. Trump took rounds of phone calls from different reporters on Friday and made several claims on the issue. He told Bloomberg’s Kate Sullivan that he had not made a determination as to who would lead the next round of in-person talks. The president said it would be a group that could include Vance, Witkoff and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law.

The president told NewsNation’s Kellie Meyer that Iran had agreed to stop enriching uranium. Axios’ Barak Ravid said Mr. Trump expected an Iran deal “in a day or two.”

The prospective visit follows an exhaustive round of talks last week in Islamabad, where Vance led hours of negotiations with Iranian intermediaries. Those discussions ended without a breakthrough, leaving core disputes unresolved — including the scope of Iran’s nuclear activities and the conditions for ending the war that began in February.

Still, officials on both sides have struck a notably measured tone in public, suggesting that diplomacy, while strained, is not yet exhausted. American officials have indicated a willingness to continue engagement even as military operations proceed. Iranian representatives, for their part, have signaled cautious openness to further dialogue, though they have insisted any meaningful progress would require concessions Washington has so far been reluctant to offer.

Meanwhile, senior Western leaders are convening in Paris on Friday for urgent talks aimed at safeguarding freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global energy supplies.

French President Emmanuel Macron will host the meeting in person alongside U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, underscoring the level of concern among major European powers as tensions in the region persist.

More than 30 additional representatives from Europe, Asia and Latin America are expected to join virtually, reflecting the broad international stakes tied to the waterway, which handles about 20% of the world’s oil shipments.

Discussions may address a range of potential measures, according to a French official, including coordinated naval escorts for commercial vessels, expanded demining operations and enhanced intelligence-sharing mechanisms. The official said organizers remain in continuous contact with both the United States and Iran. Neither country, nor Israel, is participating directly in Friday’s talks.

But as administrations navigate diplomatic solutions, commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz have their own precarious quagmire: mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. officials told CBS News in March there were at least a dozen underwater Iranian mines in the vital passageway. Iran has historically enjoyed a stockpile of thousands of naval mines largely produced by Tehran, China or Russia.

On Friday, Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi posted to X, “In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran.”

However, the U.S. Navy posted an advisory to ship captains that the mine threat in parts of the Strait of Hormuz “[are] not fully understood and avoidance of [the] area should be considered,” according to the U.S. Navy advisory reviewed by CBS News.

Mr. Trump said on Truth Social that Iran, with the help of the United States, will remove all mines from the strait.

Jennifer Jacobs contributed to this report.

Trump’s plan for triumphal arch moves step closer to reality

2026-04-17T12:50:29-04:00 / Fox News

White House says the move marks ‘another step’ in Trump’s promise to ‘Make America Safe and Beautiful Again’

By Alex Nitzberg Fox News

Published April 17, 2026 12:50pm EDT

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt closed a briefing with images of plans for the U.S. Triumphal Arch in Washington, D.C.

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1 min

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday gave preliminary approval to President Donald Trump’s plan for a massive new triumphal arch monument in the nation’s capital, according to The New York Times.

The outlet reported that the body holds an advisory role regarding the project’s design but does not wield enforcement authority.

The Associated Press reported that the commission approved the concept for several projects, including the arch.

The federal agency will next review updated designs for all three projects at a future meeting before taking any final votes.

GOLDEN EAGLES, LIONS AND A WINGED LADY LIBERTY TOP TRUMP’S PROPOSED 250-FOOT DC TRIUMPHAL ARCH DESIGNS

The phrase “ONE NATION UNDER GOD” emblazons the triumphal in this mock-up design from Harrison Design. The back of the arch has a matching emblem that says “LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.”(Harrison Design via the White House Commission of Fine Arts)

The proposed monument features a giant arch topped with a winged Lady Liberty statue flanked by eagle statues.

Near the base of the arch there would be lion statues.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House Friday.

The AP reported that White House spokesperson Davis Ingle indicated that the commission’s action is “another step in accomplishing President Trump’s promise to the American people from the campaign trail — to Make America Safe and Beautiful Again.”

DEMS UNLOAD ON TRUMP’S LATEST DC UPDATE WITH ‘CHRISTIAN NATIONALIST’ BROADSIDE, LEGAL PUSH

Commission of Fine Arts commissioners — Vice Chairman James C. McCrery II, Chairman Rodney Mims Cook Jr. and Pamela Hughes Patenaude — listen to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum speak at a public hearing on President Donald Trump’s proposed triumphal arch to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary at the National Building Museum April 16, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Reports indicate that commission Vice Chair James C. McCrery II raised a number of design notes, including the possibility of not including the statues atop the monument.

“And I wonder … if it’s not even a better, more Washingtonian design without the three finials,” he said.

LEAVITT SHOWS OFF US TRIUMPHAL ARCH, WITH PLANS TO BE RELEASED THURSDAY

A model of President Donald Trump’s proposed triumphal arch to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary is seen on the Resolute Desk Oct. 15, 2025, in Washington, D.C.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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“I’d say work on the lions and find replacements for them,” he said, noting that, as he had indicated previously, “They’re not of this continent.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

White House eyes alleged Utah scandal as GOP frets about redistricting loss

April 17, 2026 / 2:08 PM EDT / CBS News

By
Olivia Rinaldi
Olivia Rinaldi White House reporter
Olivia Rinaldi is a White House reporter at CBS News. She covered President Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and was previously an associate producer for “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell” and a broadcast associate for “Face the Nation.” She is based in Washington, D.C.

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White House officials are closely monitoring an alleged Utah scandal, leaning on Republicans there to delve further into ethics concerns about a relationship between two key players in a high-profile gerrymandering case, sources told CBS News.

It’s another twist in an ongoing battle over Utah’s court-ordered congressional map that made a GOP-majority district much friendlier for Democrats, and a new tactic in the Trump administration’s push to hold Republicans’ slim majority in the U.S. House.

Lawmakers in the state legislature are asking questions about Utah Supreme Court Justice Diana Hagen’s relationship with David Reymann, the chief counsel for the League of Women Voters of Utah, who was one of the plaintiff’s attorneys asserting Republicans’ proposed congressional maps were illegal.

Hagen wrote the opinion in a unanimous 2024 ruling that found GOP lawmakers had overstepped by changing Proposition 4, which prohibits gerrymandering.

Political reaction

It was unclear if the alleged conflict of interest involving Hagen and Reymann could overturn the new congressional boundaries and help Republicans claw back a GOP-majority district.

“There’s just a lot of unknowns at this point,” Kirk Cullimore, the Utah Senate majority leader, told CBS News.

Cullimore noted Hagen in a letter recused herself from considering matters connected to Reymann. Ethics watchdogs don’t know if the pair were in a relationship when the state Supreme Court issued the opinion on the anti-gerrymandering case, he said.

GOP officials in Utah have spoken to the White House about the situation, sources said.

Other state legislatures have been locked in redistricting battles after President Trump set off a mid-decade redistricting frenzy by asking Texas Republicans to redraw their congressional boundaries to try to cement a House GOP majority.

Mr. Trump weighed in earlier this year on the Utah Republicans’ efforts to repeal the anti-gerrymandering bill.

The current Utah boundary map, ordered by a district court, turned four Republican-leaning congressional districts into three GOP-leaning districts and one Democratic-majority district in the Salt Lake City area. Republicans have controlled all four congressional districts in Utah since 2014.

Utah U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens, a former professional football player, announced last month that he wouldn’t be seeking reelection after he unsuccessfully sued to overturn the map.

In a joint statement to CBS News, the top three Republican legislative leaders said they will move forward with an independent investigation.

“Recent media reports about a relationship between a member of the Utah Supreme Court and an attorney who has argued high-profile cases before the Court raise serious questions and concerns,” Governor Spencer Cox, state Senate President J. Stuart Adams, and House Speaker Mike Schultz said.

“An initial review by the Judicial Conduct Commission and the Court left important questions unresolved. Allegations of this nature, especially involving public officials, must be examined with transparency and accountability to establish the facts and to maintain public confidence.”

The League of Women Voters Utah, who Reymann represented, declined to comment.

Affair allegations

A complaint to the state’s Judicial Conduct Commission in December made allegations about an inappropriate relationship between Hagen and Reymann.

Through a public records request, CBS News obtained a copy of the complaint, filed by an attorney who said Hagen’s ex-husband told him Hagen had exchanged text messages with Reymann.

The Judicial Conduct Commission opted not to pursue the matter further after a preliminary investigation.

After the 2024 state Supreme Court decision, the GOP-led legislature tried to have the new map thrown out, and the case again came before the state’s high court in September 2025. In February, Utah’s high court again ruled against the legislature and upheld the new map.

Hagen detailed the relationship in a January declaration to the commission, stating she had been faithful to her ex-husband for the 30 years of their marriage and did not have an affair before their separation. She said that she suggested they divorce in September 2024, and they separated in April 2025.

The judge says she renewed her “friendship with Mr. Reymann” while separated from her husband and updated her recusal list to include his name.

Hagen told local news outlet KSL-TV, which first reported on the situation, that she “voluntarily recused myself from all cases involving Mr. Reymann in May 2025.”

Reymann has not responded to CBS News’ requests for comment.