(WASHINGTON) — The FBI seized former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell’s electronic devices as part of an ongoing criminal probe, according to sources familiar with the situation. 

Swalwell was served with a search warrant for his cellphone and other electronic devices while he was at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday night, according to sources, and agents served a search warrant at his Washington, D.C., home on Sunday.

Swalwell resigned from Congress in April after being accused of sexual misconduct and was about to face efforts by his colleagues to have him expelled from the House.

Swalwell had suspended his campaign for California governor the day before after the San Francisco Chronicle reported that an ex-staffer alleged that he sexually assaulted her twice when she was too intoxicated to consent.

The House Ethics Committee announced the same day that it was investigating the allegations against him.

Lonna Drewes said in a news conference after Swalwell’s resignation that he raped her in 2018 and believes he drugged her drink when the two were planning to attend a political event. 

Drewes is one of at least six women who have made allegations of sexual misconduct against Swalwell.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced it is launching an investigation into Drewes’ allegations against Swalwell.

Swalwell has denied the allegations.

In a statement posted on X announcing that he intended to resign from Congress, Swalwell said that he was “deeply sorry” to his family, staff and constituents but that “he will fight the serious, false allegation made against me.”

“I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members. Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong,” Swalwell said. “But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress.” 

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is also investigating allegations against Swalwell, a source familiar with the investigation told ABC News.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he has nominated White House Domestic Policy Council Deputy Director Heidi Overton to be the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

“Dr. Heidi has been a ROCKSTAR in my Administration, where she has worked directly with Secretary Kennedy, Dr. Oz, and team, to deliver on the MOST TRANSFORMATIVE Health Agenda in History,” Trump said in a social media post, adding that he wants her “leadership at the FDA now to ensure that the U.S. remains the WORLD LEADER for Scientific Discovery and CURES.”

Overton has been Trump’s deputy assistant during his second term, advising him on health policies, including lowering prescription drug prices. Overton has stood alongside Trump for several major health announcements at the White House, including his executive order signing on childhood vaccines earlier this month.

She has espoused anti-abortion views and supported reductions to the childhood immunization schedule, touting the use of “gold-standard science” and restoring vaccination authority to parents while at that executive order signing.

Overton is a physician who holds a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to that role, she was vice chair of the America First Policy Institute’s (AFPI) Center for a Healthy America, where Overton was also the chief policy officer, a nonprofit that aims to advance policies that it says put the American people first. AFPI was run by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins before Rollins was tapped to join the president’s Cabinet. Several Trump administration officials held positions there before he was reelected, including Education Secretary Linda McMahon.

The FDA is one of several agencies under the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy expressed his support for Overton on Wednesday, calling her the “best person for the job.”

“Heidi brings exceptional judgment, professionalism, discipline, and an unwavering commitment to the American people,” Kennedy wrote in a social media post. “I have seen her challenge assumptions, demand excellence, and turn bold ideas into meaningful results.”

The FDA commissioner position requires Senate confirmation. During confirmation hearings, Overton is expected to face questions that will test her loyalty to the president, similar to previous confirmation hearings for Trump administration health leaders.

If confirmed, Overton is expected to continue to support the president’s health agenda.

“She’s gonna stay in line because she’s tested,” a source familiar told ABC News. “She’s a loyalist to the president. That’s kind of his thinking behind all of this — to keep loyalists in these top jobs.”

The job is one of the nation’s top health posts and has remained without permanent leadership amid the foodborne illness outbreaks of cyclospora and salmonella.

A senior administration official told ABC News that acting commissioner Kyle Diamantas was offered the full-time job several times and declined. Diamantas, who has been leading the investigation into the health outbreaks, has been touted as the driving force behind the administration’s food policy and stressed that America’s food supply is safe despite consumers’ health concerns.

Overton will ultimately be replacing former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who resigned in May amid clashes with the White House over pressure from Trump to authorize fruit-flavored vapes. FDA employees, who previously spoke to ABC News on the condition of anonymity, said that they were concerned about the future of the agency’s leadership after Makary’s exit. They said the angst stems from a rollercoaster-like experience, including witnessing 20% of the FDA’s staff being reduced during the president’s second term.

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(WASHINGTON) — Several high-profile primary races Tuesday tested how much President Donald Trump’s endorsement can do for a scandal-marred candidate, showed the impact of Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting and highlighted the continued battle between established Democratic candidates and progressive challengers.

Here are takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries:

Trump endorsement can’t lift Mills

Embattled and scandal-ridden Republican Rep. Cory Mills lost his reelection bid in Florida Tuesday, defeated by challenger Ryan Elijah, a former TV news anchor and NFL sideline reporter.

Mills faces a House Ethics Committee investigation; a judge issued a restraining order against him last year after he was accused by his former girlfriend of threatening to distribute sexually explicit videos of her; and in July, ABC News reported that the embattled congressman was also under investigation by the Department of Justice, in part about his finances. Mills has denied the allegations.

Mills’ loss suggests that Republicans have limits when it comes to how long they can stand behind a candidate carrying too much baggage. Despite the scandals that have followed him, Mills still retained Trump’s endorsement.

Putting aside differences before November

Republican Rep. Byron Donalds unsurprisingly secured his party’s nomination in the gubernatorial race in Florida. Donalds’ campaign has received immense support among Republicans and Trump’s endorsement.

Donalds now faces the task of uniting his party after what was a bruising primary. Donalds said he received congratulatory calls from his competitors, Paul Renner and James Fishback. In his victory speech, Donalds called for Florida Republicans to come together.

“But tonight the primary is over. Tonight we put aside our differences. Tonight we are one united Republican Party,” Donalds said.

Wasserman Schultz promises representation matters

Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz won her primary in Florida’s historically Black 20th Congressional District that was redrawn this year by the Republican-controlled legislature.

Her decision to run in the district drew criticism from her four Black opponents and other Black Democrats who have already been impacted by Republican redistricting efforts in southern states.

In her victory speech, Wasserman Schultz referenced redistricting Republicans hope will improve their chances of retaining the House in November. She promised the redrawn majority-minority district that increasing representation is among her top priorities.

“This is such a difficult and fraught time in our country. There is so much at stake in this moment, and I want people to know that representation matters. It matters, and I will fight to make sure that representation counts again,” she said Tuesday evening.
Moskowitz fends off challenge from DSA candidate

In the Democratic primary for Florida’s 25th District, two-term incumbent Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who was also running in a redrawn district, fended off a challenge from Democratic Socialists of America candidate Oliver Larkin.

The race highlighted how support for Israel is becoming prominent issue in this year’s election as more Democrats have become less supportive. Moskowitz has been a staunch supporter of Israel while Larkin has called for the U.S. to cut off aid.

The race was a continuation of established Democratic candidates facing challenges from progressives, as seen in the Senate race in Michigan.

Moskowitz now faces a competitive general election in November, as his seat is one Republicans see as a top pickup opportunity.

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(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge in Boston has cleared the way for the Trump administration to terminate temporary protected status for Ethiopian nationals.

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy on Tuesday lifted the administrative stay that had been blocking the termination of the TPS program.

The ruling follows other recent court orders allowing the administration to end protections for TPS holders from countries including Haiti, Somalia, Syria and Myanmar as part of the administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown.

The court rulings come after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that the Trump administration could terminate TPS for Haitian nationals. 

The advocacy group African Communities Together filed suit in January, arguing that Ethiopia remains in a humanitarian crisis.

“Should TPS for Ethiopia be terminated, all Plaintiffs will face impossible choices: to uproot their lives yet again in search of a pathway to safety in a third country; to remain in the United States without lawful immigration status, at risk of imminent immigration confinement and removal; or to relocate to Ethiopia, a country still suffering violent conflict,” the group said in its original complaint.

TPS status, established by the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, provides work authorization and protection from deportation if a foreign country is deemed by the government to be unsafe because of armed conflict, natural disaster, or “extraordinary and temporary conditions.”

In a post on X, the Department of Homeland Security said that individuals with terminated TPS should leave the U.S.

“Those with terminated TPS should leave NOW,” DHS said. “If they don’t, we will DEPORT them.”

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump contradicted Vice President JD Vance on Monday after the vice president asserted last week that the administration’s top priority amid the Iran war was to keep the price of oil and gas down for Americans.

In a social media post on Monday morning, Trump said that the “number one Goal is, and always will be” that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon.

Last Thursday, Vance laid out a different order of priorities on Fox News, saying that “goal No. 1” for the administration amid the war was to “keep oil and gas cheap for Americans all over our country.”

“And then obviously, goal No. 2 is ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon,” he added. “I feel confident we’re accomplishing both of those goals.”

Vance’s comments about prioritizing gas prices diverge from the president’s stated mission of eliminating Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. And while some Republicans have acknowledged gas prices are too high, Trump said he won’t apologize for it.

In the past, the president had outright rejected the idea that the domestic American economy should factor into military decisions around Iran. 

“Not even a little bit,” Trump said back in May when asked to what extent financial pressure on Americans was motivating him to strike a deal.

“The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he added. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon, that’s all.”

Asked about Vance’s comments aboard Air Force One last Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that “both goals are equally as important to the president.”

“Of course, we want to keep gas prices low. That’s why the administration has done so much to keep the markets stable, but also ensuring Iran can never get a nuclear weapon is the president’s priority with respect to the ongoing conflict, and it’s something he’s going to see through one way or another,” she added. 

Trump’s apparent rebuke of the vice president came just minutes after “Fox and Friends” anchor Lawrence Jones reacted to Vance’s comments during the program’s Monday morning broadcast, and called for “more clarity” from the White House on the U.S. objectives. Roughly eight minutes later, the president posted his message. 

“It also looks like we got an answer from the president about what is priority No. 1 for the United States,” Jones said about an hour later in the broadcast as he relayed the details of the president’s post.

While the status of the Strait of Hormuz has become a central focus of the war — injecting volatility into the global energy market even as the conflict between the two countries has ebbed and flowed — Trump has repeatedly argued that the cost of not intervening in Iran would far outweigh the higher gas prices Americans are dealing with now.

The average price of a gallon of regular is $4.02 according to GasBuddy, up 7 cents form last week and up more than a dollar per gallon since the start of the war.

Speaking at the New York police academy last Friday, Trump told the gathered crowd that he would not apologize for the price of gas. 

“[Iran’s] the No. 1 state sponsor of terror in the world. We don’t want to have them have nuclear weapons,” Trump said. “So remember that when you have to pay a little bit more, you’re at $4. It’s OK. I mean, it’s, I’m not — I’m not — I will never apologize. I did the right thing.”

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(WASHINGTON) — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will leave her role at the end of August “so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family,” President Donald Trump announced in a social media post on Wednesday.

The announcement comes less than a month after Leavitt held her first briefing after returning from maternity leave. Leavitt welcomed her second child in May.

Trump, in his social media post, said her decision is one “I totally understand and respect.”

The president added that Leavitt would continue to be one of his “top outside advisors” and an “influential voice” within the Republican Party ahead of the midterm elections.

Calling her “one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office,” Trump thanked Leavitt for a “job well done.”

Leavitt became the youngest White House press secretary in history when she assumed the position last year at 27 years old. 

Leavitt confirmed her decision to leave in an X post and expressed her gratitude to the president, saying the role has been “the honor and adventure of a lifetime” and thanked the president for the opportunity to work in his administration. 

She also pointed to her role as a mother of two as her reason for leaving the role of press secretary, saying it has been “rewarding yet challenging” to balance the two. 

“The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary — and that is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life,” Leavitt wrote. 

Before serving as press secretary, Leavitt was Trump’s spokesperson during his 2024 presidential campaign and his transition. She also worked in Trump’s first administration and for Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik.

Leavitt also ran for Congress in her home state of New Hampshire prior to joining Trump’s 2024 campaign, though she ultimately lost the general election. 

It is not immediately clear who Trump will pick to replace her.

While Leavitt was on maternity leave earlier this year, a rotating cast of administration officials held press conferences in the briefing room, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

During Trump’s first term, he had four press secretaries: Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kayleigh McEnany and Stephanie Grisham. 

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