Today in One Sentence. A federal judge ruled that Trump filed his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in bad faith to “manipulate the judicial process”; an ICE officer shot and killed a man during an immigration enforcement operation in Maine; the U.S. resumed strikes on Iran and reinstated its blockade of Iranian ports, while Trump claimed that America will now be “THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT” and charge a 20% fee on all cargo passing through it; South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham Nordone to serve the remainder of Lindsey Graham’s Senate term, who died Saturday at 71 after “a brief and sudden illness”; and Mitch McConnell said a fall left him briefly unconscious and hospitalized for nearly a month, but offered no timetable for returning to the Senate.

1/ A federal judge ruled that Trump filed his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in bad faith to “manipulate the judicial process” by manufacturing legitimacy for a deal that would shields him from tax audits while creating a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded “anti-weaponization” fund. Judge Kathleen Williams said “there was never adverseness between the Parties; there was never a case or controversy,” because “the Lead Plaintiff and the Government are one.” Williams barred Trump, his family, the Justice Department, and the IRS from citing the agreement as a legitimate settlement in any official proceeding. Williams, however, didn’t explicitly void the audit protections, but said the provision “directly contravenes” federal law barring political interference in tax investigations and described the arrangement as an effort “to confer immunity to people and entities affiliated with the President” while also earmarking billions for grievances “not defined in the law.” Williams referred Trump lawyer Alejandro Brito to the Florida Bar, restricted Daniel Epstein from appearing in the Southern District of Florida for a year, and directed that the ruling be sent to New York and Washington, D.C., bar authorities investigating acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. She also called Blanche’s testimony about the court’s inability to review the deal “at best, misleading and, at worst, disingenuous.” (Associated Press / Reuters / New York Times / CBS News / Politico / Washington Post / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / ABC News / NBC News / CNN / CNBC / Axios)

2/ An ICE officer shot and killed a man during an immigration enforcement operation in Maine. It’s the second fatal shooting involving federal immigration agents in less than a week. Initial accounts said the 26-year-old Colombian man tried to flee in a vehicle “in the direction of the officer,” but Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin later confirmed that the man wasn’t the subject of the warrant. None of the agents were wearing body cameras and DHS hasn’t publicly released evidence supporting its account of the shooting. Maine’s state attorney general, meanwhile, has opened an investigation into whether the man posed a threat and whether deadly force was justified, while the officer was placed on leave. (ABC News / New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post / CNN / Bloomberg)

3/ The U.S. resumed strikes on Iran and reinstated its blockade of Iranian ports, while Trump claimed that America will now be “THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT” and charge a 20% fee on all cargo passing through it. “We’re going to keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it,” Trump said, adding that it will remain open “with or without Iran” and that “the process and formation will begin immediately.” The blockade takes effect at 4 p.m. Tuesday and will stop ships traveling to or from Iranian ports. U.S. forces, meanwhile, began a third consecutive night of strikes aimed at degrading Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping. Oil prices surged more than 9% as the ceasefire unraveled. (New York Times / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / Axios / CBS News / Washington Post / CNBC / Bloomberg / Reuters / NPR)

4/ South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham Nordone to serve the remainder of her late brother Lindsey Graham’s Senate term. Graham died Saturday at 71 after “a brief and sudden illness.” A preliminary medical examiner’s report said he suffered an aortic dissection caused by arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Trump had urged McMaster to choose Nordone, who has never held elected office, calling the appointment “a fabulous tribute.” Nordone said she would “support the president” and continue Graham’s work on behalf of South Carolina and the country until the term expires Jan. 3. The appointment restores Republicans’ 53-47 Senate majority once she is sworn in. South Carolina Republicans will hold a new primary on Aug. 11 to choose a replacement nominee for Graham, who had already won the Republican nomination for a fifth term. Trump, meanwhile, called Graham a “true American Patriot” and “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known.” He said he spoke to Graham hours before he died, adding that “other than being tired, he was fine.” (NBC News / Axios / CNN / Washington Post / ABC News / NBC News / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Associated Press)

5/ Mitch McConnell said a fall left him briefly unconscious and hospitalized for nearly a month, but offered no timetable for returning to the Senate. The 84-year-old Kentucky Republican was treated for pneumonia, and doctors reportedly ruled out a heart attack, stroke, concussion, fractures, tumors, and hemorrhaging. The Capitol physician attributed McConnell’s repeated falls to his post-polio condition and said he’s now undergoing intensive rehabilitation. McConnell said he intends to finish his term in January. (NPR / Associated Press / Politico / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / Bloomberg / Axios / Washington Post / ABC News)

The 2026 midterms are in 113 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 848 days.

✏️ Notables.

  1. The landmark bipartisan housing bill became law without Trump’s signature after he refused to sign it in protest over the Senate’s failure to pass an unrelated voting restrictions bill The law, the most significant federal housing legislation in decades, aims to speed home construction, ease federal regulations, and limit some large investors from buying additional single-family homes. Trump dismissed the measure as “a yawn” compared with the unrelated SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo identification to cast a ballot but does not have enough support to clear the Senate. Because Trump neither signed nor vetoed the housing bill within the constitutionally mandated 10-day window, it automatically became law. (Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / Axios / NPR / CNN / New York Times)

  2. The FBI fired two analysts who raised concerns that its review of Fulton County’s 2020 election records lacked evidence and was politically motivated. The bureau assigned 260 analysts to crosscheck hundreds of voter names, addresses, and identification numbers against a commercial public records database by July 17. The investigation faces a likely expired five-year statute of limitations. (CBS News)

  3. The Justice Department subpoenaed four New York Times reporters to testify before a federal grand jury about their reporting on security problems with Trump’s new Qatari-donated Air Force One. Federal agents delivered some of the subpoenas after the Times reported that Trump left Turkey aboard the older Air Force One at the Secret Service’s urging and that the retrofitted jet lacked advanced defenses, including antimissile capabilities. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / CNN / NPR)

  4. Trump threatened New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman would “pay the price” after she criticized the secrecy surrounding his health. Trump called Haberman “Maggot Hagerman,” claimed her new book was “90% Fake News,” and then claimed he’d “just finished a perfect physical” and aced another cognitive test even though the White House confirmed he was referring to his May exam. Hours earlier, Haberman had called Trump’s health a “black box” inside the administration. (HuffPost / Daily Beast)

  5. The Trump administration ended the 50-year-old Endangered Species Act, allowing farming, drilling, mining, logging, and development to damage or destroy habitat so long as no animal is directly killed or injured. (New York Times)

  6. Trump reported more than $1.4 billion in income from his family’s crypto projects last year while his stock-and-bond portfolio grew at least fourfold from between 2024 and 2025. Trump’s money managers moved a significant share of his wealth into traditional assets even as the Trumps promoted crypto projects that left retail investors with an estimated $2.3 billion in losses. (Reuters)

  7. Eric Trump and Trump Jr. invested in more than a dozen defense and technology companies that have since received at least $3.2 billion in government contracts and another $3.1 billion in future contract options. Most of the investments occurred after Trump’s reelection. (Washington Post)