Today in One Sentence. The Supreme Court allowed Trump to continue construction of his White House ballroom; Trump vowed to “hit them hard” after Iran fired missiles at U.S. bases in Jordan and launched a drone toward the United Arab Emirates; the Pentagon installed several conservative military influencers in undisclosed civilian government roles; Trump warned that communities that oppose data centers would “end up being backwards and poor” and urged them to “let Data Reign”; Trump threatened to report NBC’s Kristen Welker to the FCC for “rebuke or punishment” after she said his endorsements of Republican candidates in this year’s primaries had produced “some mixed results”; about one in six 2024 Trump voters say they wouldn’t vote for him again if the election were rerun; and 55% of Americans think politicians say they’ll help the working class just to win votes, while 27% believe politicians genuinely want to help the working class.

1/ The Supreme Court allowed Trump to continue construction of his White House ballroom. The 5-4 unsigned decision blocked lower-court rulings that would have stopped aboveground work, concluding that the National Trust for Historic Preservation likely lacks standing. However, Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s three liberal justices in dissent, writing that the construction is “likely unlawful” because Congress hasn’t expressly authorized the project. (NBC News / CNN / New York Times / Bloomberg / Washington Post / Axios / USA Today / Wall Street Journal)

2/ Trump vowed to “hit them hard” after Iran fired missiles at U.S. bases in Jordan and launched a drone toward the United Arab Emirates. It was the first direct exchange of attacks in about a month. U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island after CENTCOM reported that Revolutionary Guard forces were preparing to deploy sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz. Iran then fired missiles at the bases in Jordan and launched a drone toward the United Arab Emirates. Trump, however, later said the U.S. response would be “very limited.” (New York Times / Reuters / Washington Post / NBC News / Politico / USA Today / CNN / Bloomberg / CNBC / Axios)

3/ The Pentagon installed several conservative military influencers in undisclosed civilian government roles. Pentagon records showed that one retired Air Force colonel and one retired Army colonel had active civilian government email addresses assigned to the office of the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. A third retired colonel was also listed there earlier this year. All three also appeared on behalf of a task force reviewing senior military schools for ideology deemed “toxic” or “woke,” and publicly amplified Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s views and attacked critics of the Trump administration. (Washington Post)

4/ Trump warned that communities that oppose data centers would “end up being backwards and poor” and urged them to “let Data Reign.” Despite polls showing Americans oppose new data centers in their communities, Trump argued that slowing the buildout would threaten U.S. economic growth and help China in the artificial intelligence race, warning: “If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame.” JD Vance, however, acknowledged that higher utility bills are driving the backlash and that companies building data centers should be “putting power back into the grid, not taking it out.” (Newsweek / Washington Post / Bloomberg / Politico / CNBC / ABC News)

  • A pro-AI advocacy group plans to spend millions on advertising, grassroots organizing, research, and public education in battleground states. Build American AI has about $50 million cash on hand. The group also launched a new super PAC, Building the Future, to support state and federal candidates aligned with its agenda and oppose those who aren’t. (Axios)

5/ Trump threatened to report NBC’s Kristen Welker to the FCC for “rebuke or punishment” after she said his endorsements of Republican candidates in this year’s primaries had produced “some mixed results.” Trump urged FCC Chair Brendan Carr to “take this Threat to our Country very seriously,” and separately called for the FCC to act on “fake polls.” The FCC’s website, however, says it generally doesn’t intervene in complaints about broadcasters’ viewpoints, because doing so “would be inconsistent with the First Amendment.” The FCC’s authority also doesn’t extend to punishing individual journalists for their reporting. (Politico / Reuters / The Guardian / Washington Post / Bloomberg / CNN)

poll/ About one in six 2024 Trump voters say they wouldn’t vote for him again if the election were rerun. (Strength in Numbers)

poll/ 55% of Americans think politicians say they’ll help the working class just to win votes, while 27% believe politicians genuinely want to help the working class. (Politico)

The 2026 midterms are in 64 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 799 days.

✏️ Notables.

  1. Venezuela agreed to give the U.S. majority control over 65 billion barrels of oil. The deal gives the U.S. 55% of the effective output and includes an ownership stake and the right to buy oil at cost. Trump claimed the agreement would “substantially lower Gas Prices” and come “at no cost to the American Taxpayer.” The deal comes nearly nine months after the U.S. military captured then-President Nicolás Maduro. (Associated Press / NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post / CNBC / Axios)

  2. The Trump administration plans to give a private developer a small parcel of land inside Yosemite National Park so it can build a road from an upscale development into the park. Kingsbarn Realty Capital owns two undeveloped 40-acre parcels near Yosemite and plans to build cabins, homes, and commercial buildings there. Under the proposed exchange, the company would acquire property of equivalent value for the Park Service in return for the Yosemite land needed for the road. (New York Times / NOTUS / Washington Post / USA Today)

  3. Trump ordered the creation of a U.S. Space Academy to train personnel for NASA and the Space Force. Trump said the location would be chosen “very shortly,” and declared that “Space is the hot thing.” (Politico / Washington Post / New York Times)

  4. The Trump administration deported Milo Yiannopoulos to the United Kingdom. The far-right commentator overstayed his legal authorization was issued a final removal order on July 22 after failing to appear for an immigration hearing. Yiannopoulos had publicly supported Trump’s immigration crackdown and mass deportations. (NBC News / The Guardian / NPR)

  5. The former longtime White House teleprompter operator will pay $172,000 for using nonpublic information from Trump’s speeches to make prediction-market bets through Kalshi. Gabriel Perez was ordered to return $107,539 in profits and pay a $65,000 civil penalty. His penalty was reduced because of his “exemplary cooperation.” (NBC News / ABC News / CBS News)

  6. Kalshi permanently banned former Rep. George Santos and fined him $71,356 for allegedly making misleading public statements about whether he would attend Trump’s 2026 State of the Union – and then trading contracts tied to his attendance. He earned more than $17,500. (CBS News / Reuters / Wall Street Journal)

  7. Google Maps changed Lake Ontario to “Lake America” for U.S. users. Canadian users, however, will continue to see Lake Ontario. Meanwhile, Trump reportedly contacted Apple directly about making the same change, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the company “may” do so soon. 61% of Americans oppose renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America,” while 19% support it, and 19% are unsure. (Axios / Reuters / Washington Post / YouGov)