Today in One Sentence. Senate Republicans rejected multiple attempts to ban Trump from establishing his $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” John Bolton is expected to plead guilty to illegally retaining classified information Trump will nominate Todd Blanche, his former criminal defense lawyer and the current acting attorney general, to lead the Justice Department Trump won’t nominate his acting director of national intelligence for the job permanently following bipartisan criticism that Bill Pulte lacked the national security experience needed to oversee the 18 agencies that make up the intelligence community and Trump pledged roughly $700 million in taxpayer money to revive the declining U.S. coal industry.

1/ Senate Republicans rejected multiple attempts to ban Trump from establishing his $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” even though acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers under oath that the Justice Department is “not moving forward with the fund, period.” The efforts to kill the fund came during an unrelated Senate amendment session on a separate $70 billion Republican bill to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the end of Trump’s term. Trump, meanwhile, said he still “love[s]” the “weaponization fund,” calling it “a beautiful thing” and “so important.” When asked whether the fund was dead or just on hold, Trump replied: “I’d have to ask the lawyers.” (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / Associated Press / Politico / New York Times / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)

2/ John Bolton is expected to plead guilty to illegally retaining classified information under a deal with federal prosecutors that would reduce the 18-count case against Trump’s former national security adviser to one felony count of unlawful retention of national defense information. Bolton would pay $2.25 million and face a sentencing range from no prison time to five years behind bars, though a federal judge still has to accept the plea and decide his sentence. Prosecutors had accused Bolton of sending more than 1,000 pages of “diary-like” notes from his time in Trump’s first administration to two relatives through personal accounts while preparing his memoir. Bolton had previously pleaded not guilty and accused Trump of trying to “intimidate his opponents.” (CNN / Associated Press / Reuters / Washington Post / Politico / New York Times / NBC News)

3/ Trump will nominate Todd Blanche, his former criminal defense lawyer and the current acting attorney general, to lead the Justice Department. Blanche took over after Trump fired Pam Bondi in April, and has since pursued Trump’s perceived enemies, including securing a new indictment of former FBI Director James Comey over a social media photo of seashells. The nomination comes days after Blanche abandoned the $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund. (NBC News / Politico / New York Times / Associated Press / CBS News / CNN / Washington Post / Axios / Wall Street Journal / Reuters)

4/ Trump won’t nominate his acting director of national intelligence for the job permanently following bipartisan criticism that Bill Pulte lacked the national security experience needed to oversee the 18 agencies that make up the intelligence community. “We’re interviewing people right now,” Trump said, adding that Pulte is “somebody just to take it over for a little while.” Pulte, who also runs the Federal Housing Finance Agency and oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has used the job to pursue Trump’s political rivals over alleged mortgage fraud and attack Jerome Powell. Trump praised Pulte as “very smart.” (CNBC / Bloomberg / Axios / Associated Press)

The 2026 midterms are in 152 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 887 days.

✏️ Notables.

  1. The Kennedy Center ordered staff to remove Trump’s name from official materials and signage after a federal judge ruled that its board illegally added it to the performing arts center. Staff were told to immediately revert references to “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “the Kennedy Center,” with signage, brochures, ID cards, and website pages due by June 12. (Politico)

  2. A federal planning commission advanced Trump’s planned 250-foot triumphal arch, but stopped short of final approval after its Trump-appointed chairman argued that D.C.’s height law may not apply to federal projects. The law caps most construction at 130 feet, and the commission’s own career staff said it has “always applied” the restriction to federal projects. The administration says it doesn’t need Congress’s approval and will give 14 days’ notice before construction, despite warnings from preservationists, residents, and veterans that the arch would tower over nearby monuments and alter the setting of Arlington National Cemetery. (Washington Post)

  3. The Justice Department reportedly told federal prosecutors to “get creative” in bringing charges against noncitizens who voted after an official said more than 90 investigations were open, but “languishing.” An associate deputy attorney general told prosecutors that the cases were a top priority and that immigrants convicted of that kind of fraud should be deported. (New York Times)

  4. Trump pledged roughly $700 million in taxpayer money to revive the declining U.S. coal industry using emergency and Energy Department funds to extend the life of aging coal plants, subsidize the first new coal-burning power plants since 2013. Trump claimed the plan would lower energy prices with “clean, beautiful coal,” but experts say coal is more expensive to build and operate than natural gas and renewables, while burning it produces more air pollution and carbon emissions. (Bloomberg / New York Times)