On about two dozen occasions, the Supreme Court had to step in during President Trump’s second term because many inferior courts refused to accept that he is the president. The justices must do so again, after lower courts invalidated the appointments of acting U.S. attorneys Alina Habba of the District of New Jersey and Lindsey Halligan of the Eastern District of Virginia.

The Senate has a tradition that is over a century old called the blue slip. Home-state senators have an extraordinary power: the ability to veto U.S. marshals, U.S. attorneys, and U.S. district judges. In order for nominees to proceed, home-state senators must return a blue slip approving the nominations. Senators will never let this power go, so administrations have to bear the consequences. In New Jersey, leftist senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim have refused to allow the nomination of Alina Habba to serve as U.S. Attorney. Likewise, in Virginia, their fellow leftist senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner will not acquiesce to the nomination of Lindsey Halligan to serve as U.S. Attorney. As such, Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Habba and Halligan to 120-day terms to serve on an interim basis, as 28 U.S.C. § 546 allows. Halligan replaced another interim prosecutor, Eric Siebert, who departed shortly before his 120 days lapsed.

After 120 days have expired, leftists asserted that Bondi can make no more appointments, only district judges can. The Executive Branch, this argument goes, has no say whatsoever after 120 days. This result would lead to a scheme where leftist senators can block President Trump’s nominees. Then, courts composed mostly of leftist judges in these blue states can install leftist puppet U.S. attorneys, and the Executive Branch must grin and bear it, just as with the blue slip process.

The 120-day limit first appeared in a statute in 1986. During the years of presidents Clinton and Bush, attorneys general made successive 120-day appointments under the statutory scheme in effect from 1986-2006, the same scheme as today. Yet, Clinton Judge Cameron Currie of South Carolina did not view this historical evidence as persuasive when she invalidated Halligan’s appointment. Halligan secured indictments against New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud and former FBI Director James Comey for false statements to and obstruction of Congress concerning the Russiagate hoax.

Those indictments are, for the moment, invalid. Currie’s opinion drips with disdain for Halligan, noting Halligan’s lack of prosecutorial experience. This issue is irrelevant to the legal question. Halligan, under Currie’s analysis, could have had three decades of prosecutorial experience, and her appointment would still have violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause. Currie also quoted another irrelevant piece of evidence: President Trump’s social media post demanding Bondi move faster on prosecutions. Whether Halligan’s appointment is valid has nothing to do with that post. Its inclusion thus has no valid legal purpose.

The Appointments Clause vests appointment power in a president, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for principal officers. Congress can also require the advice and consent process to apply to inferior officers, and it did so with respect to U.S. attorneys. As such, presidents nominate U.S. attorneys, and the Senate confirms them. When there are vacancies, attorneys general can fill them for 120 days at a time, and a separate part of Section 546 allows for district courts to make appointments after the 120 days have expired. The Constitution grants department heads and courts the power to appoint inferior officers. District judges, for example, appoint magistrate judges.

Section 546 does not vest the authority to appoint U.S. attorneys exclusively in district courts. Under the reading of the judges who have invalidated the appointments of Habba and Halligan, a future President J.D. Vance’s attorney general could not make a 120-day appointment, either. The text of Section 546 does not specify a 120-day appointment per president. When one president’s attorney general makes a 120-day appointment, these judges absurdly prevent any future president’s attorney general from doing so in that district. District judges therefore have all the power until the Senate confirms a nominee one of these years or decades.

Fortunately, the issue now is ripe for Supreme Court review. This week, a Third Circuit panel ruled that Habba’s appointment is invalid. The justices should decide the cases together, even though the Fourth Circuit has not ruled on the Halligan appeal. There is only one circuit with all states that have Republican senators: the Fifth. This district court control could continue into the terms of a President Vance.

The easiest way to correct the lower court’s error is for the Supreme Court to hold that Section 546 allows attorneys general to make more than one 120-day appointment. Alternatively, the justices could hold that Section 546’s stripping of appointment power from the Executive Branch with respect to its officials violates the separation of powers.

In the face of immense criticism from Democrat politicians, the leftist media, and academic elites, the justices have intervened time and again to thwart unlawful interference by resistance lower courts. Because of the Supreme Court’s intervention on issues ranging from the ability to fire Executive Branch employees to the ability of the president to revoke temporary protected status from illegal immigrants, President Trump has been able to do his job far more effectively.

Bondi, Solicitor General John Sauer, and their team of stellar lawyers have amassed a success rate of over 90% at the Supreme Court. The justices must restore Habba and Halligan to preserve the separation of powers and prevent U.S. attorneys from being servants of district courts instead of presidents.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth chastised the press following media reports that he signed off on a second strike against an alleged drug boat after the first one left survivors. 

The Trump administration has come under renewed scrutiny for its strikes in the Caribbean targeting alleged drug smugglers, after the Washington Post reported on Friday that Hegseth verbally ordered everyone onboard the alleged drug boat to be killed in a Sept. 2 operation. The Post reported that a second strike was conducted to take out the remaining survivors on the boat. 

On Monday, the White House confirmed that a second strike had occurred, but disputed that Hegseth ever gave an initial order to ensure that everyone on board was killed, when asked specifically about Hegseth’s instructions.

Hegseth said that he watched the first strike live, but did not see any survivors at that time amid the fire and the smoke — and blasted the press for their reporting.

‘This is called the fog of war. This is what you in the press don’t understand,’ Hegseth told reporters at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. ‘You sit in your air-conditioned offices or up on Capitol Hill and you nit pick, and you plant fake stories in the Washington Post about ‘kill everybody’ phrases on anonymous sources not based in anything, not based in any truth at all. And then you want to throw out really irresponsible terms about American heroes, about the judgment that they made.’ 

Hegseth said that after watching the first strike, he left for a meeting and later learned of the second strike. The White House said Monday that Hegseth had authorized Adm. Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley to conduct the strikes, and that Bradley was the one who ordered and directed the second one. 

At the time of the Sept. 2 strike, Bradley was serving as the commander of Joint Special Operations Command, which falls under U.S. Special Operations Command. He is now the head of U.S. Special Operations Command.

According to Hegseth, carrying out a subsequent strike on the alleged drug boat was the right call. 

‘Admiral Bradley made the correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat,’ Hegseth said Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, reports of the second strike have attracted even more scrutiny from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill and calls for greater oversight, amid questions about the strikes’ legality. 

‘This committee is committed to providing rigorous oversight of the Department of Defense’s military operations in the Caribbean,’ Reps. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Adam Smith, D-Wash., who lead the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement on Saturday. ‘We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region and are taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question.’

Hegseth said Tuesday that although there has been a pause in strikes in the Caribbean because alleged drug boats are becoming harder to find, the Trump administration’s campaign against the influx of drugs will continue. 

‘We’ve only just begun striking narco-boats and putting narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean because they’ve been poisoning the American people,’ Hegseth said. 

The Trump administration has carried out more than 20 strikes against alleged drug boats in Latin American waters, and has bolstered its military presence in the Caribbean to align with Trump’s goal to crack down on the influx of drugs into the U.S.

The Defense Department inspector general report analyzing the use of messaging app Signal to share classified information, particularly in planning for Houthi strikes in March, will be released on Thursday. 

A classified version of the report has been handed over to the Senate Armed Services Committee and an unclassified, redacted version will be made public, a source familiar with the process told Fox News Digital after Axios first reported it. 

Trump administration officials used Signal to discuss sensitive military strikes against the Houthis in Yemen in March. Then-national security advisor Mike Waltz had created the chat, which included many of Trump’s top Cabinet members, and inadvertently added Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the Atlantic.

The IG launched a probe in April following requests from top lawmakers on the hill. It was intended to examine whether Hegseth improperly discussed operational plans for a U.S. offensive against the Houthis in Yemen and will also review ‘compliance with classification and records retention requirements,’ according to a memo from Inspector General Steven Stebbins.

Hegseth’s Signal messages revealed F-18, Navy fighter aircraft, MQ-9s, drones and Tomahawks cruise missiles would be used in the strike on the Houthis.

‘1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package),’ Hegseth said in one message notifying the chat of high-level administration officials that the attack was about to kick off.

‘1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)’ he added, according to the report.

‘1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)’

‘1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets)’

‘1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.’

‘MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)’

‘We are currently clean on OPSEC’ — that is, operational security.

Waltz later wrote that the mission had been successful. ‘The first target — their top missile guy — was positively ID’d walking into his girlfriend’s building. It’s now collapsed.’

Trump administration officials have insisted that nothing classified was shared over the chat. The report should offer clarity on that claim.

Thursday will be a contentious day for the Pentagon — Admiral Mitch Bradley, commander of Special Operations Command, will also be on Capitol Hill to offer his account of the Sept. 2 ‘double tap’ strike on alleged narco-traffickers. 

After one strike on a boat carrying 11 people and allegedly carting drugs toward the U.S. left two survivors clinging to the wreckage, Bradley ordered another to take out the remaining smugglers.

Lawmakers and legal analysts have claimed that killing shipwrecked survivors is a war crime. Bradley is briefing leaders on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. 

Original reporting by the Washington Post claimed that direction came from the top: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had directed the commander to ‘kill them all.’ But Hegseth claimed he issued no such directive and did not witness the second strike. He said Bradley made the decision on his own, but he stands by it. U.S. officials who spoke with the New York Times said Hegseth did not order the second strike.

The Trump administration is rolling out a new visa-restriction policy in response to a wave of brutal anti-Christian attacks in Nigeria, targeting those accused of orchestrating religious violence against Christians in the West African nation and around the world.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that a new policy in the Immigration and Nationality Act will allow the State Department to deny visas to those ‘who have directed, authorized, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom.’ Immediate family members may also face visa restrictions in some cases.

‘The United States is taking decisive action in response to the mass killings and violence against Christians by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani ethnic militias, and other violent actors in Nigeria and beyond,’ Rubio said in the statement.

The move follows a surge of attacks on Christians and Christian institutions in Nigeria. Last month, gunmen stormed the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, killing two people and kidnapping dozens. The 38 abducted worshipers were freed nearly a week later.

Days later, armed attackers raided St. Mary’s School in Niger State, abducting more than 300 students and staff. School officials said 50 students aged 10 to 18 escaped in the following days, but 253 students and 12 teachers remain captive.

The violence prompted President Donald Trump to designate Nigeria a ‘country of particular concern,’ though the Nigerian government disputes the U.S. assessment.

‘I’m really angry about it,’ the president told Fox News Radio last month. ‘What’s happening in Nigeria is a disgrace.’

Rubio said the new visa restrictions will apply to Nigeria and to any other governments or individuals involved in violating religious freedom.

Echoing Trump’s warning, Rubio said: ‘As President Trump made clear, the ‘United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other countries.’’

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, subpoenaed former special counsel Jack Smith on Wednesday for a deposition, escalating Republicans’ investigation into one of President Donald Trump’s top political foes.

Jordan directed Smith to appear before the committee on Dec. 17, according to a copy of the subpoena reviewed by Fox News Digital.

‘Due to your service as Special Counsel, the Committee believes that you possess information that is vital to its oversight of this matter,’ Jordan wrote in a letter accompanying his request.

The forthcoming deposition, which is set to take place behind closed doors, comes as House and Senate Republicans have zeroed in on Smith’s election-related investigation of Trump, describing it as a scandal that unnecessarily swept up hundreds of Republican lawmakers, GOP entities, Trump allies and media outlets as part of the probe.

Smith has repeatedly stood by his work as special counsel, which eventually involved bringing two sets of criminal charges against Trump over the 2020 election and over alleged retention of classified documents. Smith dropped both cases after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a Department of Justice policy that discourages prosecuting sitting presidents.

Smith has already offered to publicly testify before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, but a source familiar with Jordan’s request said a deposition is the chairman’s preferred format because each party on the committee can question Smith for an hour at a time and build a better record. In a public hearing, lawmakers typically question a witness in five-minute intervals.

Peter Koski, an attorney for Smith, responded to the subpoena in a statement provided to Fox News Digital and reiterated that Smith offered six weeks ago to appear voluntarily in a public hearing setting.

‘We are disappointed that offer was rejected, and that the American people will be denied the opportunity to hear directly from Jack on these topics,’ Koski said. ‘Jack looks forward to meeting with the committee later this month to discuss his work and clarify the various misconceptions about his investigation.’

Jordan’s subpoena also included a sweeping demand for all documents and communications related to Smith’s time as special counsel, a request that comes after the DOJ told Smith’s lawyers in a letter on Nov. 12, reviewed by Fox News Digital, that it would make a ‘unique’ accommodation to Congress by authorizing Smith to ‘provide unrestricted testimony to the Committee, irrespective of potential privilege.’

Fox News Digital reached out to committee Democrats for comment.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.