President Trump is calling on Immigration and Customs Enforcement to keep using traffic stops as an enforcement tool, appearing to directly contradict a recently announced policy that suspended the practice following two fatal incidents within a single week.
“To remove criminals from the country, ‘we CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!’” the president wrote in a social media post.
The situation escalated further on Tuesday in Florida, where a third man died during an encounter with immigration officers in roughly a week’s time. The 28-year-old was fatally struck by a tractor-trailer while fleeing from immigration and other federal officers, according to authorities.
In Congress, a Senate committee convened Wednesday for a confirmation hearing where the late South Carolina Republican senator’s seat at the rostrum was marked with a vase of white roses in his memory. The senator had been set to chair the panel in the upcoming Congress before dying over the weekend from a tear in his aorta. On Tuesday, his sister, Darline Graham, was sworn in to complete the remaining months of his term, which runs through January. South Carolina Republicans are organizing a special primary election to select a new nominee for this fall’s midterm elections.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is expected to face tough questions from both parties Wednesday as he seeks Senate confirmation to remain in the role through the end of Trump’s term. Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney, has been leading the Justice Department on an interim basis since April, when Pam Bondi was dismissed after failing to successfully prosecute Trump’s political opponents.
During his time heading the department, Blanche has sped up investigations targeting Trump’s adversaries, served as the public spokesperson for a widely criticized fund intended to reward the president’s allies, and drawn concern from press freedom advocates due to an aggressive crackdown on news media leaks.
Separately, Jay Clayton — Trump’s nominee to lead the nation’s intelligence agencies — is scheduled to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday. The hearing comes weeks after Trump unexpectedly postponed his nomination. Clayton, who serves as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and previously chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission, has drawn broad support from both Republicans and some Democrats who are uneasy about Trump’s interim intelligence appointee, Bill Pulte.
Pulte, who has held the position since June 19, is a former housing official with no known background in intelligence work and reportedly used his previous government role to go after individuals seen as enemies of the president.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, a Republican, expressed public frustration last month when Trump delayed Clayton’s nomination via social media, allowing Pulte to take office instead. Cotton later rescheduled the hearing three weeks after the initial postponement, reportedly with the White House’s blessing.
