The Supreme Court ended its term last week, but the justices aren’t done yet, partly due to a legal blitz President Donald Trump has strategically deployed in his second term, one that’s proven surprisingly effective in advancing his sweeping agenda.

Lawyers for the Trump administration filed their 20th emergency application to the Supreme Court Thursday in just a 23-week period. 

The dizzying pace of applications comes as the administration looks to advance some of Trump’s sweeping policy actions. And, in many cases, the court’s 6-3 majority has given the administration the green light to proceed. 

The high court has ruled in Trump’s favor in the majority of emergency applications, allowing the administration to proceed with its ban on transgender service members in the military, its termination of millions of dollars in Education Department grants and its firing of probationary employees across the federal government, among many other actions.

Like most emergency orders, the rulings are often unsigned, giving little indication what the justices might be thinking.

Emergency applications — and the Supreme Court’s responses — aren’t meant to offer lasting relief. But Trump has found success using a ‘move fast and break things’ strategy to push key requests through the court’s so-called ‘shadow’ docket.

For context, Trump has filed more emergency applications in five months than his predecessors did in years. Former President Joe Biden submitted just 19 over his entire term, while presidents Obama and George W. Bush filed only eight combined during their time in office.

In the interim, the strategy has allowed him to enforce many of the sweeping executive orders he signed upon taking office. These orders were met with hundreds of lawsuits across the country and blocked by many lower courts, prompting the administration to appeal them, again and again, through the federal judiciary. 

For now, those near-term wins have energized Trump allies, allowing them to press forward with a blitz of executive actions and claim ‘victory,’ however temporary. The approach allows Trump to advance major policy priorities without relying on a slow-moving Congress.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., touted the close coordination between Congress and President Donald Trump to successfully pass the ‘one big, beautiful bill,’ saying the collaboration is part of the ‘beauty of unified government.’

Congress officially passed Trump’s multitrillion-dollar bill Thursday afternoon after back-to-back sleepless sessions for both the House and Senate.

The massive agenda package now goes to Trump’s desk to be signed into law just in time for Republicans’ self-imposed Fourth of July deadline.

The ‘big, beautiful bill’s’ passage marks the first major piece of legislation passed under the Trump administration and the first to pass while Republicans have control of the executive branch and both chambers of Congress.

Speaking with reporters after the mega-spending bill’s passage Thursday, Johnson said, ‘The beauty of unified government is this is exactly how it can work.

‘How it’s supposed to work is that you have an interaction between the executive and the legislative branches, because that’s what’s best for the people, and that coordination is going to yield great results for the folks.’

The speaker said people inside the Trump administration, including Cabinet secretaries, the vice president and the president, were all willing to take questions from members of Congress.

‘President Trump was so generous with his time answering questions himself. Vice President JD Vance was directly engaged. We had Cabinet secretaries at a number of different federal agencies answering questions from members. Some of them even brought their agency attorneys in to get really deep in the weeds on the details,’ said Johnson.

‘We had a tough four years before this last election cycle,’ the speaker added. ‘We knew that if we got unified government, we’d have to quite literally fix every area of public policy. Everything was an absolute disaster under the Biden-Harris radical woke Progressive Democrat regime.’

The bill, which advances Trump’s policies on taxes, the border, defense, energy and the national debt, narrowly passed the House of Representatives in a mostly party-line vote. All but two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., voted for the bill, which passed 218-214.

It’s a commanding victory for Johnson and for the president, both of whom spent hours overnight trying to persuade GOP critics of the bill.

Speaking after the bill’s passage, Johnson explained his role in getting GOP holdouts to switch their vote to ‘yes,’ saying, ‘My leadership style is I try to be a servant leader.’

He said that because many members wanted to take time to ‘go really deep in the weeds’ on changes the Senate made to the bill, he felt it was his job as speaker to give each member the time to have their concerns addressed.

‘I knew as the leader that we would have to take the time to do that,’ he explained. ‘And, so, some of that went late into the night, and I was not going to make anybody — I was not going to demand anybody’s vote or their position on the bill until they felt that they had exhausted that opportunity. So, we did it. And that’s how we got everybody to ‘yes.’’

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

Intelligence agency officials like former CIA Director John Brennan must be held accountable for their role in advancing allegations about President Donald Trump’s connections with Russia during the 2016 election, according to the White House.

‘President Trump was right — again,’ White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News Digital. ‘Those who engaged in this political scandal must be held accountable for the fraud they committed against President Trump and the lies they told to the American people.’

Leavitt’s comments come after a new lessons-learned review that CIA Director John Ratcliffe declassified Wednesday determined that the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency’s Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) examining Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election deviated from intelligence standards that led to some ‘procedural anomalies.’

The review determined that the ‘decision by agency heads to include the Steele Dossier in the ICA ran counter to fundamental tradecraft principles and ultimately undermined the credibility of a key judgment.’ 

The ‘Steele dossier,’ composed by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele as part of opposition research on Trump during the 2016 campaign, featured salacious material and unfounded allegations about Trump’s connections to Russia. Trump has denied the allegations included in the document. 

Specifically, the CIA’s new review found that the CIA’s deputy director for analysis said in a December 2016 email to Brennan that including the dossier in any capacity jeopardized ‘the credibility of the entire paper.’

‘Despite these objections, Brennan showed a preference for narrative consistency over analytical soundness,’ the new review stated. ‘When confronted with specific flaws in the Dossier by the two mission center leaders – one with extensive operational experience and the other with a strong analytic background – he appeared more swayed by the Dossier’s general conformity with existing theories than by legitimate tradecraft concerns. Brennan ultimately formalized his position in writing, stating that ‘my bottomline is that I believe that the information warrants inclusion in the report.’’

Brennan served as director of the CIA from March 2013 to January 2017 under the Obama administration. 

Brennan could not be reached for comment by Fox News Digital. 

Likewise, the review said Brennan had sent a note to intelligence community analysts one day before their only session coordinating on the ICA that he had met with then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and then-FBI Director James Comey.

In that message, Brennan told the CIA workforce that ‘there is strong consensus among us on the scope, nature, and intent of Russian interference in our recent Presidential election.’

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently placed nearly 140 employees on administrative leave amid an investigation into employees who signed on to a letter allegedly using their official titles and EPA positions.

Written as agency employees, the letter contained information that misled the public about agency business, according to officials.

The EPA confirmed it placed 139 employees on administrative leave pending an investigation.

‘The Environmental Protection Agency has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging and undercutting the administration’s agenda as voted for by the great people of this country last November,’ an EPA spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

The letter came after President Donald Trump’s administration in April fired or reassigned nearly 500 EPA employees.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin confirmed 280 staffers in the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, Office of Inclusive Excellence, and EPA regional offices, were fired. 

Zeldin added that 175 others were reassigned. 

The EPA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Environmental Justice arms were also eliminated, as Zeldin cut back more than 30 Biden-era regulations.

Though more than a hundred employees were allegedly put on leave, there are thousands of employees at the agency.

The EPA did not provide Fox News Digital with any additional information about the situation.

President Donald Trump’s agenda appeared on life support as defectors in the House GOP, for a time, appeared ready to torpedo it. But in the end, only two Republicans voted against the bill, and it’s now heading to the president’s desk.

Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., were the sole defectors against Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill.’ House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., could only afford to lose three Republicans, given that no Democrat was willing to cross the aisle to support the $3.3 trillion megabill.

While he did vote to support the procedural hurdle to get the bill on the floor, Massie’s decision to vote against the bill was seemingly predetermined. He has continually argued that the colossal tax, border, defense and energy package would add trillions to the nation’s debt and do little to actually curb Washington’s spending addiction.

And he was not among the many conservatives who Trump and Republican leadership tried to pressure throughout the day on Wednesday, nor as the floor stayed open into early Thursday afternoon.

‘[Trump] reaches out every day on Twitter, reaching out with a million dollars of ads in my district with a picture of me and the Ayatollah,’ Massie said. ‘So, that’s the only sort of reaching out I’ve seen so far.’

While Trump did not directly single him out, the president did call on holdout Republicans to stop holding the bill hostage late Wednesday night, and declared on Truth Social that ‘MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT’S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!’  

Trump had previously threatened Massie with a primary challenger, as he did with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., before his retirement announcement, for defecting against the bill. 

But senior White House officials told reporters on a call just after the bill passed that the president had not threatened a primary against lawmakers to earn their vote, and that lawmakers ‘well understand the President’s political power, and ultimately, they want his political power to be used for their benefit.’

Fitzpatrick had raised concerns about changes the Senate GOP had made to Medicaid reforms in the bill but had not publicly staked a position until the procedural vote.

He was the only ‘no’ vote on the rule, and that resistance carried into the final vote that ultimately saw House Republicans largely unify and pass the legislative behemoth.

Fitzpatrick said in a statement just minutes before the bill passed that he had voted to ‘strengthen Medicaid protections, to permanently extend middle class tax cuts, for enhanced small business tax relief, and for historic investments in our border security and our military,’ but that the Senate’s tweaks soured him to the bill.

‘However, it was the Senate’s amendments to Medicaid, in addition to several other Senate provisions, that altered the analysis for our PA-1 community,’ he said. ‘The original House language was written in a way that protected our community; the Senate amendments fell short of our standard.’

‘I believe in, and will always fight for, policies that are thoughtful, compassionate, and good for our community,’ he continued. ‘It is this standard that will always guide my legislative decisions.’ 

Justice Samuel Alito raised concerns about a ‘potentially significant loophole’ in the Supreme Court’s decision to curb universal injunctions, and now his warning is hanging over lawsuits involving President Donald Trump.

Alito said in his concurring opinion in Trump v. CASA that class action lawsuits and lawsuits brought by states leave room for judges to hand down injunctions that, in practice, would function the same way a universal injunction does.

‘Federal courts should thus be vigilant against such potential abuses of these tools,’ Alito said.

Alito’s warning comes as judges continue to hand down sweeping rulings and as plaintiffs begin filing lawsuits tailored to avoid running into the new roadblock established by the high court.

In one major ruling, Judge Randolph Moss, an Obama appointee based in Washington, D.C., found this week that Trump’s proclamation declaring an ‘invasion’ at the border was unlawful.

Trump’s proclamation restricted migrants from claiming asylum when crossing into the United States, a practice the Trump administration says has been abused by border crossers.

Moss ‘set aside’ that policy under the Administrative Procedure Act, which had an effect similar to that of a nationwide injunction. More than a dozen potential asylees brought the lawsuit, and Moss also agreed to certify the case as a class action lawsuit that applied to all potential asylees in the country.

The Trump administration immediately appealed the ruling. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that Moss was a ‘rogue district court judge’ who was ‘already trying to circumvent the Supreme Court’s recent ruling against nationwide injunctions.’

In his concurring opinion, Alito warned against class action lawsuits that do not strictly abide by Rule 23, which lays out the criteria for certifying a class. He said the Supreme Court’s decision on universal injunctions will have ‘very little value’ if district courts do not adhere to the rule.

‘District courts should not view today’s decision as an invitation to certify nationwide classes without scrupulous adherence to the rigors of Rule 23,’ Alito wrote. ‘Otherwise, the universal injunction will return from the grave under the guise of ‘nationwide class relief,’ and today’s decision will be of little more than minor academic interest.’

Alito also noted that another area for exploitation could be states that seek statewide relief from a court.

For instance, Democrat-led states have filed several lawsuits challenging Trump’s policies. A judge could grant those states statewide injunctions, meaning everyone living in the state would be exempt from the policies. Alito warned that giving third parties widespread standing in cases in that manner required careful scrutiny.

If judges are lax about these statewide lawsuits, states will have ‘every incentive to bring third-party suits on behalf of their residents to obtain a broader scope of equitable relief than any individual resident could procure in his own suit,’ Alito wrote. ‘Left unchecked, the practice of reflexive state third-party standing will undermine today’s decision as a practical matter.’

A key House ally of President Donald Trump is calling for the Republican leader to be eligible for a third White House term over passage of his ‘big, beautiful bill.’

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., also called for Trump to be added to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

‘I was at the White House with President Trump for several hours yesterday and spent countless hours whipping votes with Speaker Johnson for the One Big Beautiful Bill. This historic legislation will unleash our economy and usher in a new golden age for America,’ Ogles told Fox News Digital after the bill passed.

‘Thanks to President Trump, we’re finally reversing the damage caused by Big Government and Democrat cronies. Wins like this are exactly why he deserves serious consideration for a third term—AND why so many believe he belongs on Mt. Rushmore.’

Ogles had previously introduced a resolution to give Trump the ability to run for a third term as president.

He was also seen at the White House in the lead-up to the last step of Congress advancing Trump’s massive tax and immigration bill. Ogles was also present on the House floor during tense negotiations on the bill, speaking to both Republican holdouts and House leaders at times.

The legislation narrowly passed on Thursday afternoon after a marathon session in the House of Representatives that began with a House Rules Committee meeting to advance it at 1:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, which ended nearly 12 hours later on Wednesday morning.

House lawmakers then met to debate the bill at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, though those proceedings were delayed for hours as House GOP leaders – and Trump himself – worked to persuade critics behind closed doors.

The bill numbers more than 900 pages and advances Trump’s agenda on taxes, the border, defense, energy, and the national debt.

The bill would permanently extend the income tax brackets lowered by Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), while temporarily adding new tax deductions to eliminate duties on tipped and overtime wages up to certain caps. It also includes a new tax deduction for people aged 65 and over.

The legislation also rolls back green energy tax credits implemented under former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which Trump and his allies have attacked as ‘the Green New Scam.’

The bill would also surge money toward the national defense, and to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the name of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants in the U.S.

The bill would also raise the debt limit by $5 trillion in order to avoid a potentially economically devastating credit default sometime this summer, if the U.S. runs out of cash to pay its obligations.

New and expanded work requirements would be implemented for Medicaid and federal food assistance, respectively.

Democrats have blasted the bill as a tax giveaway to the wealthy while cutting federal benefits for working-class Americans.

But Republicans have said their tax provisions are targeted toward the working and middle classes – citing measures eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages – while arguing they were reforming federal welfare programs to work better for those who truly need them.