Gen. Michael ‘Erik’ Kurilla, the military officer who oversaw the execution of the Iran strikes in June, has retired from military service and has handed over the reins following three years leading U.S. troops in the Middle East. 

Kurilla, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, became commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in 2022, and oversaw planning and execution of at least 15 major combined combat operations, according to the command.

Among those, two occurred during his final months leading the command: Operation Rough Rider targeting the Houthis in Yemen in March and April, and Operation Midnight Hammer striking Iran nuclear sites in June.

Operation Midnight Hammer targeted Iranian nuclear facilities Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, and involved more than 125 U.S. aircraft, including B-2 stealth bombers, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. Likewise, a guided-missile submarine also launched more than two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at key Iranian targets. 

‘General Kurilla is a bold, dynamic, and inspiring leader who strikes fear into the hearts of America’s enemies,’ Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in a June statement to Fox News Digital. ‘He’s a warrior through and through who always puts his country, mission, and troops first. It has been an honor to serve alongside him in defense of our great nation.’

Kurilla spent an extensive amount of his career focusing on operations in the Middle East. From 2004 to 2014, the general oversaw conventional and special operations forces during consecutive tours that fell under the CENTCOM purview.

During that span of time, Kurilla completed tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Kurilla is known for his involvement in a Mosul, Iraq, firefight in August 2005, where he sustained multiple gunshot wounds. The encounter earned him a Bronze Star with valor and one of his two Purple Heart awards.

Notable figures who’ve previously led CENTCOM include former defense secretaries, retired Gen. Jim Mattis, who served during Trump’s first term, and retired Gen. Lloyd Austin, who served during former President Joe Biden’s administration.

As of early August, U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper is now leading CENTCOM, one of the U.S. military’s 11 combatant commands, with 21 nations in the Middle East in its area of operations — including Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Like Kurilla, Cooper is no stranger to the Middle East. Previous assignments include serving as deputy commander of CENTCOM and overseeing U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in the Middle East, where he spearheaded efforts to employ unmanned service vessels into the fleet. 

Cooper officially took over leading CENTCOM Aug. 8 during a change of command ceremony in Tampa, Florida, where CENTCOM headquarters are located. Kurilla’s retirement ceremony occurred on the same day, a spokesperson for CENTCOM confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

‘U.S. Central Command and the entire joint force have performed exceptionally well under the leadership of Gen. Kurilla, helping to bolster partnerships, increase lethality of U.S. forces, and defend Americans and civilians abroad,’ Cooper said in a Navy statement. ‘I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to lead America’s sons and daughters as we support the important mission of enhancing regional security and stability in the Central Command region.’

When federal agents raided the home and office of former National Security Adviser John Bolton on Friday as part of a classified documents investigation, some Democrats and liberal commentators framed the development as another example of what they claim is President Donald Trump’s political weaponization of the justice system.

The reaction marked a striking contrast with Democrats’ long history of opposing Bolton. For years, they denounced him as a hardline foreign policy hawk who manipulated intelligence and pushed the U.S. into war. But when Bolton broke with Trump, Democrats began citing him as a key witness and relying on his public comments to bolster their case against the former president.

Battles over Bolton’s Bush-era role

Democrats first sought to block Bolton’s 2005 nomination to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush. Then-Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., accused him of being untruthful in a Senate questionnaire, noting that he had been interviewed as part of a joint State Department and CIA investigation into Iraq’s pursuit of nuclear materials from Niger.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., alleged that Bolton played a role in the disputed claim that Iraq had attempted to purchase yellowcake uranium — an accusation that appeared in Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address but could not be confirmed by U.S. intelligence agencies.

That same year, Carl W. Ford Jr., then head of intelligence at the State Department, described Bolton as a ‘serial abuser’ of power who pressured analysts to alter assessments. One analyst, Christian Westermann, reportedly resisted including claims of Cuban biological weapons in a 2002 speech Bolton wanted to deliver.

Senate Democrats delayed Bolton’s nomination for months, citing concerns that he sought to shape intelligence findings to fit administration policy goals.

Renewed opposition during the Trump administration

When Trump appointed Bolton as national security adviser in 2018, Democrats again criticized him, citing his past support for the Iraq War and his calls for a hardline approach towards Iran and North Korea.

‘Bolton is a dangerous radical,’ said Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., accused him of politicizing intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq conflict. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., argued Bolton had been consistently ‘wrong on security’ throughout his career.

Trump himself later grew frustrated with Bolton’s hawkish approach, including his opposition to peace talks with the Taliban and advocacy for military action in Iran. The two split in 2019, with Trump announcing Bolton’s departure on social media and Bolton insisting he had already offered to resign.

A sought-after witness during impeachment

Following Bolton’s break with Trump, Democrats began highlighting him during Trump’s first impeachment trial over Ukraine.

‘There’s no denying the central relevance of John Bolton’s testimony,’ then-Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said as House impeachment managers pressed for him to appear.

Bolton’s memoir later claimed Trump sought to withhold military aid from Ukraine, a move Bolton privately described as a ‘drug deal.’ At the time, MSNBC commentators suggested his testimony could have been decisive in the outcome of the trial.

Ultimately, Bolton declined to testify, angering some Democrats who accused him of reserving details for his book rather than presenting them under oath.

Role in today’s political debates

Since leaving the Trump administration, Bolton has become a regular guest on networks such as CNN and MSNBC, where he continues to weigh in on foreign policy and national security.

Although many Democrats once opposed his nomination and criticized his record, they have at times pointed to his comments when they align with their critiques of Trump and other Republicans.

The latest raid underscores how Bolton remains a polarizing figure — one Democrats long opposed but have also leaned on in moments when his testimony or commentary could be used against Trump.

The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee is again standing firm against President Donald Trump’s demand that Senate tradition be changed to ram through his district court and U.S. attorney nominees.

Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, came under fire from Trump again late Sunday night over the Senate’s ‘blue slips,’ a longstanding practice in the upper chamber that the president wants to be done away with.

A blue slip effectively gives Senate Republicans and Democrats the ability to veto district court and U.S. attorney nominees in their home states.

But Grassley argued in a response on X Monday that without blue slips, none of Trump’s nominees would pass muster in the Senate.

‘A U.S. Atty/district judge nominee without a blue slip does not [have] the votes to get confirmed on the Senate floor & they don’t [have] the votes to get out of [committee],’ Grassley said. ‘As chairman I set [President] Trump noms up for SUCCESS NOT FAILURE.’

Trump argued that it was his constitutional right to appoint judges and U.S. attorneys, but the right had been ‘completely taken away from me in States that have just one Democrat United States Senator.’

‘This is because of an old and outdated ‘custom’ known as a BLUE SLIP, that Senator Chuck Grassley, of the Great State of Iowa, refuses to overturn, even though the Democrats, including Crooked Joe Biden (Twice!), have done so on numerous occasions,’ Trump said.  

‘Therefore, the only candidates that I can get confirmed for these most important positions are, believe it or not, Democrats! Chuck Grassley should allow strong Republican candidates to ascend to these very vital and powerful roles, and tell the Democrats, as they often tell us, to go to HELL,’ he continued.

Senate Democrats have indeed used the blue slip tradition this year to block some of Trump’s picks for the bench as part of their broader log jam of his nominees.

For example, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., used his blue slip privileges to nix Trump’s U.S. Attorney nominees for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

And Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim, both Democrats from New Jersey, used the blue slip to object to Alina Habba’s nomination to U.S. Attorney in the Garden State. Habba was tapped by Trump to serve in the role on an interim basis, but after her term expired a panel of judges opted to not extend her position. 

A replacement was chosen but then fired by Attorney General Pam Bondi. Trump then withdrew his nomination for Habba and restored her interim status. 

‘Habba was withdrawn as the President’s nominee for New Jersey U.S. Atty on July 24,’ Grassley said. ‘[And] the [Judiciary Committee] never received any of the paperwork needed for the Senate to vet her nomination.’

Trump’s renewed ire comes after he singled out Grassley last month for not nixing the longstanding tradition, which is not a law, and demanded that he ‘have the courage’ to change the practice.

It also comes after Senate Republicans and Democrats failed to reach a deal on ramming through many of the president’s nominees before leaving Washington for all of August. 

Finding a pathway forward, including a likely change to the Senate’s confirmation process, is expected to be a top priority for Republicans when they return to the Hill after Labor Day. 

Jeffrey Epstein did not have the same level of impact in the Senate as the House, but the discourse pushed by many congressional Democrats, and some Republicans, is unlikely to go away when lawmakers return next week.

And the level of Epstein hysteria in Congress may have had an unlikely impact in derailing Republicans’ push in the upper chamber to ram through President Donald Trump’s nominees.

Senate Republicans tried and failed to strike a deal with Senate Democrats to push through dozens of non-controversial nominees, particularly picks that made it through committee with bipartisan support.

Only Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who glided through the Senate unanimously earlier this year, has not been met by Democrats’ blockade.

Rules changes are in the works, but the avenue of using recess appointments, which requires the Senate to adjourn and the House to come into session for the president to elevate his picks on a temporary basis, was all but shot down after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent lawmakers home early to sidestep the simmering push to release documents related to Epstein’s case.

‘When the House had an opportunity to take votes on the Epstein files, Speaker Johnson skedaddled out of town, launching the Epstein recess,’ Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said last month. ‘This is not complicated.’  

‘After promising full transparency for years, every single time Trump, his administration, Republican leaders have had a chance to be transparent about the Epstein files, they’ve chosen to hide. The evasions, the delays, the excuses, they’re not just odd, they’re alarming.’

Many Republicans in the upper chamber agree that there should be more transparency, but caution that no materials should be released until the names or identifying traits of victims are combed through and kept safe.

Others question why Democrats suddenly care about the Epstein situation.

Sen. Roger Marshall, who supported turning to recess appointments to break Democrats’ log jam, told Fox News Digital that it didn’t ‘make sense to me, and this is part of their psychosis, that they are so separated from reality,’ to keep pushing the Epstein issue.

‘They had four years to do something with this, and it was just quite the opposite,’ the Kansas Republican said. ‘As I recall, just quite the opposite. It was almost like they were hiding something.’

‘My frustration is how they used it to circumvent the agenda of the American people… this is all they’ve got,’ he continued. ‘What else do they have? They don’t have a leader, they don’t have an agenda. They don’t have solutions. All they know is, if it’s President Trump, they’re not going to like it, very matter of fact, they’re going to hate it at the sacrifice of the entire country.’

Meanwhile, Epstein engulfed Washington once again on Friday, with the House Oversight Committee receiving a trove of related documents and the interview between Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche becoming public.

When asked about the files eventually coming to light, Trump told reporters that he was in support of keeping them ‘totally open,’ and charged that Democrats were using Epstein as a smokescreen to detract from his administration’s work.

‘The whole Epstein thing is a Democrat hoax,’ he said. ‘We had the greatest six months, seven months in the history of the presidency, and the Democrats don’t know what to do, so they keep bringing up that stuff.’

France has summoned American ambassador Charles Kushner to Paris, after the diplomat accused the country of not doing enough to combat antisemitism in a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron.

France’s foreign ministry said in a statement issued Sunday that Kushner’s allegations ‘are unacceptable,’ and announced it had summoned the U.S. diplomat to appear Monday at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

Kushner, who is Jewish, wrote in the letter that antisemitic incidents in France have been fueled by French government statements about recognizing a Palestinian state.

‘Public statements haranguing Israel and gestures toward recognition of a Palestinian state embolden extremists, fuel violence, and endanger Jewish life in France. In today’s world, anti-Zionism is antisemitism – plain and simple,’ Kushner wrote.

Kushner further urged Macron ‘to act decisively: enforce hate-crime laws without exception, ensure the safety of Jewish schools, synagogues and businesses … and abandon steps that give legitimacy to Hamas and its allies.’

The French foreign ministry said in its statement that ‘France firmly rejects these allegations’ from Kushner, adding that French authorities have ‘fully mobilized’ to combat a rise in antisemitic acts since Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The ministry further deemed antisemitic acts ‘intolerable.’

The ministry said Kushner’s allegations violate international law and the obligation not to interfere with the internal affairs of another country, adding that they ‘also fall short of the quality of the transatlantic partnership between France and the United States and of the trust that must prevail between allies.’

The U.S. State Department, however, said it backed Kushner and his comments, department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said Sunday evening.

‘Ambassador Kushner is our U.S. government representative in France and is doing a great job advancing our national interests in that role,’ Pigott said.

Macron has been critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the war in Gaza continues, while President Donald Trump has been a staunch supporter of the Israeli leader.

Kushner, a real estate developer, is the father of Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump.

At the end of his first presidential term, Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, who pleaded guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump on Sunday blasted the Senate’s ‘blue slip’ tradition, calling it an unconstitutional affront to his appointment power and alleging that his rights have ‘been completely taken away from me in States that have just one Democrat United States Senator.’

The president is referring to his ability to nominate judges and U.S. Attorneys, accusing the custom of essentially giving Democrats veto power over his nominees.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is defending the century-old process, saying he views it as a norm worth preserving for balance and state input.

Blue slips are a long-standing tradition but are not a codified law, and constitutionally he is only allowed the power to nominate while the Senate ultimately approves or rejects that nomination.

Trump’s frustration with the Senate’s blue slip practice isn’t new. In July, Trump called the tradition a ‘hoax’ and a ‘scam’ used by Democrats to block his nominees and demanded that Grassley stop supporting them.

‘Put simply, the president of the United States will never be permitted to appoint the person of his choice because of an ancient, and probably unconstitutional, ‘CUSTOM,’’ his post said.

In his first term, Trump was able to appoint 234 federal judges, including three Supreme Court justices and 54 appellate court judges. However, this term he has only confirmed five in the first seven months.

Trump went on in his post to suggest he was willing to apply pressure and that Grassley shouldn’t acquiesce. 

‘The only candidates that I can get confirmed for these most important positions are, believe it or not, Democrats! Chuck Grassley should allow strong Republican candidates to ascend to these very vital and powerful roles, and tell the Democrats, as they often tell us, to go to HELL!’ he wrote.

Trump’s comments come after U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann recently ruled that Alina Habba had been unlawfully serving as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey beyond the 120-day limit allowed for temporary prosecutors and that the administration had been using an unusual maneuver to keep her in the role.

Trump’s pressure campaign could shape how many judicial vacancies he can realistically fill in the months ahead.