Democratic members of Congress demanded answers about Homeland Security's vetting and training of immigration enforcement agents after it was disclosed Thursday that the ICE officer involved in a deadly shooting this week in Maine had a history of mental health issues and violent behavior. The Associated Press reported that David Brouillette, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot a Colombian man in Maine, is an Army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood, according to several of his close relatives. The AP reached out to congressional leaders and several key lawmakers of both parties for response.
Plus, Washington bureau chief Anna Johnson's weekly picks and the latest edition of political book club. |
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Mourners place flowers and candles in Biddeford, Maine, Wednesday, July 15 2026, near the blood-stained pavement where Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero was pulled from his car on Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) |
Lawmakers demand answers after 'bombshell' report of ICE officer shooting in Maine — By Lisa Mascaro
The top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, said Brouillette’s history of violence and mental health issues, as well as the death in Maine, “directly call into question the supposed vetting and training ICE does of its recruits.”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who led a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year as Democrats tried to impose restraints on immigration enforcement operations, said the consequences of failing to put guardrails on ICE are now being measured in lives.
The report on Brouillette’s troubling past comes as the Department of Homeland Security has been on a hiring spree, fueled by vast sums from Republicans in Congress to help carry out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. It raises fresh questions about the department's efforts to quickly hire, vet, train and dispatch recruits who are being sent to patrol communities across America. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee, referred back to her prior statement that “an impartial investigation into the shooting in Biddeford needs to proceed, as the details surrounding this tragedy are important.” Collins had said earlier that it is “extremely unfortunate” that the agent did not have a body-worn camera.
Read more from Mascaro on Capitol Hill's reaction to the report. |
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Blood is seen on the pavement near the scene of a shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Monday, July 13, 2026 in Biddeford, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) |
AP Exclusive: ICE officer in Maine shooting has history of violent behavior, family and records say — By Jack Brook, Michael R. Sisak, Amanda Swinhart and Claire Galofaro
— The reporting by Jack, Mike, Amanda and Claire in this story is stellar. We have more reporting underway as we try to find out more about the hiring process for the ICE officer.
Drained Reflecting Pool reveals Trump’s ‘American flag blue’ liner is now closer to gray — By Matthew Daly
—The latest on the Reflecting Pool is a great example of when photos tell the story. Our photo team, which has been taking images most days of the pool over the past many weeks, noticed it was no longer “American Flag” blue after the water was drained. Why it’s so difficult for the US to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz — By Ben Finley, Farnoush Amiri and Konstantin Toropin
— Ben, Farnoush and Konstantin lean into their experience to explain why fully reopening the strait would be so hard.
Why American elections are so complicated — and secure — By Ali Swenson
— Speaking of expertise, our team has a lot of it when comes to deeply understanding U.S. elections. After Trump’s address last night, Ali explained why elections in the U.S. are so complicated — but also secure: |
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Political book club: What's on Meg Kinnard's reading list? |
A child prays at the Peace Memorial Park ahead of the memorial service to mark the 80th anniversary of the WWII U.S. atomic bombing in Hiroshima, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, in Japan. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte) |
In college, I majored in international security, which — up until the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, in fall of my senior year — was primarily focused on the Cold War and what led up to it. Those studies fascinated me, and ever since I've been drawn to books about this era and its precursor.
And that's what led me to "The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb," by Garrett M. Graff. I enjoy oral histories, because there's nothing more authentic than hearing first-hand accounts of some of the world's most pivotal moments. And in tracing the path into the Atomic Age, Graff focuses not just on the voices of scientists like Robert Oppenheimer, but he also explores overlooked pieces of the Manhattan Project’s history, like how segregation affected life at Oak Ridge, truly giving the reader a view from the ground. This book came out last year, to mark the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And the stories told directly by the people who survived that devastation are more powerful than any journalist could portray them.
Read AP's review of Graff's 2025 release. |
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National Guardsmen patrol the Lincoln Memorial as the sun, obscured by wildfire smoke, rises above the Washington Monument and the Reflecting Pool, Friday, July 17, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) |
Washington-based photo journalist Julia Demaree Nikhinson captured the intersection of some of the week's biggest stories in this shot. Here's how Washington photo editor Pablo Martínez Monsiváis describes the set up: "This is the trifecta of spot news, environment and ongoing drama over the Memorial reflecting pool. It also has the dimension of the news that National Guard's deployment to D.C. will last into 2029."
Check out more of Demaree Nikhinson's work. |
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