The new case stems from a social media post showing seashells on a North Carolina beach that the Trump administration characterized as a threat against the president.
The agency said the review was related to the network’s diversity and inclusion policies. But it came amid a fight between the president and the network’s late night host, Jimmy Kimmel.
The department said it planned to release “a limited number of specially designed” U.S. passports that feature a picture of the president to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary in July.
The call amounted to a rebuke of Speaker Mike Johnson, who has delayed action on a homeland security spending bill and suggested this week that it needed changes.
In Washington and in federal court, the center is arguing that its planned two-year closure is crucial. Critics say it’s a result of declining attendance and fleeing artists.
The president’s rhetoric on religion, along with hard-line immigration policies and the U.S. war in Iran, has splintered a coalition of Christian voters who returned him to the White House.