It’s Tuesday. Everyone, please make sure you’re staying hydrated. This is a dangerous level of heat.
In today’s issue:
- Trump angry over ceasefire violation
- President puts pressure on Israel
- Congress’s Iran briefings postponed
- The Trump-centric NATO summit
- More ‘big, beautiful’ text chopped
THE LATEST WITH IRAN
Trump’s diplomacy on display:
The world watched President Trump’s diplomacy play out in real time this morning as he publicly lashed out at Israel and Iran.
Let’s start with last night: Trump unequivocally declared a ceasefire between the two countries last night. When that ceasefire failed to hold overnight, the president was visibly frustrated this morning, using strong language when speaking about the two countries.
Trump told reporters this morning (before leaving for the NATO summit): “We basically, we have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f— they’re doing.” Watch
He then singled out Israel: “ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!” Read
Trump then followed up a half hour later: “ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect!” Read
➤ NEW — CONGRESS’S BRIEFINGS POSTPONED:
Today’s expected Iran briefings for senators and House lawmaker have bene postponed until later this week, three sources familiar with the plans told The Hill’s Capitol Hill team.
How things changed in the past 24 hours:
Iran launched a retaliatory attack on a U.S. Air Force base in Qatar on Monday.
Why Qatar?: It’s the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East. The U.S. placed this base strategically to help with operations in the region. Qatar is a close ally of Iran, so it could keep the repercussions minimal.
Iran gave advance warning of the attack: Trump said Iran gave advance notice of the attack, an apparent effort to minimize casualties and avoid a further escalation. Qatar closed its airspace and warned Americans to shelter in place. As a result, there were no injuries reported.
So, then what was the point of the attack?: “To save face,” reports The New York Times’s Farnaz Fassihi. As it stands, Iran, Israel and the U.S. can all claim some sort of victory in this conflict. Iran has wanted to avoid a full war with the U.S. but needed to respond to the bomb attack from last weekend. Read more on the Qatar attack
➤ INTERESTING READ:
The Washington Post’s Gerry Shih, Warren P. Strobel and Souad Mekhennet write that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been planning this Iran attack since last year, well before Trump was involved.
Read: ‘Netanyahu decided on Iran war last year, then sought to recruit Trump’
➤ WE’RE STILL ON HIGH ALERT IN THE U.S.:
Law enforcement officials are closely watching for any signs of domestic retaliation in response to the U.S. dropping bombs in Iran.
How we know: The Wall Street Journal reports that FBI officials in several major U.S. cities are shifting their resources toward domestic threats related to Iran.
➤ MORE READS:
The Washington Post: Congress has tried and failed for two decades to wield its war powers
The Wall Street Journal: Why Russia Is Giving Iran the Cold Shoulder After Israel Attack
The Atlantic: The True Impact of Trump’s Strike on Iran
The chatter among some Democrats:
Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) filed an article of impeachment against President Trump this morning for failing to notify or seek congressional authorization before launching strikes at three Iranian nuclear sites.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) also suggested that Trump’s move was grounds for impeachment.
Trump then unleashed on Ocasio-Cortez, calling her “stupid” in a social media post. She responded to Trump’s post:
“Mr. President, don’t take your anger out on me – I’m just a silly girl,” she posted on X. “Take it out on whoever convinced you to betray the American people and our Constitution by illegally bombing Iran and dragging us into war. It only took you 5 months to break almost every promise you made.”
IN THE NETHERLANDS
Short and snappy:
President Trump is set to land in the Netherlands this afternoon to attend the annual NATO summit. This year’s summit is designed with Trump in mind.
1 — It’s quick: The summit begins today and ends tomorrow. Trump left last week’s Group of Seven (G7) summit to deal with the Middle East crisis. That took the wind out of the G7’s sails a bit.
2 — It has a Trump-oriented goal: The goal of the summit is to agree to a new defense spending deal. Trump has long pushed for NATO allies to increase their defense spending. At the 2018 summit, he called for NATO allies to “step it up.” NATO leaders are expected to agree to a new target of spending 5 percent of their gross domestic product on security. (Btw, Spain has already opted out of that 5 percent spending agreement.)
3 — Less Ukraine-focused: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will likely attend the gathering, but his conflict with Russia is expected to be overshadowed by Iran and Israel. Trump said he will “probably” meet with Zelensky.
COMING UP
The House and Senate are in. President Trump is in the Netherlands. (All times EST)
Today: New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary.
1 p.m.: Trump arrives in Amsterdam.
1:30 p.m.: First and last House votes. Today’s agenda
1:45 p.m.: Trump greets the king and queen of the Netherlands.
2:20 p.m.: Trump takes a family photo and then attends a dinner at The Hague.
2:45 p.m.: The Senate holds a confirmation vote. Today’s agenda
5:45 p.m.: The Senate holds another vote.
ON CAPITOL HILL
Meet your new Oversight Committee ranking member:
Rep. Robert Garcia (Calif.) won the role as the top Democrat on the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, replacing the late-Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who died last month of esophageal cancer.
This is a big deal: Garcia has only been on Capitol Hill for just three years. The Oversight Committee generally gives preference to senior members, valuing the experience that goes along with it.
Why this matters: “While the minority Democrats have no authority to dictate the panel’s direction in the current Congress, they have a good shot at flipping control of the House in next year’s midterms — a scenario that would put the gavel in Garcia’s hand and lend him broad powers to investigate the many controversial actions of the second Trump administration.” Read The Hill’s Mike Lillis’s reporting
Elizabeth MacDonough is taking shears to the bill:
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough is working her way through Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill,” slashing provisions that violate the Senate’s Byrd Ryle.
What’s next on the chopping block?: She nixed a rule that would dramatically accelerate approval for offshore oil and gas projects. She also ruled against mandating the sale of millions of acres of federal public land by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.
How is she determining what should be nixed?: The provisions must be directly related to the budget to be included in reconciliation. Essentially, MacDonough is sifting through the bill finding parts that are not directly tied to the budget. Senators can still pass those into law, but they will need 60 votes, not a simple 51-vote majority.
Here’s a running list of everything the parliamentarian has cut
➤ TIDBIT:
Centrist Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) acknowledged in a recent podcast interview that she may consider becoming an independent. She also said has “considered” switching to the Senate Democratic caucus but doesn’t see Democrats as much better.
INTERNET BUZZ
Celebrate: Today is National Pralines Day.
This sounds like the start to a Stephen King novel: An Amtrak train broke down in the Baltimore tunnel on Monday. Passengers were stranded with no AC or power, until they were eventually evacuated. Keep in mind, there is a dangerous heat wave in the eastern part of the U.S. Video of the hot, dark train
AND FINALLY…
Because we can all agree dogs are incredibly goofy creatures, enjoy watching Penny find her way out of this pickle.
