Wednesday, June 18 | By Jonathan Easley |
Trump gives Iran 'ultimate ultimatum'
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PRESIDENT TRUMP said Wednesday he's given Iran the "ultimate ultimatum," as he publicly weighs whether to wade into the war between Israel and Iran. "I have ideas as to what to do," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "I like to make a final decision one second before it's due." The president will hold a second meeting in the Situation Room late Wednesday with senior military and Cabinet officials. Trump, who has talked about how he likes to maintain an element of mystery around his intentions as a negotiating tactic, said U.S. involvement in the war is very much on the table. "I may do it, I may not do it," Trump said earlier in the day. "I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do. I can tell you this, that Iran's got a lot of trouble. And they want to negotiate. And I say why didn't you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction." The president was asked what he meant by calling for Iran's "unconditional surrender." "You know what it means," Trump responded. "That means I've had it … No more." "For 40 years they've been saying 'Death to America, Death to Israel'… they were bullies, they were school yard bullies, and now they're not bullies anymore," he added. "But we'll see what happens, right?" Trump's remarks come on the sixth day of conflict in the Middle East, as Israel makes headway in its efforts to cripple Iran's nuclear program. Israel pummeled Tehran with missile strikes early Wednesday morning. Israel's defense minister said they'd destroyed Iran's Internal Security Headquarters. Israeli officials said they'd likely achieve the bulk of their military objectives within a week or two, according to the Times of Israel. Trump echoed that timeline. "The next week is going to be very big, maybe less than a week, maybe less," he said. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has lost many of his top military officials and scientists, and the U.S. says it knows where Khamenei is hiding. Still, Iran is said to be preparing missiles for a counterattack, and The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Israel is running low on missile interceptors. The U.S. Embassy in Israel is working to evacuate Americans there. Khamenei rejected calls for surrender, and warned that U.S. involvement in the war would result in "irreparable damage to them." "We will never surrender in response to the attacks of anyone," he said in a post on X. Iran's top allies, Russia and China, have largely remained on the sidelines so far. However, Russia's Foreign Ministry weighed in Tuesday, calling on Israel to stop targeting Tehran's nuclear sites because it could lead to global "nuclear catastrophe." |
U.S. INVOLVEMENT DIVIDES REPUBLICANS |
The big question hanging over Washington is how far Trump will go, if the U.S. does get involved. The range of options includes everything from using bunker buster bombs to destroy Iran's Fordow nuclear site, to regime change. The Hill's Ellen Mitchell writes: "The U.S. military is positioning itself to potentially join Israel's assault on Iran, as President Trump weighs direct action against Tehran to deal a permanent blow to its nuclear program." There are myriad political forces tugging at Trump. Israel is hopeful the U.S. joins the bombardment, with former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant telling CNN that Trump has "the option to change the Middle East and influence the world. Traditional Republicans are on board with targeted strikes. "You're seeing Israel now with overwhelming amounts of force," Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) told NewsNation's "On Balance" host Leland Vittert. "They know they've got the United States standing side by side with Israel in this very important moment." "Because once this regime topples, once they've destroyed Iran's nuclear capabilities, this is a reset for the Middle East and a reset for the world," Daines added. Nikki Haley, Trump's former ambassador to the United Nations, said the U.S. "should not engage in regime change in Iran." "Our focus should only be on our national security," she posted on X. "The Iranian regime has threatened the US with nuclear production for years. We should support Israel in eliminating the Natanz and Fordo sites to prevent the threat of an atomic bomb used against us. The Iranian people should decide who they want to be their leader. That's their decision, not ours. Stay focused." The anti-war right is increasingly vocal about how Trump would be breaking his campaign promises by engaging in a foreign war, underscored by a contentious back-and-forth between Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who is advocating for action, and Tucker Carlson, who opposes any U.S. involvement. Carlson quizzed Cruz on his show, peppering him with a question about Iran's population, which Cruz did not know. "You don't know the population in the country you seek to topple?" Carlson responded. Cruz fired back in multiple posts on X, accusing Carlson of circulating a meaningless "gotcha" soundbite. "The cornerstone of American foreign policy should always be the vital security interests of the United States," Cruz said. "President Trump and I understand that the best way to avoid war is to be strong." "The Iranian regime has been trying to murder President Trump and other American officials for years," he added. "It is one of the most basic facts about the threat they pose to the national security of the United States. And yet, there are people who don't want to act against the Ayatollah - and so they deny the assassination threats over, and over, and over, and over." Read the takeaways from that discussion here. The same back and forth has been playing out among other GOP lawmakers, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), an isolationist, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), an interventionist. Steve Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist, told reporters the MAGA crowd would ultimately support the president if he decides to join Israel in its strikes against Iran. "If President Trump decides there's not a diplomatic alternative … because he's been consistent, no nuclear weapon," Bannon said. "If President Trump decides to do that, I know, and particularly his skills as a communicator, that he will come and walk people through it and the MAGA movement — look, they'll be some — but the vast majority of the MAGA movement will say, 'look, we trust your judgment, you walked us through this … maybe we hate it but you know, we'll get on board.'" |
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Trump sends warning shot as trouble brews for agenda bill |
President Trump sent a warning shot Wednesday to any Republican senators who vote against his agenda bill, as GOP complaints about the legislation grow. "Any senator that votes against it…I think they'll be finished in politics," Trump said. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is getting pushback from his caucus over spending, debt, taxes and Medicaid cuts in the bill. The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports some Senate Republicans were "blindsided" by elements of the text, which cuts Medicaid by several hundred billion dollars more than the House version of the bill and quickly phases out clean-energy tax credits. "I had no idea that they were going to completely scrap the House framework like this," Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said. "This totally caught me by surprise. And I've talked to other senators, and that's what I've heard consistently from everybody I've talked to." Even if the bill passes the Senate, it faces another gauntlet in the House, where debt hawks and Republicans from blue states are lining up against it. A new Congressional Budget Office analysis found the bill would add $3.3 trillion to the national debt, even when accounting for its impact on economic growth. "My main takeaway for you guys is this bill, as the Senate has produced it, is definitely dead if it were to come over to the House in anything resembling its current form," said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a fiscal conservative. Still, Trump has proven in the past he can lean on members to overcome their doubts. "I can't predict the future, but I do think that we're in a good place to get this done by the July 4 recess," Vice President Vance said. MEANWHILE… The GOP's investigation into how former President Biden's inner circle concealed his decline from the public got underway on Wednesday, although the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing took place in a mostly-empty room, as Democrats boycotted the proceedings. Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said a massive "cover-up" had taken place. "There was a conspiracy to hide the president's true condition by his family, by his staff, by the media, and many elected officials," Cornyn said in his opening remarks. "This was a constitutional crisis bigger than President Biden, bigger than any single election, and one that cannot be absolved by the collective apology of the press and an election where the president's party lost." |
💡Perspectives: • The Hill: 'Big, beautiful bill' penalizes private universities for no reason. • After Babel: How to legislate in a half-known world. • New York: Some Gen-Z women moving to the right. • The Atlantic: The Democratic Party slide into irrelevance. • American Conservative: Neo-cons are working hard to co-opt MAGA. |
Fed holds rates steady, earning Trump's ire
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The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, despite pressure from President Trump for cuts. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has steadfastly refused to raise rates, saying Trump's tariffs would provoke a price spike. Powell on Wednesday acknowledged the tariffs had yet to provoke a price spike, but said it could still come. "It takes some time for tariffs to work their way through the chain of distribution to the end consumer," Powell said. "We're beginning to see some effects and we do expect to see more of them over coming months." The Federal Reserve downgraded its projections for U.S. economic performance this year, saying it sees lower economic growth, higher unemployment and higher prices on the horizon. Earlier in the day, Trump reignited his criticism of Powell, and wondered aloud if he should take over the central bank himself. "I call him 'too-late Powell' because he's always too late," Trump said. "We have no inflation, we have only success," he added. "I'd like to see interest rates go down." The head of the federal agency responsible for overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac called for Powell to resign. NEW FINANCIAL DATA... • The latest Labor Department data found unemployment benefits fell to 245,000 last week, down from 250,000 the week before, remaining near historically-low levels. • Retail sales fell sharply in May, as consumers pulled back ahead of Trump's tariffs. • Housing starts dropped to the lowest level since the pandemic. |
U.S. activates more national guard troops for Los Angeles
| Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth activated an additional 2,000 California National Guard troops to deal with unrest in Los Angeles, amid a legal battle over the deployment of the troops. The U.S. Northern Command said the troops were activated to "support the protection of federal functions, personnel, and property in the greater Los Angeles area" following days of protests against the Trump administration's immigration raids. The protests were at times marred by looting and clashes with the police. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) lifted a downtown curfew on Tuesday evening, saying it had been successful in "protecting stores, restaurants, businesses and residential communities," according to the Los Angeles Times. Bass said she's "prepared to reissue a curfew if needed." On Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D) lawsuit against Trump for mobilizing California's Guardsmen received a cool reception from a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which seemed inclined to back Trump's deployment. The Hill's Zach Schonfeld and Ella Lee write: "The judges seemed to believe Supreme Court precedent provides the president with broad authority to declare emergencies that can trigger the ability for him to deploy the troops." MEANWHILE… • Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says nearly 70,000 people have applied for Trump's new gold visa card, which is selling for $5 million. The administration has said that if 200,000 are sold, it could be used to pay down $1 trillion in debt. • Trump's border czar Tom Homan said Border Patrol had only 95 encounters at the Southern border over the past 24 hours, the lowest on record. |
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