Friday, June 12 | By Jared Gans and Sarah Fortinsky
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▪ Foreign surveillance power to expire
▪ Trump takes a sharp turn on Iran
▪ Musk to become first trillionaire
▪ El Niño begins
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© The Associated Press | Mike Stewart
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Spy powers battle collides with World Cup |
The likely expiration of a key part of America’s foreign surveillance arsenal is coming just as the World Cup and America 250 celebrations get underway, raising security concerns that experts say will only get more severe as the fight in Congress drags on.
House members left town Thursday after the chamber failed to pass a three-week extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows the federal government to conduct surveillance on foreigners abroad without obtaining a warrant. A separate effort to extend the provision in the Senate also failed Thursday.
President Trump floated the possibility of using an executive order to extend the spy powers, but without further action, Section 702 will expire tonight.
National security experts told Morning Report the timing, with the U.S. cohosting the World Cup amid a war with Iran and other simmering conflicts around the world, could not be worse.
“You look out at the world picture and it's a pretty dangerous place, and add to that heightened concerns over World Cup, other celebrations, etc.,” said Glenn Gerstell, a former general counsel for the National Security Agency. “It's not that those two alone are so significant, but I just say the whole picture generally looks fairly dangerous, and it's exactly when we want to have 702 in place.”
The global soccer tournament will bring together fans from 48 countries from around the world with games taking place over five weeks in 11 U.S. cities and five in Mexico and Canada. Trump himself pointed to the World Cup in making his case for Congress to keep Section 702 active.
“FISA 702 is very important to our Military, and keeping the American People safe, especially during the World Cup and America250 Celebrations,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Wednesday that the agency is making terrorist attack prevention during the World Cup its top priority, calling it “probably the biggest lift in FBI history.”
The resistance in Congress to renewing Section 702 has two elements. Privacy advocates in both parties have long expressed concerns about Americans’ communications getting swept up in data collection.
But most Democrats were prepared to pass a FISA compromise bill until Trump selected Bill Pulte, the controversial head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting director of national intelligence.
Trump on Thursday announced his plan to nominate Jay Clayton, a former Securities and Exchange Commission chair, for the permanent role to replace Tulsi Gabbard.
But key Democrats say that’s still not enough, as Pulte will remain in the role until Clayton is confirmed. The House is out of session next week, likely ensuring the FISA provision won't be restored at least until later this month.
Jamil N. Jaffer, the founder and executive director of the National Security Institute at George Mason University, said all actors — both parties in Congress and the administration — bear responsibility for allowing the expiration, particularly if any attacks take place.
“Of course terrorists and other threat actors are going to be focused on targeting America at a time when we're hosting one of the world's largest, most watched sporting events ever,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the safety of the American people and the millions of visitors attending the events is its “highest priority.”
“DHS will continue leveraging every available authority, technology, and partnership to protect the Homeland while ensuring the World Cup remains safe, secure, and successful for everyone involved,” they said.
The expiration of Section 702 doesn’t leave the government completely powerless in conducting foreign surveillance operations.
Sophie McDowall, a research associate at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, noted that any existing directives that have already been issued to gather intelligence can continue apace. She said many directives have likely already been issued in preparation for the World Cup.
But if a new threat were to arise once these events have already begun and after the provision’s expiration, that could create an issue, she said.
“They’re not going to be left with nothing ... but it would definitely be better to have it [authorized] sooner rather than later,” McDowall said.
▪ The Hill: Trump mulls executive order on spy powers.
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Smart Take
with Blake Burman |
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Stock markets soared and crude oil prices dropped as Trump announced a potential “great settlement” with Iran. The national average for regular unleaded is still just above $4 per gallon but has been dropping in recent weeks. I asked Bob McNally, the founder and president of Rapidan Energy Group, when we could get back to the $2.98 pre-war level. He said that actually might not be an optimal scenario.
“There's a bad way to have low oil prices,” McNally said. “Go back to 2008... We went from $4 gasoline to $30 crude in six months, but that's because we went into a recession. So, you know what? I would take a nice $3.50,” he added.
At this point, so would many Americans. Politically, the price at the pump come autumn will shape the affordability message that both parties will look to highlight leading into the midterms.
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Burman hosts "The Hill" weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation.
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- A federal appeals court has ruled Trump’s 10 percent global tariff is likely legal and can remain in place until it provides a final decision. A federal trade court had found the tariff unlawful and ordered it blocked last month.
- The Kennedy Center board of trustees has appealed a judge’s order to remove Trump’s name from the exterior of the building just ahead of the deadline to complete the change. The center previously indicated it would comply with the order.
- Republicans have pushed forward a provision to formally rename the Department of Defense to the Department of War as part of the annual defense policy bill. The provision must remain in the legislative package once it ultimately passes to take effect.
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© The Associated Press | Jacquelyn Martin
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BACK FROM THE BRINK: Trump reversed course on Thursday, canceling plans to strike Iran that evening, citing significant progress in talks with Tehran's leadership.
The president threatened to carry out a third round of strikes on Thursday morning, raising concerns that the two countries were headed for a resumption of an all-out war, after the exchanging rounds of missile fire in the days before.
But the president said he decided to cancel the forthcoming attacks “Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved,” according to his Truth Social post.
Trump said the naval blockade in the region will remain in place “until this Transaction is finalized,” but that he expects the time and place of the signing to be announced “shortly.”
“I don’t know if you heard, but we ended the war with Iran today,” Trump said on a tele-rally call during a campaign event in Georgia on Thursday night.
Trump also told reporters that he believed the Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mohtaba Khameini, had approved the deal. But Iran has not said either way.
“Iran hasn’t reached a final conclusion about the agreement,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Thursday, according to state media. “We will announce it when we reach a conclusion.”
As The Hill’s Niall Stanage reports, the world is now anxiously awaiting details of what’s in the deal.
According to Barak Ravid at Axios, the memorandum of understanding would extend the ceasefire for 60 days and agree to a framework for addressing Iran's enriched uranium stockpiles, while Iran would fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days in exchange for the U.S. lifting its blockade and temporarily lifting sanctions on its oil exports.
▪ The Hill: Trump plays dealmaker after tempting all-out war.
▪ The Guardian: Strikes on Iran water facilities may constitute war crime.
FAREWELL, FRIEND: Vice President Vance’s chief of staff, Jacob Reses, will leave the White House at the end of the summer.
Reses has served as Vance’s chief of staff since the start of the Trump administration in January 2025, but the longtime aide has worked with Vance since his Senate campaign years earlier.
“Jacob’s been by my side for my whole career in public life,” Vance said in a statement. “I can’t imagine having been on this life-changing journey without him.”
“From day one of my time as a Senator-elect, I could not have asked for a more loyal and discerning advisor and friend as my chief of staff,” he continued. “I’ll miss him dearly, but he won’t be far, and I plan to keep his counsel close until our paths cross again.”
NBC News, which was first to report on the planned departure, indicated Reses told Vance of his intention to leave several months ago, after his wife announced she was pregnant.
One source close to the vice president told the outlet it wouldn’t be surprising if Reses eventually returned to Vance’s orbit.
▪ The Hill: Vance to make ‘The View’ debut.
▪ The Hill: House Dem accuses Vance of Epstein files ‘cover-up.’
WORLD’S FIRST TRILLIONAIRE? Tech billionaire Elon Musk is poised to make history today as he takes his rocket and satellite company, SpaceX, public, in the biggest IPO ever.
The world’s richest man could also break another milestone with his company’s stock market debut, becoming the first trillionaire in history, The Hill’s Julia Shapero reports.
Musk is currently worth $794.6 billion — with much of his wealth tied to his ownership stakes in Tesla and SpaceX — but many expect his net worth to top $1 trillion with the company’s IPO today. Musk’s wealth has exploded in recent years. Just six years ago, he was worth less than $25 billion and, five years ago, his value was estimated at $150 billion.
Musk’s net worth is more than 2.5 times that of the next richest people in the world. Behind Musk, Google CEO Larry Page’s net worth is $292.7 billion, followed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin with $270 billion and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos at $251.4 billion.
▪ CNBC: SpaceX IPO is ‘referendum’ on Musk.
EUROPE RAISES RATES: The European Central Bank on Thursday became the first major central bank to respond to the rising inflation linked to the Iran war, raising interest rates by a quarter point, to 2.25 percent.
The rate hike marked its first increase since September 2023 and comes after cutting rates eight times in 2024 and 2025. Inflation in the region hovered near the central bank’s 2 percent target before the war, but it has since increased to 3.2 percent.
In the U.S., the Federal Reserve is expected to hold rates steady when the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets for a two-day meeting on Wednesday.
But after Wednesday’s consumer price index report, showing inflation reaching its highest level in three years, economic experts are increasingly warning that rate hikes could be coming in the months ahead.
▪ The New York Times: Europe raises rates as war stokes inflation.
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- The president will participate in a pre-taped podcast with second lady Usha Vance at 11 a.m. He will participate in signing time at 2:30 p.m. and participate in a pre-taped interview at 5:30 p.m.
- The House and Senate won't convene today.
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© The Associated Press | Mariam Zuhaib
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IN THE CROSSFIRE: ActBlue and WinRed — Democrats' and Republicans’ respective major fundraising platforms — are finding themselves in the crossfire of a tense political fight as both parties ramp up scrutiny of online campaign donations ahead of the midterms, The Hill’s Sudiksha Kochi reports.
Republicans have long made claims against ActBlue, the main fundraising platform for Democratic candidates and causes, including that it is vulnerable to fraud and foreign donations. But now Democrats are fighting back, threatening to launch their own investigation into Republicans’ WinRed platform.
The tension spilled into public view this week, when ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones pleaded the Fifth Amendment repeatedly during testimony before the House Administration Committee.
GOP lawmakers peppered her with questions about allegations that her organization funneled foreign donations to Democratic candidates, but she refused to answer, holding firm to the pledge she made earlier that day in a Washington Post op-ed.
“It is the only reasonable response to a proceeding that from the beginning has been about harassing a political opponent’s fundraising platform, not genuine oversight,” she wrote.
The committee’s chair, Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), argued in his opening remarks that “there’s a significant concern that ActBlue may have allowed foreign donations on their platform, lied to Congress, and withheld responsive documents from a congressional subpoena.”
The ranking member, Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-N.Y.), meanwhile, shot back, claiming Republicans have refused “to investigate critical, credible reports of fraud, abuse, and corruption” on WinRed, including allegations of foreign funds getting funneled to Trump’s campaign.
The clash is only expected to intensify in the months ahead, as Republicans fight to preserve their House and Senate majorities and Democrats work to flip control of both chambers in the midterms.
▪ The Hill: Judge blocks Ken Paxton’s ActBlue lawsuit.
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The Hill Insider launches July 2026 — the waitlist is open now
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Premium access to Washington from the publication 100% of congressional offices read. Join before launch to lock in early access.
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© The Associated Press | Charlie Riedel
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HEATING UP: The climate pattern El Niño has officially begun, promidinh some wild weather through the summer and into next year.
El Niño — and its counterpart, La Niña — happens once every few years as part of a cycle.
El Niño occurs when the waters in the Pacific Ocean become much warmer than usual. That causes the jet stream to shift south, leading to a dryer and warmer climate in the northern U.S. and Canada and wetter periods with increased flooding on the U.S. Gulf Coast and in the Southeast, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The pattern can result in a quieter Atlantic hurricane season than normal, though it can still be active with major storms. On the other side of the country, tropical activity can increase in the Pacific.
La Niña pushes the jet stream north, creating opposite impacts to El Niño.
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center said Thursday that the El Niño is forecast to intensify for the Northern Hemisphere’s winter later this year. The center gave a 63 percent chance of the pattern strengthening into a “very strong” El Niño, often referred to as a “super El Niño,” between November and January.
If that does happen, it could make this year’s El Niño among the strongest dating back to 1950, when record-keeping began.
Most immediately, the pattern could result in a particularly hot summer, as the United Nations warned last week.
▪ Nexstar: How El Niño may impact weather across the country.
SPARED: The Supreme Court has denied an appeal from Alabama to go forward with the execution of a man via nitrogen exposure, leaving in place an appeals court ruling that found the method is cruel and unusual punishment.
The court ruled 6-3 on Thursday that the planned execution of Jeffery Lee could not go forward, sparing him for now. The state can still try to go forward with the execution through other methods.
Lee, who has been on death row for 25 years following his conviction for the murder of two people in 1998, was set to become the ninth person to be executed through nitrogen, which Alabama initiated in 2024.
The case is particularly controversial as the jury at Lee's trial had recommended a sentence of life in prison without parole, but the judge overruled them to hand down a death sentence. The state has since banned judges from overruling juries, but Lee's sentence remains in place.
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© The Associated Press | Nick Wass
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And finally … 👏👏👏 Congrats to this week’s Morning Report quiz winners! They hit it out of the park with their answers.
Here’s who went 4/4: Stan Wasser, Richard Baznik, Chuck Schoenenberger, Tom Chabot, Jess Elger, Harry Strulovici, William Chittam, Peter Sprofera, Rick Schmidtke, Garrett Webb, Frank Garza, Mark R. Williamson, Stanton Kirk, Ned Sauthoff, Jenessa Wagner, Dennis Barksdale, Robert Bradley, Steve James, M. Whitehouse, Steve Comer, Linda L. Field and Pam Manges.
The Congressional Baseball Game has been played every year since 1962, except for 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic. The first game ever was played in 1909.
Republicans trounced the Democrats in this year’s game by a score of 11-2, the sixth consecutive win for the GOP. Games between members of Congress and the press were played for a few years in the 1930s and 1940s.
Two presidents actually have been inducted into the Congressional Baseball Hall of Fame, so we’ll accept both answers. The two are George H.W. Bush and Joe Biden, both inducted in 2021.
Former MLB first baseman Mark Teixeira seems all but certain to join Congress next year as he won the Republican nomination in the solidly red Texas 21st Congressional District in March. As The Hill’s Dominick Mastrangelo reported, his impending presence is looming large for both parties.
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