MORNING REPORT

Friday, July 24 | By Jared Gans and Sarah Fortinsky

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In today's issue:

▪ Trump faces roadblocks in Senate

▪ Mixed war powers votes

▪ Saudi Arabia nuclear deal confusion

▪ Google receives major EU fine

Disgruntled Senate GOP causes headaches for Trump

President Trump’s damaged relationship with Senate Republicans is obstructing his agenda in what could be the final months of full GOP control during his second term.

The House left town on Thursday for the chamber’s August recess after sending several measures to the Senate, which will remain in session for the next two weeks. Congress has about two dozen legislative days remaining before midterms in November.

The tension between Trump and members of his own party is growing by the day.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, during her press briefing on Thursday, said Trump is “running out of patience” with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and the GOP’s inability to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act.

During his trip to Georgia on Wednesday, Trump praised Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) efforts in the House, while voicing his frustrations with the upper chamber.

“Mike Johnson and Congress have done a great job, but we’re having a hard time in the Senate,” he said. “The Senate, what they’re doing, it’s just not right.”

Leavitt’s remarks came after Thune said he didn’t have 50 votes in the GOP caucus to pass the House budget resolution that will pave the way for a $95 billion reconciliation bill to fund the war in Iran, provide farm aid and make election reforms.

“Maybe she or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes. Right? It’s 50 around here,” Thune shot back in comments to reporters.

“Instead of pointing the finger at Republicans, they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats,” the senator added. “And if there are Republicans they think are gettable, get on the phone.”

Trump has been trying for weeks to ramp up pressure on Senate Republicans to be more aggressive in passing his agenda — particularly the SAVE America Act, which would add new ID requirements for registering to vote and casting a ballot.

Some of the key votes Trump may be missing come from Senate Republicans he’s been increasingly at odds with, including three whom he helped push out of their jobs.

The House-passed budget framework proposes the idea of creating a grant program to incentivize states to adopt the voting restrictions of the SAVE America Act, a watered down version of the mandatory national requirement in the original bill.

That’s still running into opposition from retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who has often clashed with Trump.

“If I see a reconciliation bill come from the House with another failed attempt to confuse this election, I will use every device I have available to slow down the wheels of government until people cop a clue and do the math,” Tillis said last week.

Thune has told reporters he plans to “hold” the House-passed budget resolution for now as a possible way to pass a short-term funding measure in September before the end of the fiscal year.

The House approved a stopgap measure to fund the government through Dec. 4, but it faces long odds in the Senate in light of expected Democratic opposition.

Trump is also facing difficulty getting acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed to the permanent role amid GOP backlash.

Tillis and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who lost to a Trump-backed primary challenger, are key swing votes on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Blanche’s nomination.

Cornyn has pressed Blanche over the Department of Justice’s proposed “anti-weaponization” fund. Even though Blanche has signaled the fund was scrapped, Cornyn has remained noncommittal on his nomination.

Even if Blanche’s nomination gets past the Judiciary Committee, it will still face another hurdle before the full Senate with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) also expressing reservations about him.

Other wildcards in the Senate in the coming weeks are Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is fighting for her political life in a blue state, and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), if he returns from a prolonged hospitalization. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the third member of what has been dubbed the “YOLO caucus,” along with Tillis and Cornyn, has also been increasingly defiant since losing his primary to a Trump-backed challenger.

Whether Trump can push through his agenda before the lame duck session begins after the midterms is up in the air. But with the House out of town, his fraught relations with the Senate will now firmly take the spotlight.

▪ The Hill: Tensions rise between Thune, White House over stalled agenda.

▪ The Hill: House GOP presses Senate to act on reconciliation framework.

Smart Take
with Blake Burman

On Thursday, Trump continued his push to try to get AI companies involved in data center buildouts to cover the costs, so that people's power bills don't continue to spike. Roughly two in every three planned data centers are headed for rural America. I spoke with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and asked her if that is a good use of farmland.

“If we are not able to properly fuel these data centers, we will likely all be speaking Chinese in just a couple of decades,” Rollins told me, alluding to the ongoing AI race with China. “Protecting real American farmland is real. And the importance of us being able to feed ourselves. We just have to find the balance,” she added.

The issue involving data centers has surged onto the political scene, and it doesn't fit neatly into standard political boxes. As I've been telling our audience for a while now, it's my belief that AI is going to be one of the major themes of the 2028 election cycle.

By the way, tonight, we continue our Viewer's Voice series. Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) will join us. Have a question for him? Email me and my team at viewersvoice@newsnationnow.com, and we will try to put it before the congressman.

Burman hosts "The Hill" weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation.

3 Things to Know Today

The Trump administration will impose sweeping new tariffs of 10 to 12.5 percent on 60 countries over alleged forced labor violations. They will cover 99.4 percent of U.S. imports, taking effect as global 10 percent tariffs are set to expire.
The Department of Justice said it would withdraw subpoenas issued to several New York Times reporters earlier this month over their reporting on security concerns with the jet that Qatar gifted to the president. The decision came as a federal judge was weighing whether to quash the subpoenas.
The White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner will take place this evening as a makeup event after the originally planned gala was called off amid an alleged assassination attempt against Trump.

LEADING THE DAY

WAR POWERS SPLIT: The House advanced a war powers resolution seeking to curtail Trump’s war in Iran, shortly before the Senate defeated a similar measure.

Four House Republicans joined Democrats Thursday morning to support the resolution, which would direct Trump to withdraw troops form the conflict unless Congress formally authorizes the use of military force. The tally was 214-208.

The GOP lawmakers who voted for the resolution were Reps. Tom Barrett (Mich.), Warren Davidson (Ohio), Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.).

A similar resolution in the Senate directing Trump to withdraw U.S. troops from Iran was defeated by Senate Republicans, 47-49. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) voted with Democrats in support of the resolution, while Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) joined Republicans to oppose it.

Republican Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.), Katie Britt (Ala.), McConnell and Murkowski were absent from the vote.

Both chambers have approved similar resolutions in recent months, including in June, when the same four House Republicans joined Democrats to pass the measure. The measure also passed the Senate that month, with support from Paul, Collins, Murkowski and Cassidy.

Cassidy flipped to vote against the most recent resolution, which would have been legally binding and carried the force of law if Trump signed it.

Still, the votes come amid growing frustration among GOP lawmakers about the length of the war and the rising death toll of U.S. service members, which has so far reached 18.

Trump on Thursday sharpened his rhetoric against Iran once again, warning that he’s “considering a massive attack” on Iran that would be “bigger than ever before.”

“I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,” Trump told Axios in an interview Thursday.

Oil prices spiked Thursday as the conflict shows signs of escalating, reaching more than $100 per barrel for the first time in weeks.

▪ The Hill: GOP hawks urge Trump to go big on Iran.

▪ The Hill: Paul says U.S. is ‘worse off’ than before the war.

UNDONE DEAL: The White House is facing questions over the terms and status of the civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia after Trump suggested early Thursday that it was conditional on the Middle East country normalizing relations with Israel.

“The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!) being made between the United States Department of Energy and Saudi Arabia, which pertains only to non-military use such as the ones that Iran and UAE (and others) already have, will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

The statement provoked further questions about the deal, which was signed Wednesday by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart and had no mention of the Abraham Accords.

Leavitt did not offer further clarification at a press conference later that day, instead doubling down on Trump’s early statement.

"He has said if they don’t join the Abraham Accords, the deal is off,” Leavitt said. “So, we’ll continue to have those conversations with our Saudi counterparts moving forward.”

Leavitt said officials were “still talking” about the specifics of the deal, noting, “It will eventually, hopefully, be finalized with the condition that the president spoke about this morning.”

▪ The Hill: Trump slams brakes on Saudi nuclear deal.

▪ The New York Times: Why Saudi Arabia wants to turn to nuclear energy.

HEARING DELAYED: The Senate Banking Committee took the unusual step of delaying a public hearing to consider three of Trump’s nominations after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said the FBI background checks raised “significant concerns” that should be addressed before the committee votes.

“We should put off this markup until we have confidence that the FBI has run down all the answers,” Warren, the committee’s top Democrat, said in her opening remarks at the hearing, which was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Thursday.

“All of our colleagues on this committee, Democrats and Republicans, have a right to be fully up to speed, fully informed on these issues before being asked to vote for or against nominees,” she continued.

Warren said she was limited in what she could say publicly on the matter and asked Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to move to a closed session, which he did, asking noncommittee members to clear the room.

The Banking panel was slated to consider the nominations of Christopher Phelan to chair the Council of Economic Advisers, John Crews to serve in the National Credit Union Administration and Jeffrey Ledbetter to be inspector general of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

▪ The Hill: Attendance issues force CDC vote delay.

TO THE STREETS: Protests are breaking out in Wisconsin following the fatal police shooting of a man in Madison.

The Madison Police Department said the man, later identified as Corey Ruiz, injured an officer with a fixed blade knife while resisting arrest Wednesday. Officers tried unsuccessfully to take him into custody using a taser, and then the injured officer shot Ruiz.

Officers provided “life-saving measures” before Ruiz was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Video of the incident has been circulating online, showing one officer kicking the man down and another shooting him while he’s on the ground. The police acknowledged the footage but said it shows only “one perspective.”

All four officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave.

▪ ABC News: Mayor calls for calm after shooting.

WHEN & WHERE

The president will make an announcement on American nuclear innovation at 3 p.m. He will deliver remarks at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Waldorf Astoria at 8:55 p.m. Later, he will return to the White House.
The House and Senate won’t convene today.

ZOOM IN

ON THE LOOSE: The technology industry is on guard after OpenAI revealed this week that some of its AI agents went rogue and hacked into the systems of a technology startup.

The Hill’s Miranda Nazarro reports the incident followed years of warnings from the tech and cybersecurity communities about the growing capabilities and risks that AI could pose to infrastructure.

The AI giant revealed two of its models, its latest GPT-5.6 Sol and an unreleased model, were being evaluated in an internal, testing sandbox when they breached the environment and broke into the database of the startup, Hugging Face, without any prompt to do so.

The models inferred that Hugging Face had a solution to the test and chose to breach its servers to find out. Hugging Face used some of its own open-source models to stop the activities and assess the damage.

The companies are working together to further investigate, but Hugging Face CEO Thomas Wolf told the BBC on Thursday that he believes this type of incident will become “one of the most common types of cyber attacks we see.”

Nazarro reports researchers have warned about the hacking risks surrounding AI for years, but Washington and the Trump administration have only just begun to openly discuss concerns around it.

▪ The Hill: Americans see China as more advanced on AI, poll finds.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Amazon cuts jobs in AI unit.

ELSEWHERE

BRINGING THE HAMMER DOWN: The European Union has fined Google about $1 billion for violations of its digital competition law — the latest Big Tech company to face financial penalties over the statute.

The EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, found the company improperly favored its own products in Google Search and limited developers from directing users to third-party app stores.

“Google has fallen short of effective compliance with the Digital Markets Act, and today we have taken decisive yet balanced enforcement action sanctioning these breaches,” Teresa Ribera, the commission’s top competition regulator, said in a statement.

The commission said Google has proposed and started testing changes to how it displays the company’s products on Google Search and rolling out changes to its steering terms. It said the steps represent progress toward compliance and that regulators were assessing them.

Politico noted this is the third company to face significant fines under the Digital Markets Act, which was enacted three years ago. Meta and Apple received fines last year after probes were concluded.

Kent Walker, the president of global affairs at Google and Alphabet, slammed the competition law as continuing to “break everyday products.”

“This isn’t fair competition; it’s product degradation driven by a small group of self-serving complainants, with European businesses and consumers taking the hit. Regulation should improve products, not make them worse,” he said.

▪ Politico: Ambassador to U.K. threatens tariffs if taxes raised on Big Tech.

▪ The Hill: Trump defends data centers, expands pledge to make them cover costs.

OPINION

‘The Odyssey’ shows studios when to ignore critics, Miles Surrey writes in Bloomberg.
He was once the most famous terrorist in the world. His brand of violent chaos is returning, Joby Warrick writes in The New York Times.

THE CLOSER

And finally … 👏👏👏 Congrats to this week’s Morning Report quiz winners! They journeyed through these questions just like Odysseus did back to Ithaca.

Here’s who went 4/4: Chuck Schoenenberger, Stan Wasser, Jess Elger, Paul Mastra, Ned Sauthoff, Wendy Smith, Matt Midgette, Rick Schmidtke, Bart Schoenfeld, Keith Rutman, Dave Conover, Harry Strulovici, Mark Ryan, John Scanlon, Garrett Webb, Craig Harding, James Warlick, Jenessa Wagner, M. Whitehouse, Robert Bradley, Steve Comer, William Chittam, Jack Barshay, Lou Tisler, Terry Pflaumer, Linda Field, Steve James, Savannah Petracca, Carmine Petracca, Naomi Petracca and Elizabeth Prystas.

Odysseus was returning home after fighting in the Trojan War, as depicted in “The Iliad.”

Odysseus told the cyclops that his name was “Nobody” to obscure his true name and allow himself and his men to escape.

Athena repeatedly watched out for Odysseus, while Poseidon holds a grudge against him and sought to make his journey more difficult.

Medusa was the obstacle that Odysseus did not have to face, as she was killed long before the events of “The Odyssey” took place, according to ancient Greek tradition.

Calling back from last week, here’s the list of people who were correct in their prediction about Spain’s victory over Argentina in the World Cup final: Mike Salanik, Chuck Schoenenberger, Peter Sprofera, Marcia Gatlin, Pavel Peykov, Laura Rettaliata, Mark R. Williamson, Brian Hogan, M. Whitehouse, Pam Manges and Elizabeth Prystas. I was not one of them.