“A U.S. delegation was expected to depart Tuesday for a second round of face-to-face peace talks with Iran in the Pakistani capital but was delayed for ‘additional policy meetings’ involving Vice President JD Vance,” the Washington Post reports.
“The fate of the two-week ceasefire in the war remains unclear. Iran has yet to confirm its attendance at the Islamabad talks, instead warning that it is prepared ‘to unveil new cards on the battlefield.’ The ceasefire is set to expire Wednesday.”
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that U.S. gasoline prices likely peaked last week, Bloomberg reports.
Politico: “Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham unveiled a fiscal blueprint Tuesday paving the way for the GOP’s party-line immigration enforcement plan.”
“The budget resolution is the first step in Republicans’ two-step plan to deliver a bill funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol and other agencies to President Donald Trump’s desk by his self-imposed June 1 deadline.”
President Trump said he thinks the U.S. is “going to end up with a great deal” with Iran to end the weekslong war, CNBC reports.
Said Trump: “I think they have no choice… We’ve taken out their navy, we’ve taken out their air force, we’ve taken out their leaders.”
He added: “We’ve taken out their leaders, frankly, which does complicate things in one way, but these leaders are much more rational. It is regime change, no matter what you want to call it, which is not something I said I was going to do, but I’ve done it indirectly.”
Bloomberg: “President Donald Trump said a currency swap with the United Arab Emirates is under consideration, as the US ally floats the prospect of seeking financial assistance to weather the fallout from the Iran war.”
New York Times: “When President Emmanuel Macron of France welcomed the leaders of Britain, Germany and Italy to the Élysée Palace in Paris last Friday, it looked as if Europe had finally found a worthy role to play in the Iran war.”
“They had gathered for a meeting of nearly 50 countries to discuss how to reestablish freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a complex military mission that plays to Europe’s self-image as a guardian of international law in an increasingly lawless time.”
“Yet after a tense weekend, Europe once again finds itself where it was when the war broke out 52 days ago: watching from the sidelines.”
Bloomberg: “The Pentagon’s largest-ever budget request earmarks $75 billion for drones and technologies to counter them, mainly for a massive increase for a little-known office working with US commandos to test and evaluate various systems.”
Wall Street Journal: “An investigation into whether government officials engaged in a conspiracy to undermine President Trump is advancing under newly installed acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.”
“The probe is looking at whether intelligence and law-enforcement officials who investigated Trump committed crimes. While it has largely been unfolding in the Southern District of Florida, it has now widened to include events that took place in Washington, D.C.”
Daniel Dale: “Even Trump’s most basic claims about the Iran war can’t be trusted.”
President Trump predicted the federal government would have a good relationship Anthropic, a stark reversal in tone toward the artificial intelligence company that’s embroiled in a fight with the Pentagon, Bloomberg reports.
Trump added that “we get along with them” even though they are on the “radical left.”
Wired: “A med student says he’s made thousands of dollars selling photos and videos of a young conservative woman he created using generative tools.”
President Trump told CNBC that he will gratefully “remember” U.S. companies that do not seek refunds for the tariffs he unilaterally imposed, which the Supreme Court later ruled were illegal.
New York Times: “Vice President JD Vance was expected to leave for Pakistan on Tuesday, two U.S. officials said, just over a week after a round of talks there with Iran’s lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, ended without a deal.”
“Iran has not publicly confirmed its participation in more talks, and Mr. Ghalibaf said on Monday that Iran would not attend under ‘the shadow of threats’ — an apparent reference to Mr. Trump’s vow to target Iranian power plants and civilian infrastructure if a deal isn’t reached.”
Thomas Edsall: “The damage President Trump has inflicted on the United States and the world is so enormous and wide-ranging that it is hard to grasp.”
“It runs the gamut from public and private institutions to core democratic customs and traditions, from the legal system to universities, from innocent targets of fraud to those duped into believing vaccines do more harm than good.”
“I’m not sure why after ten years of covering this president, the American media still cannot understand, when President Trump says he’s gonna do something, he’s going to do it.”
— White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, on Fox News.
“Republican lawmakers are sounding the alarm over how voters view President Trump’s handling of the economy after Iran announced over the weekend it would keep the Strait of Hormuz closed, raising the prospect of high fuel prices through Election Day,” NewsNation reports.
“Growing Republican concern about a likely voter backlash in November has spurred some Republican senators to call for their leaders to broaden the scope of the pending budget resolution to address cost-of-living issues, including housing, gas and medical costs.”
A new American Research Group poll finds just 32% of Americans say they approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president and 63% say they disapprove.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
