Vice President JD Vance on Thursday defended the preliminary deal to stop the war with Iran as a “win for the American people.” But he relied in part on a string of aspirational, vague and misleading claims about the agreement, the New York Times reports.
Trump Donor’s Firm Got No-Bid Contract for Reflecting Pool
“A business tied to a longtime supporter of President Trump was given a no-bid contract to install a water-purification system in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool earlier this spring,” the New York Times reports.
“Now that work is coming under scrutiny after algae blooms have come back and turned the iconic pool in Washington a vibrant shade of green rather than the American-flag blue Mr. Trump says he chose.”
ABC News: Some of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool liner appears to be falling apart.
Vance No Longer Traveling to Switzerland to Sign Iran Deal
Vice President JD Vance is no longer traveling to Switzerland tonight as previously planned for the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Iran, a White House spokesperson said, citing unresolved logistics surrounding the next phase of negotiations, CNN reports.
Trump Says There Are ‘No Limits’ to His Power
President Trump denied that the Iran war revealed the limits of his ability to exert power, Axios reports.
Asked what he’d learned from the war about the limits to his power, he said: “There are no limits.””
He added: “I haven’t learned that lesson yet. I know there are, but there are no limits.”
Trump Derails Senate GOP Agenda Again
“For the second time in less than a month, the Senate left Washington on Thursday without accomplishing Republicans’ top goal for the week after President Donald Trump torpedoed it,” the Washington Post reports.
CBS News: Trump upends Senate GOP’s plans once again with nomination demands.
Texas Senate Race Devolves into Masculinity Battle
“When Senate hopeful Ken Paxton attacks the masculinity of his Democratic opponent, James Talarico, he has one group in particular on his mind: Hispanic voters,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The hotly contested race for Senate in Texas has become ugly early with open sparring between the candidates over who is more of a man. Paxton’s team is sensing an opening with Texas Hispanic voters, who have moved sharply to the right in recent election cycles. The thinking among Paxton’s aides is that they can successfully cast Talarico as not strong enough to represent Texas in Washington.”
Union Proposes Compromise on California Billionaire Tax
Wall Street Journal: “The architects of California’s proposed billionaire tax said Thursday that they are open to withdrawing the ballot measure if Gov. Gavin Newsom supports a smaller wealth tax.”
“In an open letter to the governor, the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West said it would pull its proposed one-time, 5% tax from the November ballot if Newsom champions a 2% tax on billionaires’ net worth instead. The union framed the offer as a compromise aimed at temporarily staving off steep cuts to state healthcare services due to federal funding changes signed into law by President Trump last year.”
Trump Tests His Power and Frustrates the GOP
Wall Street Journal: “Seventeen months into his second term, Trump is increasingly relying on his own gut instincts, dismissing the counsel of aides, conservative lawmakers and longtime associates. The result has been a series of decisions that have confounded and frustrated Republicans—heightening fears that voters will punish the GOP in the November elections and testing Trump’s iron grip on the party.”
Mamdani Flexes Political Power in New York Primary
“Not long ago, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was demonized by leaders of both political parties. Today, just six months after taking office, the 34-year-old democratic socialist’s political strength is surging,” Associated Press reports.
“Always a darling of the far left, he has earned praise from both President Donald Trump and former Democratic critics like New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. He has emerged as the face of the region’s sports renaissance. And days before New York’s primary elections, Mamdani is testing the limits of his newfound political muscle in a bid to reshape the Democratic Party — in his state capital and in Washington — even if it means challenging his own party’s leadership.”
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JD Vance’s Risky Pivot to Iran Deal Defender
“This wasn’t the book tour that JD Vance planned,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“What started as a gantlet of promotional interviews this week for his new book ended with the vice president becoming the face of the tentative peace agreement with Iran, for better or worse.”
Cotton Joins Wicker in Criticizing Trump Iran Deal
“Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the No. 3 Senate Republican, said he has ‘concerns’ with President Donald Trump’s Iran deal,” Punchbowl News reports.
Said Cotton: “I do have concerns that certain aspects of this deal are a step in the wrong direction.”
“In sum, just today, two top Senate Republicans – Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Cotton – have come out with serious concerns about the memorandum of understanding.”
NBC News: Some Republican lawmakers raise concerns about U.S.-Iran deal.
Proposed California Billionaire Tax Clears Key Hurdle
“California’s proposed billionaire tax has officially cleared the signature hurdle to qualify for the November ballot, setting up a high-stakes showdown between the healthcare workers’ union pushing the levy and top political, business and labor leaders fighting it,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Proponents of the novel wealth tax gathered an estimated 980,438 valid signatures from registered voters, California’s secretary of state said late Wednesday, clearing the 875,000 threshold they had needed to qualify.”
“If voters approve it, the proposal would levy a 5% tax on California billionaires’ net worth.”
Fox News Runs Supercut of Senators Ripping Trump’s Deal
“Fox News put together a scathing supercut of U.S. Senators knocking President Donald Trump’s deal with Iran this week,” Mediaite reports.
AIPAC Looms Large Ahead of New York Primaries
“The country’s most prominent pro-Israel special interest group isn’t even spending in Rep. Dan Goldman’s high-stakes primary. It could be his biggest problem anyway,” Politico reports.
“The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has a familiar electoral playbook: funnel millions of dollars into an election through a super PAC to boost pro-Israel candidates, attack those critical of Israel or both. The group’s massive spending over recent cycles has established it as a boogeyman among progressives, who’ve attempted to use AIPAC’s intervention, or the threat of it, to activate their base.”
Trump Compared Himself to Mao, Stalin, Attila the Hun
President Trump argued earlier this year that he was “more powerful than some of the most feared and treacherous leaders in history — including Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Stalin, Mao, and Hitler,” CNN reports.
Michelle Obama’s Speech Moves Her Husband to Tears
“Former first lady Michelle Obama delivered a loving and heartfelt tribute to her husband at the Obama Presidential Center’s grand opening ceremony in Chicago Thursday,” CBS News reports.
Said Mrs. Obama: “You told me all those years ago that you couldn’t promise me the world, but you could promise me an interesting life and of course you outdid yourself and managed to give me both.”
Pelosi Slams Trump’s Iran Deal as ‘Gift to the Iranians’
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Thursday said Americans “paid the price” for President Trump’s “mistake” in taking military action against Iran, describing the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding as a “real gift to the Iranians,” NewsNation reports.
The Wrap: Mike Pence says Trump’s Iran peace deal is “bigger than a mistake.”
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