President Trump excoriated Rep. Tom Massie (R-KY) as a “loser” and vowed he will campaign against him next year, after the lawmaker raised questions about the constitutionality of the strikes against Iran without congressional approval.
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Ranked-Choice Voting Is Not Undemocratic
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The U.S. Has No Single Voice on Trade
Countries trying to negotiate trade deals with the U.S. have struggled to balance Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and USTR Jamieson Greer, who are often perceived as “working at cross purposes,” Politico reports.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“The enrichment of nuclear material — and, now we can say it outright, the future production of nuclear weapons — will continue. A number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads.”
— Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, on X.
GOP’s Food Stamp Plan Violates Senate Rules
“In another blow to the Republicans’ tax and spending cut bill, the Senate parliamentarian has advised that a proposal to shift some food stamps costs from the federal government to states — a centerpiece of GOP savings efforts — would violate the chamber’s rules,” the AP reports.
“While the parliamentarian’s rulings are advisory, they are rarely, if ever, ignored. The Republican leadership was scrambling on Saturday, days before voting is expected to begin on President Donald Trump’s package that he wants to be passed into law by the Fourth of July.”
U.S. Troops May Face Retaliation
Haaretz: “The Iranian Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that the large number of U.S. military bases in the region will make it hard for the American forces to entirely evade Iran’s expected retaliatory strike.”
From a statement: “Washington has positioned itself directly on the frontlines.”
Matthew Duss and Sohrab Ahmari: “Attacks on U.S. bases would require the United States to respond in kind. And there we’d have it: another big Mideast war, unfolding amid the American public’s exhaustion with wars in the region. … And yet another generation of U.S. service members would devote their lives to unnecessary conflict.”
Iran Could Become a New North Korea
New York Times: “Iran could slowly recover, its surviving nuclear scientists could take their skills underground and the country could follow the pathway lit by North Korea, with a race to build a bomb.”
“Today, North Korea has 60 or more nuclear weapons by some intelligence estimates, an arsenal that likely makes it too powerful to attack. That, Iran may conclude, is the only pathway to keep larger, hostile powers at bay, and to prevent the United States and Israel from carrying out an operation like the one that lit up the Iranian skies on Sunday morning.”
The Unknown Unknowns Lurk in Iran
Playbook: “In the run-up to the war in Iraq, then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was asked in 2002 whether there was any evidence that Saddam Hussein’s government was actually attempting to supply terrorists with weapons of mass destruction. His response was evasive but memorable.”
Said Rumsfeld: “There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know we don’t know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones.”
“Now, one generation later, the U.S. is again in an undeclared war in the Middle East. Much about it is very different — more on that in a moment. But right now, the known unknowns vastly outnumber the known knowns, while the unknown unknowns lurk around the corner.”
U.S. Strike on Iran Began With a Ruse
“Saturday morning, flight trackers picked up a host of stealthy U.S. B-2 bombers that took off from their Air Force base in Missouri and headed west over the Pacific. It was a ruse,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Hours later, a group of B-2s attacked Iran’s most important nuclear sites from the east, defense officials said, hitting well-defended facilities where giant U.S. bunker busters were thought to have the greatest chance of success. President Trump said U.S. submarines firing cruise missiles joined in the attack, striking other key nuclear facilities.”
Trump Takes a Huge Gamble His Predecessors Avoided
David Sanger: “For Mr. Trump, the decision to attack the nuclear infrastructure of a hostile nation represents the biggest — and potentially most dangerous — gamble of his second term.”
“He is betting that the United States can repel whatever retaliation Iran’s leadership orders against more than 40,000 American troops spread over bases throughout the region. All are within range of Tehran’s missile fleet, even after eight days of relentless attacks by Israel. And he is betting that he can deter a vastly debilitated Iran from using its familiar techniques — terrorism, hostage-taking and cyberattacks — as a more indirect line of attack to wreak revenge.”
“Most importantly, he is betting that he has destroyed Iran’s chances of ever reconstituting its nuclear program. That is an ambitious goal: Iran has made clear that, if attacked, it would exit the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and take its vast program underground.”
Tom Nichols: President Trump is taking an enormous risk.
Some Early Thoughts on War with Iran
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Iran Strike Tests Trump’s Propensity to Play to Both Sides
New York Times: “Since his first campaign for president 10 years ago, Mr. Trump has excelled at appearing to favor both sides of the same issue, allowing supporters to hear what they want to hear, whether he’s talking about tariffs, TikTok, abortion, tax cuts or more.”
“But the prospect that the United States might join Israel in bombing Iran is testing his ability to embrace dueling positions with little to no political cost. Some of Mr. Trump’s most ardent supporters — those who defended him during multiple investigations and ultimately returned him to the White House — are ripping each other to shreds over the idea, and at times lashing out at Mr. Trump himself, as well.”
Harvard Gets Reprieve from Trump Foreign Student Ban
“A federal judge issued a new order that allows Harvard University to continue enrolling foreign students while the school fights the Trump administration’s efforts to prevent it from doing so,” Bloomberg reports.
“US District Judge Allison Burroughs granted Harvard a preliminary injunction Friday that prevents the Trump administration from implementing a May 22 order revoking the university’s ability to host international students. The injunction extends an earlier temporary bar that was set to expire.”
One Big, Ugly Bill
Aaron Blake: “President Donald Trump isn’t asking Congress to do much these days. In fact, it often seems like he’d rather he didn’t have to bother with the legislative branch at all.”
“But despite all of his power grabs – and congressional Republicans’ acquiescence to them – there are certain things he needs lawmakers to do. And perhaps the biggest one is to pass a bill extending his 2017 tax cuts.”
“The president’s asking a lot.”
“In fact, he appears to be asking them to pass the most unpopular major legislation in decades.”
Justices Won’t Fast Track Tariff Challenge
“The Supreme Court said on Friday that it would not fast-track a petition from two toy manufacturers challenging a major piece of President Trump’s tariffs program,” the New York Times reports.
“The court’s order was one sentence long and gave no reasons.”
Bill Clinton Endorses Andrew Cuomo for Mayor
“Former President Bill Clinton will offer a last-minute boost of support for former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo by endorsing him in the New York City mayor’s race on Sunday, the last day of early voting,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Cuomo worked in the Clinton administration as the housing secretary, and the former president’s backing, as well as a taped robocall providing his support, could help turn out older voters in the tightening Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday.”
Trump Gambles His Presidency on War
“President Donald Trump’s decision Saturday to strike Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities was an extraordinary bet that he could eliminate a nuclear program that has bedeviled multiple presidents while avoiding another long-running Middle East conflict of the sort he and his supporters have long denounced,” the Washington Post reports.
“What happens next will have profound consequences for his presidency. If Iran is sufficiently weakened that it cannot meaningfully retaliate, Trump will have delivered a blow against a longtime adversary that will send a message to China, Russia and other global rivals that he will not shy from using military power when necessary.”
“But if Iran does not agree to peace on Trump’s terms, the president’s vow that ‘there are many targets left’ opened the door to a much deeper and potentially longer conflict. Already, that prospect is angering some members of his political base.”
U.S. Used Bunker Busters in Warfare for the First Time
“The U.S. bombers that attacked Iran’s nuclear sites dropped GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, bunker-busting bombs designed to destroy hardened underground targets, for the first time in warfare,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“A dozen of the bombs were dropped on the Fordow enrichment facility, which is buried under a mountain, and another two were used against the enrichment site at Natanz, a defense official said. Tomahawk cruise missiles also were fired from submarines at Natanz and Isfahan, the official said. The U.S. was known to have produced around 20 of the giant munitions.”
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