“After the surprise U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, administration officials worked to assess the extent of the damage,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Vice President JD Vance signaled that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium is still intact but also that the U.S. isn’t interested in destroying the regime.”
“Iran was reeling from American military attacks on its three main nuclear sites early Sunday, with four officials describing the mood in the government as one of defeat and national humiliation, amid divisions about how to respond,” the New York Times reports.
“Publicly, Iranian officials have tried to project a sense of normalcy even though nothing is normal. They have tried to downplay the damage to the nuclear facilities at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, even though satellite images show the mountainous site of Fordo’s underground facilities punctured with huge holes.”
“Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) arrived at the emergency room in May 2024 terrified by what she had just learned: Her pregnancy could kill her at any moment,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“It would only get worse. The Florida Republican needed a shot of methotrexate to help expel her ectopic pregnancy, in which there is no way for the embryo to survive. Her state’s six-week abortion ban had just taken effect. She said doctors and nurses who saw her said they were worried about losing their licenses or going to jail if they gave her drugs to end her pregnancy.”
“She began arguing her case. The staff resisted, she said, even though doctors earlier that day estimated she was just five weeks pregnant. There was no heartbeat, and her life was at risk. She pulled up the state law on her phone for hospital workers to read. She said she called the governor’s office late at night for help, but no one picked up.”
“Hours later, doctors finally agreed to give her the methotrexate.”
“The Senate parliamentarian has ruled against a controversial provision in the Senate Republicans’ megabill that would have made it significantly more difficult for courts to enforce contempt findings against the Trump administration,” The Hill reports.
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.
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.
“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.
“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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
“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.”
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.
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.”
“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.”
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.”
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.