See other AP coverage of Tuesday’s primary results here.<\/a><\/p>\nRubio wraps up marathon two-day Capitol Hill hearings<\/p>\n
The secretary of state faced a litany of questions over nearly a dozen hours of hearings combined about the Trump administration\u2019s tentacles around the war and bipartisan concern over the status of the Iran war and negotiations.<\/p>\n
It was the first time Rubio had to face lawmakers since the U.S. first issued strikes on Iran and he spent large portions of his testimony defending the rationale and execution of the military operation.<\/p>\n
Rubio faces bipartisan criticism for waivers on Russian oil sanctions<\/p>\n
Democrats and Republicans, on both sides of Capitol Hill, peppered Rubio about the Trump administration\u2019s decision to extend its pause on sanctions on Russian oil shipments to ease shortages from the Iran war.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Trump was right to impose those sanctions last fall, but the waivers provide Moscow with badly needed revenue, and, I think, make little difference to American consumers in the price of gas,\u201d GOP Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas said during a hearing.<\/p>\n
Rubio defended the decision, saying these are short-term waivers and \u201cwill not be permanent.\u201d<\/p>\n
In April, the Treasury Department extended the so-called general license for Russian oil that had been loaded by March 11. The extensions have underscored how the fallout from the Iran war has boosted Moscow\u2019s ability to profit from its energy exports, which had been restrained since the invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Trump suggests he could \u2018be the greatest\u2019 communist \u2013 if he were actually a communist<\/p>\n
The president directed a reporter to read Trump\u2019s own past words on communism back to him, then scoffed at efforts in New York and other large, blue cities to expand social services.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d be the greatest in the world. Nobody would be as good as me. I\u2019d give away everything. I could be the greatest,\u201d Trump said, commenting on what he\u2019d be like if he were to undertake similar social giveaways.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would sell them: You\u2019re going to get free rent. You\u2019re going to get free houses. You\u2019re going to get free food. You\u2019re going to get free everything,\u201d he said. \u201cBut, eventually, that ends and it leads to death, destruction and squalor 100% of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump also said of New York\u2019s democratic socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, \u201cI would be better than him\u201d at expanding free services, but \u201cI had to sell free enterprise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFree enterprise is tougher to sell,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
Trump on fate of anti-weaponization fund: \u2018I don\u2019t know\u2019<\/p>\n
In his first public comments since his Justice Department said a controversial $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund would not go forward, the president equivocated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d have to ask the lawyers,\u201d Trump said when asked directly whether the settlement fund was dead or merely on hold. \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He spent much of his response to reporters defending the fund, which he called a \u201cbeautiful thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
His comments came just after Senate Republicans voted to advance an immigration funding bill, which they did only after testimony from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed the fund was dead.<\/p>\n
Trump downplays that the US and Iranian strikes are testing fragile ceasefire<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been hitting them pretty hard,\u201d Trump said when asked by reporters on Wednesday if the ceasefire remains in place amid back-and-forth attacks by the two sides. He added, \u201cIt\u2019s a different part of the world. You know, I\u2019d say in that part of the world, a ceasefire is when you\u2019re shooting in a more moderate manner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump also insisted that ongoing negotiations to extend the temporary ceasefire and open new nuclear talks with Tehran continue to progress.<\/p>\n
He suggested that it\u2019s possible an agreement could be reached \u201cover the weekend.\u201d Trump, however, has been predicting for weeks that the two sides are on the cusp of reaching a deal.<\/p>\n
Trump signs executive order on federal workforce reform<\/p>\n
The president on Wednesday signed an order that was described as an attempt to make it easier to fire or discipline federal workers.<\/p>\n
Introducing the order at an Oval Office event, White House staff secretary Will Scharf said existing personnel rules make it difficult to discipline or promote workers in policymaking roles. He said the goal is to make the federal workforce more accountable.<\/p>\n
James Sherk of the Domestic Policy Council added that it has been \u201calmost impossible\u201d to fire federal employees even in cases of serious misconduct.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat this does is basically treat those employees like private sector workers that are being hired on the basis of merit and competence,\u201d Sherk said. \u201cBut if they\u2019re messing up, then they can be removed quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump signs executive order related to the U.S.-Mexico border<\/p>\n
After hastily bringing reporters to the Oval Office, the president signed an executive action that will empower customs officials to more carefully track what importers bring across the U.S.-Mexico border.<\/p>\n
His order is meant to improve the tracking of goods imported into the U.S. for tariff purposes. Federal authorities said it would also allow them to improve holding importing firms accountable, who have long used shell companies to avoid taxes.<\/p>\n
Rubio: Adding countries to Abraham Accords would be \u201cdifficult to do at this moment\u201d in Iran war<\/p>\n
Asked why it\u2019s important to increase normalization between Israel and Arab countries, Rubio laid out the benefits that it would provide both sides, but provided a sober outlook on the unlikelihood, given the ongoing hostilities in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do want to expand the Abraham Accords obviously, but it\u2019s difficult to do at this moment,\u201d Rubio told senators Wednesday afternoon. \u201cBut we\u2019re laying the groundwork for it. It\u2019ll be a top priority of this administration.\u201d<\/p>\n
His testimony strayed from Trump\u2019s recent comments, including last week, when the president said that signing on to the Abraham Accords \u201cshould be mandatory\u201d as part of a U.S.-Iran deal being negotiated right now.<\/p>\n
The accords were a series of diplomatic and commercial agreements forged with U.S. influence between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco in 2020, during Trump\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n
Trump talks to press about reflecting pool<\/p>\n
Shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday, reporters were suddenly summoned to the Oval Office.<\/p>\n
The reason was ostensibly to watch the president sign executive orders. But Trump kicked off the event by talking up the reflecting pool outside the Lincoln Memorial, which he announced earlier would get its final coat of protection today.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll last for 50 to 100 years before you have to do anything, very strong, powerful substance that we used,\u201d Trump told reporters. At one point, he held up a poster that said: \u201cOur Pool is Bigger than Skyscrapers.\u201d<\/p>\n
After that opener, Trump moved to the topic at hand: a customs-related executive order.<\/p>\n
Republicans have won the partisan redistricting battle<\/p>\n
Since Trump urged Republicans to redraw U.S. House districts last year, officials in eight states have enacted new districts that could help Republicans win up to 16 additional seats in the November elections.<\/p>\n
Democrats suffered setbacks in their counterattacks. But they could gain up to six additional seats from new districts in two states.<\/p>\n
The aggressive mid-decade redistricting carries high stakes, because Democrats need to gain just a few seats in the midterms to win control of the House. It remains to be seen whether the redistricting will help Republicans hold on to their slim majority.<\/p>\n
US reduces the forces it would provide to NATO in a crisis<\/p>\n
The U.S. military is reducing the number of forces it would contribute to NATO during an emergency, a change that\u2019s been expected from the Trump administration as it pushes European allies to shoulder more of the continent\u2019s defense burden.<\/p>\n
U.S. European Command on Wednesday publicly announced changes to the NATO Force Model, a contingency plan for European defense in the event of serious security concerns, such as increased Russian aggression. The announcement lacks specifics, but said allies could step up with planes and ships as the U.S. reserves more of its own forces to thwart potential threats in other parts of the world.<\/p>\n
U.S. and British officials said the change was already announced in classified meetings to NATO allies in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
Demonstrator kicked out as Rubio kicks off 4th and final Capitol Hill hearing<\/p>\n
As the secretary of state entered his fourth and last congressional hearing, a young demonstrator who said she was 18 years old yelled that the foreign policy actions of the Trump administration were being taken \u201cagainst the will of the American people\u201d before being removed from the Senate hearing room.<\/p>\n
She yelled, \u201cFree Palestine,\u201d as the door was closing.<\/p>\n
It was the first interruption of the day but part of a series of protests against Rubio and the administration in the past two days, specifically against U.S. support for Israel and the impacts of that on war-torn Gaza.<\/p>\n
3 UN experts accuse US of `unlawful coercion\u2019 against Cuba\u2019s sovereignty<\/p>\n
The independent U.N. human rights investigators urged the Trump administration in a statement Wednesday to immediately halt all threats against Cuba\u2019s sovereignty and revoke sanctions \u201cadopted contrary to international law.\u201d<\/p>\n
The experts said efforts to change Cuba\u2019s \u201cconstitutional order\u201d through threats and coercion \u201cecho colonial-era practices.\u201d<\/p>\n
They said Trump\u2019s declaration of a \u201cDonroe Doctrine\u201d in March, asserting U.S. predominance in the Western hemisphere, has raised \u201csignificant alarm.\u201d And they said his statements about the \u201chonor of taking Cuba\u201d reflect \u201ca deeply concerning strategy of coercion\u201d against the country.<\/p>\n
The experts on democracy, the negative impact of sanctions and counterterrorism, also pointed to the longstanding U.S. embargo and recent fuel blockade of Cuba.<\/p>\n
They called the recent U.S. indictment of former Cuban president Ra\u00fal Castro \u201ca misuse of domestic judicial proceedings\u201d and \u201can instrument of coercive foreign policy,\u201d and the announced deployment of the USS Nimitz to the southern Caribbean another element of \u201cunlawful coercion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rubio wraps up nearly 4-hour congressional hearing<\/p>\n
The secretary of state has finished nearly four hours of testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he received praise from Republicans and sparred with Democrats over the Iran war, President Donald Trump\u2019s relationship with NATO and U.S. aid to Africa.<\/p>\n
The hearing before lawmakers on Capitol Hill was the third of four in two days for the former Republican senator from Florida. The purpose of each hearing has been to discuss the State Department\u2019s budget. But they\u2019ve often veered into discussions about the Trump administration\u2019s dealings with countries around the world.<\/p>\n
Rubio insists to lawmakers that any US-Iran deal will be \u2018better\u2019 than Obama agreement<\/p>\n
Republicans and Democrats have raised concerns about the reported details of a deal between Tehran and Washington. And on Wednesday, Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican from Kentucky, questioned whether the deal was similar to the one former President Barack Obama made in 2015.<\/p>\n
Rubio went on to outline the various issues being discussed and how they differ from the previous nuclear deal, which Trump withdrew from in 2018.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, any deal we do will be a good deal, or there won\u2019t be a deal, and it\u2019ll be better than JCPOA,\u201d Rubio said, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.<\/p>\n
That agreement, which included Germany, France and Britain, had lifted most U.S. and international economic sanctions against Iran for restrictions on its nuclear program, making it impossible to produce a bomb and establishing rigorous inspections.<\/p>\n
Rubio says Trump still wants to be part of NATO, but alliance needs significant reform<\/p>\n
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration has no intention of abandoning NATO but won\u2019t back down on demanding significant reforms.<\/p>\n
Rubio told lawmakers Wednesday that the president plans to attend the annual NATO leaders\u2019 summit in Turkey next month, at which he will make the U.S. case for changes and again call for allies to increase their defense spending. The summit is to be held in Ankara on July 7-8.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe president himself will be attending the next NATO, a meeting of heads of state where all of these points will be made clear. We\u2019re still in NATO, but NATO needs significant changes, and the president has made that clear,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n
Trump has been particularly irked by some NATO countries, mainly Spain, denying the use of airbases for the war against Iran.<\/p>\n
Senate GOP officially strips $1 billion in White House security funding from immigration spending bill<\/p>\n
After weeks of discussions, the Senate has officially dropped a $1 billion proposal for White House security and Trump\u2019s ballroom project.<\/p>\n
The Senate is set to begin voting on legislation to fund immigration enforcement agencies on Wednesday afternoon, and the bill\u2019s final text, released just hours before the vote, does not include the security funding.<\/p>\n
Republicans had already indicated they would drop the security proposal after backlash from within their own caucus and criticism from Democrats.<\/p>\n
Rubio says Greenland is part of Denmark \u2018for now\u2019<\/p>\n
Rubio made the \u201cfor now\u201d statement when Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware asked Rubio about Trump\u2019s calls for the U.S. to own the semiautonomous territory of Denmark to better defend the U.S.<\/p>\n
Rubio said talks about the use of Greenland for collective defense are \u201cin a good place,\u201d though he declined to publicly discuss the details.<\/p>\n
McBride had asked Rubio if he shares Trump\u2019s belief that the U.S. needs to own land within NATO to defend it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe president\u2019s view is that it\u2019s a lot easier to defend it when you have control and complete control of it,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cWe are obviously having conversations with both Denmark and Greenland. They are ongoing on a monthly basis now. I think we\u2019ll have pretty good news.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abelardo de la Espriella thanks Trump for endorsement, predicts stronger US-Colombia ties<\/p>\n
Colombian lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, who pulled ahead in the first round of Colombia\u2019s presidential race<\/a>, on Wednesday thanked Trump for endorsing his campaign, saying he predicts stronger bilateral ties if the conservative defeats progressive Iv\u00e1n Cepeda in the presidential runoff.<\/p>\nWriting on the Truth Social platform the previous day, Trump offered his \u201ccomplete and total endorsement\u201d for de la Espriella, calling him an \u201cintelligent, strong, and tough leader\u201d who will take on a \u201cradical leftist Marxist\u201d in the June 21 runoff election.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith my head held high and my heart throbbing with patriotic gratitude, I receive your words and your steadfast support,\u201d de la Espriella, known as \u201cEl Tigre\u201d or \u201cThe Tiger,\u201d wrote on the social platform X. \u201cThank you, Mr. President!\u201d<\/p>\n
Tillis asks Bessent about his fisticuffs with Pulte<\/p>\n
During the Senate Finance Committee hearing, Sen. Thom Tillis asked Bessent about his past reported conflicts with Bill Pulte, the current head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Trump picked Pulte for director of national intelligence.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you actually tell Bill Pulte you were going to punch him in the face?\u201d the North Carolina Republican asked Bessent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually said I was gonna kick his ass,\u201d Bessent said. \u201cThat was last summer, the summer of \u201925.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tillis has stated he doesn\u2019t support Pulte for the intelligence role.<\/p>\n
Rubio says Venezuela transition progressing well, but needs more time<\/p>\n
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Venezuela\u2019s transition to democracy is progressing but needs more time to consolidate and advance the reforms it has made since the U.S. ouster of former President Nicolas Maduro in early January.<\/p>\n
In response to questions from lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Rubio stressed that it had only been five months since Maduro had been deposed and that conditions for free and fair elections \u2013 including the creation of independent media and political parties \u2013 are still works in progress. Rubio did say that Venezuela\u2019s oil revenue had increased significantly under U.S. supervision since January.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not where it needs to be, but it is a long ways from where it was five months ago and poses not nearly the threat it once posed to America\u2019s national security. We\u2019re not satisfied with where it is, but we\u2019ve come a long way,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n
House Speaker says Trump wants US allies to help reopen Hormuz<\/p>\n
Speaker Mike Johnson said he spent three hours at the White House with the president, Vance and Rubio, as Trump is working on \u201cthat final piece\u201d to reopen commerce.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am, all of us, are calling on our allied nations and friends \u2014 the Arab states in the region, and NATO partners and everyone else,\u201d the Republican told reporters at the Capitol about the Monday meeting. \u201cThe entire world has an interest in the Strait of Hormuz being reopened for commerce. That\u2019s what he\u2019s working on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson also defended the president for suggesting the war\u2019s unpopularity and the resulting high gas prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections aren\u2019t impacting his decision-making. The speaker said Trump, who fielded phone calls from reporters during the lengthy meeting, is \u201claser focused\u201d on domestic issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During his second day of testimony on Capitol Hill, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hopes that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[32],"tags":[1101,197,196,93,81,47039,782,200,771,82],"class_list":["post-144311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lebanon","tag-ap","tag-general-news","tag-iran-war","tag-lebanon","tag-politics","tag-trump-elections-tariffs","tag-u-s-news","tag-war-and-unrest","tag-washington-news","tag-world-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116688346417258552","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}