Political Wire (original) (raw)
Bloomberg: “Explaining his decision to agree to an interim peace deal, Trump repeated his insistence that the country would never get a nuclear weapon. Yet he went on to suggest that Iran should have the right to enrich uranium, be allowed to develop ballistic missiles and get access to billions of dollars in frozen funds.”
“Those three things have been at the center of the debate around how to approach Iran for years, dating to the 2015 agreement that the US, under President Barack Obama, and other great powers signed with Iran to limit its nuclear program.”
“Not only that: Trump had repeatedly cited those issues as reasons why Obama and past presidents had failed so badly in containing the threat posed by the regime in Tehran.”
Wall Street Journal: “Thune has had to deliver a series of unwelcome news to Trump. Before they agreed to pass a recent 70billionborder−securitypackage,SenateRepublicansrejectedfundingforTrump’sWhiteHouseballroomandforcedtheadministrationtoscratcha70 billion border-security package, Senate Republicans rejected funding for Trump’s White House ballroom and forced the administration to scratch a 70billionborder−securitypackage,SenateRepublicansrejectedfundingforTrump’sWhiteHouseballroomandforcedtheadministrationtoscratcha1.8 billion fund that could have been used to compensate Trump’s political allies. Also, lawmakers loudly objected to Pulte in the role as interim director, saying he lacked national-security experience and airing concern that he would politicize the position.”
“Trump has privately complained about Thune—in particular about his inability to pass the stalled SAVE America Act—but he personally likes him, according to White House officials. While Trump harps on the bill, he hasn’t criticized Thune publicly. Nor has he called for the removal of Thune as leader. Such a move would trigger a revolt from members, one Republican senator warned.”
Just published: The Department of Revenge: How Trump Took Control of American Justice by Devlin Barrett.
“No part of life in the United States has been untouched by Donald Trump’s relentless weaponization of the Justice Department. This is a cautionary tale about how, once a president amasses such power, future presidents may never relinquish it.”
“President Trump’s agreement with Iran opened new fissures in his party on Wednesday, with Republicans on Capitol Hill and beyond questioning whether his administration had secured adequate concessions from Iranian leaders after months of a costly and unpopular war,” the New York Times reports.
“After the Trump administration released the text of the arrangement on Wednesday, some Senate Republicans reacted with fierce criticism, skepticism and alarm. Prominent members of the GOP’s old guard from outside Congress also sounded dubious notes. And even some of president’s allies in the conservative news media voiced concern.”
“New York Knicks owner James Dolan said Wednesday that the team will be the first NBA champion to visit President Donald Trump at the White House after the team accepted an invitation,” NOTUS reports.
“Israelis from across the political spectrum reacted angrily Monday to the news of an initial deal between the U.S. and Iran, calling it a disaster for Israel and directing their fury at one man: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” the Associated Press reports.
“President Donald Trump signed an interim deal to end the war with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, speeding up the timeline for the agreement to go into effect despite blowback from Republicans who said it amounted to a victory for Tehran,” Bloomberg reports.
“The so-called memorandum of understanding is now in effect, a US official said. It was unclear if Iran had immediately begun taking steps to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.”
“President Trump settled a $100 million lawsuit against his niece, Mary Trump, for her part in leaking his confidential information to The New York Times as part of a bombshell investigation into the president’s tax filings,” NOTUS reports.
New York Times: “When the text of the deal intended to wind down the conflict was finally released on Wednesday, read aloud paragraph by paragraph by a senior administration official who stopped to defend each section, it read nothing like a surrender document. Instead, the Iranians emerged from a confrontation with the world’s most powerful military having not only survived, but with much to celebrate.”
“It starts with the resumption of Tehran’s ability to reap billions of dollars in oil sales, lifting pressure on the struggling regime even as negotiators prepare to begin haggling over a far more lengthy and critical document: the one Mr. Trump insisted in an interview on Sunday will arrest Iran’s nuclear program for the next 15 or 20 years.”
“President Trump may be trying to wind down his conflict with Iran, but he is escalating his war with Senate Republicans,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Trump blindsided his supposed allies in the Senate on Wednesday with a rocket of a social media post from across the Atlantic, tying together a host of his pet peeves about the Senate while yanking his new nominee for national intelligence director from his confirmation hearing just hours before it was to occur.”
“It was an extraordinary move from a president whose own party controls the chamber, but just the latest sign of a major rupture between Mr. Trump and G.O.P. senators as the midterm elections approach.”
Politico: Trump escalates his war on Senate Republicans — and senators are striking back.
“Reagan is rolling over in his grave. Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future. Now, Iran gets to build brand-new infrastructure under this deal.”
— Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), in a statement.
“President Trump on Wednesday defended letting Iran maintain its large arsenal of ballistic missiles when discussing the emerging deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz,” NewsNation reports.
Said Trump: “I mean, they have to have some, because other people have some. You got to have some.”
He added: “Well, what am I going to do? Am I going to let Saudi Arabia have missiles, but they can’t have them? Doesn’t work that way, you know, it doesn’t work that way, and missiles aren’t the problem. Missiles, they hurt a little location, but they don’t blow up the planet.”
“Bill Pulte, a close ally of President Trump’s, appears set to take over as the acting director of national intelligence on Friday, despite deep opposition on Capitol Hill and apprehension inside the nation’s spy agencies,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Pulte has used his current post as a top federal housing official to help with Mr. Trump’s campaign of retribution against his perceived enemies. Lawmakers are worried that Mr. Pulte could find ways to weaponize the spy office even in just a few days on the job.”
“Congress turned down President Donald Trump’s request for funding for his modernization efforts at the White House – mainly out of concern that he would tap taxpayer dollars for his proposed ballroom,” NOTUS reports.
“Now, the president is turning to a pot of money Congress approved last year for the U.S. Secret Service.”
Matt Viser: “Workers on the National Mall, desperate to turn the Reflecting Pool to President Trump’s preferred shade of blue, poured jug after jug of hydrogen peroxide into the water yesterday morning. As they did so, members of the National Guard, deployed to clean up crime, looked on. The water, at that moment, matched their mossy-green fatigues.”
“The Reflecting Pool now evokes the joy of a Green Bay Packers victory. Or a high-school prank. Or St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago. It most certainly is not the gleaming American-flag blue that Trump’s repainting of the pool was supposed to produce.”
“That project—the one that cost taxpayers at least $16.4 million and came with a nanobubbling system that promised to kill off algae growth—is hidden under 18 to 30 inches of swamp water dense with scraggly plumes of algae.”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a high-profile critic of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, said he is “kicking the tires” on a 2028 presidential bid and is pushing for “dramatic change” in Washington, NOTUS reports.
Said Van Hollen: “If you are asking me whether I think Democrats need to shake things up, you bet I do. It’s pretty clear operating that from within the confines or the halls of Congress is not a successful recipe for actually getting change.”
“Iran and Oman will define how the Strait of Hormuz is administered in discussion with other Persian Gulf states under the agreement to end the war in the Middle East, senior U.S. officials told reporters Wednesday,” CNBC reports.
President Trump’s nominee to serve as a top independent watchdog at the Department of Justice refused to call the January 6 insurrection an “attack” during questioning by senators, The Guardian reports.