Political Wire (original) (raw)
Vice President JD Vance has emerged as President Trump’s chief salesman for the new U.S.-Iran deal.
Just as notable is who hasn’t joined him: Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
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Tom Nichols: “Donald Trump arrived in France yesterday for this morning’s G7 summit and promptly confirmed America’s capitulation to Iran.”
“Instead of merely repeating the outlines of what looks to be a terrible peace deal, however, Trump made a series of statements so bizarre, even by his usual standards, that they raise the question of whether the president still understands the words that come out of his own mouth.”
“Ronald Reagan National Airport will be closed to flight traffic after noon on the Fourth of July, the local airports authority announced on Tuesday, as it warned would-be passengers to brace for several interruptions during the Trump administration’s planned events surrounding the nation’s 250th birthday,” the New York Times reports.
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“Rep. Mike Collins (R) is projected to defeat former college football coach Derek Dooley in the Senate Republican runoff to take on Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) in Georgia this fall,” according to Decision Desk HQ.
“Collins’s victory is a major win for President Trump, who issued a last-minute endorsement for the staunch ally over the weeekend.”
Axios: “The deal is expected to allow Iran to sell oil freely during a 60-day negotiating window, while opening the door to broader sanctions relief, access to frozen funds and a potential $300 billion rebuilding investment fund if a final nuclear agreement is reached.”
“Critics argue that after shredding the 2015 nuclear deal in his first term, Trump is now following the same playbook — unfreezing cash in exchange for nuclear concessions — while potentially going a step further with the rebuilding fund.”
“Trump administration officials are discussing ideas to kick-start oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, including a plan that would offer a fee-based ‘VIP pass’ naval escort through the waterway,” Politico reports.
“President Donald Trump and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles have called for ideas to convince ship owners to take the risk of transiting the strait as the United States and Iran continue peace talks, said two energy industry officials familiar with the talks. The discussions so far have centered on ways to convince insurance companies to offer coverage to travel through a narrow waterway in which Iran has successfully attacked vessels.”
“The cryptocurrency industry’s biggest bet of the midterm election cycle so far has flown mostly under the radar,” the New York Times reports.
“It has been placed in Alabama, where a group tied to the main crypto super PAC, Fairshake, has spent 9.8milliononadstotrytoelectapro−cryptoRepublicancongressman,BarryMoore,accordingtodatafromthemediatrackingfirmAdImpact.Fairshakesaiditstotalspendingintherace,includingonthingslikedirectmail,cameto9.8 million on ads to try to elect a pro-crypto Republican congressman, Barry Moore, according to data from the media tracking firm AdImpact. Fairshake said its total spending in the race, including on things like direct mail, came to 9.8milliononadstotrytoelectapro−cryptoRepublicancongressman,BarryMoore,accordingtodatafromthemediatrackingfirmAdImpact.Fairshakesaiditstotalspendingintherace,includingonthingslikedirectmail,cameto12.1 million.”
New York Times: “Mr. Trump’s sensitivity is easy to understand. He campaigned against the Obama-era deal as far back as 2015, and ultimately killed it during his first term over the objections of many of his top national security aides. At the time, he had a long list of complaints about its failings. The 2015 accord ‘lifted crippling economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for very weak limits on the regime’s nuclear activity,’ Mr. Trump said in a 2018 speech, and ‘no limits at all on its other malign behavior,’ especially its support of terror activities around the Middle East.”
“Many of Mr. Trump’s critiques were justified, and often shared by Democrats. But now, Mr. Trump is caught in what could best be described as the Obama-deal bind.”
Voters cast their ballots in three states and the District of Columbia today, including a high-profile runoff race to take on Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff and GOP runoffs in the Georgia governor’s race and the Alabama Senate race.
New York Times: “The top race of the day is in Georgia, where Republican voters will pick a nominee in a primary runoff to challenge Senator Jon Ossoff, who had been considered the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent going into the midterm elections but has proved to be a formidable fund-raiser and popular candidate.”
Polls close at 7 p.m. ET in Georgia and Alabama and at 8 p.m. ET in Washington, D.C.
Leave your reactions in the comments as results come in.
“An affordable housing bill limiting how many single-family homes major investors can buy is poised to be signed into law before the end of the month after key lawmakers in the House and Senate reached an agreement Tuesday,” CNBC reports.
“The bill, which is focused on increasing the supply of homes, would not include a controversial provision requiring major investors to sell any housing units they build within seven years, but would cap the number of single-family homes they could buy at 350.”
“The U.S. will allow Iran to immediately begin selling oil and fuel under the deal to end the war, offering Tehran an early financial incentive to wind down the conflict,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
New York Times: “The near shutdown in oil and gas deliveries from the Middle East and the leap in prices are causing a shift in power. Energy producers from the Gulf to the Americas are jockeying to maintain or increase their dominance, and customers are struggling to reduce their dependency and shore up their supply.”
“As a result, the energy market is changing, the energy mix is changing and the energy players are changing.”
New York Times: “Europe’s alliance with the United States may still be on the rocks, but on the first full day of a Group of 7 summit meeting at this Alpine spa town in France, the leaders showed they remained ready to behave politely toward Mr. Trump.”
“For all the sharp elbows of the last year, they appear to have concluded that the best way to deal with a disruptive president is to court him, particularly since they still hope to engage the United States on thorny issues like the war in Ukraine.”
“A $300 billion private fund designed to trigger investment into Iran is outlined in the U.S.-Iran framework agreement and more than half that sum has already been committed,” Reuters reports.
“The fund is designed to give both sides an economic incentive to conclude a final deal.”
Coming soon: No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA).
Sinclair Lewis is said to have warned: “When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.” On January 6, 2021, Rep. Jared Huffman saw something chillingly close to that vision.
“Between July and September, thousands of Transportation Security Administration supervisors, in cohorts no bigger than 24, are set to fly from all over the country to Nevada or Georgia and stay overnight in a hotel for a special training on advanced threat detection,” NOTUS reports.
“The training is only four hours.”
“An internally shared schedule for the training has confused TSA officials as to why the agency is requiring in-person attendance for such a short seminar, and left current and former employees questioning whether the decision runs afoul of the Trump administration’s efficiency goals.”
“Many of the hawkish conservatives who rushed to President Trump’s defense at the beginning of the war with Iran now fear he is at risk of losing at the negotiating table, emboldening Tehran and setting back joint U.S.-Israeli interests in the process,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Early details, such as reports that a preliminary peace deal could eventually unlock billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds, have turned once loyal allies into critics. They worry the deal doesn’t do enough to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions and offers economic relief to Tehran that could allow the regime to rebuild its missile arsenal. Some Trump allies have expressed frustration in recent days that the administration hadn’t yet released the text of the agreement the president announced Sunday.”
Kamala Harris told CNN that President Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Iran, which is set to be formally signed on Friday, is nothing more than a “concept of an agreement.”