What to know today
- President Donald Trump has landed in Saudi Arabia on the first leg of his first major foreign trip of his second term. He next heads to Qatar and then the United Arab Emirates.
- The United States and China agreed to a 90-day pause on most of the tariffs they have imposed on each other since last month, a big step toward easing the trade war between the two countries.
- Trump signed an executive order that aims to lower prescription drug prices, and discussed the measure at a news conference with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Trump mocked Democratic backlash over his administration's decision to accept a Boeing super luxury jet, estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, from Qatar to use as Air Force One.
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Trump arrives in Saudi Arabia on first major trip
Trump landed at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, shortly before 10 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET), beginning his visit to the kingdom and the first planned trip of his second term.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will greet Trump and escort him to a coffee ceremony.
This is the second time Trump has chosen Saudi Arabia for his first planned overseas trip as U.S. president, and bin Salman was also the first foreign leader to hold a call with Trump this term.
Trump will later travel to the Royal Court for an arrival ceremony with bin Salman, an introduction of the delegations, a coffee service in the ceremonial blue room, a lunch with business leaders, bilateral meetings and an agreement signing.
The four-day Middle East trip will also take Trump to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
While pushing ‘America First,’ Trump set to accept Qatar’s luxury jet as Air Force One
In Trump’s vision, he’s set to usher in an American “golden age” in which the nation makes more of the world’s goods and sells more of its products.
But when it comes to the president’s personal travel, he’s ready to ditch the old 747 known as Air Force One in favor of a luxe jet that the royal family of Qatar, a tiny yet rich Arab country nearly 7,000 miles away, wants to gift to the U.S.
The image of the ‘America First’ president floating above the clouds in Qatari splendor doesn’t sit well with some of the MAGA faithful, much less the good government groups who warn the deal may run afoul of the constitutional clause that bars gifts from foreign nations absent congressional approval.
“That’s a pretty strange offer,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. said.
NBC News senior national security correspondent Courtney Kube discusses the security implications of Trump potentially using a jet gifted by the Qataris. NBC News foreign affairs analyst Dennis Ross lays out the backdrop of Trump’s first foreign trip, to Saudi Arabia, of his second term.
Trump's jet gift from Qatar gets mixed reactions from Senate Republicans
Senate Republicans offered varying responses to news of Qatar’s plan to gift Trump a jet, which the administration said it intends to use as Air Force One.
While no GOP senator said that Trump should outright reject the gift, descriptions ranged from “strange” to "transparent."
“That’s a pretty strange offer,” Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said. “Pretty unusual.”
Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis said “they better sweep that plane from front to back” when asked about potential security concerns surrounding the jet.
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa avoided commenting on the ethics of the gift but said that he’s ridden on Air Force One and “there’s plenty quality there for the next 50 years.”
Others defended the donation.
Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy compared the jet to France gifting the U.S. the Statue of Liberty, and Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma questioned why it was a big deal, adding that other countries have given gifts to the U.S. before.
“Put a vote on it, we’ll approve it…if it has to be, we’ll approve it. I have no problem with it,” Mullin added.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis defended the donation in aviation terms.
“Well, it’s pretty transparent. So it’s not like it’s going underneath the radar here now is it?”
Senate votes to confirm former Fox News contributor Monica Crowley for State Department role
The Senate voted 52-45 along party lines to confirm former Fox News contributor Monica Crowley as chief of protocol at the State Department.
Trump said when he nominated Crowley that she would serve as his administration's representative for major U.S.-hosted events, including the country's 250th Birthday and the FIFA World Cup — both next year — as well as the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
Crowley served during Trump's first term as assistant secretary for public affairs at the Treasury Department.
Trump has named more than a dozen Fox News personalities to serve in top roles, including his announcement last week that he had picked Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as the top federal prosecutor for Washington, D.C., on an interim basis.
Episcopal Church says it won't help resettle Afrikaner refugees in U.S.
The head of the Episcopal Church wrote in a letter today that it will not help resettle white South Africans who the Trump administration brought to the U.S. today as refugees.
“In light of our church’s steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we are not able to take this step,” Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe wrote in the letter, adding that the church will end its refugee resettlement grant agreements with the U.S. government by the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30.
Rowe added that he is “saddened and ashamed” and “grieve[s]” that refugees denied protection in the U.S. include Iraqi and Afghan allies who helped the U.S. military, and victims of religious persecution, including Christians.
“It has been painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years,” Rowe wrote.
Vice President JD Vance responded to news of the church’s decision not to help, writing on X, “Crazy.”
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s arrest could shake up New Jersey’s Democratic primary for governor
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s arrest last week at a federal immigration detention facility could shake up the New Jersey governor’s race, as Baraka looks to appeal to progressive Democratic voters to win the crowded primary.
Baraka is one of six Democrats on the June 10 primary ballot, and he has been campaigning for months as an unapologetic progressive but has been vastly outspent spreading that message on the airwaves. His arrest Friday at the facility, known as Delaney Hall, could boost his profile just as Democratic voters look for a candidate willing to fight Trump.
“We’re fighting to uphold the Constitution the United States,” Baraka told supporters on a call with a coalition of progressive groups this evening. “We’re fighting to uphold democracy that every single person deserves due process.”
LaVar Young, who chairs the pro-Baraka super PAC One New Jersey United, said Baraka’s arrest shows “there’s only been one candidate that’s really been putting action behind his words.”
Trump endorses Jack Ciattarelli in New Jersey governor’s race
Trump today endorsed Republican Jack Ciattarelli in the New Jersey governor’s race, cementing the frontrunner in a contested primary.
“Jack, who after getting to know and understand MAGA, has gone ALL IN, and is now 100% (PLUS!),” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “He is strongly supported by the most Highly Respected Leaders in New Jersey and, as your next Governor, Jack Ciattarelli will work closely with me and the Trump Administration to advance our America First Agenda.”
Trump compared Ciattarelli to the other candidates by arguing he “is the Republican Candidate who is best positioned to STAND TALL against the Radical Left Democrats and, most importantly, ensure a Big Victory in this Very Important Gubernatorial Election.”
Ciattarelli’s top competition for the GOP nomination has been former radio host Bill Spadea, who has cast himself as the true Trump ally in the race. Spadea’s campaign has not responded to a request for comment on Trump’s endorsement.
DNC panel recommends redo of vote that elevated David Hogg to vice chair after procedural concerns
A Democratic National Committee subcommittee on Monday recommended that the organization invalidate one of its February vice-chair votes over claims that it unfairly disadvantaged female candidates.
The move, which won’t be official unless the entire DNC votes to approve it, could open up new races for the positions held by David Hogg, a Florida activist, and Malcolm Kenyatta, a Pennsylvania state legislator.
New Jersey Democrats who tried to tour ICE facility call arrest threats an act of intimidation
Rep. LaMonica McIver, one of the New Jersey lawmakers at the ICE detention facility in Newark last week when the city's mayor was arrested, called threats to arrest them an act of intimidation.
“You know, I’ve heard so many things about us being arrested, how they’re going to press charges, and it is just honestly the sign of intimidation, political intimidation, when we are simply doing our jobs,” McIver said during a call today hosted by the Working Families Party.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin over the weekend said arresting the lawmakers was “definitely on the table.”
Rep. Robert Menendez, Jr., another lawmaker present at the ICE detention center known as Delaney Hall on Friday, echoed McIver’s remarks on the call.
“They put their hands on two members of Congress in broad daylight," he said. "They were 20 armed individuals deep...so if that’s not an act of intimidation, I don’t know what is. Distorting the facts before we even walked out of Delaney Hall, is an act of intimidation to try to silence folks.”
