Highlights from May 16, 2025
- President Donald Trump, who returned to the U.S. today, ended his Middle East trip after inking a massive AI data center project with the United Arab Emirates. Before departing, Trump said the U.S. has submitted a nuclear proposal to Iran, without offering details, while Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said there is "no scenario" in which Tehran would abandon its nuclear program.
- Conservatives on the House Budget Committee rejected a sweeping budget package aimed at advancing Trump's agenda in a setback for Republican leadership. The panel will take up the bill again on Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.
- The Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, said the Trump administration must give Venezuelans it claims are gang members more time to raise legal obligations before deporting them to El Salvador.
- Moody's Ratings slashed the United States' credit rating to Aa1 from the highest triple A, citing the budgetary burden the government faces amid high interest rates.
House Oversight Committee will continue investigation into 'Cover-Up of Biden's Mental Decline'
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer, R-KY, announced the committee will continue its investigation into the "Cover-Up of Biden’s Mental Decline & Use of Autopen."
In the release, Comer said those "involved in the cover-up" will be put on “notice” starting next week. The release mentioned three White House aides the chairman subpoenaed in July of last year and Attorney General Merrick Garland for not releasing the Hur recordings.
"There are serious concerns that President Biden lacked the mental capacity to authorize those actions. The American people are done being lied to. We’re going to bring the truth into the light, and starting next week, those involved in the cover-up will begin to be put on notice," wrote Comer.
Netanyahu is the odd man out in Trump’s Middle East trip
As Trump hopscotched around the Middle East this week, he was the star of elaborate ceremonies, announced new U.S. policies and unveiled billions of dollars in new economic partnerships.
He even visited a mosque, remarking on the pride for he felt for “my friends” as he took in its beauty. “This is an incredible culture,” Trump said.
But one omission on the trip became more glaring with each stop: Israel.
Tensions between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were already bubbling up before the president spent the week visiting three of America’s key Arab allies: Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
By the end of the trip on Friday, Trump seemed to put further strain on the relationship. He had spent the past few days meeting with Syria’s new leader — a former al Qaeda leader the U.S. had put a $10 million bounty on — and announced he was lifting sanctions on the country in a move Israel opposed but one that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia had urged the president to take.
Trump admin permits sale of device that allows standard firearms to fire like machine guns
The Trump Administration has decided to permit the sale of devices that enable standard firearms to fire like machine guns, a move that one person familiar with the matter said was “by far the most dangerous thing this administration has done” on gun policy.
The Justice Department on Friday announced a settlement in a lawsuit brought by the National Association for Gun Rights. The lawsuit challenged an ATF rule banning “forced reset triggers” — devices that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire a rapid burst of bullets.
“This Department of Justice believes that the 2nd Amendment is not a second-class right,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “And we are glad to end a needless cycle of litigation with a settlement that will enhance public safety.”
Audio of interview confirms Biden memory lapses
Newly released audio of a special counsel interviewing then-President Joe Biden confirms memory lapses that White House officials denied at the time, including a president clearly struggling to remember the year his oldest son died.
Even after the transcript was released, Biden aides, including then White House spokesman Ian Sams, insisted that the president did not forget the year that his son, Beau, died of brain cancer. The audio shows that Biden struggled to remember the year and had to be prompted by his lawyers, who were sitting in the interview with him.
The recording of the interview was first released by Axios.
Sams did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
White House points to Biden administration after Moody’s downgrades United States’ credit rating
The White House today laid blame on the Biden administration in response to Moody’s Ratings downgrading the United States’ sovereign credit rating.
"The Trump administration and Republicans are focused on fixing Biden’s mess by slashing the waste, fraud, and abuse in government and passing The One, Big, Beautiful Bill to get our house back in order," White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement today regarding the downgrade. “If Moody’s had any credibility, they would not have stayed silent as the fiscal disaster of the past four years unfolded.”
The ratings agency today lowered the U.S. credit rating from Aaa to Aa1 on its 21-notch rating scale.
The agency attributed the downgrade in a statement to "the increase over more than a decade in government debt and interest payment ratios to levels" that it said were "significantly higher" than sovereigns with similar ratings.
Moody’s initially signaled concerns in 2023, when it changed the U.S. credit rating outlook from stable to negative over the deficit and political polarization.
Trump attorneys draw judge’s ire by saying ‘state secrets’ keep them from sharing details on Abrego Garcia’s return
In a contentious court hearing today, Trump administration attorneys argued before a federal judge in Maryland that they should be allowed to withhold information regarding efforts to facilitate the return of a Salvadoran man to the United States.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia remains in the Salvadoran prison system despite orders from a federal judge and the Supreme Court calling for the government to facilitate his return to the United States.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said the government’s refusal to provide certain information in the case has been “an exercise in utter frustration.” In a back-and-forth that has continued for weeks, Xinis has ordered the administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s release and provide documentation on what steps it has taken, if any, to comply with that order.
Government lawyers said the administration has not been able to answer questions about Abrego Garcia’s case because that information would be considered protected under “state secrets” or “deliberative process” privileges that should not be shared with the public.
Trump calls nuclear war 'the N word' when talking about India-Pakistan conflict
During remarks on last week's ceasefire between India and Pakistan, Trump said that the two countries were headed toward a nuclear war, which he called “the N word.”
“Those are major nuclear powers … And the next phase was probably, did you see where it was getting?” Trump asked Bret Baier during a taped interview with Fox News that aired tonight. “The next one is going to be, you know what the N word? You know the N word is, right?”
“Nuclear,” Baier responded. “Thank you for the clarification.”
“It’s the N word. It’s a very nasty word, right? In a lot of ways, the N word used in a nuclear sense, that’s the worst thing that can happen,” Trump said.
Secret Service interviewing former FBI Director James Comey tonight
Former FBI Director James Comey was interviewed by the Secret Service tonight, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
A law enforcement official told NBC News ahead the interview that the discussion was taking place at a Secret Service field office.
Noem, who’s agency oversees the Secret Service, said that interview focused on a now-deleted Instagram post by Comey that several U.S. officials condemned as a threat to Trump.
“I will continue to take all measures necessary to ensure the protection of @POTUS Trump. This is an ongoing investigation,” Noem wrote on X.
Comey’s attorney — David Kelley — declined to comment earlier this evening.
Comey's Instagram post, which depicted seashells arranged to form "8647" had been interpreted by some Trump allies as calling for someone to "eighty-six," or "get rid of," Trump, the 47th president. Comey has denied the accusation and said he thought the phrase was a "political message."
Democrats and Republicans have previously used the phrase "eighty-six" in a political context, including Trump's one-time attorney general pick Matt Gaetz.
A spokesperson for the Secret Service said yesterday the agency “vigorously investigates anything that can be taken as a potential threat against our protectees.”
Moody’s downgrades U.S. credit rating due to increase in government debt
Moody’s Ratings slashed the United State’s credit rating down a notch to Aa1 from the highest triple A today, citing the budgetary burden the government faces amid high interest rates.
“This one-notch downgrade on our 21-notch rating scale reflects the increase over more than a decade in government debt and interest payment ratios to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns,” the ratings agency said in a statement.
The U.S. is running a massive budget deficit as interest costs for Treasury debt continued to rise due to a combination of higher interest rates and more debt to finance. The fiscal deficit totaled $1.05 trillion year to date, 13% higher than a year ago. The influx in tariffs helped shave some of the imbalance last month, however.
Moody’s had been a holdout in keeping U.S. sovereign debt at the highest credit rating possible, and brings the 116-year-old agency into line with its rivals. Standard & Poor’s downgraded the U.S. to AA+ from AAA in August 2011, and Fitch Ratings also cut the U.S. rating to AA+ from AAA, in August 2023.
Supreme Court rules administration must give Venezuelans more time to challenge deportation under Alien Enemies Act
The Supreme Court today dealt a blow against the Trump administration’s attempt to send Venezuelans it says are gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador, saying the detainees must have a proper chance to raise legal objections.
The 7-2 decision, which grants a request made by a group of Venezuelans, clarified an unusual order issued by the justices in the early hours of April 19 that hit pause on any government plans to deport people held in northern Texas.
The justices in the latest unsigned decision faulted the administration for only giving the detainees 24 hours to launch legal challenges.
“Under these circumstances, notice roughly 24 hours before removal, devoid of information about how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal, surely does not pass muster,” the ruling said.
