What to know today
- The Supreme Court allowed reductions in force and reorganizations at almost two dozen departments and agencies across the federal government to move forward while the appeals process in the case is underway.
- President Donald Trump spoke to reporters about the difficulties in reaching a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire, the recent strikes on Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities and the deadline for other countries to avoid paying U.S. tariffs in wide-ranging remarks at a Cabinet meeting today.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was at the White House today to talk with Trump about efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza after they discussed that issue and the strikes on Iran yesterday. Netanyahu visited Capitol Hill earlier today.
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Republican senator suggests Putin should be tried as a war criminal and hanged
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., indicated to reporters tonight that Putin should be put on trial by the International Criminal Court and put to death.
“As far as I’m concerned,” Putin “can be tried at The Hague and hung by the neck," Marshall said as he talked about the prospects of a sanctions bill targeting Russia. "You know, I’m tired of dealing with him. So he didn’t respond to a carrot, so now we’re going to have to give him a kick.”
The International Criminal Court, based at The Hague, issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023. The court does not use the death penalty.
Democratic and Republican senators push for Russia sanctions bill
Senators from both parties voiced their support tonight for sanctions legislation targeting Russia and Putin.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who is a co-sponsor of a Russia sanctions bill, told NBC News that legislation should be coming to the floor for a vote “very soon.”
“It’s going to be a really tough, bone-crushing message to Vladimir Putin, the United States is standing by Ukraine, and you will pay consequences economically,” he said.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said, “We need to follow the president’s lead.”
Trump expressed frustration with Putin today, telling reporters, “We get a lot of bulls--- thrown at us by Putin,” and “He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.” Trump also said he might support a Russia sanctions bill.
Marshall said, “I’ve been pushing for more sanctions since before Russia invaded Ukraine, and if the president’s not making any progress, which it doesn’t seem, he seems to be, then I’d probably be OK going forward with, with more.”
"There’s a lot more that needs to be done” in the way of sanctions, he said.
Supreme Court won't take up case of Seattle police officers seeking anonymity in case tied to Jan. 6
The Supreme Court has decided not to weigh in on a case involving Seattle police officers who attended Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 6, 2021.
In a ruling by King County Superior Court of Washington and affirmed by the Washington State Court of Appeals, four former and current Seattle police officers were ordered to refile their lawsuit regarding public record requests under their true names. The officers want to remain anonymous as John Does.
Justice Elena Kagan, who handles emergency requests from that region, denied their application.
The issue at the heart of the case is whether the officers have a right to stay anonymous in public documents. The two lower courts ruled that they can be identified. But the officers argue that they did nothing wrong and that identifying them would violate their right to privacy.
The Seattle Police Department ordered an investigation following the Jan. 6 riot into whether officers who attended the rally violated the law. The investigation found that two officers — who are not plaintiffs in this suit — crossed a police barrier in violation of the law. But it found that three officers did not violate the law and that the probe involving the fourth officer was “inconclusive,” The Associated Press reported.
Netanyahu to meet with Hegseth tomorrow
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will meet with Netanyahu at the Pentagon tomorrow morning, the Defense Department announced.
Hegseth attended a dinner at the White House last night with Trump, Netanyahu and other U.S. and Israeli officials.
Trump’s tariff deadline delay brings hope and confusion to trade partners and businesses
Trump’s latest tariff delay provided some hope to major trade partners Japan, South Korea and the European Union that deals to ease duties could still be reached while bewildering some smaller exporters, such as South Africa, and leaving companies with no clarity about the path forward.
Trump’s form letters informing 14 countries of planned tariff rates of 25% to 40% provided what he called a final warning about his “reciprocal” tariffs and pushed back tomorrow's previous deadline to Aug. 1, a date he said today was final, declaring: “No extensions will be granted.”
The move reflects Trump’s frustration with trade negotiations that are proving lengthier and more complicated than the “90 deals in 90 days” that he expected, trade experts and administration officials say.
Trump , who announced a 50% tariff on imported copper today and said long-threatened levies on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals were coming soon, said he has long favored simple tariffs over tedious trade talks that often involve red lines for some countries and their own requests for U.S. concessions.
Supreme Court allows mass federal layoffs to move forward
The Supreme Court will allow reductions in force and reorganizations at almost two dozen departments and agencies across the federal government to move forward while the appeals process is underway.
The justices made it clear the order is not about the legality of any individual decisions — only the legality of Trump’s executive order and the White House memo related to RIFs and reorganizations.
No decision breakdown was provided. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only justice to provide a dissenting opinion.
“In my view, this was the wrong decision at the wrong moment, especially given what little this Court knows about what is actually happening on the ground,” she wrote. “This case is about whether that action amounts to a structural overhaul that usurps Congress’s policymaking prerogatives—and it is hard to imagine deciding that question in any meaningful way after those changes have happened. Yet, for some reason, this Court sees fit to step in now and release the President’s wrecking ball at the outset of this litigation.”
“In my view,” Jackson wrote, “this decision is not only truly unfortunate but also hubristic and senseless.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor concurred with the majority.
“I agree with Justice Jackson that the President cannot restructure federal agencies in a manner inconsistent with congressional mandates,” Sotomayor writes. “The plans themselves are not before this Court, at this stage, and we thus have no occasion to consider whether they can and will be carried out consistent with the constraints of law. I join the Court’s stay because it leaves the District Court free to consider those questions in the first instance.”
In February, Trump signed an executive order called “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative,” in which he ordered sweeping cuts to the federal workforce. A subsequent memo from the White House told agencies to prepare for the cuts.
A federal judge in California in May paused the administration’s efforts to downsize the government. The government appealed that decision with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
It’s not clear how many workers the decision will affect.
AI voice used to impersonate Marco Rubio in messages to high-level officials, State Department says
An unknown person or group using artificial intelligence impersonated Secretary of State Marco Rubio to contact at least five high-level government officials in mid-June, according to a State Department cable obtained by NBC News.
The Washington Post first reported the cable.
“The actor likely aimed to manipulate targeted individuals using Al-generated text and voice messages, with the goal of gaining access to information or accounts,” the memo said.
The fake Rubio contacted at least three foreign ministers, a U.S. governor and a member of Congress, the cable said. It sent at least one of the targets a text message urging the target to speak on Signal and sent Signal voice messages to at least two of them.
Trump calls for 200% tariffs on drugs and 50% on copper
Trump said he plans to impose a tariff of up to 200% on imports of pharmaceuticals and a 50% tariff on copper-based goods.
The copper tariffs would come first, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on CNBC.
“Copper [tariffs] will be set, likely to be put into place [at] the end of July, maybe Aug. 1,” Lutnick said, adding that Trump would post about the action on Truth Social this afternoon.
Earlier today, Trump said drug companies would have a year and a half to prepare for 200% duties that would go into effect on their products.
Stocks were largely unchanged today, with some analysts suggesting investors have grown accustomed to Trump’s shifting trade proposals and will react only when their impacts become clearer.
Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from cutting off Planned Parenthood funding
A federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from barring Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood under a provision of Republicans’ sweeping tax and spending package.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts issued the temporary restraining order, directing the Department of Health and Human Services to “take all steps necessary to ensure that Medicaid funding continues to be disbursed in the customary manner and timeframes” to Planned Parenthood.
Trump threatens ‘no extensions’ on new Aug. 1 tariff deadline, warns of higher import taxes
Trump said “no extensions” would be granted to the new Aug. 1 deadline he set yesterday for U.S. trading partners to negotiate new deals or face significantly higher tariffs on goods imported from their countries.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “As per letters sent to various countries yesterday, in addition to letters that will be sent today, tomorrow, and for the next short period of time, TARIFFS WILL START BEING PAID ON AUGUST 1, 2025. There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change. In other words, all money will be due and payable starting AUGUST 1, 2025 — No extensions will be granted. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Stocks, already on edge after Trump began sending out warning letters yesterday, fell meaningfully into the red after the post went live, though they returned to nearly flat on the day shortly after noon.
