Highlights from July 9, 2025
- TRUMP MULTILATERAL MEETING: President Donald Trump held a lunch meeting at the White House with the leaders of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal, who discussed trade and regional security efforts.
- NEW TARIFF WARNINGS: Trump released more letters this morning outlining tariffs to be imposed on U.S. trading partners. He sent similar letters telling more than a dozen countries this week what duties they will face if they don't reach trade agreements with the United States by Aug. 1.
- U.S. TO HIT BRAZIL WITH 50% TARIFF: Trump plans to impose a 50% tariff on Brazil partly because of its treatment of Jair Bolsonaro, its former president.
- NETANYAHU'S MEETINGS: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with a bipartisan group of senators at the Capitol. Ahead of the meeting, he told reporters that he held a second meeting with Trump and that Israel did not plan to push people out of Gaza.
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Sen. Tillis says Hegseth is 'out of his depth' leading the Pentagon
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said in an interview today that in the months since Pete Hegseth's confirmation as defense secretary, it has become clear that he is "out of his depth" leading the Pentagon.
Tillis, who recently said he won't seek re-election, told CNN host Jake Tapper in an interview that he didn't regret his decision to vote to confirm Hegseth given the information he had in January, but he said he wonders whether the Senate Armed Services Committee "was a little bit generous with respect to their assessment of his capabilities."
Just three Republicans, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, voted with Democrats to oppose Hegseth's confirmation.
Asked whether he would still vote to confirm Hegseth today, Tillis said: "I think based on the information I have today, if all I had was the information on the day of the vote, I’d certainly vote for him again. But now I have the information of him being a manager, and I don’t think that his probationary period has been very positive."
Tillis said last month that he wouldn't seek a third-term after he opposed Trump's megabill.
Trump taps Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to lead NASA
Trump today appointed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as the interim administrator of NASA, making Duffy the latest administration official to serve in multiple roles.
Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the appointment that Duffy may serve only "for a short period of time."
"Sean is doing a TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country’s Transportation Affairs, including creating a state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control systems, while at the same time rebuilding our roads and bridges, making them efficient, and beautiful, again. He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important Space Agency, even if only for a short period of time," Trump wrote.
With the appointment, Duffy joins a small group of administration officials who are tasked with leading multiple agencies.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also national security adviser and the acting head of the National Archives and Records Administration. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is also both the acting director of the Office of Government Ethics and the acting head of the Office of the Special Counsel. And Daniel Driscoll, the secretary of the Army, doubles as the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Duffy's appointment comes after Trump withdrew his previous NASA administrator nominee, billionaire Jared Isaacman, after "a thorough review of prior associations." Trump later called Isaacman, a close ally of Elon Musk, a "blue blooded Democrat, who had never contributed to a Republican before."
Trump says new tariff on copper will go into effect Aug. 1
Trump announced tonight that a new 50% tariff on copper will go into effect Aug. 1, adding he made the decision after he received a "robust national security assessment."
"Copper is necessary for Semiconductors, Aircraft, Ships, Ammunition, Data Centers, Lithium-ion Batteries, Radar Systems, Missile Defense Systems, and even, Hypersonic Weapons, of which we are building many. Copper is the second most used material by the Department of Defense," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Copper is the third-most-consumed metal, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey. The United States imports nearly half of the copper it uses.
Trump previewed the copper tariffs yesterday during a Cabinet meeting and suggested more sector-specific duties are imminent, including on pharmaceutical imports.
Rubio to meet with Russian foreign minister tomorrow
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov tomorrow, a senior State Department official confirmed to NBC News.
The diplomats, who last spoke early last month, are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.
It will be their first meeting since February in Saudi Arabia as the Trump administration continued its push for direct talks for a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump has been more critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin amid unsuccessful attempts at a deal, saying this week that he was “not happy” with Putin.
During a Cabinet meeting yesterday, Trump also said of Putin, “He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless."
Trump also said he had approved sending U.S. defensive weapons to Ukraine, saying Putin was “killing too many people," after the Pentagon said it would pause some shipments.
House Democratic leadership defends Rep. Ilhan Omar after 'bigoted and disgusting' remark by Rep. Randy Fine
Top House Democrats defended Rep. Ilhan Omar today after Rep. Randy Fine made an Islamophobic retort toward Omar for her criticism of Netanyahu.
Last night, Omar, D-Minn., condemned Netanyahu's latest trip to Washington, calling the visit "beyond shameful" and implying that Netanyahu is a war criminal who needs to be "held accountable for his crimes, not platformed."
Fine, R-Fla., in response likened Omar to a "Muslim terrorist."
In a joint statement, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California said, “The unhinged, racist and Islamophobic comments made by Randy Fine about Rep. Ilhan Omar are bigoted and disgusting.”
The statement added: "This is an incredibly difficult time for our nation and Members of Congress should be solving problems for the American people, not inciting violence. Randy Fine must apologize immediately."
In calling for Fine's apology, the statement referred to "heinous acts of political violence targeting elected officials in Minnesota for assassination."
A 57-year-old man is suspected to have killed Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, last month. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were injured.
Supreme Court declines to let Florida enforce its new immigration law
The Supreme Court today declined to take up a request from Florida to block a lower court’s decision that bars the state from enforcing parts of its new immigration law.
The one-sentence order did not say why the court denied the emergency request from Florida’s attorney general.
The case stemmed from a challenge by two immigration groups and two undocumented immigrants to legislation that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law this year making it a crime to enter Florida after having come into the United States illegally and re-entering the state after having been deported.
Trump’s push to claw back funding ignites a fight that threatens a government shutdown
Trump’s push for Republicans to bypass Democrats and claw back $9.4 billion in approved spending has ignited a new fight in Congress that could upend the normally bipartisan government funding process.
Ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline to prevent a shutdown, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is laying down a marker by warning that Democrats won’t sign off on an agreement if Republicans follow through with Trump’s request.
“If Republicans cave to Donald Trump and gut these investments agreed to by both parties, that would be an affront — a huge affront — to the bipartisan appropriations process,” Schumer said. “It is absurd to expect Democrats to play along with funding the government if Republicans are just going to renege on a bipartisan agreement by concocting rescissions packages behind closed doors that can pass with only their votes, not the customary 60 votes required in the appropriation process.”
Texas to consider redrawing congressional maps during special legislative session
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said today that tackling redrawing the state’s congressional maps would be part of an special legislative session later this summer as Republicans seek to hold on to their narrow U.S. House majority in next year’s midterm elections.
Abbott said in a news release that the session, scheduled to begin July 21, would address 18 different policy items the Legislature didn’t get to during its regular session, which wrapped up last month. That list included: “Legislation that provides a revised congressional redistricting plan in light of constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice.”
The New York Times reported last month that members of Trump’s political operation had privately urged Texas Republicans to redraw their maps ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Trump hits Brazil with 50% tariff, in part due to trial of ally Jair Bolsonaro
Trump announced today he planned to hit Brazil with a 50% tariff, in part because of the treatment of its former president Jair Bolsonaro, his political ally.
In a letter on his Truth Social social media network, Trump told current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva that “the way Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro ... is an international disgrace.”
Trump has fiercely defended Bolsonaro, who is sometimes referred to as the “Trump of the tropics,” as Bolsonaro faces charges that he plotted to overturn his 2022 election loss.
“This trial should not be taking place,” Trump added.
Trump accused the Brazilian government of “insidious attacks on Free Elections, and the fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans” including censorship of “U.S. Social Media platforms.”
Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled last month that social media companies can be held accountable for the content posted on their platforms. Elon Musk’s social media site, X, was also briefly banned last year in Brazil after Musk refused to comply with a court request to ban some accounts.
Senate confirms Bryan Bedford as FAA administrator
The Senate today confirmed Bryan Bedford to lead the Federal Aviation Administration. The vote fell mostly along party lines, 53-43, with Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire the lone Democrat to vote for his confirmation.
Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on the Commerce Committee, decried Bedford's confirmation, arguing he will be unable to ensure the FAA remains "the gold standard for aviation safety."
"Mr. Bedford’s willingness to change safety policies like reducing pilot training hours or considering single pilot cockpits is the opposite of the aggressive oversight the agency needs at this time," Cantwell wrote.
At the hearing, Bedford refused to commit not to weaken the 1,500-hour pilot training rule. In a statement late last month opposing Bedford, Cantwell referred to that failure and his refusal to recuse himself from granting his own company an exemption from the critical safety requirement for his full term.
Meanwhile, Republicans have praised Bedford as equipped to handle the job, pointing to his experience as CEO of Republic Airways, a regional airline.
