Trump will allow a bipartisan housing bill he thwarted to become law tomorrow
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The president refused to sign the measure, which he had said he wouldn’t support unless Congress passed an elections overhaul bill that Republicans have not been able to advance.
What to know today
- HOUSING BILL DRAMA: President Donald Trump will allow a sweeping housing affordability bill to become law tomorrow without his signature, a White House official said. The bill was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, but Trump had said he would not back the legislation until Congress passed an elections overhaul bill that GOP lawmakers have been unable to advance.
- PLATNER’S EXIT OFFICIAL: Embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner on Friday officially dropped out of the race, paving the way for Democrats to select a new nominee just days before the deadline.
- DUCKWORTH SLAMS SHAH: Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said last night that she opposes Nirav Shah's candidacy for Senate in Maine, citing his handling of events surrounding a series of deadly outbreaks at a veterans facility during his tenure as Illinois' director of public health. Shah joined the Senate race after Graham Platner dropped out as the Democratic nominee over a sexual assault allegation, which he denies.
- ELECTION COMMISSION GUTTED: The White House ousted all three sitting members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission yesterday, hamstringing the bipartisan agency ahead of the midterm elections.
Trump threatens 'locked and loaded' missiles if Iran attempts to assassinate him
In a Truth Social post Friday night, Trump threatened Iran with "1,000 missiles" should it attempt to assassinate him.
"1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!" Trump posted.
NBC News reported Friday that Israel had warned the U.S. that Iran was plotting to kill Trump in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in February.
Trump said Friday that “orders have already been given” to “completely destroy all areas of Iran” if it followed through on its threats.
Trump's comments come as tit-for-tat strikes between the U.S. and Iran have increased, with Trump saying earlier Friday that the weeks-long ceasefire between the two countries is "over."
The U.S. has accused Iran of breaking the ceasefire by attacking ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, leading to fresh strikes on Iranian targets.
Trump said Friday that Iran had asked to continue talks, and the U.S. had agreed.
Judge grants DOJ’s request to toss remaining Jan. 6 convictions of Proud Boys
A federal judge today agreed to toss the convictions of four Proud Boys who attacked the Capitol in 2021, fulfilling a Justice Department request to clear some of the last remaining cases in the wake of President Donald Trump’s mass pardons of Jan. 6 rioters.
U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly granted the motion to dismiss the convictions against Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola with prejudice, meaning the case is permanently closed.
Kelly, who was appointed by Trump in 2017, wrote that while the federal government can request that a case be vacated, he did not approve of the administration’s move here.
Amanda Andrade-Rhoades / The Washington Post via Getty Images file
Prediction market users have traded nearly $200 million on midterm elections so far
As prediction markets have boomed on topics from war to sports, trading volume on midterm election results has surpassed $197 million, according to an NBC News analysis of 1,408 open markets on Kalshi and Polymarket.
Anisha Chopra / Getty Images / Kalshi
Trump administration weakens protections for threatened animal species
The Trump administration finalized a major change today to how threatened species are considered in agency actions, removing regulatory language aimed at preventing damage to wildlife habitats.
The change limits the reach of the 50-year-old Endangered Species Act, which is credited with helping to save the bald eagle, California condor and numerous other animals and plants from extinction.
The departments of Interior and Commerce said the final rule will reduce permitting and compliance costs for energy producers, farms, fishing interests and more. The move is aligned with U.S. President Donald Trump’s goal to reduce regulations that he says constrain American businesses.
Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images file
‘Wait and see’: Trump weighs a return to war with Iran
As President Donald Trump considers an increasingly limited, and familiar, scope of options for the war with Iran, he’s receiving an influx of advice about how to proceed from members of his national security team, foreign leaders, Republicans in Congress and allies outside his administration.
In his Cabinet, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is an enthusiastic supporter of doubling down on U.S. military power to try to achieve a successful outcome in Iran, according to two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the internal deliberations. One of the officials said he’s argued that the U.S. needs to finish the job by striking Iran’s remaining military equipment, weapons and facilities, despite the administration saying the regime’s military has been decimated.
Vice President JD Vance has urged a more cautious military approach, according to one of the U.S. officials, a third U.S. official, the person familiar with the deliberations and a White House official.
Shawn Thew / Bloomberg via Getty Images
32 times Trump suggested the war in Iran was almost over
President Donald Trump declared this week that the ceasefire with Iran is “over” after the country attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz, while also insisting its leaders are desperate to make a deal with him.
It was one of dozens of instances where Trump declared the Iranians want to make a deal and suggested that the war was either effectively won or would be soon — comments that were often followed by more threats of military action and “obliteration” if the country doesn’t fall in line, an NBC News review of his remarks shows.
NBC News; Getty Images
'I would not have done it': GOP Rep. Mike Lawler bucks Trump on decision to fire election officials
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., disagreed this afternoon with Trump's decision to fire all three sitting members of the bipartisan U.S. Election Assistance Commission just months ahead of the midterms.
"I would not have done it at this moment, heading into the midterms," Lawler said in an interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press NOW."
Tom Williams / Getty Images
Lawler, who has presented himself as a centrist since entering office in 2023, is up for re-election in November, set to face off with Democratic nominee Cait Conley, a Biden-era National Security Council official and Army veteran. The pair will vie for the New York City-area seat in one of the most competitive districts in the country.
The Republican congressman also said today that he believes Trump should have signed a bipartisan housing bill that Congress passed by wide margins last month.
"I think the president should sign it and should declare victory," Lawler said. "This was a bill that we worked hard on with his administration, with a Republican-led Senate and House, and we're able to get broad bipartisan support."
The White House said today that Trump, who repeatedly said he would not sign the housing bill unless Congress passed the SAVE America Act, will not veto the measure and will allow it to become law without his signature.
"I understand his position on the SAVE Act. I support, you know, photo ID. I support proof of citizenship," Lawler said this afternoon. "But the fact is that when we're talking about the American people and what they are most concerned about, most Americans are concerned about the cost of living, and that remains my priority and my focus."
Lawler, who has voted against Trump's agenda on issues like temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants, needs a strong turnout from staunch Trump supporters in order to earn re-election this fall.
Graham Platner officially withdraws from the Maine Senate race
Embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner on Friday officially dropped out of the race, paving the way for Democrats to select a new nominee just days before the deadline.
“I write to formally withdraw my candidacy for United States Senate,” Platner wrote in a letter to Maine’s division of elections that he shared on X.
Maine’s secretary of state's office, which oversees elections, confirmed receipt of the letter.
Sophie Park / Bloomberg via Getty Images file
Construction on White House's front entrance includes security upgrades, official says
The front entrance to the White House is undergoing construction to upgrade security measures on its doors, a White House official told NBC News today.
The project will be finished around mid-September, the official said.
Construction on the North Portico began in June, with scaffolding going up over several days before yesterday's addition of a tarp printed with a photographic image of the White House entry.
White House officials previously said that the construction was to complete maintenance and stonework around the entrance's columns.
Ohio man who was jailed following accusations of sexual misconduct with a minor resigns from GOP Senate campaign
A man who had once served jail time following accusations of sexual misconduct with a minor resigned this week from his volunteer position as a surrogate for Ohio GOP Sen. Jon Husted’s re-election campaign.
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images file
Trump to allow housing bill to become law
A White House official said that Trump will allow the housing bill to become law.
Trump voiced opposition to the bill in a post earlier today, writing that he would not sign it in protest of Congress not passing the Save America Act.
Trump’s effort to use an obscure wartime law to deport Venezuelans has fizzled
The Trump administration’s contentious plan to use a wartime law to rapidly deport Venezuelans it alleged belonged to gangs hit a brick wall in the early hours of April 19, 2025, when the Supreme Court issued an unusual late-night order.
Venezuelans deported from the U.S. being transferred from the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador, last year. Anadolu / Anadolu via Getty Images
Trump says he has 'left instructions' to bomb Iran if it were to assassinate him
Trump said in a phone interview today that he has "left instructions" to bomb Iran if it were to assassinate him.
“I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with," he told the New York Post. "The only thing is, I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”
Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images
Trump had made similar comments in early February while speaking to reporters: “I’ve left instructions. If they do it, they get obliterated. There won’t be anything left.”
On Jan. 20, he told Katie Pavlich of NewsNation, “I’ve left notification, anything ever happens, we’re gonna blow the hell, the whole country’s gonna get blown up.”
The Post asked Trump about reports, not confirmed by NBC News, that Israel notified the U.S. this week that Iran had developed a new plan to kill him.
“No, no. Israel came up with nothing. No, no,” the president said. “I’ve been No. 1 [on Iran’s kill list] for a long time, and it’s the way life is, you know.”
“I hope you’ll miss me,” he added.
Trump has previously been the target of alleged assassination plots by Iran, including when he was a candidate during the 2024 presidential campaign.
ICE was searching for a different person when officer killed man in Houston, lawmaker says
A Houston father who was shot and killed by an immigration enforcement officer this week was not the person officials were looking for, U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia told NBC News yesterday.
Garcia, D-Texas, said David Venturella, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed to her that immigration officers were not targeting Lorenzo Salgado Araujo when he was killed Tuesday.
Vance family eyes an additional residence in an upscale rural Virginia town
The Secret Service is planning to provide additional security to a new residence for Vice President JD Vance and his family in Middleburg, Virginia, a senior law enforcement official told NBC News.
Trump announces he won't sign bipartisan housing bill passed by Congress
Trump announced this morning that he won't sign a bipartisan housing bill passed by Congress and championed by Republican leadership.
"I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, which is polling at 97% with the Republican Party, and very high with the non-politician Dumocrats," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
The housing bill is set to become law at midnight if Trump doesn't sign or veto it. The president did not make clear in his post whether he plans to veto the measure.
Trump has been using the housing bill as leverage to try to force congressional action on legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and personal identification at the polls, but that measure does not have enough support from lawmakers to advance.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent the housing bill to the White House on June 29, several days after Trump canceled a signing ceremony in an effort to pressure lawmakers to pass the elections overhaul bill.
Johnson and other Republican leaders had previously expressed confidence that Trump would sign the housing bill.
On the same day, a Florida airport and a Tennessee bridge are renamed after Trump
The next time Trump flies to Mar-a-Lago, he’ll be landing at an airport named after him. And if his motorcade ever passes along Interstate 40 in east Tennessee, he’ll see a bridge bearing his name.
That’s because officials in Palm Beach, Florida, and Dandridge, Tennessee, debuted signage yesterday to honor a president who has shown an affinity for attaching his name to everything from federal buildings to discount drug programs.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth says Maine deserves better than Nirav Shah for Senate
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said in a post on X last night that Maine deserves better than Nirav Shah, who relaunched his campaign for Senate yesterday after Graham Platner announced he would exit the race.
"Maine deserves better than someone who put his public image before the safety of our Veteran," Duckworth wrote. "Too many of our heroes lost their lives under Nirav Shah’s watch as Illinois Public Health Director. I called for his resignation then, and I strongly oppose his run for Senate now."
In 2018, Duckworth and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., called on Shah to resign amid reports that the Illinois Public Health Department botched a repair of the water system at one of the state's veterans’ homes in Quincy prior to a deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak.
State officials knew the facility was "in violation of state health codes, and then chose to deliberately withhold that information from the public and not cite the facility for a mistake," the senators' offices said in a news release at the time.
In emails later released publicly, "Shah detailed the dangers present at the facility, noted that the violations warranted a citation, yet chose not to issue one," the release said.
Shah and his campaign didn't immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment.
Planning commission advances Trump’s proposal to build triumphal arch
A key federal commission gave initial approval for Trump’s proposed 250-foot arch yesterday, signaling unprecedented leniency under a 116-year-old law that regulates the height of buildings in the capital.
Victor Marx wins Republican primary for Colorado governor
Marx has won the Republican primary for governor of Colorado, NBC News projects, setting up a general election matchup with state Attorney General Phil Weiser, the Democratic nominee.
A former Marine and the founder of an evangelical ministry, Marx narrowly defeated Republican state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer after a protracted count of the final votes following the June 30 primary. Marx took 39.9% of the GOP primary vote, while Kirkmeyer took 39.4%.
Marx gained wider notice this year after a controversial interview. Marx has long claimed that an abusive stepfather forced him to kill a man when he was only 7 years old. The assertion resurfaced when Marx said in a May interview with NBC affiliate KUSA of Denver that he’d also possibly killed other people.
Trump ousts remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission ahead of midterms
The White House ousted all three sitting members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission yesterday, hamstringing the bipartisan agency ahead of the midterm elections.
Landmark housing bill that Trump trashed will become law — unless he vetoes it tonight
A sweeping, bipartisan housing affordability bill is set to become law tomorrow if Trump doesn’t veto the legislation that Congress passed by overwhelming margins last month.
