Live updates: Trump met with GOP senators after canceling housing bill signing

Senate Republicans defeated an Iran War Powers resolution tonight on a 47-50 vote, just one day after senators approved a House-passed, non-binding version.

This resolution, unlike yesterday’s, had teeth. Today's measure was introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and directed Trump to “remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran" unless authorized by Congress.

A procedural motion to bring the resolution to the floor passed 50-47 last month, as four Republican senators voted to advance it. But one of those four, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted present today, saying earlier that hostilities “seem to be over.”

Another one of the four, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who had a contentious exchange with Trump over the Iran conflict during a GOP lunch today, voted against the measure.

U.S. President Donald Trump.  Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump treated the kickoff tonight to the Great American State Fair as a victory lap for the U.S. — and for himself.

“Tonight, as we stand at the edge of our 250th year, I am thrilled to declare that America is back,” Trump said in a speech on the National Mall. “As you know very well, a short time ago we were a dead country. We were dead. Now we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world. We’re respected by everybody. Nobody’s laughing at us anymore.”

The event, organized by Freedom 250, a public-private partnership created by Trump that labels itself as a nonpartisan nonprofit, marked the beginning of the 16-day exposition, envisioned as a modern-day world’s fair to celebrate America’s 250th birthday.

Planning for the event stirred controversy last month when several musical artists booked to perform, including rapper Young MC and country singer Martina McBride, backed out, citing concerns about the political nature of an event backed by the Trump White House.

Read the full story here.

Trump spoke for just under 30 minutes this evening at the kickoff event for the Great American State Fair, a brief address for him.

"We are one people, one nation, marching into one magnificent future under our great American flag that we love and respect so much. And tonight we prepare to enter our 250th year," Trump said before he listed a series of his coined phrases, including "We will make America wealthy again" and "We will make America safe again."

Trump touted his administration's efforts on the economy, in Iran and in beautifying Washington, D.C., saying the U.S. is "in the Golden Age."

His remarks ran significantly shorter than his usual rally-style speeches, as he often takes the stage for well over an hour.

Trump teased more military action, saying there are “other things in store” beyond the war in Iran and the U.S.' capturing Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro.

“One week Iran was essentially finished in one hour. Venezuela was finished, and I guess we have other things in store, but we don’t want to get carried away,” he said.

Trump hints at possible military action beyond Iran and Venezuela

01:23

Trump told the crowd on the National Mall this evening that his administration signed a "historic agreement" to end the war with Iran this week, as the U.S. and Iran are set to finalize a deal within the next 60 days.

"Last week we signed a historic agreement to end the conflict with Iran, fully open the Strait of Hormuz and accomplish what no president has ever been able to accomplish before: Iran will never have a nuclear weapon; that's done," Trump said at the kickoff event for the Great American State Fair.

“For the first time in 3,000 years, we are finally going to have peace in the Middle East,” he continued.

Over the weekend, U.S. and Iranian officials established a road map to reach a final deal within the next 60 days, working with mediating parties in negotiations in Switzerland.

Vance said the talks "laid a very good foundation for a successful final deal" as he left Switzerland on Monday. As of this morning, ships had begun sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump boasted about his beautification efforts of Washington, listing several landmarks his administration has renovated or cleaned since he returned to office. 

Columbus Fountain at Union Station in Washington, D.C. Kevin Carter / Getty Images file

Trump said that thanks to his work with the Interior Department, fountains at Union Station and Meridian Hill Park in the city are flowing. He said he is also “personally,” along with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and “some of my friends,” renovating Lafayette Square near the White House.

And Trump again claimed that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which he had repainted “American flag blue” and has since turned dark green because of algae blooms, was vandalized.

The alleged vandals have “largely been caught and are being prosecuted,” he said.

President Donald Trump tonight. Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images

Trump has arrived at the Great American State Fair kickoff party on the National Mall, walking onstage to the tune of "God Bless the USA."

Several military planes flew over the mall.

Country music artist Alexis Wilkins, FBI Director Kash Patel’s girlfriend, took the stage at the Great American State Fair in Washington this evening to perform the national anthem.

Jemal Countess / AFP via Getty Images

Wilkins, who has been linked to Patel's controversial use of FBI planes for personal trips and reports that she had a personal FBI security detail, denounced online claims that she was asked to perform tonight because of her relationship with Patel.

"I have been a country music artist for years now. I have had a successful career in both music and commentary/strategy," Wilkins wrote on X yesterday. "People don't get to negate that for clicks or headlines. I was invited to sing this anthem on my own accord, as I have been many other places throughout my career."

The U.S. Park Police today asked the public for help identifying a person they allege was involved in alleged vandalism of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the National Mall.

Police released an image and a video of the person in connection with an incident they say occurred Friday afternoon.

Trump has made several claims of vandalism of the recently installed blue sealant in the pool, but he has not provided evidence.

Detached pieces of blue sealant in the water of the Reflecting Pool on Sunday. Pete Kiehart / The Washington Post via Getty Images

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., meanwhile, said he sent two letters today pressing the Trump administration and a Trump donor for details of how a contract was awarded to Green Water Solutions for algae removal in the Reflecting Pool.

“Rushed no-bid contracts given to unqualified vendors with previous relationships to the President resulted in a reflecting pool covered with algae and freshly painted chunks of paint peeling from the bottom and floating on the pool’s surface,” Blumenthal wrote in a letter addressed to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and National Park Service acting Director Jessica Bowron.

Trump cast doubt today on whether the U.S. was responsible for the deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran at the start of the war in February, telling reporters in the Oval Office that he’d seen no evidence linking the attack to the U.S.

“There were missiles flying all over the place, and somebody said it was our missile. Well, maybe it wasn't our missile, but I've seen nothing to lead me to believe it was,” Trump said.

The comments build on Trump’s past public skepticism over the strike, even as NBC News has reported that U.S. forces were targeting the area surrounding the school and that preliminary reports showed U.S. munitions were most likely responsible for the strike, citing an American official and a person familiar with the preliminary findings.

A finalized Pentagon investigation has also been completed but not yet been released to the public. Trump told reporters he hadn't read it.

The Pentagon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

'I don't think it was us': Trump gives update on investigation into Iran school strike

00:57

A federal judge today permanently barred the Trump administration from implementing most of his first executive order on elections, part of which sought to require people to show documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston effectively converts a preliminary injunction she issued a year ago, in which she temporarily blocked many of Trump’s efforts to overhaul elections, into a permanent ban.

Casper rejected the Republican administration’s argument that the lawsuit to block the changes, brought by Democratic state attorneys general, was premature because the rules had yet to be put in place. Instead, she agreed that the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to regulate elections and that Trump’s requirements violated the separation of powers.

The Constitution “does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,” she wrote.

Read the full story here.

Voters in Upper Marlboro, Md. on Tuesday. Gail Burton / AP Photo/Gail Burton

Trump called the democratic socialist candidates who recorded a sweep of victories in New York City last night "communists" and said the left's wins would "make it easier" for Republicans to win in 2028.

"Well, they're going radical left. They're going to really talk about the Democrat socialists. You talk really, it's really communists," he said in the Oval Office this afternoon.

Three democratic socialist candidates, all backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, won congressional Democratic primaries yesterday, including Brad Lander, who defeated Rep. Dan Goldman, and Darializa Avila Chevalier, who beat five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat.

Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander at a primary election watch party in New York on Tuesday.  Adam Gray / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Trump praised Zelenskyy as he spoke to reporters in the Oval Office, saying, "He's doing pretty well."

Trump added: "Look, no matter how you look at it, he's doing pretty well. ... You have to say he's courageous, he's got great equipment, but he's got great men, he's got fighters."

President Donald Trump, President Emmanuel Macron of France and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine during a working session at the G7 summit in France last week.  Thibault Camus / pool via Getty Images

Trump and Zelenskyy met on the sidelines of the Group of Seven conference in France last week, with Trump saying in France that they had a “very good meeting" and that "we’re going to be focusing on that," referring to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Zelenskyy and Trump have had an at times friendly and at times tense relationship. An Oval Office meeting last year devolved into an on-camera shouting match among the two presidents and Vice President JD Vance. But in December, Trump called Zelenskyy a brave and hard worker during talks in Florida.

Avila Chevalier, who yesterday defeated Rep. Adriano Espaillat to clinch the Democratic nomination in New York’s 13th Congressional District, would not commit in an interview today to back Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to be House speaker should Democrats win back the lower chamber.

“That’s a conversation that I’ll be having with my coalition, with my community, to make sure that we are coming to a decision about what is best for the people here of New York 13,” she said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press Now.”

Avila Chevalier also addressed concerns about criticism of Israel and anti-Zionism veering into antisemitism.

A number of Republicans in the Senate voted with Democrats yesterday to limit the president's war powers amid ongoing fragile talks with Iran aimed at ending the conflict. The Pentagon is asking Congress for roughly $80 billion to cover the cost of the war. NBC News’ Kelly O’Donnell reports for the "TODAY" show.

Pentagon seeks $80B to cover costs of U.S. war with Iran

02:48

The House has canceled a planned vote on a rule that would have brought several bills to the floor this week as a group of Republicans vows to block any action until Congress passes the SAVE America Act. 

Instead, at 4:30 p.m. the House will vote on two bills under suspension of the rules, meaning the bills will require two-thirds support from members. The bills do not need a rule to pass first on the floor. 

Trump emerged from the closed-door lunch with Senate Republicans and spoke about oil prices and the status of the negotiations with Iran in brief remarks to the media.

"We had a really great meeting, and we're very proud of the party, we like our leader, we like everybody, really, in the room. I don't like a few people, but that's OK. I think you know who they are," Trump said.

Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images

Trump said that the GOP is a "well-unified party" and said the U.S. is the "hottest country in the world."

"We have more factories being built right now than we have at any point at any time in the history of our country, and all of those factories are opening up soon. It's all jobs, and our job numbers are incredible," he said. "Anyway, I see that oil just broke the $70 number. Who would have thought that was going to happen? And that's during a war, and Iran is being very nice. They're agreeing to everything that I want, and they have to."

He did not address the housing bill he was supposed to sign today or the elections bill he is pressuring Republicans to pass.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will check in face to face with Trump this afternoon, visiting him two weeks before the annual NATO summit when the Defense Department Pentagon is reviewing the size of the U.S. military footprint in Europe.

Trump has long been critical of NATO, arguing the U.S. provides more than its fair share of military spending. But his grievances have been louder since the Iran war as he fumed over some member countries' ignoring his call to help him restart oil trade through the shuttered Strait of Hormuz.

Trump has renewed his threats to leave the 77-year-old alliance, raising the stakes ahead of the summit in Turkey next month. But Rutte, who has become known as a Trump whisperer for his ability to charm Trump, is expected to use today’s White House meeting to try to appease him.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week lashed out at allies at a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels. He announced a six-month Pentagon review of American forces in Europe.

Trump responded to a question about whether the SAVE America Act is more important than housing as he arrived on Capitol Hill for a meeting with Senate Republicans.

"It’s just every election is important. We’re doing very well," said Trump, who canceled signing a bipartisan housing bill this afternoon to pressure Republicans to move forward with an elections overhaul bill that does not have enough support to advance.

In remarks to reporters, Trump went on to bash the far left of the Democratic Party after several progressives won in primary races yesterday.

"They want a lot of communists to come in," he said. "I’m telling you a little bit differently, but the people that they’re pushing are communists, and this country is not going to have communists."

The House has postponed a 1:30 p.m. vote on a rule that would bring several bills to the floor this week as a group of Republicans vows to block any action until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, following Trump's urging.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who is leading the effort to stop other bills from coming forward, said on X that she will “have to be a NO on rules for this week (and maybe even longer).” 

Rules in the House are typically approved along party lines, so House GOP leaders cannot afford many defections. Without passing a rule, the House cannot bring forward bills to be debated and voted on. 

The latest floor update for members said that “votes are expected in the House today,” though the chamber is in recess at the moment. 

While some hard-line Republicans are cheering Trump’s decision to hold up a bipartisan housing bill over the SAVE America Act, other Republicans are privately dumbfounded and disappointed.

“What a s--- show. ... Crazy crazy crazy,” one House Republican, granted anonymity to speak more freely, said in a text to NBC News. “A once in a generation housing bill falls victim to the nuts.”

Another expressed less surprise: “Trump did something outrageous to keep the spotlight focused on him. Shocker.”

And a third House Republican who represents a district Trump won handily in 2024 warned about the potential consequences for November. “I’m not that safe. No incumbent is safe,” the lawmaker wrote. “People are pissed off that we are not taking care of business.”

House Republicans are looking to capitalize on recent redistricting developments in Florida and Virginia, with a GOP super PAC announcing it plans to spend millions more in those states this fall.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and GOP leadership, is adding $22 million to its initial fall ad buys in the two states, according to an announcement shared first with NBC News.

Read the full story here.

After several progressives backed by Mamdani defeated Democratic incumbents in New York primaries last night, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said he and the mayor “agreed to strongly disagree about some of his endorsements.”

Speaking to reporters in the Capitol, Jeffries was asked if Mamdani has made enemies in Congress for not supporting incumbents, and the House minority leader responded that the mayor has “work to do in terms of the conversations that he’s going to have with members of Congress moving forward.”

Jeffries called his own relationship with Mamdani “a very good one.”

Asked if Democratic voters sent a message last night that they want Democrats in Congress to be more progressive, Jeffries said “we’ve got to look at the totality of all 215 members of the House Democratic Caucus, and that answer speaks for itself.”

Jeffries also called Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who was defeated by activist Darializa Avila Chevalier, “a tremendous public servant who will be missed.

Georgia lawmakers voted today to extend a self-imposed deadline to implement a new voting system for this fall’s midterm elections days before it was set to fall out of compliance with state election code.

Georgians voting in person typically use a digital ballot-marking device that prints out a marked ballot with a QR code and a written summary of the voter’s choices. The QR codes, which are indecipherable to the human eye, are used to tabulate votes, though the audit process includes a review of spelled-out choices when checking the results.

The state’s Republican-controlled Legislature voted in 2024 to stop using QR codes to count votes by July 1 of this year, fueled in large part by unfounded allegations of voter fraud and a yearslong federal lawsuit about the integrity of the state’s voter system.

Read the full story here.

A federal judge is asking the administration to explain why the sign to the Kennedy Center has been covered up since Trump's name was removed from facade.

In a ruling this morning, U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper directed both sides in the dispute over the renaming of the center and the board's decision to close it for two years to give him a status report on the case late next month.

"The report shall also indicate the purpose for and status of the tarp and scaffolding that Defendants have erected on the front portico of the Center, to the extent they remain at that time," Cooper said, referring to materials that have covered the sign since he ordered Trump's name to be removed last month. 

The center said it has complied with the order to remove the name, but has not explained the continued presence of the tarp in court.

Speaker Johnson responds to Trump canceling signing of housing bill over SAVE Act

05:09

Trump abruptly canceled his plans to sign a major, bipartisan housing bill this afternoon, saying he will not do so until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, a sweeping elections bill that has become a focal point of his second term.

“Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency,” he posted on his Truth Social account.

It was not immediately clear whether he still plans to sign the housing bill or veto it.

Trump has repeatedly pressed Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, which would overhaul elections in all 50 states and add new proof-of-citizenship and voter ID requirements.

Read the full story here.

The Army’s commander of its forces in Europe and Africa — who was famously the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan in 2021 — is unexpectedly stepping down from his post after just 18 months in the job, the Army confirmed late yesterday.

Gen. Christopher Donahue, commanding general of U.S. Army Europe and Africa and commander of NATO’s Allied Land Command, will relinquish his command on July 2, according to an Army statement provided to The Associated Press.

Read the full story here.

The head of the U.N.’s nuclear agency signaled today that Iranian nuclear enrichment sites would be visited by his inspectors, a key component in the interim deal between the United States and Iran to reach an end to the war.

The comment by International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Mariano Grossi was the firmest yet from the United Nations agency, which is viewed as key in determining the status of Iran’s nuclear stockpile.

Read the full story here.

Billionaire Bill Gates told the House Oversight Committee this month that he believed Jeffrey Epstein “contemplated blackmailing” him over extramarital affairs, according to a transcript of the Microsoft co-founder’s interview released Tuesday.

“He never blackmailed me, but looking at these emails, it raises a serious probability that he contemplated blackmailing me,” Gates told lawmakers on June 10 as part of the committee’s probe into the late convicted sex offender.

Read the full story here.

'The politics of the past ends today': Chevalier celebrates projected New York primary win

01:11

Democratic candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier celebrated her projected win in the Democratic primary in New York’s 13th District after defeating incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat. Chevalier was joined by Mamdani, who had endorsed her.

New York Assemblyman Micah Lasher has won the Democratic nomination in the 12th Congressional District, NBC News projects, benefiting from his deep ties to the area and backing from party leaders in a primary that drew national attention.

Lasher emerged from a crowded field of Democrats that included fellow Assemblyman Alex Bores, Kennedy family scion Jack Schlossberg and George Conway, the former Republican lawyer-turned-prominent critic of President Donald Trump.

Read the full story here.

Trump said overnight that he had instructed the Department of Justice to immediately probe oil companies for not lowering gas prices at the pump in line with falling costs, accusing them of “gouging” consumers.

Trump did not name any companies in his late-night message on TruthSocial, which was posted shortly after midnight.

Read the full story here.

The House passed a major housing affordability bill yesterday aimed at boosting the supply of homes and cracking down on large investors’ buying up houses.

The bill passed 358-32 one day after it cleared the Senate by a vote of 85-5. It now goes to Trump, who is supportive and is expected to sign it into law.

Read the full story here.

Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman has lost his New York City primary to former City Comptroller Brad Lander, NBC News projects, following a battle that highlighted Democratic divisions over Israel and showcased the clout of Mayor Mamdani, who backed Lander.

Lander won in New York’s 10th Congressional District amid a wave of challenges from Mamdani allies to sitting members of Congress as Mamdani looks to build on his momentum from last year’s election and further reshape the city’s politics.

Goldman is the fifth House incumbent to lose a primary so far in 2026, as a swath of voters express frustration with their party’s leaders.

Read the full story here.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and key allies secured major wins in yesterday’s congressional primaries as they looked to build on his 2025 victory by expanding the power and presence of the democratic socialist movement in Washington.

Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander dethroned Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman in the Democratic primary for New York’s 10th District without much tension Tuesday, the first victory for the Mamdani-backed slate. Lander captured about two-thirds of the vote.

Later, Darializa Avila Chevalier — another young democratic socialist and community activist whose campaign flew under the radar before Mamdani endorsed her — defeated 10-year Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Read the full story here.