Live updates: Trump to meet with Zelenskyy and Netanyahu at the White House
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The president will also deliver remarks at Lindsey Graham’s funeral.
What to know today
- GRAHAM FUNERAL: President Donald Trump, congressional colleagues and world leaders will pay their respects today to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. The tributes have begun with a ceremony at the Capitol this morning followed by a service at Washington National Cathedral this afternoon, where the president will speak.
- NETANYAHU VISIT: Trump is expected to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House this morning to discuss the war with Iran, the framework agreement for peace in Lebanon and efforts to expand the Abraham Accords, a White House official said.
- ZELENSKYY MEETING: Trump is also meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House this morning to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war, the White House official said.
- INTEL CHIEF CONFIRMATION: The Senate is expected to confirm Jay Clayton’s nomination to be Trump’s director of national intelligence tonight. Clayton will replace Bill Pulte, a close Trump ally and former top housing official who has been serving as acting intelligence chief.
Vance remembers Graham as someone who 'loved people' and had a 'world class sense of humor'
Vice President JD Vance paid tribute to Graham at the Capitol, remembering his former colleague as someone who "loved people from all walks of life."
Vance said that Graham was someone who was "fascinated" by everyone, and he believed that was because he loved them.
Vance also recalled Graham's "world class sense of humor," discussing a time when Graham made Vance laugh so hard that he got abdominal cramps.
The vice president also said he did not believe that Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh would have been confirmed to the high court without Graham's advocacy.
"I believe that he saved that nomination," Vance said.
Vance remembered Graham as someone "who could disagree with you without being disagreeable."
"I choose to remember Lindsey Graham as a person who could fight with you on one issue, but fight for you on another issue," he said. "I remember Lindsey Graham as a man who loved people, and because he loved people, he was willing to reason with them, to respect them and ultimately to persuade them."
Thune lauds Graham's leadership on foreign affairs and anti-abortion movement
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., hailed Graham as a "towering figure" both in Congress and "on the international stage."
Thune noted how Graham connected with foreign leaders and U.S. service members when they traveled in congressional delegations together.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Heather Diehl / Getty Images
"Lindsey's work on these issues would be enough to cement his place as a leader in the Senate, but he was a leader on many other issues too," said Thune, who credited his late colleague with helping to bring tax cut legislation to the floor when he chaired the Senate Budget Committee.
Thune said Graham was a "powerful voice for the pro-life movement" and was a "fierce defender of Ukraine."
"There was no one — no one — who took his job more seriously than Lindsey Graham," Thune said. "But also, no one was more capable of cracking up a room during the work week here in Washington."
"The conversation and the laughs always flowed at any meal where Lindsey Graham was present," he added, "He was entertaining always, and pretentious never."
"To Lindsey, rest in peace, my friend," Thune said at the end of his tribute, pausing to collect himself. "I look forward to the days when you make us all laugh again."
Biggs praises Graham's legacy of service
Rep. Sheri Biggs, R-S.C., delivered a tribute to Graham at the Capitol ceremony, emphasizing his love for his home state and saying he "never forgot where he came from."
Biggs remembered Graham as someone who was authentic and had a quick wit and reflected on his legacy of service.
"A legacy is not built only through votes, legislation or headlines," she said. "A legacy is built through the lives touched, the relationships formed, and the focused mission to make a difference over time."
"Lindsey Graham's legacy is one of service to South Carolina, to our nation and to the calls of making the world a safer and better place," Biggs said. "He spent his life standing for something larger than himself, and that commitment will continue to be remembered by those who had the privilege of knowing him and by generations who will benefit from his service."
Trump's meeting with Zelenskyy has started
Trump's meeting with Zelenskyy has begun, according to the White House.
Zelenskyy also plans to attend the funeral service for Graham, who died shortly after returning to the U.S. from visiting with the Ukrainian president in Ukraine.
Graham's casket laid in the center of the Capitol Rotunda
Graham's casket was brought into the Capitol Rotunda by military personnel. His casket was draped in an American flag and laid on a black podium.
Lawmakers and other mourners, many dressed in black, watched in silence.
The casket of Sen. Lindsey Graham in the Capitol Rotunda this morning. Frank Thorp V / NBC News
Fauci’s journal reveals how the Trump and Biden White Houses handled their Covid cases
Dr. Anthony Fauci served seven administrations as a public health expert and detailed much of his experience publicly. But journal entries a Republican senator published this week offer new details about how the administrations of Trump and Joe Biden handled their Covid diagnoses.
Trump and Netanyahu to meet for first time since they started the Iran war
Trump's meeting with Netanyahu today marks the first time that the two leaders are meeting in person since they started the war with Iran on Feb. 28.
Their last in-person meeting was at the White House on Feb. 11, and the two met half a dozen times in person the year before.
The two leaders often praise each other, with Netanyahu repeatedly calling Trump “the greatest friend that the state of Israel has ever had in the White House” and Trump calling Netanyahu “great” as recently as yesterday on Air Force One.
But they have had disagreements as the war stretches on. Yesterday, Trump told reporters that the two have "a little difference" on the military operations in Iran, but said their positions are still "pretty close."
Trump said this month that they have a "really great" relationship, though he conceded that they "have little disputes."
In June, Axios reported on a tense phone call between Trump and Netanyahu over Israel's escalation in Lebanon, which threatened to derail the U.S. talks with Iran. Trump confirmed the gist of the call to the New York Post in an interview a couple of days later,
“I did," Trump said in the interview when asked if he had angrily confronted Netanyahu over the strikes in Lebanon. "I wouldn’t say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon, you know, at some point I said, ‘Bibi, we gotta stop this, we gotta stop it.’ But I have a very good relationship. We’ve done well, done well together.”
Trump has declined to say whether he supports Netanyahu for re-election, saying this month that Netanyahu has "been a great wartime president."
"I don’t know anything about his politics, I’m not sure," Trump said this month. "I would think he should be popular, because he did a very good job."
Acting intelligence chief announces another round of staff cuts
Pulte said in a post to X that his office is making another round of layoffs today, which will ultimately cut the office by about a third.
Acting intelligence chief Bill Pulte. Stefani Reynolds / Bloomberg via Getty Images file
"Good News!" he posted to X. "In addition to the Historic DECLASSIFICATIONS (Transparency!) by the President, we are, this morning, Executing a 5th and Near Final Round of TERMINATIONS, an approximately 30% Staff Reduction from Weeks Ago. The Intelligence Community must protect the American people, NOT the political whims of the bloated and corrupt elite class."
Pulte's post comes the same day that the Senate is expected to hold a final confirmation vote on Clayton to take over the nation's top intelligence post. The Senate voted to advance to Clayton's nomination for director of national intelligence last night.
NBC News reported last month that terminations were taking place at the office.
Vance and lawmakers to deliver remarks at Capitol ceremony honoring Graham
Vice President JD Vance will deliver remarks this morning during the first ceremony for Graham, which takes place at the Capitol.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Rep. Sheri Biggs, R-S.C., will also speak.
The ceremony is private but will be livestreamed. It will also feature musical tributes from the U.S. Army Brass Quintet and the Air Force chorus the Singing Sergeants.
Several members of Congress, as well as Vance, will present wreaths. Those lawmakers include Thune, Biggs, Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Michigan's Democratic Senate candidates clash over 'celebrity' and Israel
Rep. Haley Stevens used the word “celebrity” — or variations of it — at least five times in Michigan’s Democratic Senate debate last night. It was not intended as a compliment for her rival in next week’s primary, former public health official Abdul El-Sayed.
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., and Abdul El-Sayed. CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images; AP file
Again and again, Stevens tried to brand El-Sayed, who also has written books, hosted a podcast and developed a large social media following, as a lightweight.
“Look, my opponent here, Abdul. He is such a talented guy. He’s written three books. He’s had 300 podcasts. You know, he’s had all this attention,” Stevens said during the debate, hosted and broadcast by WJBK-TV in Detroit. “But the deal is, we don’t need a celebrity candidate. We don’t need a celebrity senator. We need somebody who is committed to six years of hard, unglamorous work that’s going to stand up to this junk that is wreaking havoc and causing chaos right before our very eyes.”
Several times, El-Sayed responded with a line he first offered in his opening statement.
“Like I told all the viewers at the outset — that while my opponent was going to make this about me and her, I want to make this about you,” he said. “You can listen to the podcast. It’s there, Congresswoman. If you enjoy podcasts about public health, I welcome you to take a listen. You seem very concerned about that.”
He also often tied his rejoinders back to Stevens’ support from the political arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and his suggestion that she would be beholden to pro-Israel interests. A political action committee affiliated with AIPAC has spent tens of millions of dollars on Michigan’s airwaves to promote Stevens’ candidacy while attacking El-Sayed.
“I’m more concerned about the fact that people can’t pay for their gas, they can’t pay for their groceries,” he said. “We’re fighting a war that’s cost us billions of dollars that has been pushed by the government of a foreign country, the same foreign country that the folks paying for your ads want us to send billions of dollars to.”
The winner of the Aug. 4 primary will advance to the general election against former Rep. Mike Rogers, who is unopposed for the Republican nomination.
Senators to meet with Zelenskyy before taking up Russia sanctions bill
A bipartisan group of senators will meet with Zelenskyy in the Capitol at 6 p.m. today, according to three sources familiar with the meeting. It’s not clear which senators will attend.
Later in the evening, senators will vote to start the process to consider the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill, a process that could drift into next week barring a time agreement to move more quickly.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has called the bill “one of the worst bills ever presented to Congress,” says he will lift his objection to moving quickly if he gets an amendment vote.
“I’ve told them that if they will allow me an amendment to strip out the tariff part of it then I’ll let them condense time so they can go through the bill this week,” Paul told NBC News yesterday.
Senate expected to confirm Clayton as Trump's intel chief
The Senate is expected to confirm Clayton’s nomination to be Trump’s director of national intelligence tonight.
Clayton will replace Pulte, a close Trump ally and former top housing official who has been serving as acting intelligence chief. Pulte announced last night he had led a fourth round of lay-offs.
The Senate could vote to extend Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702, which provides authority to conduct warrantless surveillance of non-U.S. persons living abroad, after they confirm Clayton. Getting Pulte out of the acting DNI job was the what Democrats are requiring to provide their votes to extend the intelligence gathering tool.
But even if they do that, the House is out of session until the end of August, so the program is expected to go another month without congressional authorization.
Netanyahu to join Trump for high-stakes meeting at the White House
Trump is expected to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House today in a high-stakes sit-down that comes at a politically fraught moment for the Israeli prime minister.
The two leaders will discuss the war with Iran, the framework agreement for peace in Lebanon and efforts to expand the Abraham Accords, a White House official said. Trump will also meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war, the official said.
Washington says goodbye to Sen. Lindsey Graham
Trump, congressional colleagues and world leaders today will say their final goodbyes to Sen. Lindsey Graham, the influential and colorful foreign policy hawk whose sudden death this month at age 71 stunned Washington and reverberated in capitals around the globe.
Two days of ceremonies and funeral services will begin around 10 a.m. ET when Graham’s casket arrives at the Capitol for a brief ceremony in the rotunda that will include nods to both his military service and his more than three decades in Congress.
