Awaiting a Russia Announcement
President Donald Trump has become increasingly exasperated with Russia’s war on Ukraine, and said a “major statement” is coming today.
Ahead of that, some moving pieces to know about:
- NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is scheduled to meet with Trump today.
- Russian forces have stepped up massive and complex air assaults.
- US senators are ready with a bill to impose more sanctions against Russia when Trump says the timing is right. Sponsoring Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that “a turning point regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is coming.”
- German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also is due in DC as Berlin discusses providing Ukraine with two additional Patriot missile systems.
“I haven’t agreed on the number yet, but they are going to have some,” Trump told reporters last night. “We will get them Patriots, which they desperately need.” Read More
DOJ’s New Directions
Attorney General Pam Bondi fired without explanation a career attorney who’d spent nearly 20 years at the Justice Department, Ben Penn scooped.
Joseph Tirrell headed the DOJ’s ethics office. His portfolio included reviewing and approving financial disclosures, recusals, waivers to conflicts of interest, and advice on travel and gifts for Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, and other DOJ leaders.
It’s the kind of move that will play into the hands of Bondi’s critics, who say she’s been politicizing DOJ to advance White House priorities without regard for law enforcement standards.
Another departure from the norm: Bondi ordered prosecutors to drop charges against a doctor accused of selling fake Covid-19 vaccination cards to patients and destroying $28,000 worth of vaccine doses. Jury selection in the trial had already begun.
Bondi announced on X that at the urging of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), she’d directed prosecutors to dismiss the fraud conspiracy case because the doctor “gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so.” Read More
Choosing Winners
Every appropriation demonstrates what the party in charge values most — something on display in two measures up for subcommittee consideration this afternoon.
Spending levels in the House startng points seek greater taxpayer investment in the FAA and nuclear energy while pulling back on funding for city transit, Amtrak,and HUD, Lillianna Byington and Kellie Lunney report.
Under draft legislation, the Federal Aviation Administration would get $2.3 billion over fiscal 2025 enacted levels, including about $10.4 billion to fund air traffic control operations. “We prioritize safer skies through enhanced air traffic control personnel and technology and also bolster maritime defenses,” said House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.).
That measure also would earmark $3.7 billion for 2,369 projects sought by House members. A separate bill text released last night would provide $971.5 million for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, $27.4 million above the FY25 enacted level, while reducing clean energy programs, a choice that the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), said would gut programs that “create good-paying job, and protect our national security.”
Also Read: BGOV OnPoint: Senate Off to Rocky Start on Appropriations
For more on Hill action this week, subscribers can check out Congress Tracker.
How Well Do You Know Washington: PL Edition
The tax-immigration-debt limit megapackage now has its forever name:
That’s worth highlighting because it was Trump’s top priority, and because it does new stuff after a lot of the laws that preceded it into the Federal Register this year were about old stuff.
About how many of the first 20 laws of the current Trump administration revoked Biden-era rules?
A) Half
B) Two-thirds
C) Three-quarters
D) Nine-tenths
Scroll down for the answer.
Eye on Tariffs
The next moves are up to the EU and Mexico now that Trump is threatening them both with a 30% tariff rate effective Aug. 1.
With the 27-country European bloc, Trump’s tariff inclinations have looked like the up-and-down lines on a heart monitor. First he declared there would be a 20% levy, then he dropped it to 10% as part of a 90-day negotiating pause before talking about a 50% rate and now the 30%.
That rate, if it sticks, would be separate from the tariffs on automobiles and steel.
It also would be a bit of a gift to the UK, since it has a deal with Trump already (along with a planned state visit.)
As for Mexico, Trump’s letter said that 30% level could be adjusted if officials there are “successful in challenging the Cartels and stopping the flow of Fentanyl.”
Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard posted a government statement calling the new levies “unjust.” It said the two countries had just established a new working group on Friday to address security, migration and economic issues. “Mexico is already in negotiations,” the statement said.
In addition, a tariff on Mexican tomatoes takes effect today.
See also:
- Mexico’s ‘Cool-Head’ Trump Approach Tested by New Tariff Threat
- EU Plans to Engage More With Other Nations Hit by US Tariffs
- China Emerges From Trade Chaos With Record Exports, Surplus
Powell Pile-On
You already know that Fed Chair Jerome Powell is far too independent for Trump’s liking, charting a cautious course to try to keep inflation from spiking.
With the next opportunity to lower interest rates just a couple weeks away, the president and his allies have added a twist to their pressure campaign, complaining both about interest rates being too steady for too long and about the cost of office renovations.
“Jerome Powell is very bad for our country,” Trump told reporters yesterday. “We should have the lowest interest rate on Earth and we don’t. And we know he should do it. And yet he’s spending $2.5 billion dollars rebuilding the Fed, the Federal Reserve buildings.” Read More
Earlier: Here’s Why Powell’s Successor May Struggle to Deliver the Rate Cuts Trump Wants
Did You Ace the Quiz?
The correct answer is Option C—Three quarters. Of this year’s first 21 new federal laws, 16 revoked Biden-era federal rules.
(Hat tip: BGOV legislative analyst Greg Tourial.)
Before You Go
Pushing the limits: Erin Schilling and Tristan Navera explain how the IRS’s green light for churches to speak about political campaigns and candidates without losing their tax-exempt status opens the door to new legal tests of free speech and religious liberty. Read More
If he’s serious, this would break new ground: The Associated Press reports on a Trump social media post about entertainer Rosie O’Donnell, a critic since before the now-president got into politics. “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,” Trump wrote. O’Donnell, who moved to Ireland in January, is a US citizen by birth.
And did you know that you’re going to be a stakeholder in a mining company? Or rather, that your tax dollars are buying a stake in a mining company? The Department of Defense agreed to a $400 million equity investment in MP Materials Corp. , which revived a dormant mine in California and plans a new plant making rare-earth magnets. Read More
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