Trump claims without evidence that Democrats leaked Iran intelligence report and calls for prosecutions – live | US supreme court
Trump blames intelligence leak on Democrats and calls for prosecutions
Donald Trump has claimed, without evidence, that “the Democrats” leaked an early intelligence assessment that found US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites were less effective than has been touted by the president and his administration and only set Tehran’s nuclear program back by months, and called for prosecutions.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform:
The Democrats are the ones who leaked the information on the PERFECT FLIGHT to the Nuclear Sites in Iran. They should be prosecuted!
The initial classified US report produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency – the intelligence arm of the Pentagon – concluded that Trump’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend did not destroy two of the sites, and found that key components of Iran’s nuclear program, including centrifuges, were capable of being restarted within months.
It’s sent the Trump administration on the defensive today, with officials insisting that the strikes “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities and attacking the media for coverage of the report.
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth also said he wasn’t aware of any intelligence to suggest that Iran had moved the highly enriched uranium from any of the three nuclear sites the US struck, and Trump also said, without evidence, that “nothing was taken out of the facility” ahead of the strikes. White House press secretary also said there was “no indication” that the uranium had been moved.
Key events
Donald Trump said that the federal government will hire 3,000 new border patrol officers and 10,000 Ice agents with his tax and spending bill, describing it as “the single most important piece of border legislation ever to cross the floor of Congress.”
He pledged to increase deportations to at least 1 million people a year as part of his administration’s immigration crackdown, “fully fund the final sections” of the border wall, and impose a remittance tax on money sent back to foreign countries.
Donald Trump told an audience at the White House that he signed an agreement with China related to trade but he did not specify what he was talking about.
Donald Trump is holding an event on his tax and spending bill at the White House. We’ll bring you key lines as we get them.
The day so far
Donald Trump has claimed, without evidence, that “the Democrats” leaked an early intelligence assessment that found US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites were less effective than has been touted by the president and his administration and only set Tehran’s nuclear program back by months, and called for prosecutions. The report sent the Trump administration on the defensive today, with officials insisting that the strikes were a huge success that “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities and attacking the media for coverage of the report.
Denying further reports that Iran’s stockpile of uranium was not concentrated in Fordow, one of its two main enrichment sites, at the time of last weekend’s attack, and its highly enriched uranium stockpile remains largely intact, defense secretary Pete Hegseth said he wasn’t aware of any intelligence to suggest that Iran had moved the highly enriched uranium from any of the three nuclear sites the US struck, and Trump also said, without evidence, that “nothing was taken out of the facility” ahead of the strikes. White House press secretary also said there was “no indication” that the uranium had been moved.
Elizabeth MacDonough, the parliamentarian who enforces the Senate’s rules, rejected a slew of major provisions in Trump’s “big, beautiful bill”, sending GOP leaders into a frenzy to try to salvage the legislation before next week’s 4 July deadline. One senator, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, even called for her to be removed from the job. Around the same time, Senate majority leader John Thune told reporters he would not attempt to overrule the parliamentarian with a simple-majority vote on the floor.
The supreme court’s three liberal justices - Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson – dissented from the majority in today’s ruling that paves the way for South Carolina (where the case emerged from) and other states to kick Planned Parenthood out of its Medicaid program over its status as a reproductive healthcare provider that includes abortion services. Read our story here. The supreme court will issue the final opinions of its term tomorrow.
Trump has not decided on a replacement for Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and a decision isn’t imminent, a person familiar with the White House’s deliberations told Reuters. It comes after the dollar dropped overnight and investors, also reacting to weaker economic data, increased their bets on Fed rate cuts this year after a Wall Street Journal story said Trump was considering naming Powell’s replacement early in hopes that person could have immediate influence convincing the central bank to lower interest rates as the president has demanded.
Embattled New York City mayor Eric Adams launched his independent campaign seeking re-election. Since progressive Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic primary yesterday, reports have begun to swirl that NYC business execs are now feverishly organizing around the incumbent Adams, giving his struggling re-election bid a new lease of life, in an effort to keep the democratic socialist out of City Hall in November.
Robert F Kennedy Jr’s reconstituted vaccine advisory panel recommended against seasonal influenza vaccines containing specific preservative thimerosal – a change likely to send shock through the global medical and scientific community and possibly impact future vaccine availability. Separately, the panel also recommended a new treatment to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio announced a new visa restriction policy aimed at stopping the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the United States. “Imposing visa restrictions on drug traffickers, their family members, and close personal and business associates will not only prevent them from entering the United States, but it will serve as a deterrent for continued illicit activities,” Rubio said in a statement issued by the state department.
JB Pritzker launched his reelection campaign for a third term as Democratic governor of Illinois, amid speculation of a future run for higher office.
Trump blames intelligence leak on Democrats and calls for prosecutions
Donald Trump has claimed, without evidence, that “the Democrats” leaked an early intelligence assessment that found US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites were less effective than has been touted by the president and his administration and only set Tehran’s nuclear program back by months, and called for prosecutions.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform:
The Democrats are the ones who leaked the information on the PERFECT FLIGHT to the Nuclear Sites in Iran. They should be prosecuted!
The initial classified US report produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency – the intelligence arm of the Pentagon – concluded that Trump’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend did not destroy two of the sites, and found that key components of Iran’s nuclear program, including centrifuges, were capable of being restarted within months.
It’s sent the Trump administration on the defensive today, with officials insisting that the strikes “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities and attacking the media for coverage of the report.
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth also said he wasn’t aware of any intelligence to suggest that Iran had moved the highly enriched uranium from any of the three nuclear sites the US struck, and Trump also said, without evidence, that “nothing was taken out of the facility” ahead of the strikes. White House press secretary also said there was “no indication” that the uranium had been moved.
RFK Jr’s vaccine panel recommends new RSV treatment for infants
Jessica Glenza
Robert F Kennedy Jr’s reconstituted vaccine advisory panel recommended a new treatment to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants.
The treatment, a new monoclonal antibody called clesrovimab, which will be sold under the brand name Enflonsia by Merck, was recommended by the powerful committee after being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) roughly two weeks ago.
The tortured vote took place a day late and after rounds of questions from the panel’s seven new members – all ideological allies of Trump’s health secretary, who views “overmedicalization” as one of the greatest threats to American children.
“I think we need to ask ourselves what the parent would say given this data,” said Dr Retsef Levi, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor of operations management, who over hours of hearings has proven to be an outspoken skeptic of the medications under review. He said he would be “concerned” and ultimately voted against recommending the monoclonal antibody.
Trump decision on Fed not imminent - Reuters
Donald Trump has not decided on a replacement for Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and a decision isn’t imminent, a person familiar with the White House’s deliberations has told Reuters.
It comes after the dollar dropped overnight and investors, also reacting to weaker economic data, increased their bets on Fed rate cuts this year after a Wall Street Journal story said Trump was considering naming Powell’s replacement early in hopes that person could have immediate influence convincing the central bank to lower interest rates as the president has demanded.
The White House declined to comment, referring to the statements Trump has made publicly on the topic. Those have included regular beratings of Powell as a “major loser” and “stupid” for not cutting rates, a 6 June statement that he would name Powell’s replacement “very soon,” resignation that a supreme court decision meant he could not fire Powell outright, and a statement this week that he had narrowed the list of replacements to “three or four”.
Potential nominees include former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, who has close ties to the Trump Organization and was almost named central bank chief in the president’s first term in the White House, as well as Kevin Hassett, who is the director of the White House’s National Economic Council, current treasury secretary Scott Bessent, and current Fed governor Christopher Waller, according to the person familiar with the deliberations.
But the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, downplayed how fast Trump might act.
Powell’s term as Fed chief does not end until next May, and the recent supreme court decision appeared to insulate him from being fired over a policy dispute - a fact that could also limit Trump’s ability to reshape the central bank before his second and final term ends in January 2029.
However, an early announcement of the next Fed chair could allow whoever Trump picks to influence expectations about the path for interest rates, which could undermine Powell during the final months of his term.
The Fed has repeatedly stated that it makes decisions based on economic data rather than on political interventions. It added that it had kept rates on hold in June amid uncertainty over Trump’s controversial tariff plans, which have caused the central bank to raise its projections for inflation.
RFK Jr’s new vaccine panel votes against preservative in flu shots in shock move
Jessica Glenza
A critical federal vaccine panel has recommended against seasonal influenza vaccines containing a specific preservative – a change likely to send shock through the global medical and scientific community and possibly impact future vaccine availability.
The panel was unilaterally remade by health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a vaccine skeptic who has urged against the use of thimerosal despite a lack of evidence of real-world harm.
Across three votes, members voted in favor of restricting thimerosal in seasonal influenza vaccines across all age groups – with five in favor of the restriction, one abstention and one vote against.
“The risk from influenza is so much greater than the nonexistent – as far as we know – risk from thimerosal,” said Dr Cody Meissner, a panel member and professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine who was the lone “no” vote. “I would hate for a person not to receive the influenza vaccine because the only availability preparation contains thimerosal – I find that very hard to justify.”
The panel, formally called the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is a critical link in the vaccine distribution pipeline – informing health insurers and clinicians alike about which vaccines to give patients.
Kennedy fired all 17 former members of the panel in June, citing conflicts of interest, and appointed eight new members, all of whom are ideological allies of the secretary.
Rather than vote on an agenda that had once included seasonal recommendations for Covid-19 and the vaccine against human papilloma virus (HPV), ACIP added the controversial focus of thimerosal in vaccines. The panel affirmed that the influenza vaccine is recommended for Americans older than six months.
Although multiple studies have found no real-world harm, the preservative has been a talking point of anti-vaccine advocates for decades. Multiple representatives of physicians associations urged the panel to reject the recommendation against thimerosal in the meeting.
Thimerosal is used in about 5% of multidose seasonal influenza vials, and is known to be more cost effective than single-dose formulations. It is unclear how the vote will impact flu vaccine availability before the upcoming flu season, particularly for clinics that rely on such formulations.
Thimerosal has been used as a preservative in vaccines since before the second world war. In the early 2000s, thimerosal was removed from all routine pediatric and most adult vaccines as a precautionary measure – a decision that was criticized by experts who argued it sent mixed messages about a preservative that had not been found to cause harm. The issue has since been considered settled by mainstream medicine.
US announces new fentanyl-related visa restriction policy
Secretary of state Marco Rubio has announced a new visa restriction policy aimed at stopping the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the United States.
“Imposing visa restrictions on drug traffickers, their family members, and close personal and business associates will not only prevent them from entering the United States, but it will serve as a deterrent for continued illicit activities,” Rubio said in a statement issued by the state department.
GOP senator calls for parliamentarian to be fired after ruling against Medicaid cuts as Thune says Senate won’t overrule her
Some Republicans are furious about MacDonough’s rulings and have publicly expressed their rage on social media and – and one senator has even called for her to go.
Representative Greg Steube of Florida wrote on social media:
The Senate Parliamentarian is not elected. She is not accountable to the American people. Yet she holds veto power over legislation supported by millions of voters.
Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama also called MacDonough a “WOKE parliamentarian” for rejecting a provision that would reduce Medicaid funding to states that use their own tax revenues to provide health coverage to undocumented immigrants – and called for her to be removed from the job.
This is a perfect example of why Americans hate THE SWAMP. Unelected bureaucrats think they know better than U.S. Congressmen who are elected BY THE PEOPLE. Her job is not to push a woke agenda. THE SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN SHOULD BE FIRED ASAP.
Around the same time, Senate majority leader John Thune told reporters he would not attempt to overrule the parliamentarian with a simple-majority vote on the floor.
Per The Hill, Thune told reporters he didn’t view MacDonough’s ruling against the biggest spending cut in the bill as necessarily fatal to getting the legislation passed.
We were obviously trying to get as much in terms of savings as we could. We pushed hard to try and achieve that, and we knew that it was going to be an interesting conversation and we didn’t know for sure how she was going to come down on it.
There are things we can do. There are other ways of getting to that same outcome. We may not have everything that we wanted in terms of the provider tax reforms, but if we can get most of the reforms there, get the savings that come with it — this is all about saving the taxpayers money.
Several key provisions in Trump’s 'big, beautiful bill' must be reworked or dropped, Senate parliamentarian says
The New York Times has more on that, reporting that Elizabeth MacDonough, the parliamentarian who enforces the Senate’s rules, has rejected a slew of major provisions in the “big, beautiful bill”, sending GOP leaders into a frenzy to try to salvage the legislation before next week’s 4 July deadline.
Per the Times’s report:
MacDonough said several of the measures in the legislation that would provide hundreds of billions of dollars in savings could not be included in the legislation in their current form. They include one that would crack down on strategies that many states have developed to obtain more federal Medicaid funds and another that would limit repayment options for student loan borrowers.
MacDonough has not yet ruled on all parts of the bill. The tax changes at the centerpiece of Trump’s agenda are still under review.
The decisions dealt a blow to Senate Republicans as they attempt to pass the behemoth legislation by Trump’s deadline. Party leaders had hoped to begin voting on the bill this weekend, in order to allow time for the House, which must give final approval to any changes, to pass it early next week, clearing it for the president’s signature.
They were the latest provisions struck down by MacDonough, after she rejected several other sections, including Republicans’ initial plan to slash the food assistance program known as SNAP, an effort to sell federal land, and a move to limit federal judges’ power to enforce injunctions against the Trump administration.
MacDonough’s rulings are closely held by senators and are not released to the public. So it was unclear whether she had suggested the provisions were essentially unsalvageable, or merely needed to be modified.
Republicans on the Senate agriculture committee, for example, believe they will be able to restore the provision that MacDonough struck that would push some SNAP costs to the states.
One of the key provisions MacDonough ruled against, a measure that would try to close the so-called “provider tax loophole,” has already divided Senate Republicans. Senators from several states that heavily rely on a tax manoeuvre to finance their Medicaid programs have said they will not vote for the legislation until it is modified, citing risks to rural hospitals. (All states but one use this loophole to some degree.)
Senate majority leader John Thune played down the adverse rulings, saying the measure was still on track. “These are speed bumps along the way; we anticipated those and so we have contingency plans,” he told reporters at the Capitol. “Obviously, you have to adjust the timing and schedule a little bit, but we’re moving forward.”
Republican senators could vote to steer around MacDonough’s guidance, but that move would deal a substantial blow to the filibuster. The vote would set a new precedent that senators can ignore the parliamentarian on budget matters whenever they can muster a majority to do so, and Thune has repeatedly pledged not to take such action.
Senate Republicans race to resolve tax and health issues in Trump's tax bill to meet 4 July deadline
Republicans in Congress are scrambling to resolve nettlesome tax and health care provisions in their sweeping tax-cut and spending bill as Donald Trump presses them to pass the legislation by his 4 July deadline (which is … next week).
Trump plans to promote the package - which nonpartisan analysts say will add about $3tn to the federal government’s $36.2tn in debt - at an afternoon White House event that will feature truck drivers, firefighters, ranchers and other workers who the administration says would benefit from the bill.
But Senate Republicans have yet to produce their version of their legislation ahead of a possible weekend vote, and the overall shape of the bill appeared more uncertain after a nonpartisan referee ruled that several healthcare provisions violated the complex process Republicans are invoking to bypass Democratic opposition.
Those elements collectively represented more than $250bn in health care cuts, according to Democratic senator Ron Wyden of Oregon. Democrats have lined up against the bill, portraying it as a wasteful giveaway to the wealthiest Americans.
Senate Republicans have spent the last several weeks revising a bill that passed the House by one vote last month. It is unclear whether the GOP will be able to rework the bill to comply with the complex budget rules, as they have already done with some elements, or seek to override the decision by the Senate parliamentarian.
Senator Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, told reporters:
It’s pretty frustrating. But you know, what we’ve got to do is work through this process and come up with something that you know, fulfills the Trump agenda and also has fiscal sanity. Look, I believe this bill is going to pass. I know there’s a lot of work left to do.
A source familiar with the situation told Reuters Senate Republicans still had a path forward and described the 4 July deadline as achievable.
Republicans remain at odds over several provisions - notably a proposed tax break for state and local tax payments and a tax on health care providers that some states use to boost the federal government’s contribution to the Medicaid health plan.
The parliamentarian also flagged provisions that would deny student aid and Medicaid health coverage to some immigrants, as well as a provision that would prohibit Medicaid funding for transgender medical care.
Lawmakers a half-century ago decided that the Senate parliamentarian, currently Elizabeth MacDonough, would hold the power to determine what policies they can enact through “budget reconciliation,” the process that Republicans are using now to bypass the chamber’s “filibuster” rule that requires 60 of the 100 members to agree on most legislation.
Republican senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama wrote that she should be fired.
Her job is not to push a woke agenda. Tuberville wrote on social media.
Others, notably Senate majority leader John Thune, have said they will not to overturn her rulings.
Trump 'very open' to visit from Netanyahu, White House says
Leavitt says there isn’t yet a date but Israeli prime minister BenjaminNetanyahu “has expressed interest” in coming to the White House to meet with Donald Trump, and adds that Trump is “very open” to that.
White House believes no enriched uranium was removed prior to US attacks on Iran
Leavitt repeats defense secretary Pete Hegseth’s earlier claim that there is no indication that any enriched uranium was removed from any of the three nuclear sites in Iran targeted by the US in attacks last Saturday.
There was no indication to the United States that any of that enriched uranium was moved prior to the strike [from any of the sites].
Hegseth earlier said he wasn’t aware of any intelligence to suggest that Iran had moved the uranium, and Trump also said, without evidence, that “nothing was taken out of the facility” ahead of the strikes. The FT reports the opposite today.
Leavitt also repeats the administration’s claim that Iran’s nuclear capabilities were “obliterated” in the US strikes.
White House press briefing
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is briefing reporters at the moment. I’ll bring you all the key lines here.
Semafor reports that since progressive Zohran Mamdani’s stunning victory in the Democratic mayoral primary yesterday, the New YorkCity business community appears to have abandoned its reluctant support for former state governor Andrew Cuomo’s leadership bid and is now feverishly organizing around incumbent Eric Adams in an effort to prevent Mamdani from victory in November’s general election.
“Some of former governor Andrew Cuomo’s biggest backers hinted in fluid, panicked conversations on Wednesday that they’ll put their money behind Adams,” reads Semafor’s report.
“There is going to be overwhelming support in the business community to rally around Adams,” Richard Farley, a partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP who said he’s organizing a fundraiser for the mayor and has been speaking with some of Cuomo’s biggest donors, told the news outlet. “This will be a street fight all the way to November.”
Politico hears the same, reporting that “Mamdani’s status as a democratic socialist and staunch critic of Israel’s war in Gaza has breathed new possibility into an Adams comeback as real estate and business honchos ponder ways to keep the 33-year-old from City Hall”. (Adams notably just had a rabbi speak at his campaign launch).
Both outlets also report that deep-pocketed business executives are also musing about drafting a new independent candidate to back in the race.
Eric Adams launches re-election campaign for New York City mayor as an independent
Embattled New York mayor Eric Adams is about to give an announcement on the steps of City Hall, where a crowd of supporters are gathered, to launch his independent campaign for re-election.
New York City mayor Eric Adams arrives at City Hall on the day he is set to announce his re-election campaign as an independent. Photograph: Kylie Cooper/Reuters
Here’s the clip of defence secretary Pete Hegseth’s attacks on the media this morning over their reporting on early intelligence on the US strikes in Iran.
Hegseth accused the media of “spinning” leaked information in coverage of the assessment – which found that American strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites didn’t do as much damage as has been claimed by the Trump administration - and told journalists about the stories he thinks they should be writing, including “how hard it is to fly a plane for 36 hours”.
Pete Hegseth attacks media over reporting of US strikes in Iran – video
The US Justice Department is launching an investigation into the University of California system, accusing the universities of engaging in a “pattern or practice of discrimination based on race and sex.”
According to a DOJ press release, the university system’s plan to hire diverse staff “potentially runs afoul of federal law.” The DOJ accuses the university system of having race and sex-based employment quotas.
This comes as the Trump administration continues to investigate universities nationwide for a number of reasons, including for allegations of anti-semitism.
According to a letter written by Harmeet Dhillon the assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s civil rights division, the University of California may have engaged in Title VII discrimination with the practices.
“I have authorized a full investigation to determine whether the University of California is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination,” Dhillon writes in the letter.
Dhillon is a former Republican Party official and was nominated by Trump in December to serve in her current position.
