SOURCE: CNN
What we’re watching
- Justice Department fund: In testimony before a Senate appropriations panel, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche denied that the creation of a $1.776 billion fundto compensate Trump allies who claim they were targeted by the previous administration is unprecedented or unwarranted.
- Iran war: President Donald Trump told reporters that he was “an hour away” from making the decision to launch new strikes on Iranbefore he postponed an attack at the request of three Arab states in the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile, the head of US Central Command is testifying on Capitol Hill on the US military posture in the Middle East.
- White House briefing: Vice President JD Vance will hold a press briefing from the White House this afternoon. He could address everything from talks on the Iran warto the multiple US states that are holding primaries today.
Top US Central Command officer pressed on plan to “win” Iran war
The US military’s commander of forces in the Middle East got into a heated exchange with Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton, in which Moulton pressed him repeatedly on the success of the United States’ war with Iran thus far.
“Well, it doesn’t seem to be going well. And I would like to know how many more Americans we have to ask to die for this mistake. Do you know?” Moulton asked.
Several GOP senators expressed uneasiness with the possibility that January 6 rioters could get money from the nearly $1.8 billion fund the Justice Department announced to compensate those who felt they had been targeted by previous administrations.
Trump on Iran war: “Whether it’s popular or not, I have to do it”
President Donald Trump said he thinks the US war with Iran is popular and that even if it’s not, stopping Tehran from having a nuclear weapon is a worthwhile mission.
“Look, everyone tells me it’s unpopular, but I think it’s very popular when you, when they hear that it’s having to do with nuclear weapons, weapons that could take out Los Angeles, could take out major cities very quick,” he told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.
“Whether it’s popular or not popular, I have to do it, because I’m not going to let the world be blown up on my watch,” Trump said. “It’s not going to happen.”
Trump also called higher oil prices, which have led to some GOP concerns heading into the midterms, “peanuts.”
“And this is peanuts, and I appreciate everybody putting up with it for a little while. It won’t be much longer, but you could have, frankly, there is so much oil out there,” he said.
A recent CNN poll showed 77% – including a majority of Republicans – say that Trump’s policies have increased the cost of living in their own community
Senate GOP leader says he’s “not a big fan” of
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said this morning that he’s “not a big fan” of the $1.776 billion fund for allies of the president that was announced this week.
“Yeah, not a big fan. I’m not sure exactly how they intend to use it. But my understanding is that was just announced. But, yeah, I don’t see a purpose for it,” Thune said.
The Department of Justice on Monday announced the creation of the fund to compensate President Donald Trump’s allies who claim they were unfairly targeted by the previous administration.
Thune was asked whether there should be guardrails to ensure January 6, 2021, rioters aren’t compensated from the proposed fund.
“My assumption is that, based on some of the blowback that’s come since this was announced, that there would be a significant amount of attention paid to it,” he said, noting he expects that scrutiny to happen during the annual appropriations process that is just getting started.
Lawmakers have so far been hesitant to publicly back the fund.
Trump expressed frustration with Senate parliamentarian in a call to Thune
President Donald Trump expressed frustration with the parliamentarian and her decision on the White House ballroom funding in a call to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, according to a source familiar with the matter.
It comes after Senate Democrats said Saturday the provision that funds Trump’s ballroom in the GOP’s latest budget bill was deemed out of order by the Senate parliamentarian – the chamber’s rules referee – marking a major blow to the president’s priority.
The White House has said the money would be put toward security for the East Wing project. The ballroom funding totals about $220 million, according to a memo sent from the White House to members of Congress, but comes as part of a $1 billion security funding request.
Thune refused to comment to reporters on the content of any discussion with Trump over possibly firing the parliamentarian.
But when asked by CNN if he might fire her or move to override her decision, the Republican leader said, “I haven’t had any discussions or conversations about that.”
“But the question around the parliamentarian, you know, is one that happens every time there’s a reconciliation bill considered here, whether it’s a Democrat majority or a Republican majority. And there always people are unhappy with some of the decisions that come down, and that’s kind of the nature of the beast,” he said, adding they would continue to work to change her views on the matter before they vote on the bill in the coming days.
This post has been updated with additional reporting.
Blanche remains largely congenial when confronted with heated questions, but short on details
In his first appearance before Congress since taking the reins of the Justice Department, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was big on civility, but short on details as he faced tough questions from members of both parties about the nearly $1.8 billion he announced will be available to people who believe they have been wrongly targeted by the Justice Department.
Blanche is still effectively auditioning to be Trump’s permanent Attorney General and while the president likes his officials to adopt a combative posture when challenged, Blanche maintained a mostly congenial tone throughout the hearing.
At the outset, Blanche conceded that the fund is “unusual,” but dodged questions about specifics and whether even those who assaulted law enforcement officers on January 6, 2021 would be eligible for a payout.
His largely civil appearance was a contrast to his predecessor former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s last appearance before Congress, which garnered attention because of her over-the-top exchanges with lawmakers.
Blanche requests additional funding for Bureau of Prisons, arguing it is “under-resourced”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the administration is seeking $10.3 billion for the Bureau of Prisons, making the case that the agency “remains under-resourced.”
The current $8.1 billion budget is insufficient, Blanche told congressional lawmakers, adding that the bureau “risks insolvency without additional support.”
When asked by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, to explain how he plans to use the additional funds, Blanche said it would go toward staff retention by paying employees more to “make it worthwhile for them to stay.”
Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, also pressed Blanche on the Bureau of Prisons, asking him to describe the issues at the agency.
“We were given a broken agency when we took over,” Blanche said in response to Moran. “Not enough money. Morale was very low and, and many of the prisons needed serious repairs.”
Blanche went on to again emphasize the need to invest in staff retention, stating that there is a 20% vacancy rate for corrections officers. He told lawmakers that $450 million from the requested funding will be used “to attack the vacancy rate.”
“A lot of money” will also be used for safety and structural repairs, Blanche added.
Trump says he’ll make highly anticipated Texas Senate endorsement today
President Donald Trump teased an endorsement in the race for US Senate in Texas, saying it will come later Tuesday after remaining neutral in the race.
Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are embroiled in a competitive Republican primary runoff set for May 26. Trump said two months he would “soon” endorse one of the candidates.
“I’m going to be making an endorsement at about 12:30, 1 o’clock today for the big race, the Senate race in Texas, and I hope you find it good,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.
He added: “There are those that say whoever I endorse is going to win. I don’t know if that’s true, but historically, that’s absolutely true.”
Trump said he has had his “mind made up for a long time” on his candidate, but declined to say who he would endorse.
He later added that he “pretty much always” had known who he would choose.
“I just thought this was a good time, you know, the voting starting,” he told CNN’s Alayna Treene.
Some context: While Democrats haven’t won statewide in Texas since 1994, they have a Senate nominee in state Rep. James Talarico who is energizing liberals ahead of the November midterms and raising massive sums. Republicans long wanted to avoid a damaging runoff that could make things easier for Talarico, in part by having Trump boost one candidate and pressure the other to back down.
Trump hails DC prayer event, calls Christianity “a great thing for our country”
President Donald Trump praised a daylong prayer event in Washington that had been attended by administration officials, tying his priorities directly to efforts to revitalize enthusiasm for Christianity.
“Christianity, it’s a great thing for our country,” he told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. “The successes that we’ve had have been based on Christianity and religion, so I’m very proud of that.”
Trump’s remarks followed a prayer event over the weekend held as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations, which featured appearances from Trump officials and Republican lawmakers. The event prompted some criticism over the appearance of blurring lines between religion and politics.
But Trump hailed it as a “beautiful day,” while taking credit for making religion more popular.
“You look at churches today, they’re full,” he said. “You go back two, three years, nobody was going. So we’re very happy.”
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was on the verge of launching new strikes on Iran before he postponed the attack yesterday at the request of three Arab states in the Persian Gulf.
“I was an hour away; we were all set to go,” he told CNN’s Alayna Treene at the White House. “It would’ve been happening right now.”
Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social that he postponed the attack after the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar urged him to hold off in hopes of advancing negotiations toward a diplomatic solution.
“I was an hour away from making the decision to go today,” he said. “They had heard I made the decision and said, ‘Sir, could you give us a couple more days because we think they’re being reasonable?’”
The president said he spoke with the Arab states over two days while contemplating renewed strikes, saying, “We’re all working together.” He said the nations called him to say that “they made a lot of progress” toward negotiations with Iran.
Pressed on leaders’ concerns that renewed US strikes could prompt Iran to retaliate against their nations, Trump acknowledged that it remained a risk.
“They still have a little capacity,” he said of Iran’s ability to attack others in the Middle East. “Not much, but they have a little.”
Trump added that he was willing to wait until later this week to see whether talks progressed, but continued to warn that he could resume combat operations.
