TOUGH DEAL TO SWALLOW: Trump’s deal with Iran is drawing the ire of some of the biggest boosters of the war, including on Capitol Hill, where Iran hawks have started clamoring for details and raising questions about the contents of the memorandum of understanding (MOU).
The president has pledged to make the full text public after it is signed in person on Friday.
But some lawmakers say that isn’t soon enough.
“The MOU, I want to see it myself. The way Iran describes it is awful. The way we describe it makes sense to me. Let’s look at it and see what it actually is,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a staunch Iran hawk and Trump ally.
Asked about Graham’s skepticism at the Group of Seven (G7) summit Tuesday, Trump told reporters, “I’ll have to talk to Lindsey. He’ll be in big trouble,” adding, “Lindsey’s good. Lindsey’s fine. He’s not skeptical.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) withheld comment on the agreement, telling reporters that he doesn’t “know enough about it to say” whether it’s a good deal.
But the GOP leader urged the administration to send senior officials to Capitol Hill to brief lawmakers on the details, saying, “Our members are going to have a lot of questions about it.”
“I hope we get more details about it before Friday,” he said.
Thune said a lot will depend on how the agreement handles Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon, which Trump and many Republican senators say must be prevented.
That’s just one of the issues Trump’s more hawkish allies are speaking out about, The Hill’s Laura Kelly and Colin Meyn report, as the deal also creates a $300 billion reconstruction fund and allows it to immediately start exporting oil.
▪ The Hill: The Memo: Clouds darken over Trump’s Iran deal.
▪ The Hill: Trump says he’ll send Iran deal to Congress for approval
▪ BBC: Tehran trying to sell deal as a victory.
HOT MIC MOMENT: French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were caught on a live microphone talking about Trump on Tuesday, as Macron welcomed the leader of the war-torn nation to the G7 summit.
“Yesterday, we had a difficult discussion,” Macron told Zelensky of the G7 meeting with Trump, as the two leaders walked the grounds of the Hotel Royal, The Hill’s Ashleigh Fields reports.
The French president urged Zelensky to stay longer at the summit, and Zelensky replied that he was scheduled to travel to Brussels the following day to address European Union leaders.
Macron also said he would arrange a bilateral meeting between Zelensky and Trump, who spoke briefly Tuesday morning alongside other G7 leaders and were scheduled to speak again later in the day.
▪ The Associated Press: Trump signals return of sanctions on Russian oil.
▪ The Hill: Republicans battle over U.S. role in NATO.
SHIFTING GEARS: The Trump administration has shifted the Department of Education’s responsibilities for special education and civil rights out of the agency, further dismantling the department.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) will now be responsible for civil rights enforcement, and the Department of Health and Human Services will oversee special education initiatives for students with disabilities, the administration announced Tuesday.
Trump pledged on the campaign trail in 2024 that he would shut down the Education Department and signed an executive order after taking office directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take the necessary steps to “facilitate” its closure.
Only an act of Congress can shutter the department, but Trump and McMahon have taken significant steps to reduce the department’s scope. That includes cutting its staff in half and closing seven of the department’s 12 regional offices.
Other responsibilities, such as family engagement and school support programs, have been outsourced to other parts of the government.
Administration officials have defended the moves as helpful to reduce the federal bureaucracy, while critics have alleged underserved students will be harmed.
▪ Business Insider: GOP debate over student loan limits.
▪ USA Today: Clock ticking for SAVE student loan borrowers.
PRIME OPENING: The DOJ’s apparent investigation into California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) could give him a political boost as he transitions out of office and into a widely expected run for the White House in 2028.
The Hill’s Amie Parnes reports Newsom has embraced the investigation, using it to further raise his profile as he seeks to cement his position as one of the president’s top rivals ahead of the next presidential cycle.
“He understands when he’s been given a gift,” California Democratic strategist Garry South told Parnes.
Newsom said in a video posted online Monday that he’s happy to be part of Trump’s so-called enemies list. He has said that he and his wife, California first lady Jennifer Siebel Newsom, are under investigation by the DOJ but didn’t specify what it concerns.
“We are going to fight your lawlessness — and we are going to remind people in this country of your corruption,” Newsom said.
▪ CNN: What we know about the investigation into Newsom’s wife.
▪ The Hill: Republicans embrace Graham Platner as midterm boogeyman.
