Secretary of State Marco Rubio will face more questions Tuesday about the Trump administration's fragile or stalling diplomatic efforts around the world in the second of back-to-back hearings on Capitol Hill for the first time since the Iran war began. He testified earlier that U.S. negotiators have seen signs that Iran's new supreme leader has been engaged with negotiations despite not being seen publicly.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans will meet Tuesday to discuss next steps after the Justice Department said it would comply with a court order pausing the implementation of a $1.776 billion settlement fund designed to compensate President Donald Trump's political allies.
Trump has tapped Federal Housing Finance Director Bill Pulte to be the acting director of national intelligence to replace Tulsi Gabbard. Trump made the surprise announcement Tuesday on Truth Social.
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US military stops 7th ship trying to run blockade of Iranian ports
The U.S. military has stopped a seventh ship trying to run its blockade of Iranian ports on Tuesday, U.S. Central Command said in a social media post.
The Botswana-flagged merchant vessel M/T Lexie was stopped by a U.S. aircraft firing a Hellfire missile into its engine room after the crew ignored repeated warnings from U.S. forces over 24 hours, the post said. The halting of the Lexie comes just days after U.S. forces halted another merchant vessel, the Lian Star, using a similar approach.
This latest halt brings the total of commercial ships disabled by U.S. forces to six because one stopped vessel was ultimately allowed to continue on its way. Another 122 ships have been redirected, the military said.
Justice Department not abandoning other part of Trump settlement, Blanche says
Blanche said that while the Justice Department was scrapping plans to create the ‘anti-weaponization’ fund, it was standing by another part of Trump’s settlement with the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns.
As part of that deal, the IRS agreed to drop all pending probes of Trump over whether he’s paid his fair share of taxes.
Pressed over whether it was also abandoning that part of the deal, Blanche said “nothing has changed with that,” and that the administration was only retreating on plans to create the $1.8 billion fund.
News of ‘anti-weaponization’ fund being scrapped catches Democrat by surprise
Blanche revealed that the administration was backing down on the proposed fund under questioning by Rep. Grace Meng, the top Democrat on the subcommittee.
Meng pressed Blanche on the administration’s plans for the fund, asking him: “Not moving forward, ever?” Blanche responded: “Correct,” prompting Meng to let out a surprised “oh.”
The Justice Department on Monday had only committed to temporarily pausing the plans for the fund to comply with a court order blocking it.
Trump administration scrapping plans to create a $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization fund’
Blanche told lawmakers that the administration was backing down after widespread political backlash and setbacks in the courts.
Blanche’s comments during a House committee hearing came in response to mounting pressure from Republicans for reassurances that the Justice Department’s plans were off the table before they would move forward with legislation funding President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies.
The Trump administration had previously defended the fund as an appropriate measure make up for what officials insist was a weaponized Justice Department during President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration, a claim the Biden administration strongly denied
Democrats slam plans for ‘anti-weaponization’ fund
Democrats opened the hearing with Blanche to rail against the administration’s plans to create a $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they were unjustly investigated and prosecuted.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut called the proposed fund an “extraordinary display of self-dealing” and a “corrupt payout scheme for the President and his political allies.”
“It is unconscionable, this sort of a scandal would ruin any other administration,” she said.
Rubio wraps up full day of congressional hearings, first since Iran war began
The Secretary of State testified for nearly five hours in total before lawmakers on Capitol Hill, starting with a Senate Committee hearing in the morning and a House subcommittee hearing in the afternoon.
Rubio faced a wide array of questions that ranged from the Iran war, Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, U.S. support for Taiwan and a U.S. stockpile of birth control that was supposed to go to foreign countries.
Both hearings were punctuated by the shouts of protestors, some of whom called Rubio a war criminal for U.S. operations in the Middle East and Latin America.
Rubio will face the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Wednesday morning.
US won’t use $9 million stockpile of contraceptives, Rubio says
Democratic Rep. Grace Meng of New York questioned Rubio about the fate of the stockpile, which as of last year was stored in a U.S.-funded warehouse in Geel, Belgium. It includes contraceptive pills, contraceptive implants and IUDs that could spare women in war zones and elsewhere the hardship of unwanted pregnancies.
The Trump administration's dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which managed foreign aid programs, left the supplies' fate uncertain.
Meng also asked about the cost of storing the birth control. Rubio said he didn’t know what the cost was, adding that some of the contraceptives have been destroyed. He said they’re not distributing them per an executive order.
“We’re not going to use them or the government of the United States is not going to be involved in distributing contraceptives and all these other things around the world,” Rubio said.
Hearing featuring acting Attorney General Blanche getting underway
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is expected to face questions from lawmakers over the Trump administration’s plans to create a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate allies of the Republican president.
The administration is facing pressure from Republicans to scrap the fund that has provoked outrage over the mere possibility that violent pro-Trump rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, could be eligible for payouts.
A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Monday that Trump was reconsidering whether to move forward with the fund established to resolve his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns.
— Alanna Durkin Richer
Democrats introduce legislation to rein in AI use by the military
Democrats in Congress are introducing legislation to rein in AI use among the military as the Trump administration pushes for its expanded use.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York introduced legislation Tuesday that, if passed, would prohibit the use of AI for nuclear weapon launches, establish controls on its use for surveilling U.S. citizens, and broadly restrict the use of fully autonomous weapons systems, according a statement released by her office. The bill also codifies a policy that requires humans to always be involved in decisions to use force or other “high-consequence” actions.
Gillibrand’s bill comes just months after Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, also a Democrat, introduced a similar bill.
The proposed legislation comes as leaders in the Pentagon, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have insisted that the Pentagon be allowed to use the technology in any legal way it sees fit.
Rubio says China hasn’t provided help to Iran that ‘in any way impeded our operations’
Rubio told lawmakers on a House subcommittee that Iran has Chinese military equipment from their previous ties but said the U.S. has seen no indication that anything provided has “changed the dynamic in the battlefield.”
The remarks came several weeks after the State Department sanctioned three China-based entities for providing satellite imagery that enabled Iran’s military strikes against U.S. forces in the Middle East.
The Trump administration alleged that one company collected satellite imagery of U.S. and allied military facilities to support Iranian imagery request during the Iran war. Another company provided satellite imagery to Iran during the military operation and the third published open-source images detailing U.S. military activity.
Rubio does not support Netanyahu’s plan of seizing 70% of Gaza
Rep. Rose DeLauro of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, pressed Rubio on where the U.S. stands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of seizing 70% of Gaza to defeat the Hamas militant group.
Rubio said Netanyahu’s statement was not part of President Trump’s 20-point plan to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The plan would end Hamas’ rule and rebuild the territory.
“We have a plan — it doesn’t call for that,” Rubio said. “And at the end of the day, we understand that what we want, and I think what the Israelis would ultimately want, is a Gaza that is governed by a non-Hamas” entity.
Testy exchange between Murphy, Mullin kicks off hearing
The budget hearing with DHS Secretary Mullin is already getting heated.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy used his opening statement to lambast Mullin and his department.
Murphy said while Mullin vowed during his confirmation hearing to keep the department out of the news, he’d done the opposite. He slammed Mullin’s threats to pull CBP officers from airports and accused the department of reckless spending.
“Every day, this agency is breaking the law at scale and wasting billions of taxpayer dollars. DHS does not implement the law any longer. It makes up the law,” said Murphy.
Mullin, who until just a few months ago was a senator alongside Murphy, diverted from his prepared remarks to respond to Murphy.
“I do have an opening statement here, but, wow, Senator Murphy, the outlandish claims you made there, it’s just flat wrong,” said Mullin who blamed rhetoric like Murphy’s for a growing number of threats and attacks against his officers.
Democratic lawmaker blasts ‘insidious sledgehammer’ to foreign aid during Rubio’s second hearing
Rep. Lois Frankel, one of the senior Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee, said that when Rubio was first confirmed to be America’s top diplomat she was hopeful about what he had presented as his “commitment to democracy and American leadership.”
“And then what happened? DOGE came in with Elon Musk,” the Florida lawmaker said.
She added that Musk and his allies’ time in the administration has had “devastating consequences” that resulted in the dismantling of USAID agency, terminating critical health and development programs, and forcing thousands of experienced public servants out of government.
Rubio faces continued protests during second hearing
When Rubio began his testimony before a House Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday afternoon, a man stood up with a sign and urged the Secretary of State stop supporting Israel and what the man said was “genocide.” The man was quickly led out of the room.
Rubio faced protesters during an earlier hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. They raised concerns that sanctions against Cuba were hurting children on the island nation.
This is the first time Rubio is testifying to lawmakers since the Iran war began.
Mullin hearing kicks off in Senate
A Senate budget hearing with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is getting started.
Mullin is at the appropriations subcommittee on homeland security.
The Senate is currently weighing legislation that would fund immigration enforcement agencies through the end of President Donald Trump's term.
That’s designed to bypass any need for Democratic support. They’ve demanded restraints on ICE and Border Patrol before agreeing to fund the agencies.
But that funding attempt has been caught up in Republican opposition to a $1.776 billion settlement fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they have been politically prosecuted.
Mullin’s likely to face questioning about conduct of immigration enforcement officers, treatment of detainees at an ICE facility in New Jersey and security preparations for the World Cup.
Rubio faces more grilling during second congressional hearing of the day
Rubio is testifying for the second time Tuesday before lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
The stated reason is the State Department’s budget, but questions will likely veer into issues concerning the Iran war, the Trump administration’s campaign against drug cartels in Latin America and U.S. support for Taiwan.
The former Republican senator from Florida sat for well over two hours of questioning on Tuesday morning in front the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In the afternoon, he’ll be testifying before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations.
Like the Senate hearing, the hallways outside the room included protestors. Some called Rubio a terrorist and told him to stop killing children in Gaza and Iran when he walked into the room.
Mullin faces Senate grilling on DHS budget, immigration crackdown and World Cup worries
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is slated to appear Tuesday in the Senate to answer questions about the agency's budget, at a time of intense scrutiny about how the Trump administration is carrying out immigration enforcement and preparing for the World Cup.
The Senate is weighing legislation to fund immigration enforcement agencies through the end of Trump's term in a maneuver that would bypass the need for support from Democrats, who have demanded restraints. The attempt has stalled over separate Republican opposition to a $1.776 billion settlement fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they have been politically prosecuted.
Mullin, who was tapped by Trump to lead Homeland Security after his predecessor Kristi Noem was fired, is appearing in the Senate Tuesday for the first time since his confirmation hearing in March. On Wednesday, he'll testify in the House about the budget.
From festering infections to untreated cancer, ICE detainees across the US describe medical neglect
An investigation by KFF Health News and The Associated Press has found that hundreds of detainees across at least 33 states allege immigration detention facilities are failing to provide adequate medical care.
Detainees allege they didn’t receive medications on time — or at all — for conditions including high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, epilepsy, Parkinson’s and HIV. Requests for help went unanswered for weeks. Blood sugars rose. Infections festered. Cancers remained untreated. Detainees collapsed and had seizures.
U.S. jails and immigration detention centers have long struggled to meet the medical needs of the people in their charge. But the system is sagging under an influx of detentions since Trump returned to office: More than 75,000 immigrants were being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as of mid-January, up from around 40,000 a year earlier.
KFF Health News and AP asked the Department of Homeland Security to respond to the findings six days before publication but it did not provide comment.
Trump keeps getting checkups because ‘he likes the results,’ Oz says
The CMS administrator faced another question about the president’s more-than-annual physicals. The president went for the fourth known checkup of his second term last week.
“I think he likes the results,” Oz responded. “He aces the test every single day, and I do actually believe that he is curious to make sure everything is going in the right direction.”
His getting so many physicals was more of a sign of his “very meticulous” nature, Oz contended, because he “wants to know all the numbers” and stay on top of them.
Oz says he trusts Trump’s judgement, when asked why Pulte is qualified to serve as director of national intelligence
Oz was repeatedly questioned about why Pulte is qualified for the role when he has no known experience with intelligence or national security.
He called Pulte “a great guy” and said, “I know him socially” but had not worked with him in his job.
When pressed, Oz said, “You’re asking me a question that’s not in my lane. I’m so focused on making sure Americans are healthy.”
He later said that he appreciated reporters want an answer but said, “I’m not going to be the one giving it to you.”
Oz says Trump’s health is ‘spectacular’
The CMS administrator, who is a physician by trade, says the almost 80-year-old president has “excellent” health, according to his medical records.
Trump went for another checkup at Walter Reed last week.
“That amount of energy and that amount of mental acuity does not exist in a vacuum,” Oz told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. Referring presumably to Trump’s physical body, Oz said: “you have to have a vessel to carry it.”
Trump appears to dispute state media reports that Iran cuts off talks
Trump in a social media post on Tuesday disputed that Iran has cut off communication with mediators, calling Iranian reports of a cessation in talks “false and erroneous.”
“The conversations between us have been going on continuously, including four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago, and today,” Trump said. “Where they lead, one never knows, but as I told Iran, ‘It’s time, one way or another, for you to make a Deal. You’ve been doing this for 47 years, and it cannot be allowed to go on any longer!’”
Fars and Tasnim, two semiofficial Iranian news agencies, reported earlier Tuesday that Iran had stopped communicating with mediators about extending a ceasefire in the war with the U.S. and Israel.
Oz reveals TrumpRx is adding 160 more drugs
The CMS administrator announced during the White House press briefing that 160 new medications are being added to the government’s discounted drug website TrumpRx.
That brings the total number of drugs on the site to more than 750, Oz said.
The news comes two weeks after the Trump administration unveiled partnerships with various online pharmacies to add some 600 generic drugs to the platform.
Even with generics added, experts said the potential savings heavily depend on a patient’s situation. For the vast majority of Americans who have health insurance, using that coverage to get medications is cheaper than paying cash through TrumpRx.
Rubio Senate hearing ends as House hearing nears
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has wrapped up his hearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which was his first before Congress since the Iran war began.
Rubio will face the House Appropriations Committee at 2 p.m.
Lights, camera, press briefing: The Dr. Oz show comes to the White House
Dr. Mehmet Oz is about to be in the spotlight. It’s a place where he’s already comfortable.
The heart surgeon and longtime daytime TV host, now running the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will lead Tuesday’s White House press briefing as the fourth administration official to stand in for press secretary Karoline Leavitt during her maternity leave.
Oz rose to prominence on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show before spinning off his own series, “The Dr. Oz Show,” in 2009. And though he now leads one of the Trump administration’s wonkiest agencies, he’s still found ways to use his camera showmanship to his advantage.
With social media videos and speeches around the country in recent months, he’s become one of the most public promoters of the administration’s efforts to fight healthcare fraud.
Democratic senator calls Rubio absence during US-Iran talks in Pakistan ‘embarrassing’
Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada called out her former senate colleague for being at a party while Vice President J.D. Vance led a delegation to Pakistan in April to meet with their Iranian counterparts.
Rubio was actually cage-side with Trump at a UFC event in Miami as the peace talks with Iran failed on the other side of the world.
“I just feel that’s embarrassing for us and it’s embarrassing for you,” Rosen said. “We confirmed you to be in the negotiations that are happening. And it’s just unthinkable to me that you are not you are missing high stakes negotiations or that you’re not involved. It’s sad.
In one of his more sharp rebukes, Rubio defended his absence.
“I was co-located with the president in the midst of a high stakes negotiation, so that I could immediately inform him about events occurring halfway around the world,” he said. “I was where I needed to be at that moment.”
Republicans offer first takes on Trump’s pick for intelligence chief
Some Republicans are voicing skepticism about the qualifications of President Donald Trump’s choice to serve as the acting director of national intelligence.
“I don’t see any evidence of qualifications for that job, but as you know, the Senate doesn’t have a role to play in acting (appointments,)” Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said of Trump’s choice, Bill Pulte.
“I do not know Mr. Pulte at all. I do not know if he has any intelligence or military background. I don’t even know if he has a security clearance. I know nothing about him at all,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Collins said she had not made a firm decision yet “because maybe there’s a lot in his background that is relevant to this important position.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said Pulte “doesn’t seem qualified.”
“Beyond his absence of apparent qualifications, maybe there’s something I don’t know about,” Cassidy said.
‘No one is begging’: Rubio defends US unsteady stance in Iran negotiations
In a tense back-and-forth, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker and Rubio argued over who has the upper-hand in the more than two month war between U.S. and Iran.
The New Jersey lawmaker pointed to the unsteady ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, which has been further tested in recent days by back-and-forth attacks.
“We are the strongest nation on the planet Earth, and we’re in a stalemate with Iran,” Booker said to the secretary. “And now we’re begging to get back into a deal that you all trashed in the first place.”
“There’s no one begging,” Rubio responded, detailing what he called the dire situation of Iran’s economy. “I don’t know where you’re getting this perception that Iran is stronger.”
Rubio says Afghan allies can’t come to US but will try to resettle them elsewhere
The secretary said he could not commit to Democratic Sen. Chris Coons to resettle more than 1,000 Afghans who assisted America’s war effort and relatives of U.S. service members to the U.S. as was promised under the Biden administration.
Rubio said the U.S. is in talks with multiple countries to take a few hundred of them in order to avoid sending them back to the Taliban where they will likely face reprisal.
Those individuals have been stranded at a U.S. base in Doha for the past year as the Trump administration’s immigration actions have left them in a limbo.
The refugees at Camp As-Sayliyah include Afghans who served as interpreters and with Special Operations Forces as well as the immediate families of more than 150 active duty U.S. military members.
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