Earlier today, Trump attended the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members who were killed in the Iran war.
The House is voting this afternoon on three measures: the National Defense Authorization Act, a budget resolution that would start the process for the third Republican-focused reconciliation bill, and a GOP-led measure that would prevent members of Congress and their families from purchasing publicly traded stocks.
A rule previously passed by House Republicans would package Trump’s SAVE America Act with the NDAA when it is sent to the Senate.
On the GOP budget resolution, Speaker Mike Johnson will need to keep Republicans in line to get that measure adopted. This is a $95 billion blueprint with topline numbers for how much committees can spend in the partisan reconciliation process. If the House and Senate both adopt it, work can start on the details of policy in the third reconciliation process.
The Stop Insider Trading Act would prohibit members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from “purchasing publicly traded stocks.” Critics of the legislation argue the bill doesn’t go far enough. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and seven other good government organizations submitted a letter to Congress in February opposing the bill. While there are several bipartisan stock ban bills, this one only has Republican co-sponsors.
According to a whip notice sent to Democratic lawmakers, Democratic leaders are urging their members to vote against all three measures.
Trump condemned communism during his speech in Georgia this afternoon, reiterating warnings against communist candidates that have become common during his speeches in recent weeks.
“The radical left is actively trying to destroy our children’s future with the disaster known as communism,” Trump said, sparking a wave of “boos” from the crowd.
The president appeared to take a dig at Democratic Socialist candidates and leaders, such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, over their policies.
“You see the blue states are all going bad,” Trump said. “They’re all going bad because communism is a loser. The concept, the policy, it’s a loser, and it always has been, and it always will be.”
He added that, “you know they want to give everyone everything away. You want free rent. You want free housing. You want what they don’t say is that a year from now there’ll be absolute squalor, turmoil, and death.”
“This isn’t social democrat. These are communists, by another name, right?” Trump said.
Trump recognized the family of one of the four soldiers killed this month by Iranian attacks during a speech in Marietta, Georgia, this afternoon.
The president said that while speaking to the family of 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, at the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware earlier today, he offered them a ride back to Georgia on Air Force One. The family members are now at Trump’s rally in Marietta.
“This is a son who was like a flawless, perfect person — beautiful, beautiful son, handsome in every way, brilliant, respected by everybody,” Trump said of Feehan, in a speech where he also referred to the Iran war as a “skirmish.”
He thanked Feehan’s mother, father and uncle who were in attendance at the speech.
“We will carry Tyler’s memory in our hearts forever. And I just want to thank you. It’s an honor to have you here today,” Trump said.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley relaunched his Democratic primary campaign for governor last week, just days after suspending it, with a coveted endorsement from outgoing Gov. Tony Evers.
Crowley had been trailing in the polls, but with a Democratic socialist candidate gaining momentum in the race, some party strategists said there was a rush to present a viable alternative.
However, a deeper look at Crowley’s past social media use reveals a connection to incendiary posts about women and race, as well as derogatory LGBTQ references.
Read the full story here.
Trump attended the dignified transfer of the remains of four service members killed in Iranian attacks this month after hostilities ramped up following the collapse of the ceasefire.
Dignified transfers are some of the most solemn occasions for presidents, who often attend to pay respects to troops killed in conflicts they overseen by them as commander in chief. Trump has attended two prior dignified transfers since the war began in February, but this is his first since he declared on July 8 that the ceasefire was over.
Read the full story here.
House lawmakers are heading for the exits at the fastest rate in decades, including several who decided to retire after their districts became more competitive following partisan redistricting efforts across the country.
Several Texas Republicans, including Reps. Troy Nehls, Jodey Arrington and Michael McCaul, opted not to run for re-election after state leaders redrew congressional maps there in an effort to gain five GOP-leaning seats. Though the partisan makeup of their districts didn’t change, their constituencies did, bringing in new voters who may be less familiar with the incumbents.
In some places, Democrats whose districts became more competitive opted to seek re-election, including Reps. Emanuel Cleaver in Missouri and Kathy Castor and Darren Soto in Florida. So did Republican-turned-independent Rep. Kevin Kiley in California.
That means the number of incumbents leaving the House due to redistricting could rise sharply once more in November, depending on the outcome of those races.
Read the full story here.
Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., slammed the Trump administration’s nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia today while U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“We have no idea who is going to be running Saudi Arabia 10 years from now,” Sherman said, citing past Saudi leaders who were not allied with the U.S.
He added that it was hypocritical of the U.S. to sign a nuclear deal with the Saudis while engaging in war with Iran over their failure to limit their nuclear program.
“Is there any reason we should be bombing Iran because they won’t agree to limit their nuclear program while telling Saudi Arabia we give them the green light and they don’t even have to agree to these additions?,” Sherman asked Waltz.
At a dignified transfer at the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Trump met with family members of the four service members who were killed in an Iranian attack on a U.S. air base in Jordan on July 17.
As each transfer case was moved from a military aircraft to awaiting vans, Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine held their salutes.
The late service members are:
Trump salutes as a U.S. Army team carries a transfer case at Dover Air Force Base today. Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images
Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images
Transfer cases holding the remains of Army 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, Army Staff Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, Army Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad and Army Pvt. Isabella Gonzales. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images
During a gaggle with reporters before boarding Air Force One, Trump said he was going to the dignified transfer to “honor our heroes.”
“It’s one of the hardest things to do, for me, it’s one of the hardest things to do as a president, but has to be done,” Trump told reporters.
Asked what he would say to the families of fallen service members, the president said he’d tell them that “We love you. We love your child, and that’s what they are to them. They’re their children. There’s no games, no nothing. That’s their child, and all you can do is throw out your heart.”
Trump arrives at Dover Air Force Base today. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images
Republican state Rep. Alexander Kolodin will face Arizona’s Democratic secretary of state, Adrian Fontes, in November’s general election, NBC News projects, after he won the GOP primary.
Kolodin won the Republican nomination over former state GOP Chair Gina Swoboda.
Kolodin, who has frequently questioned the results of past elections in interviews, led several lawsuits to overturn the results of the 2020 and 2022 elections in Arizona, earning rebukes from judges and the state bar association. Kolodin is backed by the conservative nonprofit group Turning Point USA and several Arizona GOP members of Congress.
Arizona state Rep. Alex Kolodin. Rob Schumacher / The Republic / USA Today Network via Imagn file
Now, he’s running to be the chief election officer in a battleground state during the 2028 presidential campaign. Part of the role of secretary of state in Arizona is overseeing state elections. The office’s duties include working to certify “voting devices, election results, candidates and measures to the ballot, as well as the results of statewide elections,” according to the secretary of state’s website.
Read the full story here.
The costs of the Iran war are rising each day, but Trump has shown little intent to rein in the expanding conflict.
The United States unleashed its 11th night of strikes as Trump threatened to hit a key underground nuclear facility next, and Iran launched new attacks on U.S. allies across the Middle East today.
Despite renewed diplomatic efforts to revive the deal between Tehran and Washington, the two sides have intensified their clash centered on the Strait of Hormuz. With shipping through that crucial waterway increasingly throttled, Iran has also opened a new front in its campaign to pressure the global economy by disrupting another key trade route: the Red Sea.
And the toll is rising — on American and Iranian lives, energy prices, civilian infrastructure across the region and financial costs to the U.S. government.
Read the full story here.
Trump has approved an agreement to support the creation of a nuclear power program for Saudi Arabia, a senior administration official tells NBC News, with an announcement of the deal expected to be made later today.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report the agreement, which would have American companies building the program in Saudi Arabia.
NBC News
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