Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the Trump administration鈥檚 fragile or stalling diplomatic efforts around the world when he appears for back-to-back hearings on Capitol Hill for the first time since began.
Senate Republicans will meet Tuesday after the Justice Department said it pausing the implementation of a $1.776 billion settlement fund designed to compensate President Donald Trump鈥檚 political allies.
is also set to return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday for a . The hearing was scheduled for discussion of the Justice Department鈥檚 budget, but lawmakers will almost certainly focus their questioning on the settlement fund.
The Latest:
Trump taps federal housing finance director Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence
Trump made the surprise announcement on Truth Social on Tuesday regarding Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chair of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
鈥淲illiam has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago,鈥� he wrote.
Trump said Pulte would keep his other positions even as he fills in for Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned last month after revealing her husband鈥檚 cancer diagnosis.
If formally nominated, Pulte would need to be confirmed by the Senate to hold the position full time.
Pulte鈥檚 current role involves ensuring the soundness of the mortgage market, but he morphed into a megaphone who went after Trump鈥檚 perceived political foes.
EU strikes Trump-like deal for more deportations and detention centers abroad
A vast aims to speed deportations using detention centers outside the 27-nation bloc. Critics compare the regulations agreed-to Monday night to the Trump administration鈥檚 .
鈥淭he new regulation will speed up the return process and increase returns of persons who have no legal right to stay in the EU,鈥� said Nicholas Ioannides, deputy migration minister for Cyprus, which holds the rotating EU presidency.
Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark and Greece are already in talks with third countries, mostly in Africa, to host the 鈥渞eturn hubs.鈥� Critics compare them to the to deport thousands of people to countries that are not their own.
鈥淭he legalization of return hubs outside the European Union, the green light for the detention of minors, home visits inspired by ICE practices: the legal arsenal serving a xenophobic ideology is now complete,鈥� said M茅lissa Camara, a French Green party lawmaker.
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Jill Biden surprised at Kamala Harris鈥� critiques of Joe Biden鈥檚 2024 decision
The former first lady said Tuesday she was surprised that the former vice president wrote in her own memo that Joe Biden鈥檚 ego and ambition effectively damaged Democrats鈥� hopes in the 2024 presidential election.
鈥淚 was a little surprised she wrote that,鈥� Jill Biden said on MSNOW鈥檚 鈥淢orning Joe,鈥� adding that 鈥淛oe and Kamala, me, Doug (Emhoff), I thought we were a great team.鈥�
She added that 鈥渨hen Joe got out, he handed over the reins to Kamala鈥� and 鈥渉ad full confidence in her.鈥�
The interview comes as part of Jill Biden鈥檚 media tour of the Bidens鈥� White House years.
The former first lady said her husband and Harris remain on good terms and that Harris 鈥渏ust called two days ago鈥� to check on how he鈥檚 doing.
Former first lady says of Joe Biden鈥檚 cancer has been tough
Jill Biden said her 83-year-old husband 鈥済ets tired a little more often鈥� since his prostate cancer diagnosis.
鈥淐ancer takes its toll,鈥� she said in an MSNOW interview.
But she noted the former president is 鈥渟till giving speeches鈥� and 鈥渟till on Amtrak a couple of times a month, keeping a schedule.鈥�
Biden鈥檚 son, Beau Biden, died of an aggressive brain cancer in 2015, when his father was still vice president.
鈥淚 know every family in America has been touched by cancer,鈥� Jill Biden said. 鈥淪o I think people can relate when I say … it鈥檚 been, it鈥檚 been tough.鈥�
Pentagon policy illegally banned transgender troops from military service, appeals court panel rules
A Pentagon policy illegally banned transgender troops from military service, a divided panel of federal appeals court judges in another legal setback for President Donald Trump鈥檚 sweeping agenda.
The majority opinion 鈥� by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit 鈥� held that the Trump administration鈥檚 policy was designed to exclude people from the military based on their gender identity.
The ban remains in effect. The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Pentagon to start enforcing it last year, as litigation continues to play out.
The panel鈥檚 new ruling would keep the military from kicking out current service members named in the lawsuit, but wouldn鈥檛 allow new transgender recruits to join. The judges put their decision on hold, though, to let the administration seek further review.
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What to watch in Tuesday鈥檚 primaries as Democrats try to defend California and make inroads in Iowa
For a state that鈥檚 home to Hollywood, there isn鈥檛 much star power in California鈥檚 gubernatorial race. It鈥檚 a somewhat different story in Los Angeles, where a reality television personality is running for mayor as the city prepares to host the Olympics.
More primaries are being held on Tuesday as well. Democrats are banking on a rare chance to regain ground in Iowa, a rural state that has repeatedly eluded them in recent years. Republicans, meanwhile, are grappling with a New Jersey congressman whose unexplained absence could put their already slim majority at risk.
鈻� about what to watch as voters in California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota cast ballots
Pentagon bars journalists from its press office, saying it has become a 鈥榗lassified space鈥�
In another of a series of moves restricting media access at the Pentagon, the Defense Department has declared that its press office is now a classified space inaccessible to journalists.
On X, acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez confirmed the move, saying there was 鈥渘othing controversial鈥� about it and that it came because speechwriters, who use classified material, were now occupying the space.
鈥淭he Pentagon Press Office has been redesignated as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility due to speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War sharing the facility,鈥� Valdez wrote.
鈥淭hese speechwriters routinely handle classified material 鈥� as a result, journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space. There鈥檚 nothing controversial about that.鈥�
The latest move, first reported by The Washington Post, took place against a backdrop of escalating tensions between the U.S. media and the second Trump administration, which has played out both in the public arena and at times in the courts.
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Republican senators want more answers on $1.8 billion settlement fund as Trump considers its future
Senate Republicans will meet Tuesday to discuss next steps after the Justice Department said it pausing the implementation of a $1.776 billion settlement fund designed to compensate Trump鈥檚 political allies.
GOP senators who before leaving for a Memorial Day recess two weeks ago say they want more information from the administration about the future of the fund, which could potentially go to Trump supporters who beat police and . Meanwhile, Trump is reconsidering whether to move forward with it at all, according to a person familiar with his thinking.
Caught in the middle is legislation that would fund Trump鈥檚 immigration enforcement agencies for three years. Republicans abruptly left town without passing it after Democrats said they would offer amendments to scrap or scale back the judgment fund, forcing Republicans to go on the record for or against it and endangering the money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.
By Mary Clare Jalonick, Kevin Freking and Seung Min Kim
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Rubio will testify before Congress for the first time since the start of the Iran war
Secretary of State is set to face a litany of questions Tuesday about the Trump administration鈥檚 fragile or stalling diplomatic efforts around the world when he appears for back-to-back hearings on Capitol Hill for the first time since began.
The Republican former senator will sit before House and Senate committees to make the State Department鈥檚 annual budget request. But the focus is likely to shift quickly to the already unsteady ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, which has been in recent days by back-and-forth attacks.
Cabinet members, including Rubio, have defended Trump鈥檚 decision to launch the conflict despite promises over the years not to engage in 鈥渇orever wars鈥� in the Middle East. That work has been made more difficult by Trump鈥檚 .
In the two months since the war began, a small but growing faction of Republicans have joined Democrats in questioning and overall of the conflict as they head into midterm elections in the fall.
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