Weeks after the end of a historic term, Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett will make a rare appearance before Congress on Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET. The justices could face wide-ranging questions as the high court amid a rise in threats to the judiciary.
Down the street, U.S. President Donald Trump will to the White House after strongly backing the political novice鈥檚 bid for office. Iraq has been under pressure to disarm Iran-backed militias that attacked U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities after .
The early Tuesday, hours after Trump vowed to reinstate an American blockade of Iranian ports and charge ships 20% of their cargo for safe passage through the . Iran responded with more attacks on Middle East allies, leaving in tatters and under the threat of all-out war. The U.S. military said it will resume its naval blockade on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
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Warsh vows to crush inflation but offers no hint on the Fed鈥檚 next move
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh鈥檚 written testimony to Congress says the Fed will make 鈥渁 thing of the past,鈥� but provides no signal about the central bank鈥檚 next steps.
Fed policymakers 鈥渉ave no tolerance for persistently elevated inflation,鈥� Warsh will say when he testifies Tuesday before a House committee. 鈥淎nd we share a resolute commitment to restoring price stability.鈥�
Yet of the 19 members of the Fed鈥檚 interest rate-setting committee expect they will have to raise the central bank鈥檚 key rate by the end of the year to defeat inflation, while nearly half have penciled in no change or even a rate cut. Warsh faces a stiff challenge in reconciling the divided committee while navigating a rapidly-changing economic outlook.
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Lindsey Graham鈥檚 sister prepares for her Senate swearing-in
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said sister, Darline Graham, will be sworn in Tuesday afternoon as his temporary replacement after his unexpected death over the weekend, and will serve out the rest of his term ending in January.
Graham earned a masters degree in rehabilitation counseling and has worked as an optician and at various state agencies. She鈥檒l be the first woman to represent South Carolina in the Senate.
鈥淚t is such an honor,鈥� she said, as dozens of Graham staffers and campaign advisers stood behind her during a statehouse news conference. 鈥淟indsey has always been there for me. And now, I will be there for him.鈥�
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Trump to welcome Iraq鈥檚 new prime minister to the White House
Al-Zaidi has been under pressure to disarm a network of Iran-backed militias operating in the country, some of which launched attacks on U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities after against Iran.
Trump is scheduled to greet the Iraqi leader Zaidi at 11 a.m., followed by an Oval Office meeting.
Renad Mansour, director of the Iraq Initiative at the Chatham House think tank, expects that 鈥渢he U.S. will put significant pressure on al-Zaidi鈥� to move ahead with disarmament 鈥渁nd Zaidi will respond by saying, 鈥楤ut I need support 鈥� intelligence support, technical support, armed support.鈥欌��
鈥淭here is a scenario in which, if the Iraqi government starts going after these groups, they will also go after the government,鈥� Mansour said. 鈥淎nd this is a scenario that I think that the Iraqi government is apprehensive about.鈥�
鈥楧angerous.鈥� 鈥楤razen.鈥� 鈥楿nprecedented.鈥� 鈥楿ncharted territory鈥�
Reaction has been swift and severe to the issue of subpoenas to five New York Times journalists who reported on security questions involving Trump鈥檚 new .
鈥淭he subpoenas are an extraordinary escalation in President Trump鈥檚 efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations and have a chilling effect on the work of journalists across the country,鈥� said Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The White House Correspondents Association holds its rescheduled dinner celebrating the First Amendment in less than two weeks, with Trump planning to attend. The first was scuttled when in what prosecutors say was .
鈥淭he WHCA condemns any act of intimidation against journalists, including attempts to pressure them into revealing sources,鈥� said a statement from the group鈥檚 president, Weijia Jiang.
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What does the Supreme Court want from Congress?
Security is central to the court鈥檚 budget request of $228 million 鈥� roughly 10% more than the last fiscal year.
Nearly $15 million of that would go to expanding personal protection for justices, with six more agents for each.
Another $2 million would fund more Supreme Court police officers and an off-site residential security post to speed emergency responses.
The U.S. Marshals Service reported 564 threats to the hundreds of federal judges around the country during the last fiscal year, and justices have not been immune: Barrett鈥檚 security detail had to defuse a fake 911 call at her house, and her sister was the victim of a bomb threat. A would-be assassin near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Chief Justice John Roberts the threats, saying it鈥檚 鈥渄angerous, and it鈥檚 got to stop.鈥�
June inflation report shows complicated outlook for Trump on economy
The White House will have reasons to rejoice in the June release of the consumer price index, as prices fell 0.4% on a monthly basis in large part because of tumbling oil prices tied to the now deteriorated ceasefire with Iran.
But prices still rose 3.5% over the past 12 months, well above the Federal Reserve鈥檚 inflation target of 2%.
And the monthly decline could be short-lived, with oil prices jumping again as fighting intensifies in the Middle East.
Prices for the global benchmark of Brent crude oil have risen nearly 8% in the past five days of trading to about $81 a barrel on Tuesday, a sign that inflation could soon pick up again as the American public begins to focus on the November midterm elections.
Attacks resume across the Mideast
The U.S. military鈥檚 Central Command said it struck several areas in Iran, targeting 鈥渃oastal defense systems, missile and drone sites and maritime capabilities.鈥� Iran acknowledged the strikes, but provided no immediate casualty or damage assessments.
鈥淭hese strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,鈥� the U.S. military said.
Moments after the military announced the new strikes, Trump called it 鈥渁nother major attack鈥� and said the U.S. was 鈥減utting the blockade back.鈥�
with attacks targeting Bahrain, Jordan and three tankers that traveled through the strait.
Here’s Trump’s rationale for charging tolls in the strait
U.S. Central Command said on social media that it 鈥渨ill enforce the blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas鈥� beginning Tuesday at 4 p.m. EDT, and will 鈥渟upport traffic flow through regional waters for all vessels not violating the blockade.鈥�
A notice to mariners released Monday by the U.S. military warned of using force if ships don鈥檛 comply. It also said the military will let through humanitarian shipments.
The statement follows Trump declaring that the U.S. would be reinstating the naval blockade and charging a 20% toll on eligible cargo.
鈥淲e鈥檙e protecting a very rich portion of the world,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e spending money. And so, what we鈥檝e done is, we are going to be reimbursed for protection.鈥�
Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, would not say whether the military would be collecting tolls, and referred questions to the White House.
Trump to address the nation on Thursday
The president posted on social media that he would be 鈥渕aking a Speech to the Nation鈥� at 9 p.m. EDT on Thursday.
Trump appeared to refer to himself in the third person in the post.
He did not disclose the details of his planned speech, but the announcement comes after Trump said he would block Iran-related ships from traveling through the Strait of Hormuz and that the U.S. would charge a 20% fee on all cargo going through the waterway.
Asked in an interview with Hugh Hewitt what his Thursday address will be about, Trump made it sound like nothing out of the ordinary.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just going to be a speech like a lot of my speeches,鈥� he said, without offering any more detail.
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