Live updates: Trump hosts African leaders; NOAA nominee questioned on staffing

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) says it is his “hope” that the Senate passes legislation to place tough sanctions on Russia by the August recess, a bipartisan proposal sponsored by Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

Senate Republicans are feeling more confident about passing Russia sanctions legislation this month after President Trump criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin this week for stepping up attacks on Ukrainian cities.

“I hope that we can get it on the floor before the August recess,” Thune told reporters Wednesday. “We are working with the administration, with the House to try and get it in a form where it’s ready.”

“Obviously, there’s a tremendous amount of bipartisan support here in the Senate. I think that’s shared in the House of Representatives, at least I hope that it is. The White House is very engaged in trying to get it in a form that we can transact and [get] across the floor of the Senate,” he added. “Whether that happens in the next couple of weeks is a bit of an open question but I’m hopeful that it can.”

Trump said he hasn’t thought about who ordered the pause in munitions to Ukraine after he was pressed on the issue the day prior and said he didn’t know.

When a reporter asked if he has been able to figure out who ordered the halt, Trump replied, “Well, I haven’t thought about it. Because we’re looking at Ukraine right now and munitions. But, eh, I have, no, I have not gone into it.”

He was then asked what it says about his administration that such a big decision can be made inside the government without him knowing and insisited that he knows about such decisions.

“I would know. If a decision was made, I will know. I’ll be the first to know. In fact, most likely, I’d give the order. But I haven’t done that yet,” the president said.

The Defense Department reversed course on Tuesday and is expected to send more defensive weapons to Ukraine, following the halt in shipments.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday left the door open to holding a vote on a bill to sanction Russia over its years-long battle against Ukraine.

His comments came shortly after Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) indicated the Senate could vote on a Russia sanctions bill — led by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) — by the end of the month, and after President Trump said on Tuesday that he was looking at the legislation “very strongly.”

“I don’t know any details yet but I know there’s an interest in that in the House side, so we’ll have to see,” Johnson told reporters in the Capitol when asked about the Senate bill.

“Vladimir Putin has shown an unwillingness to be reasonable and to talk seriously about brokering a peace, and I think we have to send them a message, that’s my view,” he added.

Read more here.

Trump expressed optimism about the chances of some kind of agreement to pause fighting in Gaza after meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I think we have a chance this week or next week. Not definitely. There’s nothing definite about war and Gaza and all of the other places we all deal with so much,” Trump said.

“But there’s a very good chance we’ll have a settlement, an agreement of some kind this week,” he added. “And maybe next week if not.”

Trump told reporters the tariff rates he is imposing on dozens of countries beginning Aug. 1 were calculated based on trade deficits, “common sense” and relationships with other nations.

“The formula was a formula based on common sense, based on deficits, based on how we’ve been treated over the years,” Trump told reporters.

“They’re based on very substantial facts and also past history,” he added.

Trump has posted letters to more than a dozen countries so far this week, with more expected in the coming days. Rates range from 20 percent (Philippines) to 40 percent (Laos).

The leaders of West African countries joined President Trump in the White House for a working lunch on Wednesday.

As the gathering began, leaders went around the table praising Trump, describing their countries and resources, and suggesting ways the U.S. could invest in them.

First lady Melania Trump will join the president on Friday for a visit to Texas in the wake of deadly flooding there.

The first lady’s office confirmed she would join the president to “travel to the flood-affected areas in Texas on Friday.”

“We continue to keep everyone facing unimaginable heartbreak in our thoughts and prayers and wish them strength and resilience during this challenging time,” Melania Trump’s office said in a statement.

Neil Jacobs, President Trump’s pick to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said during his confirmation hearing that “there’s probably some things I would do differently” regarding the Sharpiegate scandal.

Jacobs led NOAA in an acting capacity during the last Trump administration.

In 2019, Trump falsely claimed that Hurricane Dorian was slated to hit Alabama, even though the Birmingham branch of the National Weather Service said otherwise.

After the president’s comments, NOAA released a statement saying “tropical-storm-force winds from Hurricane Dorian could impact Alabama” and rebuked the weather service’s tweet saying otherwise.

Asked by Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) whether he would “sign off on an inaccurate statement due to political pressure in the same event,” Jacobs said no.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted along party lines Wednesday to advance President Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The panel voted 12-11 to advance the nomination of Susan Monarez to be the next CDC director.

“The United States needs a CDC director who makes decisions rooted in science, a leader who reformed the agency and worked to restore public trust in health institutions with decades of proven experience as a public health official, Dr. Monarez is ready to take on this challenge,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the HELP committee.

“She is committed to improving transparency the CDC and properly communicating health guidance to the American people.”

Monarez, a scientist in the federal service for nearly 20 years, sat for a confirmation hearing last month. She was careful to not discredit scientific consensus while also not breaking with either Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or President Trump.

Elon Musk’s favorability took another drop this past week amid his renewed feud with President Trump and move to launch a separate political party. 

In the last week, Musk’s net favorability in the aggregate kept by Decision Desk HQ dropped 3.4 points, falling just over 20 points in the negative. The percentage that view the onetime Trump ally unfavorably reached its highest point of the president’s second term at 55.8 percent, while the percentage that view him favorably reached its lowest point yet, at 35.4 percent, as of Monday. 

The decline comes as Trump’s approval and favorability ratings have ticked down a bit over the same period of time but not to the extent of Musk, whose popularity has suffered greatly since he first joined the administration and oversaw the Department of Government Efficiency’s widespread cuts across the federal workforce. 

Read more here.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) grilled Neil Jacobs on both NOAA staffing and data availability, asking him if he would “commit to reversing the gutting of NOAA’s weather resources by restoring satellite surfaces services and staffing, in particular?”

Jacobs reiterated that he would “definitely” ensure “staffing is a top priority. And also, satellite data, both the procurement of it, access to utilization of it is also essential top priority.”

South Sudan confirmed this week that eight convicted criminals, who were deported by President Trump’s administration, are now in its custody. 

South Sudan’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the eight migrants — who hail from countries such as Cuba, Mexico, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam — landed in Juba, the country’s capital city, on Saturday. The men have no connection to the African country.

The foreign ministry’s spokesperson Apuk Ayuel said to reporters on that the eight men landed at Juba International Airport following “standard deportation procedures undertaken” by the Trump administration. 

Ayuel said, according to The Associated Press (AP), that the migrants are “under the care of the relevant authorities who are screening them and ensuring their safety and well-being.”

Read the full story here.

Asked whether he agreed that climate change was caused by human activities, especially greenhouse gas emissions, caused climate change, NOAA nominee Neil Jacobs gave a middling answer.

“Obviously there’s a lot of natural signals that are mixed in there too and so in the absence of any natural signals that might dominate that, yes there’s human influence,” Jacobs said.

Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) followed up and asked if human influence was “part of the concern” about climate change, Jacobs responded “yes, there’s influence.”

Human activities that emit greenhouse gases are the main driver of climate change.

NOAA is the nation’s agency that is in charge of weather and climate research. The Trump administration has proposed to gut its climate research.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Wednesday on the Senate floor that a vote on a Russia sanctions bill could occur before the chamber’s August recess.

He said the chamber has “made substantial progress” on the bipartisan bill, sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), which he said would “enhance President Trump’s leverage at the negotiating table and helpend bloodshed in Ukraine.”

Thune said he expects it could be ready for a floor debate “this work period.”

In his confirmation hearing Wednesday, President Trump’s pick to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that staffing at the National Weather Service will be a “top priority.”

“If confirmed, I will ensure that staffing the weather service offices is a top priority. It’s really important for the people to be there because they have relationships with the people in the local community,” said nominee Neil Jacobs.

His comment comes amid questions about the agency’s staffing levels after weather service employees were among those who were laid off or took buyouts as the Trump administration has sought to reduce the size of the federal workforce.

A memo earlier this year warned that some offices were “critically understaffed.”

X CEO Linda Yaccarino said Wednesday that she is leaving her role at Elon Musk’s social media company after two years. 

“When @elonmusk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company,” she wrote in a post on the platform. 

“I’m immensely grateful to him for entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App,” she added.

Yaccarino joined X, then known as Twitter, in 2023, about six months after Musk’s tumultuous takeover of the platform. She came from NBCUniversal Media, where she had been serving as the chair of the company’s global advertising and partnerships.

Senator Democrats will get a chance to scrutinize President Trump’s former national security adviser over his mishandling of sensitive military operations during his confirmation hearing to the post of U.S. ambassador to the U.N., scheduled for July 15. 

Mike Waltz, former Republican Florida congressman, served for five months as Trump’s national security adviser before being dismissed for his role in mistakenly adding a journalist to a Signal group chat that was discussing attack plans in Yemen. Trump nominated Waltz for UN ambassador after deciding to keep his first nominee, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), in the House because of the GOP’s slim majority. 

Waltz was at the center of a firestorm in April for his apparent mistaken inclusion of the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic on the Signal group chat, in which Trump’s most senior advisers detailed attack plans against Houthis in Yemen. 

Senate Democrats slammed Waltz and Trump’s national security team, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, for the careless handling of sensitive and potentially classified information. Senate Republicans downplayed the scandal. Those differences are likely to play out during Waltz’s confirmation hearing with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

Former President Biden’s White House doctor, Kevin O’Connor, declined to answer questions during a deposition with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday, according to a statement from his legal counsel, citing physician-patient privilege and constitutional rights against self-incrimination.

“Earlier today, Dr. Kevin O’Connor asserted the physician-patient privilege, as well as his right under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, in declining to answer questions from the staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform regarding his service as Physician to the President during the Biden Administration,” the statement from O’Connor’s legal counsel said.

Read more here.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told The Hill he expects his veto-proof sanctions bill could appear on the floor next week, but deferred to Sen. Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) for the final word.

“I think we’re moving it next week, I think. Sen. Thune will make an announcement today. I’ll let him speak to that.”

Trump has not indicated he favors Graham’s sanctions bill, but is increasingly outspoken in his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to stop the war in Ukraine. The sanctions bill would in part punish countries for buying Russian oil.

But Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the NATO summit last month the sanctions bill would harm efforts to negotiate peace.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Wednesday it will be subpoenaing Harvard University for “relevant information” on international students, in the latest escalation of the Trump administration’s battle with higher education institutions.

The department said in a press release Wednesday that the administrative subpoenas come after Harvard “repeatedly refused past non-coercive requests to hand over the required information for its Student Visitor and Exchange Program certification.”

Neil Jacobs, a former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) official involved in the “Sharpiegate” episode during Trump’s first term, will face senators on Wednesday in his bid to lead NOAA.

Jacobs, a onetime World Meteorological Organization scientist, was first confirmed as assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction in 2018. He served as acting NOAA administrator from 2020-21 and was nominated as the full-time administrator in 2020, but never received a full Senate vote.

In September 2019, after Trump apparently used a Sharpie to alter the projected path of Hurricane Dorian on a map to depict Alabama in its path, Jacobs was involved in drafting a NOAA statement backing Trump’s projection. The storm did not ultimately make landfall in Alabama.

A 2020 internal NOAA report determined Jacobs and then-NOAA communications director Julie Kay Roberts violated the agency’s scientific integrity policy by issuing the statement.

Conservative pundit Megyn Kelly knocked President Trump for dismissing a question about Jefferey Epstein during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

“Good grief! That was no bueno, guys! That was no bueno, OK? President Trump had the same problem there that Karoline Leavitt had yesterday. The dodge should not be obvious. It should be subtle. It should be deftly worked into a more substantive answer,” Kelly said during an episode of her popular podcast and YouTube show.

Trump interjected on Tuesday when Attorney General Pam Bondi was asked about a Department of Justice memo revealing Epstein kept no “client list,” and did not seek to blackmail powerful people with whom the convicted sex offender was associated with.

President Trump’s signature second-term legislative agenda is hitting the courts.   

His “big, beautiful bill” is a boon for Second Amendment groups, who say it aids their quest to strike down a 91-year-old gun law requiring many Americans to register their firearms. Meanwhile, a judge already intervened to block one provision of the massive package, protecting Planned Parenthood from cuts.  

It has shifted the Trump administration’s legal sagas from a tug of war between the judiciary and the executive to one involving the legislature. 

The package’s toplines include key campaign promises like tax breaks for overtime pay and tips and additional funding for immigration enforcement. But packed into the 887-page law is a key change for gun owners. 

Read more here, in The Gavel.

Republicans on Capitol Hill are dismayed that the Trump administration hasn’t made more progress in negotiating trade deals and fear the country is heading for another bout of economic turbulence after President Trump announced a new round of steep tariffs on 14 countries.

Senior Trump administration officials, including Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent, had signaled earlier this year that the administration was on track to unveil an array of new trade deals in early July.

Instead, the administration is stepping up tariff threats against major trading partners such as Japan and South Korea — major suppliers of cars, appliances and electronics — and Indonesia, a major exporter of palm oil, furniture and textiles.

“Business hates uncertainty,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who warned months ago that Republicans would face political headwinds next year if the Trump White House didn’t settle its global trade disputes quickly.