Washington, DC

1. GOP rebukes ballroom, fund
2. Trump chides Iran critics
3. US oil reserves fall
4. Trump’s coal push
5. Lawmakers draft AI bill

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Senate GOP defections pile up on Trump priorities

The Senate floor is showcasing deep Republican dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project and his paused “anti-weaponization” fund as Republicans try to pass a $70 billion immigration enforcement bill. Democrats almost succeeded in shelving the bill entirely this afternoon before Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., blocked them; three of his GOP colleagues joined what became a 49-50 vote to keep debating. Still, Cassidy made his stance clear, joining an amicus brief with Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., stating that the fund “presents an immediate and dire threat to our constitutional order.” Then 12 Republicans voted to redirect the fund’s money, a substantial rebuke of Trump. That was followed by seven GOP defections on a Democratic amendment blocking public and private funding for the president’s East Wing renovation without congressional authorization. There are many more amendments to come in the Senate’s unlimited “vote-a-rama.”

— Burgess Everett

Trump squeezes Republicans over Iran war vote

Trump is lashing out at his own party over growing backlash to the US war with Iran. On Truth Social, Trump chastised the four “bad” House Republicans who voted yesterday with Democrats to pass a measure that would end the war with Iran. “Who would do such an unpatriotic thing,” said Trump, labeling the Republicans who backed the bill “GRANDSTANDERS.” The group included Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Tom Barrett, R-Mich., Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., the last of whom Trump has already famously clashed with. While Trump insisted that negotiations with Tehran are ongoing, Iran’s foreign minister said “no tangible progress has been achieved,” while Hezbollah rejected a US-brokered ceasefire in Lebanon. In the Gulf, executives are starting to wake up to the harsh economic reality of the war, Semafor’s Mohammed Sergie writes from Dubai.

US oil reserves are bottoming out

The US oil industry has dwindling options to offset losses from the shuttered Strait of Hormuz. Total US reserves of crude oil and refined fuels, including those held in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell to 1.57 billion barrels this week, the lowest level since 2004, according to new federal data. Since the Iran war began, US oil exports have reached a record high and have helped stave off extreme global price spikes. But the precipitous drawdown since March essentially erases the stockpile built up since the 2010s shale boom. And it leaves US consumers increasingly vulnerable to impending surges in the price of gasoline that industry executives are reportedly scrambling to warn the White House about. The emergency release approved in March will run out by July, leaving a narrow window for Trump to finalize a deal with Tehran — or authorize more releases.

— Tim McDonnell

Trump directs nearly $700M toward coal production

Trump is using Cold War-era authorities to sink hundreds of millions of dollars into US-mined coal, the president announced this afternoon. He’s expected to spend $425 million on existing coal plants and $75 million on an export terminal under the Defense Production Act, as well as $185 million on new coal plants using Energy Department grants. “When they find something better … we’ll be all set for it,” Trump said in the Oval Office alongside members of his Cabinet and governors. “But they’re a long ways from finding something better.” Today’s investment, he said, is projected to create 14,000 jobs and save Americans $50 billion on electricity costs — and represents Trump’s latest effort to boost oil, gas, and coal production over renewable energy sources. The announcement follows an estimate from one think tank that renewable energy outpaced coal for the first time last year.

— Eleanor Mueller

Washington weighs new bipartisan AI proposal

Congress is chewing over a proposal to create a federal framework for AI regulation. The draft bill, released by Reps. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., and Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., today comes as lawmakers and industry leaders debate how to address a patchwork of state AI laws — and the window for congressional action this year closes. The measure would increase transparency about the cybersecurity risks of frontier models, require independent safety audits and incident reporting, and establish whistleblower protections. The draft bill would also force companies to report when AI technology is a “substantial factor” in mass layoffs. Perhaps the most controversial provision would preempt state laws governing model development for three years, which critics argue would strip states of their ability to enact stronger AI safety rules. The lawmakers are asking stakeholders for feedback on the proposal before formally introducing it.

— Lauren Morganbesser

White House

• President Trump’s planned 250-foot arch is being reviewed today by a federal planning commission after it garnered nearly 1,700 public comments.
• Trump posted in support of the Protect College Sports Act on Truth Social, urging “the House and Senate to come together to pass a final Bipartisan Law.”
• Trump said Bill Pulte, his pick for acting director of national intelligence, won’t hold the role permanently.

Courts

• President Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, will plead guilty to mishandling classified documents and has agreed to pay a more than $2 million fine. — CNN
• The Supreme Court sided with the FCC to allow it to continue enforcing data privacy rules and penalties against telecom companies such as Verizon and AT&T.
• The high court also unanimously ruled that the SEC can require fraudsters to repay illegal profits even when regulators cannot show direct financial losses for individual investors.

Campaigns

• Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., is warning of a “flood of super PAC money” totaling more than $4 million from crypto and AIPAC into Maryland’s 5th Congressional District race supporting Del. Adrian Boafo. “These groups are not investing in this race out of charity,” he said Thursday.

Health

• Trump administration officials are quietly laying the groundwork for AI chatbots to diagnose illnesses and prescribe medications with increased autonomy, despite growing concerns from doctors about safety. — WaPo

Tech

• Anthropic is helping the NSA deploy its Mythos AI model for offensive cyber operations, installing about half a dozen engineers to guide use of the technology. — FT
• US tech companies in May announced the most job cuts in nearly two years as the industry spends more on AI.

Immigration

• A senior DOJ official recently told prosecutors nationwide to redouble efforts to charge noncitizens who have voted.

World

• China said it was “strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposed to the US distorting historical facts” after Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement marking the anniversary of the crackdown on protesters on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
• Iranian soccer federation president Mehdi Taj expressed disappointment that US visa applications for the country’s soccer team have still not been approved ahead of the FIFA World Cup. — NYT
• The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a confidential report that it has been unable to inspect nuclear facilities in Iran affected by the war. — AP

Outside the Beltway

• New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said federal immigration officials continue to bar her from entering the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, raising “serious questions about what is happening behind its walls.”
• Arizona’s attorney general plans to seek a new indictment against allies of President Trump accused of trying to overturn the state’s 2020 election result.

— Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Todd Blanche’s path to Senate confirmation as attorney general.

Laura McGann, editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor, and Morgan Chalfant, Washington briefing editor

Graph Massara and Lauren Morganbesser, copy editors

Contact our reporters:

Burgess Everett, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott, Nicholas Wu, David Weigel