Trump rekindles trade war ...Middle East

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In today's issue:

▪ New U.S. trade levies, deadline

▪ Trump, Netanyahu tout Iran victory

▪ RFK Jr. sued over vaccine restrictions

▪ Texas flood response enters Day 5

President Trump told Japan, South Korea and 12 other nations on Monday they face tariffs of at least 25 percent starting next month unless they soon conclude new trade deals with the United States.

The newest tariff lineup, communicated by the administration through letters and posted on social media, revived Trump’s efforts to notch agreements with trading partners, which have been slow to emerge. The new tariffs essentially replace the steep "Liberation Day" duties Trump announced in the Rose Garden three months ago.

The president postponed his announced April levies for 90 days until Wednesday and this week extended the trigger again to Aug. 1, hoping to nail down more U.S. agreements with individual countries. He indicated later on Monday there may be some wiggle room from that new deadline.

The president told reporters his announced tariffs are final, but, “If they call up and they say ‘we’d like to do something a different way,’ we’re going to be open to that. But essentially that’s the way it is right now.” 

Trump called his latest tariff announcement "firm, but not 100 percent firm."

He argues that “reciprocal” tariffs are producing billions in new revenues for the U.S., and at the same time pressure countries to sign trade deals that he says can add “rocket fuel” to U.S. growth.

Financial markets went into a swan dive over Trump’s trade war in the spring and his policies injected uncertainty into business and consumer decisions, which economists say has slowed U.S. growth. The president asserts that tariffs cost Americans “nothing,” including levies on China. Most economists disagree.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who has been publicly hammered by the president, has explained the tariff moves have weighed on the central bank's decision-making about when to cut its benchmark interest rates.

"We do expect … tariff inflation to show up more," Powell told the House Financial Services Committee last month. "But I want to be honest, we really don't know how much of that's going to be passed through to the consumers. We just don't know. And we won't know until we see it. It could be lower than we expect; it could be higher."

Trump and Cabinet officials continue to express confidence that trade pacts are nearing the finish line and will show up in U.S. economic expansion. The administration previously announced deals with the United Kingdom, China and Vietnam.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently said they anticipate about 12 trade deals.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Trump pushes a global trade war back to the top of his agenda.

▪ Time: Here’s where major countries stood with the U.S. before Trump shifted Wednesday’s tariff deadline to Aug. 1 using an executive order.

Bessent, who regularly fields questions from skeptics on Wall Street, in C suites and abroad, told CNBC on Monday that Trump is focused on “the quality of the deals, not the quantity.” The president’s transactional approach, he suggested, is effective.

“We’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations,” the secretary added.

SMART TAKE with BLAKE BURMAN

Is America ready for the “America Party”? Elon Musk seems to think so. He posted on the social platform X, which he owns, over the weekend that he’s forming a new political party to “give you back your freedom.” President Trump has called the move “ridiculous,” and says Musk has gone “off the rails.”   

Recent polling shows Americans don't completely brush off the idea of a new political party. In April, our partners at Decision Desk HQ found that 40 percent of Americans thought the country needed a viable third party, while 43 percent thought a third party would be good in theory, but not in practice.   

However, saying you’re for a new party and then saying you are for a candidate of that party are two different things. Like we saw with the No Labels effort last cycle, that eventually became a challenge. For now, Musk’s name recognition and online megaphone will likely keep the conversation going.  

Burman hosts "The Hill" weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation.

3 Things to Know Today

Leading the Day

TRUMP WELCOMED Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House Monday, weeks after Israel attacked Iranian nuclear and military facilities, with the U.S. also dropping bombs on three nuclear sites.

The president and Netanyahu took a victory lap during Monday’s meeting, with Netanyahu saying he would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize while presenting him with a nomination letter.

“He’s forging peace as we speak, one country and one region after the other,” Netanyahu said.

“Wow. Thank you very much. Coming from you in particular, this is very meaningful," Trump said, taking the letter.

During their meeting, Trump said he was “all for” lasting peace with Iran but “ready, willing and able” to strike if Tehran poses additional threats to the U.S.

The president offered wide-ranging remarks to the press in what was initially billed as a private dinner with the Israeli leader. He said talks with Iran are expected within the next week.

The two leaders had dinner in the White House Blue Room to mark the Iran operation and discuss efforts to push forward with a 60-day ceasefire proposal to pause the 21-month conflict in Gaza.

The newest draft includes a 60-day pause in the Gaza war, hostage releases by Palestinian militant group Hamas and increased aid to Gazans, distributed by the U.N. and others. What it doesn’t include is a complete termination of the war, a key Hamas demand. But negotiations for a permanent cessation of attacks would take place during the truce.

When Trump was asked what was preventing a peace deal in Gaza, he said: "I don't think there is a hold-up. I think things are going along very well."

▪ USA Today: Trump and Netanyahu said they were looking for countries to accept Palestinians from Gaza.

▪ Axios: Israel is preparing for the possibility of further military action if Iran tries to revive its nuclear program, and Israeli officials think Trump could greenlight renewed Israeli attacks.

THE SENATE IS BACK, fresh off a holiday recess and GOP win with the passage of Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget bill. The next hurdle? Rescissions, or the administration's effort to claw back $9.4 billion in federal spending — ranging from foreign aid to funding for public media — and codify some cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said previously he was waiting on Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who chairs the Appropriations Committee, to take the next steps. The Maine Republican is perhaps the most prominent critic of the proposed clawbacks, especially the cuts to the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the George W. Bush-era global AIDS-prevention program.

The clock is ticking: Republicans only have until July 18 to pass the legislation due to a statutory deadline.

TEXAS FLOODS: Local, state and federal officials are all pointing fingers in the wake of the deadly Texas flooding, but one thing is certain: The warnings weren't heard by the people who needed them.

Following the catastrophic floods that killed more than 100, state and county officials told reporters that the storm had come without warning. But many meteorologists have argued that state and local officials, as well as local residents, received a long train of advisories that a dangerous flood was gathering.

Trump confirmed he will visit the affected areas on Friday.

The floods are drawing renewed scrutiny on Trump administration cuts at the nation's weather and climate research agencies. A former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association official said the floods were the “worst case scenario.” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), who represents San Antonio, said there needs to be an investigation into whether the administration’s aggressive federal workforce cuts were a factor. 

“On most days, obviously, you’re not going to have a tragedy like this, but when you have flash flooding, there’s a risk that you won’t have the personnel to … do that analysis, do the predictions in the best way. And it could lead to tragedy,” he said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. “I don’t want to sit here and say conclusively that that was the case, but I do think that it should be investigated.”

The White House has pushed back forcefully at those blaming Trump for the flooding. "Blaming President Trump for this flood is a depraved lie and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday.

When and Where

Zoom In

HHS CHALLENGE: Six leading medical organizations filed a lawsuit on Monday against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his department, charging that recent decisions limiting access to vaccines were unscientific and harmful to the public. The suit, filed in federal court in western Massachusetts, seeks to restore COVID vaccines to the list of recommended immunizations for healthy children and pregnant women.

In other courts news: 

? International students: A federal judge in Boston on Monday heard opening statements in a trial that has become the foremost challenge to the Trump administration’s aggressive posture toward foreign students who espoused pro-Palestinian views. 

? Planned Parenthood won a temporary injunction on Monday that allows its clinics to continue to receive Medicaid funding for services that are unrelated to abortion. The organization sued the Trump administration earlier on Monday over a new law that essentially bars Planned Parenthood clinics from receiving federal Medicaid payments.

?️ North Dakota voting: A federal appeals court on Monday said it won’t reconsider its decision in a redistricting case that went against two Native American tribes that challenged North Dakota’s legislative redistricting map. The dispute, which at its core is about voting rights, involves the question of whether private individuals can sue the federal government under a section of civil rights law. It may end up before the Supreme Court.

The case drew national interest because of a 2-1 appeals court ruling issued in May that erased a path through the federal Voting Rights Act for people in seven states to sue under a key provision of the landmark federal civil rights law. The tribes argued that the 2021 map violated the act by diluting their voting strength and ability to elect their own candidates. Only the Department of Justice can bring such lawsuits, the appeals panel ruled. 

⚖️ Supreme Court: The high court’s expansive view of presidential power is “solidly” pro-Trump, according to an ABC News analysis.

?️ Abrego Garcia case: The Justice Department on Monday told a judge it will deport for a second time Kilmar Abrego Garcia before he faces trial if he is released from custody next week on charges filed after his wrongful deportation to El Salvador in March. Abrego Garcia is in custody in Nashville.

EPSTEIN MEMO: The Department of Justice concluded that Jeffrey Epstein killed himself and did not keep a client list, it determined in a memo released Monday alongside the FBI. The report, which is in line with various other evaluations, came after Trump tapped leaders for the FBI — including its deputy director, Dan Bongino — who have previously promoted conspiracy theories about the disgraced financier's death. 

Trump on Monday reiterated his support for Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel, even as the Trump administration memo contradicted statements from his own attorney general, Pam Bondi, and drew disappointment and ire from figures on the right.

POLITICS: Who would support Elon Musk’s promised new third party? Has he filed Federal Election Commission paperwork to launch it? The Hill’s Emily Brooks probes those questions and others in her weekly newsletter covering conservative politics. To read more, click here to sign up for “The Movement.” 

▪ The Hill: Musk has ratcheted up his already volatile feud with Trump. 

▪ The Hill: Kevin O’Connor, who served as former President Biden’s physician, asked the House Oversight Committee to postpone scheduled testimony over disagreements on the scope of the questions the Republican-led committee can ask him.

New York City: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Monday on “The View” that he plans to meet with mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani next week. The House minority leader has not endorsed in that race. 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (I), who is seeking reelection, said on Monday that former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democratic mayoral candidate, asked him to drop out of the race. 

North Carolina: Republican senators aren’t happy about how Trump criticized Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who voted against the “big, beautiful” Trump agenda because he opposed the law’s $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts. Tillis, fed up, opted not to seek reelection next year, giving Democrats a better chance of picking up the North Carolina Senate seat.

Elsewhere

“COALITION OF THE WILLING”: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke Monday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, discussing “joint diplomatic efforts” and plans for a meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing” in Rome “in a few days.”

“We are working to ensure the decisions made are as strong as possible,” he said.

The talk came as Russia intensified its airstrikes on civilian areas after more than three years of war. In the past week, Moscow launched some 1,270 drones, 39 missiles and almost 1,000 powerful glide bombs at Ukraine, Zelensky said Monday.

Meanwhile, Trump said Monday the Pentagon would send Ukraine additional weapons after his administration imposed a pause on some shipments to Kyiv.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed in a statement late Monday that “additional defensive weapons” are being sent to Ukraine, saying the order was taken “at President Trump’s direction.”

The Wall Street Journal reports the shipments will be discussed by the National Security Council today.

▪ The New York Times: Ukrainian troops struggle to hold the line on the eastern front.

▪ Politico: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is goading Hungary to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

▪ Axios: Inside Trump's Patriot missile plans for Ukraine.

SYRIA: The Trump administration announced it is revoking the terrorist designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group responsible for the overthrow of Syria’s longtime dictator Bashar Assad, but which grew out of an al Qaeda branch in the country. The move comes after a wide-ranging executive order lifting layers of sanctions on the country.

▪ Politico: Trump on Monday defended former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro as he faces a trial for his role in trying to overturn the results of his country’s 2022 election.

Opinion

The Closer

And finally … Out of the July 4 Central Texas flooding are heroic accounts of hundreds of rescues — and luck. Searchers heading into a fifth consecutive day of emergency operations continue to look for the missing.

Survivors include a 22-year-old woman rescued after clinging to a tree for hours. A young girl was found alive after floating on a mattress. A mother and her 19-year-old son survived the fury of flash flood waters by clutching each other and a tree. Camp Mystic, a well-known recreational getaway in Texas, confirmed Monday that 27 of its campers and counselors died. But one young counselor was able to help evacuate 14 campers to safety.

A night-shift worker screamed just in time to rouse a sleeping family with children as rushing water circled their home and then threatened to knock them off their feet and into the torrent. They narrowly escaped. 

Mo-Ranch in the Texas Hill Country confirmed that after 1 a.m. on July 4, its staff, on their own initiative, decided to evacuate about 70 children and adults to higher ground after viewing the swollen Guadalupe River. 

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