A federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred President Donald Trump's administration from implementing most of his first executive order on elections, part of which sought to require people to show documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote. The judge agreed that the states and Congress have constitutional authority over elections, deeming Trump's requirements a violation of the separation of powers.
Trump's push for stricter voter identification rules in federal elections has been ruffling Senate Republicans. Trump worsened tensions earlier Wednesday by abruptly canceling plans to sign a bipartisan affordable housing measure, insisting that the Senate first move his voting legislation even though it doesn't have enough support to pass.
At a preplanned luncheon, Trump is meeting with GOP senators who have grown increasingly frustrated by his diversions from the party's agenda and his unclear Iran war strategy. Republican senators had hoped to use the housing bill Trump abandoned to show voters they care about affordability ahead of the November midterm elections.
Trump also has a face-to-face Wednesday with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, two weeks ahead of the annual summit of the military alliance, as the Pentagon reviews the U.S. military footprint in Europe.
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Showing off the Trump flattery he’s famous for, Rutte praises the president as tough on defense contactors
The NATO chief said of the contractors: “You have been very harsh with them a couple of weeks ago.”
“I had one of them over in my office. He was still trembling,” Rutte said. “And I said, this is good. This is exactly what I need.”
The president has held a series of meetings with Pentagon officials and leading military contractors at the White House in recent days, discussing ways to increase munitions production after the war in Iran raised concerns about the U.S. eating into its stocks of missiles.
Rutte met with Trump in the Oval Office and, as he usually does, praised Trump in hopes that he won’t make good on threats to pull the U.S. out of NATO.
Vance says he’s working with the Pentagon to ensure Turkey can legally get F-35 jets
“There are certain things that we have to certify have happened that have happened in order to comply with American law,” the vice president said.
“We’re running the traps and confirming that it’s happened. This is really a congressional thing and ensuring that Turkey has complied with American law so they can get the F-35s.”
On the Iran school strike, Trump says, ‘I don’t think it’s gonna be us’
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that the findings of a Pentagon investigation into a missile strike on an Iranian primary school on Feb. 28, the first day of the war with Iran, would be released “when the appropriate time is right.”
But Trump said he’s “seen nothing to lead me to believe it was us.”
Trump called the incident “horrible” but said: “I don’t know that they’re ever going to solve that problem in terms of whose fault was it, because there were missiles flying all over the place.”
Trump says major oil companies are ‘possibly gouging’ on prices
The president fleshed out his plans for a Justice Department investigation into why gasoline prices have not fallen as quickly as oil futures after the signing of an interim deal for talks to end the Iran war.
“The oil companies are possibly gouging,” Trump said. “I hope they’re not. Otherwise they’re going to be in big trouble. They’re going to be in big trouble. We’re not going to play games.”
The president indicated that his targets for any inquiry would be some of the world’s leading energy companies, including firms he has hosted at the White House.
“So it’s ExxonMobil, it’s Chevron, it’s Shell, it’s BP,” he said. “It’s a lot of them.”
Pressed on what he wants NATO allies to do, Trump says: ‘Just be loyal’
“We don’t need their money we don’t need anything,” the president said during his meeting with NATO’s chief. “We have the most powerful military in the world by far. But I just want loyalty.”
He added: “We’re always fighting for them.”
Trump has sharply criticized NATO and renewed his threats to leave the alliance after complaining that its members did not do enough to support the U.S. during the war with Iran.
Trump says Zelenskyy is ‘doing pretty well’
Calling Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy "courageous," the president also acknowledged ongoing losses among both Ukrainian and Russian forces in the war, now in its fifth year.
“He’s holding his own at least,” Trump said. “A lot of people dying on both sides, but I think he’s doing pretty well.”
Ukraine’s General Staff said Wednesday that its forces struck a major natural gas processing plant and two key satellite communications centers in the latest nighttime attacks on Russia.
Ukraine's aerial campaign targeting energy facilities and military industries has intensified as Kyiv builds bigger and better long-range weapons to fight Russia's invasion.
In response, Zelenskyy has said Moscow has ordered redeployment of some air defense systems from Russian regions to the capital and to Crimea's Kerch Bridge, a crucial link for supplying Russian troops.
Trump says he’s only going to NATO summit in Turkey ‘out of respect’ for its host
He said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan phoned him and asked him to attend the defense alliance summit in the capital of Ankara in July.
“He said, ‘Please, I have it in Turkey. You got to be there. The United States has to be there,’” Trump told reporters. “And so I’m going out of respect to President Erdogan.”
Trump said of Erdogan: “I like him. He’s a friend of mine.”
He said he was glad Turkey stayed out of the war with Iran.
A reporter asked Trump if he would come to Turkey with a “gift bag” of fighter jets for Erdogan.
“I think so,” Trump responded. “I’m going to probably do something that’s going to make him very happy.”
White House asks Congress for $87.6 billion for Iran war, aid to US farmers and responding to Ebola crisis
The White House has formally requested the funding mostly to replenish the Pentagon after the war against Iran.
It submitted the request to Congress at a politically difficult time, as a majority of lawmakers have objected to any further military action.
The Office of Management and Budget sent the supplemental spending request Wednesday.
Trump suggests that, until recently, visiting NATO chief would have been mugged in Washington
Talking up his deployment of National Guard troops in the city, the president pointed to Rutte and said that had the NATO chief come two years ago, “you had a good chance of being mugged, although you’re a very big guy.”
“They would have mugged him up. They would have beaten the hell out of him,” Trump said to laughs.
He further suggested that going to dinner two years ago, Rutte might have been “robbed when he got into the restaurant.”
The president has bragged for months about troops dramatically lowering Washington’s crime. Their presence has had little demonstrable effect on reducing the kinds of violent crime Trump warned Rutte about, however.
As Rutte looks on, Trump takes 12-minute detour to talk about Reflecting Pool and crime
Saying “sick people” used razors and box cutters to slice portions of the lining, Trump said Wednesday that part of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool would be drained again for repairs.
He wasn’t sure if that would come before or after the July 4 holiday, during which thousands of people will be in the area.
Trump said six people have been arrested over damage, which he characterized as a “350-foot gash” in the lining.
The troubled $14-million-plus rehabilitation project has become a visceral flashpoint over law enforcement, aesthetics and environmental concerns ahead of the country's 250th anniversary celebrations.
The century-old Reflecting Pool has been drained, painted and plagued with algae bloom, with pieces of the new coating appearing to peel off the bottom.
Trump asked about cancellation of housing bill signing
Asked on Wednesday if he’d be willing to work out a deal to get the housing bill signed, Trump pushed for the lowering of interest rates and also reiterated his push for a measure to introduce new voter identification requirements.
“Lower the interest rates, you can have all the housing you want,” Trump said.
Earlier Wednesday, Trump said he had called off a planned signing for a bipartisan measure to increase home construction until passage of the SAVE America Act.
The cancellation was awkward for Capitol Hill Republicans, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who had just described the measure as a “really important bill to lower housing costs” before Trump called off the signing.
Sanders says election results show voters reject ‘establishment politics’
Bernie Sanders recently campaigned in New York alongside Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The Vermont senator said Tuesday’s victories by Mamdani-backed candidates prove Americans are “saying enough is enough.”
“You want a government that represents ordinary people, not just the rich,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill. “That’s what last night was about. That’s what we’ve seen for the last number of months. I think you’re going to continue to see it.”
Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from neighboring Connecticut, said voters are “clearly telling us they want us to be bolder,” but also cautioned against reading too much into the results.
“Obviously, in New York, the mayor and AOC have enormous power inside the Democratic Party today,” he said. “I’m not sure that election would reproduce itself; those results would reproduce themselves in every other state.”
Trump says he doesn’t ‘know anything’ about Andy Burnham, who could be the UK’s next prime minister
Asked for his thoughts on the British politician Andy Burnham, who could soon lead the United Kingdom’s government, Trump professed his ignorance.
“I don’t know anything,” Trump said. “I see that he was, I guess, the mayor of a town. I hear he’s extremely liberal. Extremely.”
Burnham has been the mayor of Greater Manchester, which has a population in excess of 3 million.
These were Trump’s first statements on the 56-year-old who could soon succeed Keir Starmer as the prime minister.
Asked if he would want to be the first world leader for the new prime minister to visit globally, Trump said, “No, but I think we’re probably of a different persuasion.”
Trump says of Mamdani slate wins that communism ‘never, ever worked’
The president said the fiery progressives who swept establishment-backed Democrats in New York’s congressional primaries are so far left, “they’re really into Never, Neverland.”
Candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani notched big wins during primaries Tuesday night. Asked if that might mean the Democrats will nominate a far-left presidential candidate in 2028, Trump responded: “It should make it easier for Republicans because most of the nation is composed of sane people.”
“If you look throughout history,” Trump said, communism and socialism have “never, ever worked. It’s not going to work this time.”
Rutte says US actions in Iran ‘would have been very difficult’ without Europe
Rutte had many compliments for Trump on Wednesday, but he gently pushed back after Trump listed his grievances with several European countries.
Having tried to work individual, bilateral deals on defense spending, Trump said he had been “disappointed” with some NATO members, including Italy, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Spain, which he called a “horror show.” Earlier this year, Trump ratcheted up his critique of NATO over the Iran war.
Acknowledging Trump’s assertion that the overall situation represented “a mixed bag,” Rutte also argued that “it would have been very difficult to do Iran without having Europe as a power projection platform for the United States.”
NATO chief says European allies were there for Trump in Iran
Meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, Rutte pushed back against Trump’s complaints that European allies weren’t there for the U.S. during the Iran war.
“I know there have been isolated cases about which you are really disappointed, but generally speaking, your European allies have been there with you,” the NATO secretary-general said.
Rutte noted that 4,000 to 5,000 U.S. planes took off from bases in Europe before Iran and the U.S. agreed to a ceasefire.
Trump has been critical of NATO and renewed his threats to leave the alliance during the Iran war. While introducing Rutte on Wednesday, Trump said, “They weren’t too nice to us in our recent little military skirmish.”
NATO secretary-general tries to impress Trump with charts and big numbers
For his meeting with Trump, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte brought charts on easels and talking points on some big numbers in hopes of impressing a president who has often expressed disappointment with the defense alliance.
Rutte sprang to his feet while meeting with Trump in the Oval Office to discuss a chart he called “the Trump trillion,” which showed increased military spending by Europeans and Canadians.
The NATO secretary-general then pointed to another chart showing European companies’ investments support 195,000 jobs.
GOP Sen. Cassidy says he’ll back war powers resolution until Trump team briefs him
“At which point, as I recall, he did not particularly care for my comments,” Cassidy said. “Raised his voice. I lost my temper. That’s not appropriate. It’s the Irish in me. But I again matched his tone and his volume.”
After someone in the room encouraged Cassidy to sit down, the senator said he agreed and sought to de-escalate the situation.
“I guess my point is, though, that the American people need to know more than we are being told,” Cassidy added.
The back-and-forth is a remarkable exchange between a Republican senator and the president of his own party. It comes after Trump backed a challenger who defeated Cassidy in his primary last month, a loss that the senator said the president brought up during the meeting.
Cassidy describes tense encounter with Trump
Sen. Bill Cassidy said his standoff with Trump began when the president asked why anyone would support the war powers resolution that passed the Senate on Tuesday.
“I said, ‘Is that a rhetorical question or would you really like to know?’” the Louisiana Republican told reporters on Capitol Hill after Trump’s private lunch with the Senate GOP ended.
Cassidy said the president wanted an explanation.
“I stood and said, ‘You have not told the American people what’s going on,’” Cassidy said. “This is supposed to last four weeks. It’s lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved.”
Cassidy said he told the president he would continue voting for the war powers resolution until he received a briefing from the administration.
In visit to Capitol, Jessie Diggins and other Olympians push for climate change solutions
Olympian Jessie Diggins visited Capitol Hill with her four medals in hand Wednesday to advocate for clean air, clean water and a healthy planet.
America's most decorated cross-country skier is part of "Protect Our Winters," an athlete-driven environmental group that sent a coalition to Washington to meet with lawmakers Tuesday and Wednesday. The group is most concerned with how the Environmental Protection Agency has weakened key climate, water and pollution regulations since Trump returned to office.
“I don’t want to stick my head in the sand and ignore the world burning,” Diggins said in an interview. “I feel like I have a responsibility to use my voice to advocate for change.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has said the agency will save trillions of dollars in regulatory costs and hidden taxes, to make the cost of living more affordable and reignite domestic manufacturing.
Trump arrives at the Capitol
The president is on Capitol Hill meeting with Senate Republicans hours after pulling back on plans to sign a bipartisan housing bill.
Federal judge bars Trump from implementing proof of citizenship requirement to vote
A federal judge has permanently barred Trump's administration from implementing most of his first executive order on elections.
His order included provisions that would have required people to show documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote and would have prevented mail ballots from being counted if they were received after Election Day.
The ruling on Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper effectively makes permanent a preliminary order she issued a year ago.
Casper agreed with arguments from Democratic attorneys general who filed the lawsuit that the Constitution gives states and Congress, not the president, the power to regulate elections.
GOP senators try to make sense of Trump’s move
Ahead of Trump’s arrival on Capitol Hill, Republican senators were processing his decision to cancel the signing of the housing bill.
Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi called the move “unexpected” and said he read the president’s message “with interest.” Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Trump’s reversal “makes no sense” and would hurt Republicans in the November midterm elections.
“There is a huge group of people who really appreciate what the president’s doing right now,” Tillis said. “And it’s the Democrat Party.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said Trump was “using everything as leverage to get the SAVE America Act passed.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the president’s closest allies in Congress, refused to talk to reporters about Wednesday’s developments.
Trump called off housing bill signing just as Republican leaders were praising it
The president’s announcement came at an awkward time for House Republican leadership, coming just as they were speaking at a press conference about the importance of the bill in addressing affordability — a key issue for voters this year.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise had just described it as “really important bill to lower housing costs.”
“Let’s show the American people what legislating looks like,” added Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill. “Let’s show the American people how you bring together and do something on a bicameral basis, and we did that.”
A reporter then asked about Trump’s cancellation as they took questions. Speaker Mike Johnson said he had spoken with Trump earlier Wednesday and was confident he would sign the bill.
“The president, when we go through the details of the bill, he’s going to understand that it’s a good product,” Johnson said.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren says Trump is showing he doesn’t care about American families
The bipartisan housing bill was as close as it comes to a “Kumbaya” moment in Washington, but the Democratic senator who helped craft the measure said she couldn’t understand why Trump thought canceling the signing ceremony was a smart idea.
“This just doesn’t make any sense,” Warren said on CNBC, saying the only conclusion she could draw is that Trump has “a complete indifference to the cost squeeze on American families, and to genuine efforts to do something about it.”
The Massachusetts lawmaker said Trump is his own worst enemy when it comes to lowering interest rates to help make housing more affordable.
She said his tariffs, his energy policies and his Iran war have kept inflation running hotter than it should, keeping borrowing costs high.
House Democrat to Trump: ‘Stop the nonsense’
Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas said Trump refused to sign the bill “all because of political games.”
“Families are struggling to afford a home,” she posted on X. “Stop the nonsense and sign the BIPARTISAN bill.”
An analysis by the Bipartisan Policy Center says the bill incorporates provisions from more than 60 measures introduced in the House, Senate, or both chambers — 36 of which had bipartisan sponsors.
America is turning 250. New polls show how they feel about it
About 4 in 10 U.S. adults feel "proud" about the country's 250th anniversary, according to a new AP-NORC survey. Roughly 3 in 10 say "excited" describes their emotions.
But as the celebrations begin, many Americans also feel indifferent or conflicted. New Gallup polling shows about 8 in 10 Americans now feel the signers of the Declaration of Independence would be disappointed with how the U.S. has turned out, a substantial increase from 25 years ago.
Laura Davis, a 44-year-old in Chicago who identifies as a progressive liberal, has struggled with what she describes as the "American declarations of grandiosity" this year, including Trump's White House ballroom construction and the repainting of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
That money could be better spent on Americans in need as well as international aid, she said, and she worries the country’s reputation is being damaged by the Trump administration’s actions.
Iran says it’s closing Strait of Hormuz again as Israel and Hezbollah keep fighting in Lebanon
Testing the Iran war’s uneasy ceasefire, the announcement from Tehran follows an Israeli airstrike Wednesday that killed two people, according to Lebanon’s state-run news agency. It was Israel’s first airstrike on Lebanon since the latest ceasefire took effect on Saturday.
Israel’s defense minister said Wednesday that the U.S. had not demanded that Israel withdraw from Lebanon and maintained that Israel will remain there as long as Hezbollah poses a threat to its troops and residents. Hezbollah has refused to halt attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing.
“We are not withdrawing, and as of this moment — and this is a diplomatic achievement — there is no American demand for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon,” said minister Israel Katz.
Lebanese and Israeli officials are meeting again this week in Washington. Lebanon hopes the direct negotiations will result in a plan for Israeli withdrawal.
US says Chemours to pay $450 million to settle ‘forever chemicals’ case
The Trump administration has reached a multistate settlement with chemical giant Chemours Co. over yearslong, illegal discharges of synthetic “forever chemicals” used to make products resistant to water, grease and stains.
The settlement is the first by the federal government to resolve enforcement claims against a manufacturer of harmful chemicals known as PFAS.
Under the agreement, Chemours will pay a civil penalty of $22.5 million for alleged violations and spend $90 million over 15 years to mitigate PFAS discharges in three states: West Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey. The company also agreed to install PFAS pollution controls and supply clean drinking water to affected communities. Combined, the penalties and relief programs are estimated to cost $450 million.
The Associated Press learned details of the settlement, which allows Chemours to continue manufacturing PFAS for commercial and military applications, ahead of an announcement expected later Wednesday.