President is testing his midterm message on the economy in a , even as voters largely disapprove of his stewardship. The event’s promoted focus is the , which quadrupled the federal deduction for state and local taxes, a critical change for high-tax states like New York.
Meanwhile, Republicans are struggling Trump’s . In Havana, a huge crowd of Cubans is taunting Trump while protesting the U.S. indictment former President Ra煤l Castro amid Trump’s pressure campaign. And in Europe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is facing NATO allies confused by contradictory Trump administration statements.
The Latest:
Rubio says US remains ready to resume Russia-Ukraine peace efforts
The Trump administration remains ready to resume mediation efforts that have been stalled for some time, Rubio said.
With concerns high in Europe, particularly in the Baltic states, that the administration鈥檚 interest in ending the conflict is waning, Rubio told reporters that the U.S. still believes the 鈥渢he war can only end with a negotiated settlement. It will not end with a military victory by one side or the other.鈥�
Previous rounds of talks were unfortunately 鈥渘ot fruitful,鈥� Rubio said, but 鈥渋f we see an opportunity to pull together talks that are productive, not counterproductive, and that have the chance to be fruitful, we鈥檙e prepared to play that role.鈥�
Rubio: 鈥楽omeone鈥檚 going to have to do something about鈥� Hormuz
The secretary of state said he and other foreign ministers discussed the issue of reopening the critical waterway, and that he reiterated the need for a 鈥淧lan B鈥� if a deal isn鈥檛 reached between Washington and Tehran.
鈥淪omeone鈥檚 going to have to do something about it, okay?鈥� Rubio said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not just going to voluntarily reopen the straits in that scenario.鈥�
Rubio said he received lots of 鈥渘ods鈥� from European allies when he brought it up Friday. In the same breath, Rubio confirmed what Iranian officials had been saying, that progress is being made in the negotiations.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 exaggerate it and I wouldn鈥檛 diminish it,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 more work to be done.鈥�
Rubio says US force posture in Europe will eventually be reduced
Rubio says America鈥檚 NATO allies understand that eventually there will be a reduction in the U.S. troop presence in Europe as the Trump administration evaluates its force posture globally.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,鈥� Rubio told reporters.
NATO allies have been confused by contradictory statements coming from Trump and his top aides, including an announcement last week that troop levels would be reduced in Poland that Trump appeared to reverse on Thursday. A previously announced troop reduction in Germany appears to be going ahead but Rubio noted that the Germans 鈥渄idn鈥檛 freak out about it鈥� because it brought the numbers back to where they were three years ago.
Marco Rubio meets NATO allies with demands to increase defense capabilities
The U.S. secretary of state has met with his NATO foreign minister counterparts in Sweden and reiterated U.S. demands for Europe and Canada to increase their defense spending and military industrial capabilities.
In meetings with his colleagues in Helsingborg on Friday, Rubio said the U.S. remains committed to NATO but said the force posture of American troops in Europe is contingent on what allies contribute. The alliance has been jolted by 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 abrupt decisions on troop deployments.
Trump has expressed strong dissatisfaction with some allies and their reluctance or refusal to assist in the war with Iran. Rubio said the president鈥檚 views and 鈥渇rankly, disappointment at some of our NATO Allies and their response to our operations in the Middle East, they are well documented鈥� and need to be addressed by NATO leaders at their summit in Turkey in July.
Trump and the Republican party are now exposed in new ways
While the president鈥檚 handpicked candidates are winning GOP primaries, many are untested heading into general elections this fall. 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 own approval rating sits at a low point, and he鈥檚 spending his political capital, alienating would-be allies and threatening to detail GOP priorities.
罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 announcement of nearly $1.8 billion 鈥渁nti-weaponization鈥� fund for people he believes were wrongly prosecuted blindsided senators already fuming over his push for $1 billion to provide security for his new White House ballroom. The audacity of the arrangement proved too toxic for the Senate to bear.
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina called it 鈥渟tupid on stilts鈥� and a 鈥減ayout for punks.鈥�
鈥淪o the nation鈥檚 top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong 鈥� Take your pick,鈥� said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former majority leader.
The GOP鈥檚 top priority is now in shambles
Voting on a roughly $70 billion budget package that would fuel 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 immigration and deportation operations for the remainder of his presidential term, into 2029, was postponed until Congress resumes next month. That blows 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 June 1 deadline to have it on his desk.
Trump shrugged when asked during an Oval Office event if he was losing control of the Senate.
鈥淚 really don鈥檛 know,鈥� the president said.
And it wasn鈥檛 just the Senate. For the first time this year, enough Republican House members broke ranks to signal support for a war powers resolution from Democrats that鈥檚 designed to halt 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 military action in Iran. postponed the voting to avoid confronting the president.
The day has arrived. The Senate said No
political met its potential match this week as angry Republican senators, pushed to a breaking point by his seemingly insatiable and outlandish demands 鈥� particularly a for and others he believes were wrongly prosecuted 鈥� did the unthinkable.
, closed up shop, and went home.
The moment was as rare as it was daring, a sudden flex from the Congress that has become a as a coequal branch, the Republican majority almost always more willing to accommodate the Republican president than to confront him.
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Rubio says US force posture in Europe will eventually be reduced
Rubio says America鈥檚 NATO allies understand that eventually there will be a reduction in the U.S. troop presence in Europe as the Trump administration evaluates its force posture globally.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,鈥� Rubio told reporters.
NATO allies have been confused by contradictory statements coming from Trump and his top aides, including an announcement last week that troop levels would be reduced in Poland that Trump appeared to reverse on Thursday. A previously announced troop reduction in Germany appears to be going ahead but Rubio noted that the Germans 鈥渄idn鈥檛 freak out about it鈥� because it brought the numbers back to where they were three years ago.
Marco Rubio meets NATO allies with demands to increase defense capabilities
The U.S. secretary of state has met with his NATO foreign minister counterparts in Sweden and reiterated U.S. demands for Europe and Canada to increase their defense spending and military industrial capabilities.
In meetings with his colleagues in Helsingborg on Friday, Rubio said the U.S. remains committed to NATO but said the force posture of American troops in Europe is contingent on what allies contribute. The alliance has been jolted by 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 abrupt decisions on troop deployments.
Trump has expressed strong dissatisfaction with some allies and their reluctance or refusal to assist in the war with Iran. Rubio said the president鈥檚 views and 鈥渇rankly, disappointment at some of our NATO Allies and their response to our operations in the Middle East, they are well documented鈥� and need to be addressed by NATO leaders at their summit in Turkey in July.
A festive crowd taunts Trump in Havana
鈥淲ho do they think they are to judge Ra煤l?鈥� Gerardo Hern谩ndez asked as the crowd cheered. He鈥檚 one of five Cubans accused of being a spy who was imprisoned and later released by the U.S. in 2014.
鈥淔or the United States, the law is a tailor-made suit,鈥� he said before punching the air with this fist, to a shout of 鈥淰iva Ra煤l!鈥�
The crowd responded to his call: 鈥淗omeland or death, we will vanquish!鈥�
Thousands of people have crowded along Havana鈥檚 famed seawall to decry the U.S. indictment. Attendees include daughter, Mariela Castro, and his grandson, Ra煤l Guillermo Rodr铆guez Castro. Salsa songs with biting anti-Trump lyrics are booming across the old city.
Would a Venezuela playbook work in Cuba? Not so fast, expert warns
The Castro indictment has many thinking the Trump administration is following a playbook it used to in a military operation in January. Maduro is now imprisoned in the U.S. on federal and has pleaded not guilty.
The U.S. military of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier group for maritime exercises in the Caribbean Sea as the charges against Castro were announced. But professor William LeoGrande, a Latin America specialist at American University, warned against assumptions that a Maduro-like extraction would succeed in Cuba.
鈥淭he United States certainly has the military capability to seize Ra煤l Castro, just as they seized Maduro, although it would probably be more costly,鈥� LeoGrande said. But Castro has been retired for almost a decade. 鈥淗e still has influence and the leadership seeks his opinion on major decisions, but he is not running the government on a day-to-day basis. If the US were to abduct him, it would not change the operations of government, unlike what happened in Venezuela.鈥�
Cubans protest US indictment of Castro in front of US embassy
A huge crowd of Cubans rallied Friday outside the U.S. Embassy in Havana to honor former President and to protest the Trump administration鈥檚 criminal indictment.
鈥淭he Cuban people reaffirm that neither threats, nor blockade, nor energy embargo, nor false accusations will be able to break the will of an entire people in defense of their Revolution,鈥� read a statement published by state media.
Ra煤l Castro has rarely appeared in public since stepping down and handing over to President , who was joined by military leaders at the rally.
Castro was last seen surrounded by tens of thousands of people on May 1.
US approves modest arms sale for Ukraine to sustain air defenses
The Trump administration has approved a modest $108 million arms sale to Ukraine that will help the country maintain and sustain its midrange air defense missile system.
The State Department announced the sale of ground-to-air Hawk missile components, spare parts and logistic support late Thursday. The administration has notably reduced military support for Ukraine over the past 18 months as it seeks to mediate an agreement with Russia to end the conflict.
The sale 鈥渨ill improve Ukraine鈥檚 capability to meet current and future threats by further equipping it to conduct self-defense and regional security missions with a more robust integrated air defense capability,鈥� the department said in a statement.
Republicans call off vote on Iran war resolution that was on the verge of passing
Republicans struggled Thursday to find the votes to dismiss legislation that would compel to withdraw from the , delaying planned votes on the matter into June.
The House had scheduled a vote on a war powers resolution, brought by Democrats, that would rein in 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 military campaign. But as it became clear that Republicans would not have the numbers to defeat the bill, GOP leaders declined to hold a vote on it. It was the latest sign of the slipping support in Congress for a war that Trump launched more than two months ago without congressional approval.
Republicans in the Senate are also working to ensure they have the votes to dismiss another war powers resolution that earlier this week, when four GOP senators supported the resolution and three others were absent from the vote.
The actions by congressional leaders showed Republicans are struggling to maintain political backing for 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 handling of the war.
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NATO allies bewildered by 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 about-face on US troop moves in Europe
NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment at 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 decision to send to Poland.
鈥淚t is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,鈥� Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
U.S. defense officials were also confused. 鈥淲e just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don鈥檛 know what this means either,鈥� said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.
NATO allies have been blindsided, despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to stay well-synchronized with our allies moving forward,鈥� NATO鈥檚 top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, promised on Wednesday.
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Trump says he鈥檚 sending 5,000 more troops to Poland, stirring confusion
Trump on Thursday said the U.S. will send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, stirring confusion following weeks of changing statements from Trump and his administration about in Europe.
The Trump administration has said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were . 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 social media announcement raises more uncertainty for European allies that have been blindsided by the changes, as the administration has complained about NATO members not shouldering enough of the burden of their own defense and .
Trump and the Pentagon have said in recent weeks that they were drawing down at least 5,000 troops in Germany after said the U.S. was being 鈥渉umiliated鈥� by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a .
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Trump aims to promote his tax law changes to voters soured on the economy
Trump is heading to a toss-up congressional district in New York on Friday to test his midterm message on the economy, even as voters largely disapprove of his stewardship of it.
Trump will travel to the Hudson Valley area to appear with Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who is up for reelection in what will be one of the most closely watched . The focus of the event is to promote the , particularly the quadrupling of the deduction for state and local taxes, which is critical in a high-tax state like New York.
The White House has been looking for more opportunities to highlight 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 economic accomplishments as his approval rating on the economy has slumped. About one-third of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling the economy, according to , down slightly from 40% at the start of 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 second term.
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