Senate Republican hawks cheer Trump's slams on Putin
Why it matters: U.S. military support for Ukraine has become one of the biggest flashpoints between the GOP's growing isolationist wing and more traditional Reaganite hawks.
"I'm very happy that President Trump has recognized that Putin was giving him the Heisman," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told Axios.
Trump "is spot on about the games Putin is playing," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) posted on X, adding, "The Senate will move soon on a tough sanctions bill."
During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump lamented that Putin's warm words are ultimately "meaningless," saying, "We get a lot of bullsh*t thrown at us by Putin."
Asked about who made the initial decision to briefly pause weapons shipments to Ukraine last week, Trump said, "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"
That pause sparked grave concerns among GOP hawks.
"The self-indulgent policymaking of restrainers — from Ukraine to AUKUS — has so often required the President to clean up his staff's messes," Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a withering statement on Tuesday.
He urged Trump to "reject calls from the isolationists and restrainers within his Administration to limit these deliveries to defensive weapons."
What's next: Graham told reporters on Tuesday he feels confident Trump is on board after some changes have been made to the lawmaker's Russia sanctions bill — including a 180-day waiver. After that, any next waiver would be subject to congressional approval.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
5 minutes ago
- The Hill
Amid bipartisan concern, NOAA nominee pledges to make Weather Service staffing a ‘top priority'
As lawmakers from both parties raised concerns about staffing at the National Weather Service (NWS), President Trump's pick to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) promised Wednesday to make the matter a 'top priority.' Neil Jacobs, who led the agency in an acting capacity during the last Trump administration, said, '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.' The matter was particularly top-of-mind in the wake of last week's deadly floods in Texas that killed more than 100 people. Questions were particularly raised in light of across-the-board layoffs and buyouts conducted by the Trump administration in order to reduce the size of the government. After those layoffs, the administration has sought to shuffle staffers or hire more people as some Weather Service offices were deemed 'critically understaffed.' One employee who took a Trump administration buyout was the warning coordination meteorologist in the Austin/San Antonio office of the NWS, a job that includes making sure the public is aware of the forecasts. Jacobs heard concerns about Weather Service staffing from several lawmakers during his confirmation hearing. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) said that an office in his state was 'short' meteorologists because there had been a hiring freeze. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) lamented that at the Weather Service 'a decision was made to close overnight service in Cheyenne and route evening coverage' through a town hundreds of miles away called Riverton. Several Democrats raised similar worries about staffing levels. 'NOAA has lost at least 1,875 employees, totaling a combined 27,000 years of experience and institutional knowledge, and now has over 3,000 vacant staff positions,' said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). During the hearing, Jacobs also promised to try to improve community warning systems. 'I think there's an opportunity to modernize NOAA Weather Radio, and then potentially also look at some satellite capabilities,' he said. 'An all-the-above approach and modernizing the way to distribute these watches and warnings is something that is going to be a top priority of mine.' Meanwhile, several Democrats also raised issues with proposed research cuts at the agency — arguing that those cuts could make the agency less able to understand the weather. 'I support the president's budget,' Jacobs said when asked by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) about proposed cuts to weather and climate research in the administration's proposed budget. Markey said he believed the administration's proposed cuts would hamper the agency, saying 'a 27 percent cut is going to have an impact, because there's a definite ripple effect that occurs when that kind of funding is slashed.' Asked about climate change, Jacobs cited both human activity and 'natural signals.' '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,' he said. When 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. Jacobs had been a central figure in the 2019 Sharpiegate controversy, in which Trump edited a map with a Sharpie to bolster his claims that Hurricane Dorian could hit Alabama. At the time, NOAA released a statement backing the president and rebuking a NWS tweet that contradicted him. Asked about the incident on Wednesday, Jacobs said, 'There's probably some things I would do differently.' 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.
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Car import quotas, export credits on table for EU-US trade talks, sources say
By Christoph Steitz, Julia Payne and David Lawder FRANKFURT/BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Brussels is discussing with U.S. counterparts a range of measures aimed at protecting the European Union's auto industry from steep U.S. import duties, including tariff cuts, import quotas and credits against the value of EU automakers' U.S. exports, industry sources and trade officials say. The talks are part of efforts by the European Commission, the bloc's executive branch, to reach a trade agreement outline with the United States in the coming days, ahead of the August 1 deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for broad tariff increases. Trump said on Tuesday he would "probably" tell the EU within two days what rate it could expect for its exports to the U.S., adding that the 27-nation bloc had become much more cooperative. EU negotiators have sought relief from tariffs in key sectors such as autos and aerospace. One EU diplomat previously said cars were a "red line" for the bloc, making a U.S. concession on cars a caveat of any deal. Since April, EU carmakers have incurred a 25% U.S. import tariff on top of the 2.5% already in place. The levy is separate from Trump's prior threatened 20% "reciprocal" tariff announced in April but dialed back to 10%. Discussions are ongoing and it is unclear if the U.S. administration will agree to all terms from its biggest bilateral trading partner, the sources said. The White House, the U.S. Trade Representative's Office and the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the U.S.-EU negotiations. The European Commission also had no immediate comment for this story. EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said on Wednesday the Commission has made good progress on a framework trade agreement with the United States and a deal may be possible in the coming days. The sources - two European industry sources, three European officials and three U.S. industry sources familiar with the talks - declined to be identified because the talks are confidential. EXPORT CREDITS A U.S. source and one European official said things are moving "fast" in the negotiations. On the table is a proposal that would provide some relief from import tariffs for carmakers that produce vehicles in the United States and export them to other countries, three of the sources said. Under that plan, carmakers that export vehicles from the U.S. would get credits for that export value, which could then be applied against the value of any imports from the EU into the U.S., the U.S. source said. That would allow companies to import that value of vehicle duty-free or at a reduced rate, while anything above it would be subject to the maximum tariff. Such a mechanism would benefit carmakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which both have major production hubs in the United States for sport-utility vehicles, with a significant share of their output exported. Two sources said the U.S. had offered some relief if a company agrees to make additional investment, a mechanism that would help Volkswagen, which barely exports out of U.S. plants but is weighing a local factory for its Audi brand. The terms are a delicate balancing act for Brussels as it tries to find concessions that are acceptable to carmakers such as BMW, Porsche, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, as well as to the Trump administration, which wants to boost U.S. manufacturing and create jobs. TARIFF RATES, QUOTAS DISCUSSED Europe shipped nearly 758,000 cars worth 38.9 billion euros ($45.57 billion) to the U.S. in 2024, more than four times as many as in the other direction, according to data from European auto association ACEA. Two of the sources said the framework may be similar to the one agreed with Britain in May. In that deal, the U.S. cut tariffs on British-made cars to 10% and British carmakers received a import quota of 100,000 cars a year at the lower tariff rate, almost the total Britain exported last year. While the EU had proposed a similar tariff-rate quota with a certain number of vehicles imported, two U.S. industry sources said the Trump administration was leaning against this. Three sources said both sides have discussed cutting their respective auto import tariffs from current levels - 27.5% for imports into the U.S., and 10% for imports into the EU. Non-tariff elements such as standardising regulation, for example in the area of auto safety tests, are also being offered by the EU, one of the people said. ($1 = 0.8536 euros) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Voters now say its Trump's economy as they pin current economic conditions on him over Biden
Voters now overwhelmingly say President Donald Trump is responsible for the current state of the economy, according to late June survey data. Overall, 55 percent of respondents to a Wall Street Journal / YouGov survey said the president is responsible for the economy. That's more than double those who pinned current conditions on former President Joe Biden. That analysis held true among Trump voters, too, many of whom said the Biden economy, including its record inflation during the pandemic, was a key reason for turning out. Among the MAGA faithful, 46 percent of respondents to the survey, conducted June 17 - 20, said it was Trump's economy. As for the underlying indicators about the Trump economy, recent data paints a mixed picture. The economy added about 147,000 jobs in June, beating forecasts and surpassing May's 144,000-person increase. Unemployment also declined a tenth of a percent. Consumer sentiment, meanwhile, rose compared with May readings, according to the University of Michigan consumer survey, despite a period of domestic unrest that included mass protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles and the fatal shooting of a Minnesota lawmaker. But private sector hiring fell by half, and the overall labor market shrunk by 130,000 people. Considerable uncertainty remains about the long-term fate of the Trump economy with the administration's 90-day freeze on tariffs with international trading partners set to end on July 9. The tariffs could cost midsize American firms at least $82 billion in value from projected price hikes, layoffs, hiring freezes, and reduced margins, according to a JPMorganChase Institute study. Moreover, as the president himself has acknowledged, the scope of the administration's deportation campaign could pose a major threat to industries heavily reliant on migrant labor such as agriculture and hospitality. In immigrant communities across the country, residents have described decreased consumer traffic and employees skipping work. The White House's signature 'Big, Beautiful Bill' spending package could also impact the country's economy in longer-term ways. The bill, which passed the House of Representatives on Thursday and is heading to the president's desk, extends 2017 tax reductions and makes major cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance programs for low-income people. The legislation will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, and 11.8 million more people will go without health coverage, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
