The House passed a war powers resolution 214 to 208 directing Trump to pull US forces out of hostilities with Iran, with four Republicans crossing the aisle. Hours later the Senate version, which would have carried actual force of law, failed 47 to 49. Both votes were about the same question: who gets to decide.
President Trump arrived at the NATO summit in Ankara this week with a single mission: force all 32 allies onto an immediate path to spending 5 percent of GDP on defense. Spain says it cannot get there. Zelenskyy wants Patriots. Erdogan wants F-35s. Two days, very high stakes.
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court upheld state laws that count mail ballots arriving after Election Day as long as they are postmarked on time. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the majority opinion and crossed over to join the court’s Democratic appointees. Trump called it a tremendous loss.
US District Judge Indira Talwani blocked key parts of Trump’s executive order limiting mail voting, siding with 23 states and DC. Her reasoning, that the president has no authority over voter rolls, is the part that matters most.
A closed-door lunch at the Capitol on June 24 turned into a shouting match between Trump and Republican senators furious about his Iran policy and his refusal to sign the housing bill. When a president fights his own caucus this openly, something has changed.
While VP Vance was in Switzerland in a 10-hour negotiation with Iran, Trump posted on Truth Social threatening to hit Iran harder. The talks briefly broke down. They resumed. The result was a 60-day roadmap. But the story is the method.