It’s Monday. How is everyone in the House enjoying the first real day of recess? Hopefully you’re right behind them, Senate staffers!
In today’s issue:
- Trump says he refused Epstein invite
- Trade deadline week is here
- Timeline for Putin shortened
- US to set up food centers in Gaza
- Booker coaches Dems on social media
⛳️ IN SCOTLAND
Trump loves an AMA*:
* AMA = Ask Me Anything
President Trump met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer this morning in Scotland. Trump took questions from reporters, making news on a wide range of topics. Here are the highlights:
What was top of mind for Trump?:
♦️ The humanitarian crisis in Gaza
🔷 The Jeffrey Epstein scandal
🔶 The war between Russia and Ukraine
♦️ First, I’ll start with the Gaza situation: Trump announced the U.S. will work to set up “food centers” in Gaza to help alleviate the starvation, describing the humanitarian crisis amid the Israel-Hamas war as “real starvation.”
Starmer chimed in, arguing Israel needs to be pressured to end the “humanitarian catastrophe.” The U.K. prime minister called the starvation “intolerable” and the images of malnourished Gazan children “revolting.”
🔷 OK, now the Jeffrey Epstein scandal: Trump told reporters he turned down an offer to visit convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s private island.
In Trump’s words: “I never went to the island and [former president] Bill Clinton went there supposedly 28 times. I never went to the island but [former Treasury Secretary] Larry Summers, I hear, went there, he was the head of Harvard. And many other people that are very big people, nobody ever talks about them. I never had the privilege of going to his island and I did turn him down. But a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island. In one of my very good moments, I turned it down. I didn’t want to go to his island.”
Trump also launched into a fiery tirade about reports detailing his alleged past relationship with Epstein.
He pushed back on The Wall Street Journal’s reporting detailing a message and drawing he allegedly contributed for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003. “I don’t do drawings. I’m not a drawing person,” Trump said. “I don’t do drawings of women, that I can tell you.” 📹Watch the clip
And when asked whether he would consider a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Trump said it would be “inappropriate” to discuss a pardon for Epstein’s accomplice “right now.”
🔶 Trump shortened Putin’s ceasefire deadline: Trump said he’s no longer interested in simply talking with Russian President Vladimir Putin — he wants Moscow to quickly agree to a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. “He talks — we have such nice conversations, such respectful and nice conversations, and then people die the following night,” Trump said.
For reference, Trump announced earlier today he would shorten Russia’s deadline to end its war with Ukraine to “about 10 or 12 days from today.”
📹 Watch the Starmers welcome Trump
🎤 IN THE WHITE HOUSE
Forget Infrastructure Week, it’s a trade deadline week:
After months of delays, President Trump’s long-awaited tariffs are scheduled to take effect at the end of this week.
Quick primer: Trump announced tariffs on dozens of other countries on April 2. A week later, he lowered the tariff rates for 90 days. But as the 90-day deadline neared, he pushed the deadline to Aug. 1.
In that time: Trump has cut several trade deals, including with the European Union, Japan, the Philippines and the United Kingdom.
What about China?: “The U.S. and China announced in late May the contours of a deal to stave off a trade war between the two countries temporarily. The U.S. reduced its tariff rate from 145 percent to 30 percent, and China reduced its rate from 125 percent to 10 percent.”
The Hill’s Sarah Fortinsky pulled together a list of the trade deals Trump has made ahead of Friday’s deadline and their specifics.
⏱️ ON CAPITOL HILL
The boss doesn’t want a shutdown, folks:
“Senate Republicans say President Trump has made it clear he doesn’t want a government shutdown, and they’re urging House GOP lawmakers to tone down their approach to the Sept. 30 funding deadline,” The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports.
Remember how House Republicans jammed a partisan funding bill through Congress in March? Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) reluctantly voted for it to avoid a shutdown. He faced a lot of blowback after.
But as Bolton points out, the political dynamics are *much* different now: “Schumer is under heavy pressure to fight harder against Trump and his MAGA allies, heightening the chance of a shutdown if Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) tries to use the same playbook.”
Read his reporting: ‘Senate GOP quietly urges House to shift approach on shutdown talk’
➤ INTERESTING READ — CORY BOOKER, THE SOCIAL MEDIA
Semafor’s Burgess Everett writes today, “How Cory Booker convinced his party to get extremely online.”
Excerpt: “He used to ‘live on Twitter,’ now X, but has soured on it. Lately Instagram is his ‘happy place.’ He believes children should not be on social media. On a political level, however, Booker looks at it as a professional obligation. He’s invited platform executives to talk to Senate Democrats about how their algorithms work.”
Lol: “I wouldn’t say he works me over; it’s not like I’m under duress,” Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said. “He’ll call me up or text me and say, ‘Hey, you did this on social. But if you do that, you know you’ll get more engagement.’”
➤ NEW BILL ON THE HILL:
A House GOP bill would rename the Kennedy Center for Trump, stripping former President John F. Kennedy’s name from the D.C. landmark.
What would the new name be?: “Trump Center for the Performing Arts.”
Keep in mind: House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee approved an amendment earlier this month to rename the Kennedy Center’s famed opera house the “First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.”
📃 OTHER NEWS
Vance is on a PR trip:
Vice President Vance is on the road in his home state of Ohio today to promote President Trump’s “big, beautiful” law.
He’s in Canton today to talk about the benefits of the bill.
Keep in mind: Some of the controversial provisions in the bill, such as the cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, are a harder sell for some constituents. So, Vance is making the rounds to sell its benefits to the American people.
FWIW: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he thinks Vance would make a “great nominee” for the Republican Party in 2028 if he decides to run. But keep in mind, Rubio was asked whether *he* would run. He sidestepped the question and pivoted to Vance.
*Mentions 2028 and braces for hate mail*:
I know we’re only halfway through 2025, but there’s already speculation building about the 2028 presidential race.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) is traveling to New Hampshire next month, speaking at a “Politics & Eggs” event hosted by the New England Council and the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, which is known as a rite of passage for any presidential hopeful.
COMING UP
The House is out. The Senate is in. President Trump is in Scotland. Vice President Vance is in Ohio. (All times EST)
12:25 p.m.: Trump arrives in Aberdeen, Scotland.
5:30 p.m.: A Senate vote. More votes are expected later today. 📆 Today’s agenda
🐝 INTERNET BUZZ
🍫 Celebrate: Today is National Milk Chocolate Day.
🍦🌮What is all over my TikTok feeds: Cold Stone has created a birthday cake Oreo “taco,” with a shell made from a waffle cone. 📸See for yourself
👋 AND FINALLY…
To leave you with an incredible realization, did you know bugs can actually help your golf game?
…Well, depending on how you define “help.” 😉
