It’s Monday. A year ago today, the Republican National Convention began in Milwaukee. This was right after President Trump’s first assassination attempt, and we were all on high alert. If you want a refresher, check out my reporting from that day.
In today’s issue:
- Trump makes two major Russia threats
- Threatens tariffs on any country trading with Russia
- Chilling new reporting on Camp Mystic
- Why many flood survivor calls went unanswered
- The Epstein saga is splintering MAGA World
🚨️ IN THE WHITE HOUSE
Trump is giving Russia 50 days. Then what?
President Trump is upping the ante with Russia to end its war with Ukraine. He has been growing increasingly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and to that end, he just made two major announcements:
1) Secondary tariffs: Trump will impose 100 percent secondary tariffs on any country that trades with Russia unless Moscow agrees to a ceasefire with Ukraine in the next 50 days.
“We’re very, very unhappy with them, and we’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in about 50 days,” Trump told reporters. He noted Congress wants 500 percent tariffs, so his 100 percent threat is far lower.
2) Sending weapons paid for by Europe: European countries will buy U.S.-made weapons to help Ukraine.
“In a nutshell, we’re going to make top-of-the-line weapons, and they’ll be sent to NATO,” Trump said alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
Yes, Rutte, the person who infamously referred to the president as “daddy” a few weeks ago. 😅 (FWIW, he later tried to clarify it.)
Did we see these announcements coming?: Washington had been bracing for the “major statement” Trump had teased regarding Russia.
➤ WHAT ELSE TRUMP SAID DURING HIS ANNOUNCEMENT:
Trump said he spoke with Melania Trump about Russia: “I [got] home and told the first lady, ‘I spoke with Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation.’ She said, ‘oh really? Another city was just hit,’” Trump 📹 explained.
Trump’s intention: “I think this is a chance at getting peace,” Trump 📹 said in his announcement.
➤ TIDBIT — WANT TO SEE HOW THE ROSE GARDEN REMODEL IS COMING?:
Construction crews began work in June to complete the Rose Garden renovation Trump ordered. It includes replacing the grass with gravel. Well, The Hill’s Alex Gangitano is at the White House today and 📸posted a photo of the construction.
⏱️ ON CAPITOL HILL
‘I call no takebacks!’:
Republicans are trying to take back billions of dollars in federal funding this week — and it could make for a potentially ugly week in the Senate.
I’ll explain: The Senate is expected to take up the bill, known as the rescissions package, this week before Friday’s deadline. The House has already approved it.
The dynamics are tricky. Some Republicans are concerned about the bill’s cuts to public broadcasting and global public health programs. But President Trump threatened to withhold support for any Republican who votes “no.”
A prominent senator has concerns: Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and other members of the committee are not thrilled with cutting programs that have already been funded through bipartisan bills.
A broader concern: The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports that “a handful of senior Republican senators are worried about ceding even more power to the Trump administration, as Congress has already done by allowing President Trump to shutter or overhaul agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development or impose steep tariffs on many of the nation’s trading partners without much pushback.”
Read Bolton’s reporting: ‘GOP leader faces showdown with Republicans on Trump-backed funding cuts’
What else is happening on Capitol Hill this week, via The Hill’s Mychael Schnell
⛑️️ IN TEXAS
New details on the horrific flooding:
We’re learning more about what happened in the early morning of July 4 when a flash flood seemingly caught parts of Central Texas, including Camp Mystic, off guard.
The Washington Post published a new report today on the circumstances that made this flood so deadly. A leader at Camp Mystic, which is located in a flood zone, got a flood alert warning of “life threatening” conditions at 1:14 a.m. However, Dick Eastland, the camp’s director, didn’t begin evacuations until 2:30 a.m.
The Post notes the National Weather Service’s (NWS) alert didn’t include an evacuation order and interviews with families indicate there was spotty cell service. Other camps also delayed their evacuations, but Camp Mystic had a higher risk. The camp had a speaker system, but it wouldn’t have worked without electricity.
The Washington Post also spoke with a camp counselor who recounted what happened that night. It is hard to read.
Excerpt: “A native Texan, [camp counselor Ainslie Bashara had] seen hundreds of summer squalls, but this one felt heavier. The thunder cracked like fireworks inside the cabin. … The lightning lit the room like flashbulbs, and at each strike, she scanned faces around the room. Then she noticed a car pass by, a bizarre sight at that hour. She glanced at her watch: 1:58 a.m. She soon heard another noise that, at first, felt out of place. Two nearby cabins housed Mystic’s youngest campers, and the 8-year-olds had started shrieking.”
Read: ‘In the dark, amid screams, a Camp Mystic counselor had 16 girls and one headlamp’
What about the FEMA response?:
The New York Times reports the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not respond to nearly two-thirds of calls from flood survivors to the disaster assistance line.
Why?: “The lack of responsiveness happened because the agency had fired hundreds of contractors at call centers, according to a person briefed on the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal matters.”
Timing: Contractors were laid off on July 5 once their contracts expired. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who introduced a new rule that any expense exceeding $100,000 must be personally approved by her, didn’t renew those contracts for five days.
The percentage of FEMA calls that were answered, per the Times:
- July 5: 7 percent of calls
- July 6: 8 percent (the first day that FEMA’s contractors were fired)
- July 7: 15.9 percent
- July 10: Noem renewed the contracts on Thursday.
Noem defended her response this weekend: Noem denied reports of resources being delayed in Texas due to her new $100,000 sign-off rule as “absolutely false.” She told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that “call centers were fully staffed and responsive.”
📰️ OTHER NEWS
The Jeffrey Epstein saga is splintering Trump from MAGA World:
President Trump is desperately trying to move on from the controversy surrounding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but his attempts to put to rest the conspiracy theories have backfired.
His administration concluded Epstein had no client list of powerful people and that he was not murdered in jail, both theories that have long fueled conspiracies. But the reported memo debunking these questions has only sparked more intense scrutiny.
A reporter asked Attorney General Pam Bondi about the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) conclusions last week — and before Bondi could respond, Trump snapped at the journalist.
This didn’t end the discussion, so this past weekend, Trump tried another approach. He praised Bondi on Truth Social, called into Charlie Kirk’s radio show to express support for his attorney general and 📸invited her to his box at the FIFA Club World Cup.
But the questions are only intensifying. Far-right activist Laura Loomer, who is a strong ally of Trump, called for a special counsel to investigate the handling of the Epstein files. She told Politico late last night that she doesn’t think Bondi “has been transparent or done a good job handling this issue.”
Tomorrow: In The Movement newsletter, The Hill’s Emily Brooks will take a look at how the Epstein saga could affect Republicans in the midterms. Click here to sign up & get it in your inbox.
Related, via The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board: ‘Now Trump Says Forget Jeffrey Epstein: He urges MAGA to give up a conspiracy tale that he and his allies promoted.’
➤ DEMOCRATS ARE ALSO TRYING TO FORCE THE FILES TO BE RELEASED:
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) called on House Republicans to demand the Trump administration release the “FULL Epstein files.” And Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) says he will introduce a resolution to demand the file release.
Will Bessent overtake Rubio for the person with the most jobs?
There is speculation swirling that President Trump could replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell with Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent. The Hill’s Tobias Burns reports this possibility “is spinning heads from Washington to Wall Street.”
Could this happen?: Burns published a helpful explainer on whether it is actually possible to have a dual Fed-Treasury chief. Basically, there’s no law prohibiting it, but losing the Federal Reserve’s independence could have serious ramifications for the economy, particularly inflation.
Read Burns’s reporting: ‘Will Bessent serve as Fed chair, Treasury secretary at the same time?’
COMING UP
The House and Senate are in. President Trump is in Washington. (All times EST)
Noon: Trump participates in the White House Faith Office luncheon in the State Dining Room. 💻Livestream
2 p.m.: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will be the first guest on GOP strategist Scott Jennings’s new radio show, per The Hill’s Emily Brooks.
5:30 p.m.: Two Senate votes, one judicial confirmation and the other to end debate on another nominee. 📆Today’s agenda
6:30 p.m.: First and last House votes. 📆Today’s agenda
Wednesday: The Hill and NewsNation are hosting an inaugural Hill Nation Summit to interview Washington’s top leaders. Speakers include: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing Peter Navarro, House Democratic Vice Chair Ted Lieu (Calif.), former DNC co-Vice Chair David Hogg and more. 🎤Full speaker list📝Request to attend
🐝 INTERNET BUZZ
🧀 Celebrate: Today is National Mac and Cheese Day!
🧑💻 Elmo, I sure hope your password wasn’t Elmo!ABC123: Elmo’s X account was hacked over the weekend. The hacker posted racist and antisemitic messages, per USA Today.
👋 AND FINALLY…
To leave you smiling, watch this dog process the news of a new baby entering the family.
