Trump says Iran talks continue despite shaky Lebanon ceasefire

Time to Change the Islamic Regime in Iran

Cory Booker and Marco Rubio clash in tense hearing: 'We are now scrambling'

Secretary of State Marco Rubio got in a heated exchange with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Tuesday.Rubio was testifying for the first time since the United States launched the Iran war and Booker raised questions about the Ebola crisis and the military operation. Booker told Rubio he was concerned the U.S. had rolled back its investment in eradicating diseases in Africa, and expressed doubt that the Iran war was over, despite the Trump administration's claims that it was."With the crisis of Ebola, we see the challenges have been brought about as a result of our surveillance, early detection, and the like. I'm concerned about what the administration's strategy is," Booker said. "We are clearly seeing that what goes on on the continent of Africa directly affects our public health as well."But Rubio did not see eye to eye with Booker."I don't agree with the assessment," Rubio said. "It's not about cutting back. The response is that how much money you spent it's the results you will get. Ebola, the outbreak was in a war-torn, isolated, rural area in the DRC. Since then, our response has been very rapid."Booker pushed back."You did not cut early detection?" Booker asked. "That's not the reason there was Ebola," Rubio said. Booker cut him off as the conversation intensified."I'm not trying to get in an argument. I would like to have my questions answered," Booker said. "We cut early detection when it comes to infectious diseases on the continent, factually. This is not an opinion. We cut early warning systems on the continent."Rubio continued to argue with Booker and interjected the senator, saying "It had nothing to do with the Ebola outbreak.""I don't need to tell you, we are living in a place where an infectious disease crisis anywhere is a threat everywhere," Booker said, adding that he worried further budget cuts would complicate future outbreaks. "The United States made major reductions in these areas putting us more at risk. If you're talking about the Ebola crisis, other cuts we have made, you see it factually. Even our own State Department personnel I've talked to are saying we are less prepared for a global outbreak than we were before."Rubio denied Booker's comments."I don't agree with that assessment," Rubio said. "I don't know who told you that at the State Department." "You can't even agree on the facts. It is not accurate that we cut early detection?" Booker asked, pressing Rubio to respond. "Those have been repurposed," Rubio said. "The different arrangements with the countries are an example."But Booker wasn't convinced. "If you're telling me that we are as or more prepared before the Trump administration came in, I would like to see the facts," Booker said. "I think when the reforms are finalized we will be better prepared. We are responding faster not just humanitarian crises but faster than before," Rubio said.Booker then moved on to discuss the Strait of Hormuz blockade."The conclusion I have is the Strait of Hormuz was opened before this unjustified war," Booker said. "We are now scrambling to find a way to get it back open again." Booker argued the U.S. was now in a "worse situation, an adversary and our enemy is causing havoc in the region, funding proxies and terrorists, has discovered, thanks to you all, the power of shutting down the Strait of Hormuz." He said Iran was now in a better position, while America was worse off."It made our adversary have a stronger negotiating position," Booker said. "We are the strongest on earth and we are in a stalemate with Iran. We are begging to get back into a deal that you trashed in the first place." "There is no one begging," Rubio maintained.Rubio argued that the war was over — and Booker pushed back, saying that although Trump says it has ended, it hasn't."You keep saying how we are winning the war," Booker said. "The war is over now," Rubio said. "The war is not over. The American people see how we are losing at the pump and with costs. Yet this thing has not been resolved," Booker said.

'Repent, Marco!' Rubio hit with screaming protests as he walks into Senate hearing

Secretary of State Marco Rubio walked into the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday morning to a chorus of protests — his first congressional testimony since the Trump administration launched the war in Iran three months ago.As Rubio entered the hearing room, protesters erupted from their seats and screamed directly at him."Marco Rubio, stop killing Cubans!" one shouted. "Repent, repent Marco Rubio!" another cried, as Capitol Police moved in to drag them out.Before the hearing even began, a separate group was arrested outside the briefing room. NewsNation's Joe Khalil reported the group was "very vocal," chanting "Rubio lies, people with AIDS die." The Associated Press also reported protesters chanting, "One child dies every 30 mins."The disruptions set a combative tone for a hearing centered on the State Department's $36 billion budget request but expected to pivot quickly to the faltering ceasefire with Tehran. Tehran suspended talks Monday after Israel continued strikes on Lebanon.Rubio's prepared remarks offered little conciliation. "The U.S. government is not a charity," he wrote. "We are not here to play social worker."The committee's ranking Democrat, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, was withering in her opening remarks — accusing Rubio of refusing to provide information on U.S. operations in Iran, the American troop posture in Europe, and support for Ukraine."When you do notify Congress, it's to inform us of decisions you have already made," Shaheen said.It is Rubio's first public appearance before Congress since the war began in February — with a ceasefire under strain and midterms on the horizon.

Marco Rubio sweats when pressed on secret Trump admin memo: ‘They don’t want us to see’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was pressed Tuesday over the Trump administration’s refusal to grant lawmakers access to an official government memo on the U.S. war against Iran, one that Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) suspected may have “something in there you don’t want us to see.”Rubio testified Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, his first appearance before the body since the war against Iran was launched in late February. Kaine, a member of the committee, asked Rubio why the Trump administration has, to date, refused to share with lawmakers the written opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) on the war against Iran, despite having done so for other recent conflicts.“We can agree with it or not, but the administration presented a legal opinion from the [Justice Department on Operation Southern Spear] that we could review. Absolute Resolve, the effort against [Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro, the administration presented a legal rationale that we could review,” Kaine said. “Now, we could review both in classified, they've not been made public. We're 92 days into a war against Iran and the administration will not let Congress look at the OLC legal opinion justifying the war.”Kaine pressed Rubio for answers given the $1.5 trillion defense spending request Congress is being asked to approve, a request that represents an approximate 40% increase of the previous year’s defense spending. He also argued that the Trump administration’s hesitancy to share the OLC opinion on the war against Iran gave lawmakers cause for concern.“Mr. Secretary, you know what kind of thinking we do. If you showed us the legal rationale for two wars and you won't show us the legal rationale for the third... is there something in the rationale they don't want us to see?” Kaine said. “Is there a dissenting opinion that says it's not legal? Are there conditions like you can't strike civilian infrastructure like schools and bridges? Are there factual assertions like the war will be over in two days, or Iran will never close the Strait of Hormuz? By not sharing the legal opinion, you give us the opinion that there's something in there that you don't want us to see.”Kaine then asked Rubio if he would use his “influence” in the administration to press for the OLC legal opinion to be shared with lawmakers.“I can certainly inquire as to why it has not been available,” Rubio said before stumbling his words. “I don't think there's a reason why... I... I am not aware that... I'm – in fact, my understanding is that they have provided documentation to the committee.”Kaine interjected, clarifying that the Trump administration had provided “documentation” to lawmakers but not the OLC legal opinion. Kaine also asserted that Rubio, as a former U.S. senator himself, would “not accept” being denied access to a critical government memo.“Alright, well let me take that back and ask the Office of Legal Counsel,” Rubio conceded. “I'll take that back.”"You give us the opinion that there's something in there that you don't want us to see."Sen. @timkaine presses SOS @marcorubio on why the OLC legal opinion on the Iran war has not been shared with lawmakers."Is there a dissenting opinion that says it's not legal?" pic.twitter.com/vPnGdRufdL— Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) June 2, 2026

The Greek portmanteau that explains why Trump nominations are getting even worse

On Tuesday morning, the New York Times' Maggie Gallagher reported that President Donald Trump had appointed MAGA loyalist Bill Pulte as acting national intelligence director despite the fact that he "has no known background in intelligence, military or national security." According to journalist Derek Thompson, the Pulte appointment is a glaring example of Trump's willingness to promote his loyalists to key positions that they are woefully unqualified for.Linking to Gallagher's reporting on Pulte on X, formerly Twitter, Thompson (known for his writing for The Atlantic) tweeted, "'Late Kakistocracy' is that phase of democratic decline where the regime starts running out of ppl who will work for it, and so the folks who aren't qualified for their current positions are promoted to even larger positions for which they are even more unqualified."The term "kakistocracy" comes from two Greek words: "kákistos" (worst) and "krátos" (rule). And together, they mean "government by the worst people." Trump's Pulte appointment follows the resignation of Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman turned MAGA Republican, as national intelligence director. Gabbard said she was stepping down to care for her husband, Abraham Williams, who was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer.Pulte's focus in the second Trump administration has been housing. In 2025, he became director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) as well as chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But none of his previous experience in the administration, according to Gallagher, pertained to national security.Gallagher reported, "Mr. Pulte has no known background in intelligence, military or national security, but he is a Trump loyalist who has been among the most aggressive advocates for prosecuting Democrats and others perceived by Mr. Trump as having crossed him…. Mr. Pulte will continue to run the housing agency while taking on the position of director of national intelligence."In order to take over the national security director position permanently, Pulte will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate."On paper, the director of national intelligence, a role created after the September 11 terrorist attacks, is among the most powerful of Cabinet positions, responsible for coordinating the work of the CIA and a host of other agencies," Gallagher noted. "But Mr. Trump has never seen it as an important role, his advisers have said previously, and in his first term, he believed the staff working for that office were leaking information about him."Gallagher added, "The fact that Mr. Pulte will serve in an acting role, as opposed to facing Republican senators during a confirmation hearing for the job, could give him a freer hand in focusing on priorities the president cares about, including looking for evidence that his election loss in 2020 stemmed from fraud, something that Ms. Gabbard was already pursuing."

Why the Worst Get on Top

Trump’s choice of Bill Pulte for acting director of national intelligence is both terrifying and predictable.

WATCH: Marco Rubio Rubio testifies on Capitol Hill for the 1st time since start of Iran war

Secretary of State faces off with lawmakers over Trump's budget request

The biggest fraud scandal in America? JD Vance says it’s worse than you think.

Vice President JD Vance revealed just how much taxpayer money is lost to fraud across America — and it’s more than you think.“We’ve referred over $22 billion in fraudulent small business loans back to the Treasury for collection. We deferred more than $1.3 billion in fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements that were coming from various states, particularly California,” Vance explained.The Trump administration has also “put a six-month hold on enrollments for new hospice and home health care providers” due to a large amount of fraud uncovered in hospices all over the country.“We’ve recovered taxpayer funds from the $135 billion stolen after the floodgates were opened in the immediate aftermath of COVID. We have found $6.3 billion in suspected fraudulent government contracts which were mostly awarded during the last administration, and that has stopped,” Vance continued.“And finally, we’ve blocked $60 million in student aid fraud that should have gone to young people trying to get an education, but instead were going to fraudsters,” he added.“JD Vance is doing his darndest to try to clean up the fraud situation in America,” BlazeTV host Pat Gray comments. “We’ve got all the Somali fraud. We’ve got fraud in California. We’ve got fraud, I’m sure, in every state, but it’s really really rampant in some more than others.”White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller also commented on the huge amount of fraud, explaining that American systems were “set up based on the honor system.”“They’re set up based on the idea that you could trust the average person, through their own morality, to abide by the rules and comply with the law,” he said, before championing Vance’s efforts to tackle fraud.“Because of the vice president’s leadership, you are seeing the most muscular, robust, aggressive, dedicated, determined, and speedy effort to shut down criminal fraud that has not only ever occurred in the history of this country, but in any developed nation,” he said.“Thank you,” Gray comments.Want more from Pat Gray?To enjoy more of Pat's biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.