Trump and Netanyahu May Be at Odds Again Over Gaza Plan

President Trump’s announcement came at a difficult point in his relationship with the Israeli leader over their war against Iran.

A Marine F-35 Just Crashed Near San Diego - Here's What We Know

Trump aide busted on Fox as big economic bet blows up in his face

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett scrambled Friday after being confronted by Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo about the “way lower than expected” economic growth that fell far short of his previous predictions.In early May, Hassett told Bartiromo that he “personally would make a bet” with his “friends” that U.S. economic growth would be 4% for the “rest of the year.” He doubled down on that prediction in early July. And yet, on Thursday, the Commerce Department reported “weaker than expected” GDP growth – a broad measure of economic activity – of just 1.5% for the second quarter of 2026, per the Bureau of Economic Analysis.“Yesterday, the GDP was slower than expected; last time we spoke, you told me you were expecting 4% growth in the second half of the year,” Bartiromo said. “We got a growth number yesterday, but it was way lower than people expected – how would you assess the macro story today?”Rather than admit his prediction was widely off, Hassett attempted to reframe his past remarks as referencing a narrower interpretation of economic growth.“Well I think that what we were looking at when you and I talked last was... uh... the really surging domestic demand, and so final sales within the U.S. were about 4% actually, almost exactly the number we talked about, 3.9%,” Hassett said. “The reason why the topline number was 1.5% was that we imported so many capital goods because we're building factories so fast that the number was different than we expected by a little bit.”Despite Hassett’s claim that the United States was “building factories so fast,” federal data paints a different picture. Factory construction spending was actually down 22% when compared with the same time last year, having declined every month this year. Manufacturing employment is also trending downward, with the sector losing 38,000 jobs over the past 12 months while adding 18,000 in the past six months.“The bottom line though is that if you look at that – the huge surge in capital spending – it means that the economy is really running on all cylinders,” Hassett claimed.

Opinion | The Gaza Road Map vs. Trump Peace Plan

The Board of Peace offers new hope but doesn’t always stick to the original terms.

Senate panel approves CDC nominee, controversial HHS pick

The Senate health committee approved the nomination of Erica Schwartz for Centers for Disease Control director Thursday, a step toward refilling the depleted ranks of the Trump administration's health care leadership.The committee also approved the nomination of Sean Kaufman, who's in line for assistant secretary for preparedness and response and had been in trouble because of past anti-vaccine statements.Why it matters: The votes showed Republicans, at least, are still willing to accept the administration's assurances about the nominees even though committee chair Bill Cassidy has made it clear he's uneasy with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s policies.The narrow committee endorsements put both nominees in line for votes to be confirmed by the full Senate, which have yet to be scheduled.By the numbers: Schwartz was approved 12-10, while Kaufman was approved 12-11.Driving the news: Cassidy said he got a few concessions from HHS to justify his support for Kaufman, including promises of "key personnel changes and better oversight to ensure that science and not ideology is driving decision making.""Mr. Kaufman has said some pretty stupid things and irresponsible things regarding immunization. He has owned up to that in his conversations with me," Cassidy said."I am assured that if he is confirmed, he will not be involved in vaccine policy."Cassidy warned that "there will be future leverage points for this committee over future appointees if these commitments are not kept."Between the lines: Neither nomination was a slam dunk. The votes were supposed to happen last week, but they had to be postponed because Republicans couldn't get enough senators to show up for the vote — and because they had more questions about Kaufman.Context: Schwartz faced tough questioning during her July 15 confirmation hearing over whether she could steer clear of political interference and chart a course for the beleaguered public health agency.While she vowed to "never betray the science" and rebuild trust in the CDC, Schwartz hedged on whether she would tell Congress if she was told to adopt "unscientific" or harmful policies, saying she didn't believe either President Trump or Kennedy would do that.Schwartz was Trump's third nominee to lead the CDC, following Susan Monarez, who was fired after less than a month in the role claiming she was dismissed for refusing to rubber-stamp Kennedy's vaccine policies.The former deputy surgeon general was viewed as a less polarizing pick than some of Trump's past health nominees. Public health experts have said she'd face challenges stabilizing an agency that's lacked a full-time political leader for almost a year and is beset by morale and staffing problems.

Steve Bannon predicts Todd Blanche fight could be final straw for Trump’s relationship with Thune

EXCLUSIVE — Steve Bannon is predicting that President Donald Trump’s increasingly strained relationship with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is headed toward an irreparable break, arguing that a showdown over acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination may be the final straw. Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist and a close outside ally, told the Washington […]

James Carville issues startling prediction as Trump faces daunting test: 'Will walk away'

Veteran political strategist James Carville predicted that President Donald Trump will find himself in unfamiliar territory in a few months.During a Q&A on Politics War Room, Carville answered a question from a viewer who believed his prediction that Trump will resign after the November midterms but worried that Trump will run again in 2028 by falsely contextualizing the wording of the 22nd Amendment to serve for 10 years total."First of all, of all the things that you have to worry about, Trump running in 2028 is not one of them," Carville answered. "I'm watching him in real time, and I think this man is deteriorating physically and emotionally at a rate that's exponential. It's not linear."However, Trump will find himself dealing with another challenge beyond deterioration, Carville predicted. After the November midterms, Trump's decline will be exacerbated by his fading into irrelevance and isolation, which he's never had to deal with, Carville said. Carville has also predicted a sweeping GOP defeat in the midterms."This is going to be accelerated by the fact that after November, he is going to be dealing with something he hasn't dealt with in his time in politics," Carville said. "He's going to be irrelevant. He's not just going to be irrelevant. It's going to be people are not going to want to be around him. They're not going to care what he has to say."Because nobody's "even going to want to affirmatively hear" Trump, he "will walk away prior to April 15th," Carville said."I am more convinced after watching this fiasco with Senator Lindsey Graham," Carville added, referring to Trump's speech at the late senator's funeral.

Trump AG pick Blanche stalled as key Republicans refuse to budge

Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis demanded written proposals to modify the Trump IRS settlement, derailing Todd Blanche's confirmation vote.