The Morning Briefing: Trump Chips Away at the Dept. of Education, but Will It Be Enough?

Trump Takes Sledgehammer to Department of Education, Transfers Key Functions to Other Agencies

Netanyahu Finally Learns the Truth About Trump

An alliance with the president was the Israeli prime minister’s selling point. Now it may be his downfall.

Are Jeffries and Schumer Getting Ready to Greenlight Domestic Spy Power for Trump?

Democrats balked at handing Bill Pulte spy powers. Will they stay strong against Trump’s new pick for intel chief? The post Are Jeffries and Schumer Getting Ready to Greenlight Domestic Spy Power for Trump? appeared first on The Intercept.

Expert shares sobering warning as Trump allows key spy tool to expire: 'Wake up'

A national security expert flagged the impact of one of President Donald Trump's moves that effectively allowed a key U.S. spy tool to expire.During an appearance on CNN, Leon Panetta, the former CIA director under former President Barack Obama and White House chief of staff during the Clinton administration, expressed concern about the expiration of a key part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.House lawmakers refused to reauthorize Section 702 of FISA earlier this month in response to Trump's pick for acting director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte. When Trump refused to drop Pulte, FISA lapsed, and Panetta explained what losing FISA means for national security."You want to create a vulnerability in terms of our national security? Prevent FISA from taking effect," Panetta said. "Because what that does is it allows terrorists to be able to communicate in this country."FISA provides the U.S. with the "ability to basically capture that kind of communication so that we know what terrorists are up to and what threats our country is facing," Panetta added."With FISA shut down right now, without question, this country is very vulnerable to some kind of terrorist attack," Panetta said. "People have got to wake up. The president's got to wake up."Panetta said that he understands "the political games that go on sometimes," but "at this moment, our national security is what is most important to the president, to the country and to Congress."

Senate Democrats Aren’t Happy About Trump’s Spy Law Ultimatum

Before Trump paused Jay Clayton’s nomination, Democrats thought they were on a “glide path” to renewing FISA. Now the president wants to tie domestic surveillance to voter suppression. The post Senate Democrats Aren’t Happy About Trump’s Spy Law Ultimatum appeared first on The Intercept.

Trump news at a glance: Donald Trump surrenders himself to Iran deal

President signs memorandum at Palace of Versailles where Germans were humiliated after losing first world war. Key US politics stories from Wednesday 17 June at a glanceThe Trump administration declared a “major win” but likewise the Hezbollah chief, Naim Qassem, proclaimed a “great victory” as the text of the 14-point US-Iran memorandum of understanding became public.Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said: “The agreement is a record of US failure. People will see it and judge.” Irna, Iran’s official state news agency, released a photograph of Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, holding up a Persian-language document apparently showing his signature alongside that of Trump. According to Reuters, Ghalibaf told state TV: “Everything we sought to achieve through military action, we obtained several times over through negotiation; it was not even comparable.” Continue reading...

Trump’s Deal With Iran Opens New Rifts in G.O.P.

Some in the president’s party were skeptical about whether the agreement he reached included adequate concessions from Iranian officials.

Netanyahu fumes, allies rage over Trump's Iran deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was silent on Wednesday as President Trump released and signed a deal that Israeli officials see as a strategic and political disaster.Why it matters: Netanyahu promised the Israeli public "total victory" in Iran. He had to settle for Trump's memorandum of understanding — and frequent criticism from the president, all four months before an election.The big picture: Netanyahu stands alone internationally in his belief that the deal is a mistake and the war should have continued.Even the United Arab Emirates, which had been the most hawkish of the Gulf states, decided to join the regional consensus in favor of the deal.In Washington too, Netanyahu's allies in the GOP and in the media are reluctant to fully trash a deal that carries Trump's imprimatur. There will be no repeat of Netanyahu's address to Congress in 2015 to rally opposition to President Obama's Iran deal. Netanyahu can't even go on cable news and bluntly oppose the deal, unless he wants a fight with Trump.Behind the scenes: Instead of public denunciations, Israeli officials have been expressing deep concern about the deal in background briefings with Israeli reporters.Meanwhile, Netanyahu-aligned media outlets — most of which had been emphatically pro-Trump — have started to attack Trump and his team.One prime-time host on Netanyahu-aligned Channel 14 called Vice President Vance a "scumbag" and used an antisemitic slur to accuse Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner of selling out Israel for financial gain. The other side: At the G7 summit on Wednesday, Trump thanked Netanyahu for his cooperation during the war with Iran, while also taking swipes at the prime minister."Bibi is a good man. He gets a little excited sometimes. But we have an amazing partnership. We are the big partner and he is the very small partner," Trump said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.Days earlier, Trump told Axios that Netanyahu had "no fucking judgement" because he ordered out a strike in Beirut that nearly scuttled the deal.Friction point: Netanyahu was caught by surprise when Trump announced the deal on Sunday, and Israeli officials claimed as recently as Tuesday that Israel still hadn't been allowed to review the MOU.A U.S. official acknowledged in a briefing with reporters on Wednesday that Netanyahu might not have seen the final text, but claimed the Israelis never asked for it and that the White House had given Netanyahu detailed briefings throughout the negotiations.During Wednesday's press conference, Trump said he'd sent over a copy.The U.S. official claimed that despite Netanyahu's skepticism, the PM had told Vance, Kushner and Witkoff that if Iran follows through on the nuclear concessions it told the U.S. it was willing to make, "that would be a home run deal."Zoom in: The issue of greatest immediate concern for Netanyahu is Lebanon. The MOU says the ceasefire includes the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, and that Israel would have to withdraw from Lebanon under any final deal.A Netanyahu adviser said Israel doesn't consider itself bound by the Lebanon part of the MOU. The adviser noted that Netanyahu told Trump Israeli forces would not withdraw from southern Lebanon unless Hezbollah was disarmed. "We have a little dispute about Lebanon," Trump said on Wednesday. What to watch: The White House says this won't be a "one-sided ceasefire" and Israel will have the ability to retaliate if Hezbollah attacks. U.S. officials also hope Israel will use the next 60 days to make progress in its negotiations with Lebanon on a political settlement, and that an Israeli withdrawal might result from those talks — rather than from a nuclear deal with Iran.Trump also criticized Israel's tactics in Lebanon again on Wednesday, saying it was unacceptable "to knock down an apartment house every time you're looking for somebody." The bottom line: Even the presidents with whom Netanyahu often quarreled weren't so bluntly critical of Israel. It was another blow for Netanyahu to absorb from his indispensable ally.