Live updates: Trump talks Iran and touts Republican primary wins at his 11th public Cabinet meeting – NBC News

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., has set up a legal defense fund to respond to ethics complaints that his office calls conspiracy theories from critics like Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla.

It is named the “Senator Ruben Gallego Legal Defense Fund,” according to a filing yesterday with the IRS, and it comes after Luna accused him of misconduct toward others without providing details and referred the matter to the Senate Ethics Committee.

“Senator Gallego is under attack from right-wing conspiracy theorists like Anna Paulina Luna, the Trump Administration, and their cronies. This White House has made clear it is their priority to abuse their power and target political enemies. Senator Gallego will not stand for it,” Gallego spokesperson Jacques Petit told NBC News today.

Gallego has denied any personal wrongdoing. The new defense fund could help him cover the legal costs of responding to the claims, the senator’s team said, while adding that Luna has offered “no details or evidence” that he has engaged in ethical misconduct. Gallego’s team said he’s fully complying with the inquiry.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said today that he has spoken to Paxton after he won the Texas Republican Senate primary yesterday, ousting Cornyn.

“I have spoken with him. Spoke with John Cornyn, as well. And yes, obviously, we are making the pivot, and you know, he’s all-in, ready to go for the fall election and not taking any time off, already on the phone raising money and all the things you’re going to have to do to be successful,” Thune said in an interview with Hugh Hewitt.

Thune had been a vocal supporter of Cornyn’s re-election campaign, having cast doubts on Paxton’s candidacy’s being strong enough to beat Talarico, the Democratic nominee.

Thune said today that “losing is not an option when it comes to the state of Texas and what it means for our majority in the Senate.”

More members of Congress have lost primaries in the last three months than in all of 2024. And there’s reason to believe it could get worse for entrenched incumbents.

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Former first lady Jill Biden said today that she thought her husband was “having a stroke” during his critical June 2024 debate, which catalyzed the chain of events that led him to drop out of the presidential election.

“I don’t know what happened. I mean, when I, as I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke.’ And it scared me to death,” Jill Biden said in an interview with CBS News’ “Sunday Morning,” set to air this Sunday.

“I was frightened, because I had never ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never,” she lady said.

The debate led to rampant scrutiny of Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities, which the White House pushed back against. At the time, Jill Biden called her husband’s performance “great,” praising him for having “answered every question.”

Joe Biden stayed in the race for weeks after the debate, despite mounting pressure to drop out. He eventually decided to drop out three weeks after the debate, with 107 days to go before the 2024 election.

Thirty-five former federal judges today filed an amicus brief urging U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams to reopen Trump’s case against the IRS, which both parties voluntarily dismissed this month.

In the “friend of the court” brief, the former judges say that “the Court was deceived” and call the settlement a product of “collusion.”

Trump and his co-plaintiffs agreed to drop the lawsuit this month in exchange for creating a nearly $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” The fund would give payouts to purported victims who have “suffered weaponization and lawfare” by the federal government, potentially including Jan. 6 defendants.

Democrats lambasted the settlement as a “slush fund,” and legal experts called the move “unprecedented.”

Talarico said today that previous comments he has made about sensitive cultural issues “missed the mark” as Republicans lean on those remarks to attack him in the contentious Senate race.

Asked in an interview with NBC News whether he wanted to clarify some of those statements, which Paxton has been highlighting in recent days, Talarico, the Democratic nominee, said, “I’ll be the first to admit that I missed the mark on some of those old statements, but what Ken Paxton is doing is clipping my cringey comments to distract from his career of corruption.”

Paxton defeated longtime Sen. John Cornyn in the GOP primary runoff yesterday. In his remarks celebrating the victory, he referred to Talarico by a string of mocking nicknames — “Tofu Talarico,” “Six -gender Jimmy,” “James Tala-freako” and “Low T Talarico” — and denounced his positions related to gender-affirming care, immigration, energy and religion.

Read the full story here.

Make America the Early ’90s Again?

The musical lineup for a “World Fair-style celebration” on the National Mall marking America’s 250th birthday will include hip-hop acts Vanilla Ice and Flo Rida, organizers announced today.

Read the full story here.

Trump said he thinks he will attend an NBA Finals game after the New York Knicks advanced to the finals for the first time in 27 years.

“They have some great players,” Trump told reporters during the White House Cabinet meeting today. “I think I’ll be going to one of the games. Yeah, I was invited by numerous people.”

Read the full story here.

In remarks at the Cabinet meeting, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended an immigration detention center in New Jersey where detainees have been on a hunger strike and protests recently erupted outside.

“They say that it’s because they’re on a hunger strike when there was only a handful of individuals that was refusing to eat because they want their ethnic group — their ethnic right food,” Mullin said, discussing the protesters and the detainees. “Well, they go back to their country and get whatever food they want. The fact is, we’re giving them the calories they’d want. This isn’t a Holiday Inn.”

Detainees at Delaney Hall in Newark went on a hunger strike to protest the center’s conditions, and a lawyer representing detainees alleged to NBC News that her clients were given expired food and food with worms in it.

Protesters have gathered outside the facility, and Democratic lawmakers and New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill have also visited the scene.

Asked during the Cabinet meeting about the protests, Trump claimed, without evidence, that the protesters were “fake” and “paid for.”

Trump’s 11th public Cabinet meeting has ended after a little more than an hour.

Trump was asked at the end of his Cabinet meeting whether he would accept a short-term deal that would allow Iran and Oman to control the Strait of Hormuz.

“No, the strait is going to be open to everybody,” he said, adding, “Nobody is going to control it.”

“We’re going to watch over it, we’ll watch over it, but nobody’s going to control it. That’s part of the negotiation that we have. They would like to control it. Nobody’s going to control — it’s international waters, and Oman will behave just like everybody.”

Positioned in front of all the Cabinet secretaries on the table are red baseball caps — but they’re a bit different from the typical Trump “Make America Great Again” hats.

The caps says “United States of America” above an American flag, a bald eagle and a gold Mount Rushmore. Below the images are the words “250th Anniversary.”

The hats are also emblazoned with a gold “47” on one side and an American flag patch on the other.

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Win McNamee / Getty Images

The White House today vigorously rejected what Iranian state media called a preliminary “unofficial” memorandum-of-understanding framework with the U.S.

“This report from Iranian controlled media is not true and the MOU they “released” is a complete fabrication. Nobody should believe what Iranian state media is putting out. FACTS MATTER,” according to a statement posted on the White House’s Rapid Response 47 X account.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting earlier reported that the U.S. had promised to withdraw its forces from areas surrounding Iran and lift the naval blockade in the strait in exchange for Tehran’s restoring the number of ships passing through the waterway to prewar levels within a month.

The report from IRIB, which is linked to regime hard-liners who have opposed a deal, also said Iran and Oman would manage the maritime traffic through the strait.

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Trump disparaged people of Somali descent during the Cabinet meeting, saying, “They’re all crooks.”

“The Somalians, what they’ve done to Minnesota, the Somalians, crooked as hell, Ilhan Omar, crooked as hell, they’re all crooks, and we got them, we got them,” he said.

Trump has repeatedly used derogatory language to describe Somali immigrants. He focused on Somalia following coverage from conservative influencers late last year of a long-running federal fraud investigation involving childcare centers in Minnesota. Some of the people convicted as part of the investigation were of Somali descent.

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Trump speaks at a Cabinet meeting today. Samuel Corum / Sipa / Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Cabinet applauded outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard after Trump commended her leadership in the role.

“I want to express our tremendous gratitude to our outgoing Director of National intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who’s a terrific person,” Trump said as the rest of the Cabinet applauded.

“Tulsi has worked tirelessly to restore trust and focus on the intelligence, and with the intelligence community, they all respected her. They listened to her. She gave us leads that were pretty much, people thought they were dead, and they weren’t dead, they were right there,” Trump said.

Trump began the Cabinet meeting by touting his administration’s work on border security, crime and drug policies.

The president praised the administration for decreasing border crossings, arguing that the border was now the safest its ever been.

He also touted his administration’s steps to try to lower drug prices through “most favored nation” deals. NBC News has also previously reported that a Senate Democrat report found that some drug prices have continued climbing.

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Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House today. Win McNamee / Getty Images

Trump touted his influence on GOP primary races after the Texas election yesterday and other recent ones.

“Last night was incredible, not only Texas, but so many other places,” Trump said during his Cabinet meeting. “The numbers were fantastic, and they’ve really been that way for a year.I f you look, it’s hundreds of people won, and almost nobody didn’t win, but last night was very, very powerful.”

Trump-endorsed candidate Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn yesterday in the GOP primary runoff.

The White House Cabinet meeting has started. The meetings often go hours long, and top administration officials typically use the occasions as a forum to tout their priorities, praise the president, and compare Democratic policies negatively with their own.

The meeting was originally supposed to take place at Camp David, but Trump announced yesterday that it would instead be held at the White House “based on the possible bad weather conditions.”

Alabama officials have asked the Supreme Court to allow them to use a congressional map that would eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black districts.

In the latest flurry of activity over the Republican-drawn map that was enacted in 2023 but has never been used, the state asked the Supreme Court to preliminarily decide the issue by June 1.

A three-judge panel on Tuesday stuck by its earlier finding that the map intentionally discriminates on the basis of race under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. The court had earlier found that it also violated the Voting Rights Act.

The Supreme Court asked the judges to take a second look at the case following its recent decision that weakened the Voting Rights Act.

The Trump administration has refunded more than $20 billion so far in tariffs to importers and shippers, according to a court filing, after the Supreme Court struck down the cornerstone of Trump’s trade policy in February.

The administration had relied on authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to collect more than $165 billion in country-specific tariffs from importers since the start of Trump’s term. The high court found that these tariffs exceeded what IEEPA permitted the president to do.

Now, those tariffs are being refunded to importers.

Read the full story here.

All but one of the 10 Cabinet meetings Trump has held so far this term have had public portions open to reporters that lasted over an hour — with three lasting over two hours.

The longest part of a Cabinet meeting with the news media present, on Aug. 26, lasted three hours and 17 minutes. The last Cabinet meeting, in March, was open to the media for an hour and 38 minutes. 

Trump’s Cabinet meeting in January was the only one in which he did not answer questions from reporters.

In March of last year, Trump posted about a closed meeting he had with most of his Cabinet and tech mogul Elon Musk, saying he would hold those meetings every two weeks. That gathering is not counted among the 10 pre-announced Cabinet meetings the president has held so far.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., argued for changing tax laws to address artificial intelligence in an op-ed today for Time magazine.

The senator made the case that lawmakers needed to respond to the acceleration of AI by enacting policies such as raising taxes on “billionaire corporations” and enacting a “wealth tax,” both of which are popular liberal stances.

She also called for “taxing AI companies directly, which can start with taxing AI data centers.”

“By imposing a reasonable excise tax on the energy used by data centers, families could recoup some of the gains of AI, while America continues to stay competitive in the AI race,” she said. “A well-designed tax would focus on the companies that can afford it and scale with AI’s impact: the bigger the data center, the more they pay.”

Trump stressed the importance of establishing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s “exclusive authority” over prediction markets yesterday and vowed to protect the cryptocurrency industry.

“It is critically important that the CFTC’s exclusive authority over Prediction Markets is maintained, and that they will thrive,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Under my leadership, we are setting ‘rules of the road’ that are the Gold Standard for the States.”

Trump vowed to safeguard the interests of prediction markets and crypto after The New York Times published a major investigation Sunday. It revealed that the CFTC has helped advance prediction markets “at virtually every turn” while softening regulatory enforcement of digital currencies — including by culling the commission’s ranks and sidelining career officials.

Trump and his family have financial ties to both the prediction market industry and several lucrative crypto ventures, including a crypto company, World Liberty Financial. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has ties to Kalshi and Polymarket, the two most prominent platforms in the event-contract betting industry.

Read the full story here.

Former President Joe Biden sued the Justice Department yesterday, urging a federal judge to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts of his private conversations with the ghostwriter of his 2017 memoir.

The suit stems from a 2024 Freedom of Information Act request by the conservative Heritage Foundation, which later filed its own lawsuit to obtain Biden’s remarks to Mark Zwonitzer when they were writing “Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.”

The Justice Department had withheld the sought-after materials, arguing they were exempt from disclosure. But during President Donald Trump’s second term, Biden’s attorney Amy Jeffress writes in yesterday’s lawsuit in U.S. District Court for Washington D.C., “the Department has reversed that position.”

Read the full story here.

The U.S. military launched another strike yesterday on a vessel suspected of transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one man and leaving two survivors.

Video posted on social media by U.S. Southern Command shows a boat speeding through water before exploding into flames. Southern Command said it “immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors.”

Read the full story here.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warned Republicans not to underestimate Democratic nominee James Talarico’s chances to beat the Republican Ken Paxton this fall.

“The Democrats believe they have a chance to win the general, and I got a message to Republicans in Texas and nationwide: Do not take this general election for granted,” Cruz said on his podcast, “Verdict With Ted Cruz,” today.

“It is easy to say it’s Texas, it’s red, we’re going to win — and I believe we are going to win,” Cruz said. “But I also think the Democrat nominee James Talarico is a dangerous candidate.”

Cruz drew parallels to 2018, when he hung on by fewer than three points in his re-election bid against then-Rep. Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat. He warned that Democrats will be energized again.

Ahead of his Republican primary runoff yesterday, Cornyn highlighted a photo of himself standing next to Trump as his pinned post on X. He boosted one post disputing that he’s “disloyal” to Trump and another about voting “yes on every major Trump law.”

The posts captured an important side of Cornyn: a loyal Republican soldier, standing with his party’s leader. There’s no disputing that Cornyn’s voting record was almost perfectly aligned with Trump.

The lopsided victory for Paxton in the election results captured an important reality of the GOP in 2026, too: That’s not enough.

Trump jumped in last week to issue a late endorsement for Paxton, who ultimately defeated him tonight. In January, Cornyn’s 24-year Senate career will come to an end.

Read the full story here.

The Trump administration said yesterday that it is raising this year’s cap on U.S. refugee admissions from 7,500 to 17,500, but only to admit more white South Africans.

In addition to suspending U.S. refugee admissions on his first day back in office last year, Trump has sought to end legal protections for immigrants from Afghanistan, Haiti and elsewhere, and last fall his administration slashed the refugee admissions cap for the new fiscal year to a record-low 7,500, compared with 125,000 a year during the Biden administration.

Admissions are primarily reserved for Afrikaners, a white ethnic minority group that controlled South Africa during apartheid and who the Trump administration says are now subject to persecution, a claim the South African government denies and experts say is based on misinformation.

In an announcement on the Federal Register, Trump said the cap was being raised due to “an unforeseen emergency refugee situation,” citing “recent increases in the incitement of racially motivated violence” by the South African government. He said the admission of Afrikaners was “justified by the grave humanitarian concerns and is otherwise in the national interest.”

The organizers of celebrations to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary announced today the line-up of special musical performances for the Great American State Fair on the National Mall.

The fair, which will run from June 25 to July 10, will feature performances by Martina McBride, Vanilla Ice, C+C Music Factory, The Commodores, Flo Rida, Bret Michaels and others, according to the announcement by Freedom 250.

There will also be special screenings of “National Treasure” and “National Treasure: Book of Secrets, the organizers said in a news release.

The fair will also feature a 110-foot Ferris wheel overlooking the National Mall, a newly refurbished Smithsonian carousel, and autonomous vehicle demonstrations.

The organizers said they plan to announce more performers, speakers and participants in the “upcoming weeks.”

Trump celebrated Paxton’s Senate primary victory, calling it “such a tremendous win,” while also praising Cornyn’s career and mocking the Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico.

“Congratulations to Ken Paxton on such a tremendous win, and to John Cornyn for having run a strong and powerful race but, more importantly, having had a truly great career,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “John will remain my friend for a long time to come, as we both watch Ken become a fantastic, common sense Senator, one who is respected by all.”

Trump said he would hold rallies for Paxton, adding, “this will be FUN!”

The president also said Talarico “may be the worst TEXAS candidate I have ever seen” before calling the Democratic nominee soft on crime and border security, among other claims about his policy stances.

Talarico characterized Paxton last night as corrupt and branded this fall’s matchup as “the people versus Ken Paxton.”

The Democratic nominee for Senate cited Paxton’s past impeachment by Texas House Republicans (he was later acquitted by the state Senate) and accused him of “using his public office to enrich himself and his donors at the expense of the people.”

“If we, the people, can come together to defeat the most corrupt politician in America. We can defeat this entire corrupt system. We can start unrigging this economy. We can start raising our pay, cutting our taxes, lowering our costs,” Talarico said in a video posted on X shortly after polls closed.

“We can finally get ahead. It’s time to come together. The people versus Ken Paxton,” Talarico added.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is reflecting on her upbringing and touting her record as governor in the first TV ad of her re-election campaign this year.

In the ad, shared first with NBC News today, Hobbs says to voters, “My parents didn’t make a lot of money. My sister and I started working and helping out early.”

A narrator then tells viewers that Hobbs “worked fast food and drove Uber to get by. Helped families in need as a social worker,” all former jobs that she also highlighted in her first gubernatorial campaign four years ago. 

The ad comes as the midterm election season is heating up across the country and Hobbs is gearing up for a competitive race this fall. In 2022, she beat GOP nominee Kari Lake by less than 1 percentage point.

This year’s Republican primary is still ongoing, with Reps. Andy Biggs and David Schweikert competing for the nomination.

Cornyn conceded his primary runoff race last night with a brief speech to reporters in Austin, where he pledged to support Paxton in the general election in November.

“I’ve spent most of my time in the Senate building, the Republican Party in Texas and in the U.S. Senate, and I’ve always supported the Republican ticket, and I intend to do so again this general election,” Cornyn said.

“I’ve said throughout this race that I trust the voters of Texas, and they’ve made their decision, and I must respect it,” he added.

Cornyn, who was first elected to the Senate in 2002, spoke briefly about the work he did in Washington, including working to pass “a number of historic tax reform bills” and helping confirm conservative judges.

“There’s a simple rule in elections — you’ve heard me say it before — and that is the candidate who gets the most votes wins,” Cornyn said. “The party in the majority gets to govern, and my hope is to keep my party in power for generations. I am an optimist by nature, which is just another way of saying I am a Texan.”

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Paxton gave celebratory remarks last night after decisively defeating incumbent Cornyn in their Republican primary runoff.

Paxton will face Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in November.

Paxton thanked his family, campaign staff and, above all, the president for his endorsement, calling it “the most powerful force in politics.” He also took a moment to acknowledge Cornyn’s years of service to the state.

“Tonight we sent a Texas-sized message to Washington,” Paxton declared.

Paxton then pivoted to attacking his general election opponent, whom he described as “the most extreme radical the Democrats have ever nominated.” He referred to Talarico by a string of mocking nicknames — “Tofu Talarico,” “Six-gender Jimmy.” “James Tala-freako” — while hammering him on positions related to gender-affirming care, immigration, energy and religion.

Democrat Johnny Garcia won his party’s primary in Texas’ 35th Congressional District yesterday, NBC News projects, defeating a rival whom party leaders had condemned for antisemitic comments as Democrats look to compete in a district Republicans redrew to their benefit.

The district stretches from Austin to San Antonio, the result of Republican efforts to combine two Democratic seats into one and create a new district leaning their way. Trump carried the district by about 10.5 points in 2024.

Read the full story here.

Former Rep. Colin Allred has unseated Rep. Julie Johnson in a Democratic primary runoff, NBC News projects, after he dropped out of the Senate race last year and made a run for a House seat reshaped by redistricting.

The primary in the deep blue 33rd District in the Dallas area grew competitive after Allred left the Senate race in deference to Rep. Jasmine Crockett, instead opting to run for the House.

Read the full story here.

Freshman Rep. Christian Menefee defeated longtime Rep. Al Green in the Democratic primary runoff in Texas’ 18th Congressional District yesterday, NBC News projects, after a rare incumbent-on-incumbent matchup sparked by Republican-led redistricting efforts.

The redrawing of the state’s political map pitted one of the newest members of the House Democratic caucus against one of the longer-serving incumbents in the chamber. Menefee got 46% of the primary vote to Green’s 44% in the first round March 3, pushing the race to a runoff since neither got a majority.

Read the full story here.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated Sen. John Cornyn for the Republican Senate nomination yesterday, NBC News projects, the latest challenger backed by Trump to unseat an incumbent.

Paxton will face Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in a November race that could become key to the fight for the Senate majority.

Trump endorsed Paxton last week, giving him a last-minute boost in his bid to oust Cornyn, who has been in the Senate since 2003. Cornyn and Paxton faced off yesterday in a head-to-head runoff after no candidate won more than 50% of the vote in the initial multicandidate March primary.

Read the full story here.

President Donald Trump is holding a Cabinet meeting today at the White House rather than Camp David, Maryland, as had been planned.

Trump cited “possible bad weather conditions” as the reason for the switch in a post yesterday on Truth Social.

The gathering of top administration officials is the president’s 11th announced Cabinet meeting.