Trump orders precise military strike on Iranian nuclear sites June 21, 2025
The Shadow of Unseen Storms by DALL-E 3
Trump orders precise military strike on Iranian nuclear sites June 21, 2025
Bread and Circus: The Complete Record of American Governance
Today’s newsletter covers official U.S. government happenings from the executive, legislative, and judicial branches yesterday, as well as key economic indicators. Below, you’ll find concise summaries of each document, with links to the original sources for further reading.
🏛️ Legislative Branch: 3 documents (1 Congressional Record - Daily Digest, 1 Congressional Record - House Section, 1 Congressional Record - Senate Section)
⚖️ Judicial Branch: No activity
📊 Economic Indicators: 1 documents (1 Pew Research report)
Total words condensed: 101,877 into 6,938
The Big Picture
This week, the U.S. government took decisive and controversial steps on multiple fronts. President Trump ordered a targeted military strike on three Iranian nuclear sites on June 21, aiming to disrupt Iran’s nuclear weapons program without deploying ground troops. This action reflects a sharp escalation in U.S. policy toward Iran, emphasizing military intervention to prevent nuclear proliferation and protect allies like Israel. Meanwhile, Congress is actively confirming key defense nominees and passing legislation to strengthen national security and combat crime, even as partisan divisions deepen over domestic spending and healthcare policies. Regulatory shifts also occurred, including a rollback of newer safety rules for transporting liquefied natural gas by rail and a delay in stricter chemical safety standards, highlighting ongoing tensions between economic interests and environmental or public health protections.
These developments matter because they signal a more aggressive U.S. stance in the Middle East, with potential risks of broader regional conflict and global instability. The military strike and congressional debates underscore the fragile balance between security priorities and democratic oversight, as some lawmakers criticize the President’s unilateral actions while others praise them as necessary defense measures. On the home front, the rollback and delay of safety regulations could affect energy supply chains and worker protections, with immediate effects starting June 23 and August 19, respectively. Public opinion research reveals mixed global views on NATO and key leaders, influenced by political leanings and trust in President Trump, which could shape international alliances and diplomatic efforts amid ongoing conflicts.
Pattern to Watch
A clear pattern emerging from these developments is the intensification of U.S. confrontations with Iran combined with heightened domestic political polarization. Indicators include the President’s military strike on June 21, congressional debates framing Iran as a religious extremist threat, and legislative efforts to support Israel and national security. At the same time, there is significant pushback from other lawmakers concerned about executive overreach and the risks of escalating conflict. This pattern suggests a U.S. policy environment increasingly defined by hardline security measures abroad and contentious partisan battles at home over governance and social programs. Continued military actions against Iran’s nuclear capabilities, further sanctions, or retaliatory strikes would signal escalation, while congressional confirmations and legislation supporting defense priorities indicate institutional backing for this approach. Domestically, the fate of major spending bills and regulatory rollbacks will shape economic and public health outcomes, reflecting the broader struggle over the country’s direction in a tense global context.
🦅 Executive Branch
White House
On June 21, 2025, President Donald J. Trump ordered a precise military strike by U.S. forces against three nuclear sites in Iran. According to the letter, these sites were part of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The strike did not target Iranian soldiers or other military places, and no U.S. ground troops were involved. The President says he acted to protect Americans and support U.S. national security and foreign policy, using his powers as Commander in Chief and in charge of foreign relations. He also says the strike was done carefully to avoid many casualties and to prevent the conflict from getting worse. The letter was sent to Congress to keep lawmakers informed, as required by a law called the War Powers Resolution, which asks the President to report military actions quickly. This action affects Iran, the U.S., and its ally Israel, since it was done partly to defend Israel. The letter states the U.S. may take more steps if needed. Read full document →
Federal Register
The government changed the rules about carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) by train. Before, special tank cars called DOT-113C120W9 were allowed to carry LNG safely, but a court said the government didn’t fully check the environmental effects before making that rule. So, starting June 23, 2025, those special rules are canceled, and the old rules from before August 24, 2020, are back in place. Train companies and others who move LNG by rail must follow these older rules now. This matters because it affects how safely and legally LNG can be moved by train, which is important for energy supply and public safety. Read full document →
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is delaying part of a new rule about a chemical called trichloroethylene (TCE) that was supposed to start on June 20, 2025. This delay means that some special exceptions allowing certain uses of TCE, like in making special plastic sheets, will not have to follow the new safety rules until August 19, 2025. Companies that use TCE in these ways must wait until then to comply with the new limits. This matters because TCE can be harmful, and the EPA is giving more time while courts review the rule to make sure the rules are fair and safe for workers and the public. Read full document →
🏛️ Legislative Branch
Congressional Record
On June 23, 2025, Congress took several important steps. The Senate voted 58 to 33 to end debate on Daniel Zimmerman’s nomination to be Assistant Secretary of Defense and planned to vote on his confirmation the next day. They also set up votes soon for other key government nominees. In the House, members introduced many bills and passed several laws by suspending normal rules, including the Sanction Sea Pirates Act with a strong vote of 392 to 14, and the Fair Investment Opportunities Act with 397 to 12 votes. The House also approved rules to consider big spending bills for military construction and veterans, and laws about immigration and public safety. These actions matter because they help fill important government jobs, improve national security, support veterans, and protect people from crime and fraud. Read full document →
Random excerpts from the Senate
Madam President, I would like to be recognized to make some comments about the conflict we are watching unfold on our television between Iran, Israel, and now the United States. Someone asked me: What is this talk all about? I think a good title would be: “What is this all about?” To the American people, what is this all about? Let me tell you what it is all about. It is all about religion. A fanatical string of Shi’ism is now in charge of Iran, and they have three goals: to purify Islam--about 80 percent of Islam is Sunni; Saudi Arabia is the center of that part of the religion--to purify Islam in the image of the Ayatollah, to destroy the Jewish State, to drive us out of the Mideast because we are infidels. This is not a democracy. It is a theocracy. If you have got any time on your hands, go on the internet and check out the theological bases of this regime. You would understand why Israel has to get this right as well as we do. But it was not always that way. Iran is not inherently a radical group of people, a radical place. As a matter of fact, it is a very cultured place. It used to be one of the real “Pearls of the Middle East.” Before 1979, Iran shared intelligence, had economic ties, and military cooperation with Israel and the United States. This is from 1950, where Ben-Gurion--the first President of Israel--is talking to an Iranian diplomat in Israel. Iran had a very vibrant Jewish population. So it has not always been this way. So what happened? They had a revolution. In 1979 to 1981, there was an uprising in Iran that led to the installing of the Ayatollah as the leader of Iran, the first Ayatollah Khomeini. Now we are on the second one, Khamenei. What is this thing all about? These are students pouring over the U.S. Embassy. Our Embassy personnel--50 American hostages--were held for 444 days by these nutjobs. They were subjected to intense physical and psychological torture throughout their captivity, such as mob executions, beatings, solitary confinement, and very bad living conditions. This is what they did when they took over. They came after us, held our people hostage, and treated us very brutally. In 1984, the United States made Iran a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law because of the way the Iranian regime, under the Ayatollah, was conducting himself. They were wreaking havoc throughout the region, and they were doing things against Israel and the United States that justified their designation in 1984 as a state sponsor of terrorism. And that has not changed. Why are they a state sponsor of terrorism? Because they are terrorists, and they support terrorists. Hezbollah--$700 million, we project, was given to Iran by Hezbollah. It is almost their entire budget. They are a terrorist group, mainly in Lebanon, of the Shia branch of the tree. Hamas, who conducted the October 7 attack against Israel--Israel projects that 93 percent of Hamas’s military budget came from Iran. We have the Houthis. All of their missiles and rockets came from Iran. We have got Shiite groups in Iraq funded by Iran. Why are they a state sponsor of terrorism? Because they sponsor terrorism all over the world, and they did it with petrodollars from the Iran nuclear deal and other sources of revenue, which was a really bad idea. That is why Trump pulled out. Here is the reporting over the period here: Hamas-Iran alliance: Captured documents expose decades-long terror funding. When Israel began to liberate Gaza from Hamas and drive out Hamas terrorists, they found a treasure trove of documents showing the history between Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran--suitcases stuffed with cash, U.S. flow of funds to Yemen to help the Houthis. What else have they done other than funding terrorist groups? They have threatened to kill American officials: President Trump, Brian Hook, General McKenzie, Robert O’Brien, Mike Pompeo, former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. All these people were involved in the Soleimani attack. Why did we go after Soleimani? Because he was the leader of the more radical elements of their military that had been targeting Americans and he was planning to attack our forces in Iraq and Trump took him out: in 1983, the Beirut barracks bombing, Hezbollah, supported by Iran; Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, a terrorist group supported by Iran. That is why they are terrorists. They have been coming after our interests. They have attacked our shipping in the Red Sea, the Houthis have. They couldn’t fire one missile without Iranian support because that is where all their rockets come from. Some cast of characters here. The recent new President was sworn in, in Iran. During the swearing-in of the Iranian President, the crowd started chanting: “Death to America,” “Death to America” during the swearing-in of the new President not long ago, July 30, 2024. It is not quite a year ago. People wonder what they are up to. Let me tell you what they are up to. They are up to enacting a religious agenda that has no place for anybody but them. If you are a Christian, they want to destroy your faith. If you are Jewish, they want to wipe you off the planet. And if you are a Muslim and you don’t agree with them, which most don’t, they want to take over the entire faith and make you bend a knee to their view. These people are religious fanatics. What is this all about? Religion. Do you want any of these people to have a nuclear weapon? I don’t. They are religious Nazis. Are there any telltale signs that may tell us what they are up to? Do you really have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure this out? This is a missile in Iran. In Hebrew, it says: “Death to Israel.” This is the freaking missile they took a photo of in Hebrew that said “Death to Israel.” I wonder what they want to do with that missile. If you are confused about this regime, you should not be allowed to drive because you are a danger to yourself and others. If you think this is not our conflict, you have missed a lot. You have been like asleep at the switch since 1979. You don’t know anything about these people. You are talking gibberish. If you don’t think this is our concern, look what they have done. They have attacked Americans. They have American blood on their hands. They are trying to build a nuclear bomb, and one of their targets is us. How do I know that? Because that is what they say. Last July, they were chanting, “Death to America” while they were swearing in their President. We don’t do that here. Why? Because we are not crazy. These people are crazy. The Iranian people are not, but the people ruling the place are fanatical religious Nazis. If you don’t think it is our concern, you really have missed a lot. You need to study before you talk. If that is not enough, the missile that says “Death to Israel”--let’s see, when was this? Oh, 2015. “Amid Nuke Talks, Ayatollah Says: ‘Death to America.’” This is during negotiations that Obama had. In 2022, they had 95 pounds of highly enriched uranium at 60 percent. Is there a commercial purpose for uranium enriched at 60 percent? No. In 2025, 3 years later, they have 900 pounds of this stuff. So, clearly, they are not stopping their enrichment program; they are accelerating it, and they are enriching it at a level that has no commercial purpose. They actually have one reactor in Iran. The fuel for that reactor comes from Russia. They haven’t taken 1 gram of their enrichment program to run the peaceful reactor they claim they want. To run a reactor, you need to enrich between 3½ and 5 percent, not 60. Weapons-grade enrichment is 90 percent; 60 to 90 is like walking across the street. If you can’t figure out what they have been up to, again, you should not be allowed to drive. They are trying to build nuclear weapons. They are making material consistent with a bomb, not a peaceful nuclear powerplant. They intend to use these bombs because they are religious fanatics. Does anybody doubt that if Adolf Hitler had a bomb, he would have used it? If you doubt that the Ayatollah would use a bomb against the State of Israel, you don’t understand his religion. What drove Hitler: a sick, twisted, distorted view of the master race. These people want a master religion, not a master race. They want to dominate the world religiously. That is what they are all about. They export terrorism in the name of religion. They support groups that want to take down secular regimes. They want a master religion like the Nazis wanted a master race. And let me tell you what our friends in Israel are saying: Hell, no. Once is enough. So what should Israel do? Here is what Israel should do. They should fight back. To the American people: What would our country do if there was one missile shot into South Carolina or Alabama from a foreign power that killed our citizens? Everybody in South Carolina and Alabama would be wanting to end the terror and go after the people who did it, and it would be the entire Nation. Why should we expect Israel to tolerate what we wouldn’t tolerate? There have been over 1,000 missiles shot into Israel. Since their founding, people have been trying to kill them all. Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis have one thing in common: They are all funded by Iran. All the weapons come from the Iranians. What is this all about? Killing the Jews and, eventually, us and dominating the world religiously. If you think that is weird, then you need to get on the internet and listen to what they are doing. You need to watch their behavior. And they mean what they say. And don’t be like the people in the thirties that got it wrong. Israel is not going to get it wrong the second time. Donald Trump. God bless President Donald J. Trump. I am so glad he won. What has he tried to do? Make peace, not war. He gave the Ayatollah 60 days to find a peaceful settlement regarding their enrichment program. They could have nuclear power, but they can’t enrich. There are 20 nations that have nuclear power that get the fuel for their reactors outside of their country. We would have done that for Iran. They were tapping him along. Then 61 days go by, and the rest is history. They are not interested in peace. They are interested in fulfilling a religious agenda that has no place for us or the State of Israel. Hitler didn’t want peace. There was not a part of a country you could give him to stop him from enacting his sick and twisted agenda. He didn’t want German-speaking populations. He wanted the entire world to speak German. He wanted the entire world to fall under his Nazi regime. He was nuts. And it took a bunch of people from all over the world, particularly America, to destroy the Third Reich, and about 60 million people died because we got it wrong in the thirties--6 million Jews. We are not going to let that happen again as long as I am around, the Presiding Officer, or President Trump and the people of Israel. We are not going to let that happen. We are going to stick with Israel because sticking with them is helping us. They are fighting the people that want to kill us as much as they want to kill all the Jews. Their fight, in my view, is our fight. Operation Midnight Hammer: After day 60, all the negotiations went nowhere because the Iranians didn’t want them to go anywhere. President Trump acted, and it was brilliant, it was bold, and it will live in history. To all those who took part in this, God bless you. We have the finest military on Earth. We proved that yet again. But you can have the best military, and if you don’t have the right Commander in Chief, nothing happens. We got the right Commander in Chief married up with the strongest military in history, which will make us safer. We are not looking to take over Iran. We are not looking to invade Iran. We are looking to make sure that the fanatics who run Iran can’t hurt us and can’t destroy our friends in Israel. And President Trump did something about it. He sent B-2s to Iran, and everybody thought: Well, what is that all about? Well, they missed the other B-2s that went to Iran and put a hurting on these three enrichment sites. To the pilots, to the air crews, to everybody involved: Well done. I spent 30-something years in the Air Force, and I have never been more proud. Fly, fight, win. What is next? They shot missiles at our airbase in Qatar--the Iranians did--today, about 16 or 19. One may have gotten through. I think they called us. But just remember what I said. They shot missiles at us today. They shot missiles at Israel last night. The strikes a couple of days ago were designed to shut down the enrichment facilities used to make this weapons-grade uranium. I think we were substantially successful, and I have never been more proud of President Trump and our military. And I think we set back their military program substantially. But here is what we didn’t do: We didn’t change their desire for a nuclear weapon. We changed the capability to make one. Here is my goal: to have people in charge of Iran who don’t want a nuclear weapon to destroy Israel, who will not be the largest state sponsor of terrorism but live in peace with their neighbors and have a good relationship with the United States. That is what I want. And if you don’t want that, there is something wrong with you. How do you get that? Two ways: The religious fanatics reject their agenda; they change their behavior. Maybe that will happen. I don’t know. Or you change the people and you replace the religious fanatics with people in Iran who do not want to destroy the world, who do not want to create a master religion, who want to live in peace. And I think that is the vast majority of the Iranians. If we get this right, stick with Israel, stand up to this bully--this religious, fanatical regime--let Israel do what they need to do, then I think peace is coming. The Presiding Officer and myself went to Saudi Arabia and Israel to talk about Saudi Arabia recognizing the Jewish State under certain conditions. Before the attack of October 7, we were very close to expanding the Abraham Accords to include a deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel that, basically, would end the Arab-Israeli conflict--an amazing moment in history. October 7 comes along: a vicious, brutal attack on Israel by Hamas, which is fully funded by Iran--raping women, killing children in front of their parents, and doing things that we really don’t need to be talking about on the floor. That was designed to stop reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Israel because, for the Iranian fanatical regime, the worst nightmare is for the Arab world to make peace with Israel and move toward the light. These people want darkness for the world. So what do we do now? Israel has had it. I talked to the Prime Minister yesterday before I went on television, and I asked him: What would you like me to tell America, Bibi? He said: Three things. We are profoundly grateful to the American people for what you do to help the Jewish State. We couldn’t be here without you. We are profoundly grateful to President Trump for his strong leadership. He also wanted me to urge the people of Iran to seize the moment to end the nightmare you have been living. And the third thing he wanted me to tell the American people is: Israel is not going to live this way anymore. They are not going to raise their children in bomb shelters. They are not going to have their life interrupted daily by ballistic missiles coming from religious Nazis who want to kill all the Jews like Hitler. They are not going to put up with that. Regime change is coming to Iran, one or two ways: The regime renounces what they have been doing since 1979 and changes course, or it is replaced. To expect Israel to do anything else is offensive to me. You are asking Israel to accept as normal being attacked every day and every night by over 500 ballistic missiles? Over 24 Israeli citizens have been killed. The missiles going into Israel are designed to kill children. The attacks by the Israelis are designed to shut down the regime’s nuclear capability. But the targets are changing. They are now going after the police force that keeps the Ayatollah in power, the intelligence services that scare people into submission, the prisons that house dissidents. Israel has made a fateful decision to go to the heart of this regime, to take these religious Nazis down one way or the other--reject Nazism and the former religion or get new people. And I am with them. I am with them to the bitter end. I am with them because being with them is in your own interest if you are an American. Being with them is in your own interest if you believe in religious tolerance. Being with Israel means you reject a regime that would take a 16-year-old girl off a bus and beat her to death because she didn’t have a head cover. This is evil we are fighting. They are as evil as the Nazis. Now, 80 years later, we are having a debate about what the Jewish people should do to a group that wants to kill them all? Really? We are debating among ourselves what is too much against a regime trying to build dozens of nuclear weapons to blow people off the planet they don’t like or agree with? What kind of world are we living in? To all those who want to hold Israel back, what would you do if it were our country? Would you hold us back? If you tried to, we would run you over. We are not going to live this way as Americans. So what is this all about? I am going to end where I began. It is about a fanatical regime that took over the country by force, that started out imprisoning Americans, has been trying to build nuclear bombs--multiple nuclear bombs--has been the largest state sponsor of terrorism since 1984, has American blood on its hands, has attacked Israel over and over and over again, has suppressed its own people. It is about a religious agenda. Why do they do what they do? Religious, fanatical beliefs; a master religion for the world. And if you don’t believe that, you have missed a lot. That is what they want, and the only way they are not going to get there is for somebody to stop them.
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Madam President, on reconciliation, we have arrived at a pivotal week in the U.S. Senate, a week where Senate Republicans have to make a choice: either stand up for your constituents, stand up to defend Medicaid, stand up to protect millions of good-paying jobs or stand with Donald Trump and his billionaire friends. That is the fundamental choice Republicans face with their so-called Big Beautiful Bill. Before the week is out, we expect Republicans will bring their bill to the floor for debate. That means, very soon, the Senate is going to have a long night of vote-arama. When vote-arama begins, Democrats will be ready. We will pick the Republicans’ bill apart. We will put Republicans on record. We will force Republicans to explain in multiple ways, again and again and again, why they want to cut taxes for the rich at the expense of working people. Even now, many Senate Republicans know their own bill is poison. One reason is that their bill will decimate rural hospitals even more than the House bill would, as bad as that was. It will do that by curtailing the provider tax that many States use to fund Medicaid. Now, they know it is terrible so it sounds like Senate Republicans are trying to sweeten this bitter deal by adding a rural hospital fund in the hopes of easing the worries of some Members among their rank. But make no mistake about it--and the rural hospitals and the American Hospital Association know it--this won’t work. Whatever funding Republicans would offer in a rural hospital fund would easily be overwhelmed by cuts the States would still face and by the difficulty rural hospitals would still be in. A rural hospital fund would be like putting a bandaid over an amputation. Again, it is not going to work. Even before we get to vote-arama, Democrats have already successfully pushed back against some of the nastiest provisions in the Republicans’ bill. This work is certainly not done--it will continue to be an ongoing process--but Democrats will continue to use every tool available in the Senate to fight back against the Republicans’ bill. Today, I want to mention one important example. Yesterday, I announced that Senate Democrats successfully challenged a provision Republicans tried to sneak into their bill that would have stripped Federal judges of their ability to enforce their own rulings. Now, we all know Federal judges have ruled against the Trump administration in the vast majority of cases that are currently in court. Many of the administration’s most harmful Executive orders have been temporarily halted through preliminary injunctions, restraining orders, and other emergency rulings by the courts. So what did Senate Republicans try to do? They tried to write a workaround into their reconciliation bill by preventing judges from being able to even issue preliminary injunctions or restraining orders unless plaintiffs pay for the bond upfront. It goes even further than what the House Republicans tried to do. That meant, if someone wanted courts to put a stop to Donald Trump’s freezing of Federal funds or to stop DOGE from rummaging through people’s private data or any number of abuses--there are so many--they first had to pay up before the courts could even issue a court order. That is not justice, my Republican friends. That is pay-to-play. It is antithetical to our system of checks and balances. Once again, the wealthy are favored. They will be able to afford these bonds, but middle-class people, poor people, many groups will not. I am pleased--very pleased--that we Democrats have successfully pushed back against this lawless provision. Now, to be sure, not every decision has gone our way. But we will keep fighting until the last possible moment to strip the worst parts of the “Big Ugly Bill” that have flown under the radar. None of this has been easy to do. I want to thank all the ranking members and their staffs involved in this long, technical process. My staff has done a great job--I salute them--so has Senator Merkley’s staff. He is our ranking member on the Budget Committee. The hours have been long. The issues they have worked through have been immensely complicated so I thank them for their continued good work. Let me close by looking forward for a moment. The debate that will take place here on the floor in the coming days will be one of the most consequential the Senate has seen in years. At stake is the healthcare of tens of millions of Americans. At stake is over 2 million jobs in red States and blue States alike, which could throw our country into a recession--there are so many job cuts--all for tax cuts for the wealthy. But today, I want to leave my Republican colleagues with this: If they proceed with their “Big Ugly Bill,” they will push our Nation’s debt to a point of no return. If Senate Republicans try to make Donald Trump’s tax cuts permanent, as they are trying to do, they will add tens of trillions to the national debt in the coming decade--not a few trillion, tens of trillions in the coming decades. Senate Republicans know this. So what do they do? They try to use a budgetary gimmick called current policy baseline to pretend as if these Trump taxes won’t cost anything. This has never been done before in this way, but they are sort of desperate. Look, Republicans can use whatever budgetary gimmicks they want to try to make the math work on paper, but you can’t paper over the real-life economic consequences of adding tens of trillions to the debt. They are adding the money to the debt, that is for sure. They just try to do a paper trick so that it doesn’t look like it, but it does, and interest rates will go sky-high, no matter what parliamentary gimmick they try to use. There will be higher borrowing costs for all Americans for cars, for homes, and for credit cards. Americans are going to feel these higher costs because interest rates will go up because they are making the debt so deep. Americans are going to feel this everywhere they look. American household wealth will permanently be hobbled. Our economy will fail to reach its full potential. That is what will happen if Republicans proceed. Again, there aren’t enough budgetary gimmicks in the world to change that fact. And for what? For what? Why are Republicans doing all of this? So billionaires can pay less in taxes while tens of millions lose their healthcare benefits and pay more for everyday expenses. I urge the Republicans not to move forward. It is abundantly clear the bill is deeply flawed. If they do, Senate Democrats will continue to expose the Republicans’ bill for the debt-busting mess that it truly is.
No to endless wars.
No to a President who breaks the law daily.
No to a Republican Congress that is so weak and so spineless that they refuse to stand up.
No to Congressmen and -women who refuse to do their jobs.
No to a Republican Congress that is attempting to rob the American people of healthcare, food, and public lands.
No to lawmakers who refuse to speak out as this administration undermines the rule of law, due process, and American democracy.
No to Members of this Chamber who have been so kowtowed by Donald Trump that they are failing to stand up for the American people, their own people who elected them in good faith and sent them here to defend this country and uphold the Constitution and the rule of law.
We say no.
Mr. Speaker, I stand here today as Donald Trump has taken us to the precipice--the precipice of war, a constitutional crisis, and millions living in fear and marching in the streets.
Mr. Speaker, 3 days ago, the President ordered a unilateral military strike against Iran and notified the majority of Congress and the American people, essentially, by tweet, using a social media post on Truth Social.
Days later, the world is in chaos because we have a President who is acting unilaterally. Authoritarianism is on the rise across the planet, and a region has been destabilized by conflict and violence, putting millions of people at risk, not only in this country but across the world.
American troops are in harm’s way.
Iran is seeking help from our adversaries in Russia.
To date, we have had exactly zero--zero--briefings here in this Chamber from the President or the White House about their strategy or intent, or on what they know, what they planned, and how they are going to protect our troops, our bases, and the American people.
This follows on days of Donald Trump attacking the American people on our own soil by deploying United States marines, as combat troops, and the National Guard against our own people.
His own DHS Secretary and Federal agents handcuffed and pushed a United States Senator to the floor.
His U.S. attorney indicted a United States Congresswoman from this Chamber for doing her job.
A New York City official was arrested in a Federal courthouse.
I ask my colleagues: Is this the America that you swore your oath to and that you raised your right hand to defend, an America where the President is making hundreds of millions of dollars in a cryptocurrency bribery scheme; an America where the President is soliciting foreign governments for private gifts, including a $400 million jet in exchange for favors; and who is systemically dismantling programs that feed and house our people? He is trying to gut our healthcare systems and saddle generations of our people with trillions of dollars in debt so that he and his billionaire friends can have a few more tax breaks and a few more toys in their collection.
Is that what you stand for? Is that why you ran for office? Is that what the GOP and the Republicans in charge of this Chamber ran for and stand for?
You are the people who decide what moves on this floor and hold the keys to accountability. You are the ones who know that what is happening right now is wrong.
I ask how you can sit idly by and watch as your President dismantles the systems that uphold our democracy and the rule of law.
How can you sit here and watch as he recklessly deploys the military at home and abroad, threatening the safety and security of our people?
How can you sit idly by and watch as children starve across the world, including in Gaza and Sudan?
How can you justify a man who cozies up to our foreign adversaries and turns his back on our allies?
It does not have to be this way. You control this Chamber. You decide what happens, and Donald Trump is not a king.
I call on my Republican colleagues to find your backbones, find your moral compass, find your resolve, do what is right, and do your jobs.
I say to the American people: Keep marching. Keep speaking.
— Rep. Melanie A. Stansbury (D-NM-1)
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank President Trump for saving the world. For those who don’t recognize it, we have been at war with Iran for the last 46 years, or more likely and more accurately, Iran has been at war with us.
In 1979, they took American citizens hostage and paraded them out on the news day after day after day until President Reagan secured their release.
In 1983, a suicide bomb in Beirut, paid for by the Iranians, killed 63 people, including 17 Americans. In 1983, later that year, we all know they blew up our barracks with our marines, killing 241 people. Between 2003 and 2011, more than 600 American soldiers were killed by Iranian proxies.
Then obviously on October 7, 2023, 1,200 people were killed by Hamas, but Hamas is a proxy and largely paid for by Iran. Within that 1,200 people, 48 were Americans.
It leads me to ask this simple question: What if they had had a nuclear weapon?
For decades, American Presidents have said Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. It is a lot of talk but not a lot of action. Over and over and over again, Iran moved forward, building their bunkers deeper, building their sites more widespread, putting the world further at risk.
When Donald Trump talks, he doesn’t just talk. When he says he is going to do something, he does it.
Over the weekend, we saw this President do what has been necessary for decades: To make sure the largest sponsor of terrorism in the world does not have the power to kill us all.
Make no mistake, just imagine if they had a nuclear weapon on 9/11. Imagine if they had a nuclear weapon on October 7.
When our enemies tell us they want to kill us, we should believe them. When they say, “death to Israel,” when they say, “death to America,” and when they say they want to wipe us off the map, they mean it. They mean it because we live in a world where we do not all share the same values. We live in a world where there is good and evil in our civilization.
In the Judeo-Christian civilization of the United States and the West, we believe in life. We believe in prosperity. We do not believe in martyrdom. We do not celebrate death. That is not what we believe. There are those that do, and we put ourselves in great peril when we fail to recognize that.
Donald Trump recognized it. Our brave American soldiers who flew 40 hours round trip to deliver a message that under this President and under the Congress that is here and under this leadership, we will never allow Iran to have those nuclear weapons.
The days ahead will be scary because Iran has said that they will respond. They should make no mistake: They mess with America at their own peril.
The last thing I will say is this, and I say this to those on my side. It is one thing when I call out the anti-Semitism of those who do not stand in my party, who do not agree with me, who do not call themselves conservatives, but I am an equal opportunist. It is easy to call it out on the other side. You must do it on your own.
To those on my side who hate Jews and hate Israel so much that they are willing to jeopardize the security of the United States, know this: You are in the minority, you will lose, and I and President Trump are going to fight you every step of the way.
This research looked at what people in 25 countries think about NATO, Russia, Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2025. It found that most people in 13 NATO countries like NATO, with 66% having a good opinion, but this varies a lot—from 81% in Poland to only 28% in Greece. Most people (84%) do not trust Putin to do the right thing in world affairs, and 79% have a bad view of Russia. Opinions about Zelenskyy are mixed, with 45% trusting him and 45% not. People’s views often differ by political beliefs: in some countries, those on the left like NATO more, while in others, the right likes it better. Also, people who trust U.S. President Trump tend to trust Putin more and Zelenskyy less. These findings matter because they show how people around the world feel about important leaders and alliances during ongoing conflicts, which can affect international relations and peace efforts. Read full document →
