Washington, DC

1. Saudi deal or no deal?
2. Oil at $100
3. Iran war votes
4. Mali military intervention?
5. Michigan primary proxy war

Alphabet ▼ 7% after saying it will spend as much as $205 billion on AI investments this year.

Saudi nuclear deal in doubt as Trump changes terms

The future of the newly announced US-Saudi Arabia nuclear deal is already in question after President Donald Trump said this morning that the country will have to normalize relations with Israel as a condition of the agreement. “If they don’t join the Abraham Accords, the deal is off,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. It’s a stipulation that wasn’t included in the deal when it was announced earlier this week, and apparently wasn’t discussed with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Leavitt told reporters that Trump is “the final dealmaker.” And while the president has not spoken to the crown prince since putting out his statement, Leavitt said he had raised the issue in prior conversations. Still, the requirement would be a red line for Saudi Arabia, which has resisted joining the accords until there’s clearer progress toward a Palestinian state.

— Shelby Talcott

Rising oil prices don’t temper White House rhetoric

Oil crossed $100 a barrel today, a psychological barrier that has, in recent months, preceded announcements from the White House signaling de-escalation in Iran — but not today. Trump will pursue a policy of a “head for an eye” against Iran if they continue to strike ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today when asked about Trump’s threat to target power plants and bridges. This morning Trump said he’d hold Iran responsible for the actions of the Tehran-backed Houthis, who attacked two Saudi-flagged ships yesterday in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The president also told Axios he’s weighing a new chapter in the war. “I’m considering a massive attack on Iran, bigger than anything that’s ever happened before. I’m close to making a decision. We’re fully prepared for it,” Trump said.

Trump faces more heat from GOP on Iran

The House voted to end Trump’s war in Iran earlier today, as a similar effort failed in the Senate. Four House Republicans joined Democrats to approve the resolution from progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., which directs Trump to end the US campaign on Iran if he doesn’t get express approval from Congress. In the Senate, just one Republican — Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine — voted with Democrats to advance a similar resolution, leaving it short of the support needed to move forward. Nevertheless, the dual efforts signify growing Republican pressure on Trump to end the war, which Trump voters are tiring of. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., whose own war powers resolution passed both chambers last month, said he would make a move to sue the administration for not abiding by that measure calling for reining in the war.

Lawmakers warn Trump over possible Mali strikes

Iran might not be the only military operation about which Trump has shared limited information with Congress, report Semafor’s Lauren Morganbesser and Adrian Elimian. News that Trump is considering military intervention in Mali caught senators from both parties by surprise, with some complaining about a lack of consultation over a potential new military campaign. “What US military intervention?” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said he had “seen headlines” but “heard nothing from the administration.” Lawmakers have repeatedly complained about the Trump administration keeping them in the dark on military action, including the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year. And despite having little information, many Democratic senators who spoke to Semafor questioned the Mali strategy. “The last thing the US needs is another foolish Trump war right now,” said Kaine.

Michigan Senate primary serves as Democratic proxy fight

Democrats’ electability debate between its establishment and progressive wings keeps playing out vividly in their Michigan Senate primary. Today, CNN published leaked audio of the presumptive Republican nominee, former Rep. Mike Rogers, privately saying he’d prefer to run against progressive insurgent Abdul El-Sayed, rather than Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens. “If he wins, I think we’re in good shape. I mean, I think he’s so radical,” Rogers said. The Stevens campaign seized on the clip. Stevens dealt with her own uncomfortable headline today, too, dismissing a consultant who Drop Site reported also works for defense contractor Palantir. El-Sayed has accused Stevens of prioritizing military spending and aid to Israel over domestic priorities, pointing to the $30 million AIPAC has spent supporting her.

White House

• The Trump administration is preparing more targeted tariffs to replace expiring global tariffs after court rulings blocked its earlier approach.
• The Secret Service is investigating a member of Vice President JD Vance’s security team for allegedly leaking to the press.

Congress

• Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said he now trusts Erica Schwartz, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after she made a “good-faith” change to a CDC webpage on vaccines and autism. The Senate HELP panel was forced to delay a vote on her nomination today.

Immigration

• Tensions are rising between Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and the White House. — NBC

Campaigns

• Democratic Senate Majority PAC committed another $54 million in ad spending across Ohio, North Carolina, Iowa, and Alaska, Semafor reports.

Polls

• About two-thirds of Americans said they feel dissatisfied or upset about President Trump’s construction projects in Washington, like the new White House ballroom and Reflecting Pool renovation. — WaPo

Health

• An FDA advisory committee will debate today and tomorrow whether to allow pharmacies to produce peptide injections, setting up a clash between health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has embraced the compounds, and skeptical FDA experts.

Courts

• The Justice Department will withdraw subpoenas issued to New York Times reporters who covered President Trump’s new Air Force One jet, after a federal judge indicated he was inclined to quash them.
• The man convicted of killing the former speaker of the Minnesota House and her husband in 2025 was sentenced to life in prison.
• More than two dozen states sued the Trump administration over its conditioning of disaster relief aid on state authorities’ compliance with the White House’s mass deportation and election oversight policies.

Technology

• About 200 Silicon Valley startup founders wrote to the White House urging the administration not to ban Chinese AI models.

Economy

• New weekly jobless claims dropped to the lowest level last week since the 1960s.

World

• A court in Brazil authorized a probe into Flávio Bolsonaro’s ties to a man at the center of a bank fraud investigation, threatening Bolsonaro’s presidential bid.

— Elon Musk on his relationship with the president in a wide-ranging interview with The Economist.

Laura McGann, editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor, and Morgan Chalfant, Washington briefing editor

Graph Massara and Lauren Morganbesser, copy editors

Contact our reporters:

Burgess Everett, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott, Nicholas Wu, David Weigel