Trump officials give their first classified briefing to Congress on the Iran strikes
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Trump administration officials arrived on Capitol Hill to brief lawmakers Thursday about President Donald Trump's decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites as questions swirled about the effectiveness of the attack and what's ahead for America's military involvement in the Middle East.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were expected to give the classified briefing to senators, originally scheduled for Tuesday.
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Winnipeg Free Press
31 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Meet the Senate parliamentarian, the official tying Republicans in knots over their tax bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — A few Republicans reacted with indignation Thursday after the Senate parliamentarian advised that some of the measures in their tax and immigration bill could not be included in the legislation. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., tweeted on X that Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough should be fired, 'ASAP.' Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., intimated that she was partisan, asking why an 'unelected swamp bureaucrat, who was appointed by Harry Reid over a decade ago' gets to decide what's in the bill?' It's hardly the first time the parliamentarian's normally low-key and lawyerly role has drawn a blast of public criticism. MacDonough also dashed Democratic plans over the years, advising in 2021 that they couldn't include a minimum wage increase in their COVID-19 relief bill. Later that same year, she advised that Democrats needed to drop an effort to let millions of immigrants remain temporarily in the U.S. as part of their big climate bill. But the attention falling on MacDonough's rulings in recent years also reflects a broader change in Congress, with lawmakers increasingly trying to wedge their top policy priorities into bills that can't be filibustered in the Senate. The process comes with special rules designed to deter provisions unrelated to spending or taxes — and that's where the parliamentarian comes in, offering analysis of what does and doesn't qualify. Her latest round of decisions Thursday was a blow to the GOP's efforts to wring hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid over the next decade. Senate Republicans could opt to try to override her recommendations, but they are unlikely to do so. Here's a closer look at what the Senate parliamentarian does and why lawmakers are so focused on her recommendations right now. The crucial role of the parliamentarian Both the House and Senate have a parliamentarian to provide assistance on that chamber's rules and precedents. They are often seen advising whoever is presiding over the chamber on the proper procedures to be followed and the appropriate responses to a parliamentary inquiry. They are also charged with providing information to lawmakers and their respective staff on a strictly nonpartisan and confidential basis. The parliamentarians and their staff only offer advice. Their recommendations are not binding. In the case of the massive tax and spending bill now before both chambers, the parliamentarian plays a critical role in advising whether the reconciliation bill's provisions remain focused on fiscal issues. How MacDonough became the first woman in the job MacDonough, an English literature major, is the Senate's first woman to be parliamentarian and just the sixth person to hold the position since its creation in 1935. She began her Senate career in its library before leaving to get a law degree at Vermont Law School. She worked briefly as a Justice Department trial attorney before returning to the Senate in 1999, this time as an assistant in the parliamentarian's office. She was initially appointed parliamentarian in 2012 by Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada, Senate majority leader at the time. She was retained by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., when he became majority leader in 2015. She helped Chief Justice John Roberts preside over Trump's 2020 Senate impeachment trial and was beside then-Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., for Trump's second trial the following year. Trump was acquitted both times. When Trump supporters fought past police and into the Capitol in hopes of disrupting Congress' certification of Joe Biden's Electoral College victory, MacDonough and other staffers rescued those ballots and hustled mahogany boxes containing them to safety. MacDonough's office, on the Capitol's first floor, was ransacked and declared a crime scene. Can the Senate ignore the parliamentarian's advice? Yes. The parliamentarian makes the recommendation, but it's the presiding officer overseeing Senate proceedings who rules on provisions in the bill. If there is a dispute, it would be put to a vote. Michael Thorning, director of structural democracy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank, said he doubts Republicans will want to go that route. And indeed, some Republican senators said as much Thursday. 'It's the institutional integrity, even if I'm convinced 100% she's wrong,' said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. Thorning said lawmakers from both parties view MacDonough as 'very much an honest broker.' 'And the Senate relies on her,' Thorning said. 'Sometimes, those decisions cut your way, and sometimes, they don't. I also think members recognize that once you start treating the parliamentarian's advice as just something that could be easily dismissed, then the rules start to matter less.' Have parliamentarians been fired? Majority leaders from both parties have replaced the parliamentarian. For more than three decades, the position alternated between Robert Dove and Alan Frumin depending upon which party was in the majority. Thorning said the two parliamentarians weren't far apart though, in how they interpreted the Senate's rules and precedents. MacDonough succeeded Frumin as parliamentarian. He said the small number of calls Thursday for her dismissal 'tells you all people need to know about the current parliamentarian.' 'Senators know this isn't somebody playing politics,' Thorning said.
Winnipeg Free Press
31 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Judge blocks Georgia's social media age verification law, citing free speech concerns
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia has become the latest state where a federal judge has blocked a law requiring age verification for social media accounts. Like in seven other states where such laws have been blocked, a federal judge ruled Thursday that the Georgia law infringes on free speech rights. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg means that the Georgia measure, which passed in 2024, won't take effect next week as scheduled. Instead, Totenberg granted a preliminary injunction blocking the law until there's a full ruling on the issue. Georgia's law would require some social media providers to take 'commercially reasonable' steps to verify a user's age and require children younger than 16 to get parental permission for accounts. It was challenged by NetChoice, a trade group representing online businesses. 'The state seeks to erect barriers to speech that cannot withstand the rigorous scrutiny that the Constitution requires,' Totenberg wrote, finding the law restricts the rights of minors, chills the right to anonymous speech online and restricts the ability of people to receive speech from social media platforms. Georgia will appeal, a spokesperson for Attorney General Chris Carr said Thursday. 'We will continue to defend commonsense measures that empower parents and protect our children online,' spokesperson Kara Murray said in a statement. Parents — and even some teens themselves — are growing increasingly concerned about the effects of social media use on young people. Supporters of the laws have said they are needed to help curb the explosive use of social media among young people, and what researchers say is an associated increase in depression and anxiety. Totenberg said concerns about social media harming children are legitimate, but don't outweigh the constitutional violation. Totenberg wrote that NetChoice's members would be irreparably harmed by the law. She rejected arguments from the state that the group shouldn't get temporary relief because it had delayed filing its lawsuit by a year and because the state would be required to give 90 days' notice before enforcing the law. 'Free expression doesn't end where government anxiety begins,' NetChoice Director of Litigation Chris Marchese said in a statement. 'Parents— not politicians — should guide their children's lives online and offline— and no one should have to hand over a government ID to speak in digital spaces.' It's the ninth state where NetChoice has blocked a law over children's use of social media. In Arkansas and Ohio, federal judges have permanently overturned the laws. Besides Georgia, measures are also on hold in California, Florida, Mississippi, Texas and Utah. Louisiana agreed to not enforce its law while litigation proceeds. Only in Tennessee did a federal judge decline to temporarily block a law, finding NetChoice hadn't proved that people would be irreparably harmed if the law wasn't blocked before trial. Georgia had argued the law was meant to protect children in a dangerous place, likening it to banning them from bars serving alcohol instead of restricting their speech.
CBC
37 minutes ago
- CBC
Classified briefing leaves U.S. Senators split over damage done by strikes on Iran
Social Sharing American Senators emerged from a classified briefing Thursday with sharply diverging assessments of U.S. President Donald Trump's bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites, with Republicans calling the mission a clear success and Democrats expressing deep skepticism. CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came to Capitol Hill to give the classified briefings, which were originally scheduled for Tuesday. Many Republicans left satisfied, though their assessments of how much Iran's nuclear program was set back by the bombing varied. Sen. Tom Cotton said a "major blow" and "catastrophic damage" had been dealt to Iran's facilities. "Their operational capability was obliterated. There is nobody working there tonight. It was highly effective. There's no reason to hit those sites anytime soon," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican. Democrats remained doubtful and criticized Trump for not giving Congress more information. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the briefing "raised more questions than it answered." Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy said the strike appears to "have only set back the Iranian nuclear program by a handful of months." "There's no doubt there was damage done to the program," said Murphy, but "allegations that we have obliterated their program just don't seem to stand up to reason." "I just do not think the president was telling the truth when he said this program was obliterated," he added. WATCH | Hegseth defends damage to Iranian nuclear facilities: Hegseth defends U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, citing 'resounding success' 7 hours ago Duration 6:05 U.S. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump's 'decisive military action' ended the '12-day war' between Israel and Iran. The conference follows reports suggesting the damage was not as extensive as the Trump administration had been claiming. The session came as senators weighed their support for a resolution affirming that Trump should seek authorization from Congress before launching more military action against Iran. A vote on that resolution could come as soon as Thursday. Democrats and some Republicans have said the White House overstepped its authority when it failed to seek the advice of Congress. They also want to know more about the intelligence that Trump relied on when he authorized the attacks. A similar briefing for House members will be held Friday. A preliminary U.S. intelligence report found that Iran's nuclear program had been set back only a few months, contradicting statements from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the status of Iran's nuclear facilities, according to two people familiar with the report. They were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. "You want to call it destroyed, you want to call it defeated, you want to call it obliterated — choose your word. This was an historically successful attack," Hegseth said at a Pentagon briefing Thursday. Trump pushes back on leaked report saying U.S. strikes did not destroy Iran nuclear sites 1 day ago Duration 5:33 U.S. President Donald Trump is doubling down on his assertion that Iran's nuclear program was destroyed by U.S. strikes. 'I believe it was total obliteration,' he said. His comments followed reports on Tuesday that the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency had assessed that the strikes had set back Iran's nuclear program by just a few months. On Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Ratcliffe sent out statements backing Trump's claims that the facilities were "completely and fully obliterated." Gabbard posted on social media that "new intelligence confirms what @POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran's nuclear facilities have been destroyed." She said that if the Iranians choose to rebuild the three facilities, it would "likely take years to do." Ratcliffe said in a statement from the CIA that Iran's nuclear program has been "severely damaged." He cited new intelligence "from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years." Most Republicans have defended Trump and hailed the tentative ceasefire he brokered in the Israel-Iran war. House Speaker Mike Johnson went as far as to question the constitutionality of the War Powers Act, which is intended to give Congress a say in military action. "The bottom line is the commander-in-chief is the president, the military reports to the president, and the person empowered to act on the nation's behalf is the president," Johnson told reporters. But some Republicans, including some of Trump's staunchest supporters, are uncomfortable with the strikes and the potential for U.S. involvement in an extended Middle East conflict. "I think the Speaker needs to review the Constitution," said Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican. "And I think there's a lot of evidence that our Founding Fathers did not want presidents to unilaterally go to war." While Trump did not seek approval, he sent congressional leaders a short letter Monday serving as his official notice of the strikes, which occurred Saturday between 6:40 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. ET, or roughly 2:10 a.m. on Sunday in Iran.
