President Donald Trump halted all conversations with Iran this week, promising to wage economic warfare against the country and its allies. Trump also posted an image depicting the Strait of Hormuz as US territory. Military experts explain and react to these Iran war developments. 0:00 Trump talks Iran sanctions, naval blockade 1:34 US Navy Adm. James Stavridis (Ret.) on Trump's best options at this point (August 19) 2:33 US Air Force Brig. Gen. Don Bacon (Ret.) on Trump's apparent new strategy (August 18) 6:30 US Army Col. Peter Mansoor (Ret.) on Trump's threats against Oman and his labeling Strait of Hormuz as a US territory (August 18) Watch 24/7 live news with CNN Headlines: https://bit.ly/4eIvlTr #Iran #IranWar #News
The battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz has become the focal point of the Iran war. Over the past several months, both Iran and the United States have claimed the upper hand – and the competing rhetoric has caused considerable confusion and doubt. At the moment, however, the evidence is clear: The United States, patrolling the strait with its navy, is gaining ground – and Iran is losing much of its control of the critical waterway. More than 80% of vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz over the past two weeks have taken the Omani route – a UN-authorized shipping channel that Iran vehemently opposes – according to Kpler, which tracks ships using transponders and satellite data. CNN's Jake Tapper hosts Nebraska…
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) emerged from a White House meeting Thursday with two much-needed wins: - President Trump publicly urged House Republicans to stop tanking procedural votes , which could help unstick the House floor. - Johnson officially transmitted the bipartisan housing bill to the White House, a sign of confidence that it's on track to become law after Trump had refused to sign it just a day earlier. Why it matters: The SAVE America Act has consumed the House GOP, with some Republicans frustrated that a bill they've already passed three times is now paralyzing their agenda. - Johnson was forced to scrap votes and end the House's workweek early after conservatives made clear they would tank rule votes on the floor over the…
State of the Union: Eighteen Republicans joined Democrats. The post House Passes Ukraine Aid and Russian Sanctions Package appeared first on The American Conservative .
The House passed the Ukraine Support Act Thursday evening with a final tally of 226-195, as 18 Republicans and the Independent Rep. Kevin Kiley of California joined all but one Democrat to advance a bill that would offer further military aid to Ukraine and impose stricter sanctions on Russia. The Senate is unlikely to vote on the legislation. The resolution authorizes $8 billion in loans to Ukraine and NATO allies and another $1 billion in other funds for Ukraine and Baltic states, in addition to extending the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through 2027. It also introduces new sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy such as energy and mining. Several Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee…Open
House members in both parties are embracing the discharge petition like never before to sidestep Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and pass bills he refuses to put on the floor. Why it matters: Republican leaders have long discouraged their members from signing onto Democratic-led petitions, but those pleas are increasingly falling on deaf ears. - Johnson briefly floated changes to House rules last year to make it harder for discharge petitions to succeed. - He said at the time the tactic was "too common," with Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) saying he would "like to see a higher threshold for a lot of these motions." Driving the news: A discharge petition introduced by Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) hit 218 signatures on Wednesday.…
Congressional Republicans are countering President Trump's meddling in their primaries with a revenge tour of their own. Why it matters: Politically, Trump had a successful week, picking winners and settling scores. Legislatively, it's turning into a disaster. - He's on the edge of an Iran war rebuke: House Democrats are one step closer to finally getting a successful Iran war powers vote as their last holdout plans to flip and at least one Republican says they may follow suit. - His "anti-weaponization" fund is taking heat: Republicans in both chambers put him on notice that the nearly $1.8 billion carveout will be subject to legislative scrutiny. - And the ballroom money is out (for now), but there's still an open question…
House Democrats are one step closer to finally getting a successful Iran war powers vote as their last holdout plans to flip and at least one Republican says they may follow suit. Why it matters: While the vote would be largely symbolic — President Trump could veto the measure — Democrats believe it would be a crucial rebuke of the conflict. - House Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Himes (D-Conn.), one of the lawmakers leading the measure , told Axios he is "feeling pretty good" about its chances of passing on Thursday. - Another senior House Democrat, asked if party leadership is confident about the vote, told Axios: "Yes." Driving the news: Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), the one Democrat who has consistently voted against…
House Democrats on Wednesday secured the necessary signatures to bypass Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and force a vote on a package of Russia sanctions and billions of dollars in Ukraine aid. Why it matters: This is the eighth time in the last three years that a discharge petition has been used by some combination of Democrats and Republicans to do an end-run around GOP leadership. - Just in the 119th Congress, lawmakers have succeeded in garnering the necessary 218 signatures to force votes on a half dozen bills covering everything from proxy voting in the House to releasing the Epstein files to extending Affordable Care Act tax credits . - Now they will get a vote on supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia — though likely not…
