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Posted by Matt Kiser

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/06/03/day-1961/

Today in one sentence: The House voted to block Trump from ordering further strikes on Iran, passing a war powers resolution after four Republicans joined Democrats; Senate Republicans advanced Trump’s $70 billion immigration enforcement bill after stripping out $1 billion for his White House ballroom and forcing the administration to drop its $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund; Congress’s effort to renew the warrantless surveillance program is in jeopardy after Trump named Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, a political loyalist with no known intelligence experience, as acting director of national intelligence; the Trump administration proposed new tariffs between 10% and 12.5% on 60 trading partners in an effort to revive Trump’s signature economic policy, which the Supreme Court ruled most were illegal; six states held primaries Tuesday that set up key midterm races; the Supreme Court allowed Alabama to use a Republican-drawn congressional map that eliminates one of the state’s two majority-Black districts despite a unanimous three-judge panel finding that the plan intentionally discriminated against Black voters; CBS News fired “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley “for cause” after he confronted the show’s new executive producer and accused the network’s editor in chief of “murdering” the program; and the Trump administration hired a pardoned Jan. 6 defendant for a sensitive Pentagon counterterrorism job inside an office that handles highly classified military operations.

1/ The House voted to block Trump from ordering further strikes on Iran, passing a war powers resolution after four Republicans joined Democrats. It’s the first successful congressional rebuke of Trump’s military campaign after three failed attempts. The measure directs Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran unless Congress authorizes the war. The 215-208 vote sends the resolution to the Senate, which advanced a similar measure last month on a procedural vote. Even if it passed both chambers, Trump would likely veto it, requiring two-thirds majorities in both chambers to override him. No war powers resolution has ever overcome a veto. The White House, meanwhile, has argued that the War Powers Act’s 60-day deadline doesn’t apply because “hostilities” ended with the ceasefire, even as the U.S. continues to enforce a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. Hakeem Jeffries called it a “reckless and costly war of choice,” while Speaker Mike Johnson warned it was “a very dangerous prospect” to weaken Trump’s negotiating leverage. Marco Rubio added taht Iran would see the vote as a sign that Trump’s “hands are going to be tied.” (New York Times / Politico / NBC News / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNN / Reuters / Associated Press / Axios)

2/ Senate Republicans advanced Trump’s $70 billion immigration enforcement bill after stripping out $1 billion for his White House ballroom and forcing the administration to drop its $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund. The Senate voted 53-46 to begin debate on the package, which would fund ICE and Border Patrol through 2029, using budget reconciliation to avoid a Democratic filibuster and pass it with a simple majority. The ballroom money was removed after the Senate parliamentarian ruled it violated reconciliation rules and Republicans worried about defending taxpayer funding for Trump’s personal project while voters face cost-of-living pressures. The bill now heads into the amendment process before final Senate passage. House Republicans are hoping to pass it by the end of the week. (The Hill / CNN / New York Times / Associated Press / Bloomberg / CBS News)

3/ Congress’s effort to renew the warrantless surveillance program is in jeopardy after Trump named Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, a political loyalist with no known intelligence experience, as acting director of national intelligence. Pulte would oversee the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies and Section 702, which allows warrantless collection of foreign targets’ communications but can also sweep up Americans’ messages. Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner asked Senate Majority Leader John Thune to pressure Trump into reversing the appointment, warning that Democrats wouldn’t renew those powers under someone with “no intelligence background” and “a record of misusing private information.” Sen. Chris Murphy said “the very nature of our collection” would be put in the hands of someone with “a history of seeking out private information for political gain.” Thune, meanwhile, said “we don’t need a weaponized” DNI. Republicans need Democratic votes before the June 12 deadline. (Punchbowl / Politico / Semafor / The Guardian / NPR / Bloomberg / The Hill)

4/ The Trump administration proposed new tariffs between 10% and 12.5% on 60 trading partners in an effort to revive Trump’s signature economic policy, which the Supreme Court ruled most were illegal. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the countries failed to ban or enforce bans on goods made with forced labor, creating “an unlevel playing field” for American workers. Under the proposal, the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, and others would face a 10% duty, while 12.5% tariffs would apply to China, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, and dozens more. Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, said “Washington is desperately searching for new legal grounds to sustain its tariff policy. Accusing the EU of all places of insufficient action against forced labor is absurd.” The Chinese Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, denied the allegation, saying: “There is no such thing as ‘forced labor’ in China.” (ABC News / Politico / The Guardian / CBS News / Washington Post)

5/ 🟦🟥 Primaries: Six states held primaries Tuesday that set up key midterm races. In Iowa, Republicans rejected Trump-backed Rep. Randy Feenstra for governor and nominated Zach Lahn, who will face Democratic state auditor Rob Sand. Democrats also nominated Josh Turek, a state legislator and four-time Paralympian backed by party-aligned groups, to challenge Trump-backed Rep. Ashley Hinson for an open Senate seat. In California, Trump-backed Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra led Tom Steyer in the still-uncalled top-two governor’s primary with millions of ballots left to be counted. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass advanced to a runoff, while Republican reality TV star Spencer Pratt and progressive Councilmember Nithya Raman are still competing for the second spot. In New Jersey, Democrats nominated former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett to challenge Rep. Tom Kean Jr., who has missed more than 100 votes since March due to an unspecified medical issue. In New Mexico, Deb Haaland won the Democratic nomination for governor, while South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden was forced into a Republican runoff against businessman Toby Doeden. (Associated Press / Washington Post / ABC News / New York Times / NBC News / Reuters)

6/ The Supreme Court allowed Alabama to use a Republican-drawn congressional map that eliminates one of the state’s two majority-Black districts despite a unanimous three-judge panel finding that the plan intentionally discriminated against Black voters. The unsigned order lets Alabama to hold special congressional primaries on Aug. 11 under a never-before-used 2023 map that could help Republicans flip a Democratic seat and leave the state with one Black-majority district out of seven. More than one-quarter of Alabama’s residents are Black. The court’s conservative majority said the lower court failed to apply its new Voting Rights Act standard and “did not heed the presumption of legislative good faith.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, however, said the court had chosen “a chaotic election” under a map that “intentionally discriminates against Black Alabamians,” adding: “Just as Alabama doubled down on racial discrimination, the Court today doubles down on chaos.” (CNN / Associated Press / New York Times / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / Reuters / NBC News)

7/ CBS News fired “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley “for cause” after he confronted the show’s new executive producer and accused the network’s editor in chief of “murdering” the program. Nick Bilton said Pelley “hijacked” his first staff meeting as executive producer with “remarkable incivility and contempt,” while Bari Weiss told staff that “trust and mutual respect” had been broken and that management tried to “find a way back.” Pelley, however, disputed that, saying “Bari Weiss knows what she said is not true,” while also claiming that the new management told him to inject “falsehoods and bias” into a politically sensitive story and to let politicians choose “60 Minutes” correspondents for interviews. Pelley’s firing follows the dismissal of executive producer Tanya Simon and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, as well as Anderson Cooper’s departure. (New York Times / NBC News / Politico / Washington Post / Axios / CNN / The Guardian / Wall Street Journal)

The 2026 midterms are in 153 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 888 days.

✏️ Notables.

1. Social Security retirees could face an average $500 monthly cut in 2032 if Congress lets the retirement trust fund run dry, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The group says a projected 24% benefit cut would affect 63 million current beneficiaries unless Congress changes taxes, benefits, or funding before then. (CNBC)

2. The Trump administration is diverting at least $90 million in national park entry fees to Washington, D.C. projects tied to July 4 and America’s 250th anniversary. The money includes $1.6 million for fireworks and $76 million for fountain repairs, even as the park system faces a $24 billion maintenance backlog and recent staffing cuts have already strained basic operations. (Washington Post)

3. The White House is proposing to make billions in federal grants pass a political test before agencies can award them, requiring Trump appointees to certify that the money “demonstrably advance[s]” the president’s priorities. The rule would restrict grants for projects tied to DEI, voter registration, or “anti-American values,” while giving the administration broad power to terminate awards it later decides aren’t in the “public interest.” (New York Times)

4. Federal regulators are investigating whether George Santos illegally bet on a prediction-market contract tied to his own State of the Union attendance after Kalshi flagged the trades to the CFTC and Justice Department. Santos had told his followers he planned to attend, allegedly bet that he wouldn’t, and then skipped the speech. He called the accusation “preposterous.” (NBC News / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)

5. The Trump administration hired a pardoned Jan. 6 defendant for a sensitive Pentagon counterterrorism job inside an office that handles highly classified military operations. Elias Irizarry pleaded guilty after entering the Capitol through a broken window with a metal pole, later apologizing for bringing “great shame” on himself and the country. The Pentagon, nevertheless, defended him as “qualified” and “patriotic.” (Washington Post / NBC News)

• Today last year: Day 1596: "Making America bankrupt."
• Two years ago today: Day 1231: "Reckless."
• Five years ago today: Day 135: "To no avail."
• Six years ago today: Day 1231: "No idea."
• Seven years ago today: Day 865: Presidential obstruction and other crimes.

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https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/06/03/day-1961/