General U.S. NewsJun 20, 2026·3 min read

DC’s ‘renovated’ pool reflects the Trump administration’s dangerous hubris

The Guardian – US News

2h ago

DC’s ‘renovated’ pool reflects the Trump administration’s dangerous hubris

Summary

When asked what his takeaways from the Iran war were, Trump said he believed there were no limits to his power It’s been a busy week for the US’s birthday boy. First, there was the cage fight on the White House lawn, in honour of the United States’ 250th anniversary and Donald Trump’s 80th. Then, after watching sweaty men fight, the president flew to France to try to sort out the mess he’d helped create in the Middle East. I regret to inform you that despite Trump signing what Jimmy Kimmel called “the retreaty of Versailles”, it does not really look like the Iran war has been sorted out. Still, the president seems happy with himself. After Axios asked what his takeaways from the Iran war were, Trump said he believes there are “ no limits ” to his power. The Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool would beg to differ. In between the cage fights and a catastrophic war, Trump has been waging a very expensive battle with the algae in the famous monument, which was the scene of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech . The president has spent $14.2m trying to make the “filthy” and “dirty” pool into the resort-like water feature of his own dreams. Unless you’re a woman, I guess: Hegseth’s self-identified Christian nationalist pastor Doug Wilson has opposed a woman’s right to vote and said : “Women are the kind of people that people come out of.” “I don’t see myself as a feminist,” she told the Times in a recent interview. “I see myself as a very independent thinker and not necessarily because I’m a woman.” A few days later, she wrote to the Times to say “feminist” is “a tricky word for me” but she aligns with “the values and morals” of feminism.

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Tom Cotton, the Senate’s foremost Iran hawk, is in a Trump-induced jam

Tom Cotton made his name in Washington as an outspoken critic of a Democratic president’s deal to check Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Now, with a president of his own party angling toward a similarly structured agreement, the Arkansas Republican is so far using a softer voice. Cotton , the No. 3 Senate Republican and Intelligence Committee chair, is not alone among GOP defense hawks in finding himself in an awkward position more than a decade after lambasting President Barack Obama’s Iran deal. But the combination of his prior ferocity toward the Iranian regime and his current leadership responsibilities have put him into an especially tight spot as President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance sell their 14-point “memorandum of understanding” to skeptical Republicans. Cotton moved toward critiquing that framework in a Fox News interview Thursday, crediting Trump for “making Iran weaker than it’s been in decades” while airing concerns that “certain aspects of this deal are a step in the wrong direction.” “We need to make sure that we don’t squander the leverage that we’ve built” against Iran, he said. That is a far cry from the rhetoric Cotton deployed as a freshman senator in 2015, when Obama was moving in concert with other global powers to force Iran to curb its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief and other economic favors. Cotton led a brash effort to undermine the deal — most notably by organizing a public letter signed by 46 other GOP senators to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, then the supreme leader of Iran, warning that “anything not approved by Congress is a mere executive agreement” that could be nixed by a future administration. The letter enraged the Obama administration and congressional Democrats, but it was prescient. Majority Leader John Thune , like most Senate Republicans, had nothing but praise this week for the “great job” Cotton was doing amid the tumult over the expired spy law and the director of national intelligence drama. “He’s a really strong chair on the committee. And he had it all teed up and ready to go,” Thune said in an interview. “Now it's just … back to the drawing board.

Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again as 16 killed in fresh Israeli strikes in Lebanon

Iran’s top joint military command on Saturday announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz once again, accusing the United States of violating commitments under the recently signed US-Iran memorandum of understanding and citing continued Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon. In a statement carried by Iranian state television, the military command said the closure was in response to Washington’s “clear breach of trust” and failure to implement the first clause of the agreement, as well as Israel’s alleged violations of a ceasefire in Lebanon, news agency Associated Press reported. The Express Global Desk at indianexpress.com which delivers authoritative, verified, and context-driven coverage of key international developments shaping global politics, policy, and migration trends. The desk focuses on stories with direct relevance for Indian and global audiences, combining breaking news with in-depth explainers and analysis. A major focus area of the desk is US immigration and visa policy, including developments related to student visas, work permits, permanent residency pathways, executive actions, and court rulings. The Global Desk also closely tracks Canada’s immigration, visa, and study policies, covering changes to study permits, post-study work options, permanent residence programmes, and regulatory updates affecting migrants and international students. All reporting from the Global Desk adheres to The Indian Express’ editorial standards, relying on official data, government notifications, court documents, and on-record sources. Core Team The Express Global Desk is led by a team of experienced journalists and editors with deep expertise in international affairs and migration policy: Aniruddha Dhar – Senior Assistant Editor with extensive experience in global affairs, international politics, and editorial leadership. Nischai Vats – Deputy Copy Editor specialising in US politics, US visa and immigration policy, and policy-driven international coverage. Mashkoora Khan – Sub-editor focusing on global developments, with a strong emphasis on Canada visa, immigration, and study-related policy coverage. ...

US treasury chief urged Trump not to host ‘Mr Bean on crack’ Zelenskyy, book says

Suggestion that Scott Bessent so described a world leader included in Regime Change, by New York Times reporters Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, advised Donald Trump not to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, having called the Ukrainian president a “little fucker”, a “special-needs child” and “Mr Bean on crack”, according to a new book. The suggestion that a US cabinet official described a world leader in such terms is included in Regime Change, a blockbusting account of the second Trump administration by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, set to be published worldwide on Tuesday. News of Bessent’s alleged remarks may embarrass the Trump administration, although the meeting that did take place on 28 February 2025 proved outright disastrous, as Trump and JD Vance blasted Zelenskyy for not being grateful for aid in his fight against Russian invaders, and for not wearing a suit. The issue of aid to Ukraine remains at the fore, and was discussed at the G7 summit in France earlier this week. “Several Trump aides had been worried” about the potential for a blow-up when Zelenskyy came to the White House, ostensibly to seal a minerals deal drafted by Bessent, Swan and Haberman write. Then-national security adviser Mike Waltz “tried – unsuccessfully – to get the message across that Zelenskyy should come wearing a suit”, they continue. “Bessent had strongly recommended to Trump that he not even allow Zelenskyy into the White House before he had signed” the deal. “‘I’ve dealt with this little fucker,’ Bessent would say to associates about Zelenskyy,” according to the book. “‘He’s tricky. He’s like the special-needs child for the Europeans. And he’s acting like Mr Bean on crack.” The treasury department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Zelenskyy did come, and Bessent was in the room as Vance carpeted their visitor. “Others present could see that Vance was steadily turning red,” Haberman and Swan write, as Zelenskyy’s insistence on pushing for security guarantees “began to sound to Vance like impertinence and ingratitude”. After the disastrous meeting, Bessent told Bloomberg that Zelenskyy scored “one of the great diplomatic own goals”, adding: “I was shocked, shocked that President Zelenskyy would come into the Oval Office, behave like this, speak to the president, speak to the vice-president, but more importantly, disrespect the American people like this.” Regime Change also contains alleged details of Bessent’s unsuccessful handling of the minerals deal. It did not go well. “For 45 minutes, the men berated each other,” Swan and Haberman write. “Bessent had only been on the job for a few days, and already he had gotten into a shouting match with the leader of a country in the middle of a war.

DC’s ‘renovated’ pool reflects the Trump administration’s dangerous hubris

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Tom Cotton, the Senate’s foremost Iran hawk, is in a Trump-induced jam

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