US: Trump Sees Disabling Fordo Nuclear Site As "Necessary" - CBS
Jun-19 16:21
CBS reports: "President Trump has been briefed on both the risks and the benefits of bombing Fordo, Iran's most secure nuclear site, and his mindset is that disabling it is necessary because of the risk of weapons being produced in a relatively short period of time, multiple sources told CBS News."
- CBS: "He believes there's not much choice," one source said. "Finishing the job means destroying Fordo."
- According to CBS: "Trump is willing to get the U.S. involved if that's what it takes to knock out the site, sources said. As of Thursday morning, he was still reviewing his options and has not made a firm decision either way."
- CBS notes: "David Lammy, the foreign secretary of the U.K., is set to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington later Thursday, a European official said, with active diplomacy underway to find an off-ramp in the conflict and make a take-it-or-leave-it offer to Iran."
- The report notes that: “One option Mr. Trump has considered is that Iran could disable Fordo on its own, if its leaders so choose, two of the sources said.” This appears to be the offramp Trump is pushing. At the moment it appears unlikely but will be discussed at a meeting between Iran's FM and European counterparts tomorrow.
- The report further claims that CIA John Ratcliffe has said in closed-door settings that Iran is "very close to possessing nuclear weapons," a stance that contradicts previous US intelligence assessments and is likely to inform Trump's decision on authorising strikes.
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US: Johnson Eyes Wednesday Vote On Megabill, SALT Caucus Says It Will Vote 'No'
May-20 16:11
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is pushing for a final vote on the Republican 'Big Beautiful Bill' on Wednesday night, according to reporting from NBC.
- “We got same day authority through Rules. So if we can finish this up, that'd be optimal,” Johnson said referring to the procedural vote in the House Rules Committee scheduled for 01:00 ET 06:00 BST tomorrow morning. Earlier, Johnson said at a press conference on Capitol Hill: "We are going to get this done," but declined to take questions from reporters.
- Johnson's bullish comments come after President Donald Trump spoke to the House Republican conference to apply pressure on conservatives and blue-state 'SALT' Republicans to swallow their objections to the bill. While reports from Capitol Hill suggest that conservatives aren't yet won over, Trump's interventions have proven decisive during his second term.
- Punchbowl reports that, "Several blue-state Republicans holding out support for the reconciliation bill over SALT texted Speaker Johnson to say they're a NO after Trump meeting..."
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) sought to drive a wedge between Trump and blue-state Republicans on SALT. Schumer said: "When Trump came to Long Island and talked a big game about restoring SALT relief, I called it a farce, it was actually a lie, and today, he has proved himself a liar and has seemingly played New York Republicans for fools," NBC's Frank Thorp reports.
- Schumer continued: "If New York Republicans don't stand up to Donald Trump right now, they will look like fools."
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