The new Israeli military operation against Iran is giving President Donald Trump a fresh test of his campaign promise to disentangle the U.S. from foreign conflicts. It lands as he’s dealing with domestic turmoil: Opponents of his administration are set to rally in hundreds of cities on Saturday during the military parade in Washington to mark the Army’s 250th anniversary, which coincides with Trump’s birthday.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, doubling as Trump’s national security adviser, asserted that the U.S. was “not involved” and that protecting U.S. forces in the region is the Republican administration’s central concern. Trump suggested otherwise on social media early Friday: “I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal.”
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday temporarily blocked a federal judge’s order directing Trump to return control of National Guard troops to California after he deployed them against people protesting immigration raids in Los Angeles. The appeals court set a hearing for Tuesday, leaving soldiers on the streets ahead of nationwide protests planned for Saturday.
Here’s the Latest:
US shifts military resources in Mideast in response to Israel strikes on Iran
The United States is shifting ships and other military resources in the Middle East in response to Israel’s strikes on Iran and a possible retaliatory attack by Tehran, two U.S. officials said Friday.
The Navy has directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner to begin sailing toward the Eastern Mediterranean and also has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward, so it can be available if requested by the White House.
The president is meeting with his National Security Council principals, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Friday morning to discuss the situation, one of the officials said.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public.
— Tara Copp.
Judge blocks Trump’s election order, siding with Democrats who called it overreach
The Republican president’s March 25 executive order sought to overhaul elections nationwide by compelling officials to require documentary proof of citizenship for everyone registering to vote for federal elections, accepting only mailed ballots received by Election Day and conditioning federal election grant funding on states adhering to the new ballot deadline.
The White House has defended the order as “standing up for free, fair and honest elections” and called proof of citizenship a “commonsense” requirement.
The judge sided with a group of Democratic state attorneys general who challenged the effort as unconstitutional.
The attorneys general said the directive “usurps the States’ constitutional power and seeks to amend election law by fiat.”
Israel told the Trump administration of the attacks ahead of time
Israel told the Trump administration that large-scale attacks were coming and expected Iranian retaliation would be severe and that’s why the United States ordered the evacuations of some nonessential embassy staffers and authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents in the region, U.S. officials said on condition of anonymity to describe private diplomatic discussions.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff still plans to go to Oman this weekend for talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, but it’s not clear if the Iranians would participate, officials said.
Trump warns there’ll be more attacks on Iran
In an interview with ABC News on Friday morning, Trump said the Israeli attack on Iran was “excellent” and again previewed more attacks to come.
“We gave them a chance and they didn’t take it,” Trump told ABC’s Jon Karl. “They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you’re going to get hit. And there’s more to come. A lot more.”
Israeli strikes on Iran lead to new test of Trump’s ability to deliver on ‘America first’ agenda
Just hours before Israel launched strikes on Iran early Friday, President Donald Trump was still holding onto tattered threads of hope that a long-simmering dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program could be resolved without military action.
But with the Israeli military operation called “Rising Lion” now underway — something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says will go on for “as many days as it takes” — Trump will be tested anew on his ability to make good on a campaign promise to disentangle the U.S. from foreign conflicts.
“I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal,” Trump said in a Friday morning social media post. “I told them, in the strongest of words, to ‘just do it,’ but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done.”
▶ Read more about the new test to Trump’s agenda
Appeals court temporarily blocks judge’s ruling to return control of National Guard to California
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday temporarily blocked a federal judge’s order that directed President Donald Trump to return control of National Guard troops to California after he deployed them there following protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids.
The court said it would hold a hearing on the matter on Tuesday. The ruling came only hours after a federal judge’s order was to take effect at noon Friday.
▶ Read more about the court ruling
Marines moving soon into Los Angeles, preparing to take over some security posts
Marines are expected to begin moving into the city soon and will formally take over security from National Guard troops at some of the protest locations Friday morning.
The arriving Marines will take some time to transition with the Guard soldiers leaving the posts, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday night to discuss troop movements.
About 700 Marines have been undergoing civil disturbance training at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach in Orange County, California.
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Associated Press reporter Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report.
Judge invokes King George III in deliberations over Trump’s use of the National Guard
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles without approval of California’s governor exceeded was illegal and violates the Tenth Amendment. The order applied only to the National Guard troops and not Marines who were also deployed to the LA protests. The judge said he would not rule on the Marines because they were not out on the streets yet.
“We’re talking about the president exercising his authority, and the president is of course limited in that authority. That’s the difference between a constitutional government and King George,” Breyer said during Thursday’s court hearing, referring to the king of England during the American Revolution.
“This country was founded in response to a monarch, and the Constitution is a document of limitations,” Breyer said. “I’m trying to figure out where the lines are drawn.”
Judge has bigger questions in court hearing over Trump’s use of National Guard in immigration raids
California Gov. Gavin Newsom requested that the judge temporarily block Trump’s use of the National Guard specifically for immigration raids.
But Thursday’s hearing opened with Senior U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Breyer asking attorneys whether Trump followed the law when he called in the National Guard.
Trump orders government wildland firefighting consolidated into single program
Thursday’s executive order is meant to centralize duties now split among five agencies and two Cabinet departments.
Former federal officials have warned that such a consolidation could be costly and increase the risk of catastrophic blazes as global warming makes wildfires more severe and destructive.
Officials have not disclosed how much the change could cost.
In its first months, the administration sharply reduced the ranks of firefighters through layoffs and retirement offers and temporarily cut off money for wildfire prevention work.
Trump tells immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to leave
The Department of Homeland Security is notifying hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans that their temporary permission to live and work in the United States has been revoked and they should leave the country.
The termination notices are being sent by email to about 532,000 people who came to the country under the humanitarian parole program created by the Biden administration. They arrived with financial sponsors and were given two-year permits to live and work in the U.S.
DHS said the letters informed people that both their temporary legal status and work permit were revoked “effective immediately.”
▶ Read more about the termination notices
