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Good afternoon, Press Pass readers. Before we dive in, I want to give a special shout-out to our Bulwark+ subscribers. I know this isn’t completely a one way street—you obviously get the added benefits and access that go along with the membership—but the fact that we get to continue chasing important stories and offering detailed analysis because of your support leaves us in a state of continuous gratitude. So, thank you. And if you’re not a Bulwark+ member yet but want to be a part of that community, you can sign up at the link below.
For today’s edition, we’re stopping by Capitol Hill to witness one of lawmakers’ busiest short weeks in recent memory. Only the Senate was in session, and they wrapped things up yesterday because today is Juneteenth. But the spectre of war with Iran has the Capitol on edge—at least among the minority of Republicans who have concerns about the risk of another Middle East quagmire and further abuses of presidential authority. (As you might guess, since they’re driven by fidelity to Trump it’s a small minority.) In addition, Chuck Schumer has found a new favorite word. Lastly, the attempt on Trump’s life last summer had many follow-on effects, and one of them was the big moment for watch nerds that resulted from someone spotting a never-before-seen Omega on a Secret Service officer’s wrist. All that and more, below.
Congress Has the Power to Authorize War. They’re Handing It to Trump.
Plus: The Secret Service’s secret-issue timekeeper.
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Trump loves misdirection. Whether in the area of trade policy, negotiations over a potential government shutdown, or the prospect of entering a violent conflict in the Middle East, Trump has an irrepressible instinct to throw people off the scent of what he’s really thinking.
“I may do it, I may not do it,” Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday while discussing a prospective attack in Iran’s nuclear facilities. “I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”
Trump’s justification for a strike was undermined in advance by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who testified to Congress in March that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon even as they were enriching uranium at levels that could soon allow them to. When a reporter brought up Gabbard’s comments after Israel’s strikes on Iran began, Trump replied, “I don’t care what she said.”
The president’s advisers sometimes defend this sort of move as part of a coherent strategy meant to keep other parties off balance. And Trump himself believes there is value in being perceived as “fucking crazy” (his own words!) by his global counterparts, particularly as it relates to use of the military.
But Trump’s deliberately chaotic approach is making some lawmakers a bit nervous. Is Trump asserting that he has the authority to preventatively¹ strike a country without Congress’s consent? Of course he is. Trump has already approved attack plans, but hasn’t put his signature on the order to set them in motion yet, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. (“I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due,” he said.) His waffling has lawmakers scrambling to either prevent a strike or get onside with Trump as quickly as possible...
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