Three Big Stories Overnight
Author: Greg Valliere
June 25, 2025
THE U.S. AIR STRIKES did not “obliterate” Iran’s nuclear facilities, media outlets are reporting this morning. Obviously, enormous damage was inflicted, but military analysts believe Iran moved most of its enriched uranium just days before the U.S. strikes.
THE WHITE HOUSE attacked the “low level loser” who apparently leaked this information, and most hawks vowed to hit Iran again if satellites show a resumption of Iran’s drive to complete work on nuclear bombs. But the post-mortem is looking less robust than 24 hours ago.
CONGRESS WILL ENTER THE FRAY, with extensive hearings on U.S. intelligence and the War Powers Act, and Trump will move on to other issues, mostly domestic. We still give him high grades for confronting Iran, but he may have to do this again, and again because Iran is determined to build a bomb and the U.S. simply will not allow it.
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THE “BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL” hit a pothole, not surprisingly, as negotiators stalled on the most controversial issue: deep cuts in Medicaid outlays, which are opposed by all Democrats and a handful of moderate Republicans.
TRUMP IS DEMANDING ACTION, threatening to keep Congress in town during the July 4 recess, but that will simply antagonize the lawmakers. Rule No. 1 — don’t mess with vacation plans for members and their families.
WE STILL THINK THE BILL WILL PASS, but it may come later rather than sooner. Trump wants the Federal Reserve to move soon — but that won’t happen if there’s no clarity on fiscal policy.
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A STUNNING ELECTION RESULT in New York City’s mayoral race, as Andrew Cuomo lost, decisively, to a “Democratic socialist,” Zohran Mamdani, who will be a nightmare for spell checkers everywhere, especially if he wins the general election in November.
CUOMO MAY RUN as an independent this fall, but Mamdani has exposed the disease that is afflicting Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and other cities: taxes keep rising to pay for programs that are unaffordable. The great migration to states like Florida and Texas will continue unabated.
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