WH pushes back on suggestions National Weather Service budget cuts hampered warnings to Texas flood victims, including children at a camp

President Donald Trump held an hour and 45 minutes cabinet meeting during which he said the new August 1st date when tariff levels he is imposing on other countries are to take effect will not be extended, compared Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to "Saturday Night Live" character of "The Pathological Liar" after Sen. Schumer called for an investigation into whether National Weather Service budget cuts impacted forecasting and warnings of the deadly central Texas floods, confirmed that defense weapons will be sent to Ukraine to help defend against Russia's latest air attacks, said he will meet again with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to try to advance a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza, and called a reporter's question about Jeffrey Epstein a "waste the time"  and a 'desecration' when there are other important issues to discuss; Senate has two weeks to pass a nearly $10 billion rescissions package canceling funding for global health and foreign aid programs, and public broadcasting or the bill dies. We will talk about it Axios Senate reporter Stephen Neukam (22); TSA is no longer requiring air travelers to remove their shoes for security screenings; Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announces a plan to counter Chinese company purchases of U.S. farmland; State Department is asked about a person using Artificial Intelligence to pose as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and contact foreign ministers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

White House pushes back on suggestions that Trump Administration budget cuts hampered the National Weather Service warnings to those in the path of the deadly floods in Texas, including children at a camp along the river; as the death tolls rises and frantic search and rescue efforts continue for the missing; Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) tells how his daughters were at a camp along the same river recently, calling the situation in Kerr County “every parent’s nightmare"; President Donald Trump releases letters to seven countries informing them of specific U.S. tariff rates on their goods starting August 1st;  Japan and South Korea are at 25 percent, promising another seven or so this week; federal court hearing in Maryland in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, as his lawyers seek to ensure due process in case the federal government seeks to deport their client again, this time not to El Salvador, but to a third country; Justice Dept says the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide, did not keep a client list and did not try to blackmail anyone, confirming what investigators found years ago, but contradicting what has been believed by some; Israeli Prime Minister M Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington to meet with President Trump to discuss the wars against Hamas and Iran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First, Ambassador Monica Crowley, Chief of Protocol for the United States, discusses the mission of America250, the start of celebrations on Thursday, and her role as principal media representative. Then, Documentary writer, producer, and correspondent Martin Smith discusses his latest PBS Frontline film: "Syria After Assad." Finally, a discussion with Erin Harkey – CEO of the group Americans for the Arts- on efforts by the Trump Administration to cut federal funding for arts and culture programs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House passes tax cut & spending cut Budget Reconciliation "One Big Beautiful Bill", 218-214, sending it to the President to be signed into law, after a dramatic all-night session to convince enough Republican holdouts to vote yes, and after a record-breaking 8 hour, 44 minute speech against the bill by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY); June jobs report: 147,000 jobs created, unemployment rate falls to 4.1%; Fourth of July fireworks on the National Mall security preview; DC Mayor & Police Chief talk about the fatal shooting of an Capitol Hill college student intern from Massachusetts; First Lady Melania Trump meets with young patients at National Children's Hospital; President Donald Trump speaks by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin after reports the U.S. is pausing some weapons shipments to Ukraine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House is slowing working on the modified Budget Reconciliation bill, the tax cut & spending cut 'One Big Beautiful Bill', passed yesterday by the Senate with VP JD Vance's tie-breaking vote, slowly because Speaker Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump have been meeting with both conservative and moderate Republicans opposed to the bill for different reasons, either it does not cut enough spending or cuts too much, and Republicans can only afford to lose 3 of their Members since all Democrats plans to vote 'no'; FCC Chair Brendan Carr lays out what he calls a 'Build America' agenda in his first major policy speech as chair to “unleash high-speed infrastructure builds…. restore America’s leadership in wireless… boost the U.S. space economy…. and advance our national security'"; interview with Variety Senior TV Editor Brian Steinberg on Paramount settling a lawsuit with President Trump over the editing of a CBS News' "60 Minutes" interview with then Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris (24); State Department and Pentagon comment on the U.S. reportedly pausing some weapons shipments to Ukraine, including air defense missiles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senate passes the budget reconciliation bill, also called the One Big Beautiful Bill, containing President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans' domestic agenda of tax cuts, spending cuts and more money for border security and defense, by a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie. Sen Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) provided the necessary 'yes' vote for passage after negotiating last-minute changes on health care and food aid; Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell confirms that the Fed would have cut interest rates this year had it not been for President Trump's 'Liberation Day' high tariffs, whose impact on inflation is still uncertain; Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with the foreign ministers of Australian, India & Japan,  the so-called Quad, as tariffs and trade talks continue with those allies; President Trump visits a new immigrant detention center a remote area of the Florida Everglades dubbed Alligator Alcatraz and says it could be a model for similar facilities to increase deportations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate's vote-a-rama continues, as members offer and vote on amendments to the Republican's tax and spending cuts bill. But passage of the bill isn't a sure thing. Republicans Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have both said they're voting "no", while Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska haven’t said how they'll vote. Congressional Republicans and President Trump have said they want the bill passed and signed into law by July 4th. Last night on the floor, Sen. Tillis criticized both the bill's Medicaid cuts and the president for breaking a campaign promise to not interfere with Medicaid benefits. That prompted responses from the president on social media, including one announcing he'd said he would back a primary challenge against the senator. Not long after, Sen. Tillis announced he would not seek reelection next year. A federal appeals court heard arguments today on the president’s use of the Alien Enemies Act. Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union say the Trump administration is unlawfully using the law to take away due process for possible deportees. The administration maintains that a Venezuelan gang is carrying out an invasion of the US at the direction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First, Congressman Adam Smith – top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee - discusses U.S. military action against Iran – and what comes next. Then - a discussion about the history and evolution of the War Powers Act Philip Wallach from the American Enterprise Institute. Plus, it was a stunning win for Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani in this week's Democratic primary for New York City Mayor. We speak with Spectrum News New York One (NY1) political director Bob Hardt about what happened. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Supreme Court rules that individual judges do not have the power to block a president's policies across the country, known as nationwide injunctions. The underlying case, whose merits have not been decided yet, involves President Donald Trump's Executive Order restricting birthright citizenship; Supreme Court also handed down other closely-watched decisions today, including in favor of Maryland parents who want to have their children opt-out of a curriculum with LGBTQ books and upholding a Texas law requiring age-verification for adult websites; Senate Republicans look to have their first vote on the tax cut & spending cut budget reconciliation bill on Saturday; House members get a classified briefing on the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear site; Foreign Ministers of Rwanda & the Democratic Republic of Congo meet in Washington to sign a peace agreement brokered by the White House; Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) talks about this year's Virginia governor election between Winsome Earle-Sears (R) and Abigail Spanberger (D). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Supreme Court decides that South Carolina can cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood because the group provides abortions, ruling that Medicaid patients are not allowed to sue over their right to choose their doctor; Senators get a classified briefing on the U.S. bombings of Iranian nuclear sites, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth & Gen. Dan Caine, Joint Chiefs of Staff chair hold a news conference with more details about the attack and fresh criticism of news outlets for their coverage of a Pentagon intelligence on the extent of the damage; On the tax & spend One Big Beautiful Bill, some Republicans want the Senate Parliamentarian fired for ruling some key Medicaid provisions cannot stay in the bill because they violate Budget Reconciliation rules; President Trump holds an event at the White House to champion the bill and the first Senate test vote is expected soon; former Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) has died. She was known for supporting gun control, elected after a mass shooting that killed her husband and severely wounded her son. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices