memeorandum

1:25 PM ET, June 18, 2026

Top Items:

Republicans Slam Trump for Caving to Iran in ‘Disaster’ of a Deal — “Giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is not a good idea,” Sen. Ted Cruz told reporters — During the G7 conference on Wednesday, Donald Trump told reporters that while “nobody knows what it is …

Discussion: Fox News, CBS News, The Daily Wire, New York Post, Wonkette, Newsweek, Staff Stories, Reality Tea, Forbes, HuffPost, New Republic, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, MS NOW, Breitbart, The Hill and The Independent

William Kristol / The Bulwark:

The Art of the Yield — The U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding is out, and boy is it as bad as advertised. In exchange for Iran simply agreeing to begin negotiations on its nuclear program and to temporarily reopen the Strait of Hormuz without charging fees for sixty days …

Discussion: MS NOW, ABC News, Just Security, National Politics, Axios and Washington Post

David M. Halbfinger / New York Times:

Israel, Stunned by Trump's Iran Deal, Sees It as a ‘Catastrophic Capitulation’ — The agreement accomplishes none of Israel's stated war aims and arguably leaves the country in worse shape on each of them. — Israel awoke to a frightening new reality on Thursday as it absorbed …

Discussion: MS NOW, The Contrarian, The Independent, New Yorker, New Republic, The American Conservative and Israpundit

David E. Sanger / New York Times:

Trump Demanded Iran's ‘Unconditional Surrender.’ He Got a Surprise Instead. — While the Iranians suffered substantial losses in the war, they emerged from a confrontation with the world's most powerful military having proved they can use economic chaos as a weapon.

Discussion: The Guardian, Bloomberg, Townhall, The Hill, The Cross Section, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, MS NOW, New Republic, emptywheel, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Steady, Algemeiner.com and NewsMax.com

New York Times:
JD Vance on the Morality of the Trump Administration

Discussion: New York Post, Bloomberg, Washington Post and The Transom

New York Times:
U.S.-Iran Agreement Includes Strait of Hormuz, Lebanon and More: See Full Text of the Deal

Barak Ravid / Axios:
Netanyahu fumes, allies rage over Trump's Iran deal

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, The Times of Israel, Reuters, NewsMax.com, Associated Press, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, WTTG-TV, FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth and The Hill

Victoria Craw / Washington Post:
U.S. and Iran have signed deal to end war, but tough negotiations remain

Discussion: GZERO, The Hill, NBC News, New York Times, New York Post, Forbes, Daily Mail, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, The Daily Wire, The American Conservative, Breitbart, Middle East Monitor, GB News, CNBC and CBS News

Politico:
Vance inherits the art of the deal

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ

Bloomberg:
Trump's Iran Deal Kicks In as Focus Shifts to Hormuz Flows

Discussion: Axios, RTÉ, NewsMax.com, The Independent, Reuters, Foreign Affairs, The Hill, Middle East Monitor and Associated Press

Michael Wilner / Los Angeles Times:
Rubio lets Vance take the fall as Iran deal questions mount

Discussion: New York Post, Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, The Independent, MS NOW, New Republic, Reality Tea, Staff Stories, Mediaite, The Hill and Axios

The Guardian:
Trump signs Iran peace plan, claiming deal averts ‘worldwide depression’

Discussion: New York Times, Mediaite, NewsMax.com, CNBC, Politico, Human Events, NPR, UPI, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, New Republic, HuffPost, Modern Diplomacy, CBS News, Reality Tea and Staff Stories

Wall Street Journal:
Inside Trump and Netanyahu's Complicated Relationship

Discussion: Politico, The Atlantic, NewsMax.com and The Japan Times

Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:
The Israeli Ultra-Hawks Who Feel Betrayed by Trump's Iran Deal

Discussion: New York Post, Washington Examiner, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Semafor, The Daily Caller and New York Times

Washington Post:

Reflecting Pool algae blooms have roared back, reaching highest levels in years — An analysis of satellite imagery of the Lincoln Memorial shows algae levels spiked days after a $14 million renovation was completed. — Summary — Days after the completion this month of a $14 million renovation …

Discussion: RedState, MeidasTouch, The Independent, Joe.My.God., The Atlantic, Business Insider, MS NOW, Raw Story, The Hill and HuffPost

Arthur Delaney / HuffPost:

Trump Administration Claims It Made The Reflecting Pool Blue. See For Yourself! — They've spent $14 million on this. — WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump had the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool painted blue as part of his capital city redecorating spree, but instead of looking …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner and Newsweek

Politico:

Republicans fear Trump is hurting their chances. He can't understand why. … “If everyone just follows his lead, follows the blueprints he's laid out, and runs on the record that he has, then I think we'll fare well,” said a senior White House official, granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Discussion: MS NOW, Raw Story, New York Times, Townhall and Esquire

Jordain Carney / Politico:
Jay Clayton nomination remains up in the air, Thune says

Discussion: twitchy.com, The Dispatch, Newsweek, Raw Story, New York Sun, LAist, The Daily Caller, MS NOW, The Hill, NewsMax.com, National Politics, The Intercept, CBS News and New York Times

Politico:
Senate Republicans in no hurry to deliver Trump's next reconciliation bill

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Raw Story

Calen Razor / Politico:
Capitol agenda: GOP gets louder as Trump gets pushier

Discussion: HotAir

Mike Zapler / Axios:
Trump's SAVE Act obsession ties Senate in knots

Discussion: The Daily Signal, NBC News, Forbes, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, Semafor, Politico, Balkinization, HuffPost, Talking Points Memo, Military.com, The American Conservative, Washington Examiner, New Republic and MS NOW

Wall Street Journal:

Everyone in Trump's Cabinet Is Eating Sauerkraut — JD Vance, RFK Jr. and other officials swear by a diet of grass-fed meat and fermented foods, even when the sulfurous odors cause friction at home

Discussion: New York Post, The Hill, New York Magazine, The Independent and Raw Story

Will Sommer / The Bulwark:

Oops, We Invited Nazis to Our Christian Nationalist Conference — THE SECOND TRUMP TERM has been a great time for Christian nationalists seeking to make the United States into an explicitly Christian state. Their leading pastors have been embraced by administration figures like Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

Discussion: Townhall and Blog & Mablog

Maxine Joselow / New York Times:

Trump Administration Backs Off Plan to End Ocean Monitoring — The reversal comes after the Senate passed a bipartisan bill on Wednesday to block the removal of deep-sea monitoring instruments. — The Trump administration is abandoning its plan to dismantle a $368 million ocean monitoring system critical …

Brandy Zadrozny / MS NOW:

The Onion says it won't wait for the courts, will launch Infowars to pay Sandy Hook families — The families of children and educators killed in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School are set to receive their first payment from Alex Jones' Infowars empire next month …

Discussion: The Verge and Wired

Fox News:

White House UFC terror plot ‘ringleader’ is a Mexican illegal immigrant, DHS confirms — Abraham Alvarez is a DACA immigrant who allegedly used the name ‘Shepherd’ while organizing plans for White House attack — FIRST ON FOX: Abraham Alvarez, identified in federal documents as the alleged …

Discussion: Rolling Stone, New York Post, Daily Mail, Ace of Spades HQ, American Greatness, WTTG-TV, Washington Examiner, RedState, Townhall, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, GB News, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Washington Times and The Daily Wire

Department of Homeland Security:
Alleged Ringleader of UFC Terrorist Plot is a Mexican Illegal Alien

Discussion: HotAir, One America News Network, NewsMax.com, Blaze Media and MMA Mania

Lindsay Whitehurst / Associated Press:

Supreme Court sides with a Texas man who says it's not a crime for marijuana users to have guns — The Supreme Court sided Thursday with a Texas marijuana user who wants to legally own a gun, the latest in a line of firearm cases from a court that has expanded gun rights.

Abbie VanSickle / New York Times:
Supreme Court Narrows Law Banning Drug Users From Owning Guns

Discussion: RedState and SCOTUSblog

Elaine Godfrey / The Atlantic:

The Democratic Base Is Angry — Perhaps I should've expected the meeting to devolve into chaos. It was predictable, especially if you subscribe to the essential maxim that any room containing several dozen women of a certain age and Summer Shandy on tap is bound to get a little rowdy.

Christian Paz / Vox:

I read JD Vance's new book. It reveals more than he realizes. — Every few years, presidential hopefuls go through certain rites of passage. They ramp up fundraising, start visiting early primary states, and bulk up their foreign or economic policy credentials. — And, of course, they drop their memoirs.

Discussion: Vanity Fair and The Hill

Jon Collins / MPR News:NEW!

Report authors say feds violated Minnesotans' human rights during ICE surge — {"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"parag raph", “content”:[{"text":"Human Rights Watch has released a comprehensive report detailing human rights abuses by the government during this winter's immigration enforcement surge …

New York Times:

Knicks Accept a White House Invitation to Celebrate Title, Owner Says — James Dolan said he was “very proud” to bring his championship team to Washington. It would be the first N.B.A. team to visit the White House with Trump as president. — The Knicks have accepted an invitation …

Jeremy B. White / Politico:

California billionaires tax qualifies for ballot, setting up costly fight … Proponents, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, argue the measure is a vital corrective to federal spending cuts that will otherwise lead to shuttered hospitals and massive job losses.

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times, NewsMax.com, Bangor Daily News, New York Post, American Greatness, CalMatters, Los Angeles Times, GV Wire and Business Insider

Washington Post:

White House says goodbye to an Air Force One as it prepares for Qatar jet — The aging presidential aircraft will be replaced by a $400 million aircraft donated by Qatar, capping a contentious effort that raised ethical, legal and security concerns. — Summary

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Democracy Docket:NEW!

States to get citizenship lists before voters can check for errors, new memo on Trump's anti-voting order makes clear — The first phase of President Donald Trump's executive order to build a national voter list is expected to be implemented by June 30, according to a recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo.

Discussion: CourtListener

NBC News:

‘Different worlds’: Americans see a huge divide between haves and have-nots, new poll shows — A national NBC News poll finds 81% of Americans say there is more that divides than unites the wealthy and those who aren't wealthy. — Most Americans are optimistic that the country is broadly …

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Liz Dye / Public Notice:

Court benchslaps Ken Paxton's effort to take out ActBlue — This edition of PN is made possible by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 🧠 Subscribe to PN 🧠 — Ken Paxton got smacked down in federal court. Again. — In his 11 years as Texas attorney general …

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:

Jamie Raskin Expands Probe Into Trump's Health Amid Reports Of His 22 Doctors — The top Democrat on the House judiciary panel is demanding the White House publicly release the results of Trump's latest exam and a list of his medications. — WASHINGTON — Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) …

Annie Karni / New York Times:

McCarthy Aide's Tell-All Book Recounts Trump's Expletive-Filled Threats to G.O.P. — A new book by John Leganski, the floor manager for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, offers a rare behind-the-scenes account of how President Trump wields his power through threats and intimidation.

Discussion: NOTUS