Today in One Sentence. Trump threatened to “beat the fucking shit out of” Iran after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard launched five ballistic missiles at a U.S. military base in Jordan; the Senate Homeland Security Committee will vote on whether to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he refused to answer questions about the Trump administration’s COVID-19 response; Trump asked the Supreme Court to overturn the $83.3 million defamation judgment against him for defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll, citing the court’s 2024 decision granting presidents sweeping immunity for actions taken in office; the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75%; Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general is in doubt after Sen. John Cornyn said he’s “not prepared to vote yes” unless the Justice Department rewrites Trump’s settlement with the IRS; James Comey asked a federal judge to dismiss the Justice Department’s seashells case as a vindictive and selective prosecution driven by Trump; 33% of Americans approve of the Supreme Court’s performance; and 73% of Americans say Trump hasn’t paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems.

1/ Trump threatened to “beat the fucking shit out of” Iran after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard launched five ballistic missiles at a U.S. military base in Jordan. Tehran’s “surprise attack” was intercepted without any reported casualties or damage, and Trump promised that the U.S. was “going to be hitting them very hard, because it’s our turn to hit them,” adding that “They know it’s coming. They’re asking us not to do it.” Trump’s comments followed a separate U.S.-Saudi operation on sites used by Iran-backed militias in Iraq in response to more than 30 drone attacks on American forces and Saudi energy infrastructure. (Fox News / CNN / CBS News / NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / Bloomberg / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / ABC News / Axios / Semafor)

  • Iran is expected to receive up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air defense missile systems within weeks. The QW-12 ​and FN-16 surface-to-air missile systems are designed to engage low-flying aircraft, helicopters and drones. (Reuters)

  • U.S. stockpiles of Patriot and THAAD missile interceptors are severely depleted. Analysts estimate fewer than 827 Patriot interceptors and 278 THAAD missiles remain. (CNN)

2/ The Senate Homeland Security Committee will vote on whether to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he refused to answer questions about the Trump administration’s COVID-19 response. Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during the nearly three-hour hearing, declining to discuss COVID-19’s origins, government-funded research in China, school closures, or his pandemic-era diaries. Fauci said Rand Paul’s “unhinged obsession” with putting him “behind bars” meant “the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something — anything” that could expose him to a perjury allegation. Paul argued that Fauci’s privilege was “unsupported because of his blanket pardon,” warned that “there will be repercussions to your refusal to testify today,” and ordered Capitol Police to remove Fauci’s attorney, David Schertler, after he tried to argue that Fauci had “a valid Fifth Amendment privilege.” (CNN / Axios / NBC News / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / NPR / ABC News / CBS News / Bloomberg / Associated Press / Washington Post / Politico)

3/ Trump asked the Supreme Court to overturn the $83.3 million defamation judgment against him for defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll, citing the court’s 2024 decision granting presidents sweeping immunity for actions taken in office. Trump claimed his 2019 denials of Carroll’s sexual assault allegation were “official” communications, because he issued them from the White House. Separately, the Justice Department argued that the federal government should replace Trump as the defendant under the Westfall Act, which would effectively end the case because the U.S. can’t be sued for defamation. The request comes a month after the Supreme Court declined to hear Trump’s appeal of a separate $5 million verdict finding him liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll. (Axios / New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / CNBC / NBC News / ABC News)

4/ The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75%. Three officials voted for a quarter-point increase as the Iran war, Trump’s tariffs, and AI-driven demand have added to inflation pressures. Inflation has remained above the Fed’s 2% target for more than five years. Trump, meanwhile, praised Chair Kevin Warsh as “fantastic,” but claimed the Fed board was “political” with “bad intentions” that prevented his handpicked chair from lowering rates. Warsh, nevertheless, described the meeting as a “good family fight,” insisted there is “no soft inflation target,” adding that higher rates “could well be part of” the solution if inflation remains elevated. (ABC News / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / CNBC / Politico / Associated Press)

5/ Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general is in doubt after Sen. John Cornyn said he’s “not prepared to vote yes” unless the Justice Department rewrites Trump’s settlement with the IRS. Cornyn demanded binding language that formally rescinds the $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” as well as narrowerer provisions that shield Trump, his family, and businesses from tax audits. The Justice Department claimed it sent Cornyn a written proposal, but Cornyn said he’s not seen “a single piece of writing” responsive to his demands and warned, “Maybe they think they can roll me.” When asked whether they could, he replied: “No.” (CNN / CNBC / Associated Press / New York Times / Washington Post / Bloomberg / Politico)

  • The Senate confirmed Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence despite his refusal to say Biden won the 2020 election. Clayton replaces Bill Pulte, who claimed to have cut intelligence staff by 30%. Clayton inherits an agency that will have to work with Congress to revive Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expired in June. (Wall Street Journal / USA Today / NBC News / New York Times)

6/ James Comey asked a federal judge to dismiss the Justice Department’s seashells case as a vindictive and selective prosecution driven by Trump, arguing that the charges “effectuates a yearslong campaign by the President to use the criminal process to punish Mr. Comey for his protected speech.” Government records show that the Secret Service tracked Comey’s phone without a warrant, and that investigators didn’t believe “anyone’s life was in immediate danger” from Comey’s Instagram photo. One agent warned that “legally it was a bad idea to ping the phone.” A filing also shows that Trump “very interested” in the investigation and made a “direct request” for notes from Comey’s interview while aboard Air Force One. (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / NBC News / CBS News)

poll/ 33% of Americans approve of the Supreme Court’s performance – a record low and down 6 percentage points from 2025, the court’s previous low. (Axios)

poll/ 73% of Americans say Trump hasn’t paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems, while 27% saying he’s had the right priorities. (CNN)

The 2026 midterms are in 97 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 832 days.