There’s roughly a week until the U.S. government could become short of money because it can’t borrow to fulfill all of its obligations, and the partisan disagreement over whom would be to blame for any possible economic fallout reflects the broad divide between Republicans and Democrats over raising the debt limit. 

Asked whom the American public would hold responsible if a deal isn’t reached in time, GOP lawmakers told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the blame would certainly lie at President Joe Biden and the Democrats’ feet. Most pointed to House Republicans’ recently-passed Limit, Save, Grow Act as evidence that the GOP did its part to avert any debt crisis.

Democrats, meanwhile, accused House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his conference of holding the debt limit ‘hostage’ and pointed out that it was Congress’ constitutional obligation to act on the debt ceiling, rather than Biden’s. 

‘President Biden waited 97 days to speak with Kevin McCarthy about this debt ceiling stuff, so if anything untoward happens, this is 100% the Biden-Schumer shutdown,’ said Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Asked if he believes Americans would feel the same way, he added, ‘I think if more media outlets report it honestly like you’re doing, they would, if they’re told the truth.’

Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., maintained that McCarthy and Biden would reach a deal before the government runs out of cash, declaring, ‘First and foremost, we’re going to pay our debts. We always have, we always will, so I think that’s the headline.

Hern said ‘I do’ when asked if he feels Americans would blame the left for any repercussions of letting negotiations get down to the line in terms of timing, and knocked Biden for his recent trip to the G7 summit in Japan as talks went on. ‘When you look at the leadership that we have done in the House, doing our responsibility of passing a bill, the Senate hasn’t done their job, and the president was off gallivanting around the world when he could’ve been working to get this done,’ Hern explained.

Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., in charge of the RSC’s budget taskforce, shared a similar sentiment regarding the other side of the aisle. ‘Absolutely – they’re the ones who have been delaying the whole time, they’re the ones who want to keep spending, and continue to keep punting on responsibility for this enormous debt that this country’s incurred,’ Cline said.

‘Joe Biden’ was Rep. Byron Donalds’, R-Fla., point-blank answer when asked whom Americans will direct their anger at. ‘Because the one thing Joe Biden has been successful at is creating crises he cannot solve. He’s done it every single time,’ Donalds said. 

On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., simply told Fox News Digital when asked who would be to blame, ‘It’s Congress’ job, only Congress can raise the debt limit.’

‘It’s pretty obvious who to blame here – the extremist Republicans who control Kevin McCarthy. I mean, they’re the ones who made him go through 17 votes to get elected Speaker. They’re holding the country hostage,’ said Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass. ‘We didn’t like Donald Trump, we didn’t like his tax cuts. It’s created much of this deficit. And yet we raised the debt limit three times under Trump because it’s the right thing to do for the country.’

Asked if Americans would feel the same, Moulton said, ‘Look I hope they do, because that’s the truth.’

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., said public blame would fall on ‘anyone who is standing in the way of actually moving this forward and doing so quickly.’

‘We’re already way too close, we shouldn’t have been this close to a default,’ Crow said. ‘The Republicans and Speaker McCarthy in particular need to come to the table in good faith and get this done, because we can’t be playing games with the American economy and American workers.’

‘We have a Republican-controlled House, and it’s a Republican-controlled House that’s brought us to the brink,’ Crow added.

The South Carolina legislature passed a six-week ‘heartbeat’ abortion restriction Tuesday that is set to be signed into law by the governor. 

The ‘Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act’ passed in the state Senate on Tuesday after the House passed the bill a week prior. The bill allows abortions up until a fetal heartbeat is detectable, which is at roughly six weeks. Gov. Henry McMaster, R-S.C., vowed to sign the bill.

‘The General Assembly has handled this issue in a thoughtful, transparent and collaborative manner,’ McMaster tweeted after the bill passed. ‘Tonight, our state is one step closer to protecting more innocent lives. I look forward to signing this bill into law as soon as possible.’

Physicians who violate the soon law will have their medical license revoked by the State Board of Medical Examiners and could face jail time.

The bill includes exceptions for the life of the mother and fetal anomalies. In instances of rape an incest, access to abortion would be until up to 12 weeks.

The bill also states that biological fathers will be required by the law to pay child support at the conception of their child.

McMaster called an executive order for a special legislative session to pass new abortion framework. This came after Republicans failed to pass a near-complete abortion ban in April, then agreed on a six-week restriction.

Democrats in the state last week protested the bill the House with a 12-hour delay to proceedings. 

North Carolina passed a bill into law last week that allows abortion access up until 12 weeks. 

A mother whose 20-year-old daughter was murdered, allegedly by a suspected MS-13 gang member who had been released into the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor, gave an emotional plea to lawmakers on Tuesday to secure the southern border — warning that the crisis ‘is a safety issue for everyone living in the United States.’

‘For me, this is not a political issue. This is a safety issue for everyone living in the United States,’ Tammy Nobles, whose daughter Kayla Hamilton was killed last year, told lawmakers on a Judiciary Committee immigration subcommittee. ‘This could have been anyone’s daughter. Kayla wasn’t doing anything wrong, and she didn’t deserve to be murdered. I don’t want any other parents to live the nightmare I am living.’ 

‘I am her voice now, and I am going to fight with everything I have to get her story told and bring awareness of the issue at the border,’ she said.

Hamilton, who was autistic, was raped and killed in her mobile home last year. Earlier this year, police arrested an El Salvadoran 17-year-old who authorities said is linked to the MS-13 street gang and who was released into the U.S. into the custody of his aunt after being encountered at the border.

An interim staff Judiciary committee report released Tuesday faulted the Biden administration for a failure to vet the suspect, calling it a ‘tragic example of the failure to enforce U.S. immigration law.’

‘Tragically, Secretary Mayorkas and his department missed key warning signs about the alien’s propensity for violence, which law enforcement officials investigating the murder later uncovered,’ the report says.

A DHS official told Fox News Digital that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reviews both biometric and biographic information for those encountered at the border against several federal agencies’ databases.

‘If we determine that the individuals pose a threat to national security or public safety, we deny admission, detain, remove, or turn them over to another agency for prosecution, as appropriate. We work closely with our interagency and international partners to detect and prevent people who pose national security or public safety risks from entering the United States,’ the official said.

At the hearing, Nobles paid tribute to her daughter.

‘She always kept her friends close and never forgot anyone. She was kind, caring, thoughtful and funny. She loved life and God. She showed the world that being yourself was okay, and you didn’t have to follow everyone else,’ she said.

She described in harrowing terms the night that Kayla was killed, describing how he allegedly used an iPod charger to strangle her before sexually assaulting her. He allegedly robbed her of her phone and $6.

She then spoke about how the U.S. needs to secure its southern border.

‘The United States government has to secure our border. We need to properly vet all border crossers. The government could have placed a phone call to authorities in El Salvador and found out that he was a gang member. But they didn’t,’ she said. 

‘If we had stricter border policies, my daughter would still be nothing will bring my daughter back, nor the pain, nor fix. I’m not having her here and I want to prevent this from happening to someone else’s child. This is about protecting everyone here in the United States.’

The testimony came during the third in a series of hearings held by Republicans on the committee on ‘Biden’s Border Crisis.’ Republicans have blamed the policies of the administration for the ongoing crisis at the border — including a greater use of ‘catch-and-release’ and reduced interior enforcement

Democrats and the administration have accused Republicans of failing to provide additional resources to secure ports of entry, and of refusing to work with Democrats on a ‘comprehensive’ immigration reform bill to fix what they say is a ‘broken’ immigration system.

Fox News’ Mitch Picasso contributed to this report.
 

The Trump campaign is mocking Ron DeSantis ahead of the launch of his presidential campaign, swiping at the Florida governor for his plans to announce on Twitter.

Sources told Fox News Digital that DeSantis will formally announce his 2024 presidential bid Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET during a conversation with Elon Musk on Twitter.

‘Announcing on Twitter is perfect for Ron DeSantis,’ a Trump adviser told Fox News Digital. ‘This way he doesn’t have to interact with people, and the media can’t ask him any questions.’

And Karoline Leavitt, the spokesperson for Make America Great Again Inc., slammed DeSantis’ plans to announce his campaign on Twitter as ‘one of the most out-of-touch campaign launches in modern history.’

‘The only thing less relatable than a niche campaign launch on Twitter, is DeSantis’ after party at the uber elite Four Seasons resort in Miami,’ Leavitt said in a statement. ‘Every day more and more Americans are realizing just how out of step Ron DeSantis is with their values and how unelectable he really is.’

‘From his votes to cut Social Security and Medicare, to his support of a national sales tax that would raise taxes on 90% of families and support of Obama’s TPP which sent jobs to China, to his vote against funding for President Trump’s wall – Ron DeSantis just isn’t ready to be President,’ she continued. ‘President Trump is ready on day one to turn our country around, reverse Biden’s disastrous policies and make America great again.’

Trump has previously taken aim at DeSantis as the Florida governor mulled a potential White House bid, nicknaming him ‘Ron DeSanctimonious.’ And early this year, the former president charged that the governor was a ‘RINO GLOBALIST’ and began referring to him as ‘DeSanctus.’

Pointing to his support for DeSantis in 2018, Trump argued that if the governor joined him in the 2024 Republican nomination race, ‘I do think it would be a great act of disloyalty because, you know, I got him in. He had no chance. His political life was over.’

DeSantis, despite being on the sidelines, has been considered a top 2024 contender, but former President Donald Trump remains the GOP favorite, polling far ahead of any other Republican candidate for the White House

Meanwhile, along with his expected announcement, DeSantis is expected to file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, which officially launches his GOP presidential campaign. His first national TV interview following the announcement will be with Fox News’ Trey Gowdy on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ‘Fox News Tonight.’

As for Twitter, Trump uses his own social media platform, Truth Social. It is unclear if he will use Twitter during the 2024 campaign cycle.

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Andrew Murray contributed to this report.

Rep. James Comer R-Ky., has requested to meet with FBI Director Christopher Wray about subpoenaed documents allegedly related to the Biden family’s business dealings.

Comer, the House Oversight Commitee chairman, said he would review with Wray the various scenarios the committee could take if the FBI does not turn over the documents, Fox News Digital confirmed. 

One of the options is holding Wray in contempt of congress.

Comer’s request comes after the FBI didn’t turn over the document subpoenaed – an unclassified FD-1023 document which details allegations of crimes of a pay-to-play scheme in relation to the Biden family’s business dealings, a whistleblower at the federal agency told Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. 

Grassley and Comer both requested a meeting with Wray on May 16, which hasn’t been scheduled after multiple follow-up attempts.

‘I’m going to tell Director Wray: I want to have a conversation. I’ve asked to have a conversation, because I’m gonna tell him what option B is, and let him think about it. And then he can decide,’ Comer told CNN.

‘They don’t respect anyone in Congress,’ Comer said Monday on Fox News. ‘They’ve been able to get away with this for a long time. The media continues to turn a blind eye. The Senate Republicans continue to fund the FBI. Why would you change your business model when you’re getting everything you want?’

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., meanwhile said he had a conversation with Wray on Friday and remains confident that the agency will provide the document.

‘I explained to the director that we will do everything in our power, and we have the jurisdiction over the FBI, and we have the right to see this document,’ McCarthy said Sunday on Fox News. ‘I believe after this call, we will get this document.’

Fox News’ Jon Street contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE – House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was not optimistic a deal would be reached regarding the debt limit as he headed out of the Capitol on Tuesday afternoon.

Fox News asked the speaker if he thought a deal would be reached on Tuesday.

‘I don’t think we’ll get one today,’ McCarthy said as he walked past the reporter.

It’s unclear where McCarthy was heading after he left the Capitol.

McCarthy met with President Biden on Monday, and although he hailed the discussions as ‘productive,’ he told his conference later that night that the White House was still ‘dug in’ on raising taxes and increasing spending.

Monday’s meeting was the third such meeting with the president to find common ground on moving forward with a debt ceiling agreement.

Now, with only nine days left until the U.S. government is expected to run out of cash to pay its current obligations, a deal has yet to be reached.

Democrats have insisted on raising the debt limit without preconditions. But Republicans are lining up behind the House-passed Limit, Save, Grow Act, which would increase the federal borrowing limit by $1.5 trillion while also slashing spending by roughly $150 billion from this year to the next.

Both sides have agreed that action is needed to reduce the deficit, but each has different ideas about how to do it – Republicans are looking to cut spending from today’s levels, while Democrats have called to increase tax revenue from the ultra-wealthy and large corporations.

The House passed legislation Tuesday to reject a Biden administration environmental regulation that targets heavy-duty vehicle tailpipe emissions.

In a 221-203 vote, the House approved the resolution with 217 Republicans and four Democrats voting in favor. In April, Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, a member of the Transportation Committee’s Highways and Transit subcommittee, introduced the resolution as a companion bill to one that Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., unveiled in the Senate two months earlier.

‘Folks, I want to be crystal clear today,’ Nehls remarked on the House floor ahead of the vote. ‘Woke bureaucrats in Washington are on a climate justice crusade using the heavy hand of government to go after the trucking industry that keeps America moving. And in the last three decades, we’ve made significant, significant strides in the right direction to decrease emissions and increase efficiency.’

‘The EPA unilaterally imposed this detrimental rule which could lead to a litany of further supply chain disruptions across the country, hit the smaller mom-and-pop trucking companies the hardest and pass along increased costs to the American consumer,’ he said. ‘This is exactly why it is imperative that the House passes this joint resolution to nullify this burdensome regulation.’

In December, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the rules that it said at the time were the ‘strongest-ever national clean air standards to cut smog- and soot-forming emissions from heavy-duty trucks.’ The new standards went into effect on March 27 but will be implemented for new trucks sold after 2027.

The EPA projected that the regulations, which are more than 80% tougher than current standards, would prevent up to 2,900 premature deaths and ensure 3.1 million fewer cases of asthma.

But Republicans argued that the regulation – estimated to cost an estimated $39 billion, according to American Action Forum – was ‘onerous’ and would hurt small trucking businesses by forcing them to adopt costly technology. Led by Fischer, who said the ‘last thing this country needs is more expensive freight costs and fewer truckers,’ more than 30 senators introduced the Senate resolution to reject the rule in February.

The Senate passed the measure in a 50-49 vote on April 26, paving the way for the House vote Tuesday.

President Joe Biden, though, has vowed to veto the resolution, and the close vote in both chambers indicates there aren’t enough votes to override a veto. Democrats continue to argue that the regulations are necessary to boost public health.

‘The trucking industry is a leading source of this dangerous air pollution,’ House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said Tuesday. ‘And it is especially dangerous for the 72 million Americans who live near truck freight routes across the United States. The EPA rule will cut NOx pollution from these vehicles by nearly half in 2045.’

‘The Republican CRA that we are debating this afternoon would abandon all of the public health, economic, and environmental justice benefits that come with the EPA rule,’ Pallone said.

The special counsel investigating former President Trump’s alleged improper retention of classified records at Mar-a-Lago is working to wrap up his probe, a source familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital.

The source told Fox News Digital that Special Counsel Jack Smith has been working to wrap up the probe for weeks. It’s unclear when Smith will announce his findings or whether he plans to prosecute Trump.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Smith has completed interviews with almost every employee at Mar-a-Lago, including top political aides and other staff, and has conducted numerous grand jury interviews in recent weeks.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith, a DOJ official, as special counsel to investigate Trump’s alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago home.

Smith was appointed in November, soon after the FBI raided Trump’s private residence at Mar-a-Lago in connection with the Justice Department’s investigation into the matter, after the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) claimed Trump took 15 boxes of presidential records to his personal residence in Florida.

Those boxes allegedly contained ‘classified national security information,’ and official correspondence between Trump and foreign heads of state.

NARA notified Congress that the agency recovered the 15 boxes from Mar-a-Lago and ‘identified items marked as classified national security information within the boxes.’ The matter was referred to the Justice Department by NARA.

Trump said this year that the National Archives did not ‘find’ the documents, but that they were ‘given, upon request.’ Sources close to the former president said he had been cooperating and there was ‘no need’ for the raid.

Classified material that was reportedly confiscated by the FBI during the raid Monday included a letter to Trump from former President Obama, a letter from Kim Jong Un, a birthday dinner menu and a cocktail napkin.

Smith also took over the Justice Department’s investigation into the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. In that role, he examined whether Trump or other officials interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on that day.

President Biden is also currently under special counsel investigation for his alleged improper retention of classified records from the Obama administration. Former Vice President Pence also had classified records at his home, a matter under review by the Justice Department.

Every administration since President Reagan has mishandled classified materials, according to testimony from officials from the National Archives and Records Administration.

The officials testified that NARA was ‘not aware of missing classified information’ when it was reviewing Trump’s presidential records, but instead, ‘were aware of missing records.’

The official said NARA’s initial outreach to the Trump team came after officials noticed that they were missing ‘high-visible items’ from the Trump administration.

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Daniel Werfel denied intervening to retaliate against whistleblowers in connection with the Hunter Biden complaint, according to a letter he sent to the majority and minority on the House Ways and Means Committee.

Fox News obtained the letter sent by Werfel on May 17, in which he responded to concerns that whistleblowers may have faced retaliation for voicing concerns in the probe into Hunter Biden.

‘I want to state unequivocally that I have not intervened – and will not intervene – in any way that would impact the status of any whistleblower,’ Werfel said. 

However, the letter states that the particular whistleblower referenced by Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., in their initial letter experienced a change in work assignment at the direction of the Department of Justice.

‘The IRS whistleblower you reference alleges that the change in their work assignment came at the direction of the Department of Justice. As a general matter and not in reference to any specific case, I believe it is important to emphasize that in any matter involving federal judicial proceedings, the IRS follows the direction of the Justice Department,’ Werfel wrote in the letter.

In response to the May 16 letter sent by Smith, the IRS commissioner said that he contacted Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to learn more, but isn’t able to share particular details on the matter.

‘When I first learned of the allegations of retaliation referenced in your letter and in media reports on May 16, 2023, I contacted the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). In light of laws and policies designed to protect the integrity of pending proceedings, I am unable to provide details on this matter,’ Werfel wrote.

‘TIGTA confirmed that my role as Commissioner in any whistleblower proceeding is not an investigative one. When an IRS employee raises allegations of this kind, the Commissioner’s office does not run an investigation, seek the identity of the whistleblower, or similarly intervene; instead, the Inspector General serves as a critical guardian of the whistleblower process and conducts relevant inquiries into the matter,’ he added.

Attorneys for one IRS whistleblower told Congress earlier that the entire team that the individual was in charge of have been removed from the Hunter Biden probe.

The attorneys told Congress that the removal was based on the Department of Justice’s order.

‘Today the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Supervisory Special Agent we represent was informed that he and his entire investigative team are being removed from the ongoing and sensitive investigation of the high-profile, controversial subject about which our client sought to make whistleblower disclosures to Congress,’ the letter states.

‘He was informed the change was at the request of the Department of Justice,’ attorneys Mark Lytle and Tristan Leavitt wrote.

Former Vice President Mike Pence and 107 other former world leaders on Tuesday signed a letter to President Joe Biden and his counterparts in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Europe calling on the West to adopt a tougher approach to Iran and support Iranian anti-government protesters demanding regime change.

The letter came after U.S. lawmakers last week expressed bipartisan support for the Iranian people demonstrating against their government and slammed Biden for in their view not having a coherent or comprehensive strategy toward Iran.

‘We believe it is time to hold the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran to account for its crimes,’ the letter states. ‘We urge your nations to stand with the Iranian people in their quest for change and to take decisive steps against the current regime. This includes blacklisting the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and holding regime officials accountable for their crimes against humanity.’

The IRGC is an Iranian military force designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization.

The letter — addressed to Biden, the prime ministers of Canada and the U.K., and heads of state across Europe — condemns Iran’s ‘meddling’ in the Middle East and Europe, noting Iran has supplied Russia with lethal drones to use in Ukraine and attempted terrorist attacks on European soil.

Experts and U.S. officials have also accused Iran of being behind a wave of attempted assassinations against American citizens on U.S. soil, including senior figures in the former Trump administration.

As for Iran’s internal situation, the letter highlights how Iran notoriously executed thousands of political prisoners in 1988, when current Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was part of a so-called ‘death committee’ that ordered several of the killings.

The world leaders also focus on ongoing nationwide anti-government street protests in Iran. The protests erupted across Iran in September when a young woman died in the custody of Iran’s so-called morality police, which had allegedly detained her for wearing a hijab, an Islamic head covering that’s mandatory for women in Iran, in an ‘improper’ way.

Since then, the protests have grown in scope and intensity, reaching all of Iran’s 31 provinces and nearly 300 cities, according to local reports and the organized Iranian resistance movement. Chants calling for the Iranian regime’s overthrow have been common at protests.

In response, the regime has violently cracked down on the demonstrations, during which hundreds of protesters have been killed and tens of thousands arrested, according to reports. Critics have also accused the regime of being involved in the recent poisoning of hundreds of school girls in the country. Iran has also increased its executions, most recently executing three protesters las week. The latter decisions triggered bipartisan outcry from U.S. lawmakers, including those on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In Tuesday’s letter, the world leaders call on Biden and his counterparts to stand with the protesters in their bid to topple the current regime.

‘We encourage you to stand in solidarity with the people of Iran in their desire for a secular and democratic republic where no individual, regardless of religion or birthright, has any privilege over others,’ the letter states. ‘Through their slogans, the Iranian people have made it clear that they reject all forms of dictatorship, be it that of the deposed Shah or the current theocratic regime, and thus reject any association with either.’

The leaders also express support for the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a coalition of Iranian opposition group, and its leader, Maryam Rajavi, who has called for democratic change.

Beyond Pence, an outspoken supporter of the Iranian opposition movement, signatories of the letter included former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and two former European Commission presidents, among dozens of other ex-heads of state.

The letter came after last week the newly formed Iranian Women Congressional Caucus held its first joint meeting with the Iran Human Rights and Democracy Caucus — both bipartisan — to express support for the Iranian protesters.

‘We offer our unwavering commitment to advocating for freedom and the rights of women worldwide. This can transcend party lines and unite on issues of human rights,’ Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said at the event. ‘We must send a strong message that the international community stands in solidarity with Iranian women and will not tolerate the suppression of their rights.’

The event came two days after Biden administration officials gave a classified briefing on Iran to all 100 senators. After the briefing, several senators said they were dissatisfied with what they heard about the administration’s approach to Iran.

‘It’s been six months since President Biden declared the [Iran nuclear deal] ‘dead’ and we’re still no closer to a more comprehensive Iran policy,’ Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement after the briefing. ‘Strategic ambiguity on Iran policy only serves to embolden the regime and push our partners closer to China. As Iran continues to illegally seize vessels, target Americans in the region, and support its terror proxies and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Americans deserve a policy that is more than a failed nuclear negotiation.’

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., expressed similar concerns when speaking to reporters immediately after the briefing.

‘Based on what I heard for the last 40 minutes, they [the Biden administration] don’t really have much to say on the topic [of Iran],’ said Hawley. ‘I didn’t think it was a particularly useful briefing. I don’t know if they really have a coherent strategy. If there is one, I didn’t hear it … We didn’t learn anything new or remotely classified.’

The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story.