Good afternoon! The House and Senate are in recess; the Senate returns June 1 and the House June 2. U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged fire near the Strait of Hormuz as negotiators pursued a two-month ceasefire extension. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio of possible new strikes on Kyiv. A federal court blocked Alabama’s new congressional district map and South Carolina legislators rejected an attempt to change its map. The Texas U.S. Senate Republican primary runoff election is today. Vice President JD Vance is meeting with state attorneys general at the White House to discuss the administration’s fraud task force.
WHITE HOUSE
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Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to host state attorneys general at the White House today for a meeting of the administration’s fraud task force, which President Trump created in March and tapped him to lead. Approximately 15 Republican state attorneys general are expected to attend. A group of Democratic state attorneys general declined the invitation in a joint letter Monday evening, citing less than one business days’ notice and the absence of an agenda, while saying they remained committed to combating fraud. The session is expected to address collaboration between the White House and state attorneys general, and the resources to pursue fraud cases.
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U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Monday evening that U.S. forces conducted “self-defense strikes” against targets in a southern Iranian port city on the Strait of Hormuz, citing threats from Iranian forces. Shortly after, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed it shot down a U.S. drone, and Iranian state media reported several individuals were killed near Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
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The clash came as Washington and Tehran continued to negotiate a two-month extension of a ceasefire. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated Tuesday that both sides were finalizing “specific language in the initial document” and expected a deal within days. The proposed interim agreement may unfreeze billions in Iranian funds and lift the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. On Monday, an Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf visited Doha to discuss the frozen funds with Qatari officials. Key issues remain, including Iran’s proposal to toll access to the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. demands for Tehran to surrender its highly enriched uranium. Any interim deal would precede separate negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Secretary of State Marco Rubio on a Monday call that Moscow would conduct new “systematic strikes” on military targets and “decision-making centers” in Kyiv and urged Washington to evacuate American diplomats and civilians from the capital, according to Russia’s Foreign Ministry. The ministry separately called on all foreign diplomats and nationals to leave Kyiv immediately. The warning followed a large Russian aerial assault the previous day that deployed nuclear-capable hypersonic ballistic missiles in the Kyiv region.
SENATE
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The Senate is in recess until June 1.
- Texas Republicans hold their Senate primary runoff today. Senator John Cornyn faces Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whom President Trump has endorsed. Democratic state Representative James Talarico secured his party’s nomination March 3.
HOUSE
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The House is in recess until June 2.
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A three-judge federal panel on Tuesday barred Alabama from using its newly enacted 2026 congressional map ahead of November midterm election. The ruling is in response to litigation regarding the Supreme Court’s earlier this year decision in Louisiana v. Callais. Alabama Republicans are expected to appeal, sending the case back to the Supreme Court.
- South Carolina legislators blocked a redistricting measure today that would have likely resulted in the loss of the state’s lone Democratic-leaning Congressional district.
