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It’s Wednesday. Remember how I mentioned the extreme humidity that most of the U.S. will be facing for the next two weeks? I have never felt the air feel so … sticky.

In today's issue:

• Trump teases his options for Iran conflict
• Supreme Court upholds transgender care ban
• Ted Cruz vs. Tucker Carlson
• ‘Big, beautiful bill’ faces more headwinds
• Microsoft detects ‘infinite workday’

🚀 TALK OF THE MORNING

Trump is keeping his cards close:

President Trump is keeping the world on its toes with his evolving strategy toward Israel and Iran, refusing to reveal whether he will join Israel in the brewing Middle East conflict.

“I may do it. I may not do it. No one knows what I’m going to do,” Trump told reporters this morning on whether he plans to strike Iran.

Trump also said Iran reached out and suggested coming to the White House for talks, but the president said it’s too late.

How this came up: Trump unveiled two new, roughly 100-foot-tall flagpoles on the White House lawn this morning, declaring they are a “GIFT” from him.

Side note — who else is on Trump’s mind today?: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. During his flagpole remarks, Trump took a verbal swing at Powell, calling him “stupid” and predicting the Fed will not cut interest rates ahead of Powell’s 2:30 p.m. press conference.

OK, back to Iran—what we do know about Tehran’s thinking?: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that the U.S. will face “irreparable damage” if President Trump joins the conflict with Israel, declaring Iran “will never surrender.” (Trump urged Iran to do just that in an all-caps post Tuesday.)

Iran’s supreme leader posted on X: “It isn’t wise to tell the Iranian nation to surrender. What should the Iranian nation surrender to? We will never surrender in response to the attacks of anyone. This is the logic of the Iranian nation. This is the spirit of the Iranian nation.”

💬 Follow today’s live blog

➤ THE U.S. MILITARY IS PREPARING TO POTENTIALLY JOIN:

The Hill’s Ellen Mitchell explains

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