The Latest: Trump is attending dignified transfer of 4 more US service members killed in action
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6:04 AM on Wednesday, July 22
By The Associated Press
The United States and Iran exchanged fire across the Middle East on Wednesday, overshadowing diplomatic efforts in Pakistan to salvage an interim ceasefire deal that has collapsed.
President Donald Trump is attending the dignified transfer of four more service members who were killed in action. Republicans are pushing a $95 billion package to fund the military, pay farmers and restrict voting after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced fiery questions and protests over his management of the U.S. war with Iran, which he estimated which has cost $37.5 billion so far. Democrats and Republicans alike questioned whether Hegseth has an exit strategy.
And Trump has reportedly approved a deal that could potentially provide Saudi Arabia with uranium enrichment capability. The agreement would be reviewed by Congress, where it could face headwinds among lawmakers who fear it would open new rounds of nuclear proliferation and competition.
The Latest:
The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs voted 8-4 Wednesday morning to advance Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cameron Hamilton.
Hamilton is a former Navy SEAL who briefly led FEMA in a temporary role last year before being fired after defending the agency’s existence. His potential return marks a shift in the Trump administration’s stance toward the disaster agency, after Trump said early in his second term that he was considering eliminating it altogether.
If approved by the Senate, Hamilton would be the first permanent FEMA administrator in Trump’s second term. The agency has seen four temporary leaders and been roiled by upheaval, including the departure of thousands of staff.
Hundreds of former or retired journalists and eight press freedom groups are asking the White House Correspondents’ Association to stand up to the Trump administration’s recent attacks on the media at its rescheduled dinner this week — a dinner President Donald Trump says he’ll attend.
The first dinner was cut short in April when a gunman, who prosecutors say was trying to assassinate Trump, opened fire at the Washington Hilton. The much smaller rescheduled dinner will take place Friday, with enhanced security precautions, at the capital’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, formerly the Trump International Hotel.
The letter expands on a similar one issued in April, before the first dinner. It notes that since then, “the administration’s attacks on journalists and press freedom have become even more egregious.”
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong raised her country’s concern over renewed attacks by the U.S. and Iran in the Middle East, warning that “the situation could deteriorate further without much warning.”
“We want to see an end to this war. We want to see a ceasefire. We want to see negotiations and we want the strait to be opened,” Wong told reporters at the ASEAN summit. The war’s impact on global energy markets has had a direct and personal impact on people, she said.
Southeast Asia’s reliance on fossil fuel imports from the Mideast has made the region particularly vulnerable, according to the International Energy Agency. Asian markets imported about 80% of the crude oil and almost 90% of the liquefied natural gas, or LNG, transiting through the Strait of Hormuz in 2025, the IEA said.
Asked whether the Trump administration’s goal is regime change in Cuba, Rubio told reporters that the U.S. is prepared to be “very realistic” and “patient” about a process of ensuring that the Cuban people “can experience prosperity, safety, security and a better life moving forward.”
Rubio insisted the country’s socialist economic model doesn’t work and that the Cuban government is most interested in holding on to power, not making reforms.
But he said that “we’ll keep talking to them about the kind of changes they can make” because it affects U.S. national security.
“It’s a failed state. But I’ve never laid out any timeline as to what change would look like or when it would happen,” Rubio said.
A plane was carrying food and hygiene kits to Cuba on Tuesday, part of U.S. efforts to directly aid residents.
A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at $93.83 at midday Wednesday after briefly topping $95 to touch its highest price in six weeks as the war with Iran continues.
Rising oil prices threaten to reaccelerate inflation, which could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates, which would slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and other investments.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.65%, helping to bring long-term U.S. mortgage rates to their highest levels in nearly a year. The yield was 3.97% before the war.
The auto club AAA said Wednesday that the average price for a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. jumped again overnight to $4.06. It had been below $3 before the United States and Israel attacked Iran.
The four U.S. service members were identified by the Defense Department:
1. 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii
2. Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas
3. Sgt. Angel Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York
4. Army Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Spring Lake, North Carolina
Since the war began on Feb. 28, 18 U.S. service members have been killed.
Trump is at Dover Air Force Base, participating in the return of the remains of four U.S. service members killed in the Middle East.
Asked for his message to their families before he departed Joint Base Andrews, Trump said, “All I’m going to say is, ‘we love you. We love your child.’”
“All you can do is throw out your heart,” he said.
The Friday ceremony celebrating the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, is no longer expected to take place after Trump announced a pending 50% tariff on most Canadian goods.
“In light of trade action threatened by the United States earlier this week, it would be inappropriate to proceed,” emailed Jenna Ghassabeh, a spokesperson for Canadian Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson.
U.S. and Canadian officials had reached an agreement to open the $4.4 billion bridge, which Canada financed under an agreement allowing it to recover the cost through toll revenue. Canada now plans its own ceremony Friday.
Two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations said they still expect the bridge to open to traffic July 27 but are less certain than they were before.
— By Joey Capelletti
Rubio was asked about the risk of the U.S. signing an agreement with a Middle Eastern country that does not include the “gold standard” promise to refrain from enriching or reprocessing uranium.
Rubio said he would not “opine directly on that agreement” with Saudi Arabia, but then said “the U.S. is not going to reach any agreement with any country in the world that leads to the risk of proliferation.”
When asked by reporters on Wednesday in the Philippines about the nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, the secretary of state didn’t deny the approval was coming and instead said, “I’ll let the White House officials sort of put out an official statement about anything in regards to that.”
Stumbling a bit in his response, Rubio also said: “I’d prefer it be, you know, put out when there is something to say that we will say through official channels.”
Rubio said Iran’s missiles and drones being used in strikes now are “exactly the conventional shield that they were going to hide behind to pursue a nuclear program.”
He said that capacity is “greatly diminished” but that a year from now, Iran would have had so many missiles and drones serving as a shield that it “would have given them immunity to do whatever they wanted.”
He kept some hope alive for renewed talks, saying the U.S. remains open to negotiations, “but right now they don’t seem to be serious about that” so instead the focus is on protecting shipping.
“We think other countries should join us in that endeavor. We don’t need them to, but they should because they’re more impacted by it than we are.”
Rubio, who doubles as Trump’s national security advisor, was asked Wednesday whether China and Russia are giving targeting information to Iran.
“All I would say is that, you know, anytime you’re in a combat zone like that, there’s danger associated with it,” Rubio said. “At the end, this actually proves the point that this is what Iran has been investing its money in.”
When pressed again by a reporter, Rubio said, “I’m not going to discuss that, other than to say that nothing that’s happened, nothing that China has done has in any way changed the trajectory of the outcome, of what you’re seeing in terms of the conflict that we’re having with Iran.”
Rubio said China has been quite cooperative in some ways, such as publicly opposing what Iran is trying to do in the Strait of Hormuz.
Marco Rubio warned Asian leaders Wednesday that Iran’s demand to control and collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz would threaten the world’s economy.
“If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don’t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” the U.S. Secretary of State said.
Rubio’s counterparts at the annual meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have expressed alarm over the resurgent Iran war that has battered their economies. Despite Washington’s preoccupation with the war, Rubio said “we’re with ASEAN 100%.”
The deal approved by Trump could potentially provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear program, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly ahead of a formal announcement expected to be made as early as Wednesday.
The deal, expected to last 30 years and involve U.S. firms, would be reviewed by Congress, where it could face headwinds among lawmakers who fear that helping the Saudis fulfill their long-standing desire to enrich their own uranium would open new rounds of nuclear proliferation and competition.
Saudi Arabia is a member state of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which promotes peaceful nuclear work and inspects nations to ensure they don’t have clandestine atomic weapons programs. But the agreement is not expected to include the IAEA’s Additional Protocol, which would allow for more monitoring, inspections and verification, according to one of the people.
— By Aamer Madhani, Michelle L. Price, Jon Gambrell
The president’s warning about targeting civilian infrastructure came after the U.S. carried out another wave of strikes on Iran, including its capital, Tehran. Iran launched a missile attack on a Jordanian city on Israel’s doorstep, and alerts were issued in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” Trump wrote on social media.
The 11th night of American airstrikes on Iran came as diplomatic efforts have shown little public sign of progress. Officials on both sides have dug in on their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global energy that remains largely closed because of Iranian attacks.
Trump says Trump Accounts could hoist children out of poverty and give more Americans the chance to benefit from investments in the stock market. But some parents say they’re still waiting for the money to arrive.
Trump on Wednesday plans to speak at a Georgia high school to promote the investment accounts, which offer $1,000 in seed money to every child born during his second term. The accounts went live July 4, two days before Trump rang the opening bells for both the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ from the Oval Office.
The tax-advantaged accounts, created last year through Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill, can be opened for any child under the age of 18. The Treasury Department boasts 6.5 million sign-ups for Trump Accounts, with 1.5 million of those eligible for the $1,000 seed funding for babies born from 2025 through 2028.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Asian leaders Wednesday that Iran’s demand to control and collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz would threaten the world’s economy and set a precedent that could be repeated elsewhere in the world.
Rubio spoke at the start of an annual meeting in the Philippine capital, Manila, with counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations who have expressed alarm over the resurgent war in the Middle East that has battered their region. Despite Washington’s preoccupation with the war, Rubio said “we’re with ASEAN 100%.”
Washington’s top diplomat also renewed allegations that Iran has reneged on commitments under a failed peace deal. Rubio said Iran “has been reaching out to the United States, both directly and indirectly, to engage in talks about settling the differences,” but gave no indication that the U.S. was considering returning to peace talks with Iran.
The United States and Iran exchanged fire across the Middle East on Wednesday, as officials in both nations called into question diplomatic efforts to stop the war as it threatens to again spin out of control.
The U.S. launched an 11th night of airstrikes on the Islamic Republic, hitting targets across the nation as air defense systems opened fire over the capital, Tehran. It wasn’t immediately clear what specific targets the Americans went after in these nighttime strikes.
Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting Jordan’s port city of Aqaba, once again attacking just on the doorstep of Israel. The U.S. has been using Israel’s main Ben-Gurion International Airport to host its refueler aircraft and has put fighter jets at bases in the country, but Iran has been hesitant to strike for fear of bringing the Israeli military back into the conflict.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced fiery questions and protests Tuesday over the U.S. war with Iran, which he estimated has cost $37.5 billion so far, as Republicans prepare a $95 billion package to fund the military, along with other White House priorities.
Hegseth provided the new estimate, up from earlier assessments, during a combative Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, which came days after the Pentagon announced that three more American service members have died in the conflict, bringing the death toll to 17, and that more than 100 have been injured since early July. Several times protesters interrupted his opening remarks.
Hegseth said the supplemental war funding is an “urgent, necessary” injection of money, and called Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget a generational investment in the military.
“Without these funds, we face critical shortfalls,” Hegseth testified.
Trump on Wednesday plans to attend the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members killed in the Middle East.
Trump will be at Dover Air Force Base when the remains of the troops killed in action are returned to their families, the White House said. The ritual is one of the most somber duties of a commander-in-chief. It will be the third that Trump has attended since he launched the war in Iran in February.
Two U.S. Army soldiers killed in Iranian missile and drone attacks in Jordan will be returned during the dignified transfer, according to an administration official who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The remains of a third service member who is believed to be the soldier missing after the Jordan attacks will also be returned, the official said, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in Iraq during a detonation of an Iranian drone.
