Rubio: Never heard of Trump pick Pulte in matters involving US intelligence

June 3, 2026 3:34 PM UTC / Reuters

U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 9, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) – Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday he had never heard the name of Bill Pulte, President Donald Trump’s pick to ​be acting director of national intelligence, during his years of ‌experience with the U.S. intelligence community.

U.S. Representative Bill Keating, a Democrat from Massachusetts, cited Rubio’s expertise in intelligence matters from his years on the Senate Intelligence Committee and his ​current roles as top U.S. diplomat and Trump’s national security adviser.

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“Have ​you ever specifically, in the context of the intelligence community, ⁠heard the name Bill Pulte?” Keating asked at a House Foreign Affairs ​Committee hearing.

“In the context of intelligence?” Rubio repeated. “No.”

“Never heard his name?” Keating ​interrupted. “Thank you for answering that. Never even heard his name, given all your years of experience and your position now. Never heard the name.”

Trump on Tuesday appointed federal housing regulator ​Pulte, elevating a political loyalist with no national security experience to lead ​the sprawling U.S. intelligence community at a time of war and global tensions.

Democrats and at ‌least ⁠one Republican blasted Pulte as unqualified to oversee U.S. intelligence services.

“For the record,” Keating continued, “Bill Pulte is a person Donald Trump has chosen for the acting director of national intelligence with no experience in the intelligence field, ​whose misuse, widely reported, ​of confidential information ⁠led to the prosecution of the president’s political enemies, is now the person in charge of the nation’s ​most closely guarded intelligence, when he couldn’t even conduct himself ​appropriately as ⁠the federal housing finance director.”

Pulte, 38, has used his position as head of a low-profile mortgage regulatory agency to push for investigations of several of ⁠Trump’s perceived ​enemies for alleged mortgage fraud.

Trump praised Pulte ​in his Truth Social post announcing his appointment as having “deep experience managing the most sensitive matters ​in America.”

Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Simon Lewis, Doina Chiacu; Editing by Rod Nickel

台风“蔷薇”席卷东京首都圈 市区河川暴涨 陆空交通大乱

2026年6月3日 22:44 / 联合早报 符祝慧 东京特派员

2026年6月3日，千叶县南部房总半岛馆山市沿海一带，可清楚看到巨浪滚滚而来，往民宅逼近。 （法新社）

超级台风“蔷薇”星期三（6月3日）挟着豪雨席卷日本东京首都圈，市中心多条河川暴涨。暴风雨导致陆空交通瘫痪，首都圈铁路交通自早上就几乎全面叫停，东京羽田和成田两大机场的航班也大乱。

日本航空与全日空星期三取消了上午从东京羽田机场出发的所有内陆航班及部分国际航班。日本铁路公司连接东京地区与其他地区的部分特急列车服务也暂停。

旅居日本的新加坡人卓瑞莲（60岁）家住横滨，傍晚冒着风雨开车到羽田机场接机。她告诉《联合早报》：“侄儿带着一家四口（包括未足岁的宝宝）来日本度假，原本是上午11点起飞，受台风影响，延误到下午起飞，迟至10点多才在机场落地。他们原本打算自行搭机场巴士到市区，飞机延误后才临时让我开车去接他们。”

2026年6月3日，台风“蔷薇”挟着豪雨袭击东京首都圈，导致羽田机场多趟航班取消或延误，乘客滞留机场。（路透社）

据日本气象厅预测，台风蔷薇凌晨4时30分左右在和歌山县登陆，近畿、东海和关东形成“线状雨带”，引发灾害风险。东京主要地区的神田川、目黑川和善福寺川上午7时40分水位急升，当局发布四级洪水警报呼吁居民避难。

东京各地河川的水位也在持续上涨，当局对包括东京市区如品川和千代田区等金融区发布洪水警报，东京、神奈川和千叶县据统计一度有超过160万人接到疏散命令。道路淹水情况严重，原本可通行的河岸完全没顶，一些地势低的地区积水，停车场泛滥成灾，车身都是过半轮胎浸在水中。

位于东京与横滨之间的川崎市是工业与高科技中心，暴风雨再大，似乎也难阻都市的生活节奏。（法新社）

6万户家庭断电 逾5000学校停课

台风导致近6万户家庭停电，逾5000所学校停课。东京近郊青梅市一家养老院接到自来水公司通知，称“因东京都政府供水站的泵站设备被淹停工，导致停水”。日本教育部报告，有1149所学校因台风出现外墙涂料掉落、地面或地下浸水等受损情况。

内阁秘书长木原稔发话呼吁市民：“遇到任何危险，都要毫不犹豫立即采取行动，保护自身安全。”

日本的新防灾条例共分五个级别。最高的第4、第5级，指示民众须撤离到安全地点。第3级则只向高龄和行动不便者发出撤离指示。第1和2级是向民众发出天气恶化警告，须提高警惕。

日本电视报道，3日上午，面临高危暴雨的关东茨城水户市一栋单层商铺建筑的屋顶被掀翻；约15米长、5米宽的屋顶被成片吹走，砸中建筑前停车场的一辆汽车。屋顶过后悬在马路边，碎片则被大风吹到了十字路口。

受影响的店主说：“屋顶突然就飞走了……这里平时人很多，所幸今日刮台风，路上的车和人都比较少。要不然还会有更多人受伤。”

特朗普承认与内坦亚胡紧张通话 斥责以色列政策

2026年6月3日 22:57 / 联合早报

特朗普承认与内坦亚胡紧张通话 斥责以色列政策

据Axios和美国广播公司报道，特朗普对以色列威胁轰炸贝鲁特发表了带有亵渎意味的长篇大论，担心这会破坏与德黑兰的谈判。 （法新社）

美国总统特朗普证实与以色列总理内坦亚胡进行了紧张的交流。据报道，他在谈话中用脏话斥责这位亲密盟友。

在《纽约邮报》星期三（6月3日）发表的采访中，特朗普被问及星期一（1日）与内坦亚胡的电话交谈。

采访者问道：“你说，‘你疯了吗？你在做什么？我帮助你逃出了监狱。’这是真的吗？你跟他说了这些话吗？”

特朗普回答：“我说了，我对他不断与黎巴嫩作战感到有点不安。”

“我说，‘比比，我们必须阻止这一切。’”

特朗普接着表示，他与内坦亚胡有非常好的关系。“我们在一起做得很好……我非常喜欢比比。”

据Axios和美国广播公司报道，特朗普对以色列威胁轰炸贝鲁特发表了带有亵渎意味的长篇大论，担心这会破坏与德黑兰的谈判。

以色列媒体否认了此次谈话的报道。

一名白宫官员向法新社转述了特朗普星期一在社媒Truth Social上发表的帖子，特朗普在帖子中感谢内坦亚胡达成他所说的从贝鲁特撤军的协议。

据报道，由于以色列袭击黎巴嫩，伊朗已停止和谈。

Trump suggests he hasn’t dropped the ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

2026-06-03 10:13 AM ET / CNN

By Aileen Graef, Sarah Ferris

Updated 35 min ago
Updated Jun 3, 2026, 11:26 AM ET
PUBLISHED Jun 3, 2026, 10:13 AM ET

Donald Trump

President Donald Trump looks on during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on May 27, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Summary

• President Donald Trump denied dropping the “anti-weaponization fund” in a podcast interview.
• The same day, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress that the Justice Department was not moving forward with the fund.
• Many Republican lawmakers expressed concerns about the fund and sought assurances the Justice Department would completely drop it.

AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

President Donald Trump suggested that he has not dropped the administration’s “anti-weaponization” fund, saying in an interview released Wednesday that people “should be reimbursed.”

“No, a court ruled against (the fund),” Trump said when asked if he had dropped the controversial effort on the New York Post’s podcast “Pod Force One with Miranda Devine.” The interview was taped on Tuesday.

That same day, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers that the Justice Department would not move forward with the fund.

But Trump argues in the podcast interview that people who he claims were targeted by a “crooked government” deserve compensation. “And these were many great people. And I gave them pardons. I’m very proud to have given them pardons. And I think they should be reimbursed for a crooked government,” he said.

It’s unclear how Trump’s comments comport with Blanche’s — and whether the administration’s messaging will allay GOP lawmakers’ concerns about the fund.

Blanche’s comments marked the first time an administration official definitively said the fund is being abandoned. The Justice Department’s about-face came amid fierce pushback from Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Many GOP senators said earlier this week that they could not move ahead with immigration enforcement funding until they knew the “anti-weaponization fund” was dead.

But on Tuesday night, after Blanche’s comments, Senate GOP leaders were pressing for a vote as soon as Wednesday to advance the $70 billion bill to fund the president’s immigration priorities.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Wednesday morning that he believes Blanche’s comments about the fund were “extremely helpful” toward resolving his members’ anger — and ultimately advancing the big GOP immigration funding bill later Wednesday. But it’s still too early to tell for sure.

“I think that most of our members feel pretty satisfied with his comments” but is not yet certain if there are four Republicans still willing to block the GOP immigration bill over DOJ fund concerns. “Whether they are enough with some of our members, we’ll find out.”

Thune said he is “hopeful” to take the next step later today — teeing up a so-called vote-a-rama to pass the immigration money without Democratic votes.

A Republican aide on Wednesday downplayed the notion that Trump’s comments on the podcast would impact Congress.

“I don’t feel concerned about what he said,” the aide said. “Don’t love it, but him saying a court ruled against it is about as close to ‘yes I’m dropping it’ as we will get.”

The aide added that Blanche “was very clear” during the hearing.

“We are not moving forward with the fund, period,” Blanche told a House Appropriations subcommittee.

“Not moving forward, ever?” asked Democratic Rep. Grace Meng. “Correct,” Blanche said.

In a post on X, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said he appreciated Blanche’s statement but proposed creating “a weaponization fund that will be available to those who can prove their claim against the federal government through the Federal Tort Claims Act.”

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, Jr. responded to Graham’s post saying, “We’re on it.” The post included no explanation and was later deleted.

Last week, a federal judge in Virginia had temporarily blocked the administration from taking steps to set up the fund and barred it from releasing any money from it.

But that ruling was highly technical; it didn’t address the legality of the program but was instead intended to get the court time to review a lawsuit seeking to kill the program in full.

During the podcast interview, Trump also praised the acting attorney general, who replaced Pam Bondi in April, saying that Blanche is “doing a very good job” at DOJ.

When asked if he would try to install Blanche permanently in the attorney general role, Trump said he would.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Devan Cole, Manu Raju, Hannah Rabinowitz, Holmes Lybrand and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.

特朗普承认与内坦亚胡紧张通话 斥责以色列政策

2026年6月3日 22:57 / 联合早报

特朗普承认与内坦亚胡紧张通话 斥责以色列政策

据Axios和美国广播公司报道，特朗普对以色列威胁轰炸贝鲁特发表了带有亵渎意味的长篇大论，担心这会破坏与德黑兰的谈判。 （法新社）

美国总统特朗普证实与以色列总理内坦亚胡进行了紧张的交流。据报道，他在谈话中用脏话斥责这位亲密盟友。

在《纽约邮报》星期三（6月3日）发表的采访中，特朗普被问及星期一（1日）与内坦亚胡的电话交谈。

采访者问道：“你说，‘你疯了吗？你在做什么？我帮助你逃出了监狱。’这是真的吗？你跟他说了这些话吗？”

特朗普回答：“我说了，我对他不断与黎巴嫩作战感到有点不安。”

“我说，‘比比，我们必须阻止这一切。’”

特朗普接着表示，他与内坦亚胡有非常好的关系。“我们在一起做得很好……我非常喜欢比比。”

据Axios和美国广播公司报道，特朗普对以色列威胁轰炸贝鲁特发表了带有亵渎意味的长篇大论，担心这会破坏与德黑兰的谈判。

以色列媒体否认了此次谈话的报道。

一名白宫官员向法新社转述了特朗普星期一在社媒Truth Social上发表的帖子，特朗普在帖子中感谢内坦亚胡达成他所说的从贝鲁特撤军的协议。

据报道，由于以色列袭击黎巴嫩，伊朗已停止和谈。

No English content available

GOP leverages ICE funding package to make Trump’s controversial $2B fund ‘never exist’

June 3, 2026 10:55am EDT / Fox News

Acting AG Todd Blanche said the fund is not moving forward, but some senators want Trump himself to kill it

By Alex Miller, Fox News

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers the Justice Department is abandoning plans for its anti-weaponization fund, ending the effort after a federal judge temporarily blocked its creation.

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Senate Republicans may need more convincing from the Trump administration that the “anti-weaponization” fund is officially dead, even after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spelled out its doom on Tuesday.

Many Republicans demanded that the administration make it crystal clear that not only was the nearly $2 billion fund done, but that it would never come back. And at stake is a multibillion package to fund immigration enforcement operations.

During a closed-door meeting Tuesday, Senate Republican leadership assured members that Blanche would lay out the fate of the fund, and hoped that it would be enough to quell dissent among the ranks.

TRUMP ADMIN BACKS OFF CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND, CLEARING PATH FOR STALLED GOP IMMIGRATION BILL

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., speaks to reporters following a policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 28, 2026.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu)

And he did during a hearing in the House, where he repeatedly said that the administration was not moving forward with the fund.

“The reasons for the fund, I think, remain as important as they were before, but we are not moving forward with the fund,” Blanche said.

The fund was announced last month as part of a settlement between the Trump family and the Internal Revenue Service, and pitched as a mechanism for people who felt they were targeted by the government to get a financial kickback. Republicans were concerned that without proper guardrails, people convicted of assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill could access the taxpayer cash flow.

President Donald Trump walks to speak with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, May 8, 2026, in Washington.(Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)

Some in the GOP wanted President Donald Trump to come out and officially kill the fund.

“I assume if Blanche is saying it, the president must agree,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said.

GOP DEMANDS TRUMP KILL CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND BEFORE REVIVING ICE FUNDING PACKAGE

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6397359877112

But some Republicans want an even more concrete show from the administration that it’s actually dead and gone.

“I’m not sure that’s gonna be good enough for some people,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., contended that if the administration really meant it, it would support legislation to permanently prevent the fund from returning in any form. He planned to push an amendment to the broader, roughly $70 billion reconciliation package that would make sure of that.

“I just feel like we just need to do a Wayback Machine and just pretend like this never existed and take whatever steps are necessary to make sure it can never exist or disperse,” Tillis said. “Not in the current environment.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that Blanche previewed his remarks on the fund to him, and hoped that it would be enough to unite the fractured Republicans to move forward with budget reconciliation this week.

GOP’S PRIMED FOR PRIMARY SEASON PAYBACK ON TRUMP’S MOST AMBITIOUS, CONTROVERSIAL POLICY

Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks during a news conference after a weekly policy luncheon with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May 19, 2026.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“I think, as I’ve conveyed to you before, everything comes down to a function of math,” Thune said. “It’s do we have the votes? Do we have 50 votes to execute on getting a bill like that across the floor? Because we have to have Republicans hanging together in order to do that.”

Republican leadership hopes to launch the process on Wednesday in order to get the roughly $70 billion package to the House by the end of the week.

Some Republicans are hopeful that it will be enough to get the process back on track.

“If it goes like we’re told it will go, well, there’s a reasonable possibility, then we will move pretty quickly to the reconciliation,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said.

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Part of the issue is that if Republicans aren’t on the same page, several Democratic amendments that would both tackle the fund and halt momentum for the package could pass.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was one of several critics of the fund, and she hoped that Blanche would make it “crystal clear that the administration is not going to proceed” with the issue. Whether she or others in the same camp would vote against amendments remained an open question.

“I’m not going to predict what’s gonna happen to a very fluid situation,” Collins said.

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

北约秘书长：俄罗斯在乌克兰战事中陷入绝望

2026年6月3日 23:03 / 联合早报

北约秘书长：俄罗斯在乌克兰战事中陷入绝望

6月3日，乌克兰总统泽连斯基（右）和北约秘书长吕特（左）在基辅会谈前握手。 （法新社）

北约秘书长吕特星期三（6月3日）在基辅说，俄罗斯在俄乌战争中面临日益严峻的军事和经济困境，正变得越来越绝望。

法新社报道，吕特在基辅与乌克兰总统泽连斯基共同举行的新闻发布会上说：“俄罗斯的鲁莽行为由来已久。但随着乌克兰继续保持强硬姿态、不断创新并取得战场胜利，俄罗斯的处境也越来越绝望。”

他指出，俄罗斯的伤亡人数不断攀升，经济压力也日益增大，这些都给莫斯科带来了压力。

“令人痛心的是，他们没有丝毫停止的迹象。最近对基辅和乌克兰各地的袭击清楚地表明了这一点。”

吕特发表讲话后不久，基辅响起了空袭警报，警告俄罗斯可能发动袭击。

吕特也赞扬了乌克兰在战场上取得的进展。“乌克兰在战场上越来越成功，不仅在前线，而且在确保能够摧毁俄罗斯继续发动战争的关键能力方面也是如此。”

根据法新社对战争研究所数据的分析，继4月后，乌克兰5月收复的领土也超过了当月被莫斯科夺走的领土，阻止了俄罗斯数月来的缓慢推进。

泽连斯基敦促北约国家增加防空系统的交付，特别是美国制造的“爱国者”导弹系统和弹药。基辅方面表示，他们需要这些来击落俄罗斯的弹道导弹。

Senate prepares to move forward with reconciliation bill to fund immigration agencies

June 3, 2026 / 11:38 AM EDT / CBS News

Washington — Senate Republicans are preparing to move forward with a package to fund the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration agencies as soon as Wednesday, following a back-and-forth over the Justice Department’s “anti-weaponization” fund that threatened to derail the long-sought funding.

Republicans have been seeking assurances from the administration about the controversial fund’s fate after a heated meeting with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche last month. Blanche testified before a House committee on Tuesday that “we are not moving forward with the fund.”

The DOJ program, which aimed to provide taxpayer-funded payouts to individuals who alleged the federal government had been “weaponized” against them, sparked intense pushback on Capitol Hill. And some Republicans continued to express reservations Tuesday that prevented leaders from moving forward with the reconciliation package.

But Senate Majority Leader John Thune appeared confident after Blanche’s testimony that Republicans have the support necessary to proceed to the legislation as soon as Wednesday.

“We’re hopeful,” Thune told reporters at the Capitol, adding that he’s “keeping fingers crossed.”

The South Dakota Republican said “most of our members feel pretty satisfied” with Blanche’s comments, noting that they occurred during a public hearing under oath, despite Blanche’s refusal to put anything in writing.

“His comments were extremely helpful,” Thune said. “Whether they are enough for some of our members, we’ll find out.”

A handful of Senate Republicans have signaled that they remain skeptical, like Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas. Cornyn anticipated Tuesday that Blanche’s comments may not be “good enough for some people.” And the Texas Republican, who lost his primary last week after the president backed his opponent, shared a Wall Street Journal editorial on Wednesday morning that argued Republicans in Congress can kill the DOJ fund for good by barring money for its use.

The anticipated movement on reconciliation comes after months of Democrats opposing funding for the immigration enforcement agencies. Republicans have been moving ahead with their plan on their own through the budget reconciliation process, which sidesteps the 60-vote threshold required to advance most legislation.

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees unveiled the text of a $72 billion package last month to fund immigration agencies through fiscal year 2029, but were expected to release an updated version as soon as Wednesday. The original package would have provided $1 billion to the Secret Service for “security adjustments and upgrades,” including for President Trump’s East Wing renovation, where he plans to build a massive ballroom. But that funding faced intense scrutiny from a handful of Republicans, along with the Senate’s parliamentarian, and it is expected to be dropped from the final package.

Blanche: DOJ “not moving forward” with Trump fund

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/blanche-congress-doj-not-moving-forward-anti-weaponization-fund/

Blanche tells Congress DOJ “not moving forward” with “anti-weaponization” fund

(03:31)

6月3日，乌克兰总统泽连斯基（右）和北约秘书长吕特（左）在基辅会谈前握手。 （法新社）

北约秘书长吕特星期三（6月3日）在基辅说，俄罗斯在俄乌战争中面临日益严峻的军事和经济困境，正变得越来越绝望。

法新社报道，吕特在基辅与乌克兰总统泽连斯基共同举行的新闻发布会上说：“俄罗斯的鲁莽行为由来已久。但随着乌克兰继续保持强硬姿态、不断创新并取得战场胜利，俄罗斯的处境也越来越绝望。”

他指出，俄罗斯的伤亡人数不断攀升，经济压力也日益增大，这些都给莫斯科带来了压力。

“令人痛心的是，他们没有丝毫停止的迹象。最近对基辅和乌克兰各地的袭击清楚地表明了这一点。”

吕特发表讲话后不久，基辅响起了空袭警报，警告俄罗斯可能发动袭击。

延伸阅读

普京经济论坛开幕前 圣彼得堡遭乌无人机袭击 俄罗斯禁止五名英国人入境 包括《华盛顿邮报》记者

吕特也赞扬了乌克兰在战场上取得的进展。“乌克兰在战场上越来越成功，不仅在前线，而且在确保能够摧毁俄罗斯继续发动战争的关键能力方面也是如此。”

根据法新社对战争研究所数据的分析，继4月后，乌克兰5月收复的领土也超过了当月被莫斯科夺走的领土，阻止了俄罗斯数月来的缓慢推进。

泽连斯基敦促北约国家增加防空系统的交付，特别是美国制造的“爱国者”导弹系统和弹药。基辅方面表示，他们需要这些来击落俄罗斯的弹道导弹。