Senators vote to block their pay during future government shutdowns

2026-05-14T16:43:21.273Z / CNN

By Morgan Rimmer, Ted Barrett

PUBLISHED May 14, 2026, 12:43 PM ET

A sign indicating that the US Capitol Visitors Center is closed due to the government shutdown on November 5, in Washington, DC.

Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG/Getty Images

The Senate on Thursday moved to bar senators from being paid during government shutdowns.

Pushed by Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy, the measure took on renewed significance in the wake of two history-making shutdowns in recent months: A 43-day federal government shutdown in 2025 and a record-breaking 76-day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year.

The measure does not need approval from the House nor the president and is binding for senators beginning in November after the midterm elections.

Senators approved the resolution by voice vote, despite some questions as to whether it was constitutional. The Constitution only states that lawmakers are to be paid from the Treasury, with no exceptions mentioned.

But Kennedy has maintained the resolution is not unconstitutional and didn’t expect any challenges from his colleagues on those grounds.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was bullish on the measure’s prospects ahead of the vote. “Yes, I’m going to vote for it, and I think it has a lot of support,” the New York Democrat said Wednesday.

Speaker Mike Johnson has not indicated whether the House will adopt a similar measure applied to its own members’ salaries in the future.

“We’ll have to find out,” he previously told reporters. “I mean, the House has some ideas on that as well, so we’ll see what consensus we can build on.”

CNN’s Ellis Kim contributed to this report.

Bipartisan U.S.-Mexico congressional caucus launches amid diplomatic strain

May 14, 2026 / 1:42 PM EDT / CBS News

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers will launch a new U.S.-Mexico caucus on Thursday, aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries on trade, security and culture at a moment of mounting tension in the bilateral relationship.

Rep. Joaquin Castro, Democrat of Texas and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, and Rep. Rudy Yakym, Republican of Indiana, will serve as co-chairs of the caucus. The launch is being backed by the American Mexican Leadership Council, or AMLC, a new national organization also debuting Thursday to elevate Mexican American leadership and advance U.S.-Mexico collaboration.

The rollout comes at a turbulent moment in the bilateral relationship. The State Department last week initiated a review of all 53 Mexican consulates operating in the U.S., the move could lead Secretary of State Marco Rubio to consider closing some diplomatic offices, amid rising tensions over security cooperation and cartel violence following the deaths of two American CIA officers during a counter-narcotics operation in northern Mexico. The strain comes just weeks ahead of the first joint review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, scheduled for July 1, 2026.

“I am thrilled to announce the official launch of the U.S.-Mexico Caucus to strengthen the relationship between the United States and Mexico,” Castro said. “Our shared border, history and interests — particularly in trade, migration, and security — make the creation of this caucus relevant now more than ever.”

Yakym, whose Indiana district leans heavily on trade with Mexico, described the caucus’s focus on economic and security stakes back home.

“Hoosier manufacturers and farmers rely on Mexico for inputs and exports, while our communities count on a strong security relationship to keep fentanyl and other deadly drugs off the streets,” he said. “I look forward to this caucus serving as a forum to deepen that relationship.”

The caucus will consist of 10 inaugural members evenly split across the aisle, including Reps. Pete Aguilar, Democrat of California, María Salazar, Republican of Florida, Adriano Espaillat, Democrat of New York, and Juan Ciscomani, Republican of Arizona), Greg Stanton, Democrat of Arizona, Michael McCaul Republican of Texas, Veronica Escobar, Democrat of Texas, Rep. Henry Cuellar, Democrat of Texas, and Don Bacon, Republican of Nebraska.

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“Mexico and the United States are connected not only by our southern border, but also by mutual security challenges and shared economic interests,” McCaul said, adding that he is “very proud to join this caucus.”

“Strengthening areas of collaboration — from agriculture to immigration to counter-narcotic efforts — will no doubt benefit both our nations and the broader region,” he said.

Outside the Capitol, the newly formed AMLC is positioning itself as a leadership organization supporting the caucus’s work. The group is co-chaired by former U.S. Ambassador to Croatia Nathalie Rayes and led by president and CEO Sergio Gonzales, with a bipartisan coalition that includes former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marín, former Transportation and Energy Secretary Federico Peña, and former House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

“This is about creating opportunity, prosperity and economic security for communities across the United States,” Gonzales said. “So many of the sectors that drive our economy, from agriculture to finance, innovation, and trade depend on a successful relationship with Mexico. America’s strength and competitiveness in the world are deeply connected to the success of this partnership.”

Rayes framed the moment as one that demands politics step aside.

“The launch of this bipartisan caucus sends a strong message: the U.S.-Mexico relationship transcends politics,” she said. “It is about maintaining economic strength, striving towards shared security, and the millions of people whose lives are shaped by this partnership.”

Mexico maintains the largest foreign consular network in the United States, with offices that provide documentation and legal aid to millions of Mexican citizens living across the country. Most are concentrated in border states and cities with large Mexican American populations, including California, Texas and Arizona.

In recent years, U.S. consulate closures have usually reflected rising tensions with rival countries rather than routine diplomatic changes. In 2020, as relations between Washington and Beijing worsened, the Trump administration ordered China’s consulate in Houston to close, citing concerns over espionage and intellectual property theft. In 2017, the U.S. ordered Russia to close its consulate in San Francisco, along with diplomatic facilities in Washington and New York, in response to Moscow expelling American diplomats.

Asked recently about the State Department’s plan to review consulates, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters said “there would be no reason for it because the consulates are very respectful of U.S. politics.”

Olivia Gazis contributed to this report.

‘This does not have to be a red state or blue state issue.’ Vance defends Fraud Czar role as admin. targets blue state fund

2026-05-14T18:09:36.255Z / CNN

By Dana Bash, CNN

Published 2:09 PM EDT, Thu May 14, 2026

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/14/politics/video/inside-politics-vance-maine-panel

‘This does not have to be a red state or blue state issue.’ Vance defends Fraud Czar role as admin. targets blue state fund

Inside Politics

The Inside Politics panel takes a look a Vice President Vance’s new role as ‘Fraud Czar’ and what it could mean for his future electoral prospects. Vance travels to Senate-battleground Maine to tout the administration’s focus on fraud. Those efforts have largely targeted blue states and resulted in billions of dollars in frozen federal funds.

6:07 • Source: CNN

China’s Iran ties complicate Trump-Xi summit as tensions test US leverage

May 14, 2026 12:00pm EDT / Fox News

China purchases roughly 90% of Iran’s exported oil, making Beijing Tehran’s primary economic lifeline

By Morgan Phillips Fox News

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President Donald Trump said Tuesday he expects to have a “long talk” with Chinese President Xi Jinping about Iran this week, an issue now looming over a summit that was originally expected to focus heavily on trade, technology and Taiwan.

“It was a fantastic day,” Trump said Thursday during a state banquet of his welcome to China and his initial round of meetings. “And in particular, I want to thank President Xi, my friend, for this magnificent welcome … and for so graciously hosting us on this very historic state visit. We had positive and productive conversations and meetings today with the Chinese delegation earlier. And this evening is another cherished opportunity to discuss among friends some of the things that we discussed today.”

Instead of arriving in Beijing with the Middle East conflict behind him, Trump faces the added challenge of confronting Xi over China’s ties to Tehran while trying to preserve leverage in one of the world’s most consequential relationships.

China’s role as a top buyer of Iranian oil has long frustrated U.S. officials. But with Trump now trying to choke off Tehran’s economic lifeline, Beijing’s support for Iran is no longer a side issue.

TRUMP DELAYS XI MEETING AS IRAN CONFLICT LETS US STRONG-ARM CHINA’S OIL SUPPLY

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan welcome U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump at the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, in Beijing on Nov. 8, 2017.(Xie Huanchi/Xinhua)

Ahead of the summit, Trump also appeared to downplay the extent to which Iran would dominate the talks, telling reporters before departing for Beijing that “we have a lot of things to discuss” and adding, “I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control.”

China purchases roughly 90% of Iran’s exported oil, making Beijing Tehran’s primary economic lifeline — though Iranian crude accounts for only about 13% to 15% of China’s total oil imports.

The Trump administration has ramped up pressure by imposing secondary sanctions on Chinese refiners processing Iranian oil — a move that threatens to cut those firms off from the U.S. financial system and underscores how the Iran conflict is increasingly colliding with the broader U.S.-China relationship.

During the first bilateral meeting between Trump and Xi Thursday morning, the Chinese president expressed interest in buying more American energy.

“The two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy,” a White House official said in a readout of the meeting.

“President Xi also made clear China’s opposition to the militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and he expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait in the future,” the official continued. “Both countries agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”

Beijing, in turn, ordered Chinese companies not to comply with those sanctions, a far more direct confrontation with Washington than China has typically embraced in past disputes, where it has often quietly worked around U.S. pressure.

Even as Beijing publicly urged firms to ignore the U.S. sanctions, Chinese regulators quietly instructed major banks to suspend new lending to several sanctioned refineries, according to a Bloomberg report, a sign Beijing was trying to shield its financial system from exposure to U.S. secondary sanctions rather than openly escalate the standoff.

Trump said he expects to have a “long talk” with Chinese President Xi Jinping about Iran this week, an issue now looming over a summit that was originally expected to focus heavily on trade, technology and Taiwan.(Matt Rourke/AP)

TRUMP TARGETS IRANIAN OIL WITH SANCTIONS, INCREASING PRESSURE ON ISLAMIC REPUBLIC TO MAKE DEAL ON NUKES

Elaine Dezenski, who heads the Center on Economic and Financial Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the Iran conflict is “quietly changing China’s strategic calculus.”

“Thus far, China has weathered the economic disruption of the Iran conflict reasonably well,” Dezenski said during an FDD media briefing previewing the summit. But she noted Beijing has been forced to draw on strategic oil and gas reserves originally intended for a potential Taiwan contingency.

The dynamic has fueled debate in Washington over whether the Iran conflict ultimately weakens Trump’s hand with Beijing by pulling U.S. resources back toward the Middle East — or whether it instead highlights China’s own vulnerabilities.

Craig Singleton, senior director of FDD’s China Program, argued Beijing has little interest in allowing the conflict to spiral further.

“China does not want a wider Middle East war,” Singleton said. “It does not want sustained energy disruption.”

Even if China is better positioned than many countries to absorb short-term shocks, Singleton argued Beijing ultimately wants the Strait of Hormuz reopened because “China’s export economy depends on predictable energy, transport and insurance conditions.”

But the Trump administration’s campaign against Iran is increasingly running through Chinese interests — transforming what had been a regional conflict into a direct point of friction between the world’s two largest powers.

“President Trump, when you go to China, realize that the person you’re talking to is propping up Russia and Iran,” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, adding that “of all the countries on the planet, China could have the most influence of ending this war if they chose to.”

U.S. officials have also accused Chinese and Hong Kong-based entities of helping Iran procure materials tied to its missile and drone programs, further deepening tensions between Washington and Beijing over Tehran.

“China always acts prudently and responsibly on the export of military products, and exercises strict control in accordance with China’s laws and regulations on export control and due international obligations,” Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Fox News Digital. “China opposes groundless smear and ill-intentioned association. Regarding the situation in Iran, China has repeatedly articulated its solemn position. The pressing priority is to make every effort to prevent by all means a relapse in fighting, rather than exploiting the conflict to maliciously smear other nations.”

A container ship sits at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, as a motorboat passes in the foreground on May 2, 2026.(Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

Analysts say Trump is unlikely to secure a dramatic breakthrough from Beijing on Iran, but could push Xi to quietly pressure Tehran to avoid further disruptions to global energy markets.

Chinese cooperation could come with expectations of concessions elsewhere in the U.S.-China relationship, even if Beijing’s actual influence over Tehran is limited.

Other experts cautioned against overestimating Beijing’s ability — or willingness — to deliver Iran.

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“I would be very careful about making concessions … for some kind of promise that they’re going to whisper in the ears of their friends in Iran,” said Sarah Cook, a senior fellow at CEPA.

Despite China’s economic importance to Iran, experts note Tehran’s decision-making is driven heavily by ideology and regime survival — factors Beijing cannot fully control.

Judge to weigh Democrats’ bid to block Trump’s executive order on voting

2026-05-14 16:01:43 UTC / Reuters

By Jan Wolfe

May 14, 2026 4:01 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a maternal health event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 11, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein Purchase Licensing Rights

WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order tightening rules on mail‑in voting faces its first major court test on Thursday ​when a federal judge will hear arguments by Democratic Party ‌lawyers that it is unconstitutional and would disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.

A court hearing in Washington is set for 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) in a lawsuit brought by Democratic ​Party leaders seeking to block the March 31 executive order.

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The case ​was brought by plaintiffs including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, ⁠House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and the Democratic National Committee.

The litigation has ​been assigned to U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, who ​is likely to issue a written decision at a later date.

Trump, a Republican, has for years pushed the false claim that his 2020 election defeat was the result ​of widespread voter fraud and has called for tighter rules on voting ​by mail ahead of the November midterm elections, when his party will be trying ‌to ⁠defend its narrow majorities in Congress.

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His executive order directs his administration to compile a list of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state and to use federal data to help state election officials verify ​who is eligible to ​vote.

It also ⁠requires the U.S. Postal Service to only deliver ballots to voters on each state’s approved mail-in ballot list. States ​must also preserve election-related records for five years.

The case ​being ⁠argued on Thursday has been consolidated with two other lawsuits challenging Trump’s executive order brought by voting rights groups.

A similar lawsuit brought by a coalition ⁠of Democratic ​state attorneys is pending before a federal ​judge in Boston.

The Justice Department has argued that the lawsuits are “premature” because federal agencies have ​not yet implemented Trump’s executive order.

Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Andrea Ricci

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

CENTCOM chief tells senators Iran’s hold on Strait of Hormuz has weakened, but threats remain

May 14, 2026 / 2:14 PM EDT / CBS News

By Eleanor Watson

Eleanor Watson is a CBS News multi-platform reporter and producer covering the Pentagon.

Read Full Bio

Washington— The head of U.S. forces in the Middle East told senators that the bombing campaign against Iran, named Operation Epic Fury, achieved all of its objectives to “significantly degrade” the country’s military capabilities, even as Tehran continues to claim control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Admiral Brad Cooper of U.S. Central Command told the Senate Armed Services Committee that U.S. forces have destroyed more than 90% of Iran’s inventory of 8,000 naval mines to prevent their deployment in the strait. But he acknowledged Iran still maintains some capabilities to threaten ships.

“The Iranian ability to stop commerce has been dramatically degraded through the straits, but their voice is very loud, and those threats are clearly heard by the merchant industry and the insurance industry,” Cooper said Thursday.

In response to questions from senators of both parties, Cooper said the U.S. has options to reopen the Strait of Hormuz militarily but said that is a decision for policymakers, acknowledging that the crucial waterway is at the center of ongoing negotiations aimed at a long-term peace deal.

Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, testifies at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on May 14, 2026. Win McNamee / Getty Images

When asked how long the conflict is expected to continue, Cooper pointed out the ceasefire reached on April 7 remains in effect, despite the ongoing U.S. Navy’s blockade of Iranian ports and exchanges of fire last week. The administration has told Congress that “hostilities” with Iran have “terminated.”

In his written testimony, Cooper said Operation Epic Fury had damaged or destroyed more than 85% of Iran’s ballistic missile, drone and naval industrial base through more than 1,450 strikes on weapons-manufacturing facilities. He told senators that it would take Iran “a generation” to rebuild its navy and years for its drone and missile production to recover.

He said recent reporting that Iran retains about 70% of its ballistic missile inventory is inaccurate, but declined to get into specifics because details are classified. CBS News reported in April that Iran retained at least half of its ballistic missiles and launchers.

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Cooper said that between November and December 2025, U.S. Central Command started “to see an increase in Iran’s capability and intent” to produce more ballistic missiles. He said this presented “a very significant risk” that factored into the objectives of Operation Epic Fury.

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia noted that the Senate Armed Services Committee has not seen the opinion produced by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel that justified the president’s authority to launch strikes against Iran.

“We’re being asked to fund a $1.5 trillion budget, but our request of the DOJ to see the OLC opinion justifying this war — they have refused to allow members of the Armed Services Committee to see it,” Kaine said. “If they will not allow us to see the legal rationale for the war, what are they hiding?”

GOP Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the panel’s chairman, noted that Cooper would not be the person to provide that opinion since he is not a policymaker.

Cooper deflected questions from Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan on whether China and Russia are giving intelligence to Iran, saying they should discuss the matter in a classified setting.

Cooper said the military’s investigation into a strike that hit an Iranian girls’ school at the beginning of the bombing campaign, killing about 150 people, is still ongoing. CBS News reported in early March that a preliminary U.S. assessment suggested that the U.S. was “likely” responsible for the deadly attack but did not intentionally target the school and may have hit it in error.

The admiral told senators he was “passionate” about preventing civilian harm and invited them to Central Command’s headquarters in Tampa to see how the command’s targeting works.

Cooper was also asked about a report in the New York Times in April that said 22 schools had been hit since the start of the conflict. He said there was no indication the report was accurate, but when pressed by Democratic Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, he said the military has not investigated those incidents. He said he would work on a report on whether hospitals or schools had been destroyed in U.S. military strikes.

By Priscilla Alvarez, Michael Williams

Updated May 14, 2026, 1:44 PM ET

PUBLISHED May 14, 2026, 12:37 PM ET

US Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks attends a roundtable discussion with local ranchers and employees from US Customs and Border Protection, in Brownsville, Texas, on January 7, 2026.

Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images/File

US Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks told CNN Thursday he was stepping down from his post, effective immediately, marking the latest senior immigration official to leave the Department of Homeland Security since Secretary Markwayne Mullin stepped into the top job.

In a statement, Banks said he was “proud” of his time at Border Patrol and was leaving the job now with “the most secure border” in the nation’s history.

“After almost 37 years of public service now is my time to enjoy family and life,” he said.

Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, whose agency includes Border Patrol, thanked Banks in a statement for “his decades of service to this country.”

Banks was s a long time Border Patrol agent who previously served as Texas’ border czar.

In that post, he worked as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s adviser during Operation Lone Star, the state’s response to what Texas officials described as a border crisis under President Joe Biden’s administration.

That operation, and Banks’ role in it, won praise from President Donald Trump, who appointed Banks as the top Border Patrol official in January 2025.

During Banks’ tenure, a subordinate Border Patrol official, Gregory Bovino, took the helm of the administration’s immigration crackdown in the interior of the United States, with the approval of then-Secretary Kristi Noem. Bovino’s aggressive style put him at odds with some agents in the federal agency.

Banks’ departure marks the third high-profile turnover within the Department of Homeland Security in two months.

Trump fired the agency’s secretary, Kristi Noem, in March following months of controversies surrounding federal spending on exorbitant advertising campaigns under her tenure, along with the fatal shootings of two US citizens by federal officers in Minneapolis earlier this year.

Mullin was later tapped to replace Noem and has since assumed the post of head of DHS, which is the department at the center of Trump’s immigration agenda.

Last month, acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons announced he was stepping away from his position, citing a desire to spend more time with his family. His last day will be May 31.

DHS said David Venturella, a longtime immigration official and former private prison firm executive, will replace Lyons.

This article has been updated with additional developments.

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Trump’s ‘financial situation’ gaffe underscores his Iran war problem

May 14, 2026, 3:38 PM ET / CNN

Analysis by Aaron Blake

Donald Trump The Middle East

President Donald Trump faces members of the press as he boards Air Force One for a trip to China, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on May 12.

Evan Vucci/Reuters

President Donald Trump has governed throughout his second term like a man who wields unconstrained power. It tends to prompt frustrations for him later when the approach runs headlong into reality.

His gaffe this week, when he said he didn’t consider Americans’ finances while trying to resolve the Iran war, epitomizes the problem.

When asked Tuesday how much Americans’ economic concerns were motivating his push for a peace deal, Trump responded: “Not even a little bit.”

“The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran [is] they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.”

Trump is no stranger to dismissive comments about the economic plight of everyday Americans. But this suggested he just didn’t care — as if it wasn’t even on his radar.

That risks sounding particularly tone-deaf given how bad the president’s economic numbers are and how much Americans already perceive him to be neglecting the issue.

Predictably, Republicans quickly tried to explain away Trump’s comments.

While retiring Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina told CNN that Trump’s comments were “concerning,” others have sought to downplay them.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told CNN that it was “just a sort of a throwaway line.” Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming declined to comment to a MeidasTouch reporter, “mostly because I think he actually does care.”

Others like House Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas fell back on the idea that the “context” of Trump’s comment might not be so bad. Nehls also encouraged people to “relax.”

And then there was Vice President JD Vance. He claimed Wednesday that Trump’s comments had been misrepresented. But he also sounded a much more conciliatory, feel-your-pain note on the economy than Trump did.

He said twice that the administration cares about Americans’ finances. He swore three times that it was focused on the issue. He also acknowledged “we have a lot of work to do” on delivering prosperity and acknowledged “the inflation number last month was not great.”

Vice President JD Vance speaks during a press conference on anti-fraud initiatives at the Eisenhower Executive Office building in Washington, DC, on May 13.

Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

It was the kind of nuanced response that plenty in Trump’s political operation probably wish the president himself had delivered.

But, of course, this is Trump.

There is a plausible explanation for his dismissiveness toward the financial impacts of the war: that he’d simply like to pretend they don’t exist.

The financial effects are, after all, the main constraint on him holding out for a peace deal with Iran that meets all his demands. Higher gas prices especially are the primary cost of the war that Americans are feeling, especially given the US military strategy has kept casualties low on its side.

And crucially, those domestic repercussions are something that his foe, the Iranian government, doesn’t have to worry about as much. While the war and the US blockade on the Strait of Hormuz are unquestionably causing more damage to Iran’s economy than the United States’, the authoritarian government in Tehran simply isn’t as responsive to complaints of its citizens.

That, like many aspects of this conflict, creates a kind of asymmetric warfare where the opposition has a much larger built-in pain tolerance — and more leverage because of it.

There’s even a valid argument that this is the kind of thing Trump should be telegraphing to Iran. By saying that he’s not considering Americans’ economic pain, he’s signaling that he’s not overly anxious to cut a deal to end the war. In short, that he’ll hold out for his demands.

(Of course, there are already myriad other data points to suggest Trump is actually quite anxious for a deal to bring the war to an end.)

But by speaking dismissively about Americans’ finances, Trump could actually be hurting his leverage.

The war is already unpopular, and Trump’s approval rating on the economy keeps dropping. To the extent his dismissiveness exacerbates both, it could increase the pressure on the US president to get out of the war. Not to mention, if the war drags on past the midterms and Democrats gain control of the House, Trump will have to deal with a less cooperative Congress.

And there is reason to believe his comments could hurt Republicans come November. Polls, after all, show Americans writ large simply don’t see the point of the war and don’t view it as worth the economic costs. Another shows three-quarters of them think Trump hasn’t paid enough attention to Americans’ cost of living.

And no issue looms larger over this election — and most elections — like the economy.

There was an easy way for Trump to prevent this, though: Build the case for the war ahead of time. Lay out discreet and consistent goals and make sure the American people were bought-in and ready to sacrifice personally for the greater good.

But Trump didn’t even try to make that case.

He instead launched the war suddenly and then spent weeks backfilling the justifications for what he had just done.

It was almost like he didn’t even think he had to explain himself to the American people and do the legwork to build support — as if that were an unnecessary nuisance.

That sensibility existed on Day One of his second term and the day the Iran war began, and it persists to this day.

And it’s still doing him and the Republican Party no favors.

Why are so many U.S. CEOs in China with Trump, and what do they want?

May 14, 2026 / 3:02 PM EDT / CBS News

By Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping told U.S. CEOs traveling with President Trump to China that it will open further to American business, a key goal for corporate leaders eager to expand their presence in the world’s second-largest economy.

Xi spoke with the delegation of chief executives, which includes Apple CEO Tim Cook, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, according to a statement on Thursday from the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The executives — whose combined net worth approaches $1 trillion — lead companies with major interests in China, despite years of trade disputes between the world’s two largest economies.

China’s pledge to welcome more foreign business comes after years of escalating trade tensions with the U.S., including the Trump administration’s move last year to raise tariffs on Chinese imports to as much as 125% after Mr. Trump said China “was taking us for a ride.”

Yet U.S. companies continue to see China’s expanding middle class and massive consumer base as critical growth markets, even as it has become harder to wring profits from financially struggling consumers in the U.S. and other developed economies.

The White House said that several American business leaders participated in a portion of a broader meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials.

“The two sides discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation between countries, including expanding market access for American businesses into China and increasing Chinese investment,” a White House official said in a readout of the meeting.

The CEOs accompanying Mr. Trump include:

• Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm

• Tim Cook, CEO of Apple

• Lawrence Culp Jr., CEO of GE Aerospace

• Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock

• Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup

• Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia

• Ryan McInerney, CEO of Visa
• Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron Technology

• Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard
• Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX

• Kelly Ortberg, CEO of Boeing

• Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone

• Brian Sikes, CEO of Cargill

• David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs

• Jacob Thaysen, CEO of Illumina

Conciliatory measures

Based on the CEOs attending the talks, China could take several steps to ease economic tensions with the U.S., according to analysts with Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy.

“We continue to expect the two sides to announce increased trade and tariff adjustments in non-sensitive sectors, including Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural products (including beef), Boeing aircraft and energy,” they said in a report.

China could also ease restrictions on foreign financial services firms, lower antitrust barriers or, for Tesla, give the electric car maker the green light to roll out fully autonomous driving, according to Eurasia Group.

The trip is already paying dividends for some of the CEOs accompanying Mr. Trump, including Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg. On Thursday, the president told Fox News host Sean Hannity that China had agreed to buy 200 Boeing 737 Max jets, up from an earlier deal for 50 aircraft.

Mr. Trump said that Xi has also agreed to buy more soybeans, a boon for U.S. farmers who have been hurt by China’s retaliatory decision a year ago to halt purchases of the key agricultural export.

Historical precedent

There is ample historical precedent for business leaders accompanying U.S. presidents on high-stakes overseas trips or trade missions.

During President Obama’s 2015 visit to India, for example, dozens of U.S. CEOs attended a summit to expand bilateral trade and investment. In 2000, President Bill Clinton brought leading U.S. executives to India, including representatives from General Motors, IBM, and Microsoft.

When Mr. Trump visited China in 2017, he was joined by the leaders of major U.S. banks, energy companies and technology firms.

“It’s not unusual for CEOs to travel with the president, and I think it speaks to the fact that the Chinese-U.S. relationship is highly dependent on the countries’ business relationship,” Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi told CBS News. “We are the two largest economies on the planet, and how we interact with each other largely determines how our economies and the global economy are going to perform.”

The presence of top executives alone could help “open up the lines of communication” between U.S. companies and Chinese officials and business leaders, he added.

“I don’t think there is a very high bar here for success,” Zandi said. “They just have to come away thinking they now have a channel to communicate quickly and they can trust each other.”

Chips and AI

For the U.S. CEOs accompanying Mr. Trump, the broader goals include bolstering sales to Chinese consumers and businesses, as well as ensuring their companies are positioned to win key manufacturing and trade agreements.

Apple, for instance, is the largest smartphone brand in China, although it faces intense competition from local rivals such as Huawei and Xiaomi. The Cupertino, California-based company also relies on Chinese partners such as Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, to produce the bulk of its products, which are shipped across the globe.

Semiconductor giant Nvidia is seeking broader access to China’s AI market as U.S. export controls threaten sales of its advanced chips, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said in a report. Such access comes as Chinese firms are racing to develop domestic alternatives.

“What is at stake is not just one trip or one headline but the direction of AI supply chains, the shape of future export controls and the degree to which US chip leadership remains monetizable in China,” Ives said.

Financial products

A number of major U.S. financial companies are also represented on the trade trip, including BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser.

BlackRock is seeking broader access to China’s fast-growing wealth and retirement markets while navigating increasing political scrutiny in both Washington and Beijing. Citigroup, meanwhile, wants broader access to China’s financial markets, partly to help its clients engage in cross-border transactions.

“We have had huge interest and a large number of investors and companies coming to China to understand what’s happening here, as well as the Chinese companies and investors that are looking much more externally now,” Fraser told Bloomberg News last year.

Also among the executives in China with U.S. officials is Jacob Thaysen, the only biotech industry representative on the trip. Thaysen told Bloomberg last year that export restrictions have hurt Illumina’s sales of DNA-sequencing technology in China.

“We want to be a part of China,” Thaysen said, according to the news service.

Edited by Alain Sherter

Tech CEOs in China with Trump
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/tech-ceos-in-china-with-trump-make-cases-for-more-economic-partnerships/

Tech CEOs in China with Trump make cases for more economic partnerships

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