Today’s edition of quick hits.

* Quite a day on Capitol Hill, Part I: “Todd Blanche faced tough questions today from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who excoriated Blanche over his handling of President Donald Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund.”

* Quite a day on Capitol Hill, Part II: “Jay Clayton, Trump’s nominee to replace Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, also faced an intense grilling today by members of the Senate Intelligence Committee to replace Bill Pulte. Clayton defended subpoenas he issued to several New York Times journalists last week. He would not answer when asked who won the 2020 presidential election, but he said he was ‘not an election denier.’”

* Quite a day on Capitol Hill, Part III: “Despite being regarded as more measured than Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., [Erica Schwartz, who has been nominated to lead the CDC] said she is ‘all in’ on the ‘Make America Health Again’ agenda.”

* The ongoing war: “The United States attacked new Iranian military sites on Wednesday in the fifth consecutive day of strikes between the two countries, with neither side showing a willingness to back down as the war entered a new phase focused on the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. strikes, which the Pentagon said targeted Iran’s ability to threaten vessels in the strait, followed Iranian attacks on American military facilities in the region.”

* The latest in a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement incidents that have resulted in a fatality: “A 28-year-old Mexican man died in an apparent traffic accident Tuesday morning following an encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations agents in St. Augustine, marking the third death involving ICE in a week. The man ran away from agents and was hit by a truck, Florida Highway Patrol Master Sergeant Dylan Bryan told the Miami Herald.”

* Passing this year’s National Defense Authorization Act will not be easy: “Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked the annual defense policy bill, registering their discontent about President Trump’s handling of the war in Iran just days after the administration formally notified Congress that U.S. military operations had resumed. The vote reflected how the National Defense Authorization Act, sprawling legislation that outlines pay for American troops and almost always advances with broad bipartisan support, has become the latest political battleground over the war in Iran, which Mr. Trump undertook without congressional authorization.”

* Senate passage of the daylight saving time bill is by no means assured, either: “Roughly a half-century after Americans abandoned year-round daylight saving time in what became a political fiasco, House Republicans voted to try it again. The House passed a bill Tuesday to make daylight saving time permanent, 308-117, fulfilling a legislative priority for President Donald Trump and reviving a failed experiment from the 1970s.”

* Does no one ever brief him on the basics, or does he simply not listen to the briefings? “President Donald Trump repeatedly congratulated Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Kadhim al-Zaidi on Monday for his victory in a ‘highly competitive’ election during his first visit to the White House. In fact, though, the political newcomer was never on the ballot.”

I’m going to be away from my desk for the next couple of days, but I should be back to a normal publishing schedule on Monday, July 20. See you then.

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