WTF Just Happened Today

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

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1/ Trump said he believes climate change "goes both ways," claimed the U.S. has one of "the cleanest climates," and blamed China, India, and Russia for polluting the environment. Trump's comments came after a 90-minute meeting with Prince Charles on the subject. While Trump remains unconvinced that the climate is warming, he said he agrees with Charles that he wants the U.S. to have "good climate, as opposed to a disaster." The United States is the world's second-largest emitter of carbon dioxide emissions, which rose an estimated 3.4% in 2018. (BBC / The Guardian / Washington Post)

2/ Trump claimed that he is "making up" for not serving in the Vietnam War by proposing to increase the Pentagon's budget to around $750 billion in 2020. Despite avoiding service through student deferments and a medical disqualification for bone spurs, Trump claimed he "would have not have minded that at all. I would have been honored" to serve. (Washington Post)

• Trump erroneously claimed that he reinstituted a ban on most transgender people from serving in the military because some of them take prescription medicine. Trump said that when "you're in the military, you're not allowed to take any drugs." The military, however, doesn't prohibit service members from taking prescription medicines. (Bloomberg / Washington Post)

3/ A bipartisan group of senators will try to block the Trump administration's use of emergency authority to sell arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Senators will try to force 22 votes aimed at rebuking the Trump administration's May decision to invoke an emergency provision in the Arms Export Control Act in order to push through $8 billion worth of arms sales to the Saudis, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Congress had been blocking the sale since last year. (Associated Press / Politico / USA Today / New York Times)

4/ The House passed the DREAM and Promise Act of 2019, which would give millions of young undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship. The measure passed with a vote of 327 to 187, and it now heads to the Senate, where it is unlikely to be considered. The White House has also threatened to veto the measure if it makes it to Trump's desk. Seven Republicans voted in favor of the measure, and no Democrats voted against it. (CBS News / New York Times /