BREAKING: Trump's terrible day and his own party did it

Good evening, this is Really American. It is Wednesday, June 3rd — and it was a stunning day of Republican rebukes against Donald Trump. We love to see that.

In a historic first, the House of Representatives voted to block Trump from ordering further strikes on Iran — the first time either chamber has passed such a measure since the war began more than three months ago, with four Republicans breaking ranks to vote with Democrats. Senate Republicans separately pulled the $1 billion in taxpayer funding Trump wanted for his White House ballroom project — a second major rebuke in a single day. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was confronted on live television with video of Trump apparently sleeping at a Cabinet meeting while Rubio was praising him — and denied it was happening until the tape was rolled. And a Guardian investigation found that Ben Black — the Trump appointee now running a $205 billion US government investment agency — had documented personal ties to Jeffrey Epstein, including shared investments, social interactions, and Epstein helping a woman compose messages to him.

Before we get to the news — Really American reaches 8 million followers and 750 million views a month. No billionaire. No corporate backer. Just people who decided the truth was worth fighting for. That is you. That is what you have already built with us. If just a fraction of our readers became paid subscribers today, we could expand our coverage, grow our team, and go even harder on the stories the corporate press is too compromised to touch. We are almost at 2,000 subscribers. That milestone belongs to this community — and we would love for it to be you who gets us there. If you haven’t already joined as a paid subscriber, please consider clicking here to support Really American and help us keep growing. And if you’re already a Really American subscriber, thank you for backing independent pro-democracy media. Subscribe or upgrade right now.

IN A HISTORIC FIRST, THE HOUSE VOTED TO BLOCK TRUMP FROM ORDERING FURTHER STRIKES ON IRAN.

The House of Representatives passed a war powers resolution Wednesday to block President Trump from ordering further strikes on Iran — the first time either chamber has passed such a measure on a final vote since the war began on February 28th, in a significant congressional rebuke of a conflict that 64 percent of Americans say Trump made the wrong decision to start.

The vote was 215 to 208, with four Republicans breaking ranks to join Democrats: Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Tom Barrett of Michigan, Warren Davidson of Ohio, and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. The passage marks a turning point in congressional willingness to challenge Trump directly on the war — a conflict now in its 96th day with no deal signed, the Strait of Hormuz still effectively closed, and gas prices still up 37 percent from a year ago.

“Trapped in a war that won’t end because an incompetent president launched it thinking of only ego while failing to prepare for the consequences,” said Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Diplomacy is the way from this, not more bombing, not more bluster.”

The resolution faces significant hurdles before it could force Trump to end hostilities. It would still need to pass the Senate — where a similar resolution advanced on a procedural vote last month — and Trump would almost certainly veto it, requiring a two-thirds override vote in both chambers that no war powers resolution has ever achieved. Rubio testified Wednesday that passing the resolution would make Iranian negotiators think “the president will not be able to come after us so he no longer has leverage.”

But the vote happened. Four Republicans said no to Trump’s war. The House passed a war powers resolution for the first time since the conflict began. The walls are closing in.

ANOTHER BLOW TO TRUMP — SENATE REPUBLICANS PULLED THE $1 BILLION BALLROOM FUNDING. TRUMP’S VANITY PROJECT JUST LOST ITS MONEY.

Senate Republicans formally abandoned their effort to include $1 billion in taxpayer funding for Trump’s White House ballroom project in the immigration enforcement legislation Wednesday — dealing the president a second major rebuke in a single day and leaving the future financing of his signature vanity project deeply uncertain.

The ballroom funding had been wrapped into the broader $70 billion package for ICE and Border Patrol — a bill Trump has demanded Congress pass for months. Senate Republicans pulled the provision after a ruling by the Senate parliamentarian complicated its passage under budget reconciliation rules, which would have required 60 votes and allowed Democrats to filibuster.

The White House insisted the decision was driven by parliamentary procedure rather than political pressure. Critics noted that Republicans had made a deliberate choice to remove the provision — and that the parliamentarian’s ruling had been reported weeks earlier.

Trump originally promised the ballroom would be privately financed. It was not. He then revealed last month that the ballroom is actually a facade for a six-story underground military fortress with a hospital, classified meeting rooms, and top-secret research facilities. “We went down six stories. It’s actually far more complex,” Trump said.

Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania — one of the few House Republicans willing to push back — said it plainly last month: “Many people in my community are stressing over the kitchen table this morning, figuring out how to make their weekly budget work. We shouldn’t be talking about ballrooms. That’s not what our country wants us to be talking about.”

The ballroom lost its billion dollars. The slush fund is dead. The Kennedy Center name was ordered removed. The Iran war powers resolution passed. Trump’s own party is saying no on multiple fronts in a single day.

RUBIO WAS SHOWN VIDEO OF TRUMP SLEEPING WHILE RUBIO WAS PRAISING HIM. IT HAPPENED ON LIVE TELEVISION IN CONGRESS.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was confronted Wednesday with video footage of President Trump apparently dozing off at a Cabinet meeting — while Rubio was in the middle of praising Trump’s leadership on Iran — during his second day of congressional testimony, in what may be the most awkward moment of Rubio’s tenure as the administration’s top diplomat.

Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu asked Rubio whether he had been at “more than one meeting where President Trump has fallen asleep.”

Rubio insisted he had never seen such a thing. “That’s false. That’s false. I’ve never seen him fall asleep,” Rubio said. “On the contrary, the guy doesn’t sleep, which is a big problem, because he calls me at 2 in the morning, he calls me at 5 in the morning.”

Lieu told him: “I’m going to show you in a moment a video that shows you just lied to Congress.”

The committee then played footage from a Cabinet meeting last month showing Trump with his eyes closed for an extended period — while Rubio was giving a monologue comparing Trump to Washington and Lincoln and praising his leadership on the Iran war. “You are literally talking about issues of war and peace, and Donald Trump is sleeping right next to you,” Lieu said. “Now, if Donald Trump cannot stay awake at these important meetings where the cameras are rolling, imagine what he’s like when the cameras are not there.”

Rubio called the exchange “a joke” and insisted the hearing was supposed to be about his department’s priorities. Trump has now been absent from public view for eight days. His medical report was released at 11:36pm on a Friday night. A pre-recorded interview showed new swelling under his eye. Mehmet Oz said Trump gets tested “every single day” because he likes the results. Rubio was shown the tape. On live television. In Congress. While testifying about the war Trump may have been sleeping through.

A GUARDIAN INVESTIGATION FOUND TRUMP’S APPOINTEE RUNNING A $205 BILLION GOVERNMENT AGENCY HAD PERSONAL TIES TO EPSTEIN.

A Guardian investigation published Wednesday found that Ben Black — the Trump appointee now running the Development Finance Corporation, the US government’s largest overseas investment arm with a $205 billion lending cap — had documented personal ties to Jeffrey Epstein spanning several years, including shared investments, social interactions arranged by Epstein’s staff, and Epstein helping a woman compose messages to Black after the two had a date.

Black’s father, Leon Black, was Epstein’s highest-paying client by a wide margin, paying the convicted sex trafficker $170 million for what he described as estate and tax-planning services. The Guardian’s review of more than 5,000 records from Epstein’s private correspondence found that Ben Black invested in the same company as Epstein in 2011, that Epstein told a friend he attended Ben Black’s 30th birthday party in the Hamptons, that Epstein advised Black on the purchase of an $11.5 million townhouse, and that a woman in Epstein’s network asked Epstein for help responding to Black’s text messages — then emailed Epstein the morning after their date to say they had kissed.

Black’s lawyers denied he had any personal or professional relationship with Epstein. They called Epstein “prone to exaggeration, lies, and embellishments.” DFC staff told the Guardian they raised concerns about Black’s background when Trump selected him — and that morale collapsed further when Epstein emails referencing Black became public. “This is such a joke,” one former staff member recalled colleagues saying. Now, the source said, “everybody’s just looking for jobs.”

Trump has appointed at least three other men with known ties to Epstein to federal office, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who admitted traveling to Epstein’s private island. Lutnick sits on the DFC’s board of directors alongside Black.

Ben Black has no demonstrated experience running an international development finance agency. His only apparent qualifications are his father’s ties to Trump and his father’s ties to Epstein. He now controls $205 billion in US government investment authority. Trump appointed at least four people with Epstein ties to federal office. The files keep coming.

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HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP TODAY

The House blocked Trump’s Iran war for the first time. Republicans pulled his ballroom funding. Rubio was shown Trump sleeping on live television. A Trump appointee running a $205 billion government agency had personal ties to Epstein. These are the stories that legacy media is barely covering. Really American will not look away.

Really American reaches 8 million followers and 750 million views a month. No billionaire. No corporate backer. Just people who decided the truth was worth fighting for. That is you. That is what you have already built with us. If just a fraction of our readers became paid subscribers today, we could expand our coverage, grow our team, and go even harder on the stories the corporate press is too compromised to touch. We are almost at 2,000 paid subscribers. That milestone belongs to this community — and we would love for it to be you who gets us there. If you haven’t already joined as a paid subscriber, please consider clicking here to support Really American and stand up to oligarch media. And if you’re already a Really American subscriber, thank you for backing independent pro-democracy media. Subscribe or upgrade right now.

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