President Donald Trump convened his full Cabinet at Camp David on Friday for the 13th Cabinet meeting of his second term, gathering top advisors at the Maryland presidential retreat as his administration grapples with a grinding Iran conflict, a Senate rebellion, and approval ratings that have hit the lowest point of his presidency.
The meeting, originally scheduled for May before being postponed due to weather, comes at a critical juncture. Iranian strikes have now hit Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, threatening to draw U.S. allies deeper into the conflict. Iran has shown no willingness to relinquish its demand for control of the Strait of Hormuz or make meaningful concessions on its nuclear program. Saudi Arabia announced this week it is assembling an international military coalition to protect commercial shipping through the region.
Among new faces at the table: Jay Clayton, incoming director of national intelligence, and Keith Sonderling, secretary of Labor.
The economic fallout from the war has been steep. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady this week as markets continued to swing on inflation fears tied to the conflict. A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday put Trump’s approval at 32 percent among registered voters, the lowest figure that pollster has recorded in either of his two terms. An Economist/YouGov survey released the same week found 34 percent of U.S. adults approve of his job performance, also a record low for that poll.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents in the Quinnipiac survey said the war has not been worth fighting. A majority said they blame Trump “a lot” for rising gas prices.
On Capitol Hill, Trump suffered a significant setback when Senate Republicans blocked his nomination of Todd Blanche for attorney general. Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, both of whom feuded with Trump, refused to provide the votes needed to advance the nomination. The pair belong to an informal bloc of outgoing Republican senators who have grown increasingly willing to defy the White House on key votes.
The president’s legislative agenda is also stalled. Republicans have rejected Trump’s push to pass an election security bill and have declined to cancel August recess to advance a reconciliation package that would deliver nearly $75 billion in Iran war funding and enact provisions from the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. Senate Republican leaders are now weighing a deal with Democrats to fund the government through December and delay those votes past the midterms.
Midterm elections are fewer than 100 days away. Democrats currently lead Republicans by 8 points in a generic congressional ballot, according to a recent poll. Trump heads to his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club following the Camp David meeting.
