U.S. commits $150 million for Venezuela earthquakes.
Today's events
Venezuela earthquakes.
The United States mobilized $150 million in aid — $50 million in new bilateral awards plus $100 million to a UN pooled fund — and deployed search-and-rescue teams and military airlift to Venezuela after deadly earthquakes.1Jun 25 · StateGulf summit on Iran.
Secretary of State Rubio met Gulf Cooperation Council ministers in Bahrain to coordinate implementing the U.S.–Iran memorandum; Washington rejected any Iranian toll for Strait of Hormuz transit and welcomed Oman's temporary maritime corridor.2Jun 25 · StateCongo mineral sanctions.
State and Treasury sanctioned two individuals and four entities — including Gasabo Gold Refinery and three Rwandan mining firms — for smuggling conflict minerals to fund the Rwanda-backed M23, enforcing the Trump-brokered Washington Accords.3Jun 25 · StateOffshore drilling cleared.
A federal court dismissed a challenge to offshore oil and gas activity in the Gulf of America after the Endangered Species Committee's first-ever national-security exemption cleared the program from the Endangered Species Act.4Jun 25 · DOJSilicon-carbide chips.
Commerce signed a $250 million CHIPS Act award with I-Pulse to develop silicon-carbide power semiconductors for extreme environments, taking a minority equity stake in the company.5Jun 25 · CommerceBank stress test.
The Federal Reserve's annual stress test found all 32 large banks would stay above minimum capital while absorbing more than $708 billion in losses in a severe-recession scenario.6Jun 24 · FedHuione Group.
Treasury's FinCEN proposed widening its money-laundering action against Huione Group — named a primary money-laundering concern — to cover affiliate H-Pay Service and any successor entities.7Jun 25 · TreasuryChina chemical duties.
Commerce issued an antidumping duty order on methylene diphenyl diisocyanate from China, a chemical used in foams and coatings, after finding it sold below fair value and injured U.S. producers.8Jun 25 · CommerceUzbekistan trade.
The U.S. and Uzbekistan announced an "early harvest" of trade commitments — Tashkent will cut tariffs on U.S. industrial and farm goods — and agreed to accelerate a reciprocal trade and investment agreement.9Jun 25 · USTR
Voices
“I know of no country on the planet that supports tolling or a fee for the use of the straits.”
Sec. of State Marco Rubio, Kuwait City · Jun 242
“M23 and its backers exploit the DRC's vast mineral resources — wealth that rightfully belongs to the Congolese people — to fund weapons, pay fighters, and sustain a destabilizing insurgency.”
State Dept. Spokesperson Tommy Pigott · Jun 253
“The Endangered Species Committee's exemption reflects a judgment at the highest levels of government that producing American energy in the Gulf of America is essential to our national security.”
Principal Deputy AAG Adam Gustafson, DOJ Environment Division · Jun 254
“With today's announced investment, the Trump Administration is strengthening America's capabilities and enhancing its national and energy security goals.”
Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick · Jun 255
“Despite absorbing more than $708 billion in total loan losses under this year's hypothetical scenario, capital declined only 1.6 percentage points in aggregate, staying above minimum capital requirements.”
Federal Reserve Board, 2026 stress-test results · Jun 246
“I-Pulse's high-power, high-frequency switches and packaging are engineered to withstand harsh shocks and temperatures, empowering critical industries to push past previous technical limits.”
Bill Frauenhofer, Commerce Semiconductor Investment & Innovation · Jun 255
This week
A $17.5 billion nuclear bet.
The Energy Department issued a $17.5 billion conditional loan commitment to rebuild America's nuclear supply chain, financing long-lead components for ten large AP1000 reactors and aiming to cut construction timelines by up to three years. It was the week's largest single energy commitment, part of a buildout that also saw a surplus-plutonium-to-fuel plan and a second advanced reactor reach criticality in Utah.2Jun 23 · DOEThe largest fraud takedown.
The Justice Department charged 455 defendants — including 90 doctors and other medical professionals — in connection with more than $6.5 billion in alleged health-care fraud, its largest such action. Regulators suspended 1,079 providers and agents seized $182 million in assets. The scale dwarfed any single enforcement item of the week.3Jun 23 · DOJA scam empire sanctioned.
State and Treasury sanctioned nine people and 26 entities tied to Cambodia's Prince Group, whose scam compounds defraud Americans, and moved to bar U.S. dollar accounts for the linked Huione money-laundering platform; the Justice Department seized Huione's servers. By June 25, FinCEN proposed widening the action to Huione's H-Pay affiliate and any successor entities — a sign the campaign is meant to outlast a single designation.4Jun 23–25 · StateQuantum and encryption orders.
Trump signed paired executive orders to build the first quantum computer powerful enough to drive scientific discovery (EO 14411) and to move federal systems onto post-quantum encryption against future code-breaking (EO 14409), followed by EO 14412 hardening U.S. systems against cryptographic attack. The orders treat computing power and unbreakable cryptography as national-security infrastructure.5Jun 22 · WHA $35 billion container cartel.
The Justice Department unsealed an antitrust indictment of four major shipping-container makers and seven Chinese executives for rigging prices across roughly $35 billion of global trade — a cartel that controls about 95% of the world's standard containers. It was a rare criminal antitrust case reaching the physical backbone of global shipping.6Jun 18 · DOJ
Allied Governments
UK–Ukraine energy.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced nearly £290 million for Ukraine's recovery at the Gdańsk conference, including a £210 million deal for Urenco to supply nuclear fuel to Energoatom.aJun 25 · UK FCDOFive-power defense.
France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the UK pledged in Berlin to accelerate joint European procurement of deep-precision-strike weapons and to back Ukraine, welcoming the U.S.–Iran memorandum ahead of the Ankara NATO summit.bJun 24 · UK No.10NATO burden-sharing.
NATO Secretary General Rutte told President Trump in Washington that Europe and Canada are on track to equalize defense spending with the U.S., citing over $1 trillion in extra outlays since 2016.cJun 25 · NATO
Sources
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Trump Administration Mobilizes Robust Response to Tragic Venezuelan Earthquakes,” June 25, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/venezuela-earthquake-response
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Secretary Rubio and Bahraini Foreign Minister Al Zayani at a Meeting With the Gulf Cooperation Council Member States,” June 25, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/rubio-gcc-bahrain
- U.S. Dept. of State, “United States Sanctions Networks Fueling Conflict and Mineral Theft in Eastern DRC,” June 25, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/drc-conflict-mineral-sanctions
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Court Clears Way for Energy Development in Gulf of America,” June 25, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/gulf-of-america-energy
- U.S. Dept. of Commerce / NIST, “Department of Commerce Announces Definitive Agreement with I-Pulse for a $250 Million CHIPS R&D Award,” June 25, 2026. nist.gov/news-events/…/i-pulse-chips-award
- Federal Reserve, “Annual Bank Stress Test Confirms Large Banks Well Positioned to Weather a Severe Recession,” June 24, 2026. federalreserve.gov/…/2026-stress-test
- U.S. Dept. of the Treasury / FinCEN, “Definition of Huione Group, a Financial Institution of Primary Money Laundering Concern” (NPRM), June 25, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/huione-group-fincen
- U.S. Dept. of Commerce, “Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate From the People's Republic of China: Antidumping Duty Order,” June 25, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/mdi-china-antidumping
- USTR, “The United States and Uzbekistan Announce Early Harvest on Trade,” June 25, 2026. ustr.gov/…/uzbekistan-early-harvest
- UK Foreign Office (FCDO), “Foreign Secretary Announces Nearly £290 Million to Strengthen Ukraine's Recovery and Energy Security,” June 25, 2026. gov.uk/government/news/…/ukraine-recovery-energy
- UK Prime Minister's Office (No.10), “E5 Leaders' Statement: 24 June 2026,” June 24, 2026. gov.uk/government/news/…/e5-leaders-statement
- NATO News, “Secretary General Meets President Trump in Washington: ‘Europe is Stepping Up,’” June 25, 2026. nato.int/…/sg-meets-trump-washington