President Trump received praise from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for a second time since last June for his decision to launch a joint military strike with Israel against Iran.
Mr. Bush, chairman of United Against Nuclear Iran, and CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace lauded Mr. Trump “for his courageous decision to launch this military operation.”
“UANI salutes the courage and professionalism of American and Israeli service members carrying out this historic mission against the Iranian regime,” Mr. Bush and Mr. Wallace said in a statement.
“We applaud President Trump for his courageous decision to launch this military operation. For 47 years, the Iranian regime has unleashed terror, violence, and misery — against its own people and across the region — while threatening the United States, Israel, and our allies.”
Both noted that previous U.S. presidents attempted to bring Iran into the “peaceful community of nations” and that Mr. Trump had engaged “extensively and in good faith to achieve a diplomatic solution.”
“The regime chose escalation and continued its pursuit of nuclear weapons,” they said. “The responsibility for this moment rests squarely with Ayatollah Khamenei.”
They added, “The United States and Israel’s military operation is directed at the regime’s lethal capabilities — not the Iranian people, who have long suffered under its repression.”
Mr. Bush and his nonprofit organization previously hailed Mr. Trump’s decision to send B-2 bombers into Iran last June to strike three key nuclear sites, to which Mr. Trump replied, “Thank you to Jeb Bush — Very much appreciated!”
Relations between Mr. Trump and Mr. Bush appear to be thawing on the foreign policy side since the president defeated Mr. Bush during the contentious 2016 GOP presidential primary.
The Bush family has largely remained silent about Mr. Trump following the 2016 election, when Mr. Trump, then the surprise Republican nominee for president, relentlessly criticized the foreign policies of Mr. Bush’s older brother, former President George W. Bush.
He also famously derided Jeb Bush in 2016 with a moniker he’s never since been able to shake: “Low energy.”
Newsom’s toddler tax will plunder children’s Trump Accounts
The California Franchise Tax Board announced that it will refuse to treat newly created Trump Accounts as tax-deferred accounts for state tax purposes, Americans for Tax Reform warns.
This decision will make it more difficult for California families to take full advantage of what the Trump Accounts offer.
The state conforms to most federal laws relating to retirement accounts such as IRAs, 401(k) plans and pensions. But the Franchise Tax Board determined that even though the Trump Accounts are defined as a new type of IRA, the state does not conform to the section of the federal tax code that established them, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
If Gov. Gavin Newsom doesn’t support a law to override the Franchise Tax Board’s decision, doesn’t take action and the decision remains, California families will now pay taxes on their children’s investment earnings.
“Because California refuses to comply with the federal treatment of Trump Accounts, families will have to deal with the headache of maintaining two separate tax records for the same account,” Americans for Tax Reform says.
“One set would track contributions, earnings, and basis under federal law; the other would track California’s annual state taxes so they can avoid double taxation when these funds are inevitably withdrawn.”
The group said, “California should conform state tax law to federal treatment. Anything less is a penalty on newborn savers; a toddler tax that punishes working families for participating in Trump Accounts.”
The Trump Accounts were created as part of Mr. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act law.
Under the program, the government will automatically seed an account with $1,000 for each child born between 2025 and 2028, with parents able to add up to $5,000 annually, to be invested in broad, low-cost stock market index funds to build long-term, compounded wealth. The accounts are intended to grow tax-deferred.
Second Amendment groups seek injunction against ATF, DOJ over gun law provisions
A group of pro-Second Amendment organizations filed a federal lawsuit seeking judicial relief from continued enforcement of registration and permitting requirements for noise suppressors, short-barreled rifles and shotguns and National Firearms Act — defined “any other weapons.”
The lawsuit notes that last year’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” removed the transfer taxes from those items, while leaving the registration requirements intact. Without the tax, these requirements are no longer valid, and should thus be struck down.
Groups filing this lawsuit are Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, the Buckeye Firearms Association, the American Suppressor Association Foundation, Meridian Ordnance, the Second Amendment Foundation and two private citizens, T.J. Roberts and Zachary Cockrell.
They are represented by attorneys David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson and Nicholas A. Varone at Cooper & Kirk in Washington.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Covington Division.
“When registration was required on suppressors and firearms,” JPFO stated, “it was justified only because of the $200 tax provision in the National Firearms Act. Now that the taxes have been eliminated, there really cannot be any further registration requirement.”
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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