Iran

'Evacuate Tehran'

Plus: A bipartisan effort to prevent American involvement in the war, ICE workplace raids to begin again, and more...

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Smoke billowing over Tehran, Iran | Kyodo/Newscom
Black smoke billows from the headquarters of Iranian state television in Tehran following an Israeli attack on June 16, 2025. ( Kyodo/Newscom)

President Donald Trump warned Iranians to "immediately evacuate Tehran" in a Monday afternoon post on Truth Social, raising the prospect of a major escalation in the ongoing war between Israel and Iran—or suggesting that America might join the conflict in a more direct way.

Or was that statement just Trumpian bluster that everyone should ignore? The White House pretty quickly walked back the seriousness of Trump's post. One official told CNN that Trump's statement merely "reflected the urgency of the need for Iran to come to the table" for negotiations, while an administration spokesman told Axios that "American forces are maintaining their defensive posture, and that has not changed."

Well, OK. But who is actually in charge over there? When the president of the United States speaks (or posts), people listen. And telling a city of 17 million that is currently under bombardment to immediately "evacuate" is a serious thing, even if the president's handlers want everyone to ignore it.

Congress? Doing something? Probably not, but maybe! Rep. Thomas Massie (R–Ky.) said Monday that he will introduce a resolution today that would prohibit American involvement in the Iran-Israel war.

"This is not our war," Massie wrote on X. "But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution."

He got some immediate support from across the aisle. Rep. Ro Khanna (D–Calif.) is co-sponsoring the resolution, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.) chimed in to say she was "signing on" to the proposal as well. Meanwhile, Sen. Tim Kaine (D–Va.) has introduced his own resolution in the upper chamber to curtail American involvement in the conflict.

These congressional efforts draw upon the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which Congress passed over the veto of then-President Richard Nixon in response to U.S. bombings in Cambodia. Imagine a legislature willing to do that! The law requires that presidents get approval from Congress before committing American forces—either a declaration of war or an authorization for the use of military force—and allows Congress to terminate any ongoing, unauthorized deployment. As Kaine's office says, the resolution ensures "a public debate and vote in Congress as intended by the framers of the Constitution."

That's important. So, too, is the clarity and stability that would result from a clear congressional signal about America's role in this conflict. The world clearly won't get that from the president.

Speaking of presidential instability: The Trump administration is reportedly restarting workplace immigration raids just days after pausing them amid public outrage and a behind-the-scenes lobbying effort by farms and the hospitality industry.

As I wrote in Monday's Roundup, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had told Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last week to "hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels."

That order was reversed on Monday, The Washington Post reports, with new guidance delivered to ICE field offices. "There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE's efforts," Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary for DHS, told the Post. "Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability."

This looks like another example of Trump simply going along with the most recent thing that an adviser whispered in his ear. Last week's decision to pause the workplace raids came after Trump met with Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. Unsurprisingly, that decision did not sit well with Stephen Miller, who advocated in recent days for its reversal, the Post notes.

This on-again, off-again approach to policy has been a disaster when Trump has applied it to tariffs on imported goods. It is even worse when applied to actual human beings who are trying to earn a living.

And all of this is even more worrying because ICE does not seem to have much of a clue about who they are targeting for arrest and deportation:

Scenes from Virginia: This year's gubernatorial race in my home state will be an early indicator of how the midterms might go, but in some ways, I think the most interesting part of the campaign (still in the very early stages) is the identities of the major players.

Republicans nominated Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a black woman, for governor. If she wins in November, Earle-Sears would be the first female governor of Virginia and the first black female governor of any state. John Reid, a conservative radio host and former U.S. Senate aide, is the GOP's nominee for lieutenant governor. He's the first openly gay candidate for any statewide office in Virginia's history.

Meanwhile, Democrats are running Abigail Spanberger, a former congresswoman, for governor. Though she would also be the first female governor in the state's history, the rest of her identity and resume—a white person from a small town who worked for the CIA and is best known politically for getting angry at progressives—seems more like what you might expect from a Republican nominee. (The Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor will be decided in today's primary election.)

I think this is all great. The scrambling of identity politics means that voters will have to interrogate their choices in ways that go beyond these silly, surface-level factors. This should be a fascinating race that might offer a preview of the next evolution of American politics outside the boundaries of the Old Dominion.

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