Fed up with Iran. The U.S. and Iran this week intensified back-and-forth strikes that appear to have shattered President Trump’s patience along with the fragile ceasefire. 

U.S. forces hit military targets, a drone carrier ship and bridges in Iran in retaliation for Iran’s targeting of commercial and civilian ships traveling in regional waters. Iran, in turn, targeted U.S. allies Kuwait and Qatar and accused the U.S. of striking near its sole nuclear power plant.

Mr. Trump reached a grim conclusion about the Iranian regime’s refusal to agree to a peace deal that would protect free passage in the Strait of Hormuz and eliminate Tehran’s nuclear program. 

“There’s something wrong with them. They’re cuckoo. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over,” he said, referring to the ceasefire agreement outlined in the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed by Iran and the U.S. last month. “So, I don’t like them at all. And, frankly, I think we waste a lot of time with them. I think we should just do our business.”

The president has returned to ordering escalating military strikes and said he’s not sure if the U.S. and Iran will return to a full-scale war that would threaten the broader Middle East.

“I don’t know. We’d win it very quickly,” Mr. Trump said late Wednesday as he flew home from the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.

Mr. Trump ruffled allies during his whirlwind NATO appearance, repeating his desire to take over Greenland, threatening to cut off trade with Spain and complaining about allies’ lack of military aid in the Iran war.  But he also hailed the “tremendous unity” of the alliance. He gave a big boost to Ukraine’s fight against Russia, announcing Kyiv could build its own Patriot missiles under a U.S. licensing agreement. 

Mr. Trump also found time to register a complaint with FIFA ahead of its reversal of U.S. striker Folarin Balogun’s disqualifying red card, which did little to help the U.S. team in its 4-1 World Cup loss to Belgium.

Mr. Trump’s cost-cutting initiative, the Department of Government Efficiency, once led by Elon Musk, officially closed its doors on Independence Day. DOGE estimated it saved $215 billion, translating to $1,335 per taxpayer — a figure equivalent to about 0.55% of the current $39 trillion national debt, according to a national debt tracking site.

One more time. The battle to pass a Voter ID bill through the Republican-led Congress continued this week even though most lawmakers were home for the July Fourth recess.

Republican leaders plotted another, likely final attempt to pass the stalled SAVE America Act using a legislative tactic that would circumvent the Senate filibuster. 

Mr. Trump, who is refusing to cooperate with Republicans in Congress until they find a way to pass the bill, is warming up to the plan.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican who has been pitching the reconciliation strategy for weeks, appears to have persuaded the president to get on board, even though it would strip out some of Mr. Trump’s favorite provisions, including language restricting mail-in ballots and barring transgender surgeries for children.  

Mr. Trump, angry about Republicans’ failure to pass what he considers to be a top legislative priority, refused to sign a major bipartisan housing reform bill last month, even though he endorsed the measure.

The bill will nonetheless become law on July 10 thanks to a provision in the Constitution regarding unsigned legislation.

Questions are swirling around Sen. Mitch McConnell, who has been absent from the Senate for weeks following reports of an ambulance sent to his Capitol Hill residence on June 14 and a dispatch report that he was found unresponsive.

Mr. McConnell, 84, served as the Senate GOP leader for two decades, the longest tenure of a party leader in the U.S. Senate. He’s not running for reelection, and his term ends at the end of the year.

As of Tuesday, he remained hospitalized, but Senate GOP leaders said they have spoken with Mr. McConnell and vouched for his competency, challenging widespread speculation about the extent of the Kentucky Republican’s failing health.

ICE baby. Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, who tried to help an illegal immigrant evade a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest in her courtroom, was sentenced Wednesday to a $5,000 fine and one year of probation, avoiding any prison time.

A Utah judge heard testimony and viewed evidence that prosecutors say links 23-year-old Tyler Robinson to the assassination of Turning Point USA founder and conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. Judge Tony Graf will decide whether the prosecution’s mountain of evidence shows there is probable cause to go to trial. 

Joseph Curl goes after Mr. Trump for “systematically monetizing the most powerful office on earth.”

The Supreme Court did the right thing by ruling that the president has authority over independent agencies, Michael McKenna writes, but the decision will make the agencies more partisan.

Don Feder compares the Declaration of Independence with the Communist Manifesto.