President Donald Trump is testing his midterm message on the economy in a toss-up congressional district in New York, even as voters largely disapprove of his stewardship. The event's promoted focus is the tax law Trump signed last year, which quadrupled the federal deduction for state and local taxes, a critical change for high-tax states like New York.

Meanwhile, Europeans are confused by Trump's Thursday announced deployment of 5,000 more troops to Poland, following weeks of changing statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the American military footprint. And Republicans are struggling to find the votes to keep supporting Trump's war with Iran.

US approves modest arms sale for Ukraine to sustain air defenses

The Trump administration has approved a modest $108 million arms sale to Ukraine that will help the country maintain and sustain its midrange air defense missile system.

The State Department announced the sale of ground-to-air Hawk missile components, spare parts and logistic support late Thursday. The administration has notably reduced military support for Ukraine over the past 18 months as it seeks to mediate an agreement with Russia to end the conflict.

The sale “will improve Ukraine’s capability to meet current and future threats by further equipping it to conduct self-defense and regional security missions with a more robust integrated air defense capability,” the department said in a statement.

Republicans call off vote on Iran war resolution that was on the verge of passing

Republicans struggled Thursday to find the votes to dismiss legislation that would compel President Donald Trump to withdraw from the war with Iran, delaying planned votes on the matter into June.

The House had scheduled a vote on a war powers resolution, brought by Democrats, that would rein in Trump’s military campaign. But as it became clear that Republicans would not have the numbers to defeat the bill, GOP leaders declined to hold a vote on it. It was the latest sign of the slipping support in Congress for a war that Trump launched more than two months ago without congressional approval.

Republicans in the Senate are also working to ensure they have the votes to dismiss another war powers resolution that advanced to a final vote earlier this week, when four GOP senators supported the resolution and three others were absent from the vote.

Source: WPLG