AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Yesterday afternoon, an announcement on Truth Social - President Trump indicated that an agreement between the U.S. and Iran had been largely negotiated after discussions with leaders of several Gulf countries and Israel. But it's not clear what Iran is on the verge of agreeing to other than opening the Strait of Hormuz. Joining me now is NPR senior White House correspondent Mara Liasson. Hi, Mara.
MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Hi there.
RASCOE: So what more can you tell us about this deal? Does it look like a deal or a plan to reach a deal?
LIASSON: It looks like a plan to reach a deal. Trump posted that he spent yesterday talking with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, Bahrain, Pakistan about, quote, "a memorandum of understanding pertaining to peace." He said he'd spoken separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that discussions continue, final details will be announced soon, but that one aspect of this, according to Trump, is opening the Strait of Hormuz. Now, Iran's foreign ministry says the memorandum is aimed at ending the war on all fronts but that Iran is rejecting any discussions about its nuclear program. So no change there.
RASCOE: So - I mean, so it sounds like things may be moving toward peace. Or at least, for the moment, they're not escalating.
LIASSON: That's right. That's what it looks like, but we have seen this play before, where two sides are said to be close to an agreement and then nothing happens. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New Delhi yesterday characterized this memo of understanding as, quote, "significant progress." He said there might be more positive information later today. But Republicans in the Senate who support the strike on Iran were not as positive. Senators Ted Cruz, Roger Wicker, Lindsey Graham expressed concern about Iran's position in the region and how it could still threaten the Strait of Hormuz and its neighbors and how it could still retain its nuclear ambitions.
RASCOE: Mara, it's been a little over 12 weeks since this crisis began. The majority of Americans don't like it, don't think it was necessary. That's to even include some of the MAGA base. And even if the Strait of Hormuz is opened, it still will be a while before gas prices go down, go back to where they were. Republicans are increasingly nervous about the midterms, with all of that said. So would a deal with Iran now help them in November?
LIASSON: Well, sure. It would help them more than not having one. We are seeing a deeply unhappy electorate. Democrats have an advantage when people are asked who they'd vote for - the generic ballot question, who would you prefer to run Congress, Democrats or Republicans? And if this was a decade ago, we'd be saying, whoa, that looks like a blue wave coming.
But there are a lot of structural things that Republicans have going for them that have given them a lot of power in these midterms. They have more money. There's been a new round of court-sanctioned partisan redistricting, and even before redistricting, Republicans had a map with fewer competitive seats. And even if the generic ballot question is good for Democrats, we know from polling that voters are very reluctant to vote for Democrats because the Democratic brand is so unpopular, and that's been stopping Democrats from taking advantage of the more positive trends that are favoring them.
So in the end, it means that Democrats in competitive districts probably have to find ways to separate themselves from the party brand, just as Republicans in those districts have to find a way to separate themselves from Trump, who is historically unpopular.
RASCOE: Well, you know, some Republicans are getting separated from Trump by Trump himself. Like, he's separating them. Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy lost his primary last weekend to a Trump-endorsed candidate. Same thing with Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie. And Tuesday, Texas Senator John Cornyn goes up against state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who got Trump's seal of approval last week. I mean, this shows Trump's power, but could all of this backfire?
LIASSON: Yes. It could. It's very rare to see Republican lawmakers defy Trump, but we did see it happen a bit last week. The Senate removed $1 billion for the ballroom from the immigration enforcement funding bill. Then the Senate delayed a vote on that bill because Republicans also balked over the nearly $1.8 billion fund to reimburse Trump's allies who felt they had been unfairly prosecuted. Critics call that Trump's slush fund. And four Republican senators also voted to advance a War Powers Resolution, including, for the first time, Bill Cassidy.
So Republican senators don't want to be voting for Trump's unpopular policies as the midterms approach, and they're also hopping mad that Trump has intervened to defeat Republican incumbents that he feels have been disloyal.
RASCOE: That's NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Mara, thank you so much.
LIASSON: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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