by Jacob Fischler and Jane Norman, Virginia Mercury
June 21, 2025

This report has been updated.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Saturday night that the United States has attacked three nuclear sites in Iran, and all U.S. planes were outside Iran and on their way back to the United States.

“A short time ago the U.S. military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump said in brief televised remarks from the White House just after 10 p.m. Eastern.

“Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terror,” he said. “Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”

Flanked by Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump said he hoped the strikes would be the extent of the U.S. offensive in Iran, but he warned he would authorize attacks on other targets if Iran did not end the war.

“Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,” he said. “If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.”

Trump had first announced the strikes roughly two hours earlier on social media.

“All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he wrote.

Several U.S. House Democrats questioned the legality of the bombing.

“President Trump has no constitutional authority to take us to war with Iran without authorization from Congress, and Congress has not authorized it,” Don Beyer, a House Democrat from Virginia, wrote on X.

Earlier Saturday, there had been numerous reports that B-2 bombers had been sent from Whiteman Air Force Base in Johnson County, Missouri, and were flying across the Pacific Ocean.

Trump returned to the White House at about 6 p.m. Eastern on Saturday from his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., to attend a national security meeting at the White House.

The attack on the Iran sites supports a key U.S. ally, Israel, while distancing another foreign policy priority for the Trump administration, a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear development.

“I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu,” Trump said at the White House, referring to the Israeli prime minister.

Trump has repeatedly said Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

GOP backs Trump

Republican lawmakers in national security roles quickly weighed in on social media and in statements Saturday to support Trump’s decision.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a statement: “The regime in Iran, which has committed itself to bringing ‘death to America’ and wiping Israel off the map, has rejected all diplomatic pathways to peace. The mullahs’ misguided pursuit of nuclear weapons must be stopped. As we take action tonight to ensure a nuclear weapon remains out of reach for Iran, I stand with President Trump and pray for the American troops and personnel in harm’s way.”

“Our commander-in-chief has made a deliberate—and correct—decision to eliminate the existential threat posed by the Iranian regime,” U.S. Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., wrote on X. “We now have very serious choices ahead to provide security for our citizens and our allies and stability for the middle-east. Well-done to our military personnel. You’re the best!”

House Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford, an Arkansas Republican, blamed Iran for the conflict.

“As I have said multiple times recently, I regret that Iran has brought the world to this point,” he wrote on X. “That said, I am thankful President Trump understood that the red line—articulated by Presidents of both parties for decades—was real. The United States and our allies, including Israel, are making it clear that the world would never accept Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon.”

Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican and member of the Senate Intelligence Committee who is not always aligned with Trump, also praised the move.

“Thank you to our brave service members who executed this mission,” he said. “The world will be safer if Iran’s nuclear capability is destroyed. I look forward to briefings in the coming days.”

Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, a libertarian who is often at odds with his party leadership, expressed his opposition in a Saturday night social media post.

“This is not Constitutional,” he wrote.

Democrats react

Immediate reaction from Democrats was mixed.

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman called the move “the correct decision,” adding that “Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities.”

But members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus raised the issue of congressional authorization and called for a vote on a privileged resolution sponsored by California Democrat Ro Khanna and Massie that would block military force against Iran.

“Donald Trump illegally took military action against Iran—without congressional authorization—risking dragging us into another endless war,” Arizona Democrat Yassamin Ansari wrote. “I am calling for an immediate emergency session of Congress to vote on the War Powers Resolution.”

“Instead of listening to the American people, Trump is listening to War Criminal Netanyahu, who lied about Iraq and is lying once again about Iran,” Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib wrote. “Congress must act immediately to exert its war powers and stop this unconstitutional act of war.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, was sharply critical.

“Donald Trump promised to bring peace to the Middle East. He has failed to deliver on that promise. The risk of war has now dramatically increased, and I pray for the safety of our troops in the region who have been put in harm’s way,” Jeffries said in a statement.

“President Trump misled the country about his intentions, failed to seek congressional authorization for the use of military force and risks American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East.”

He said Congress must immediately be briefed in a classified setting.

Warning from Iran

Israel began bombing what it said were Iranian nuclear facilities last week, scuttling U.S. negotiations with Iran, which Trump repeated again Wednesday had been close.

In a statement issued through a spokesman on state-run TV Wednesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the U.S. not to get involved.

“Any form of U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be met with irreparable harm,” the statement said, according to a BBC translation.

Prior to the announcement, congressional Republicans were generally supportive of an aggressive posture toward Iran.

Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, told reporters at the Capitol that Iran’s nuclear program was meant to threaten the United States.

“When the Ayatollah chants ‘Death to America,’ I believe him,” Cruz said, referring to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “So does President Trump, and that’s why, as commander-in chief, he is acting decisively to keep America safe.”

The potential of a nuclear Iran has animated U.S. policy debates about the region for more than a decade.

In his first term, Trump withdrew from a deal negotiated by former President Barack Obama’s administration that lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for limiting its nuclear development.

Iran and Hamas

Iran and Israel have not had diplomatic relations since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and each has been a primary antagonist in the other’s foreign policy.

Israel has long prioritized denying Iran a nuclear weapon. Iran has funded Hamas, the militant group that launched the October 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, and Hezbollah, a militant group in Lebanon.

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst raised Iran’s support for Hamas at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last week, using it as a rationale for U.S. involvement in the region.

“Who is the primary funder of Hamas?” the Iowa Republican asked Hegseth.

Hegseth answered Iran.

“Forty-three Americans lost their lives on Oct. 7 at the hands of Hamas,” Ernst continued. “So when there is a question about whether it’s appropriate for America to be engaged in the Middle East, in defending Americans that live and work abroad, I think there’s our answer.”

Jennifer Shutt contributed to this report.

Last updated 7:50 a.m., Jun. 22, 2025

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.

The post Trump: Iran nuclear facilities ‘completely and totally obliterated’ in U.S. strike on 3 sites appeared first on virginiamercury.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Right

This article presents the military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities primarily through statements and perspectives from President Trump and Republican officials who strongly support the action, highlighting the threat posed by Iran and emphasizing American strength and security. While it includes dissenting opinions from Democrats and some Republicans critical of the constitutionality and potential escalation of conflict, the overall framing leans toward justifying Trump’s hardline approach. The coverage reflects a center-right stance by prioritizing national security concerns and military decisiveness, with measured inclusion of opposition views without heavy critique of the policy itself.

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by Charlotte Rene Woods, Virginia Mercury
June 20, 2025

Virginia’s hospitals are monitoring congressional budget proposals with concern. 

While the recently-passed U.S. House of Representatives’ version of the President Donald Trump-backed “big beautiful bill” retained federal mapping that preserves Medicaid access in Virginia, a new draft in the U.S. Senate could alter two critical funding mechanisms that support Virginia’s hospitals and their ability to bolster the state’s expanded Medicaid program. 

The Senate proposal could change provider assessment rates and state-directed payment programs. The two funding mechanisms are critical to hospital operation in Virginia and how they chip into the expansion of Virginia’s Medicaid program.

Ultimately, the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association estimates each program could take a $2 billion hit,  if the proposal is fully implemented. 

“If you are taking policy actions that impact Medicaid, that is going to impact providers’ stability, access to care for patients and could destabilize hospitals or even lead to closures,” said Julian Walker, vice president of communications with the association. 

Provider assessment rates are essentially a type of tax that hospitals use to help cover the state’s share of Medicaid costs, allowing them to draw down additional federal matching funds. Changing that rate would also change how much money hospitals can tap into for themselves, and to feed into the state’s Medicaid expansion. 

Medicaid is a large federal program that helps states provide health insurance to their low-income or disabled residents. In 2018, when Virginia expanded its Medicaid program to make more people eligible, Virginia’s hospitals footed some of the bill for it. Walker emphasized that the two funding tracks the Senate bill is exploring are interconnected when it comes to supporting hospitals and Medicaid in Virginia. 

More than the potential for people to lose their health insurance,  Democratic U.S. Senate leadership has stressed how rural hospitals could suffer. 

“Enacting these drastic health care cuts that will kick millions of people off their health insurance coverage, rural hospitals will not get paid for the services they are required by law to provide to patients,” wrote Sens. Edward Markey, Ron Wyden, Jeffrey Merkley, and Chuck Schumer in a letter to Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. 

“In turn, rural hospitals will face deeper financial strain that could lead to negative health outcomes for the communities they serve,” they added. 

The  cuts federal lawmakers are exploring are part of a Trump-led effort to extend certain tax cuts and trim the federal deficit, while boosting federal spending on defense and border security. Legislators have explored cutting several federal social aid programs or incentive packages to achieve these goals. Medicaid in particular has appeared to be a potential target, as it’s one of the largest sources of federal spending to states.

While Republicans, which currently control both chambers of congress, have largely been on board with Trump’s plans, some like Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo, have expressed caution as lawmakers continue to workshop the proposals. 

Walker, with the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, also said hospitals in rural areas could see a domino effect of problems if the Senate version progresses as-is.  Rural hospitals are often a key local employer, Walker explained, and they also often serve sizable portions of Medicaid patients. 

In the meantime, he said that Virginia’s hospitals are engaging with lawmakers in D.C. about the issue.

The Mercury reached out to U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine’s office for comment but didn’t hear back by press time.

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.

The post Senate draft of ‘big, beautiful bill’ could cut funds for Virginia hospitals, also affect Medicaid appeared first on virginiamercury.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

This article presents information with a focus on the potential negative impacts of proposed Medicaid funding cuts, emphasizing concerns from hospitals and Democratic lawmakers. It highlights the risks to healthcare access, especially in rural areas, and frames the Senate Republican-led budget changes as harmful to vulnerable populations. While it acknowledges Republican efforts and internal GOP debate, the tone and sources—such as Democratic senators and healthcare advocates—reflect a perspective sympathetic to protecting Medicaid and social services, which aligns with a center-left stance without overt partisan rhetoric.