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NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration is planning to send Americans who areexposed to Ebola while abroadto a new facility in Kenya instead of flying them to the United States, an administration official said Wednesday.

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The quarantine and treatment center being set up by the Departments of Defense, State and Health and Human Services will be designed for Ebola patients who need to get out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and receive care quickly, said the official, who insisted on anonymity to share the Republican administration’s plans. The person said the plan would help patients avoid an hourslong medical evacuation to the U.S.

It was unclear where in Kenya the new facility will be built or whether the Kenyan government has signed off on the plan.

The official said the facility will be able to care for the full spectrum of Ebola,a rare but severe diseasethat is often fatal in people. But the official said people may be transported elsewhere for more advanced care as appropriate.

Kenya’s health minister confirmed officials there were talking with the U.S. about “preparedness and response mechanisms for Ebola” but didn’t address whether the country would establish a treatment facility for Americans.

“Any arrangements regarding international health cooperation will be guided by Kenya’s national laws, public health regulations, biosafety and biosecurity standards, and the government’s responsibility to safeguard the health and welfare of Kenyans,” Health Minister Aden Duale said in a statement.

For decades, medical experts have suggested moving patients suffering from Ebola and similar illnesses as little as possible in case their condition worsens, said Dr. Ali Khan, the public health college dean at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. But, he added, the quality of care must be equivalent to what someone would receive in American facilities.

“You’ve got to make sure the patient gets the best quality care, and you need to ensure excellent infection control,” said Khan, who earlier in his career led international responses to Ebola and other outbreaks for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Craig Spencer, a public health professor and emergency medicine doctor at Brown University who survived Ebola in 2014, said he doesn’t expect the facility in Kenya to provide the same quality of care that dedicated facilities in the United States do. He said refusing to consider bringing American Ebola patients home for treatment is “a moral abdication of what this country owes its own.”

An earlier outbreak

During a massive Ebola outbreak in west Africa in 2014 and 2015, more than a half dozen infected Americans were brought back to the United States. That experience prompted the establishment of a U.S. network of quarantine and isolation facilities across the country.

But during that earlier outbreak, Trump, then a businessman and reality TV star, repeatedly criticized then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, for bringing infected Americans home for care.

“The U.S. cannot allow EBOLA infected people back. People that go to far away places to help out are great — but must suffer the consequences!” he wrote in a 2014 tweet.

He also suggested a plan similar to the one described to the AP by the administration official: “Treat them, at the highest level, over there,” Trump wrote in July 2014.

During a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department and other agencies were working “very, very hard to contain this crisis to the countries where it’s currently located, particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”

“We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States,” he said.

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Americans who've been exposed to Ebola

Earlier this month, an American doctor working in Congo tested positive for Ebola and was sent to Germany for medical care. Serge, a Christian missionary organization, identified him as Dr. Peter Stafford. Stafford’s wife and four children did not have symptoms but also were flown to Germany and placed in isolation at Berlin’s Charite University Hospital.

On Wednesday, the hospital said the patient was in stable condition.

“The viral load measured in the patient has dropped very, very rapidly over the course of the week," likely thanks to antiviral therapy, Dr. Leif Erik Sander, director of the hospital’s infectious diseases department, told reporters.

Another American medical missionary, Dr. Patrick LaRochelle, was transported to the Czech Republic for isolation after he was exposed to Ebola, though he did not have any symptoms, according to the missionary organization.

Health authorities in Congo have been struggling to contain the outbreak, which the World Health Organization has said is outpacing them.

The number of suspected Ebola cases in eastern Congo is nearing 1,000, with at least 220 suspected deaths. Congo’s health ministry on Tuesday said 101 cases have been confirmed and it's looking into more than 3,000 possible contacts.

Challenges include the threat of armed groups in eastern Congo, a large number ofdisplaced people and poor infrastructure.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report the Trump administration's plan for the Kenya facility.

US officials expand airport screening

Meanwhile, officials have been expanding the number of U.S. airports where CDC staffers are screening and monitoring incoming passengers from outbreak countries. Enhanced screenings began last week at Washington Dulles International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. CDC staff began screenings at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston this week, and are being dispatched to start screenings Friday at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The CDC’s acting director, Jay Bhattacharya, sent an email Monday to CDC employees asking for volunteers from across the agency to work the screening stations. CDC veterans say it’s not unusual to see a call for volunteers for staffing major epidemic responses.

The government also has temporarily banned the entry of people without U.S. passports, as well as U.S. green-card holders, who have visited Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the last 21 days.

AP journalists Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Julie Walker in New York and Kerstin Sopke in Berlin contributed to this report.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

WASHINGTON (AP) —The Congressional Black Caucuson Tuesday called on major corporations across the U.S., including those that previously expressed support for voting rights and racial justice, to opposeredistricting effortsby Republican-led states that seek to eliminate majority-Black U.S. House districts.

In a letter sent to more than 250 companies, members of the Black Caucus urge them to condemn the redistricting efforts, which the lawmakers describe as “coordinated efforts to silence Black voices at the ballot box.” Some of the companies had co-signed their own message to Congress five years ago urging lawmakers to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act,a Democratic proposalto restore and updatethe Voting Rights Act.

That 2021 coalition, Business for Voting Rights, was backed by many of the country’s most valuable and influential companies, includingApple, Amazon, Google, Meta,Microsoft,Tesla, Salesforce, Target, PayPal, Intel and Starbucks.

Tuesday's letter is the latest effort by the Congressional Black Caucus and its allies to gather support for preventing more Republican-led states fromredrawing their legislative mapsin ways that would dilute Black political representation. Several states have moved to eliminate congressional districts represented by Black Democratic lawmakers aftera U.S. Supreme Court rulinglast month that severely weakened a key provision ofthe Voting Rights Act.

“Corporations that have profited from Black consumers, relied on Black workers, and amassed wealth in part from Black communities cannot look away while Black political power is dismantled in plain sight,”Rep. Yvette Clarke, chair of the Black Caucus, said in an interview.

Clarke described the letter as “putting corporate America on notice,” but she said the caucus was not seeking an adversarial relationship with corporations. Among those receiving Tuesday's letter were companies based overseas that have a significant presence in the U.S.

The caucus last week called for Black athletes toboycott public universitiesin states that are gerrymandering their congressional maps toeliminate districtsheld by Black lawmakers. The 59-member Congressional Black Caucus consists entirely of Democrats, including more than a third from Southern states.

Some lawmakers have said mass protests and federal legislation might be necessary to undo the efforts underway in Republican-led states. Any new federal voting rights law would almost certainly require Democrats to secure majorities in both chambers of Congress and win the presidency.

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It is unclear how companies will respond to the demands. The Associated Press was making efforts to contact them.

“Many companies that previously issued statements after the murder of George Floyd, pledged billions toward racial equity initiatives, and spoke forcefully in defense of democracy following January 6 now face a defining test of whether those commitments were rooted in principle or convenience,” the caucus' letter states.

It also represents the latest instance of the caucus expressing frustrations with corporate America. A 2024 Black Caucus report noted that lawmakers were “troubled that some corporations that made pledges in 2020 have taken several steps in the opposite direction,” such as rolling back or failing to follow through on pledges to diversify their workforces.

“We understand who the occupant in the White House is and the reality of Republicans being in charge,” DemocraticRep. Steven Horsfordof Nevada said of the caucus’ message. “But what corporate America also understands is that there will be a shift at some point.”

The letter calls on companies to publicly condemnthe redistricting plans, meet with Black Caucus members to discuss corporate America's role in protecting voting rights and disclose their political donations to Republican politicians in states that are redistricting their congressional maps.

President Donald Trump last year kicked off the unusual mid-decade round of congressional redistricting when hepushed Texas lawmakersto redraw their maps in a way that would add Republican seats.Democratic-led California responded, but it has been mostly Republican states redrawing their lines since as the party tries to maintain its majority in the U.S. House during this year's midterm elections.

The effort was supercharged by the Supreme Court decision, which allowedeven more Republican statesto redraw congressional maps that previously had protected minority communities.

Horsford, who chaired the Black Caucus during President Joe Biden's Democratic administration, said the caucus is demanding that companies “stand on the side of democracy, fairness and equal representation.”

“This is about power, who holds it and what it’s used for," he said. "And when you’re diluting Black economic and political power, we need to know where these companies stand in this moment, and what side of history they’re on.”

Federal judges on Tuesday blocked Alabama’s plan touse a congressional mapthat could give Republicans an advantage in a key U.S. House race in the midterm elections.

Election 2026 Redistricting

A three-judge panel in the state’s long-running redistricting case issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the state from switching maps, ruling that the Republican-backed plan “intentionally discriminated based on race” by including only one Black-majority district. The judges instead required Alabama to continue using a court-ordered map in place for the 2024 elections that includes two districts where Black residents compose a majority or close to it.

“Ultimately, we cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination,” the judges wrote.

The ruling is a setback for Republicans, who want to use a map for the November midterms that would give the GOP a chance to reclaim the seat now held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, a Republican, said the state will immediately appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. He contended the judges had no basis for their decision to block what he described as a “blandly unobjectionable congressional map.”

“Know this — in my mind, it is not a matter of whether we win this case, only when,” Marshall said.

Figures said he is pleased with the ruling, adding: “This is a significant step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go before this fight is settled.”

The court order is the latest development in the twisting legal and political saga following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a Black-majority district in Louisiana andweakened the federal Voting Rights Act. That ruling has led Republicansin several Southern states, including Alabama, to take steps to reshape voting districts with large minority populations that have elected Democrats.

The redistricting frenzy is part of a broader push by President Donald Trump to try to hold on to Republicans’ slim House majority in the November elections.

Alabama court fight stretches back several years

The three-judge panel in 2023 ruled that a map drawn by Republican state lawmakers intentionally diluted the voting power of Black citizens. The court said the state, which is about 27% Black, should have two districts where Black voters are the majority or close to it. The court-selected map was used in 2024.

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After the Supreme Court's recent ruling in the Louisiana case, Alabama officials moved to implement the 2023 state-drawn map. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority agreed to lift the injunction that had blocked the map's use and sent the case back to the three-judge panel for reconsideration in light of the Louisiana ruling.

In the meantime, voters cast ballots in Alabama's May 11 primaries, and Republican Gov. Kay Ivey set new special primaries for Aug. 11 in four congressional districts affected by the map switch.

Upon further review, the judicial panel said there was “undisputed evidence” of intentional racial discrimination. It said the special congressional primaries should instead proceed under the previous court-approved districts.

The decision to temporarily block the map switch came after a seven-hour hearing Friday in which judges sharply questioned state lawyers about the timeline and the impact of the Louisiana ruling.

Using the same districts that had been in place for the previous election would prevent “an expensive, aggressive, and perhaps logistically impossible voter reassignment effort,” the judges wrote.

“Candidate and voter confusion is troublesome and warrants significant consideration, but we do not see that a preliminary injunction will worsen it. To the contrary, we expect a preliminary injunction to lessen it,” the judges said.

Deuel Ross, director of litigation for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said the court ruling “again vindicated the constitutional rights of voters in the Black Belt, and our clients look forward to voting under a fair map this fall.”

Redistricting changes affect primaries in several states

Other states also have considered adjustments to their primary elections to allow time for congressional redistricting after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision affecting the Voting Rights Act. Louisiana’s congressional primaries, scheduled for May 16, werepostponeduntil later this summer by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry so that state lawmakers could consider a new U.S. House map that would eliminate a majority-Black district.

In South Carolina, where early voting began Tuesday for its June 9 primaries, the Republican-led Senate rejected a plan that would have thrown out the votes and instead held a new congressional primary in August under revised districts that could have improved Republicans’ chances of winning an additional seat.

Tennessee also moved quickly to enact new U.S. House districts after the Supreme Court’s ruling, carving up a Black-majority districtbased in Memphisthat had elected the state’s only Democratic representative.The new mapgives Republicans a chance to sweep all nine of the state’s seats. As part of the plan, Tennessee temporarily reopened the candidate qualifying period for its August congressional primaries, allowing new candidates to enter the race and existing ones to either switch districts or drop out.

Since Trump first urged Texas to redraw its U.S. House districts last summer, about a half-dozen Republican-led states have enacted new voting districts, though some still face legal challenges. Democrats countered with new districts in California and also expect to gain a seat from new court-imposed districts in Utah.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that any agreement to end the Iran war should include a requirement for several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, to join theAbraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered agreements from Trump's first term aimed at normalizing relations with Israel.

Trump America 250 Memorial Day

Trump said in a social media postthat negotiations are “proceeding nicely” but tied any eventual agreement to expanded participation in the 2020 accords.

The proposal came as the emerging Iran dealfaced criticismfrom fellow Republicans who favor a harder line on Iran, and it could add friction to the negotiations.

Trump pointed to Saudi Arabia and Qatar as countries that should “immediately” sign on, alongside Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became the first countries to join in 2020.

He wrote that “after all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords.”

Trump has longhoped Saudi Arabiawould join, but the kingdom has maintained that any normalization deal requires first establishing a clear path for Palestinian statehood. That's also key for Pakistan, which is among the countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

Islamabad-based analyst Syed Mohammad Ali said Pakistan’s position on Israel remains unchanged despite Trump’s latest proposal.

The president said he brought up the Abraham Accords plan with leaders during negotiations on Saturday. He said he would accept “one or two” countries declining to sign, but said most should be willing. Egypt and Jordan already formally recognize Israel and have long-standing peace treaties.

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Masood Khan, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, said it remains to be seen how workable the proposal might be for the countries on Trump's list.

“The invocation of the Abraham Accords at this stage gives an altogether new dimension to the diplomatic and mediatory processes because this issue was not on the agenda,” he said, pointing to the domestic pressure Trump is facing to strike a favorable deal.

Still, Khan said, “the diplomatic track is still working, and I believe Pakistan is very much at the center of it, supported by regional countries.”

It remains unclear when or how any deal with Iran might be completed. Trump suggested even Iran could eventually sign on to the accords, if an agreement is reached.

The accords are a series of diplomatic, economic and security agreements created with U.S. influence during Trump’s first term, originally between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, followed by Sudan, Morocco, and, more recently,Kazakhstan.

They were framed as an effort to promote cooperation among countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and the administration saw them as partly paving a path toward full ties with Israel.

Ahmed reported from Islamabad.

May 25 (Reuters) - The head of the World Health Organization said on Monday that the ‌fast-moving Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of ‌Congo and Uganda was outpacing response efforts, giving the latest ​number of suspected deaths as 220.

WHO chief says fast-moving Ebola epidemic is outpacing response efforts

Addressing an online meeting of the African Union about the outbreak, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a delay in detecting ‌Ebola cases meant ⁠responders were now "playing catch-up" and the epidemic was likely to get worse before ⁠it gets better.

Tedros said he would travel to Congo - the epicentre of the outbreak - on Tuesday with ​another senior ​WHO official responsible for ​addressing health emergencies, Chikwe ‌Ihekweazu.

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Earlier on Monday neighbouring Uganda reported two more Ebola cases, taking its total number of confirmed cases to seven, and Tedros said other countries bordering Congo were at high risk and should take ‌immediate action.

The WHO has declared ​the outbreak of the rare ​Bundibugyo strain of ​Ebola a public health emergency of ‌international concern.

Tedros said containing the ​fast-moving outbreak ​was complicated by the fact that Congo's Ituri and North Kivu provinces were highly insecure and ​there were ‌no approved vaccines for Bundibugyo virus.

(Reporting by Vincent ​Mumo Nzilani and Sfundo Parakozov;Editing by Alexander ​Winning and Gareth Jones)

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Pep Guardiola fought back tears on the sideline as hebrought 10 years at Manchester City to an endon Sunday.

Britain Premier League Soccer

His final game ended in a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa on a day charged with emotion as he said goodbye to the fans he gave so much joy during adecade of dominancein English soccer.

“I never could have imagined the amount of love I've found,” said Guardiola, standing in the center of the field at the Etihad Stadium and addressing the crowd. “It is an incredible, tremendous honor to be your manager, to be here 10 years.”

The tears started long before the final whistle, with Guardiola welling up and rubbing his eyes as two of his most loyal servants, Bernardo Silva and John Stones, also said farewell and were given guards of honor when substituted in the second half.

Then it was his turn to receive a guard of honor of his own.

“This is the man who changed everything,” the stadium announcer said as Guardiola ran onto the field wearing khakis and a cream T-shirt, with fans cheering wildly.

“10 more years," they chanted, prompting Guardiola to shake his head in defiance.

After 17 major trophies and records galore, on Friday he confirmed he could do no more. After turning City into the most dominant Premier League team of its generation and a champion of Europe for the first time, he said the time was right to hand over the reins.

“I will not miss it for a while,” he said Sunday. “I feel deeply... it is the right decision.”

Guardiola's day

Former Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca, who won the Club World Cup last year, is favorite to take over with an announcement possibly in the coming week.

Guardiola did not confirm his replacement, but said he would call his successor to offer advice.

“Be yourself... be free with your ideas and work a lot. Everything will be fine,” he said.

That is for another day. This day was about Guardiola and the chance for supporters to show their appreciation.

“He means everything to me and this club. It’s absolutely brilliant what he’s done for it,” City fan Fred Taylor, 82, told The Associated Press. “I can’t think of another manager that’s done what he’s done in the 10-year period he’s been here.”

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Guardiola joined City in the summer of 2016 and has led the Abu Dhabi-owned team to six Premier League titles and a first Champions League crown in 2023.

“That's what we always wanted ... we’d never done it,” said Taylor. “That was probably the highlight of his tenure.”

Guardiola's trophy haul included a domestic double this season of the English League Cup and the FA Cup. He led City to the treble in 2023, winning the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup — matching Manchester United’s feat from more than 20 years earlier in 1999.

First to 100 points

There were other benchmarks. City became the first team to win four straight English leagues and the first to amass 100 points in a single season in 2018. The following year City was the first team to win the domestic treble of the league, FA Cup and League Cup in the same season.

Those are big shoes to fill, but Guardiola said expectations of his successor should be realistic.

“Fans don’t forget that winning the treble, doubles is exceptional,” he said. “It is so difficult, this business is so complicated. That’

More than just trophies, Guardiola has connected with City fans, telling them Sunday to hug him if they ever see him in the future, saying “I will need it.”

“It’s hard to describe, it’s someone you don’t actually know, but you feel like you do know,” City fan Richard Wilbourn said. "When I heard the news (he was leaving) I got a bit emotional. What he’s done for the club has been absolutely unreal, and it’s something that we’ve never seen in our lifetime.

“Growing up through my mid-20s to mid-30s (he's been) a massive part of my life.”

City has honored Guardiola by naming its newly developed north stand after him. He will also take up a role as global ambassador.

“I’m sad he’s leaving, but I think he’s leaving at the right time,” said Taylor. “He’s done everything and he can’t go any further in this club, but I think he’s done brilliant and I wish him all the best.”

James Robson is athttps://x.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer:https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’semerging dealto end theIran waris drawing heavy criticism from some fellow Republicans who favor a harder line against the government in Tehran and fear a lost opportunity to finally rein in a longtime Mideast nemesis.

Iran US Pushback

The deal the Republican president had said was “largely negotiated” has left a range of lawmakers, former Cabinet members and conservative analysts wondering aloud whether the terms as currently known will render the conflict all “for naught.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the president's decision to strike Iran was the “most consequential” of his second term and that he should not let up now.

“If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime — still run by Islamists who chant ‘death to America’ — now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over theStrait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake,” Cruz wrote Saturday on the social media platform X. It was in reaction to Trump's update after he had spoken with the leaders of Israel and other U.S. allies in the region.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who also is close to Trump, panned any deal that would leave Iran perceived as being a dominant force in the region and in which it would retain its ability to destroy oil infrastructure throughout the Gulf.

Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, questioned the merit of a proposed 60-day ceasefire, saying it would be a “disaster.”

“Everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!” said Wicker, R-Miss.

Trump says it will take time to ‘get it right’

Trump, who has said he only makes good deals and detests being seen as not having the upper hand in any negotiation, dismissed objections to a deal that he said was not “even fully negotiated yet.”

“So don’t listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about,” he said on his social media platform.

Trump said the deal he and his representatives are working out is “THE EXACT OPPOSITE” of a nuclear pact that Iran agreed to under the Democratic Obama administration. Trump pulled out of that agreement and has been trying to iron out a new one.

“Both sides must take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes!” Trump said.

He added that a U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports would remain “in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.”

Some support for Trump came from Capitol Hill, too.

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GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, often a thorn in the president’s side, defended the White House's approach.

“War virtually always ends with negotiations,” Paul wrote on X. “Critics of President Trump’s peace negotiations should give President Trump the space to find an American First solution.”

Under the proposal,the warwould come to an end and Iran would reopen the strait and give up its stockpile ofhighly enriched uranium, with the details and timelines to be worked out during a later 60-day window, regional officials told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Critics air objections as details trickle out

Pollsshow the war, which began when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, is unpopular with the American public and hascost U.S. taxpayers at least $29 billion, as of this month. Thirteen service members have been killed during the operation.

Trump initially said the war would be over in four weeks to six weeks, but the standoff continues. Iran's closure of the strait, through which about 20% of global energy supplies transit, hasjolted the world economyand sentprices for gasoline and other goodsclimbing.

Mike Pompeo, one of Trump's first-term secretaries of state, asserted on Saturday that the emerging deal seemed to him to be the same as the Obama-era one from which Trump withdrew.

“Not remotely America First,” Pompeo said on X, prompting a profanity-laced rejoinder from Steven Cheung, the White House director of communications.

John Bolton, a national security adviser in the first term who has become a critic of the president, said the emerging plan details seemed to favor the Iranian government.

“If news reports about the impending Iran deal are correct, the ayatollahs will have won a significant victory,” Bolton wrote Sunday on X. “They will be back on the road to nuclear weapons, supporting global terrorism and repressing their own people.”

Rubio says a nuclear Iran is ‘not going to happen’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back on Sunday during a diplomatic mission in India, telling reporters at a news conference that no president has been stronger against Iran than Trump.

“His commitment to that principle that they’ll never have a nuclear weapon shouldn’t be questioned by anybody,” Rubio said. “And the idea that somehow this president, given everything he’s already proven he’s willing to do, is going to somehow agree to a deal that ultimately winds up putting Iran in a stronger position when it comes to nuclear ambitions is absurd. That’s just not going to happen.”

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a Trump antagonist who had pushed legislation to restrain the president’s ability to wage war against Iran, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that while the terms are not yet fully known, “if Lindsey Graham and Ted Cuz are crashing out last night, I’d say it’s probably a pretty good deal.”

Massie will leave Congress in Januaryafter incurring Trump's wrath and losing his GOP primary last week to a Trump-backed challenger.