Trump announced a deal for Hamas to disarm. And, the U.S. economy slowed a bit

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President Trump is claiming that Hamas will completely disarm and Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza under a new groundbreaking deal. But a senior official from the Palestinian militant group told NPR they would only give up their weapons if Israel withdraws from Gaza first, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to respond. The president said that his Board of Peace agreed to the plan with the support of mediators from Egypt, Turkey and Qatar. The announcement comes more than nine months after a U.S.-brokered Gaza ceasefire was signed.

• The deal faces hurdles over whether the Israeli or Hamas portion of the agreement should take place first, NPR’s Franco Ordoñez tells Up First. Trump needs a win with Gaza, veteran Republican strategist Alex Conant says, with the midterm elections just over three months away. Conant warns of political consequences if the Iran war continues and gas prices keep rising.

Trump is considering withdrawing his nomination of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to officially take over the role. Two Republican senators are withholding their support for Blanche due to the Department of Justice’s deal with the president to end his IRS lawsuit. Trump says the withdrawal could be temporary until those two senators, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, leave office in January.

• The senators are requesting written assurances from the Justice Department that both the settlement and the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund are off the table, NPR’s Ryan Lucas says. Cornyn and Tillis also want clarity on the tax immunity deal for Trump, his family and his businesses. Lucas says the bottom line is that Trump would rather withdraw Blanche’s nomination than provide senators with guarantees of deals that favor him.

The U.S. economy has largely managed the impact of rising energy costs resulting from the war with Iran, according to a recent Commerce Department report. From April to June, the U.S. gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 1.5%, a slight slowdown from the first quarter of 2026, when GDP grew by 2.1%. Much of the change stems from a decrease in government spending and a surge in imports.

• A growth rate of 1.5% seems more promising than a recession when the economy shrinks, but the growth is slower than last year, NPR’s Scott Horsley says. Consumer spending, the main driver of the economy, remained strong despite soaring gasoline prices. Some analysts say much of the spending growth comes from upper-income families who feel wealthy currently due to a booming stock market and rising home prices. Horsley says a downturn in the stock market could cause them to cut back on spending.