The Atlantic Politics & Policy Daily: RSVPutin

Written by Elaine Godfrey (@elainejgodfrey), Maddie Carlisle (@maddiecarlisle2), and Olivia Paschal (@oliviacpaschal)

Today in 5 Lines

• The White House said that President Trump “disagrees” with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to interrogate 11 Americans, in exchange for allowing the U.S. to question the 12 Russians indicted last week. Trump first called the offer “incredible.”

• The White House said that Trump asked National-Security Adviser John Bolton to invite Putin to Washington this fall. Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted that he is “looking forward” to his second meeting with Putin.

• Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen hedged when asked whether the administration would reunify 2,500 immigrant children with their families by July 26, as a federal court has ordered. "We will do our best, but we will not cut corners," Nielsen said at the Aspen Security Forum.

• Trump criticized the Federal Reserve for increasing interest rates in June, telling CNBC, “I don’t like all of this work that we’re putting into the economy and then I see rates going up.”

• The House passed a package of appropriations bills for 2019 that would cut funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by $100 million.

Today on The Atlantic

• ‘The Worst Security Risk in U.S. History’: No one knows what President Trump said during his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, because no one else—not even Trump’s national-security adviser—was in the room. (David Frum)

• Trump Can Never Go Too Far: Republican senators showed this week that, when it comes to Russia, they’ll always take Trump at his word—no matter how flimsy his excuses. (David A. Graham)

• So Much Spinning: The White House can’t get its story straight on the president’s summit with Putin, and its messaging is only getting more confusing. (Rosie Gray)  

• A Challenge From the Right: Never Trump conservatives don’t have to represent a majority to regain leverage in the GOP, writes Ronald Brownstein. “They just have to demonstrate that the party can’t win without them.”

Snapshot

What We’re Reading

Who Is Paul Erikson?: The Republican political consultant has found himself under scrutiny for his reported relationship with Maria Butina, the 29-year-old guns-rights activist and alleged Russian spy. It’s not his first taste of controversy. (Adam Rawnsley, The Daily Beast)

Disease in the Rural South: Poor sewage and water infrastructure in many communities has led to a surge in tropical diseases more commonly found in developing countries. (Lyndsey Gilpin, Scalawag)

Why So Skeptical?: A new study shows that Americans’ trust in science doesn’t necessarily correlate with their political ideology—but it’s often connected to their religiosity. (Bastiaan T. Rutjens, Aeon)

On His Donors’ Dimes: Representative Devin Nunes of California reportedly used political donations to pay for nearly $15,000 in tickets to Boston Celtics basketball games and trips to Las Vegas. (Kate Irby, McClatchy)

Visualized

‘Two Good Guys With Guns’: On May 24, two residents confronted and killed a gunman in Oklahoma City. Here’s how it happened. (Frances Stead Sellers and Mark Berman, The Washington Post)

It’s Not Just in Your Head: According to a new analysis by the Pew Research Center, people really have become angrier on social media. (German Lopez, Vox)