The United States has scaled back its daily military strikes on Iran to allow more time for negotiations, according to President Trump and administration officials, with UN ambassador Mike Waltz saying Trump is "giving it a little bit of room." Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that Iran had requested a meeting, suggesting a possible diplomatic opening after a period of sustained American attacks. The development comes as Senate Republicans voice growing unease over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's handling of the ongoing conflict, with some senators pushing to cancel the August recess to focus on other priorities.

Separately, Trump visited the General Motors Milford Proving Ground in Milford, Michigan, on Monday to promote domestic manufacturing, watching a drag race between GM vehicles before addressing a crowd. The visit comes just over a week before Michigan's 4 August primaries, in which Democratic Senate candidates Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed were due to debate the same evening, ahead of a general election matchup against former Republican congressman Mike Rogers. Meanwhile, the Senate was set to hold a procedural vote on Jay Clayton's nomination for director of national intelligence, and Senator Mike Lee is leading calls to cancel recess in favour of passing the SAVE America Act.