15 MAY 26 SITREP

• President Trump departed Beijing on Air Force One today after a high-stakes meeting with Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square.
• China committed to helping the United States keep the Strait of Hormuz open and affirmed its stance that Iran should not achieve a nuclear weapon, though Trump rejected Iran's latest proposal.
• Trade discussions produced agreements for 200 planes, down from an initial 500, along with 400 to 450 GE engines, with a potential increase to 750 planes, and Xi Jinping pushed strongly for 500,000 Chinese students to retain access to American universities.
• Xi Jinping made what was described as the most aggressive statement ever by a Chinese leader on Taiwan, declaring it belongs to China, referring to the United States as a fading power, and indicating China would take Taiwan if it were not handed over.

• Paxton announced a settlement with Texas Children's Hospital requiring the hospital to fire all physicians who performed gender transition procedures on minors, pay $10 million to the state for billing Texas Medicaid using false diagnostic codes, and fund the first detransition clinic of its kind in the United States for five years at no cost to patients.
• Paxton stated his office had also forced a Seattle-based hospital to leave the state through a separate settlement and confirmed active investigations into additional hospitals using both state law and Medicaid fraud statutes.
• Paxton confirmed that early voting in the Republican primary runoff for the United States Senate begins Monday of the following week, with five days of early voting and Election Day set for Tuesday, May 26th, the day after Memorial Day weekend.
• Paxton accused Senator Cornyn of holding office for 42 years without a single named accomplishment, helping Joe Biden restrict 2nd Amendment rights, blocking the border wall, failing to deliver on the Save America Act, and receiving 125 million dollars from Washington to fund television advertising.

• The Department of Justice announced the arrest of Iraqi national Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, a senior commander of designated terrorist organization Kata'ib Hizballah, on six counts of terrorism-related offenses tied to his alleged involvement in 20 attacks and attempted attacks in the United States and Europe.
• Al-Saadi allegedly worked closely with IRGC-QF commander Qasem Soleimani before his death and called on others to attack and kill Americans in retribution, posting a February 2026 message reading in part to kill everyone who supports America and Israel and to not leave any of them remaining across civil and military targets.
• Al-Saadi and his associates allegedly planned, coordinated, and claimed responsibility for at least 18 terrorist attacks in Europe and two attacks in Canada beginning March 9, 2026, and he is accused of attempting to coordinate attacks targeting Jewish institutions in New York City by texting planning documents on April 3 to a person revealed to be an undercover law enforcement officer.
• Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated the charges show American law enforcement will use all tools to disrupt and dismantle foreign terrorist organizations, and FBI Director Kash Patel called the operation the latest success in the administration's work to bring terrorists to justice, crediting Ambassador Tom Barrack for leading the joint operation.