Week 70 — The Return – The Weekly List

This week started with Trump firing Kristi Noem from her role leading Homeland Security, after a disastrous performance in her Congressional testimony, as well as on the job. Before we get to Trump’s war of choice, it is worth pointing out that this week’s list is full of examples of the gross incompetence of the loyalists picked by Trump for senior roles, from Health and Human Services, to Energy, to the Justice Department, to Voice of America — the American people are now suffering first-hand from the consequences. Even temporary parts of the second Trump regime, like DOGE, are producing horrendous outcomes for the American people months later, including a Social Security breach.

Trump has gotten our country into quite a mess with his war on Iran. In addition to the seven U.S. soldiers killed, and more than 150 injured so far, as the week came to a close, U.S. military intelligence finally admitted that the U.S. was behind a tragic bombing of a girls’ school in Iran. This, after Trump spent the week deflecting and lying, for what may be the most devastating military error in decades. Reporting this week also indicates that Trump and his regime miscalculated Iran’s response, had little in the way of a plan to help U.S. citizens evacuate, or to deal with the ensuing spike in the price of oil. Trump and his regime spent the week changing stories on goals, objectives, and the end game, at times changing facts in less than an hour’s span. It was clear by week’s end that Trump is not in control here, and as Congress once again abdicated its role, the U.S. finds itself and the world economy in the hands of one man, surrounded by incompetent sycophants — a nightmare scenario. The CEO of Aramco warned, “There would be catastrophic consequences for the world’s oil markets and the longer the disruption goes on, the more drastic the consequences for the global economy.”

Trump’s solution to all this mess of his creation is to try to steal the midterm election. He threatened not to sign any legislation into law unless Congress passed his so-called SAVE America Act, to which he added the end of mail-in voting. Perhaps the most honest thing Trump said this week was in a speech to House Republicans, that passing the Act “will guarantee the midterms,” and “If you don’t get it, big trouble, my opinion.” Notably, he made this pronouncement from his Doral golf resort, where he hosted Republicans and events over the weekend, during a war, and at the expense of U.S. taxpayers. His hosting at taxpayers’ expense would have been a broken norm during his first regime, but this time, it was not even picked up as such by our media — yet another example of how far down the rabbit hole we have fallen.

As the week began, three polls showed the majority of Americans opposed Trump’s military action in Iran, finding roughly 60% disapproved. The polls showed that most Republicans approved, while most Democrats disapproved.
NYT reported Trump was the first president of modern times to start a war without public support. Trump did little to gather public support by explaining his rationale for striking, or objectives in doing so. Typically presidents gain in popularity in times of war, but Trump did not.
WAPO reported Senate Democrats opened a probe into the $63 million donated by ABC, Meta, Paramount, and X towards Trump’s library, as part of their legal settlements with him last year. The fund set up to collect the donations had since been dissolved.
The New Yorker reported National Institute of Health grants to universities are down by more than 90% in the current fiscal year. The National Cancer Institute has not made a single grant to universities during that time.
WAPO reported that a whistleblower complaint to the Social Security inspector general’s office claimed that a former DOGE employee had access to two highly sensitive agency databases, and planned to share the information with his private employer, an unprecedented breach.
The employee told co-workers he had two databases, “Numident” and the “Master Death File,” which included extensive records for more than 500 million living and dead Americans, on a thumb drive. He asked for help transferring the data to his personal computer to “sanitize” it.
Bloomberg reported the DOJ proposed a regulation that would allow Attorney General Pam Bondi to suspend state bar ethics investigations into current and former DOJ lawyers while the department does its own review, diminishing local bar associations’ power.
NYT reported former U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan was under investigation by the Florida bar, over her willingness to bring baseless criminal cases against Trump’s perceived enemies at his request.
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which enforces ethics standards for attorneys in D.C., accused Ed Martin, Trump’s former interim U.S. Attorney for D.C., of professional misconduct for a threatening letter he sent to Georgetown Law School’s dean last year.
On Friday, in a bombastic court filing, after the regime had dropped its case against four law firms and then reversed, the DOJ attacked the federal judiciary, saying, “Courts cannot tell the president what to say,” and that judges had “bent over backwards” to rule against Trump.
NYT reported the DOJ had abandoned its attempts to build a case against Joseph Biden and his aides for using an autopen, that began after pressure from Trump to bring indictments against his perceived enemies, after being unable to make a case.
On Monday, in a scathing ruling, a New Jersey judge said the three-person leadership team of the New Jersey federal prosecutor’s office appointed by Trump was unlawful without Senate confirmation. He added all convictions under their leadership could later be reversed.
CNN reported GOP lawmakers are pushing the DOJ to pursue charges against Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide in the first Trump regime, over her Congressional testimony about the Jan. 6 insurrection. One House Republican baselessly accused her of lying in her testimony.
The FBI subpoenaed records about voting results in Maricopa County, Arizona, as the Trump regime expanded its baseless criminal investigation into the results of the 2020 election. The Republican president of the Arizona Senate said the state had complied.
On Sunday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would not “sign any other bills” into law until Congress overhauled voting by passing the SAVE America Act, adding, “It must be done immediately. It supersedes everything else.”
On Monday, Trump told House Republicans that the SAVE America Act is his “№1 priority” ahead of midterms, adding that “It will guarantee the midterms,” and adding, “If you don’t get it, big trouble, my opinion.” Trump spent a quarter of his one-hour speech on this one issue.
Trump also said lawmakers should add in provisions curbing mail voting and targeting transgender rights. Trump said of the Senate, “They have to get it done.” On Monday, Leader John Thune reiterated that there was not support to override the filibuster.
WAPO reported Health and Human Services Sec. Robert Kennedy Jr. directed his vaccine advisers to drop their public attacks of and plans to stop recommending the covid-19 mRNA vaccines, after Republicans warned a shift in policy would harm them in midterms.
On Wednesday, GOP Sen. Steve Daines, a Trump loyalist, announced just minutes before the filing deadline closed for November’s election that he would not run for reelection, essentially closing the field of candidates for him and Turmp to handpick his successor.
On Wednesday, Trump said he would pick and endorse one of the two candidates in a Texas Senate Republican primary runoff, and called for the candidate who does not receive his endorsement to “immediately DROP OUT.” Democrats had outperformed in voting in the primary.
On Monday, Trump said he would hold up his endorsement in Texas until the SAVE America Act had passed. Sen. John Cornyn, the incumbent seeking his endorsement, wrote an op-ed on Wednesday arguing passing the Act was more important than the filibuster.
On Friday, Jean Davidson, executive director of the National Symphony, which performs at the Kennedy Center, resigned, citing frustration with the turmoil at the center since Trump named himself chairman, installed loyalist Richard Grenell, and renamed the center.
On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration commissioner informed staffers that the agency’s vaccine chief, Dr. Vinay Prasad, was leaving the agency, marking his second departure in less than a year. His exit came after a string of controversies over the review of vaccines.
On Wednesday, Department of Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem testified before the House Judiciary Committee. Noem lied that she was unaware of ICE having violated any court orders or lying to judges, baselessly claiming, “it is common knowledge that we have activist judges.”
She also lied under questioning by Democrat Joe Neguse that the $220 million for producing videos of her were awarded through “a competitive process.” Two contracts went to companies led by Republican operatives, one for $143 million set up the week prior.
On Thursday, Trump fired Noem on Truth Social. The final straw was her Congressional testimony: asked about her $220 million ad campaign, featuring herself urging those living illegally in the U.S. to self-deport, she claimed that Trump had signed off, when he had not.
NBC News reported that Noem also awarded $100 million in contracts for an ICE recruitment campaign to the same two companies, People Who Think and Safe America Media, that got the videos contract. The contracts were also not competitive, and lower bids were turned away.
On Thursday, the Pentagon formally labelled Anthropic as a supply chain risk, baselessly claiming the company and its AI tools present security threats. Anthropic is the first U.S. company to be named a supply chain risk, and comes as the company’s AI was being used in the Iran war.
Anthropic’s CEO wrote in a letter to employees that the “real reasons” the Trump regime does not like us is “we haven’t donated to Trump,” “We haven’t given dictator-style praise to Trump,” “we have supported AI regulation” and “we’ve told the truth” on AI issues, unlike OpenAI.
On Monday, Anthropic sued the Trump regime over the Pentagon designating it as a supply chain risk, calling it “a necessary step to protect our business, our customers, and our partners,” and adding, “We will continue to pursue every path toward resolution.”
CNBC reported Anthropic’s AI models were extremely popular within the federal government, including defense experts, and were viewed by many as superior to rivals’ offerings. Government officials said the ban set a troubling precedent, and left the military without the best option.
CBS News reported an internal Pentagon memo sent on Friday ordered military commanders to remove Anthropic’s AI technology from their systems, including key national security systems like those for nuclear weapons and ballistic missile defense, within 180 days.
On Tuesday, Microsoft filed a brief in support of Anthropic, saying the court should temporarily block the Pentagon ban, which would “enable a more orderly transition and avoid disrupting the American military’s ongoing use of advanced AI.”
WSJ reported Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson had rewritten the playbook for the agency by mixing MAGA issues with traditional enforcement. The FTC recently dovetailed with Trump’s message on affordability, targeting goods like groceries and housing.
Ferguson has also pursued right-wing targets like DEI, transgender healthcare, and media bias. Critics have accused him of doing lasting damage to the agency’s credibility. Ferguson faces no pushback on the commission after Trump fired the two Democrats last year.
Bloomberg reported the Trump regime had drafted a regulation that would require companies to get approval from the regime for virtually all exports of AI accelerators, impacting chip sales from companies like Nvidia and AMD.
On Thursday, 24 Democratic attorneys general, led by New York AG Letitia James, sued the Trump regime in the Court of International Trade, seeking to invalidate Trump’s newest tariffs imposed under the Trade Act of 1974, and to get refunds from the previous tariffs.
On Friday, Customs and Border Protection told a U.S. Court of International Trade judge that it was unable to comply with the order to start refunding $166 billion in collected tariffs from 330,000 importers, citing its existing technology, and could begin by late April.
On Thursday, Interior Department Sec. Doug Burgum, who leads the White House National Energy Dominance Council, visited Venezuela and met with its new president and Venezuelan oil, gas, and mining companies to work towards a rare earth deal between the companies.
On Wednesday, Trump gave yet another rationale in the ever-shifting rationale for starting a war with Iran, lying that “If we didn’t hit within 2 weeks, they would’ve had a nuclear weapon,” adding, “When crazy people have nuclear weapons bad things happen.”
On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that “over the past several hours” Spain had agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military in Iran. The Spanish government denied Leavitt’s claim.
Later Wednesday, the Senate voted, 47–53, against a measure that would have limited Trump’s power to continue waging war against Iran without congressional authorization. GOP Sen. Rand Paul voted with Democrats, and Democrat Sen. John Fetterman with Republicans.
Republicans spent the first week of the military conflict trying to avoid calling it a “war,” instead purposefully using terms like a “major combat operation,” a “mission,” and “hostilities” instead. Trump, however, referred to the military operation as a “war.”
On Thursday, Trump told Axios that he needed to have a say in picking Iran’s next leader, saying, “They [Iran] are wasting their time” with Khamenei’s son, whom he called “a lightweight,” adding, “I have to be involved in the appointment,” like Delcy Rodriguez in Venezuela.
Bloomberg reported Trump went to war without informing European allies, and now that he needed their cooperation for launching attacks from their bases, they are reluctant. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned the war reflects a “crisis of international law.”
On Thursday, an analysis by the NYT found that the U.S. was likely responsible for the missile that killed more than one hundred people at a girls’ school. The U.S. had bombed a naval base in the area, and all missiles hit their targets, including the school, with precision.
Reuters reported U.S. military investigators believed it was likely U.S. forces that struck the school, but had not reached a final conclusion. Satellite imagery showed the school was near an Iranian Revolutionary Guard compound, but had been separated for more than a decade.
On Thursday, Trump invited a group of pastors and faith leaders to the Oval Office. The White House released an image of them surrounding him as he sat at the Resolute desk, saying a prayer for him, while several put their hand on him.
On Thursday, Trump told Reuters that he was not concerned about rising oil prices during his Iran operation, saying, “I don’t have any concern about it,” claiming, “They’ll drop very rapidly when this is over,” and “if they rise, they rise.”
On Friday, Labor Department data showed the U.S. lost 92,000 jobs in February, well below economists’ expectations of adding 50,000 jobs. The unemployment rate also ticked higher to 4.4%. The price of oil also jumped above $85 per barrel.
Shortly after, Trump posted on Truth Social, “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” The Dow Jones plunged more than 900 points at the open, on the weak labor report, and the threat of a prolonged war and oil prices.
Shortly after, Trump changed the subject, telling CNN, “Cuba is gonna fall pretty soon, by the way, unrelated, but Cuba is gonna fall too,” adding, “They want to make a deal so badly,” and “I’m going to put Marco over there.” The U.S. had blocked Venezuelan oil from getting into Cuba.
Hours later, Leavitt tried to redefine what Trump meant by unconditional surrender, telling reporters, “What the President means is that when he, as Commander in Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, determines that Iran no ⁠longer poses a threat to the United States.”
On Friday, WAPO reported that Russia is providing Iran with targeting information on U.S. troops in the region, and the locations of U.S. military assets, including warships and aircraft.
Later Friday, when Fox News White House reporter Peter Doocy asked Trump about the Post reporting on Russia helping Iran, Trump berated him, saying, “I have a lot of respect for you. You’ve always been very nice to me. What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time.”
Leavitt was also asked about Russia helping Iran on a Fox News show on Friday. She responded, “we don’t comment on intelligence reports that are leaked to the press,” then added, “Whether or not this happened, frankly, it does not really matter” because we are “decimating” Iran.
Shortly after, Treasury Department Sec. Scott Bessent told Fox Business, “Treasury agreed to let our allies in India start buying Russian oil that was already on the water,” and “We may unsanction other Russian oil” to help boost global supply.
The move came as the U.S. and other partners urgently sought help from Ukraine on how to counter Iranian drones. The same drones were used by Russia against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said experts were on their way to help their partners.
The U.S. joined Russia, China, and Niger on Thursday, in voting against an International Atomic Energy Agency resolution condemning Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as a threat to nuclear safety. It marked the first time the U.S. had voted against such a resolution.
On Friday, NBC News reported that Trump has privately expressed interest with aides and Republican officials in sending ground troops to Iran, in hopes of securing Iran’s nuclear ambition, and having a post-war cooperation on oil production similar to Venezuela.
On Friday, asked by TIME if he was worried about attacks on the homeland, Trump said, “I guess,” adding, “We plan for it. But yeah, you know, we expect some things. Like I said, some people will die. When you go to war, some people will die.”
U.S. crude oil prices surged by 36% during the week, the biggest weekly gain in the history of the futures contract dating back to 1983. Qatar’s energy minister warned oil prices could reach $150 per barrel, and that the war could “bring down the economies of the world.”
WSJ reported that many Americans, including staff and their families who worked at embassies, were still stranded in the Middle East, after the State Department did no preplanning to get them home before telling them to leave. European countries got citizens home quickly.
WSJ reported that in the week since Trump’s initial strikes on Iran, his rationales and objectives had rapidly shifted, leaving his endgame unclear, even as the war had metastasized into a regional crisis that had drawn in more than a dozen countries.
The Daily Mail reported that on Friday the Trump regime blocked a joint intelligence statement prepared by the FBI, DHS, and the National Counterterrorism Center, warning of the rising threat to the homeland, from being sent out to local law enforcement.
On Saturday, in a speech broadcast on Iran’s state television, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian labeled Trump’s call for Tehran’s unconditional surrender a “dream they should take to their grave,” and said Iran would no longer strike its Middle East neighbors.
Shortly after, Trump claimed victory on Truth Social, saying, “It is the first time that Iran has ever lost, in thousands of years,” claiming Iran’s neighbors had thanked him, and that Iran was no longer a bully of the Middle East. However, strikes against Iran’s neighbors continued.
Trump criticized U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer for saying Britain was giving “serious thought” to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East, posting on Truth Social, “we don’t need them any longer…We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won.”
Later Saturday, Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani said on national television that Iran would not surrender and would continue to retaliate, saying the U.S. “must pay the price,” and “America is stuck in the swamp of its own miscalculations.”
Later Saturday, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had ruled out involving Kurdish forces in the war, telling reporters “we don’t want to make the war any more complex.” On Thursday, Trump said he would be “all in” for the Kurds launching an offensive.
Asked about reports that Russia was aiding Iran, Trump denied it, saying, “I have had no indication of that whatsoever,” then added, “I guess they’d say we do it against them” in Ukraine.
Trump also ruled out settling the war with Iran, telling reporters, “At some point, I don’t think there will be anybody left maybe to say ‘We surrender.’” This came after Pezeshkian faced criticism at home for apologizing to Iran’s neighbors.
Asked by reporters, Trump baselessly claimed that Iran was responsible for the missile that hit the girls’ school, telling reporters, “Based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,” adding Iran is “very inaccurate.” Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth jumped in to clarify that the attack is under investigation.
On Sunday, new video footage released by Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency showed a Tomahawk missile hitting a compound in southern Iran, meters from the girls’ school. Only the U.S., not Israel or Iran, had Tomahawk missiles.
On Saturday, the U.S. embassy in Oslo was targeted with an explosive device, causing minor damage with no injuries reported. The explosion occurred at 1 a.m. on Sunday local time.
On Sunday, on three different broadcasts, Fox News used old clips of Trump attending a military funeral, rather than use the actual images from Saturday’s return of six U.S. soldiers killed in the Middle East, where he wore a white golf hat, blue suit, and red tie.
Fox News claimed on Monday that it was a mistake, saying, “We regret the error and apologize for the incorrect footage.” One Fox News co-host, Johnny “Joey” Jones, who was also a veteran, posted on social media that he was “embarrassed and ashamed” that this happened.
On Sunday, Trump told ABC News of rumors that Iran was set to pick their next supreme leader, “He’s going to have to get approval from us,” adding, “If he doesn’t get approval from us he’s not going to last long. We want to make sure that we don’t have to go back every 10 years.”
Trump also dismissed rising oil prices as “a little glitch,” and said, “We had to take this detour.” Asked about pushback to the war from his base, Trump lied, “It’s more popular than ever. It’s a very MAGA thing what we’re doing. A very very MAGA thing.”
On Sunday, asked on Fox News about the possibility of a military draft, Leavitt said, “Trump wisely does not remove options off of the table,” adding when pressed, “It’s not part of the current plan right now, but the president, again, wisely keeps his options on the table.”
On Sunday, the State Department ordered U.S. employees and diplomats in Saudi Arabia to leave the country, the first “ordered departure” since the start of the war. The mission in Saudi Arabia had not had a Senate-confirmed ambassador since the start of the second Trump regime.
On Sunday, Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the former leader, as its new supreme leader, signaling a continuation of the existing theocratic regime, and a rebuke to Trump. Iran continued to fire missiles and drones at Arab countries in the region.
Later Sunday, oil prices spiked to nearly $110 a barrel at the open. Trump posted on Truth Social that oil prices “will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over,” calling it “a very small price to pay,” adding, “ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!”
The run up in oil prices, to as high as $120, marked the biggest oil disruption in history, more than double the previous record during the Middle East crisis of the 1950s. Asian markets plummeted overnight, as the U.S.-Iran war threatened a global economic disruption.
On Monday, a Quinnipiac poll found 53% opposed military action in Iran, while 40% supported it, split along parties lines with 31% of Independents supporting. 74% opposed sending U.S.ground troops, 20% supported, and 55% did not believe Iran posed an imminent threat.
On Monday, WSJ reported that Eric Trump and Donald Jr. were backing Powerus, a drone roll-up company that was vying for Pentagon contracts and had plans to go public.
FT reported a Republican-led House committee demanded information from Dominari Securities, whose parent company’s board includes Eric and Donald Jr., for its role in facilitating U.S. initial public offerings of Chinese stocks, in a pump-and-dump operation.
On Monday, WAPO reported that the Pentagon burned through $5.6 billion of munitions in the first two days of the Iran war, far higher than was previously known. The disclosure raised concerns of both the cost of the war, and the scarcity of the U.S. supply of advanced weapons.
On Monday, Turkey, a NATO member, was targeted for a second time by an Iranian ballistic missile. For a second time, NATO defenses shot down the incoming missile. The escalation risked drawing NATO into the war.
On Monday, the DOJ resolved a longstanding case against Turkish state-run lender Halkbank over laundering billions for Iran, relieving one of the main conflicts between the U.S. and Turkey. Trump had tried repeatedly during the first regime to end the case.
On Monday, New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch said the homemade bomb that was thrown near Gracie Mansion on Saturday at far-right provocateurs protesting by Emir Balat, 18, with help from Ibrahim Nikk, 19, was an act of “ISIS inspired terrorism.”
On Monday, ABC News reported Iran may serve as “an operational trigger” activating sleeper cells outside the country, according to an alert, citing a transmission “likely of Iranian origin” relayed across multiple countries shortly after Ali Khamenei was killed.
On Monday, shortly before the stock market closed, Trump told CBS News “the war is very complete,” causing oil prices to fall sharply. He claimed, “If you look, they have nothing left. There’s nothing left in a military sense,” and added he had “no message” for the new leader.
Later Monday, at a press conference from his Doral golf club, Trump said the Iran war will end “very soon,” seeking to reassure markets. Trump had yet to offer objectives, or to clarify his end game, rather boasting, “We’ve wiped every single force in Iran out, very completely.”
Trump gave contradicting statements about when the war would end, suggesting it was near an end, then saying the U.S. and Israel would go after Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Asked about Hegseth saying it was just the beginning, Trump said, “It’s the beginning of building a new country.”
Trump said his rationale for launching the war was based on the information he had received from Hegseth, Rubio, and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, saying, “I thought if we didn’t do this at the time we did it, I think they had in mind to attack us.”
Nuclear experts said Witkoff and Kushner, who led the nuclear negotiations, had a limited understanding of the technical details of the enrichment programs, and did not bring along nuclear technical experts to their talks with Iran in Geneva.
Trump also repeatedly referred to the war as an “excursion,” saying, “We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some evil,” and “I think you’ll see it’s going to be a short-term excursion,” adding, “We could call it a tremendous success right now.”
Trump repeated multiple false claims, including that many nations had Tomahawk missiles that could have hit the girls’ school, that the spike in oil “Doesn’t really affect us,” and that Iran was going to “take over the Middle East” if the U.S. and Israel did not strike first.
Asked if he will help the Iranian people as promised, Trump said, “I’d like to, if they can behave, but they’ve been very menacing.” It was unclear what Trump was referring to. He had at times cited the struggles of the Iranian people as a rationale for striking Iran.
Trump also said he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin for an hour and claimed Putin wanted to be helpful, saying, “I had a very good call with President Putin,” and “I said, ‘You could be more helpful by getting the Ukraine-Russia war over with. That will be more helpful.’”
Later Monday, Trump posted on Truth Social, “If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz” they will be hit “TWENTY TIMES HARDER.” Oil futures plunged by 11% in reaction.
Later Monday, WSJ reported Trump’s advisers have urged him to find an exit ramp for Iran, amid oil prices spiking above $100 and concern about a political backlash at midterms for an extended war. Trump advisers have fielded worried calls from Republicans in Congress.
On Tuesday, WSJ reported Republicans started speaking publicly about their concerns. Sen. Rand Paul told Fox Business, “I think you’re going to see a disastrous election.” Others tried to avoid reporters on the issue. The price of regular gas jumped over 20% from last month.
On Tuesday, Trump claimed on Fox News that he heard Tehran wanted to talk badly, which Middle East experts said was unlikely to be true, and said it was possible he would be willing to talk with them.
On Tuesday, oil prices fell 17% after Energy Department Sec. Chris Wright posted on X, “the U.S. Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure oil remains flowing.” Shortly after, he deleted the post, causing the price of oil to rise by 12%.
Hours later, an Energy Department spokesperson claimed the post was deleted because it was “incorrectly captioned by Department of Energy staff,” adding, “President Trump, Secretary Wright, and the rest of the President’s energy team are closely monitoring the situation.”
Trump also gave mixed messages, posting on Truth Social that the U.S. had “no reports” of mines being placed; then asking Iranian forces to remove any mines; then posting that the U.S. had “hit, and completely destroyed, 10 inactive mine laying boats” with “more to follow.”
On Tuesday, asked about Russia sharing intelligence with Iran, Witkoff told CNBC that on the call with Trump yesterday, “the Russians said they have not been sharing.” When pressed, he added, “We can take them at their word,” and “Let’s hope that they’re not sharing.”
Witkoff also repeated a debunked claim as a rationale for entering the war, baselessly claiming that Iran “had 460 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium…It was a clear threat.” A mediator said Iran was willing to give up the enriched uranium as part of a new agreement with Trump.
Russian officials said the U.S. cannot be trusted in state media outlets, noting while Trump pushed for peace with Ukraine, he is “devouring” Russian allies one by one and “lulling us to sleep with fairy tales about unprecedented prospects for Russian-American cooperation.”
On Tuesday, Leavitt told reporters that the Iran war was a “resounding success.” Asked about ending the war, Leavitt moved the goalpost, saying “unconditional surrender” was not necessary, but when Trump determines Iran no longer poses a “credible threat” to the U.S.
On Tuesday, CENTCOM said it had destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying boats near the Strait of Hormuz. Trump had encouraged tanker crews on Tuesday to “show some guts” and try to get through the Strait on Fox News.
On Wednesday, three ships in the Strait of Hormuz were hit by “unknown projectiles,” as Iran launched its most intensive strikes of the war. One boat from Liberia was told by the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, “American aggressors and their partners have no right of passage.”
On Wednesday, WSJ reported the International Energy Agency said its member countries would release 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves, the largest release in history. While Trump did not consult with allies on the war, he pressured them to release reserves.
On Wednesday, NYT reported Trump and his regime miscalculated Iran’s response, and its impact on the price of oil, and had no plans in place to address what occurred. Trump continued to give mixed messaging on rationale, objectives, and exit, adding to the confusion.
On Wednesday, a preliminary military investigation found that the U.S. was at fault for striking a girls’ school in Iran, the result of a targeting mistake of an adjacent Iranian base, in what was the most devastating military error in recent decades. At least 175 died, mostly children.
On Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee voted 24–19, with five Republicans voting with Democrats, to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify on her handling of the Epstein files, over the objection of the committee chairman, marking a rebuke of the Trump regime.
NPR reported the DOJ released 16 new pages of Epstein files, including three FBI interview summaries with a woman who accused Trump of sexual abuse when she was a minor. Still 37 documents were missing, including interviews, a law enforcement report, and license records.
On Monday, New Mexico state investigators began a search of Epstein’s Zorro Ranch. The current resident was fully cooperating. State legislators voted unanimously to impanel a bipartisan “truth commission” in the State Legislature, which had subpoena power.
WAPO reported that the Trump regime was taking steps to close Fort Bliss detention center in El Paso, which had been open for just eight months, after the problematic experiment in operating a large scale detention, including the deaths of three detainees.
AP reported an average of one 911 call per day for the past five months from ICE’s largest immigration center, Camp East Montana in Texas, detailing suicide attempts, fights, and misery at the center. Detainees lacked access to medical care and food, as well as poor conditions.
The Tucson Star reported Haitian national Emmanuel Damas, 56, died in ICE custody at Florence Correctional Center in Arizona, after ICE refused to get him treatment after he complained about an infected tooth for two weeks. ICE did not initially report the death.
ICE arrested Estefany Rodriguez Florez of Nashville Noticias, a Spanish-language Tennessee news outlet, who had done reporting critical of ICE. Rodriguez, a Colombian citizen married to a U.S. citizen, entered the U.S. lawfully, and applied for political asylum and legal status.
NYT reported ICE arrested teen musicians Antonio Yesayahu Gámez-Cuéllar, 18, and Caleb Gámez-Cuéllar, 14, along with their parents and younger brother in Texas, and they faced deportation despite none having a criminal record. The brothers had performed at the U.S. Capitol in 2025.
WSJ reported U.S. citizens are now a target of Trump’s immigration crackdown: of the 279 people accused by regime officials on X of attacking federal officers in the past year, 181 were U.S. citizens, close to half were never charged with assault, and none were convicted at trial.
Yet having their names publicly displayed by ICE exposed some to death threats, and others having to explain to family, friends, and work. The court cases also left them shouldering legal bills and missing work. When they were exonerated, government accounts on X went silent.
On Monday, a federal judge ordered federal agents to stop using tear-gas on protestors and journalists at an Oregon ICE facility, saying, “Defendants’ conduct — physically harming protestors and journalists without prior dispersal warnings — is objectively chilling.”
Axios reported White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair privately told House Republicans to stop using the term “mass deportations,” and to instead focus their messaging on deporting violent offenders ahead of midterms, as polling turned against Trump on immigration.
The Miami Herald reported on a leaked Miami-Dade County’s Republican Party group chat for conservative students, which within three weeks had over 400 instances of the N-word, Nazi rhetoric, and writings of “dozens of ways of violently killing Black people.”
Andrew Paul Johnson, a Jan. 6 insurrectionist who was pardoned by Trump, was sentenced to life in prison for multiple sex crimes against children.
On Saturday, a federal judge ruled that Kari Lake was illegally elevated to the run the U.S. Agency for Global Media, and hence acted unlawfully in overseeing Voice of America. He declared her actions over the past year to be null and void, including her firing of more than 1,000 employees.
On Sunday, U.S. Southern Command posted on X that it had struck another alleged drug boat, killing six “male narco-terrorists.” The U.S. military had killed at least 156 people in the operation so far.
On Sunday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for a federal investigation into why the National Weather Service did not issue a tornado warning before a deadly storm struck southwest Michigan.
On Sunday, J. Todd Inman said that the Trump regime had fired him from his post as a Republican member of the National Transportation Safety Board without explanation. Inman was the face of the agency after the 2025 American Airlines crash in D.C.
The Trump regime claimed on Monday that Inman had been drinking on the job, and had other alleged misconduct. Inman called it a “political hit job.” NTSB board members serve a fixed term and are rarely fired.
On Tuesday, the Trump regime appealed a court ruling barring them from searching a Washington Post reporter’s devices, claiming that the order violated the Constitution’s separation of powers, and that journalists are not protected from sensitive government data searches.

Gas prices across the country jumped by more than 20 percent since the start of the Iran War (Photo by Rod Rolle/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)