Politico: “Trump is right: The flow of oil from the Persian Gulf to the U.S. is far less than it used to be. But no matter what he says, the industry is keenly aware of how important that oil still is. That’s why CEOs have been pleading with Trump for weeks to end Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait, which remains vital to the global market in which they operate.”
Macron Calls on Allies to Unite Against U.S.
Bloomberg: “French President Emmanuel Macron is calling on medium-sized powers to join forces and stand up to the US and China.”
“Macron hammered the message during his tour of Asia this week, where he discussed maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz and closer cooperation with South Korea and Japan — two countries badly suffering from high energy costs as the war in Iran keeps the strait closed.”
Americans Have a Dim View of the Iran War
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds 86 percent of Americans are concerned for the lives of U.S. military personnel in Iran — and 56 percent believe the war will have a negative impact on their personal financial situation.
A Huge Strategic Defeat
Andrew Sullivan: “Compared with before the war, Iran’s strategic position is enhanced, not weakened, because a regime that survives this kind of asymmetric war wins it. Buoyant oil prices are now providing Iran with twice the oil revenue it had before the war! IRGC control of the Strait of Hormuz opens another stream of tolls — up to $2 million a ship — for the regime, funding rearmament.”
“If Iran ends the war with strategic control of almost a fifth of the world’s oil supplies, the Gulf states will have to accommodate it. That’s a huge strategic defeat for us.”
“And for what? Iran’s nuclear threats had already been defanged last year. There was no immediate threat. There was no looming threat. There was simply an immediate temptation: to exploit Iran’s weakness by launching Netanyahu’s long-sought-for war. And Trump was dumb enough and vain enough to fall for it.”
What Trump’s Iran War Means for Republicans
Associated Press: “It’s hard to overstate how dramatically the political landscape has shifted.”
“At this time last year, many Republican leaders believed there was a path to preserve their narrow House majority and easily hold the Senate. Now they privately concede that the House is all but lost and Democrats have a realistic shot at taking the Senate.”
“Republicans are also struggling to coalesce around a clear midterm message on Iran.”
Hegseth’s War on America’s Military
Tom Nichols: “The United States is in the middle of a major war, but that didn’t stop Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Thursday from firing General Randy George, America’s most senior Army officer. George was the Army’s chief of staff, and he was cashiered along with another four-star general, David Hodne, and Major General William Green Jr., the top Army chaplain, in what has been a rolling purge by Hegseth of senior officers—particularly those close to the secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll.”
“Why were these men fired while U.S. forces are fighting overseas? The Defense Department has given no official reason for their dismissals, but likely they are the latest victims of Hegseth’s vindictive struggles with the Army, which he feels treated him poorly—the service ‘spit me out,’ he said in his 2024 book—as he struggles in a job for which he remains singularly unqualified.”
All Guns, No Butter
Axios: “A sharp rise in defense spending. Steep cuts elsewhere. All against a backdrop of rapid growth.”
“That is the Trump administration’s formal 2027 budget proposal, in a nutshell.”
“As always, the presidential budget is more of a statement of the White House’s goals than a road map that is likely to be enacted by Congress. This one shows a president who is eager to spend big on the military while bringing austerity to the rest of the federal budget.“
Trump Seeks More Resources to Detain Immigrant Families
NOTUS: “President Donald Trump asked Congress for funds to massively increase detention of immigrant families, proposing an expansion to up to 30,000 beds.”
U.S. Doubles Hormuz Insurance Guarantees
Bloomberg: “The US is doubling, to $40 billion, its commitment to provide reinsurance guarantees to ships willing to travel through the Strait of Hormuz with the addition of new insurance partners, including AIG and Berkshire Hathaway.”
Crew Member from Downed U.S. Fighter Jet Was Rescued
At least one crew member from the U.S. fighter jet shot down over Iran was rescued by American forces, CBS News reports.
Photos and video circulating on social media suggested at least one U.S. C-130 aircraft and two Black Hawk helicopters were spotted flying low over central and southwest Iran in what was described as a possible effort to locate and recover the crew.
CNN reports the pilot was alive, in U.S. custody and receiving medical treatment. It wasn’t clear what the status of the second crew member was.
Pam Bondi’s Portrait Taken Down at Justice Department
MS NOW: “t didn’t take long for the pictures to come off the wall.”
“Within hours of the news that President Trump had fired Attorney General Pam Bondi, images began to circulate of her official framed portrait, unceremoniously removed from its place of honor near the President and Vice President on the walls of Justice Department offices.”
“Current and former Justice Department officials say it’s a reflection of how deeply unpopular Bondi was with career officials and agents, thousands of whom left the department rather than follow her orders.”
Justice Alito Was Taken to a Hospital Last Month
CNN: “Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was taken to a hospital after becoming ill last month at a Federalist Society dinner in Philadelphia, according to people with knowledge of the March 20 incident.”
“The justice was evaluated and administered fluids for dehydration. He returned to his home in Virginia that night with his security team.”
The Most Unpopular President of the Modern Era
G. Elliot Morris: “Donald Trump’s approval rating hit a new low this week. As of April 2, the FiftyPlusOne average puts his net approval at -21.4 — 37.2% approve, 58.6% disapprove. That’s the lowest mark of his second term.”
“How bad is -21.4? When compared to past presidents, Trump’s ratings are the lowest of any president at this point in their term, going back to FDR. The spaghetti chart below lines up every president’s net approval by time in office. Trump’s red line is all the way at the bottom. Fourteen months in, no one else was this far underwater. Only Joe Biden, at the beginning of the 2022-23 inflation crisis, was close — and Trump is outrunning him by about 10 points:”
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Quote of the Day
“To the Iranians, the Strait of Hormuz now matters more than the nuclear program. The nuclear program was symbolic, but didn’t provide them with any deterrence. Now, the only reason why they are surviving this war is because of the strait. The Iranian thinking is that, at the end, the strait must remain under their control because it is their only deterrence and only source of revenue.”
— Ex-State Department official Vali Nasr, quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
Search and Rescue for Fighter Jet Crew Underway
The fate of the crew of the U.S. fighter jet shot down over Iran was unclear, as American officials scrambled to mount a search and rescue operation before Iran could get to any survivors, the New York Times reports.
“The situation creates a military and diplomatic challenge for the United States, as President Trump has threatened in recent days to bombard Iran ‘back to the Stone Ages.’ Over the past 24 hours, the United States and Iran have been trading attacks on military and civilian infrastructure in the region.”
Trump Could Have Two More Supreme Court Picks
New York Times: “Demand Justice, a liberal organization, has mounted robust efforts to block President Trump’s appointees to the Supreme Court in the past, but never before a vacancy existed.”
“For now, none of the nine Supreme Court justices have announced plans to retire, and Mr. Trump has no looming opportunity to keep stocking the court with younger conservative justices.”
“That isn’t stopping Demand Justice from preparing a multimillion-dollar effort to oppose potential Trump Supreme Court appointees before they happen — with a warning that Mr. Trump could be replacing two justices this year.”
Iran Says U.S. Fighter Pilot Ejected
A local channel of Iranian state television claimed Friday that a U.S. fighter pilot ejected from their aircraft over southwestern Iran, the AP reports.
The anchor on the channel read the following announcement: “If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police, you will receive a precious prize.”
