1/ Trump abruptly extended the U.S.-Iran ceasefire hours before it was due to expire, saying Iran’s leadership was “seriously fractured” and needed to “come up with a unified proposal.” Earlier in the day, Trump accused Iran of violating the ceasefire “numerous times,” said the U.S. was “going to end up with a great deal” because Iran had “no choice,” but also warned, “I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with. We’re ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go.” He ordered the military to “continue the Blockade” of the Strait of Hormuz, leaving in place the main point of contention that stalled the talks. JD Vance, who had been expected to lead the next round of negotiations in Pakistan, stayed in Washington after his trip was postponed after Iran said it wouldn’t attend while the blockade remained. (New York Times / CNBC / Bloomberg / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / Politico / CBS News / Axios / CNBC)
2/ Trump said he’d “remember” the companies that don’t seek refunds for tariffs the Supreme Court ruled illegal. The comment came a day after Customs opened a claims portal for roughly $166 billion in repayments tied to Trump’s use of emergency powers for “reciprocal” tariffs. “It’s brilliant if they don’t do that,” Trump said. “If they don’t do that, I’ll remember them.” Trump added that the White House was trying to replace the lost tariff revenue “a different way,” promising “the same” result and “bigger numbers, actually,” though “it’s a little more unwieldy.” (Reuters / CNBC / Bloomberg / New York Times)
3/ Trump’s nominee to replace Jerome Powell told senators he’d run the central bank as a “strictly independent” institution and denied that Trump had asked him to cut rates. Democrats called Kevin Warsh a potential White House proxy, pressed him over a recent shift toward lower rates, and demanded more detail about his financial holdings worth more than $100 million that he declined to fully describe. Warsh also called for “regime change” in how the Fed fights inflation and communicates with markets, offering few specifics on what that would mean in practice. Sen. Thom Tillis, meanwhile, has said he’ll block any Fed nominee while the Justice Department’s investigation into the current chair remains open. (CBS News / New York Times / CNN / CNBC / Bloomberg)
4/ Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned minutes before the House Ethics Committee was set to vote on whether to recommend her expulsion from Congress. The move ended the panel’s jurisdiction and spared Democrats a vote on one of their own after a bipartisan ethics subcommittee found 25 violations and said all but 2 of 27 allegations against her had been proven, including accusations that she diverted federal relief money into her campaign. Cherfilus-McCormick, who has pleaded not guilty in the related criminal case, dismissed the proceedings as a “witch hunt.” Meanwhile, Rep. Nancy Mace introduced a resolution to expel Republican Rep. Cory Mills over ethics allegations that include sexual and financial misconduct. (New York Times / NBC News / CBS News / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / The Hill)
5/ The Justice Department is escalating its Florida-based “grand conspiracy” investigation. The legally untested theory treats the Russia investigation and later cases against Trump as a long-running plot by former intelligence and law enforcement officials to target him. Joseph diGenova, who helped Trump in his failed effort to overturn the 2020 election, was brought in after career prosecutor Maria Medetis Long was removed from the case for raising concerns about charges. They’re targeting former CIA Director John Brennan over whether he lied to Congress about the 2017 intelligence assessment that found Russia interfered to help Trump. Brennan has denied wrongdoing. (Washington Post / New York Times / ABC News / CNN / Associated Press / CNN / Reuters / New York Times)
- The Southern Poverty Law Center said the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into its past use of paid informants to infiltrate violent extremist groups. The investigation followed months of attacks by Trump allies, including FBI Director Kash Patel’s decision to cut ties with the SPLC, Republican accusations that its “hate map” smeared groups like Turning Point USA and the Family Research Council, and the Justice Department’s recent push to root out what it calls anti-Christian bias in the federal government. (New York Times / ABC News / NBC News / Washington Post)
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6/ The FBI is “spearheading the effort to look for connections” between the deaths or disappearances of scientists and staff who worked at sensitive nuclear or space technology laboratories. Since 2022, at least 10 scientists working on nuclear programs, NASA, and in other sensitive areas have died or disappeared. Investigators, relatives, and former officials involved in several of the cases said they have seen no evidence of a broader plot, and no link between the cases has been established. Nevertheless, online speculation and internet theories linking them to America’s enemies caught Trump’s attention: “I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half,” Trump said. “Pretty serious stuff […] hopefully a coincidence, or whatever you want to call it.” (CBS News / NBC News)
poll/ 62% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s job performance, while 36% of approve. (Reuters)
poll/ 70% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy. Among Republicans, 37% disapprove, 80% of independents, and 96% of Democrats. (Associated Press)
The 2026 midterms are in 196 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 931 days.