Today in One Sentence. U.S. forces struck Iranian military sites for a fifth straight day; House Republicans released their $95 billion plan to fund the Iran war, subsidize farmers, and revive parts of Trump’s stalled SAVE America Act; Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence testified during his Senate confirmation hearing that “I’m not an election denier,” but repeatedly refused to say Biden “won” the 2020 election; Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faced five hours of bipartisan questioning over the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files and the settlement shielding Trump and his family from IRS audits; Trump ordered ICE to resume most traffic stops one day after the agency temporarily suspended the practice following two fatal shootings by agents; the Pentagon will start screening the testosterone levels of soldiers 30 and up; and the U.S. Mint began producing a $1 coin with Trump’s face to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary.

1/ U.S. forces struck Iranian military sites for a fifth straight day. Central Command said an American aircraft fired Hellfire missiles into an oil tanker attempting to sail toward Iran’s main oil-export terminal after it ignored warnings. It was the first ship disabled since the blockade resumed. The military also launched three waves of attacks in the last 24 hours, including strikes on missile and coastal-defense sites on Greater Tunb Island. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard threatened to stop all oil and gas exports from the Middle East, declaring that they would be available “either for everyone or for no one.” (NBC News / Associated Press / New York Times / Washington Post / Bloomberg / CBS News / ABC News / Reuters)

  • Trump is reportedly leaning toward expanding the war in Iran, including more airstrikes, bombing the tunnel complex at Pickaxe Mountain, or seizing islands near the Strait of Hormuz. He hasn’t made a final decision and remains reluctant to send ground troops, despite publicly threatening to “finish it off.” (Wall Street Journal)

2/ House Republicans released their $95 billion plan to fund the Iran war, subsidize farmers, and revive parts of Trump’s stalled SAVE America Act. Republicans, however, aren’t proposing tax increases or spending cuts to pay for the package, but rather allow committees to write legislation that adds as much as $60 billion through Armed Services, $13 billion through Intelligence, $12 billion through Agriculture, and $10 billion for election-related measures to federal deficits through 2036. The new borrowing would come as the annual deficit approaches $2 trillion this year. Republicans are hoping to use reconciliation to bypass a Democratic filibuster, but the package faces resistance from some conservatives, while Senate rules limit what can be included. Republican Rep. Warren Davidson called it “D.O.A.” and warned that “bankrupt nations are difficult to defend.” (Associated Press / New York Times / CNN / NBC News)

3/ Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence testified during his Senate confirmation hearing that “I’m not an election denier,” but repeatedly refused to say Biden “won” the 2020 election. Jay Clayton initially said only that Biden had been “certified” as president before later conceding that he was “fairly and duly elected under our process.” Democrats said the evasive answers raise doubts about whether Clayton would challenge Trump or deliver intelligence that contradicted his political claims. Clayton also defended subpoenas ordering New York Times journalists to testify in a national security investigation tied to reporting on Trump’s Qatari-donated Air Force One, but declined to say whether he consulted the White House. The Republican-controlled Intelligence Committee is expected to vote on Clayton’s nomination next week. (Politico / CBS News / Reuters / NBC News / New York Times / The Guardian / Washington Post / Associated Press / CNBC)

4/ Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faced five hours of bipartisan questioning over the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files and the settlement shielding Trump and his family from IRS audits. At his Senate confirmation hearing, Blanche acknowledged “mistakes” in the release of the Epstein records and apologized for redaction failures that exposed victims’ information, but declined to commit to personally meeting with survivors. He also insisted that the $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” created through the IRS settlement was “dead,” even as he acknowledged the agreement hasn’t been formally rescinded. (Reuters / New York Times / Washington Post / CBS News / Wall Street Journal / CNN)

5/ Trump ordered ICE to resume most traffic stops one day after the agency temporarily suspended the practice following two fatal shootings by agents in Texas and Maine within a week. Trump called traffic stops one of ICE’s “most important and effective Crime Fighting tools,” claimed ending them would be “playing right into the criminal’s hands,” and told agents to “be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job.” (USA Today / The Hill / Axios / CNN / Associated Press / New York Times / Washington Post)

6/ The Pentagon will start screening the testosterone levels of soldiers 30 and up. Soldiers diagnosed with testosterone deficiency would be offered hormone therapy. “If treatment is recommended, it’s entirely your choice to receive testosterone replacement therapy,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. “It’s not about artificial enhancement. It’s about restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities.” Hegseth promoted the program as the “High-T Department of War,” claiming it would keep troops on the “leading edge of lethality.” (Politico / Bloomberg / NBC News / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal)

7/ The U.S. Mint began producing a $1 coin with Trump’s face to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary. The “gold” coin contains no gold or other precious metals. Although federal law generally prohibits living people from appearing on U.S. currency, Treasury officials claimed the design is allowed under a 2020 law authorizing commemorative coins for the semiquincentennial. A federal coin advisory panel, however, refused to review designs featuring Trump with one member calling the coin “illegal.” (Associated Press / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)

The 2026 midterms are in 111 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 846 days.