Today in one sentence: Trump declined to rule out sending U.S. ground troops into Iran “if they were necessary,” saying “whatever it takes” and adding, “I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground”; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rejected the idea of an “endless” war in Iran; the Pentagon acknowledged in closed-door briefings with congressional staff that there was no intelligence suggesting Iran was preparing to launch a preemptive strike against the U.S. interests – contradicting Trump’s claim that the U.S. was “very nearly under threat” from Iran; a federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration’s effort to delay litigation over potential tariff refunds; the Justice Department dropped its defense of Trump’s executive orders sanctioning four law firms with ties to Democrats; Trump allies are continuing to press him to declare a national emergency and impose federal election rules without Congress as the SAVE Act’s voter ID and proof-of-citizenship mandates has stalled in the Senate; 34% of Americans approved of the U.S. attacks on Iran; and 60% of Americans said they don’t trust Trump to make the right decisions on U.S. use of force.

1/ Trump declined to rule out sending U.S. ground troops into Iran “if they were necessary,” saying “whatever it takes” and adding, “I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground.” He said the U.S. projected “four to five weeks” for Operation “Epic Fury,” but also said it would run “as long as necessary” and that the military could go “far longer than that.” Trump insisted that “it won’t be difficult” because “we have tremendous amounts of ammunition.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio added that the “hardest hits are yet to come.” Trump, meanwhile, clarified the operation’s goals as (1) destroying Iran’s missile capability, (2) “annihilating” its navy, (3) blocking a nuclear weapon, and (4) stopping Tehran from arming and directing proxy forces. The Pentagon said at least six U.S. service members had been killed in Iranian strikes and three F-15E jets were downed by Kuwaiti air defenses in an “apparent friendly fire” incident. “We expect casualties with something like this,” Trump said, separately adding that “there will likely be more before it ends” and “that’s the way it is.” (New York Times / NBC News / Bloomberg / Politico / New York Post / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / NPR / Axios / New York Times / NBC News / CNN)

  • At least four U.S. troops were killed in Kuwait during Iran’s counterattacks following the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, with 5 more seriously wounded and additional troops reporting minor shrapnel injuries and concussions. U.S. Central Command also said Kuwaiti air defenses mistakenly shot down 3 U.S. F-15E fighter jets during an Iranian air assault, an “apparent friendly fire incident” that destroyed the aircraft, but left all 6 crew members safe and in stable condition. (Washington Post / New York Times / The Hill / CNN / Associated Press / Politico)

  • FROM THE WEEKEND:

  • Day 1866: The U.S. and Israel launched “massive and ongoing” “major combat operations” in Iran. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation was necessary to end an “existential threat” and to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon. Trump said the U.S. would “destroy their missiles,” “raze their missile industry,” and “annihilate their navy,” and officials said the campaign could last several days.

  • Iranian state media said Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes, after hours of mixed signals that included an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman saying he was “safe and sound.” Trump celebrated the killing as “justice,” saying Khamenei “was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems.” He warned that bombing would continue “throughout the week or as long as necessary.”

  • Democrats said they’ll try to force votes on War Powers resolutions to limit Trump’s authority to continue U.S. military action against Iran. Rep. Thomas Massie and Sen. Rand Paul, called the strikes “acts of war unauthorized by Congress.”

  • Trump ordered federal agencies to “immediately cease” using Anthropic’s Claude AI model after the company insisted on enforceable limits against fully autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth then labeled the company a “supply-chain risk,” seeking unrestricted use of its technology for any “lawful purpose.

  • OpenAI reached an agreement with the Pentagon to deploy its AI models on classified Defense Department networks. CEO Sam Altman said the deal allows “any lawful use,” but bans domestic mass surveillance and requires “human responsibility” for any use of force, including around autonomous weapons.

2/ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rejected the idea of an “endless” war in Iran. “This is not Iraq. This is not endless,” he said, while insisting it is “not a so-called regime-change war […] but the regime sure did change.” When asked about troops on the ground, Hegseth said, “No, but we’re not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do,” and later called it “foolishness” to publicly set limits. “Four weeks, two weeks, six weeks. It could move up. It could move back.” Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine said the operation is “not a single overnight operation,” warned the U.S. expects to “take additional losses,” and said more troops and fighter jets are heading to the region to build “total combat capacity” and “total combat power.” Caine add that some of the work ahead will be “difficult and gritty.” (New York Times / Politico / Axios / The Hill / Bloomberg / Associated Press / Washington Post)

3/ The Pentagon acknowledged in closed-door briefings with congressional staff that there was no intelligence suggesting Iran was preparing to launch a preemptive strike against the U.S. interests – contradicting Trump’s claim that the U.S. was “very nearly under threat” from Iran. Officials instead described a broader, ongoing threat from Iran’s ballistic missiles and proxy forces in the region, even as the Trump administration publicly claimed an “imminent” threat to justify the strikes. (Reuters / ABC News / Politico / ABC News)

4/ A federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration’s effort to delay litigation over potential tariff refunds. After the Supreme Court ruled last month that Trump’s worldwide tariffs were illegal, the Justice Department asked for at least a 90-day pause. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, however, declined and sent the case back to the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York to sort out the refund process. The government has collected more than $130 billion from the tariffs and could face refunds totaling as much as $175 billion. (Associated Press / Bloomberg)

5/ The Justice Department dropped its defense of Trump’s executive orders sanctioning four law firms with ties to Democrats. Trial judges had blocked the sanctions against Jenner & Block, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr, Perkins Coie, and Susman Godfrey as unconstitutional. Trump’s orders would have stripped security clearances, restricted access to federal buildings, and pushed agencies to cut off contracts involving the firms and their clients. (CNN / Wall Street Journal)

6/ Trump allies are continuing to press him to declare a national emergency and impose federal election rules without Congress as the SAVE Act’s voter ID and proof-of-citizenship mandates has stalled in the Senate. Even though election administration is run by the states unless Congress sets new rules, activists have circulated draft executive order language that would use emergency authority to justify tighter federal control over voting, including limits on mail ballots and voting machines. Some Republicans have been urging the White House to act, with Sen. Rick Scott saying that “if he has the power” to require citizenship to register and “show ID to vote, he ought to do it.” Trump, meanwhile, said he’s “never heard about” the draft order and denied planning an emergency declaration. (Semafor / CNBC / Democracy Docket / New York Times / ProPublica)

poll/ 34% of Americans approved of the U.S. attacks on Iran, while 44% disapproved and 22% were unsure. 69% of Republicans support the strikes, while 70% of Democrats and 52% of Independents disapprove. (Strength in Numbers)

poll/ 60% of Americans said they don’t trust Trump to make the right decisions on U.S. use of force, and 62% said he should get congressional approval for any further action in Iran. 56% opposed U.S. efforts to overthrow Iran’s government, while 44% supported it. Only 12% support sending U.S. ground troops into Iran, with 60% opposed and 28% unsure. (CNN)

The 2026 midterms are in 246 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 981 days.

  • 🧭 Dept. of the Shape of Things to Come.

  • Some ✏️ Notables I’m tracking for tomorrow’s edition:

  • Republicans on the House Oversight Committee released the video depositions with Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton as part of their investigation into Jeffrey Epstein; Senate leaders are warning that a three-way Republican primary in Texas could give Democrats their first Texas Senate win since 1988; the National Parks Service has compiled a database of plaques, maps, films, and books it thinks could “disparage” America; and North American birds are dying off faster.