Today in One Sentence. The Republican-controlled House rejected a Democratic war powers resolution ordering Trump to end the war with Iran Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recited a fake prayer from a fictional movie during a Pentagon prayer service Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended Trump’s proposed 12% cut to the Health and Human Services budget RFK Jr. once pulled over on Interstate 684 in New York and cut the penis off a road-killed raccoon to “study them later” while “my kids waited patiently in the car” the House passed a bipartisan bill to restore Temporary Protected Status for about 350,000 Haitians in the U.S. for three years a federal fine arts panel gave preliminary approval to Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery and a federal judge – again – blocked above-ground construction of Trump’s White House ballroom, ruling that the administration could continue only below-ground work tied to national security facilities.

1/ The Republican-controlled House rejected a Democratic war powers resolution ordering Trump to end the war with Iran. The vote was 213-214 and comes a day after the Senate voted down a similar measure. (Politico / Associated Press / CBS News / Washington Post / NBC News / Axios)

  • Trump claimed a deal with Iran was close and suggested that Tehran had agreed to give up its buried stockpile of highly enriched uranium he calls “nuclear dust.” Trump, however, warned that if no deal emerged, fighting would resume, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said U.S. forces were prepared to restart attacks and maintain the blockade around Iranian ports. (New York Times / ABC News / CNN / Washington Post / Bloomberg / NBC News / CBS News / New York Times / Politico)

2/ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recited a fake prayer from a fictional movie during a Pentagon prayer service. “They call it CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17,” Hegseth said, before reading a version of the made-up Bible verse from Pulp Fiction. Samuel L. Jackson’s character delivers the passage just before shooting a man. The Pentagon later defended Hegseth, saying the CSAR prayer was “obviously inspired” by Pulp Fiction and that anyone claiming he had misquoted Ezekiel was “peddling fake news and ignorant of reality.” (New Republic / Mother Jones / Rolling Stone / Variety / The Hill / Mediaite / The Guardian)

3/ Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended Trump’s proposed 12% cut to the Health and Human Services budget. In his first congressional appearance in seven months, Democrats pressed Kennedy on the deaths of unvaccinated children during the Texas measles outbreak, the CDC’s rollback of childhood vaccine recommendations, and the agency’s decision to halt pro-vaccine messaging. Kennedy acknowledged that the measles vaccine is safe and effective “for most people” and safer than getting measles, but maintained that vaccination is a personal choice and that parents should “do your own research.” Republicans, meanwhile, used the hearing to praise his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. (New York Times / NPR / Washington Post / Associated Press / ABC News)

  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once pulled over on Interstate 684 in New York and cut the penis off a road-killed raccoon to “study them later” while “my kids waited patiently in the car.” The account is based on a 2001 diary entry included in a new RFK Jr. biography. (People / The Guardian / New York Post)

  • Trump said he’d nominate Dr. Erica Schwartz to lead the CDC – a former deputy surgeon general and public supporter of vaccines. (New York Times / Politico)

4/ The House passed a bipartisan bill to restore Temporary Protected Status for about 350,000 Haitians in the U.S. for three years. 11 Republicans joined Democrats to force a vote on the bill, which would reinstate work permits and deportation protections that the Trump administration tried to terminate. The measure now goes to the Senate, where its future are unclear. (Politico / NBC News / Washington Post)

5/ A federal fine arts panel gave preliminary approval to Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery, but asked for revisions before a final vote. The panel, made up entirely of Trump appointees, advanced the project even though roughly 1,000 public comments opposed it. Chairman Rodney Mims Cook Jr., who called the proposal “beautiful,” has a “Make Design Great Again” hat on his desk, and said Trump “wants to do something that in his heart he feels is good,” has previously said Washington should get three triumphal arches, not one. Commissioners raised concerns about the arch’s scale, its tunnel, and the gold statues on top. The arch also faces a lawsuit from Vietnam veterans, additional federal review, and questions about congressional approval, cost, and funding. (New York Times / ABC News / Washington Post / CBS News / NPR / Politico)

6/ A federal judge – again – blocked above-ground construction of Trump’s White House ballroom, ruling that the administration could continue only below-ground work tied to national security facilities. The larger project remains on hold pending congressional approval. Judge Richard Leon said the White House had offered a “brazen” and “disingenuous” reading of his earlier order, writing that “national security is not a blank check.” Trump responded on social media, calling Leon a “Trump Hating” and “highly political” judge, accusing him of undermining national security, and arguing that without the ballroom’s planned bomb shelters, medical facilities, and “Top Secret Military Installations,” future presidents wouldn’t be safe at inaugurations, summits, or major events. (Politico / Associated Press / New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post)

The 2026 midterms are in 201 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 936 days.