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.
\n1/ 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)
\n2/ 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)
\n3/ 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)
\nRobert 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)
\nTrump 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)
\n4/ 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)
\n5/ 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)
\n6/ 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)
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", "summary": "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...", "date_published": "2026-04-16T18:15:46-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/15/day-1912/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/15/day-1912/", "title": "Day 1912: “Hate to be controversial.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1912trump-9e350c.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: For the fourth time, Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic resolution to force Trump to end U.S. military action in Iran without congressional approval; Trump said the war with Iran was “very close to over” and claimed Iranian leaders wanted “to make a deal very badly”; House Democrats introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; House Republicans delayed a planned procedural vote on renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act after their own members threatened to block it; Trump – again – threatened to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he stays on as a Fed governor after his term as chair ends; Senate Republicans plan to move quickly on any Supreme Court vacancy that opens before the midterms; and 65% of voters blame Trump for the rise in gas prices.
\n1/ For the fourth time, Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic resolution to force Trump to end U.S. military action in Iran without congressional approval. Rand Paul was the only Republican to support the measure, while John Fetterman was the only Democrat to oppose it. The war is now in its second month, and the War Powers Resolution requires Trump to end the operation within 60 days unless Congress authorizes it. Several Republicans, however, have begun to warn that their support might not last much longer, with Thom Tillis saying it will soon be time to “fish or cut bait” and John Thune saying the administration “need[s] a plan for how to wind this down”. (NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / Reuters / CBS News / Politico)
\nThe Pentagon is sending thousands more U.S. troops and warships to the Middle East. The buildup includes about 6,000 troops aboard the USS George H.W. Bush and about 4,200 more with the Boxer Amphious Ready Group, adding to roughly 50,000 U.S. personnel already in the region. (Washington Post)
\nRussell Vought told Congress the White House has no “ballpark” estimate for the cost of the Iran war. The Office of Management and Budget Director told the House Budget Committee “We’re not ready to come to you with a request. We’re still working on it. We’re working through to figure out what’s needed in this fiscal year versus next fiscal year.” (Politico / CNBC)
\n2/ Trump said the war with Iran was “very close to over” and claimed Iranian leaders wanted “to make a deal very badly,” adding that if the U.S. “pulled up stakes right now” it would take Iran “20 years to rebuild that country.” U.S. Central Command said its blockade of Iranian ports was “fully implemented,” while Iran warned that if the blockade remains in place it “will not allow any exports or imports to continue” across the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Red Sea. The White House, meanwhile, pushed back on reports that Trump wanted to extend the ceasefire, which expires next week, saying that was “not true at this moment.” Trump nevertheless said oil prices would fall “very big” when the war ends and that the stock market “is going to boom.” (CNBC / Axios / Bloomberg / CBS News / Associated Press / New York Times)
\n3/ House Democrats introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, but the resolution is largely symbolic and not expected to advance in the Republican-controlled House. It accuses Hegseth of causing civilian casualties in Iran, possibly violating the law of armed conflict, mishandling sensitive military information, obstructing Congress, abusing his power, and bringing disrepute on the armed forces. The Pentagon dismissed the effort as a “charade,” saying Hegseth would remain focused on carrying out Trump’s objectives in Iran. (Axios / The Hill / CBS News)
\n4/ House Republicans delayed a planned procedural vote on renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act after their own members threatened to block it. A bipartisan group of lawmakers is demanding privacy changes, including requiring a warrant before agencies can search Americans’ communications or buy personal data from brokers, warning that AI has made it easier to analyze huge amounts of personal data at scale. Republican leaders, the White House, and intelligence officials say those changes would make Section 702 harder to use and that a warrant requirement “won’t work” because intelligence agencies sometimes have to act within hours. (Politico / Axios / CBS News / The Guardian)
\n5/ Trump – again – threatened to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he stays on as a Fed governor after his term as chair ends. Powell’s term as chair expires May 15, but he can remain on the Board of Governors until 2028, and said he’ll stay until the Justice Department’s investigation into the Fed’s headquarters renovation is finished. The probe has also delayed Kevin Warsh’s confirmation because Sen. Thom Tillis said he will block the nomination until the case is resolved. Trump said that if Powell stays on the board past May 15, “then I’ll have to fire him, OK? If he’s not leaving on time, I’ve held back firing him. I’ve wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial.” (New York Times / CNBC / Axios / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / NBC News / NPR)
\n6/ Senate Republicans plan to move quickly on any Supreme Court vacancy that opens before the midterms. While no justice has suggested they plan to retire, Justice Samuel Alito is 76 and Justice Clarence Thomas is 77. Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley said his panel would be “fully prepared” and named Sens. Mike Lee and Ted Cruz as his preferred candidates if one were to step down. Cruz said he had “zero interest” in serving on the court, while Lee said it was “a bridge” he would cross if asked. (Politico / Bloomberg)
\npoll/ 65% of voters blame Trump for the rise in gas prices, and 55% disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president. (Quinnipiac)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 202 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 937 days.
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", "summary": "For the fourth time, Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic resolution to force Trump to end U.S. military action in Iran without congressional approval; Trump said the war with Iran was “very close to over” and claimed Iranian leaders wanted “to make a deal very badly”; House Democrats introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; House Republicans delayed a...", "date_published": "2026-04-15T14:49:45-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/14/day-1911/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/14/day-1911/", "title": "Day 1911: “Maximalism.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1911trump-7547d8.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump said new U.S.-Iran talks could resume in Pakistan “over the next two days”; a woman publicly accused Eric Swalwell of raping her in a West Hollywood hotel room in 2018, saying she was “already incapacitated” when she arrived and that, as “he was choking me,” she “lost consciousness” and “thought I died”; a divided federal appeals court shut down U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s contempt investigation into whether the Trump administration defied his order to stop deportation flights carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador; Trump’s nominee to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve disclosed financial holdings worth well over $100 million; House Republicans accused the main Democratic fundraising platform of misleading Congress and withholding subpoenaed records tied to an investigation into possible foreign donations; the Justice Department released its first “weaponization” report, accusing the Biden administration of selectively enforcing the FACE Act against anti-abortion activists; and the Justice Department asked to vacate the Jan. 6 convictions of 12 former Proud Boys and Oath Keepers members, including several convicted of seditious conspiracy.
\n1/ Trump said new U.S.-Iran talks could resume in Pakistan “over the next two days” as the U.S. continued to enforce a blockade on Iranian shipping. No new meeting had been officially scheduled, and the main dispute remains unchanged: U.S. negotiators reportedly want a 20-year suspension on Iranian uranium enrichment, while Iran has agreed to a three to five years pause. Trump, however, wants a permanent ban on nuclear enrichment, saying “I’ve been saying they can’t have nuclear weapons. So I don’t like the 20 years.” JD Vance, who failed to secure a deal over the weekend, said “the ball is in the Iranian court,” while Iranian officials accused the U.S. of “maximalism” and “shifting goalposts.” The temporary ceasefire deal expires April 21. (CNBC / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / Bloomberg / ABC News / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press)
\n2/ A woman publicly accused Eric Swalwell of raping her in a West Hollywood hotel room in 2018, saying she was “already incapacitated” when she arrived and that, as “he was choking me,” she “lost consciousness” and “thought I died.” The allegation surfaced as Swalwell’s resignation from Congress took effect, after at least two women had accused him of nonconsensual sex or sexual assault and at least three others had accused him of other sexual misconduct, including unsolicited explicit images and an unwanted kiss. Swalwell’s lawyer, meanwhile, said he “categorically and unequivocally denies” all allegations and called them false. (New York Times / Associated Press / CNBC / NBC News / Washington Post / Reuters)
\n3/ A divided federal appeals court shut down U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s contempt investigation into whether the Trump administration defied his order to stop deportation flights carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador. The 2-1 D.C. Circuit ruling said Boasberg’s probe was an “abuse of discretion” that improperly intruded on executive branch decision-making over national security and foreign affairs. The majority said Boasberg’s March 2025 order wasn’t clear enough to support criminal contempt over the migrants’ transfer to El Salvador. The decision, for now, ends a yearlong effort to determine why the flights happened despite the order. Lawyers for the migrants said they’d seek review by the full appeals court. (New York Times / Politico / NBC News / Reuters / Associated Press / Bloomberg / CNN / Washington Post)
\n4/ Trump’s nominee to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve disclosed financial holdings worth well over $100 million. Kevin Warsh’s Senate ethics filing, submitted as part of his confirmation process, shows he received about $10 million in consulting fees from Stanley Druckenmiller’s family office and holds two Juggernaut Fund stakes valued at more than $50 million each. Sen. Thom Tillis, meanwhile, has said he will block Fed nominees until the Justice Department closes its probe tied to Powell. (Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Washington Post / CNBC)
\n5/ House Republicans accused the main Democratic fundraising platform of misleading Congress and withholding subpoenaed records tied to an investigation into possible foreign donations. The demand from the chairs of the House Administration, Judiciary, and Oversight committees followed reporting that ActBlue’s outside counsel had warned that the company may have misstated parts of its 2023 letter to Congress explaining its anti-fraud procedures. ActBlue denied wrongdoing and dismissed the inquiry as a partisan effort to damage Democrats’ main online fundraising operation, which raised has $568 million in the first quarter of 2026. (New York Times / Politico / CBS News)
\n6/ The Justice Department released its first “weaponization” report, accusing the Biden administration of selectively enforcing the FACE Act against anti-abortion activists. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department will dismiss some pending cases and approve new FACE Act prosecutions only in “extraordinary” circumstances. The 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act makes it a crime to use force, threats, or physical obstruction to stop people from entering or providing services at reproductive health clinics. The 900-page report claims Biden-era officials worked too closely with abortion-rights groups, sought harsher sentences for anti-abortion defendants, and paid little attention to attacks on pregnancy centers and churches. The department also fired 4 prosecutors tied to FACE Act cases. (CNN / Associated Press / New York Times / Bloomberg / Washington Post / CBS News)
\n7/ The Justice Department asked to vacate the Jan. 6 convictions of 12 former Proud Boys and Oath Keepers members, including several convicted of seditious conspiracy. Trump already commuted many of their prison terms last year, but the new filings asked the court to dismiss the convictions and the indictments with prejudice, meaning the cases couldn’t be brought again. (CBS News / Associated Press / NBC News / The Hill)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 203 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 938 days.
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", "summary": "Trump said new U.S.-Iran talks could resume in Pakistan “over the next two days”; a woman publicly accused Eric Swalwell of raping her in a West Hollywood hotel room in 2018, saying she was “already incapacitated” when she arrived and that, as “he was choking me,” she “lost consciousness” and “thought I died”; a divided federal appeals court shut down...", "date_published": "2026-04-14T16:29:33-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/13/day-1910/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/13/day-1910/", "title": "Day 1910: “No fear.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1910trump-d73eb2.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: The U.S. began a naval blockade of ships entering or leaving Iranian ports after JD Vance failed to secure a peace deal in talks with Iran in Islamabad; Trump attacked Pope Leo XIV as “WEAK on Crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy” after the pope condemned the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran; Rep. Eric Swalwell will resign from Congress and suspended his California governor campaign after sexual assault and other sexual misconduct allegations; the Trump administration agreed to restore the Pride flag at New York’s Stonewall National Monument; a federal judge dismissed Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over its report about Trump’s lewd 2003 letter to Jeffrey Epstein; a federal appeals court temporarily allowed Trump’s White House ballroom project to continue; 50% of local election officials said they were worried about political interference ahead of the midterms, while 45% feared politically motivated investigations and 32% said they had already faced threats, harassment, or abuse; and from the Dept. of Cringe, the White House arranged for a McDonald’s DoorDash delivery to the Oval Office so Trump could turn it into a live promotion for his “no tax on tips” law.
\n1/ The U.S. began a naval blockade of ships entering or leaving Iranian ports after JD Vance failed to secure a peace deal in talks with Iran in Islamabad. Trump framed the blockade as a way to stop what he called Iranian “extortion,” saying Tehran had “chosen not to accept our terms,” and threatened to “finish up the little that is left of Iran” if it didn’t accept a deal. Hours after the blockade took effect, Trump warned that if Iranian “fast attack ships” came “anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED,” calling the method of attack “quick and brutal.” The talks were aimed at extending the ceasefire and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but broke down over U.S. demands that Iran suspend uranium enrichment, surrender or dilute its highly enriched uranium, and give up control over traffic through the strait. (New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / NPR / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / CBS News / CNBC / Axios / Associated Press)
\nU.S. intelligence agencies obtained indications that China may be preparing to send shoulder-fired air defense missiles to Iran. The intelligence remains uncertain, and officials said there’s no evidence the missiles have been delivered or used. Trump, meanwhile, warned Beijing of “big problems” if it arms Tehran. (CNN / Bloomberg / New York Times)
\nTrump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended a UFC fight while JD Vance announced that talks with Iran had failed. Trump entered the arena with UFC president Dana White and family members, took his seat near Rubio, and watched the fights as Vance told reporters that Iran had refused to give up the capacity to produce a nuclear weapon. House Democrats criticized Rubio for missing the talks, calling his attendance at the event “not serious leadership.”(The Guardian / Associated Press)
\n2/ Trump attacked Pope Leo XIV as “WEAK on Crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy” after the pope condemned the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, saying “God does not bless any conflict” and warning that “military action will not create space for freedom or times of peace.” Leo also denounced the “idolatry of self and money” and the “display of power” surrounding the war. Trump responded, saying he didn’t “want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States” and told Leo to “stop catering to the Radical Left” and “focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.” He then posted an AI-generated image depicting himself as a Jesus-like healer, which was later deleted. Leo, meanwhile, replied that he had “no fear” of the Trump administration and would “continue to speak out loudly against war.” Trump refused to apologize for the now-deleted image and insisted it was “me as a doctor, and had to do with Red Cross. It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better, and I do make people better.” (Associated Press / Bloomberg / Washington Post / New York Times / ABC News / NBC News / Axios / CBS News / CNBC / Reuters / Wall Street Journal / The Guardian)
\n3/ Rep. Eric Swalwell will resign from Congress and suspended his California governor campaign after sexual assault and other sexual misconduct allegations. Swalwell said he was “deeply sorry” for “mistakes in judgment” and would fight the “serious false allegation” against him, but said it was wrong for his constituents to have him “distracted” from his duties. The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into whether Swalwell engaged in sexual misconduct toward an employee he supvervised, while the Manhattan district attorney’s office is also investigating one allegation. A former staffer accused Swalwell of sexually assaulting her, and other women accused him of misconduct including unsolicited nude photos or explicit messages, allegations he has denied as false. (Politico / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Politico / ABC News / Washington Post / CBS News / CNN / CNBC / Axios)
\n4/ The Trump administration agreed to restore the Pride flag at New York’s Stonewall National Monument, reversing a February removal and settling a lawsuit brought by LGBTQ+ and preservation groups. Under a proposed court settlement, the National Park Service will return the flag within 7 days and keep it in place except for maintenance, with the Pride flag flown below the U.S. flag and above the park service flag. A judge still must approve the deal, but the government said it intends to maintain a Pride flag at Stonewall permanently. (Associated Press / New York Times / Reuters)
\n5/ A federal judge dismissed Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over its report about Trump’s lewd 2003 letter to Jeffrey Epstein. The judge ruled that the complaint didn’t plausibly show “actual malice,” and said the Journal had sought comment from Trump, the Justice Department, and the FBI before publication. At the time, Trump called the letter a “fake thing” because “I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words.” House Democrats would later release the letter that he insisted was “nonexistent,” “false, malicious, and defamatory.” The ruling, however, didn’t determine whether Trump wrote the letter. (Axios / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / New York Times / NBC News)
\n6/ A federal appeals court temporarily allowed Trump’s White House ballroom project to continue, extending a pause until April 17 while sending the case back to U.S. District Judge Richard Leon to clarify whether stopping the work would interfere with White House security. The ruling didn’t resolve whether Trump can even build the $400 million, 90,000-square-foot project without congressional approval, but the court said it couldn’t determine whether the administration’s claimed of security work, including below-ground upgrades, is actually separate from the ballroom itself. (NBC News / Associated Press / Washington Post)
\n7/ 50% of local election officials said they were worried about political interference ahead of the midterms, while 45% feared politically motivated investigations and 32% said they had already faced threats, harassment, or abuse. Trump has called for Republicans to “take over” voting in key places, the Justice Department has tried to access voter rolls from states, and the FBI raided a Georgia election office. Trump has also replaced many career officials who resisted his 2020 efforts to overturn the election with appointees tied to the election-denial movement. (ProPublica / Politico)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 204 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 939 days.
\nSubscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free
\nSupport today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
", "summary": "The U.S. began a naval blockade of ships entering or leaving Iranian ports after JD Vance failed to secure a peace deal in talks with Iran in Islamabad; Trump attacked Pope Leo XIV as “WEAK on Crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy” after the pope condemned the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran; Rep. Eric Swalwell will resign from Congress and suspended...", "date_published": "2026-04-13T16:02:31-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/09/day-1906/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/09/day-1906/", "title": "Day 1906: “Zero expectations.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1906trump-925ccf.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: House Republicans blocked a Democratic effort to force an immediate vote limiting Trump’s war powers over Iran; the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed despite the U.S.-Iran ceasefire; Trump – again – threatened to leave NATO and then used a closed-door meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to complain that U.S. allies “weren’t there when we needed them”; and Melania Trump denied any relationship with Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell, saying “the lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.”
\n1/ House Republicans blocked a Democratic effort to force an immediate vote limiting Trump’s war powers over Iran. Republicans ended a brief pro forma session before Democrats could seek unanimous consent on a war powers resolution, delaying any House votes until lawmakers return from recess. Senate Democrats said they would force a vote on their own measure. Trump, meanwhile, said he was “very optimistic” about a deal with Iran as Democrats said Congress had to “step in and take control of the wheel.” (NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Semafor / The Guardian / Reuters / NBC News / Axios / Wall Street Journal)
\nArmy survivors of the Iranian drone strike in Kuwait disputed the Pentagon’s account, saying their unit was left exposed at an unfortified post where six U.S. service members were killed. They rejected Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s claim that one drone slipped through defenses at a fortified site, saying the position had no real protection from aerial attack. (CBS News)
\nTrump said the U.S. military was “loading up and resting” for its “next conquest” even as American forces remain deployed around Iran until Tehran honors what he called the “real agreement.” (CNBC)
\nThe Selective Service System plans to automatically register eligible U.S. men ages 18 to 26 for a military draft by December. There are no formal plans to reinstate the draft. (CNBC)
\n2/ The Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed despite the U.S.-Iran ceasefire. The head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. said the strait was “not open” and that access was being “restricted, conditioned and controlled,” and shipping data showed that about seven ships had passed through in the previous 24 hours compared with about 140 a day before the war. Iran’s military and state-linked outlets have signaled that Tehran plans to “manage and intelligently control the Strait of Hormuz.” It’s unclear, however, whether Iran had formally imposed a toll system or was restricting passage. While Trump had said the truce depended on the “complete, immediate and safe opening” of the strait, he later said Iran “better not be” charging tankers tolls and that, “if they are, they better stop now.” (NBC News / CNBC / Semafor / Reuters / Axios / Bloomberg)
\n3/ Trump – again – threatened to leave NATO and then used a closed-door meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to complain that U.S. allies “weren’t there when we needed them.” Rutte responded by claiming allies were “doing everything the United States is asking” and that “the exact structure is less important than the speed here.” But it’s not clear what, exactly, Trump was asking for as a White House official insisted that Trump had “zero expectations for NATO” and “did not ask them for anything.” Britain, meanwhile, is now assembling a roughly 40-country coalition and France said about 15 countries are planning a “strictly defensive” shipping mission. (Reuters / CNBC / Bloomberg / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Politico / New York Times / Semafor / Wall Street Journal / Politico)
\n4/ Melania Trump denied any relationship with Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell, saying “the lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.” She said she had “never had any knowledge” of Epstein’s abuse, called a 2002 email to Maxwell “casual correspondence,” and said “Epstein didn’t introduce me to Donald Trump.” She said she was responding to “lies” and “fake images” linking her to Epstein that have been circulating on social media for years, but it’s not clear why she chose to respond now. She also called on Congress to hold “a public hearing specifically centered around the survivors.” Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said he agreed and urged Chairman James Comer to schedule one “immediately.” (CNN / Bloomberg / Reuters / Associated Press / Politico / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 208 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 943 days.
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", "summary": "House Republicans blocked a Democratic effort to force an immediate vote limiting Trump’s war powers over Iran; the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed despite the U.S.-Iran ceasefire; Trump – again – threatened to leave NATO and then used a closed-door meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to complain that U.S. allies “weren’t there when we needed them”; and Melania...", "date_published": "2026-04-09T15:24:09-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/08/day-1905/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/08/day-1905/", "title": "Day 1905: “Impatient to make progress.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1905trump-dfbc41.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared a “historic and overwhelming victory” over Iran; Iran said the two-week ceasefire with the U.S. was already being violated and warned that further talks were “unreasonable” after Israel struck Lebanon in its heaviest attacks yet; Iran will limit traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to about a dozen ships a day and require a toll payment during the two-week ceasefire; former Attorney General Pam Bondi won’t sit for her scheduled April 14 deposition before the House Oversight Committee on the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files; Chris Taylor won a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, expanding the liberal majority and effectively locking in control of the court until at least 2030; and Republican Clay Fuller won the special runoff election for Marjorie Taylor Greene’s seat in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.
\n1/ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared a “historic and overwhelming victory” over Iran, but said U.S. forces would remain in the region and ready to “restart at a moment’s notice” if needed. Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine clarified the ceasefire “is a pause” and the joint force “remains ready” to resume combat. JD Vance, meanwhile, called the agreement a “fragile truce,” said Trump was “impatient to make progress.” Vance will also lead U.S. talks with Iran in Islamabad alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as the administration tries to turn the two-week pause into a longer deal. (Politico / Axios / CNBC / CBS News / Bloomberg / The Hill / Washington Post)
\n2/ Iran said the two-week ceasefire with the U.S. was already being violated and warned that further talks were “unreasonable” after Israel struck Lebanon in its heaviest attacks yet, killing at least 182 people. Iran’s parliamentary speaker said Washington had breached three parts of Tehran’s framework by allowing the “massacres in Lebanon,” an alleged drone incursion into Iranian airspace, and insisting that Iran wouldn’t be allowed to enrich uranium. But Trump, the White House, and Benjamin Netanyahu said Lebanon was never part of the deal, with Trump calling it “a separate skirmish.”Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Lebanon was “not part of the ceasefire agreement,” and JD Vance saying Iran “thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn’t.” (Washington Post / Associated Press / Reuters / NBC News / New York Times / Bloomberg / CNBC / The Guardian / CBS News / Axios / Politico / The Guardian)
\n3/ Iran will limit traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to about a dozen ships a day and require a toll payment during the two-week ceasefire. Ships would have to coordinate with Iranian forces and pay the equivalent of about $1 per barrel of oil on board in crypto. Trump and the White House, however, demanded that the strait reopen “without limitation, including tolls.” Charging for passage through Hormuz would violate the longstanding principle of peaceful navigation through an international strait. (Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / The Hill / New York Times / CNBC / Politico)
\n4/ Former Attorney General Pam Bondi won’t sit for her scheduled April 14 deposition before the House Oversight Committee on the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. The department she now longer works for said the subpoena no longer binds her to appear because Trump fired her, claiming she was summoned in her official capacity as attorney general. Rep. Robert Garcia, the committee’s top Democrat, said the subpoena applies to Bondi “whether she is the Attorney General or not” and threatened contempt if she refuses to appear. (ABC News / CBS News / Bloomberg / Politico / Axios / Associated Press / Washington Post)
\n5/ Chris Taylor won a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, expanding the liberal majority and effectively locking in control of the court until at least 2030. Taylor, a state appeals judge and former Democratic lawmaker, defeated conservative appeals judge Maria Lazar for the 10-year term. (NBC News / Washington Post / CNN / New York Times / Politico)
\n6/ Republican Clay Fuller won the special runoff election for Marjorie Taylor Greene’s seat in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. Fuller won by 12 percentage points – smaller than Trump’s 37-point win in the district in 2024. (Politico / NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 209 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 244 days.
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", "summary": "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared a “historic and overwhelming victory” over Iran; Iran said the two-week ceasefire with the U.S. was already being violated and warned that further talks were “unreasonable” after Israel struck Lebanon in its heaviest attacks yet; Iran will limit traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to about a dozen ships a day and require a toll...", "date_published": "2026-04-08T15:35:52-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/07/day-1904/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/07/day-1904/", "title": "Day 1904: “War crimes.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/1904trump-805511.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran after threatening that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if the Strait of Hormuz didn’t reopen by 8 p.m. Eastern; more than 50 House Democrats and at least two Democratic senators called for Trump’s removal through impeachment or the 25th Amendment; the U.S. struck military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island; Trump and JD Vance publicly intervened in Hungary’s election campaign, rallying support for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán; the Education Department terminated six civil rights settlements that had required schools to protect transgender students; and 35% of Americans are confident in Trump’s ability to make good decisions when it comes to Iran, while 64% are not.
\n1/ Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran after threatening that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if the Strait of Hormuz didn’t reopen by 8 p.m. Eastern. Trump said he would “suspend the bombing and attack of Iran” if Tehran agreed to the “COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz,” calling it a “double sided CEASEFIRE” and that Iran had offered a “workable” 10-point plan. As of now Iran hasn’t publicly confirmed the deal, leaving it unclear whether Tehran had accepted Trump’s terms or whether this was, as Trump put it, the basis “to be finalized and consummated” over the next two weeks. The proposal emerged after Pakistan publicly urged a two-week extension and asked Iran to reopen the strait during that period “to allow diplomacy to run its course.” [Editor’s note: This is breaking news. I’ll keep the site updated and be back tomorrow with a full recap.] (Axios / Associated Press / NBC News / New York Times / Politico / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg)
\n2/ More than 50 House Democrats and at least two Democratic senators called for Trump’s removal through impeachment or the 25th Amendment after he threatened to destroy “a whole civilization.” Democratic leaders including Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer said Trump’s threat to “intentionally destroy the power, water, or basic infrastructure” used by civilians “would constitute a war crime” and “a moral failure.” Jeffries demanded Congress return to session “immediately” to stop a “reckless war of choice.” Any 25th Amendment move, however, would still require JD Vance, a majority of Trump’s Cabinet, and potentially two-thirds of both chambers. (Axios / MS Now / New York Times / The Guardian / HuffPost / The Hill / The Guardian)
\n3/ The U.S. struck military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island, stopping short of hitting the island’s oil infrastructure. U.S. officials said the operation hit more than 50 sites, while other accounts put the total above 90. The targets appeared to include sites that had already been bombed in earlier rounds. (Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Reuters)
\n4/ Trump and JD Vance publicly intervened in Hungary’s election campaign, rallying support for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán days before a vote that could end his 16 years in power. Vance told supporters in Budapest to “stand with Viktor Orbán,” while Trump called Orbán “a fantastic man” and said he’s with him “all the way.” Orbán is trailing in polls ahead of the April 12 election. (Semafor / New York Times / CNBC / BBC / The Guardian / Bloomberg / Associated Press / Washington Post)
\n5/ The Education Department terminated six civil rights settlements that had required schools to protect transgender students. The agreements covered preferred names and pronouns, anti-harassment training, and access to bathrooms aligned with gender identity. The move stripped away federal enforcement of protections negotiated under the Obama and Biden administrations and, in at least one case, pressured a Pennsylvania district to repeal its own anti-discrimination rules under threat of investigation and possible funding cuts. (Associated Press / Reuters / NBC News / New York Times)
\npoll/ 35% of Americans are confident in Trump’s ability to make good decisions when it comes to Iran, while 64% are not. (Pew Research Center)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 210 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 945 days.
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", "summary": "Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran after threatening that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if the Strait of Hormuz didn’t reopen by 8 p.m. Eastern; more than 50 House Democrats and at least two Democratic senators called for Trump’s removal through impeachment or the 25th Amendment; the U.S. struck military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island; Trump and JD...", "date_published": "2026-04-07T15:12:16-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/06/day-1903/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/06/day-1903/", "title": "Day 1903: “An unhinged madman.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1903trump-76707d.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump demanded that Iran “Open the Fuckin’ Strait” in the next 48 hours or it would be “living in Hell” when he was done “blowing up the entire country”; Iran rejected a U.S.-backed 45-day ceasefire; Iranian forces downed a U.S. F-15E over Iran and hit a separate A-10 during the rescue effort; Trump asked Congress to approve roughly $1.5 trillion for defense – a record request – while cutting non-defense programs by about $73 billion; and the Supreme Court vacated an appeals court ruling upholding Stephen Bannon’s contempt of Congress conviction.
\n1/ Trump demanded that Iran “Open the Fuckin’ Strait” in the next 48 hours or it would be “living in Hell” when he was done “blowing up the entire country.” Trump said Tuesday would be “Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” warning that “There will be nothing like it!!!” He ended his Easter Sunday Truth Social post with: “Praise be to Allah.” At the White House on Monday, he doubled down, saying Iran had until 8 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday or else “every bridge in Iran will be decimated” and “every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again” by “12 o’clock tomorrow night.” He added: “We may even get involved with helping them rebuild their nation.” Trump had already threatened to strike Iran’s power plants and other infrastructure, but postponed the action at least twice, first by 48 hours, and later by 5 more days, before resetting the deadline for Tuesday evening. Trump called another extension “highly unlikely.” When asked if the war with Iran is winding down or escalating, Trump responded: “I can’t tell you, I don’t know. I can’t tell you.” Democrats, meanwhile, called Trump “an unhinged madman” who was “dangerous and mentally unbalanced” for “threatening possible war crimes and alienating allies.” (New York Times / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Axios / Washington Post / Bloomberg / Politico / Associated Press / New York Times / Bloomberg / ABC News / NBC News / NPR / CNN / Associated Press / Washington Post)
\n2/ Iran rejected a U.S.-backed 45-day ceasefire, sending mediators a 10-point counterproposal that demanded a permanent end to the war, sanctions relief, reconstruction, and guarantees on passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump called the response “significant,” but “not good enough.” (NPR / Axios / Bloomberg / CNBC / Reuters / Axios / ABC News)
\n3/ Iranian forces downed a U.S. F-15E over Iran and hit a separate A-10 during the rescue effort, forcing its pilot to eject in or near Kuwaiti airspace. All three U.S. aviators survived. The F-15 pilot was recovered within hours, and the wounded weapons systems officer was rescued nearly two days later. Two rescue helicopters were also hit, but both returned safely. The U.S. had already lost three other F-15s earlier in the war to friendly fire. Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have repeatedly claimed that Iran had “no air defenses” and that the U.S. had total control of Iranian skies. Meanwhile, Hegseth forced out Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, Gen. David Hodne, and Maj. Gen. William Green Jr. in the middle of the Iran war. (Axios / New York Times / Associated Press / Washington Post / Axios / Washington Post / NBC News / Axios / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / ABC News / Axios / Washington Post / New York Times / CBS News)
\n4/ Trump asked Congress to approve roughly $1.5 trillion for defense – a record request – while cutting non-defense programs by about $73 billion. The proposal would direct more than $1.1 trillion through regular appropriations and another $350 billion through reconciliation, a move meant to bypass a Senate filibuster. The fiscal 2027 budget would also cut $5 billion from the National Institutes of Health, put a 15% cap on NIH indirect costs, and reduce HHS spending by 12.5%. The White House said it was eliminating “wasteful” or “woke” spending, but Congress rejected similar domestic cuts last year. (Washington Post / Bloomberg / New York Times / Associated Press / Politico / Axios / ABC News)
\n5/ The Supreme Court vacated an appeals court ruling upholding Stephen Bannon’s contempt of Congress conviction. Bannon, who was convicted in 2022 on two misdemeanor counts for defying a House subpoena from the Jan. 6 investigation, has already served his four-month prison sentence and paid a fine. The Trump administration told the court in February that dismissing the case was “in the interests of justice.” (New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post / Associated Press)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 211 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 946 days.
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", "summary": "Trump demanded that Iran “Open the Fuckin’ Strait” in the next 48 hours or it would be “living in Hell” when he was done “blowing up the entire country”; Iran rejected a U.S.-backed 45-day ceasefire; Iranian forces downed a U.S. F-15E over Iran and hit a separate A-10 during the rescue effort; Trump asked Congress to approve roughly $1.5 trillion...", "date_published": "2026-04-06T16:08:29-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/02/day-1899/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/02/day-1899/", "title": "Day 1899: “We can’t take care of day care. We’re fighting wars.” ", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1899trump-d11eff.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi and named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the acting attorney general; in a 19-minute address, Trump tried to sell the U.S.-Israeli war to the nation five weeks after starting it, saying the campaign was “nearing completion,” but also that the U.S. would hit Iran “extremely hard” for another two to three weeks; the U.S. struck a major bridge in Iran a day after Trump threatened to bomb the country “back to the Stone Ages”; Trump said it was “not possible” for the federal government to fund child care, Medicaid, and Medicare because “we’re fighting wars”; Trump will sign an order to pay all Department of Homeland Security employees who’ve missed pay during the record-long partial shutdown; and an appeals court threw out the nine-year prison sentence of the former Colorado county clerk who tampered with her county’s voting equipment while trying to prove false claims about the 2020 election.
\n1/ Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi and named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the acting attorney general, abruptly ending a 14-month tenure derailed by Bondi’s mishandling of the Epstein files and failure to win cases against Trump’s perceived political enemies. Trump called Bondi “a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend,” saying “We love Pam.” Bondi had claimed an Epstein “client list” was “sitting on my desk right now to review,” but the Justice Department later said the list didn’t exist. The House Oversight Committee, meanwhile, had already subpoenaed Bondi and still expects her to testify. Blanche, a former Trump defense lawyer, said Bondi led the department with “strength and conviction” and promised to keep “doing everything in our power to keep America safe.” (Reuters / Associated Press / NPR / Politico / New York Times / NBC News / CNN / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / Axios)
\nThe Justice Department said Trump doesn’t have to comply the 1978 Presidential Records Act, claiming that the post-Watergate law requiring presidents to preserve official records and turn them over to the National Archives is unconstitutional. The law clarifies that presidential records belong to the government, not the president. (CBS News / NBC News)
\nTrump privately asked advisers whether he should replace Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. The White House said Trump still has confidence in Gabbard, while Trump said she was “a little bit different” and “softer” than him on Iran, but still “available to serve.” (The Guardian / Reuters)
\n2/ In a 19-minute address, Trump tried to sell the U.S.-Israeli war to the nation five weeks into it, saying the campaign was “nearing completion,” but also that the U.S. would hit Iran “extremely hard” for another two to three weeks to “bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.” He called the war a success, said U.S. forces had delivered “swift, decisive, overwhelming victories,” and claimed “never in the history of warfare has an enemy suffered such clear and devastating large-scale losses in a matter of weeks,” even as Iran continued firing missiles and drones across the region. But he offered no clear path to end the war and dismissed the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping route through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes, as a problem for others while insisting that it would “open up naturally.” (New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / CBS News / NPR / ABC News / NBC News / Bloomberg / Semafor / Axios / Politico)
\n3/ The U.S. struck a major bridge in Iran a day after Trump threatened to bomb the country “back to the Stone Ages.” Trump celebrated the strike and warned that “much more” would follow unless Iran made a deal. The attack expanded the war to infrastructure that Iran claimed was civilian, but U.S. officials, without evidence, described as a military supply route. It’s unclear whether the bridge was open to civilian traffic or used by Iran’s military at the time. (Axios / The Guardian / New York Times)
\n4/ Trump said it was “not possible” for the federal government to fund child care, Medicaid, and Medicare because “we’re fighting wars” and “we have to take care of one thing: military protection,” adding that the U.S. “can’t take care of day care” and that states “should pay for it too.” Trump suggested states “have to raise their taxes” to cover the costs and that maybe the federal government “could lower our taxes a little bit to them to make up” for it. He added that he told Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought: “Don’t send any money for day care, because the United States can’t take care of day care. That has to be up to a state. We can’t take care of day care. We’re a big country. We have 50 states. We have all these other people.” The White House later said Trump was referring to fraud in those programs, despite his earlier promises to protect Medicare and make child care more affordable. (NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post / New Republic / The Hill)
\n5/ Trump will sign an order to pay all Department of Homeland Security employees who’ve missed pay during the record-long partial shutdown. The move comes as Republican leaders have settled on a two-step plan to first pass a Senate bill to reopen most of DHS, and then later use reconciliation to fund ICE and Border Patrol separately. The House, however, hasn’t acted on the Senate-passed bill as conservatives oppose funding DHS without ICE and Border Patrol. It’s not clear how the administration would pay all DHS workers, though White House guidance suggested it could draw on existing funds, as it did for TSA employees last week. (Associated Press / CBS News / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Reuters / CNBC / Semafor)
\n6/ An appeals court threw out the nine-year prison sentence of the former Colorado county clerk who tampered with her county’s voting equipment while trying to prove false claims about the 2020 election. Tina Peters’ conviction still stands and the judges ordered her to be resentenced, saying the trial court improperly considered her protected speech when imposing the sentence. The panel also rejected Trump’s attempt to pardon her, saying a president’s clemency power doesn’t apply to state crimes. Peters will remain in prison for now while the case returns to the trial court where a judge will decide her new sentence. (Colorado Sun / Associated Press / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 215 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 950 days.
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", "summary": "Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi and named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the acting attorney general; in a 19-minute address, Trump tried to sell the U.S.-Israeli war to the nation five weeks after starting it, saying the campaign was “nearing completion,” but also that the U.S. would hit Iran “extremely hard” for another two to three weeks; the...", "date_published": "2026-04-02T15:28:38-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/01/day-1898/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/04/01/day-1898/", "title": "Day 1898: “STUPID.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1898trump-d0d5e4.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump threatened to pull the U.S. out of NATO, saying leaving the alliance was “beyond reconsideration”; Trump said the U.S. would consider a ceasefire with Iran only when the Strait of Hormuz is open, a day after saying the war could end in “two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three”; Trump will deliver an address “to the nation to provide an important update on Iran”; Trump called the United States “STUPID” for allowing birthright citizenship after it appeared likely that the Supreme Court would reject his effort to end it; Senate and House Republicans agreed to end the partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown; Trump signed an executive order to create state-by-state lists of eligible voters and to limit mail ballots to people on those lists; 33% of Americans think Trump has a clear plan for handling the Iran war; and 31% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the economy – a record low.
\n1/ Trump threatened to pull the U.S. out of NATO, saying leaving the alliance was “beyond reconsideration,” and complained that support for the U.S. war in Iran “should be automatic” because “we were there for them” but “they weren’t there for us.” He called the 32-nation alliance a “paper tiger,” said “I was never swayed by NATO,” and added that “Putin knows that too.” Trump also mocked Britain’s military, saying, “You don’t even have a navy,” and dismissed Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying, “He can do whatever he wants. It doesn’t matter.” Trump, however, can’t legally withdraw from NATO on his own, because U.S. law requires either a two-thirds Senate vote or Congress passing a law allowing the withdrawal. (The Telegraph / Financial Times / New York Times / Politico / Wall Street Journal / CNBC / Bloomberg / CBS News / The Hill)
\n2/ Trump said the U.S. would consider a ceasefire with Iran only when the Strait of Hormuz is open, a day after saying the war could end in “two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three.” He added that Iran “doesn’t have to make a deal” for the U.S. to leave. Instead, Trump said Iran will be “put into the stone ages” and “then we’ll leave.” Trump also claimed Iran had asked for a ceasefire, which Iran has denied. (Politico / Bloomberg / Reuters / Financial Times / CNN / Axios / Bloomberg)
\n3/ Trump will deliver an address “to the nation to provide an important update on Iran.” Trump’s speech will be broadcast live across all four major networks – CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox – beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern, and he’s expected to say the war was winding down, argue that U.S. forces had already met their main military goals, and repeat that the U.S. could leave in “two or three weeks.” Trump’s address will interrupt the two-hour season finale of The Masked Singer and a two-hour special episode of Survivor. (Politico / CNBC / ABC News / Bloomberg / Washington Post / New York Times)
\n4/ Trump called the United States “STUPID” for allowing birthright citizenship after it appeared likely that the Supreme Court would reject his effort to end it. Trump, who was the first sitting president to attend Supreme Court arguments, left shortly after Solicitor General D. John Sauer finished defending the administration’s attempt to narrow the 14th Amendment. Chief Justice John Roberts called the government’s reasoning “quirky” and said, “It’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution,” while several conservative justices also questioned the administration’s reliance on “domicile” and how officials would determine citizenship at birth. The order, which lower courts have blocked and has never taken effect, would deny automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. unless a parent is a citizen or green card holder. A ruling expected by late June or early July. (CNBC / Axios / New York Times / Bloomberg / NBC News / ABC News / Associated Press / Washington Post)
\n5/ Senate and House Republicans agreed to end the partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown, reviving the Senate plan that House Republicans and Trump rejected last week. The bill would fund DHS through Sept. 30, push ICE and Border Patrol funding into a separate budget reconciliation bill that wouldn’t need Democratic votes. Trump directed Republicans to send him that immigration enforcement bill by June 1. (Reuters / NBC News / Politico / New York Times / Wall Street Journal)
\n6/ Trump signed an executive order to create state-by-state lists of eligible voters and to limit mail ballots to people on those lists. The order directs the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to help compile the lists, requires ballot tracking barcodes, and threatens federal funding for states that don’t comply. State election officials in Arizona, Oregon, and elsewhere said they would challenge the order in court. (NBC News / Politico / Associated Press / New York Times / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / CNBC / Reuters)
\npoll/ 33% of Americans think Trump has a clear plan for handling the Iran war, while 67% say he does not. (CNN)
\npoll/ 31% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the economy – a record low. (CNN)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 216 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 951 days.
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", "summary": "Trump threatened to pull the U.S. out of NATO, saying leaving the alliance was “beyond reconsideration”; Trump said the U.S. would consider a ceasefire with Iran only when the Strait of Hormuz is open, a day after saying the war could end in “two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three”; Trump will deliver an address “to the nation to provide...", "date_published": "2026-04-01T15:23:15-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/31/day-1897/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/31/day-1897/", "title": "Day 1897: “Take care of it.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1897trump-bcf029.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump told U.S. allies to “go get your own oil,” “go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT”; U.S. gas prices rose above $4 a gallon for the first since the summer of 2022; the Supreme Court ruled against Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors; a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to stop construction on the White House ballroom; a federal judge ruled that Trump’s executive order cutting off federal funding for NPR and PBS violated the First Amendment; and Rep. Eric Swalwell demanded that the FBI stop any release of old investigative files tied to his contacts with a suspected Chinese operative.
\n1/ Trump told U.S. allies to “go get your own oil,” “go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT,” accusing NATO partners of refusing to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz after several limited direct support, including reported restrictions on access to airspace and bases. He then warned that “the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore,” while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said other countries “ought be prepared to step up.” But Trump later said he wasn’t pulling the U.S. military out of the strait “quite yet,” saying U.S. allies would eventually have to “come in and take care of it.” (Politico / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / The Hill / Bloomberg / CBS News / Washington Post / CNBC / Associated Press / ABC News / Axios)
\n2/ U.S. gas prices rose above $4 a gallon for the first since the summer of 2022, which was caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. One month ago, the national average price for a gallon of gas was less than $3. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the Iran war has pushed oil above $100 a barrel, tightening global fuel supplies. (Axios / NPR / Associated Press / Washington Post / New York Times)
\n3/ The Supreme Court ruled against Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors. The justices sent the case back to the lower courts, finding that the law was an “egregious assault” on free speech and the First Amendment. The law banned licensed mental health providers in Colorado from trying to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity through talk therapy. More than 20 states have similar laws. (ABC News / NBC News / Associated Press / New York Times / Washington Post)
\n4/ A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to stop construction on the White House ballroom, ruling that Trump can’t proceed with the $400 million project without congressional authorization. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said the National Trust for Historic Preservation was likely to succeed because “no statute comes close” to giving the president the authority he claimed, writing that the president is the White House’s “steward,” not its owner. The ruling comes after the East Wing had already been demolished and two days before the National Capital Planning Commission was expected to consider the project. (ABC News / Associated Press / Washington Post)
\n5/ A federal judge ruled that Trump’s executive order cutting off federal funding for NPR and PBS violated the First Amendment and permanently blocked the administration from enforcing it. The judge said the government can’t use “the power of the purse” to punish speech, writing that the order amounted to unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination, because targeted broadcasters over coverage that Trump described as biased. Congress, however, has already rescinded public media funding and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has shut down. (Associated Press / NPR / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / CNN)
\n6/ Rep. Eric Swalwell demanded that the FBI stop any release of old investigative files tied to his contacts with a suspected Chinese operative. The cease and desist letter followed reports that FBI Director Kash Patel had agents review and redact the files for possible public release, even though Swalwell was never charged and the House Ethics Committee later closed its review without action. Swalwell, a Trump critic, is running for governor of California. (Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / Associated Press)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 217 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 952 days.
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", "summary": "Trump told U.S. allies to “go get your own oil,” “go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT”; U.S. gas prices rose above $4 a gallon for the first since the summer of 2022; the Supreme Court ruled against Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors; a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to stop construction on the White House...", "date_published": "2026-03-31T14:20:55-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/30/day-1896/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/30/day-1896/", "title": "Day 1896: “Fraud and waste and abuse.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1896trump-b8c556.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump said his “preference” would be to “take the oil in Iran” and floated seizing Kharg Island; hackers linked to Iran accessed FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal email account; House Republicans are considering cutting health care spending to help pay for a reconciliation bill that could provide as much as $200 billion for the Iran war and immigration enforcement; the Department of Homeland Security remained shut down after 44 days, setting a record for the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history; the Trump administration’s Supreme Court case against birthright citizenship relies in part on legal arguments advanced by white supremacist and anti-Chinese activists in the late 1800s; Trump’s White House ballroom project includes a “massive” military complex under the site of the demolished East Wing; and 33% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing as president, the lowest rating of his second term in office.
\n1/ Trump said his “preference” would be to “take the oil in Iran” and floated seizing Kharg Island, the terminal that handles most of Iran’s crude exports. The comments push U.S. oil above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022 as traders priced in further disruptions to global supply. Trump then warned that unless Iran immediately reopened the Strait of Hormuz and accepted a deal, the U.S. would “completely” destroy Iran’s oil wells, power plants, and Kharg Island. He also argued that “regime change” in Iran was already complete because so many senior leaders had been killed, while insisting that ceasefire talks were making progress because Iran had agreed to let 20 more oil cargo ships pass through Hormuz. Iran, however, publicly denied direct negotiations and rejected Washington’s demands as unreasonable. (NBC News / Bloomberg / CNBC / CNN / New York Times)
\n2/ Hackers linked to Iran accessed FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal email account, posting photos, a résumé, and what appeared to be more than 300 old emails online. The FBI confirmed the breach and said the material was “historical in nature,” but contained no government information. The leaked messages appeared to date from roughly 2010 to 2022 and mostly covered personal matters like travel, housing, and family. It’s not clear when the account was breached, whether the hackers are holding back more material, or whether every file they posted is authentic. (New York Times / CBS News / Politico / Axios / Reuters / Bloomberg / TechCrunch / CNN)
\n3/ House Republicans are considering cutting health care spending to help pay for a reconciliation bill that could provide as much as $200 billion for the Iran war and immigration enforcement. The options under discussion include proposals Republicans describe as targeting “fraud and waste and abuse,” including a revived Affordable Care Act payment change that the Congressional Budget Office previously said would save more than $30 billion, but leave 300,000 more people uninsured. (Axios / Rolling Stone)
\n4/ The Department of Homeland Security remained shut down after 44 days, setting a record for the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history. Senate Republicans declined to advance the House’s stopgap funding bill, days after House Republicans rejected a bipartisan Senate measure that would have reopened most of DHS but excluded ICE and Border Patrol. Trump, meanwhile, called on Congress to return from recess to “permanently fix this problem,” while the White House said he wants lawmakers to “fund and reopen the Department of Homeland Security entirely.” (New York Times / Associated Press / NBC News / Axios / NPR / Punchbowl)
\n5/ The Trump administration’s Supreme Court case against birthright citizenship relies in part on legal arguments advanced by white supremacist and anti-Chinese activists in the late 1800s. The administration wants to deny automatic citizenship to U.S.-born children if their parents were in the country illegally or in the U.S. temporarily. The brief cites Alexander Porter Morse, who argued for segregation in Plessy v. Ferguson, and other 19th-century figures who tried to ban citizenship for the children of Chinese immigrants. A ruling is expected by summer, which could affect hundreds of thousands of future U.S.-born children each year. (Washington Post / NBC News / Reuters / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press)
\n6/ Trump’s White House ballroom project includes a “massive” military complex under the site of the demolished East Wing. Trump said the ballroom “essentially becomes a shed for what’s being built under.” But what exactly is being built below the ballroom is unclear. The site sits above the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, which is the emergency bunker under the former East Wing. The White House only confirmed that the military is “making some upgrades” to its facilities there. (NBC News / Reuters)
\npoll/ 33% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing as president, the lowest rating of his second term in office. (University of Massachusetts Amherst Poll)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 218 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 953 days.
\n\n \nSubscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free
\nSupport today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
", "summary": "Trump said his “preference” would be to “take the oil in Iran” and floated seizing Kharg Island; hackers linked to Iran accessed FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal email account; House Republicans are considering cutting health care spending to help pay for a reconciliation bill that could provide as much as $200 billion for the Iran war and immigration enforcement; the...", "date_published": "2026-03-30T15:26:05-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/26/day-1892/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/26/day-1892/", "title": "Day 1892: “We’ve gotta get our priorities straight.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1892trump-26e328.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump, bypassing Congress, ordered Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin “to immediately pay our TSA Agents”; Trump, denying he was “desperate” to make a deal with Iran, said Tehran had “better get serious soon, before it is too late”; the Iran war and higher energy prices will push U.S. inflation to 4.2% this year; Trump interrupted a Cabinet meeting discussing the war in Iran, long security lines at airports, and rising oil prices to explain how he’s replaced White House pens with custom black-and-gold Sharpies; Trump’s signature will be added to U.S. dollars to mark the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence; and despite referring to the mail voting as “mail-in cheating,” Trump defended voting by mail in Florida’s special election, saying “because I’m president” and “I had a lot of different things” to do.
\n1/ Trump, bypassing Congress, ordered Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin “to immediately pay our TSA Agents,” seeking to ease airport disruptions during the partial government shutdown that left Department of Homeland Security unfunded. It’s not clear, however, what legal authority Trump would use or where those funds would come from. The partial shutdown, now in its sixth week, has left TSA officers unpaid, which has contributed to staffing shortages, long security lines, and warnings of possible airport closures. Senate Republicans and Democrats, meanwhile, still haven’t reached a deal to reopen DHS, with Republicans proposing to fund all of DHS except ICE’s deportation operations and Democrats demanding limits on ICE tactics, including rules on masks and judicial warrants. (Associated Press / Washington Post / New York Times / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)
\n2/ Trump, denying he was “desperate” to make a deal with Iran, said Tehran had “better get serious soon, before it is too late.” After threatening to “obliterate” Iran’s energy infrastructure, he then announced a five-day pause and today extended it by another 10 days, saying that the latest delay came at Iran’s request and that talks were “going very well.” He also insisted Iran was “begging us to make a deal” to end the war. But Iranian officials publicly denied direct negotiations with Washington, saying messages were being passed through mediators. “We’ll see if they want to do it. If they don’t, we’re their worst nightmare,” Trump said. “In the meantime, we’ll just keep blowing them away.” (ABC News / CNBC / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Axios / Associated Press / Washington Post / Axios / Reuters)
\n3/ The Iran war and higher energy prices will push U.S. inflation to 4.2% this year, up 1.2 percentage points from its December forecast, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD said the disruptions tied to the conflict, including reduced shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, are raising oil, gas, and fertilizer costs, will push up the costs of food and consumer goods. Markets, meanwhile, suffered their largest daily decline since the war began, with the S&P 500 falling 1.7% and the Nasdaq sliding into correction territory. (Bloomberg / Axios / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / CNBC / Associated Press / New York Times)
\n4/ Trump interrupted a Cabinet meeting discussing the war in Iran, long security lines at airports, and rising oil prices to explain how he’s replaced White House pens with custom black-and-gold Sharpies. “See this pen right here?” Trump said. “This pen is an interesting example.” He said the White House had once stocked “beautiful” ballpoint pens that cost $1,000 each, and that he contacted Sharpie and insisted on paying $5 per marker. Online searches, however, show that typical Sharpies usually sell for about $1 to $2 apiece. “We’ve gotta get our priorities straight,” Trump said. (Associated Press)
\n5/ Trump’s signature will be added to U.S. dollars to mark the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. It’s the first time in U.S. history that the sitting president’s signature appears on American currency. The Treasury Department said the first $100 bills with Trump’s signature will be printed in June, with other bills to follow. The overall design of the notes will remain unchanged, but Trump’s name will appear on the bills until a future administration decides to remove it. (Reuters / Vanity Fair / New York Times)
\n6/ Despite referring to the mail voting as “mail-in cheating,” Trump defended voting by mail in Florida’s special election, saying “because I’m president” and “I had a lot of different things” to do. He explained that his mail-in ballot qualified as part of an “exception,” but he didn’t say which one, even though he had been in West Palm Beach during the early voting period and his polling place was near Mar-a-Lago. (NBC News / New York Times)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 222 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 957 days.
\n\n \nSubscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free
\nSupport today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
", "summary": "Trump, bypassing Congress, ordered Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin “to immediately pay our TSA Agents”; Trump, denying he was “desperate” to make a deal with Iran, said Tehran had “better get serious soon, before it is too late”; the Iran war and higher energy prices will push U.S. inflation to 4.2% this year; Trump interrupted a Cabinet meeting discussing the...", "date_published": "2026-03-26T16:41:20-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/25/day-1891/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/25/day-1891/", "title": "Day 1891: “We can’t tell him every single thing that happens.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1891trump-bf082e.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump’s daily Iran war briefing includes a roughly two-minute military video montage showing the “biggest, most successful strikes” on Iranian targets; Iran rejected Trump’s ceasefire offer, saying the Americans were “negotiating with yourselves”; former special counsel Jack Smith’s team wrote in a 2023 memo that Trump kept classified documents “pertinent to certain business interests” after leaving office; Trump’s Justice Department agreed to pay Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn about $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit alleging he was maliciously prosecuted in the Russia investigation; Senate Republicans rejected Democrats’ latest offer to reopen the Department of Homeland Security; Democrats flipped a Republican-held Florida House seat that includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort; 59% of Americans say Trump’s military action against Iran has gone too far; 58% of voters disapprove of Trump’s military action against Iran; and 42% of voters think the war with Iran will make the world less safe.
\n1/ Trump’s daily Iran war briefing includes a roughly two-minute military video montage showing the “biggest, most successful strikes” on Iranian targets. One official described the curated video as clips of “stuff blowing up,” while another defended the format saying “we can’t tell him every single thing that happens” and that the briefings tend to get a better response when they focus on victories rather than setbacks. The limits of that approach, however, were noted when Trump wasn’t briefed on an Iranian strike in Saudi Arabia that hit five U.S. Air Force refueling planes, but instead learned about it from media reports. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, meanwhile, rejected that Trump doesn’t receive the full range of developments in the war, calling it “an absolutely false assertion” and saying Trump “actively seeks and solicits the opinions of everyone in the room”. (NBC News)
\n2/ Iran rejected Trump’s ceasefire offer, saying the Americans were “negotiating with yourselves.” Iranian state media and Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran would not entertain “a temporary cease-fire,” wanted “reparations for war damage,” and “recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.” The White House, meanwhile, said talks with Tehran remained “productive.” Karoline Leavitt added that if Iran refused a deal, Trump was prepared to have it “hit harder then they have ever been hit before.” (CNBC / Bloomberg / New York Times / Axios / Associated Press / Politico / NPR / Wall Street Journal)
\n3/ Former special counsel Jack Smith’s team wrote in a 2023 memo that Trump kept classified documents “pertinent to certain business interests” after leaving office, giving investigators what prosecutors described as “a motive for retaining them.” Rep. Jamie Raskin called the memo “damning” and said Republicans, in a “frenzied search” for material to discredit the inquiry, instead turned over evidence about “your boss’s conduct.” Raskin demanded more records from Attorney General Pam Bondi and said the department must stop “cherry-picking investigative materials.” The memo further said investigators identified a classified map Trump “may have shown to individuals on board” a 2022 flight to Bedminster, with Susie Wiles cited as a witness. The White House and Justice Department, meanwhile, said Trump “did nothing wrong” and dismissed the claims as “salacious and untrue” and a “political stunt.” (Axios / Politico / MS Now / NBC News / The Hill / The Guardian / Washington Post)
\n4/ Trump’s Justice Department agreed to pay Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn about $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit alleging he was maliciously prosecuted in the Russia investigation. Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to FBI agents about his contacts with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, then later tried to withdraw that plea. Trump pardoned him in 2020. The settlement reversed a position the department had taken under Biden, when it won dismissal of Flynn’s civil suit in 2024. Flynn was seeking at least $50 million in damages and the DOJ called the deal an “important step in redressing” what it described as a “historic injustice.” (Associated Press / ABC News / Bloomberg / CBS News)
\n5/ Senate Republicans rejected Democrats’ latest offer to reopen the Department of Homeland Security, extending the five-week partial shutdown that’s been disrupting airport screening. Democrats said any deal must include limits on ICE tactics, including rules on masks and judicial warrants. Republicans, meanwhile, said the proposal was “not even close to being real” and accused Democrats of trying to pair DHS funding with ICE restrictions while refusing to fund ICE enforcement. (Politico / New York Times / Bloomberg / CNBC / Wall Street Journal)
\n6/ Democrats flipped a Republican-held Florida House seat that includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. Emily Gregory beat Jon Maples 51% to 49% in a special election after Mike Caruso resigned to become Palm Beach County clerk. Trump carried the district by about 11 points in 2024 and Caruso won by 19 points that same year. Gregory, a first-time candidate, centered her campaign on affordability, insurance, and health care. (NBC News / Associated Press / Politico / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / CNN / Washington Post)
\npoll/ 59% of Americans say Trump’s military action against Iran has gone too far, while 26% say its about right, and 13% say it has not gone far enough. (AP-NORC)
\npoll/ 58% of voters disapprove of Trump’s military action against Iran, while 42% support it. (Fox News)
\npoll/ 42% of voters think the war with Iran will make the world less safe, while 35% think it will make the world safer, and 20% think it will make no difference. (Quinnipiac)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 223 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 958 days.
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\nSupport today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
", "summary": "Trump’s daily Iran war briefing includes a roughly two-minute military video montage showing the “biggest, most successful strikes” on Iranian targets; Iran rejected Trump’s ceasefire offer, saying the Americans were “negotiating with yourselves”; former special counsel Jack Smith’s team wrote in a 2023 memo that Trump kept classified documents “pertinent to certain business interests” after leaving office; Trump’s Justice Department...", "date_published": "2026-03-25T16:09:01-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/24/day-1890/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/24/day-1890/", "title": "Day 1890: “Talking sense.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1890trump-8ce248.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: The Trump administration ordered the 82nd Airborne Division to deploy roughly 2,000 to 3,000 troops to the Middle East; the U.S. sent Iran a 15-point proposal to end the war as Trump claimed “this war has been won”; Senate Republicans proposed a plan to fund and reopen most of the Department of Homeland Security while excluding ICE’s deportation operations; Minnesota sued the Trump administration to force the release of evidence in three shootings by federal officers during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis; Special Counsel Jack Smith’s 2022 investigation into Kash Patel subpoenaed more than two years of his phone metadata, text logs, online account details, billing records, IP addresses, and bank account information; a Justice Department prosecutor conceded that the government didn’t have evidence of fraud or other criminal misconduct in the Federal Reserve’s $2.5 billion renovation project; Trump voted by mail in a Florida special election after declaring that “mail-in voting means mail-in cheating” and “we got to do something about it all”; 36% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance; and 49% of U.S. workers were classified as “struggling” in their lives, while 46% were classified as “thriving” — the first time Gallup found more workers struggling than thriving.
\n1/ The Trump administration ordered the 82nd Airborne Division to deploy roughly 2,000 to 3,000 troops to the Middle East. The administration hasn’t said what the troops will be used for and a decision to send troops into Iran hasn’t been made. But the move gives Trump an ready ground force that could be used to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by force, seize strategic islands or coastal territory, or support an operation targeting Iran’s highly enriched uranium. The 82nd would join about 50,000 U.S. troops already in the region, along with thousands of Marines now heading there. (Politico / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / The Guardian)
\n2/ The U.S. sent Iran a 15-point proposal to end the war as Trump claimed “this war has been won” and that Iran had agreed it would “never have a nuclear weapon.” He said negotiations were underway, that Tehran wanted “to make a deal so badly,” and that the U.S. was “talking to the right people” as Iran was “talking sense.” Trump also said Iran had delivered a “very big present” tied to “oil and gas,” but he did not explain the claim. Iran, however, publicly denied that any negotiations were happening. The proposal, sent through Pakistan, appeared to address Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic missiles, and the Strait of Hormuz. But it wasn’t clear whether Tehran would accept it, whether Israel supported it, or who in Iran could authorize a deal after Israeli strikes killed senior leaders. The fighting, meanwhile, continued, with Iran launching more missile attacks on Israel, Iraq, and Gulf states. (New York Times / Washington Post / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / The Guardian / Axios / CNBC)
\n3/ Senate Republicans proposed a plan to fund and reopen most of the Department of Homeland Security while excluding ICE’s deportation operations. The shutdown began Feb. 14 and has led to long airport lines, missed paychecks, and rising absenteeism among TSA workers. The framework would fund TSA, FEMA, Border Patrol, and ICE’s non-deportation operations. Republicans would then try to use the filibuster-proof reconciliation process to restore funding for ICE’s deportation arm and pass parts of the unrelated SAVE America Act. The two-step strategy, however, still faces an uphill battle with Democrats saying the plan still lacks the immigration enforcement limits they’ve demanded, and Sen. Mike Lee, the Republican sponsoring the SAVE America Act, saying: “It’s hard to imagine how the SAVE America Act could be passed through reconciliation. And by ‘hard’ I mean ‘essentially impossible.’” Trump, meanwhile, said he would take a “hard look” but was “pretty much not happy” with “any deal.” Congress is set to leave town Friday for a planned two-week Easter recess, but Majority Leader John Thune has warned the Senate may have to stay until DHS is funded. (NBC News / Politico / CNBC / Washington Post / New York Times / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / ABC News)
\n4/ Minnesota sued the Trump administration to force the release of evidence in three shootings by federal officers during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, including the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. State and county officials said federal agencies blocked access to basic investigative material, leaving Minnesota unable to determine whether federal officers violated state criminal law. The suit also seeks evidence in the nonfatal shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was initially charged with assaulting federal agents before prosecutors dropped the case after conflicting evidence emerged and authorities began examining whether agents lied about the incident. The suit names Attorney General Pam Bondi and outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the federal government had adopted an unprecedented policy of “categorically withholding evidence,” while Minnesota argued that the state could not let federal agents investigate themselves. (Associated Press / New York Times / Politico)
\n5/ Special Counsel Jack Smith’s 2022 investigation into Kash Patel subpoenaed more than two years of his phone metadata, text logs, online account details, billing records, IP addresses, and bank account information. The subpoenas were part of Smith’s investigation into Trump’s election interference and classified documents cases. At the time, Patel defended Trump’s claim that the Mar-a-Lago documents had been declassified. Patel is now the FBI director. A magistrate judge also approved a nondisclosure order in 2022, finding disclosure could risk flight, evidence tampering, witness intimidation, and serious harm to the investigation. (Reuters)
\n6/ A Justice Department prosecutor conceded that the government didn’t have evidence of fraud or other criminal misconduct in the Federal Reserve’s $2.5 billion renovation project. Prosecutors argued that a $1.2 billion overrun justified scrutiny because “it doesn’t seem right,” but Justice Department lawyers “do not know at this time” what evidence there is of fraud or criminal misconduct. The Fed, meanwhile, said the rising costs reflected a long renovation of historic buildings, labor inflation, and asbestos problems. (Washignton Post)
\n7/ Trump voted by mail in a Florida special election after declaring that “mail-in voting means mail-in cheating” and “we got to do something about it all.” Palm Beach County records showed Trump’s ballot was counted in the special election, even though he had spent the weekend in Palm Beach while early in-person voting was available. The White House didn’t say why Trump chose to mail his ballot, but instead argued that the SAVE America Act allows for “common-sense exceptions,” like illness, disability, military service or travel. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / CBS News / ABC News)
\npoll/ 36% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance – his lowest rating since returning to the White House. 29% approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, the lowest rating in either of his terms and lower than any Biden economic approval rating. (Reuters)
\npoll/ 49% of U.S. workers were classified as “struggling” in their lives, while 46% were classified as “thriving” — the first time Gallup found more workers struggling than thriving. 28% said it was a good time to find a quality job, down from nearly 70% in mid-2022, while employee engagement fell to 31%, the lowest reading in a decade. Even so, 51% of workers said they were either actively looking for a new job or watching for opportunities, while 43% said leaving would be too difficult or costly. (Gallup)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 224 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 959 days.
\n\n \nSubscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free
\nSupport today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
", "summary": "The Trump administration ordered the 82nd Airborne Division to deploy roughly 2,000 to 3,000 troops to the Middle East; the U.S. sent Iran a 15-point proposal to end the war as Trump claimed “this war has been won”; Senate Republicans proposed a plan to fund and reopen most of the Department of Homeland Security while excluding ICE’s deportation operations; Minnesota...", "date_published": "2026-03-24T16:28:50-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/23/day-1889/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/23/day-1889/", "title": "Day 1889: “Psychological warfare.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1889trump-1372c6.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump delayed his threat to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants for five days, claiming the U.S. and Iran had held “very good and productive” talks on a “complete and total” resolution of the war; Tehran, however, denied that there were any direct or indirect negotiations, calling it fake news, market manipulation, and “psychological warfare”; Trump deployed ICE officers to more than a dozen U.S. airports to help with TSA staffing shortages during the partial DHS shutdown; and the Supreme Court appears likely to limit mail-in voting in federal elections.
\n1/ Trump delayed his threat to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants for five days, claiming the U.S. and Iran had held “very good and productive” talks on a “complete and total” resolution of the war. Tehran, however, denied that there were any direct or indirect negotiations, calling it fake news, market manipulation, and “psychological warfare.” Nevertheless, Trump said Iran “wants to settle” the war and “very much” wants a deal, and that the two sides had “major points of agreement,” including reopening the Strait of Hormuz, banning Iran from ever having a nuclear weapon, and removing its enriched uranium. Trump also suggested that any deal would amount to a “very serious form of regime change.” (NBC News / Bloomberg / NPR / Washington Post / Politico / CNBC / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / Reuters / Axios / ABC News)
\n2/ Trump deployed ICE officers to more than a dozen U.S. airports to help with TSA staffing shortages during the partial DHS shutdown. Trump said the officers were meant to ease delays, but suggested he could send the National Guard next, while airports and administration officials said ICE was not screening passengers and no arrests had been reported. The move came after more than 400 TSA officers quit and about 3,450 called out on Sunday as the partial shutdown has forced TSA workers to keep working without pay. Trump and congressional Republicans have insisted on fully funding DHS, including ICE and CBP. Democrats, however, have pushed to pay for TSA while leaving ICE and CBP unfunded, demanding new limits on ICE tactics, including clearer identification, mask restrictions, and tighter rules for forced home entries. Trump, meanwhile, said he wouldn’t support a DHS funding deal unless it also included the Republican SAVE America Act, saying Congress should “lump everything together as one, and VOTE!!!” (New York Times / Associated Press / Politico / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / CNBC)
\n3/ The Supreme Court appears likely to limit mail-in voting in federal elections. The case could force Mississippi and at least 13 other states to stop counting ballots mailed by Election Day but received later. At issue is a Mississippi law that allows absentee ballots to be counted if they arrive within five business days after Election Day and were postmarked by then. The Republican National Committee argued that federal law requires both submission and receipt by Election Day. Justice Samuel Alito said late-counted ballots can undermine “confidence in election outcomes” and create an “appearance of fraud,” while Justice Neil Gorsuch called it “a contradiction” to say ballots must be cast by Election Day, but need only be mailed by then. But Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett questioned whether that logic could also threaten early voting. A ruling is expected by late June. (NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / ABC News / CNN / CNBC / Associated Press / Politico)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 225 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 960 days.
\nA federal judge ruled that the Pentagon’s policy of restricting press access violated the First Amendment. Judge Paul Friedman said the rules let the Pentagon revoke journalists’ credentials as “security risks” under vague standards and banned reporters from seeking information from military employees who were not authorized to speak publicly. (New York Times)
\nVoice of America journalists sued Trump administration officials, alleging they tried to turn the federally funded news outlet into a pro-Trump “mouthpiece.” The complaint named Kari Lake and other U.S. Agency for Global Media officials, saying they pushed for favorable coverage of Trump, censored or suppressed reporting they didn’t want aired, and pressured staff to show “loyalty” or risk losing their jobs. (NPR / New York Times)
\nThe Interior Department agreed to pay about $1 billion to abandon two planned offshore wind projects. Instead, they’ll redirect the money to U.S. oil and gas investments. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the money had been tied up in what he called “expensive, weather dependent offshore wind.” (Washington Post)
\nA far-right activist who spread conspiracy theories about voter fraud and now leads FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery claimed that he was involuntarily “teleported” to a Waffle House. Gregg Phillips made the claims on multiple podcasts. “Teleporting is no fun,” Phillips said on one podcast. “It was real.” FEMA, meanwhile, said the comments were taken out of context or reflected private, informal, and “somewhat spiritual” discussions made before his current role. (CNN / The Guardian)
\nRobert Mueller, the former FBI director who later led the special counsel investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, died Friday at 81. He spent 22 months investigating Trump’s campaign and Russia, concluding that Russia interfered in the election and that Trump’s campaign had multiple contacts with Russians, but there was “insufficient evidence” to establish a criminal conspiracy. Mueller’s office also chose not to charge Trump with obstruction of justice out of “fairness concerns,” because “a federal criminal accusation against a sitting President would place burdens on the President’s capacity to govern and potentially preempt constitutional process for addressing presidential misconduct.” However, Mueller, citing numerous legal constraints in his report, declined to exonerate Trump, writing: “If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment.” Trump, meanwhile, responded: “Good, I’m glad he’s dead.” (MS Now / Reuters / Politico / Associated Press)
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", "summary": "Trump delayed his threat to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants for five days, claiming the U.S. and Iran had held “very good and productive” talks on a “complete and total” resolution of the war; Tehran, however, denied that there were any direct or indirect negotiations, calling it fake news, market manipulation, and “psychological warfare”; Trump deployed ICE officers to more than...", "date_published": "2026-03-23T15:45:49-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/19/day-1885/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/19/day-1885/", "title": "Day 1885: “Don’t do that.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1885trump-3a4d56.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: The Pentagon asked for more than $200 billion in additional funding for the Iran war; Iran attacked Gulf energy sites after an Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field; Israel said it would stop attacking Iran’s South Pars gas field after Trump said he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “don’t do that”; the Justice Department subpoenaed former FBI Director James Comey as part of a “grand conspiracy” case against the former officials who investigated and prosecuted Trump; about 9% of people who had Affordable Care Act insurance in 2025 are now uninsured after the enhanced federal subsidies expired at the end of 2025; a coalition of 24 states and more than a dozen cities and counties sued the EPA over its repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding; and Trump’s hand-picked federal arts commission approved a commemorative 24-karat U.S. gold coin depicting Trump leaning on a desk with clenched fists.
\n1/ The Pentagon asked for more than $200 billion in additional funding for the Iran war. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said “it takes money to kill bad guys […] for what’s being done, for what we may have to do in the future,” adding that the number “could move.” Trump said the large funding request was necessary for “vast amounts of ammunition” and “beyond even what we’re talking about in Iran.” The request hasn’t yet been formally transmitted to Congress, where it faces broad Democratic opposition and growing unease among Republicans anxious about an open-ended conflict, mounting costs and the prospect of ground troops. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said it “remains to be seen” whether the package could pass, with Democrats calling it a blank check and some Republicans saying the administration still had not explained the cost, timeline or strategy. (Washington Post / Associated Press / Politico / New York Times / CNN / Reuters / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / ABC News / CNBC / Axios)
\nWhat else could $200 billion buy?
\nMore than six years of rent help for millions of low-income households; roughly 23 years of federal childcare funding; about 16 years of Head Start for young children and families; fill the Pell Grant program’s projected 10-year shortfall and still leave roughly $100 billion left over; enough to fix the country’s entire bridge-repair backlog; and fund more than 60 years of programs aimed at ending veteran homelessness. (FHWA / HUD budget highlights / First Five Years Fund / CRFB / HUD vouchers)
\nTrump said “I’m not putting troops anywhere,″ but then immediately added: “If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.” (New York Times / Politico)
\npoll/ 65% of Americans believe Trump send troops into a large-scale ground war in Iran. 7% support sending ground troops to Iran. (Reuters)
\n2/ Iran attacked Gulf energy sites after an Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field, damaging Qatar’s Ras Laffan complex and knocking out 17% of Qatar’s LNG export capacity for 3 to 5 years. Brent crude briefly jumped above $119 a barrel before retreating, as markets priced in the risk that damage to oil fields, refineries, and export terminals could last longer than reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The Trump administration, meanwhile, said it may lift sanctions on about 140 million barrels of Iranian oil already at sea to ease the market. (Washington Post / Reuters / Associated Press / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / Axios / Politico / New York Times)
\n3/ Israel said it would stop attacking Iran’s South Pars gas field after Trump said he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “don’t do that,” and later declared on social media that “NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL.” Netanyahu confirmed the pullback, saying, “Trump asked us to hold off on future attacks,” after the Israeli strike set off Iranian retaliation against energy sites across the Gulf and sent oil prices higher. Iran, meanwhile, warned it would show “ZERO restraint” if its energy infrastructure was struck again. (Bloomberg / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / Politico / New York Times)
\n4/ The Justice Department subpoenaed former FBI Director James Comey as part of a “grand conspiracy” case against the former officials who investigated and prosecuted Trump. The subpoena was issued last week and seeks information about Comey’s role in the January 2017 intelligence assessment on Russian election interference. More than 130 subpoenas have been issued in the probe, including to former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, and Lisa Page. It’s unclear what crime prosecutors believe the subpoenaed officials committed. (NBC News / Axios / CBS News / Bloomberg)
\n5/ About 9% of people who had Affordable Care Act insurance in 2025 are now uninsured after the enhanced federal subsidies expired at the end of 2025. Of those who kept ACA plans, 17% aren’t confident they can afford the premiums for the full year, and 28% switched plans, often to cheaper coverage with higher out-of-pocket costs. Average ACA premiums more than doubled for subsidized enrollees in 2026, and more than half of returning policyholders said they have cut or plan to cut basic household spending to keep coverage. (CNBC / Wall Street Journal)
\n6/ A coalition of 24 states and more than a dozen cities and counties sued the EPA over its repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding, the legal basis used to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. The case aims to restore the finding and reverse the repeal of vehicle emissions limits, arguing the agency ignored settled law, Supreme Court precedent, and longstanding science on climate harm. (New York Times / Associated Press / Reuters / Los Angeles Times / The Guardian)
\n7/ Trump’s hand-picked federal arts commission approved a commemorative 24-karat U.S. gold coin depicting Trump leaning on a desk with clenched fists – a design that Trump personally approved. A separate bipartisan coin advisory panel, however, already refused to consider the proposal. (Washington Post)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 229 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 964 days.
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", "summary": "The Pentagon asked for more than $200 billion in additional funding for the Iran war; Iran attacked Gulf energy sites after an Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field; Israel said it would stop attacking Iran’s South Pars gas field after Trump said he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “don’t do that”; the Justice Department subpoenaed former FBI Director...", "date_published": "2026-03-19T15:54:48-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/18/day-1884/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/18/day-1884/", "title": "Day 1884: “Nobody knows.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1884trump-0fe35b.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Tulsi Gabbard refused to say whether U.S. intelligence assessed that Iran posed an “imminent” threat; oil prices jumped after an Israel airstrike on Iran’s South Pars gas field and Iran later attacked Qatar’s Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas facility; Trump waived the Jones Act for 60 days in an effort to contain rising fuel prices caused by the war in Iran; the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75%, acknowledging increased uncertainty due to the Iran war; the FBI is buying Americans’ data and location histories – again; and the United States was downgraded from a liberal democracy to an electoral democracy due to Trump’s “rapid and aggressive concentration of powers in the presidency.”
\n1/ Tulsi Gabbard refused to say whether U.S. intelligence assessed that Iran posed an “imminent” threat during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. Instead, she told senators that “the only person who can determine what is and is not an imminent threat is the president.” Gabbard, however, confirmed the intelligence community’s view that Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was “obliterated” in last year’s strikes and that there had been “no efforts” to rebuild it, undercutting Trump’s claim that Tehran was “starting it all over.” She also said Iran’s regime appears “intact but largely degraded” and acknowledged it had “long been an assessment” that Tehran could use the Strait of Hormuz as leverage, while declining to say what warnings Trump received before the war. (Bloomberg / CBS News / ABC News / Washington Post / Axios / NBC News / Associated Press / New York Times)
\n2/ Oil prices jumped after an Israel airstrike on Iran’s South Pars gas field and Iran later attacked Qatar’s Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas facility, two of the region’s most important gas sites. Brent crude settling above $107 a barrel, up from about $103 a day earlier and roughly 40% to 50% above prewar levels. Prices later topped $111 in after-hours trading as traders priced in greater risks to regional oil and gas supply. QatarEnergy said Ras Laffan suffered “extensive damage.” (CNN / Bloomberg / Axios / New York Times / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal)
\n3/ Trump waived the Jones Act for 60 days in an effort to contain rising fuel prices caused by the war in Iran. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move, which lets foreign-flagged ships carry fuel and other energy products between U.S. ports, was meant to ease “short-term disruptions” in the oil market. But analysts and shipping executives said the effect on pump prices would likely be modest because crude prices, not domestic shipping costs, remain the main driver. (Politico / New York Times / Axios / CNBC / Reuters / Bloomberg / CBS News)
\n4/ The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75%, acknowledging increased uncertainty due to the Iran war. “It is too soon to know the scope and duration of the potential effects on the economy,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said. “The thing I really want to emphasize is that nobody knows.” He said “higher energy prices will push up overall inflation” and that the Fed was “balancing these two goals in a situation where the risks to the labor market are to the downside, which would call for lower rates, and the risks to inflation are to the upside, which would call for higher rates, or not cutting anyway.” Fed officials raised their 2026 inflation forecast to 2.7%, kept unemployment at 4.4%, slightly lifted their growth outlook, and still project one quarter-point cut this year. (ABC News / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / NPR / CNN / CNBC / Associated Press / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Axios)
\n5/ The FBI is buying Americans’ data and location histories – again. For the first time since 2023, the FBI publicly confirmed it’s actively purchasing commercially available information, giving agents a way to obtain location data from brokers without going to phone companies for records that would ordinarily require a warrant. Director Kash Patel said the purchases are lawful and have yielded “valuable intelligence,” but he did not say how often the FBI buys the data, what exactly it acquires, which brokers sell it or what limits govern its use. (Politico / TechCrunch)
\n6/ The United States was downgraded from a liberal democracy to an electoral democracy due to Trump’s “rapid and aggressive concentration of powers in the presidency.” The Varieties of Democracy Institute report said the U.S. suffered a “derailment of democracy” driven by “suppression and intimidation of media and dissenting voices,” while freedom of expression fell to “its lowest level since the end of WWII.” It also cited Trump’s “attacks on the press, academia, civil liberties, and dissenting voices” and said a Republican-controlled Congress had weakened the legislative checks that might have slowed him. (CNN)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 230 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 965 days.
\n\n \nSubscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free
\nSupport today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
", "summary": "Tulsi Gabbard refused to say whether U.S. intelligence assessed that Iran posed an “imminent” threat; oil prices jumped after an Israel airstrike on Iran’s South Pars gas field and Iran later attacked Qatar’s Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas facility; Trump waived the Jones Act for 60 days in an effort to contain rising fuel prices caused by the war in...", "date_published": "2026-03-18T16:09:52-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/17/day-1883/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/17/day-1883/", "title": "Day 1883: “Not afraid of anything.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1883trump-556070.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump said NATO “is making a very foolish mistake” by refusing to join the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran; Trump – twice – said that a former president told him he wished he’d been the one to attack Iran, but all four living former presidents denied talking to Trump about Iran; the top U.S. counterterrorism official resigned over the Iran war, saying Iran posed “no imminent threat”; the Senate voted 51-48 to open debate on the House-passed SAVE America Act; and the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Attorney General Pam Bondi to appear for a closed-door deposition over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
\n1/ Trump said NATO “is making a very foolish mistake” by refusing to join the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, while calling it “a great test, because we don’t need them.” He also insisted that “all of the NATO allies agreed with us” on confronting Iran, but that NATO had become “a one-way street” in which “we will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need.” Trump also said he was “not afraid” to put U.S. troops on the ground in Iran, adding: “I’m really not afraid of anything.” (Politico / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Bloomberg / Reuters / CNBC / Axios / Associated Press)
\n2/ Trump – twice – said that a former president told him he wished he’d been the one to attack Iran, but all four living former presidents denied talking to Trump about Iran. Representatives for Bush, Clinton, Obama, and Biden said they hadn’t spoken with Trump recently. Nevertheless, Trump first made the claim at a White House meeting with Kennedy Center board members, then repeated it in the Oval Office, saying, “I spoke to one of the former presidents” and that the person told him, “I wish I did what you did.” When asked who it was, Trump ruled out Bush, wouldn’t say whether it was Clinton, and said he didn’t want to identify the person because “I don’t want to get him into trouble.” (NBC News / New York Times / Associated Press / The Hill / The Guardian)
\n3/ The top U.S. counterterrorism official resigned over the Iran war, saying Iran posed “no imminent threat.” In his resignation letter, Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said: “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” Kent claimed Israel “deployed a misinformation campaign,” which “sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran,” and “was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now.” In response, Trump said Kent was a nice guy, who “was weak on security, very weak on security.” Kent is the first senior Trump administration official to publicly quit over the conflict. (Axios / Wall Street Journal / NPR / Politico / Washington Post / Reuters / CNBC / NBC News / Bloomberg / New York Times / Associated Press)
\n4/ The Senate voted 51-48 to open debate on the House-passed SAVE America Act, launching what Republicans said could be days of floor speeches on Trump’s “No. 1 priority.” The measure would require proof of citizenship to register and photo ID to vote, but Senate Republicans lack the 60 votes needed to break a Democratic filibuster. Senate Majority Leader John Thune also said that “the votes aren’t there” for the more aggressive talking-filibuster strategy. Democrats called the measure “a naked attempt to rig our elections” and vowed to block it “all day, all night.” (Politico / NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / CBS News / The Hill)
\n5/ The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Attorney General Pam Bondi to appear for a closed-door deposition over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The move followed a bipartisan committee vote earlier this month, when five Republicans joined Democrats to compel her testimony. Chairman James Comer said the panel has questions about possible mismanagement of the Epstein probe and Bondi’s role in collecting, reviewing, and releasing the files. The Justice Department called the subpoena “completely unnecessary,” and said Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche would brief committee members Wednesday, and didn’t say whether Bondi would comply. (New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / CNN / CNBC)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 231 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 966 days.
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", "summary": "Trump said NATO “is making a very foolish mistake” by refusing to join the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran; Trump – twice – said that a former president told him he wished he’d been the one to attack Iran, but all four living former presidents denied talking to Trump about Iran; the top U.S. counterterrorism official resigned over the Iran war,...", "date_published": "2026-03-17T16:02:46-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/16/day-1882/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/16/day-1882/", "title": "Day 1882: “We don’t need anybody.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1882trump-e8df7c.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump demanded that other countries help reopen the Strait of Hormuz; U.S. allies largely rejected Trump’s demand that they help reopen the Strait of Hormuz; “We don’t need anybody,” Trump said after allies rejected his demand for help opening the Strait of Hormuz; FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened to revoke broadcasters’ licenses over coverage of the Iran war; a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from implementing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s slimmed-down list of recommended childhood vaccines; Trump publicly disclosed Rep. Neal Dunn’s terminal illness, then took credit for saving his life; and in two late-night Truth Social posts, including one that ran about 950 words, Trump attacked the Supreme Court and Judge James Boasberg, and repeated his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen.
\n1/ Trump demanded that other countries help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying he’s asked about seven nations to send warships to protect the waterway that carries about a fifth of traded oil. “It would be nice to have other countries police that with us, and we’ll help. We’ll work with them,” Trump said, later adding: “Whether we get support or not, I can say this, and I said to them: We will remember.” Iran, meanwhile, said the strait is open to all except the U.S. and its allies. Oil prices are up more than 40% as the war entered its 17th day. (Bloomberg / Associated Press / Politico / Wall Street Journal / NPR)
\n2/ U.S. allies largely rejected Trump’s demand that they help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Australia, and others signaled they wouldn’t send ships into the conflict. Germany said “This is not our war, we have not started it,” adding that the conflict “has nothing to do with NATO,” Spain said it would “never accept” stopgap military measures and insisted “the objective must be for the war to end,” while Italy said “diplomacy needs to prevail” and warned that sending ships into a war zone would mean entering the war. Japan said it had “not made any decisions whatsoever” on whether to send ships to the strait, while Australia said it was “not something that we’ve been asked or that we’re contributing to.” Britain, meanwhile, said they would not be “drawn into the wider war.” (NBC News / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / CNN / Reuters / Politico)
\n3/ “We don’t need anybody,” Trump said after allies rejected his demand for help opening the Strait of Hormuz. “We’re the strongest nation in the world. We have the strongest military by far in the world,” Trump said. “I’m almost doing it in some cases not because we need them but because I want to find out how they react.” Trump used the rejection to revive his complaints about NATO, saying the U.S. had protected allies “for many, many years” and warning that “we will remember.” He added: “If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.” (Wall Street Journal / Reuters / New York Times / CNBC / The Guardian / Politico)
\n4/ FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened to revoke broadcasters’ licenses over coverage of the Iran war, calling news outlets purveyors of “hoaxes and news distortions” and warning them to “correct course” before license renewals. Trump said he was “thrilled” Carr was “looking at the licenses” of some “Highly Unpatriotic ‘News’ Organizations.” The FCC, however, doesn’t license cable networks or newspapers, and media lawyers said revoking local stations’ licenses over news coverage would run into the First Amendment. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attacked CNN and other outlets’ reporting on the war, saying “the sooner David Ellison takes over” the network, “the better,” referring to Skydance’s pending deal for CNN’s parent. (New York Times / CNBC / Axios / Politico / Variety / New York Times / Associated Press / New Republic / Bloomberg / CNN)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 232 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 967 days.
\nA federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from implementing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s slimmed-down list of recommended childhood vaccines, finding that the government likely bypassed the CDC’s advisory process and unlawfully remade the panel that sets vaccine recommendations. The order froze the new guidance, which would have dropped routine recommendations for several shots, including influenza, hepatitis A and B, rotavirus, meningococcal disease, and Covid-19 for most children and pregnant women. (Associated Press / Washington Post)
\nTrump publicly disclosed Rep. Neal Dunn’s terminal illness, then took credit for saving his life. He said the Florida Republican “would be dead by June,” but that after Trump connected him with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Dunn had “a new lease on life” and was acting “like he’s 30 years younger,” as Johnson put it. Trump said Dunn had a “heart problem,” adding: “Number one, it was bad because I liked him. Number two, it was bad because I needed his vote.” (Politico / New York Times / Axios / Washington Post)
\nTrump’s White House chief of staff said she has early-stage breast cancer and will remain in her job while undergoing treatment. Susie Wiles said doctors detected the disease early and that she’s encouraged by a strong prognosis. Trump said “she will be spending virtually full time at the White House, which makes me, as President, very happy!” (Axios / New York Times / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)
\nThe Border Patrol official who led the Trump administration’s immigration raids in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans, and Minneapolis will retire after being removed from his national command role in January. Gregory Bovino’s removal followed the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during the Minneapolis operation and scrutiny of his tactics. The retirement also comes as Trump replaces Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who had promoted Bovino. (CBS News / Axios / NBC News)
\nIn two late-night Truth Social posts, including one that ran about 950 words, Trump attacked the Supreme Court and Judge James Boasberg, and repeated his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen. Trump called the Supreme Court “a weaponized and unjust Political Organization” and said it was “hurting our Country.” He also demanded “serious disciplinary action” against Boasberg, calling him “Wacky, Nasty, Crooked, and totally Out of Control,” for blocking Justice Department subpoenas tied to a criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Trump also claimed the court’s tariff ruling left him free to impose duties “in another form,” even though the decision didn’t say he had an “absolute right” to do so. (Democracy Docket / ABC News / Politico / The Guardian / Mediate / New York Magazine)
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", "summary": "Trump demanded that other countries help reopen the Strait of Hormuz; U.S. allies largely rejected Trump’s demand that they help reopen the Strait of Hormuz; “We don’t need anybody,” Trump said after allies rejected his demand for help opening the Strait of Hormuz; FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened to revoke broadcasters’ licenses over coverage of the Iran war; a federal...", "date_published": "2026-03-16T16:20:58-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/12/day-1878/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/12/day-1878/", "title": "Day 1878: “We make a lot of money.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1878trump-d475bc.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump dismissed rising oil prices caused by the Iran war, saying “when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,” as Brent crude settled above $100 a barrel and the major U.S. indexes fell about 1.5% or more; the White House is considering a 30-day waiver of a 1920 statute requiring goods shipped between U.S. ports to move on American-flagged vessels as the Trump administration tries to contain fuel prices driven up by the war in Iran; the Senate passed the largest housing bill in roughly three decades; the Senate again blocked a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security; current and former UFC fighters will train FBI agents to provide them with “exciting, innovative training options”; Rep. Jim Clyburn, the 85-year-old South Carolina Democrat, will run for an 18th House term; and 59% of voters say the economic and political systems are stacked against them.
\n1/ Trump dismissed rising oil prices caused by the Iran war, saying “when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,” as Brent crude settled above $100 a barrel and the major U.S. indexes fell about 1.5% or more. The S&P 500 fell 1.5%, the Dow dropped 1.6%, and the Nasdaq composite lost 1.8%, while Brent crude oil traded 9.2% higher and settled at $100.46 per barrel – the first time it’s closed above $100 since August 2022. The national average gas price has climbed to $3.60 a gallon from $2.30 since Trump’s State of the Union address last month. Nevertheless, Trump wrote on social media that “of far greater interest and importance to me […] is stoping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World.” (The Hill / New York Times / ABC News / CNBC / Associated Press / Bloomberg)
\n2/ The White House is considering a 30-day waiver of a 1920 statute requiring goods shipped between U.S. ports to move on American-flagged vessels as the Trump administration tries to contain fuel prices driven up by the war in Iran. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt framed the move as being “in the interest of national defense.” She stressed that waiving the Jones Act had “not been finalized,” but the exemption is expected to cover oil, gasoline, diesel, liquefied natural gas, and fertilizer. The potential waiver is the latest in a series of emergency measures, including a 172-million-barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve release and a coordinated 400-million-barrel IEA drawdown that hasn’t slowed rising prices as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, disrupting millions of barrels a day of supply. (Bloomberg / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / Axios)
\n3/ The Senate passed the largest housing bill in roughly three decades. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act aims to boost housing supply by removing regulatory barriers and restricting large institutional investors from buying single-family homes. While the bipartisan measure passed the Senate 89-10, the bill faces a narrow path in the House, where Republicans have already called is “wholly unacceptable.” The key sticking point is a provision requiring investors who build or own 350 or more single-family homes to sell those properties within seven years. (NBC News / Axios / Politico / New York Times)
\n4/ The Senate again blocked a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security. The agency has been shutdown since Feb. 14. The House-passed measure failed 51-46, short of the 60 votes needed to advance, after Republicans objected to Democratic requests to fund narrower pieces of DHS such as TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and the cybersecurity agency. Democrats have demanded new limits on immigration officers. (New York Times/ Politico)
\n5/ Current and former UFC fighters will train FBI agents to provide them with “exciting, innovative training options.” FBI Director Kash Patel called it a “tremendous opportunity for our FBI agents to learn and train with some of the greatest athletes on earth” and claimed it’ll help the bureau “be even better prepared to protect the American people.” (The Hill / Variety / Hollywood Reporter / Wall Street Journal / Deadline)
\npoll/ 48% of Americans blame Trump for high gas prices. 74% said gas prices have increased this year – up 30 points from six weeks ago. (Axios)
\npoll/ 59% of voters say the economic and political systems are stacked against them, tying the April 1992 record. 84% said they agree that “the very rich and powerful are above the law when they do something wrong, they look out for each other, using their power and connections to get special treatment,” while 14% disagree, and 2% agree. (NBC News)
\n🤦♂️ Dept. of C’mon Man.
\nRep. Jim Clyburn, the 85-year-old South Carolina Democrat, will run for an 18th House term. Clyburn said he was “healthy enough” to serve. (Washington Post / NBC News)
The 2026 midterms are in 236 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 971 days.
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", "summary": "Trump dismissed rising oil prices caused by the Iran war, saying “when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,” as Brent crude settled above $100 a barrel and the major U.S. indexes fell about 1.5% or more; the White House is considering a 30-day waiver of a 1920 statute requiring goods shipped between U.S. ports to move...", "date_published": "2026-03-12T16:37:38-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/11/day-1877/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/11/day-1877/", "title": "Day 1877: “An evolution in my own thinking.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1877trump-67532f.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Sen. John Cornyn said he’d back “whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary” to pass the SAVE America Act; Trump suggested that the war with Iran would end soon because there was “practically nothing left to target”; the Trump administration believes it has three to four weeks before sustained high oil prices become a political liability; the International Energy Agency said its 32 member countries agreed to release 400 million barrels of emergency oil stocks; U.S. consumer prices rose 2.4% in February from a year earlier; a foreign hacker breached an FBI server in February 2023 and accessed files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation; 46% of Americans say they support using the National Guard to monitor polling places in during the midterm elections; 22% of registered voters say they have a great deal or quite a bit of confidence in the Supreme Court; 52% of likely voters say they believe Trump launched the war on Iran at least partly to distract from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal; and 41% of Americans approved of Trump’s decision to take military action in Iran – the lowest approval ever for initiating an international military action.
\n1/ Sen. John Cornyn said he’d back “whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary” to pass the SAVE America Act, reversing his long-held support for the filibuster as he seeks Trump’s endorsement ahead of a competitive Republican primary runoff for his Senate seat against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Trump has called the SAVE America Act, a bill that would require proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote in federal elections, his “No. 1 priority” in Congress. Cornyn, who recently called eliminating the filibuster an “absolute nonstarter,” denied that his reversal was driven by a possible Trump endorsement, but said it was “an evolution in my own thinking.” (NBC News / New York Post / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Politico)
\n2/ Trump suggested that the war with Iran would end soon because there was “practically nothing left to target.” When asked for a timeline, Trump replied “we’re not finished yet” and that the U.S. needed to keep doing “more of the same.” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz added that the campaign would continue “without any time limit.” Meanwhile, three commercial ships were struck near the Strait of Hormuz, which effectively remains closed. The Trump administration believes it has three to four weeks before sustained high oil prices become a political liability. The Pentagon told Congress that the first six days alone cost the U.S. more than $11.3 billion. (Axios / Politico / Bloomberg / Associated Press / New York Times / Wall Street Journal)
\n3/ The International Energy Agency said its 32 member countries agreed to release 400 million barrels of emergency oil stocks – the largest coordinated drawdown in the agency’s history – as the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to cut off roughly 20% of global oil supply. Oil prices still closed more than 4% higher, with Brent crude near $92 a barrel, while analysts warned that the release would only cover roughly 26 days of lost supply. Trump separately said he’d tap the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which holds about 415 million barrels. (NBC News / CNN / Bloomberg / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)
\n4/ U.S. consumer prices rose 2.4% in February from a year earlier, matching January and economists’ forecasts. The report, however, captured inflation before the Iran war sent oil prices up more than 20% and pushed average gasoline prices above $3.50 a gallon. The Fed is expected to hold rates steady at its March 18 meeting, but economists warned that rising energy costs and a weakening labor market could raise stagflation risks. (CNBC / ABC News / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Politico / NBC News / Axios)
\n5/ A foreign hacker breached an FBI server in February 2023 and accessed files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. The FBI said the “cyber incident” was isolated, but it’s not clear which Epstein files were viewed, whether any data was downloaded, or who carried out the intrusion. A person familiar with the breach said the hacker appeared to be a cybercriminal rather than a foreign government operative and seemed unaware the server belonged to law enforcement, because they left a message threatening to report its owner to the FBI over child abuse images on the device. The server was left exposed after Special Agent Aaron Spivack tried to navigate the bureau’s digital evidence procedures, and the breach was discovered the next day when he found the warning message on his computer. (Reuters / The Guardian)
\npoll/ 46% of Americans say they support using the National Guard to monitor polling places in during the midterm elections, while 54% oppose it. Two-thirds say they are confident their state or local government will run fair and accurate elections this year. (NPR)
\npoll/ 22% of registered voters say they have a great deal or quite a bit of confidence in the Supreme Court – the lowest level recorded in NBC News polling since 2000. Another 40% say they have some confidence, while 38% say they have very little or none. 9% of Democrats say they have a great deal or quite a bit of confidence in the court, compared with 35% of Republicans. (NBC News)
\npoll/ 52% of likely voters say they believe Trump launched the war on Iran at least partly to distract from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, while 40% disagree and 8% are unsure. (Zeteo)
\npoll/ 41% of Americans approved of Trump’s decision to take military action in Iran – the lowest approval ever for initiating an international military action. For comparison, 47% approved of the 2011 Libya intervention, 53% for Grenada in 1983, 76% for the Iraq War in 2003, and 92% for the Afghanistan War in 2001. (New York Times)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 237 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 972 days.
\nWyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed a ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, making Wyoming the fifth state to bar abortion at that stage. Gordon said the law lacked rape and incest exceptions and would likely trigger more litigation. The state’s only abortion clinic said it would challenge the ban in court. (Associated Press)
\nKansas invalidated about 1,700 driver’s licenses held by transgender residents under a new law that also ban changes to birth certificates. A state judge declined to block the law while a legal challenge moves forward. (NBC News)
\nTrump personally ordered the Justice Department to reverse its decision to stop defending White House sanctions against several law firms, telling aides “I never signed off on that.” The reversal keeps the administration’s appeal alive of four trial court rulings had ruled the executive orders were unconstitutional. (Wall Street Journal)
\nCongressional Democrats opened an investigation into at least $63 million pledged by ABC, Meta, Paramount and X to Trump’s planned presidential library through legal settlements. The original fund set up to receive the money was dissolved by Florida officials last year. A second nonprofit reported receiving $50 million in contributions last year, but hasn’t confirmed publicly that it took possession of the settlement funds. (Washington Post)
\nThe Pentagon banned press photographers from Pete Hegseth’s Iran war briefing after Hegseth’s staff deemed the photos “unflattering.” Only Defense Department staff photographers have been permitted into briefings since, while video cameras remain allowed. (Washington Post / Associated Press)
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", "summary": "Sen. John Cornyn said he’d back “whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary” to pass the SAVE America Act; Trump suggested that the war with Iran would end soon because there was “practically nothing left to target”; the Trump administration believes it has three to four weeks before sustained high oil prices become a political liability; the International...", "date_published": "2026-03-11T14:53:29-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/10/day-1876/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/10/day-1876/", "title": "Day 1876: “They have no exit strategy.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1876trump-e945c8.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Seven U.S. service members have been killed and 140 troops have been wounded in the first 10 days of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran; Energy Secretary Chris Wright posted – and then deleted – that the U.S. Navy had “successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz,” sending oil prices down nearly 20%; U.S. military destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as Trump warned Tehran to remove any mines “IMMEDIATELY” or face military consequences “at a level never seen before”; the Trump administration told Israel to stop striking Iranian energy infrastructure, saying it was “not happy”; House Speaker Mike Johnson declined to condemn anti-Muslim remarks by Reps. Andy Ogles and Randy Fine, saying instead that he had spoken to them about “our tone and our message”; Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the Supreme Court’s use of emergency orders is “not serving the court or our country well”; a federal judge ruled that three Justice Department lawyers jointly leading the New Jersey U.S. attorney’s office were unlawfully appointed; and a whistleblower complaint alleges that a former DOGE engineer copied two Social Security databases that contain records for more than 500 million Americans and took them to his new job at a government contractor.
\n1/ Seven U.S. service members have been killed and 140 troops have been wounded in the first 10 days of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, meanwhile, promised the “most intense day of strikes” yet and that the U.S. “will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated” After a classified Senate briefing, Democrats said the Trump administration doesn’t have a clear objective, timeline, or exit strategy. “Clearly, they do not have a strategic goal,” Sen. Mark Kelly said. “They have no exit strategy.” The White House, nevertheless, insisted that the operation was a “resounding success” and would end only when Iran no longer posed a credible threat. (New York Times / ABC News / The Guardian / Associated Press / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / CNBC / Bloomberg)
\n2/ Energy Secretary Chris Wright posted – and then deleted – that the U.S. Navy had “successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz,” sending oil prices down nearly 20%. However, the White House said the claim was false and that “the U.S. Navy has not escorted a tanker or vessel at this time.” The Energy Department later said the post was deleted after it was “determined to be incorrectly captioned by Department of Energy staff.” (Bloomberg / Politico / Wall Street Journal / CNBC / New York Times)
\n3/ The U.S. military destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as Trump warned Tehran to remove any mines “IMMEDIATELY” or face military consequences “at a level never seen before.” The strikes came after intelligence reports indicated Iran had begun laying mines in the strait where roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil supply flows. Trump, however, said the U.S. had “no reports” confirming that Iran had actually put mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Almost all commercial shipping through the strait has stopped since the war began Feb. 28. (Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / Reuters)
\n4/ The Trump administration told Israel to stop striking Iranian energy infrastructure, saying it was “not happy.” The warning follows Israel striking several oil depots in and around Tehran over the weekend. U.S. officials said the administration was concerned the attacks could hurt Iranian civilians, raise the risk of retaliation against Gulf energy facilities, and destabilize oil markets. (Axios / Reuters / Wall Street Journal)
\n5/ House Speaker Mike Johnson declined to condemn anti-Muslim remarks by Reps. Andy Ogles and Randy Fine, saying instead that he had spoken to them about “our tone and our message.” Ogles had posted that “Muslims don’t belong in American society,” while Fine wrote that choosing “between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.” Johnson said the “conflict” was not with Muslims but with people who “come to a country and not assimilate” and seek to “impose Sharia law” in ways “in direct conflict with the Constitution.” (Politico / The Hill / The Guardian / Axios / Washington Post / NPR / NBC News)
\n6/ Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the Supreme Court’s use of emergency orders is “not serving the court or our country well.” She called the trend of letting Trump administration policies take effect before lower courts finish testing whether they are lawful “a real unfortunate problem” and that the court had moved beyond preserving the status quo. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, meanwhile, argued the increase in emergency appeals reflects presidents relying more on executive action because Congress is gridlocked. (CNN / New York Times / NBC News / Associated Press / Washington Post)
\n7/ A federal judge ruled that three Justice Department lawyers jointly leading the New Jersey U.S. attorney’s office were unlawfully appointed – the second time in less than a year that the court has disqualified Trump’s picks to lead the office. After a federal appeals court disqualified Alina Habba as the acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey, U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann found that Attorney General Pam Bondi’s decision to split the role between Philip Lamparello, Jordan Fox, and Ari Fontecchio had violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, the Appointments Clause, and the statute governing U.S. attorney duties. Brann stayed his ruling pending appeal, but warned that if the government left the trio in place, “it does so at its own risk,” and that any further unlawful appointments “will result in dismissals of pending cases.” (Associated Press / CBS News / New York Times / Bloomberg / Politico / Washington Post)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 238 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 973 days.
\nSmartmatic asked a federal judge to dismiss foreign bribery and money-laundering charges, arguing the October indictment was a vindictive, selective prosecution tied to Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. The company said the Trump administration brought the case in retaliation for defamation suits against Trump allies and Fox News over false claims about the company’s role in the 2020 vote. (New York Times / Washington Post)
\nHouse Republican leaders said Tuesday they plan to bring an 18-month extension of Section 702 surveillance authority. The plan would renew the warrantless foreign surveillance program without the new restrictions. (Politico)
\nThe White House told House Republicans to stop talking about “mass deportations” and instead focus on removing violent criminals. (Axios / Washington Post)
\nThe Pentagon spent $93 billion in September 2025 — more than any single month since 2008. While Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has pledged to refocus the department on “warfighting and lethality,” the purchases in September included $225 million in furniture, $15.1 million in ribeye steak, $6.9 million in lobster tail, $2 million in Alaskan king crab, $5.3 million in Apple devices, and a $98,329 Steinway grand piano for the Air Force chief of staff’s home. In the final five days of September, the department signed $50.1 billion in grants and contracts, more than the combined annual defense budgets of Canada and Mexico. Federal agencies that don’t use their congressionally allocated budgets by the end of the fiscal year lose that money permanently. (New Republic)
\nA whistleblower complaint alleges that a former DOGE engineer copied two Social Security databases that contain records for more than 500 million Americans and took them to his new job at a government contractor. The complaint, filed in January, alleges the engineer told co-workers he needed help “sanitizing” the data before uploading it to his employer’s systems. He reportedly told one colleague who refused to help that he expected a presidential pardon if his actions were deemed illegal. The two databases, called “Numident” and the “Master Death File,” include the records for more than 500 million living and dead Americans, including Social Security numbers, places and dates of birth, citizenship, race and ethnicity, and parents’ names. (Washington Post)
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", "summary": "Seven U.S. service members have been killed and 140 troops have been wounded in the first 10 days of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran; Energy Secretary Chris Wright posted – and then deleted – that the U.S. Navy had “successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz,” sending oil prices down nearly 20%; U.S. military destroyed 16 Iranian...", "date_published": "2026-03-10T15:58:52-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/09/day-1875/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/09/day-1875/", "title": "Day 1875: “I have a plan for everything.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1875trump-060b12.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump claimed that fighting in Iran was “very complete, pretty much” and would end “very soon,” but then threatened to strike Iran “at a much, much harder level” if Tehran disrupted oil supplies; Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” even as a classified U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that even a large-scale military assault was unlikely to lead to regime change in Iran; the U.S. economy lost 92,000 jobs in February, its third loss in five months, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%; the FBI subpoenaed records from the Arizona Senate’s 2021 review of roughly 2.1 million Maricopa County ballots; Trump threatened to not sign any legislation until Congress passes the SAVE America Act; a plaque honoring law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, was installed at 4 a.m. Saturday – three years after Congress required it by law and with no ceremony or announcement; and the Justice Department released three FBI interview summaries it had withheld from the Epstein files, including one by a woman alleging that Trump sexually assaulted her as a minor in the 1980s after Jeffrey Epstein introduced them.
\n1/ Trump claimed that fighting in Iran was “very complete, pretty much” and would end “very soon,” but then threatened to strike Iran “at a much, much harder level” if Tehran disrupted oil supplies. The White House and other G7 countries have discussed a possible coordinated release of crude oil from strategic reserves after Brent crude briefly spiked to nearly $120 a barrel — its highest since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. is also waiving some oil-related sanctions to ease prices, including a waiver allowing certain countries to buy Russian oil. Trump, however, dismissed the war’s impact on global energy markets as “a very small price to pay” for “safety and peace” while saying it was “too soon” to talk about seizing Iran’s oil. He added: “I have a plan for everything. You’ll be very happy.” (Bloomberg / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / New York Post / NBC News / Axios / CBS News / Reuters / The Hill / Associated Press / Politico / CNN / CNBC)
\n2/ Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” even as a classified U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that even a large-scale military assault was unlikely to lead to regime change in Iran. The National Intelligence Council report, completed before the war began, found that Iran’s establishment would follow succession protocols to preserve continuity of power even if Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed. Trump, nevertheless, said there would be “no deal” except “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” adding that the war should end with “the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s).” (New York Times / Washington Post / Bloomberg / NBC News / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / CNN)
\nRussia provided Iran with intelligence since the U.S.-Israeli war started, including satellite and other targeting data on U.S. warships, aircraft, radar, and military personnel. The material indicates that Moscow is sharing information, not directing Iranian strikes. When asked about the intelligence sharing, Trump responded: “What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time.” (Washington Post / Associated Press / New York Times / NBC News)
\nTwo men were charged with attempting to support ISIS and use of a weapon of mass destruction after throwing two homemade bombs during a protest outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s residence. Neither device detonated and no one was injured. Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, told investigators they had hoped to cause more damage “than the Boston Marathon bombing,” which caused “only three deaths.” (New York Times / CNN / NBC News / Bloomberg)
\n3/ The U.S. economy lost 92,000 jobs in February, its third loss in five months, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%. The losses were spread across nearly every major sector, and downward revisions to December and January brought job growth over the last three months to effectively zero. A Kaiser Permanente nurses strike sidelined about 31,000 health care workers, pulling the sector down from a gain of 116,000 in January to a loss of 28,000, while manufacturing cut 12,000 jobs, construction 11,000, and leisure and hospitality 27,000. The White House called the report a “surprise.” (Wall Street Journal / CNN / CNBC / NBC News / New York Times / Bloomberg)
\n4/ The FBI subpoenaed records from the Arizona Senate’s 2021 review of roughly 2.1 million Maricopa County ballots, expanding the Trump administration’s criminal investigation of the 2020 presidential election beyond Georgia. Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen said he received and complied with the federal grand jury subpoena last week, turning over records tied to the Senate’s review of Maricopa County. The physical ballots have since been destroyed under state records retention laws, but the Senate retained digital images, absentee envelopes, vote tallies, and server software from the audit, which confirmed Biden won the state. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said the election had already been certified, litigated, and confirmed, and called the inquiry “the weaponization of federal law enforcement.” (New York Times / CNN / Politico / NBC News / Axios / Washington Post)
\n5/ Trump threatened to not sign any legislation until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, a bill that would require proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote in federal elections. “Go for the gold,” Trump wrote on social media, demanding that the legislation “must be done immediately” and “supersedes everything else.” The House passed the bill last month, but it needs 60 votes in the Senate to overcome a filibuster. Democrats said they’ll block the measure, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune has resisted pressure from Trump to change the filibuster rules. The standoff puts other pending legislation at risk, including a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which has been partially shut down since last month. (NBC News / Democracy Docket / Axios / CNBC / Reuters / The Hill / Mother Jones / The Guardian)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 239 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 974 days.
\nA House Republican changed his party affiliation to independent, cutting Speaker Mike Johnson’s majority to a single vote. Rep. Kevin Kiley of California said he’ll continue to caucus with Republicans for “the remainder of this term” for committee and administrative purposes, but wouldn’t commit to supporting Johnson on procedural votes. He attributed the switch to California’s mid-decade redistricting, which turned his seat more Democratic and prompted him to seek reelection as an independent. (Washington Post / Axios / CBS News)
\nA federal judge ruled that Kari Lake’s appointment to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media was unlawful, voiding the mass layoffs and other actions she carried out at Voice of America. Judge Royce Lamberth found that Lake violated both the Constitution’s appointments clause and the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, writing that her authority amounted to “an unlawful effort to transform Lake into the CEO of U.S. Agency for Global Media in all but name.” Lake, who never received Senate confirmation, called Lamberth “an activist judge” and said she would appeal. (The Hill / CBS News / New York Times / CNN)
\nAnthropic sued the Trump administration, alleging the Pentagon retaliated against the company for refusing to let the military use its AI without restrictions on autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance. The supply-chain risk designation, a label normally reserved for companies tied to foreign adversaries, effectively blocks Anthropic from Pentagon contracts and threatens hundreds of millions of dollars in broader federal business. Anthropic filed suits in two courts, arguing the government violated its First Amendment rights, exceeded its statutory authority, and bypassed required procurement procedures. The White House, meanwhile, called Anthropic “a radical left, woke company” trying to dictate military operations. (ABC News / NBC News / Bloomberg / Politico / Wall Street Journal)
\nEric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are investing in a drone company seeking Pentagon contracts following the Trump administration’s ban on Chinese drones and a $1.1 billion domestic procurement initiative. Powerus is also pursuing Ukrainian drone technology to manufacture and sell under American branding to meet Pentagon requirements for domestically made weapons. The Trumps’ investment vehicles, American Ventures and Dominari Securities, are financing the deal alongside Unusual Machines, a drone components firm where Trump Jr. serves as a shareholder and advisory board member. (Wall Street Journal)
\nA plaque honoring law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, was installed at 4 a.m. Saturday – three years after Congress required it by law and with no ceremony or announcement. House Speaker Mike Johnson had blocked the installation, calling the 2022 law “not implementable,” until the Senate passed a unanimous resolution in January directing the Architect of the Capitol to display it on the Senate side. Officer Daniel Hodges, who sued over the delay, called the installation “a fine stopgap” and said his lawsuit would continue, noting that the plaque’s location and format fall short of what the law requires. (Washington Post / NPR / NBC News / CNN)
\nThe Justice Department released three FBI interview summaries it had withheld from the Epstein files, including one by a woman alleging that Trump sexually assaulted her as a minor in the 1980s after Jeffrey Epstein introduced them. Officials said the documents were mistakenly coded as duplicates, but didn’t explain why only the three interviews that named Trump were missing from the initial release. Trump claimed that the Epstein files had “totally exonerated” him, while the White House called the allegations “completely baseless accusations, backed by zero credible evidence.” Meanwhile, 37 pages of related records remain absent from the public database. (NPR / New York Times / Politico / CNN / Wall Street Journal)
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", "summary": "Trump claimed that fighting in Iran was “very complete, pretty much” and would end “very soon,” but then threatened to strike Iran “at a much, much harder level” if Tehran disrupted oil supplies; Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” even as a classified U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that even a large-scale military assault was unlikely to lead to regime change in...", "date_published": "2026-03-09T16:34:29-07:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/05/day-1871/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/05/day-1871/", "title": "Day 1871: “Getting screamed at to find some good news.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1871trump-e00c40.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and replaced her with Sen. Markwayne Mullin; Senate Democrats blocked a Republican bill to reopen the Department of Homeland Security for a third time; the House rejected a bipartisan effort to force Trump to seek congressional approval for continued military action in Iran; Trump said he wasn’t concerned about rising gasoline prices caused by the Iran war, saying “if they rise, they rise”; two dozen Democratic-led states sued Trump to stop his new 10% global import tariffs; and a Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by Trump was sentenced to life in prison for molesting two children.
\n1/ Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and replaced her with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, making Noem the first Cabinet secretary forced out in his second term. Mullin still needs Senate confirmation, but Trump said the change takes effect March 31 and called him a “MAGA Warrior” who would make a “spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security.” Trump added that Noem would become a special envoy for the “our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere.” The move followed Noem’s claim that Trump had approved a roughly $200 million DHS ad campaign that prominently featured her, a claim Trump and White House officials contradicted. It also came after criticism of her handling of the Minneapolis immigration operations, where federal agents killed U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who Noem labeled “domestic terrorists.” (Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Politico / Washington Post / NPR / NBC News / Bloomberg / ABC News / CNN)
\n2/ Senate Democrats blocked a Republican bill to reopen the Department of Homeland Security for a third time, saying Noem’s removal “changes nothing” because “the problems at this agency transcend any one person.” The Senate vote was 51-45, short of the 60 needed to advance. Democrats want binding limits on ICE and Border Patrol tactics, including identification, warrant, mask, and use-of-force rules, while Republicans say they’ve offered reforms and accused Democrats of refusing a deal. The standoff leaves the DHS shutdown on track to enter a fourth week. (New York Times / CNBC / The Hill / Axios / Associated Press / Politico / Washington Post)
\n3/ The House rejected a bipartisan effort to force Trump to seek congressional approval for continued military action in Iran, voting 219-212 to block consideration of the measure. The resolution, led by Rep. Thomas Massie and co-sponsored by Rep. Ro Khanna, would have required Trump to end offensive operations. Massie said the War Powers Resolution lets a president use force without Congress only in narrow cases, including a declaration of war, specific statutory approval, or a national emergency caused by an attack on the United States. “None of those conditions exist today,” he said. The vote came a day after the Senate blocked a similar measure, effectively signaling that Congress will not restrain Trump’s war powers on Iran. (ABC News / NBC News / New York Times / Axios / Politico / Associated Press)
\n4/ Trump said he wasn’t concerned about rising gasoline prices caused by the Iran war, saying “if they rise, they rise.” He called the U.S. military operation in Iran is “far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit,” claiming that “They’ll drop very rapidly when this is over.” That came as the national average gas price rose 27 cents in the last week to $3.25 a gallon. Meanwhile, Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, warned that failing to respond to higher fuel costs would be “catastrophic” for Republicans, while aides were “looking under every rock” for ways to lower prices. Two energy industry executives familiar with the conversations inside the White House said Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other advisers “are getting screamed at to find some good news” on bringing down prices. “Folks are scrambling for announcements and messaging to counter the narrative” of rising prices.(Politico / Bloomberg / Reuters / New York Times / The Hill / CNBC)
\n5/ Two dozen Democratic-led states sued Trump to stop his new 10% global import tariffs, arguing that Trump was trying to “sidestep” the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down most of his tariffs. After the ruling, Trump invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows tariffs of up to 15% for 150 days to address “fundamental international payments problems.” The states argued that the U.S. trade deficit doesn’t meet that standard, asked the court to block the tariffs, and refund any duties already collected. (Politico / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)
\n6/ A Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by Trump was sentenced to life in prison for molesting two children. Andrew Paul Johnson was found guilty on 5 state charges in Florida, including molesting a child under 12, molesting another under 16, lewd exhibition, and sending harmful material to a minor. He tried to keep one victim quiet by promising money he expected from the federal government after Trump’s pardon, and investigators found explicit messages he sent on Discord. (NPR / Associated Press / NBC News)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 243 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 978 days.
\n\n \nSubscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free
\nSupport today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
", "summary": "Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and replaced her with Sen. Markwayne Mullin; Senate Democrats blocked a Republican bill to reopen the Department of Homeland Security for a third time; the House rejected a bipartisan effort to force Trump to seek congressional approval for continued military action in Iran; Trump said he wasn’t concerned about rising gasoline prices caused...", "date_published": "2026-03-05T15:40:10-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/04/day-1870/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/04/day-1870/", "title": "Day 1870: “Why are we doing this?”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1870trump-ad31e3.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: The Republican-led House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi for a closed-door deposition about the Justice Department’s handling of records tied to Jeffrey Epstein; Senate Republicans rejected a war powers resolution to block Trump from ordering more strikes on Iran; Trump is “actively considering and discussing” America’s role in Iran after the war with his advisers and national security team; Texas state Rep. James Talarico won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Texas; Republicans Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton advanced to a May 26 Republican runoff; the Office of Congressional Conduct said it had “substantial reason to believe” Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, had a sexual relationship with a subordinate who later died by suicide; and 54% of voters disapproved of Trump’s handling of Iran, and 52% said the U.S. shouldn’t have taken military action.
\n1/ The Republican-led House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi for a closed-door deposition about the Justice Department’s handling of records tied to Jeffrey Epstein. Five Republicans joined Democrats to approve the subpoena after Rep. Nancy Mace said Bondi’s claim that the Justice Department released “all of the Epstein files” was “not” supported by the record. The department to date has released more than 3 million pages to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, but the Justice Department has also acknowledged that it’s withholding millions more documents under claims of privilege. Lawmakers in both parties, however, have criticized the department’s process as both incomplete and sloppy, pointing to heavy redactions and episodes where victims’ information appeared in public releases. (NBC News / Politico / CNN / New York Times / CBS News / CNBC / The Hill / Associated Press)
\n2/ Senate Republicans rejected a war powers resolution to block Trump from ordering more strikes on Iran. The 53-to-47 vote was mostly along party lines, with Rand Paul the only Republican who supported the resolution. “This essentially is the vote whether to go to war or not,” Paul said. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy added: “It is amazing to me that my Republican colleagues refuse to learn lessons. Six Americans have already died for an illegal war that nobody wants. […] And for what? We still don’t even know the reason for this war.” One Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman voted against it. A similar House vote is expected Thursday, which is also expected to fail. “As people see the consequences,” Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine said, “I think they may decide, ‘Why are we doing this?’” (Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / Associated Press / The Guardian)
\n3/ Trump is “actively considering and discussing” America’s role in Iran after the war with his advisers and national security team. Trump is also reportedly open to supporting armed Iranian opposition groups and the CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces based in Iraq. Both efforts are aimed at triggering mass protests to overthrow the regime after the U.S.-Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt added that Trump “hasn’t ruled out” U.S. ground troops, but they “aren’t part of operational plans at this time.” (Wall Street Journal / Axios / CNN / NBC News / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / New York Times / The Hill / Reuters)
\n🔴🔵 PRIMARIES
\n4/ Texas state Rep. James Talarico won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Texas, defeating U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett for the nomination. On the other side, Republicans Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton advanced to a May 26 Republican runoff. Trump, who is expected to endorse Cornyn, posted on Truth Social that Republican primary race in Texas “cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW!” He added: “The candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE!” Talarico would be the underdog against either Republican. Democrats haven’t won any statewide race in Texas since 1994. In North Carolina, former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley won their primaries, locking in a matchup expected to be central to control of the Senate. In Texas, several majority-Latino counties cast more votes in the Democratic primary than voted for Kamala Harris in 2024, while in North Carolina the primary drew about 5% more voters than 2022 with Democrats casting about 200,000 more primary ballots than Republicans. (Associated Press / CNN / ABC News / Axios / The Hill / NBC News / Politico / Wall Street Journal / NPR / Politico / New York Times)
5/ The Office of Congressional Conduct said it had “substantial reason to believe” Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, had a sexual relationship with a subordinate who later died by suicide. The matter was referred to the House Ethics Committee, which opened an investigation into whether Gonzales “engaged in sexual misconduct” toward a congressional employee and whether he “discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.” Gonzales, who is seeking reelection, is headed to a Republican runoff against Brandon Herrera, a right-wing YouTuber and gun-rights activist known as “the AK Guy.” Separately, House Republicans blocked Rep. Nancy Mace’s measure to force the public release of sexual misconduct and harassment by congressional lawmakers and aides. (Politico / NBC News / CNN / CNBC / CBS News / Washington Post / New York Times)
\npoll/ 54% of voters disapproved of Trump’s handling of Iran, and 52% said the U.S. shouldn’t have taken military action. 89% of Democrats and 58% of independents opposed the strikes, while 77% of Republicans supported them. Republicans who identified as MAGA backed the action 90%-5%, but non-MAGA Republicans were divided, 54%-36%. (NBC News)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 244 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 979 days.
\n\n \nSubscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free
\nSupport today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
", "summary": "The Republican-led House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi for a closed-door deposition about the Justice Department’s handling of records tied to Jeffrey Epstein; Senate Republicans rejected a war powers resolution to block Trump from ordering more strikes on Iran; Trump is “actively considering and discussing” America’s role in Iran after the war with his advisers and...", "date_published": "2026-03-04T15:55:26-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/03/day-1869/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/03/day-1869/", "title": "Day 1869: “A failure of leadership.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1869trump-6ed340.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump warned that “I guess the worst case” from U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran would be “somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person”; Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed the U.S. attacked Iran first because “we knew that there was going to be an Israeli action” and that it would “precipitate an attack against American forces”; Sen. Thom Tillis threatened to block Trump administration nominees and stall committee work unless Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem answers his questions about the Charlotte’s Web immigration operation; Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick agreed to a voluntary, closed-door House Oversight interview on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein after Justice Department records contradicted his Senate testimony; the Justice Department abruptly reversed itself and will defend Trump’s executive orders targeting four law firms, less than 24 hours after telling the same court it wanted to drop the appeals; the Interior Department threatened to hold employees “accountable” after an internal database leaked showing National Park Service staff flagging hundreds of items that could “disparage” Americans for possible revision or removal; the Supreme Court temporarily blocked California from enforcing a 2024 law that limited when educators could tell parents about a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation; and voters in Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas head to the polls today to kick off the 2026 midterm season.
\n1/ Trump warned that “I guess the worst case” from U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran would be “somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person.” He said “most of the people we had in mind are dead,” and that “another group, they may be dead also,” leaving “a third wave coming” and “pretty soon we’re not going to know anybody.” Israel, meanwhile, struck the Council of Experts building in Qom as votes were being counted to choose a successor to Ali Khamenei, saying: “We wanted to prevent them from picking a new supreme leader.” (Bloomberg / New York Times / The Guardian / Politico / CNN / Axios)
\n2/ Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed the U.S. attacked Iran first because “we knew that there was going to be an Israeli action” and that it would “precipitate an attack against American forces,” arguing that waiting meant “higher casualties” and that “we were not going to get hit first.” Trump, however, publicly contradicted that version of events, saying, “If anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.” Rubio later tried to reframe the decision, saying “this had to happen anyway” because Iran “was not going to be allowed to hide behind its ballistic missile program.” Democrats said a classified briefing failed to show an “imminent threat,” with Chuck Schumer calling the answers “completely and totally insufficient” and Mark Warner saying, “There was no imminent threat to the United States,” warning of “uncharted territory” and demanding “the objective” and “our exit plan.” (The Guardian / Axios / Politico / ABC News / Washington Post / CNBC)
\n3/ Sen. Thom Tillis threatened to block Trump administration nominees and stall committee work unless Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem answers his questions about the Charlotte’s Web immigration operation, saying “I’m giving you a performance evaluation here, I’m not looking for a response,” and adding that “time after time after time, I’ve been disappointed.” Tillis called Noem’s leadership “a disaster,” accused DHS of detaining U.S. citizens, chasing arrest “numbers” over judgment, and said he had “reason to believe” she was “violating the law, either knowingly or unknowingly,” citing delays in FEMA reimbursements tied to her sign-off policy. He then accused her department of “stonewalling” Congress, citing a DHS inspector general letter that described “10 different instances” where investigators were “misled” or blocked. “Does anybody have any idea how bad it has to be for the OIG in this agency to come out and do this publicly?” he said. “That’s a failure of leadership, and that is why I’ve called for your resignation.” Tillis warned he would put a hold on “any en bloc nominations” unless he got answers, and threatened to “deny quorum and markup in as many committees as I can” – a threat that would slow nominations and legislation. (The Hill / CNBC / NBC News / Politico / Axios / New York Times / Associated Press / Bloomberg / CBS News / CNN)
\n4/ Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick agreed to a voluntary, closed-door House Oversight interview on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein after Justice Department records contradicted his Senate testimony that he “did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person.” Lutnick said he “did nothing wrong” and wants to “set the record straight,” while the White House said he remains a “critical asset” to Trump. Lutnick previously claimed he cut off Epstein after a 2005 visit to Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, vowing he would “never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again,” but the documents showed Lutnick meeting at Epstein’s home in 2011 and his family having lunch on Epstein’s private Caribbean island in 2012. (Axios / NBC News / CNN / CNBC / Politico / Washington Post)
\n5/ The Justice Department abruptly reversed itself and will defend Trump’s executive orders targeting four law firms, less than 24 hours after telling the same court it wanted to drop the appeals. The Justice Department gave no explanation, but instead argued a procedural point: that the court hadn’t yet granted the voluntary dismissal request and so the administration could still pursue the cases. Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, and Susman Godfrey objected, calling the reversal “unexplained” and urged the court not to reward the government’s attempt to withdraw a dismissal the parties had agreed to ahead of Friday’s deadline. Trump’s executive orders, which trial judges had already found unconstitutional, would have stripped security clearances, restricted access to federal buildings, and pushed agencies to cut off contracts involving the firms and their clients. (Politico / Associated Press / New York Times / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
\n6/ The Interior Department threatened to hold employees “accountable” after an internal database leaked showing National Park Service staff flagging hundreds of items that could “disparage” Americans for possible revision or removal. The entries were compiled under Trump administration orders to strip “partisan ideology” from park sites and instead refocus on the nation’s “beauty, abundance, or grandeur.” The Interior Department said the material was “draft, deliberative” paperwork and “not a representation of final action.” Even so, the submissions included exhibits and material on Emmett Till, slavery, civil rights, LGBTQ+ history, pollution, and climate change. And, many entries read as staff trying to interpret the directives, with some proposing softer wording for documented violence to avoid “denigrating” perpetrators. (Washington Post / Reuters)
\n7/ The Supreme Court temporarily blocked California from enforcing a 2024 law that limited when educators could tell parents about a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation, reviving a lower-court injunction while the case continues. In an unsigned order, the court said the parent plaintiffs were “likely to succeed” on their First Amendment claim, citing constitutional “parental rights” in participating in decisions about a child’s mental health. The court granted emergency relief for the parents, but declined to extend the same relief to teachers, who also challenged the policies. Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented and criticized the court for intervening on the emergency docket before the appeals process played out, while Justice Amy Coney Barrett, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, said the order was meant to prevent “irreparable harm” and was preliminary. The litigation now returns to the lower courts, with California officials saying they remain committed to student safety and privacy while the case proceeds. (Sacramento Bee / Washington Post / NBC News / Politico / CNN)
\n8/ Voters in Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas head to the polls today to kick off the 2026 midterm season. In Texas, Sen. John Cornyn faces Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt in the Republican Senate primary, a race that could go to a runoff if no candidate wins 50% of the vote. Republican leaders have warned that if Paxton is the nominee, Democrats could have their best shot in decades at flipping the seat in November. Democrats will also pick a Senate nominee, choosing between Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico. In North Carolina, voters begin filling an open Senate seat after Sen. Thom Tillis declined to run again, with former governor Roy Cooper expected to win the Democratic nomination and Trump-backed former RNC chair Michael Whatley favored on the Republican side. And in Arkansas, Republican incumbents are expected to advance with the more competitive primaries further down the ballot. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / ABC News / CBS News / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 245 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 980 days.
\n\n \nSubscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free
\nSupport today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
", "summary": "Trump warned that “I guess the worst case” from U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran would be “somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person”; Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed the U.S. attacked Iran first because “we knew that there was going to be an Israeli action” and that it would “precipitate an attack against American forces”; Sen. Thom...", "date_published": "2026-03-03T16:04:21-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/02/day-1868/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/02/day-1868/", "title": "Day 1868: “The yips.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1868trump-ed1066.jpg", "content_html": "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.
\n1/ 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)
\nAt 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)
\nFROM THE WEEKEND:
\nDay 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.
\nIranian 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.”
\nDemocrats 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.”
\nTrump 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.
\nOpenAI 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.
\n2/ 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)
\n3/ 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)
\n4/ 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)
\n5/ 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)
\n6/ 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)
\npoll/ 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)
\npoll/ 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)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 246 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 981 days.
\nSome ✏️ Notables I’m tracking for tomorrow’s edition:
\nRepublicans 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.
\nSubscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free
\nSupport today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
", "summary": "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...", "date_published": "2026-03-02T16:23:38-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/28/day-1866/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/28/day-1866/", "title": "Day 1866: “A noble mission.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1866trump-dd6373.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: The U.S. and Israel launched “massive and ongoing” “major combat operations” in Iran; Iranian state media said Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes; 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; 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; and OpenAI reached an agreement with the Pentagon to deploy its AI models on classified Defense Department networks.
\n1/ 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. Trump added: “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” saying Iran had “attempted to rebuild” its nuclear program despite last June’s “Operation Midnight Hammer,” which he claimed had “obliterated the regime’s nuclear program.” Nevertheless, Trump said Iran was developing “long range missiles” that could threaten U.S. allies in Europe and “could soon reach the American homeland.” Trump warned that “the lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties,” adding “That often happens in war,” but “we’re doing this not for now […] for the future.” He called it “a noble mission.” Trump, who has claimed to have ended eight wars, said “No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight,” urging Iranians to “take over your government” because “America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force.” Iran, saying it would respond “by all means necessary,” retaliated with missile and drone attacks at Israel and at U.S. bases and allies across the Gulf, prompting shelter-in-place alerts at U.S. embassies and air defense interceptions in multiple countries. (New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / Bloomberg / ABC News / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / Axios / CNBC)
\n2/ 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.” Israel said the strikes also killed senior defense and intelligence figures. Under Iran’s constitution, an interim council assumes authority while the 88-member Assembly of Experts selects a new supreme leader. There is no clear successor. (Axios / Politico / New York Times / Washington Post)
\n3/ 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.” Passage, however, looks uncertain in the Republican-controlled House and Senate. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Tim Kaine said the administration hadn’t provided Congress or the public “critical details” on the scope or immediacy of any threat, and they demanded an all-member classified briefing and public testimony, arguing Trump struck without authorization. Republican leaders, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson, defended the operation as justified and that lawmakers would be briefed. (ABC News / Bloomberg / Politico)
\n4/ 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.” Hegseth said contractors and suppliers that work with the military “may not conduct any commercial activity” with Anthropic. The administration, however, allowed up to six months for some agencies to transition “to a better and more patriotic service.” Anthropic called the designation “legally unsound” and said any ban can’t legally extend beyond Claude’s use on Defense Department contract work. (Washington Post / Politico / New York Times / Associated Press / CNBC / The Verge / Axios)
\n5/ 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. Altman said OpenAI will add technical safeguards so the models “behave as they should,” though neither OpenAI nor the Pentagon publicly described what those controls are, how they will be audited, or what happens if they fail. (NBC News / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Axios)
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", "summary": "The U.S. and Israel launched “massive and ongoing” “major combat operations” in Iran; Iranian state media said Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes; 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; Trump ordered federal agencies to “immediately cease” using Anthropic’s Claude...", "date_published": "2026-02-28T09:02:59-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/26/day-1864/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/26/day-1864/", "title": "Day 1864: “The politics are a lot better.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1864trump-74719e.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Pro-Trump activists circulated a 17-page draft executive order urging Trump to declare an election emergency and use it to impose federal voting rules, including limits on mail ballots and voting machines; the Trump administration believes “the politics are a lot better if the Israelis” attack Iran first, thinking Tehran’s retaliation would build U.S. support for American attacks; the FBI subpoenaed phone “toll records” for Kash Patel and Susie Wiles in 2022 and 2023 during Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigating into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his mishandling of classified documents; Hillary Clinton’s closed-door deposition before the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation was briefly paused after an unauthorized photo from inside the room was posted on social media; a federal judge ruled that the IRS violated federal privacy law “approximately 42,695 times” by sharing taxpayer addresses with ICE; the U.S. recorded net negative migration in 2025 for the first time since the Great Depression; 61% of Americans say they support deporting unauthorized immigrants, but 60% say ICE agents have “gone too far”; and 56% of Americans say they don’t trust Trump to make the right decisions about using military force overseas.
\n1/ Pro-Trump activists circulated a 17-page draft executive order urging Trump to declare an election emergency and use it to impose federal voting rules, including limits on mail ballots and voting machines. The draft, promoted by activists who said they had “certain coordination” with the White House, cited alleged Chinese interference in 2020 as the basis to declare a national emergency. Trump has said he’ll act by executive order on voter ID and mail voting if Congress doesn’t pass the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register. A U.S. intelligence review found China considered influence efforts in 2020, but didn’t carry them out, and courts have already blocked parts of Trump’s earlier election order. (Washington Post / New York Times)
\n2/ The Trump administration believes “the politics are a lot better if the Israelis” attack Iran first, thinking Tehran’s retaliation would build U.S. support for American attacks. The U.S. deployed F-22 Raptor fighter jets to an Israeli air base for a potential wartime mission, positioning forces to help defend Israel and U.S. assets if Iran strikes back. The buildup came as U.S. and Iranian negotiators held indirect talks in Geneva that ended without a deal, but Oman and Iran reported “significant progress.” Meanwhile, Democrats and some Republicans moved to force votes next week requiring congressional authorization before any Iran attack. (Politico / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Reuters / NBC News / Politico / CNBC / Axios)
\n3/ The FBI subpoenaed phone “toll records” for Kash Patel and Susie Wiles in 2022 and 2023 during Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigating into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his mishandling of classified documents. Both were private citizens at the time. The scope, timing, and purpose of the subpoenas, as well as whether Patel, now FBI director, or Wiles, now White House chief of staff, were targets of the investigation is unclear. Patel claimed the records were placed in “Prohibited” case files that made them hard to locate after Trump officials took over the bureau. After Patel disclosed the records, at least 10 FBI employees tied to the Mar-a-Lago documents case were fired. The FBI Agents Association called the terminations unlawful and a violation of due process. (Reuters / Associated Press / Axios / New York Times / The Guardian / ABC News / NBC News / CNN / CBS News / The Hill)
\n4/ Hillary Clinton’s closed-door deposition before the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation was briefly paused after an unauthorized photo from inside the room was posted on social media. Rep. Lauren Boebert reportedly took the photo and shared it with conservative influencer Benny Johnson. In prepared remarks, Clinton said she didn’t recall ever meeting Epstein, never flew on his plane, and had “nothing to add,” accusing Republicans of using her testimony as “partisan political theater” to deflect from Trump’s ties to Epstein. The deposition resumed after about 30 minutes, with Bill Clinton scheduled to testify Friday. (New York Times / Washington Post / Axios / Reuters / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / ABC News)
\n5/ A federal judge ruled that the IRS violated federal privacy law “approximately 42,695 times” by sharing taxpayer addresses with ICE. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said the IRS shared the addresses in August under a data-sharing agreement with the Department of Homeland Security without confirming that ICE had provided a valid address for the taxpayer it was seeking, a statutory requirement meant to limit access to already-identified individuals. The judge said the government’s verification standard was so weak that ICE could have submitted placeholder entries like “00000” and still received a taxpayer’s home address. (Washington Post)
\nICE officers entered Columbia University housing and detained an undergraduate, using a “missing person” story to get inside. Columbia said officers lacked a judicial warrant for nonpublic areas and tightened rules on letting law enforcement into housing. Hours later, Elmina Aghayeva was released, while DHS claimed her 2016 visa termination made her removable. (New York Times / Washington Post)
\nA nearly blind refugee was found dead in Buffalo days after U.S. Border Patrol took custody of him at his release from jail and dropped him at a coffee shop miles from his home. Authorities said homicide detectives were reviewing the timeline even as local reporting said the medical examiner deemed the death health-related. CBP said agents saw no distress and left him at a “warm, safe” coffee shop near his last known address. The mayor and his family said he was released without notice or adequate help in below-freezing weather. (WIVB / CBS News / Reuters)
\n6/ The U.S. recorded net negative migration in 2025 for the first time since the Great Depression. The U.S. population lost an estimated 150,000 people last year with total in-migration falling to about 2.6 to 2.7 million – down from almost 6 million in 2023. (Wall Street Journal)
\npoll/ 61% of Americans say they support deporting unauthorized immigrants, but 60% say ICE agents have “gone too far.” 39% approve of Trump’s handling of deportations. (Reuters)
\npoll/ 56% of Americans say they don’t trust Trump to make the right decisions about using military force overseas. 59% say they have little to no trust in Trump’s ability to make the right decisions on the use of nuclear weapons. (AP-NORC)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 250 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 985 days.
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", "summary": "Pro-Trump activists circulated a 17-page draft executive order urging Trump to declare an election emergency and use it to impose federal voting rules, including limits on mail ballots and voting machines; the Trump administration believes “the politics are a lot better if the Israelis” attack Iran first, thinking Tehran’s retaliation would build U.S. support for American attacks; the FBI subpoenaed...", "date_published": "2026-02-26T14:56:39-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/25/day-1863/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/25/day-1863/", "title": "Day 1863: “Is the president working for you? We all know the answer is no.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/1772068380094-day1863trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump used his first State of the Union of his second term to insist that “our nation is back,” calling it “a turnaround for the ages,” and that “the roaring economy is roaring like never before,” even as 39% of Americans say they approve of Trump’s handling of the economy; Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, wellness influencer Dr. Casey Means, refused to recommend routine measles and flu vaccines for children during her confirmation hearing; the Justice Department said it’s reviewing whether it improperly withheld Epstein-related records listed in evidence logs, including FBI notes and summaries tied to allegations that Trump sexually abused a minor; the Trump administration will not provide Congress with the unredacted intelligence behind a whistleblower complaint involving Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, citing executive privilege; a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from deporting migrants to “third countries” they’re not from; and a White House staffer appears to have operated a large anonymous pro-Trump X account that amplified official Trump administration messaging.
\n1/ Trump used his first State of the Union of his second term to insist that “our nation is back,” calling it “a turnaround for the ages,” and that “the roaring economy is roaring like never before,” even as 39% of Americans say they approve of Trump’s handling of the economy. Trump repeatedly pointed to the stock market, gasoline prices, mortgage rates, and inflation measures as proof the country is in a “golden age.” In a record-setting address that ran about 1 hour and 47 minutes, Trump blamed Democrats for voters’ economic concerns, dismissing affordability as “a dirty, rotten lie,” and saying: “You caused that problem.” Trump also doubled down on tariffs after the Supreme Court struck down key parts of his economic policy, calling it a “very unfortunate ruling” and a “disappointing ruling,” while promising to keep tariffs in place using “fully approved and tested alternative legal statutes,” and predicting that his tariffs would “substantially replace the modern day system of income tax.” Nearly an hour in, Trump issued a stand-or-sit challenge to lawmakers: “If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support: The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.” Most Democrats stayed seated. “Isn’t that a shame?” Trump said. “You should be ashamed of yourself, not standing up,” and repeatedly saying, “These people are crazy, I’m telling you. They’re crazy.” Trump asked Congress to “codify” his efforts to lower drug prices, backed a ban on stock trading by members of Congress and their spouses, and pitched a government-backed retirement option for workers without employer matches, saying the government would “match your contribution with up to $1,000 each year.” He also demanded “the full and immediate restoration” of DHS funding amid the shutdown fight and urged passage of the SAVE America Act to require proof of citizenship to vote, claiming “cheating is rampant” and saying Democrats “want to cheat […] have cheated […] and we’re going to stop it.” Trump said the U.S. was “in negotiations” and that Iran “want[s] to make a deal,” but said “we haven’t heard those secret words: ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon.’” He added, “My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy,” while vowing, “I will never allow the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terror […] to have a nuclear weapon.” He argued Iran was “again pursuing their sinister nuclear ambitions” despite his earlier claim that the U.S. had “obliterated” its nuclear program. Trump closed the marathon address by declaring: “The golden age of America is upon us,” and promising “our future will be bigger, better, brighter, bolder, and more glorious than ever before.” Gov. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia delivered the Democratic Party’s response, asking: “Is the president working for you? We all know the answer is no.” (NPR / New York Times / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / ABC News / New York Times / Bloomberg / Associated Press / CNN / Axios / CNBC / Politico)
\n2/ Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, wellness influencer Dr. Casey Means, refused to recommend routine measles and flu vaccines for children during her confirmation hearing. Instead, the nation’s prospective top doctor with an inactive medical license repeated that “vaccines save lives,” “I’m supportive of vaccination,” and that parents “need to have a conversation with their pediatrician.” Means also declined to rule out a vaccine-autism link, which has been widely discredited by the medical community, instead saying “we do not know” what causes autism, adding that “we should not leave any stones unturned” and to keep vaccines “on the table.” If confirmed, Means would be responsible for advancing health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA agenda into official guidance through Surgeon General advisories. As health secretary, Kennedy, one of the nation’s leading vaccine skeptics, has directed the CDC to reduce number of routine childhood vaccine recommendations and ordered the CDC to update its webpage on vaccines and autism to reflect his beliefs. Nevertheless, Means insisted that “anti-vaccine rhetoric has never been part of my message.” (Politico / ABC News / Axios / New York Times / The Guardian / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / MS Now / NBC News / NPR / Washington Post)
\n3/ The Justice Department said it’s reviewing whether it improperly withheld Epstein-related records listed in evidence logs, including FBI notes and summaries tied to allegations that Trump sexually abused a minor. The missing records include records from three FBI interviews in 2019 with a South Carolina woman who reported being sexual abused by Jeffrey Epstein and later made allegations involving Trump. Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the Justice Department is required to publish most Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell case records and can’t withhold material because it’s politically embarrassing, though it can withhold duplicates, privileged material, victim-identifying information, or files tied to an ongoing investigation. Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said he is opening an investigation and demanded that Justice Department explain the omissions. (Wall Street Journal / NPR / New York Times / NBC News / The Guardian)
\n4/ The Trump administration will not provide Congress with the unredacted intelligence behind a whistleblower complaint involving Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, citing executive privilege. In a Feb. 13 email to Democratic staff, Gabbard’s office said it couldn’t share the underlying material “due to the assertion of executive privilege” over parts of the intelligence report. Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Jim Himes, the ranking Democrats on the intelligence committees, demanded to know who asserted the privilege and why, saying the heavily redacted complaint left them unable to verify even the basic allegation about a foreign conversation involving Jared Kushner. The Trump administration said the claims about Kushner were false, but offered no evidence. (Wall Street Journal)
\n5/ A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from deporting migrants to “third countries” they’re not from. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy said the policy violated due process by allowing removals on as little as six hours’ notice, leaving migrants little chance to raise country-specific fears of persecution or torture. He faulted Homeland Security for relying on undisclosed “diplomatic assurances.” Murphy stayed the order for 15 days to allow an appeal, after the Supreme Court previously lifted his earlier injunction while the case was litigated. The ruling doesn’t apply to migrants removed under expedited removal authorities. (Washington Post / New York Times / Reuters / Associated Press)
\n6/ A White House staffer appears to have operated a large anonymous pro-Trump X account that amplified official Trump administration messaging. “Johnny MAGA” was linked through a shared phone number and public records to Garrett Wade, a White House staffer who works in rapid response helping run White House social media his anonymous account regularly boosted. (Wired)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 251 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 986 days.
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", "summary": "Trump used his first State of the Union of his second term to insist that “our nation is back,” calling it “a turnaround for the ages,” and that “the roaring economy is roaring like never before,” even as 39% of Americans say they approve of Trump’s handling of the economy; Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, wellness influencer Dr. Casey Means,...", "date_published": "2026-02-25T17:13:35-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/24/day-1862/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/24/day-1862/", "title": "Day 1862: “Brink of disaster.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1862trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump will deliver his first State of the Union of his second term with his approval rating near an all-time low, and polling showing that 55% of Americans disapprove of his job performance; at least 45 congressional Democrats plan to skip Trump’s State of the Union; Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democrats response to Trump’s State of the Union, putting her “kitchen-table” affordability message at the center of their midterm strategy; Trump’s promised 15% “worldwide” tariffs went into effect at 10%; the Justice Department withheld some Epstein files tied to allegations that Trump sexually abused a minor and removed other documents where accusations against Epstein also mentioned Trump; the Pentagon privately warned Trump that a major military strike against Iran could turn into a prolonged campaign that would likely produce U.S. and allied casualties and drain air-defense interceptors; 61% of Americans think Trump has “become erratic with age”; 57% of Trump’s critics say his immigration crackdown is the worst thing he’s done in his second term; 26% of independents approve of the job Trump is doing as president; and 10% of Americans say things are going well in the country, while 34% say things could be better, and 52% say things are going poorly and major, disruptive change is needed.
\n1/ Trump will deliver his first State of the Union of his second term with his approval rating near an all-time low, and polling showing that 55% of Americans disapprove of his job performance. Trump is expected to use the prime-time speech to argue that the economy is “strong, prosperous and respected,” pointing to last year’s tax cuts, job growth, lower gasoline prices, and stock market gains as he tries to address affordability. The speech comes days after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s tariffs, forcing him to retreat from his signature economic policy. Trump is also expected to frame his immigration crackdown as a success that “turned our country around from the brink of disaster” even federal agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. The midterms are less than nine months away, and Republicans are defending narrow majorities in both the House and Senate. (Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / ABC News / NBC News / Politico / The Guardian / Bloomberg / CNBC / NPR / New York Times / Silver Bulletin)
\n2/ At least 45 congressional Democrats plan to skip Trump’s State of the Union, while others will use their guest seats to bring survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse into the House as a public demand for “transparency and accountability” around the administration’s partial release of files. The boycott is expected to send dozens of lawmakers to counterprogramming, including MoveOn’s “People’s State of the Union” on the National Mall. (ABC News / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Axios)
\nThe U.S. women’s hockey team declined Trump’s invitation to attend the State of the Union, days after winning Olympic gold in Milan. USA Hockey said the players could not travel because of “previously scheduled academic and professional commitments” after the Games. (The Athletic)
\nThe U.S. men’s hockey team is expected to attend Trump’s State of the Union. Trump invited the players after the team won the Olympic gold medal in an overtime victory against Canada. During a call with the players, Trump joked that he would be impeached if he didn’t also invite the women’s team. (NBC News)
\nFBI Director Kash Patel defended chugging beer and partying in the locker room after the men’s Olympic hockey team won the gold medal. Patel said the players invited him to celebrate, and the FBI said the Italy trip was official business with any personal time reimbursed. (Washington Post / CNN)
\n3/ Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democrats response to Trump’s State of the Union, putting her “kitchen-table” affordability message at the center of their midterm strategy. Spanberger’s aides said she will focus on rising costs and what families “expect and deserve,” arguing Democrats should be judged on whether they “deliver” on prices people feel in groceries, housing, and utilities. She’s expected to hit on the “chaos” Trump has caused at home and abroad, while also criticizing Republicans in Congress for not standing up to him. (New York Times / Politico / Associated Press / CNN / The Guardian)
\n4/ Trump’s promised 15% “worldwide” tariffs went into effect at 10%. The White House said a 15% increase was still “being worked on,” but no order was issued, leaving companies and foreign governments to price and plan around a moving target. In Europe, officials warned the new across-the-board duty would stack on top of existing tariffs, pushing some EU exports above the ceilings in the EU-U.S. trade deal. Trump is using Section 122 authority to implement these tarrifs, which allows tariffs up to 15% for 150 days, after the Supreme Court struck down a large share of his earlier emergency-power tariffs. (Bloomberg / New York Times / NBC News / CNBC / Bloomberg)
\n5/ The Justice Department withheld some Epstein files tied to allegations that Trump sexually abused a minor and removed other documents where accusations against Epstein also mentioned Trump. More than 50 pages of notes and memos from FBI interviews with a woman who accused Trump of sexually abusing her as a minor appear to be catalogued, yet not publicly posted in the Justice Department’s database. The missing material appears in DOJ and FBI tracking records and in discovery logs from Ghislaine Maxwell’s case. Other Trump-mentioning records were either briefly pulled and later restored, or remain offline and unavailable. The Justice Department, meanwhile, said any unpublished material is “privileged,” duplicative, or tied to an ongoing federal investigation, while insisting “NOTHING has been deleted” and that some files were temporarily pulled for redactions related to victim or personally identifiable information. Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight committee, said the Justice Department “appears to have illegally withheld” FBI interviews after reviewing the unredacted DOJ logs, prompting Oversight Democrats to open a parallel investigation. The White House nevertheless said Trump has been “totally exonerated” and has “done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before him.” (NPR / MS Now / CNBC / Bloomberg / Politico)
\n6/ The Pentagon privately warned Trump that a major military strike against Iran could turn into a prolonged campaign that would likely produce U.S. and allied casualties and drain air-defense interceptors. Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, raised the risks in internal meetings and at the National Security Council. Trump publicly played down the warning, saying Caine “would like not to see War but, if a decision is made on going against Iran at a Military level, it is his opinion that it will be something easily won.” He also insisted it was “100% incorrect” that Caine was “against us going to War with Iran,” and added: “I am the one that makes the decision, I would rather have a Deal than not but, if we don’t make a Deal, it will be a very bad day for that Country.” The White House added that Caine’s job is to give Trump “unbiased information” and that “he is always the final decision maker.” Separately, the State Department ordered nonessential personnel and family members to leave the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon. (Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / ABC News / Axios / Associated Press)
\npoll/ 61% of Americans think Trump has “become erratic with age,” including 89% of Democrats, 30% of Republicans, and 64% of independents. Trump he returned to office in January 2025 at 78, making him the oldest president on inauguration day. (Reuters)
\npoll/ 57% of Trump’s critics say his immigration crackdown is the worst thing he’s done in his second term, 33% point to the economy (with 29% blaming tariffs), 22% cite corruption, constitutional violations, or politicizing the Justice Department, and 13% point to the handling of the Epstein files. Among Trump’s supporters, 79% say his immigration agenda is the best thing he’s done, 45% point to the economy (including 14% who cite tariffs), 15% cite tax cuts or his “One Big Beautiful Bill,” and 9% credit him for cutting federal spending and the workforce. (Washington Post)
\npoll/ 26% of independents approve of the job Trump is doing as president – the lowest level measured in either of his terms. Overall, 36% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing, with 63% disapproving. 32% said Trump had the “right priorities,” while 68% said he hasn’t focused on the country’s most important problems, and 61% said his policies were moving the country in the wrong direction. (CNN)
\npoll/ 10% of Americans say things are going well in the country, while 34% say things could be better, and 52% say things are going poorly and major, disruptive change is needed. 32% said prices and inflation were the top issue facing the country today, followed by jobs and the economy (16%), health care (12%), crime (9%), and immigration (8%). (Strength in Numbers)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 252 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 987 days.
\nA federal three-judge panel refused to block Utah’s court-ordered House congressional map, giving Democrats an opportunity to flip one of the four House seats. The court said “A federal court preliminary injunction is not appropriate because Utah’s official primary process is upon us” and risks voter confusion as the candidate filing period opens in about two weeks. (Politico / Associated Press)
\nThe Trump administration discussed requiring banks to collect customers’ citizenship status. The move would expand “know your customer” compliance beyond current anti-money-laundering rules by requiring banks to collect passports and Social Security numbers from new and existing customers to determine citizenship status. Officials said nothing’s been approved and the White House dismissed reporting as “baseless speculation.” There are no laws against banks opening accounts for U.S. noncitizens. (Wall Street Journal)
\nThe Justice Department sued New Jersey to block Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s executive order that limits ICE access to nonpublic areas of state property without a judicial warrant. The lawsuit argues the order violates the Constitution’s supremacy clause by “directly regulat[ing] and discriminat[ing] against” the federal government and creating an “intolerable obstacle” to immigration enforcement. Sherrill’s February order also barred ICE from using state property as a “staging area, processing location, or operations base,” and the state set up a portal for residents to upload videos of ICE encounters. (Associated Press / NBC News / Politico)
\nA former ICE lawyer who trained deportation officers said the academy program is “deficient, defective and broken,” accusing the Department of Homeland Security of shortening courses and stripping out essential material as it scales up staffing for Trump’s mass deportation effort. (NBC News)
\nFederal judges ordered the Trump administration at least 35 times since August to explain apparent violations of immigration court orders. Justice Department lawyers have blamed workload and coordination errors, describing judges’ deadlines as “unrealistic” and decisions as “crazy,” while judges have warned that “understaffing” no longer excuses “disobedience and radio silence.” (New York Times)
\nU.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro dropped the effort to indict six Democratic lawmakers over a social media video urging military and intelligence personnel not to follow orders they believe were unlawful. The move follows a federal grand jury unanimously declining to charge them under 18 U.S.C. § 2387, a rarely used statute that carries up to 10 years in prison for urging insubordination or refusal of duty in the armed forces. (NBC News / CBS News)
\nHealth Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – again – defended Trump’s order to expand domestic production of glyphosate-based herbicides and elemental phosphorus, despite Kennedy’s long record of calling glyphosate carcinogenic and pesticides “toxic by design.” MAHA activists said the endorsement betrayed the movement’s anti-“Big Chemical” premise, arguing supply-chain security didn’t justify scaling production and warning that the order’s liability protections would amount to “blanket immunity” for pesticide makers. (Politico / The Hill / New York Times / Associated Press)
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", "summary": "Trump will deliver his first State of the Union of his second term with his approval rating near an all-time low, and polling showing that 55% of Americans disapprove of his job performance; at least 45 congressional Democrats plan to skip Trump’s State of the Union; Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democrats response to Trump’s State of the...", "date_published": "2026-02-24T16:15:16-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/23/day-1861/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/23/day-1861/", "title": "Day 1861: “Obnoxious.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1861trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: The European Union demanded that the U.S. honor last summer’s EU-U.S. trade deal, saying “a deal is a deal,” after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s emergency tariffs and he moved to replace them with new, temporary global levies; U.S. economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter, with real GDP up at a 1.4% annual rate; a federal judge permanently blocked the Justice Department from releasing Volume II of former special counsel Jack Smith’s final report on Trump’s handling of classified records at Mar-a-Lago; the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal from Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy that could decide whether cities and states can sue fossil fuel companies for climate-damages in state court under state law; 32% of Americans said Trump has had the right priorities, while 68% said he hasn’t paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems; and 39% of Americans said they approve of Trump’s job performance, while 60% said they disapprove.
\n1/ The European Union demanded that the U.S. honor last summer’s EU-U.S. trade deal, saying “a deal is a deal,” after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s emergency tariffs and he moved to replace them with new, temporary global levies. The European Commission said it needed “full clarity” on what the Trump administration will do next, insisting EU exporters must have “predictability” and “legal certainty,” with “no increases in tariffs beyond” the deal’s 15% ceiling. Trump responded with a barrage of social media posts, warning: “Any Country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous supreme court decision […] will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse […] BUYER BEWARE!!!” He also claimed that “the court has also approved all other Tariffs, of which there are many,” and that they “can all be used in a much more powerful and obnoxious way, with legal certainty,” adding: “As President, I do not have to go back to Congress to get approval of Tariffs. It has already been gotten, in many forms, a long time ago!” After the ruling, Trump announced a 10% across-the-board tariff under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, then said he would raise it to 15%, the legal maximum for a 150-day window without Congress. EU officials and lawmakers said it’s still unclear whether the new 15% rate would honor the deal’s “all-inclusive” ceiling or stack on top of existing U.S. “most-favoured-nation” duties on some products, effectively pushing rates above 15%. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it would stop collecting duties on Tuesday. (Reuters / Associated Press / New York Times / The Guardian / Politico / NBC News / Bloomberg / Washington Post / The Hill / CNBC / New York Times / ABC News / Politico)
\nFRIDAY: Trump imposed a new 10% across-the-board tariff on imports after the Supreme Court struck down most of his tariffs. In a 6-3 ruling, the justices said the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump used to impose import levies on goods from nearly all trading partners, doesn’t authorize tariffs. Trump nevertheless said he’d use Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act to replace the voided tariffs, a rarely used authority that caps tariffs at 15% and limits them to 150 days without congressional approval. The administration said other tariff options, including national security tariffs under Section 232 and existing Section 301 duties, would remain in place, while Trump also moved to end duty-free “de minimis” treatment. The court didn’t address whether billions in tariffs must be refunded. (Axios / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / CNN / Wall Street Journal)
\nSATURDAY: Trump said he would raise his new global tariff to 15% less than a day after unveiling a 10% “replacement” levy meant to keep his tariffs alive after the Supreme Court struck down most of his prior duties. The increase would max out Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, a rarely used authority that permits an across-the-board tariff of up to 15% for 150 days unless Congress extends it. The White House, however, hasn’t officially implemented the higher rate. The move would leave a single flat tariff that raises rates for some U.S. partners and lowers them for others, while shielding some trade, including USMCA-covered goods and products already subject to separate national-security tariffs. Trump said the administration would use other, slower trade tools in coming months to impose additional “legally permissible” duties. (New York Times / Politico / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
\n2/ U.S. economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter, with real GDP up at a 1.4% annual rate – well below forecasts and down from the prior quarter. The Commerce Department said the 43-day government shutdown cut federal output and likely knocked about 1 percentage point off growth, but also said the full effect “cannot be quantified.” Consumer spending, meanwhile, slowed to 2.4% in Q4 – down from 3.5% in Q3 – while inflation stayed above the Fed’s 2% target, with core PCE up about 3.0% from a year earlier in December. Trump, meanwhile, claimed the shutdown cost the U.S. “at least two points in GDP” and demanded “LOWER INTEREST RATES,” calling Fed Chair Jerome Powell “the WORST.” (CNBC / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press)
\n3/ A federal judge permanently blocked the Justice Department from releasing Volume II of former special counsel Jack Smith’s final report on Trump’s handling of classified records at Mar-a-Lago. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon said disclosure would create “manifest injustice” and “irreparable damage” to Trump and former co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira because the case ended without any adjudication of guilt. She also cited concerns about grand jury secrecy, privilege, and a protective order covering discovery, while pointing to her 2024 ruling that Smith was unlawfully appointed, faulting him for compiling the report after she dismissed the case and calling it a “brazen stratagem.” Trump’s lawyers praised Cannon’s order and said the report “should never see the light of day.” (Associated Press / Reuters / New York Times / NBC News / Politico / Washington Post / Bloomberg / The Hill / CBS News / CNN / ABC News / CNBC)
\n4/ The Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal from Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy that could decide whether cities and states can sue fossil fuel companies for climate-damages in state court under state law. The case stems from a 2018 suit by the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, alleging that the companies “intentionally misled the public” about climate risks. They’re seeking billions for past and future costs tied to climate change impacts like wildfires and flooding. The, however, companies argue the claims are preempted by federal law, including the Clean Air Act, because greenhouse gas emissions and climate policy are “inherently federal” and cross state lines, warning that “Boulder, Colorado, cannot make energy policy for the entire country.” The Trump administration urged the justices to take the case, while Boulder argued states can address in-state harms caused by out-of-state conduct. (Washington Post / Associated Press / Axios / NBC News / The Hill / CBS News)
\npoll/ 32% of Americans said Trump has had the right priorities, while 68% said he hasn’t paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems. 38% said Trump’s policies will move the country in the right direction, and 61% said they will move it in the wrong direction. (CNN)
\npoll/ 39% of Americans said they approve of Trump’s job performance, while 60% said they disapprove, including 47% who said they strongly disapprove. 65% said Trump has gone beyond his authority, while 33% said he has not. 48% said the economy has gotten worse since Trump was inaugurated, while 29% said it has gotten better. 22% said they are personally better off financially, while 33% said worse off and 44% said there has been no change. (Washington Post)
\n⏭️ Next: Trump will deliver his State of the Union Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. ET. view. The White House said he’s reviewed the speech with a small group of aides, and that Trump has promised “a long speech.” (Wall Street Journal / New York Times)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 253 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 988 days.
\nTrump said he was sending a “great hospital boat” to Greenland to treat people he claimed were being neglected, even though Greenland and Denmark said they didn’t ask for it and don’t need it. Greenland’s prime minister said “no thank you,” and Denmark’s defense minister said Copenhagen hadn’t been told of any deployment. It’s also unclear what ship could sail, since the Navy’s two hospital ships are in Alabama for maintenance. (New York Times / The Guardian / Washington Post / Associated Press)
\nFCC Chair Brendan Carr asked broadcasters to sign onto a “Pledge America” campaign and air “patriotic, pro-America” content to support the White House’s July 4 Semiquincentennial push, framing it as a civic education effort. Critics, including FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, said it functioned as government pressure on editorial decisions, with added leverage because many broadcasters have FCC approvals and mergers pending. Politico)
\nA giant Trump banner was hung on the Justice Department headquarters, using the DOJ seal and the slogan “MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.” The department said it was a Semiquincentennial display “at President Trump’s direction,” but Democrats and former FBI director James Comey said it looked like political branding of an agency meant to stand apart. (Washington Post)
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", "summary": "The European Union demanded that the U.S. honor last summer’s EU-U.S. trade deal, saying “a deal is a deal,” after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s emergency tariffs and he moved to replace them with new, temporary global levies; U.S. economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter, with real GDP up at a 1.4% annual rate; a federal judge permanently...", "date_published": "2026-02-23T16:31:27-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/19/day-1857/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/19/day-1857/", "title": "Day 1857: “Bad things will happen.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1857trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump used the first meeting of his Board of Peace to announce that he’ll decide “over the next probably 10 days” whether to continue nuclear talks with Iran or order a U.S. military strike; Trump is reportedly weighing an initial limited strike on Iran, hitting a small set of military or government targets to pressure Tehran into a nuclear deal; the Trump administration ordered ICE to arrest refugees who have been in the U.S. for a year but haven’t obtained permanent resident status yet; the FCC opened an investigation into ABC’s “The View” over potential violations of the Equal Time Rule after the show booked Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico; and Trump signed an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to increase domestic production of glyphosate and elemental phosphorus.
\n1/ Trump used the first meeting of his Board of Peace to announce that he’ll decide “over the next probably 10 days” whether to continue nuclear talks with Iran or order a U.S. military strike, warning that “bad things will happen” if Tehran does not make a “meaningful” deal. Trump then returned to the day’s agenda, casting the board as the manager of a U.N.-authorized Gaza stabilization and rebuilding effort that would include an international force totaling about 20,000 troops alongside roughly 12,000 Palestinian police. He said the board would work closely with the U.N. while also describing it as “looking over” the U.N. Trump also promised a $10 billion U.S. contribution and said member countries pledged roughly $6.5 billion to $7 billion more, without identifying a funding source, timeline, or any congressional approval. He capped the event by saying he would name his son-in-law Jared Kushner as a special peace envoy alongside Steve Witkoff. “We cannot change the past, but I think that what you’re seeing today is that we can potentially change the future if we focus and do this in the right way,” Kushner said, suggesting that the board’s approach would be modeled on the private sector. (New York Times / NBC News / Axios / ABC News / Politico / The Guardian / CNN / CNBC / Axios / Politico / Bloomberg / Reuters / Associated Press / The Guardian)
\n2/ Trump is reportedly weighing an initial limited strike on Iran, hitting a small set of military or government targets to pressure Tehran into a nuclear deal. The option would be designed to start narrow, but officials said it could escalate into a broader, sustained air campaign if Iran refused to end nuclear enrichment. “We’re going to make a deal or get a deal one way or the other,” Trump said. The U.S. military buildup in the Middle East now includes two aircraft carrier strike groups, additional F-35 and F-22 fighters, refueling and command-and-control aircraft, and expanded air defenses. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, meanwhile, warned that he’ll hit the U.S. military “so hard that it cannot get up again.” (Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / The Hill / ABC News / Bloomberg)
\n3/ The Trump administration ordered ICE to arrest refugees who have been in the U.S. for a year but haven’t obtained permanent resident status yet. The administration argued the one-year mark requires refugees to “return” to government custody for a new “inspection and examination” process. The memo, signed by Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and USCIS Director Joseph Edlow, reversed prior guidance that treated a missed 1-year green card milestone as insufficient grounds for detention and required release within 48 hours absent removal charges. The new directive didn’t set a firm limit on how long people could be held, saying custody may last for the “duration” of the examination, and that refugees flagged for fraud or security concerns could lose status and be deported. (New York Times / The Hill / CBS News / The Guardian / Bloomberg / Washington Post / NPR)
\n4/ The FCC opened an investigation into ABC’s “The View” over potential violations of the Equal Time Rule after the show booked Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico. Chairman Brendan Carr said the agency is “taking a look” at whether the talk-show qualifies for a “bona fide” news exemption that would let it avoid equal-time obligations for rival candidates. The move follows CBS blocking Stephen Colbert from airing an interview with Talarico because of Carr’s statements about late-night shows and the equal time rule. Colbert’s interview was instead posted to YouTube, which is outside of the FCC oversight. (Associated Press / Mediaite / Variety / Deadline)
\n5/ Trump signed an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to increase domestic production of glyphosate and elemental phosphorus, calling both “critical to the national defense” and that shortages of the weedkiller would add “pressure to the domestic food system.” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. supported the move, despite his past work as a plaintiff’s lawyer on Roundup cases, saying the order puts “defense readiness and our food supply” first. MAHA activists and environmental groups, however, said it contradicts Kennedy’s anti-pesticide rhetoric and looks designed to expand liability protections for manufacturers. The Supreme Court is also preparing to hear a case on whether federal law shields pesticide makers from such lawsuits. The executive order came down one day after Bayer reached a tentative $7.25 billion settlement to resolve tens of thousands of claims that Roundup causes non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. (New York Times / CNBC)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 257 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 992 days.
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", "summary": "Trump used the first meeting of his Board of Peace to announce that he’ll decide “over the next probably 10 days” whether to continue nuclear talks with Iran or order a U.S. military strike; Trump is reportedly weighing an initial limited strike on Iran, hitting a small set of military or government targets to pressure Tehran into a nuclear deal;...", "date_published": "2026-02-19T16:09:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/18/day-1856/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/18/day-1856/", "title": "Day 1856: “An embarrassment.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1856trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: The White House installed a critic of the CDC as the acting director of the CDC; the U.S. and Iran both claimed they’ve made “progress” in during latest nuclear talks even as the U.S. military is preparing for a possible strike on Iran as early as this weekend; Trump’s top economic adviser said New York Federal Reserve staffers should be “disciplined” for a study concluding that Americans paid nearly 90% of the costs of Trump’s tariffs; FCC Chair Brendan Carr denied censoring CBS after Stephen Colbert said network lawyers blocked an interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico; at least 12 Democrats said they will boycott Trump’s State of the Union next week; and 70% of Democrats have a positive view of the Democratic Party – down from 85% in September 2024.
\n1/ The White House installed a critic of the CDC as the acting director of the CDC. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the head of the National Institutes of Health, will keep his NIH job while he temporarily runs the CDC, which has lacked a Senate-confirmed leader since August, when Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired Susan Monarez weeks into her tenure. Monarez told Congress she was removed after refusing to approve vaccine guidance changes without reviewing the underlying science. Bhattacharya replaces Jim O’Neill, who’s been serving as acting CDC director while also holding the deputy HHS secretary job. The White House said it plans to nominate O’Neill to lead the National Science Foundation. Bhattacharya, meanwhile, rose to prominence during the pandemic as a critic of the CDC’s lockdown and masking policies and as a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, and he’s accused the agency of peddling “pseudo science” during Covid. (Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Axios / NBC News)
\n2/ The U.S. and Iran both claimed they’ve made “progress” in during latest nuclear talks even as the U.S. military is preparing for a possible strike on Iran as early as this weekend. Trump has reportedly not made a final decision on a strike. While Iran called the discussions “constructive,” JD Vance warned there’s been “no breakthrough” and that Tehran refuses to accept core U.S. demands, including ending uranium enrichment. Vance said “all options,” including military force, remain on the table if negotiations fail. The U.S., meanwhile, has sent two aircraft carriers, about a dozen warships, and multiple air-defense systems to the Gulf. More than 150 U.S. military cargo flights have moved weapons and ammunition into the region, and that another 50 fighter jets, including F-35s, F-22s, and F-16s, left for the Middle East in the past 24 hours. (CNN / Axios / Wall Street Journal / Semafor / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / CNBC)
\n3/ Trump’s top economic adviser said New York Federal Reserve staffers should be “disciplined” for a study concluding that Americans paid nearly 90% of the costs of Trump’s tariffs. Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, called the research “an embarrassment” and “the worst paper” in the Fed’s history. The New York Fed paper found tariffed import prices rose about 11% relative to non-tariffed goods and said “U.S. firms and consumers continue to bear the bulk of the economic burden of the high tariffs imposed in 2025.” It’s not clear what Hassett meant by “disciplined,” and he didn’t identify a specific analytical error other than arguing that consumers were “made better off” as import volumes shifted and real wages rose. (Politico / Axios / Bloomberg / CNBC / The Hill / Washington Post)
\n4/ FCC Chair Brendan Carr denied censoring CBS after Stephen Colbert said network lawyers blocked an interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, citing legal concerns about the FCC’s equal-time rule. Carr said CBS had a “clear path” to comply by offering comparable airtime to Talarico’s primary rivals, while FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said Carr’s enforcement posture was pressuring broadcasters to “self-censor.” Colbert, meanwhile, mocked the network’s statement on air and said he’s never before been told to follow equal-time rules for a talk-show interview. The show posted the interview on YouTube instead, which drew roughly 5–6 million views and Talarico’s campaign said it raised about $2.5 million in 24 hours. (Associated Press / Axios / Washington Post / Variety / CNBC)
\n5/ At least 12 Democrats said they will boycott Trump’s State of the Union next week and attend a competing “People’s State of the Union” rally on the National Mall instead. Sen. Chris Murphy said Trump had turned the address into a “campaign rally” and that Democrats had “no obligation” to “reward him with an audience” as he “lies and attacks” opponents. He added that “these aren’t normal times” and that attending would “put a veneer of legitimacy” on what he called the “corruption and lawlessness” of Trump’s second term. (NBC News / New York Times / The Hill / Politico)
\npoll/ 70% of Democrats have a positive view of the Democratic Party – down from 85% in September 2024. 35% of Americans overall trust Democrats to handle health care, compared with 23% who trust Republicans. On the economy, 31% trust Republicans, while 26% trust Democrats, and 32% trust neither. (Associated Press)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 258 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 993 days.
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", "summary": "The White House installed a critic of the CDC as the acting director of the CDC; the U.S. and Iran both claimed they’ve made “progress” in during latest nuclear talks even as the U.S. military is preparing for a possible strike on Iran as early as this weekend; Trump’s top economic adviser said New York Federal Reserve staffers should be...", "date_published": "2026-02-18T15:56:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/17/day-1855/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/17/day-1855/", "title": "Day 1855: “Dissemble and disassemble historical truths.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1855trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Congressional Democrats sent the White House a new counterproposal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security after the agency’s funding lapsed Saturday; an 18-year-old man was arrested near the U.S. Capitol after exiting a white Mercedes SUV and running toward the building carrying a loaded shotgun; Senate Republicans have lined up at least 50 votes for the Trump-backed SAVE America Act, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and mandate photo ID nationwide; the U.S. military destroyed three small boats in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean, killing all 11 people aboard; Stephen Colbert said CBS lawyers stopped him from airing an interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate; a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore slavery-related exhibits that the National Park Service removed from the site in Philadelphia where George Washington lived as president; Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader who helped define Black political power after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination and twice ran for president, died; 39% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance with 56% disapproving; and 38% of Americans approve Trump’s immigration policies – the lowest level since his return to the White House and down from 50% from a year ago.
\n1/ Congressional Democrats sent the White House a new counterproposal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security after the agency’s funding lapsed Saturday. Democrats have demanded new limits on ICE and Customs and Border Protection, including a ban on agents wearing masks, mandatory body cameras, and stricter judicial warrant requirements. The White House, however, said the sides remained “pretty far apart.” Even with DHS currently unfunded, operations tied to immigration enforcement, however, are expected to continue largely unaffected because ICE has separate funding from last year’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” (CNBC / New York Times / The Hill / Politico)
\nThe Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary for public affairs and one of the Trump administration’s biggest defenders of its immigration crackdown is leaving the agency. Tricia McLaughlin said the administration’s DHS work produced “historic accomplishments” and that she looked forward to “continuing the fight ahead,” while Hakeem Jeffries welcomed her departure, calling her a “MAGA extremist.” Lauren Bis, McLaughlin’s deputy, will replace her, and Katie Zacharia is expected to join the public affairs office in a senior role. (Politico / Axios / New York Times / NPR)
\nInternal ICE emails showed top officials were warned last spring that reported use of force had spiked nationwide, months before the Minneapolis shootings. The records, released through a FOIA request, described 67 force incidents in Trump’s first two months in office – up from 17 a year earlier. DHS still said agents show “incredible restraint.” (Politico)
\nFederal judges have ruled at least 4,421 times since October that ICE detained immigrants unlawfully, yet the Trump administration kept many locked up anyway. Detainees have filed more than 20,200 habeas lawsuits since Trump took office, flooding courts and forcing the Justice Department to deploy more than 700 lawyers, with some judges saying release orders were ignored. (Reuters)
\nA federal judge barred ICE from re-detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying the government had no lawful basis to hold him while it keeps shopping for a deportation destination. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said the 90-day detention window had expired and the government had shown no “good reason to believe” removal was likely “in the reasonably foreseeable future.” (CNN / Associated Press)
\n2/ An 18-year-old man was arrested near the U.S. Capitol after exiting a white Mercedes SUV and running toward the building carrying a loaded shotgun. Officers drew their weapons, ordered him to drop the gun, and took him into custody after he complied. Police said the man was wearing a “tactical” vest and gloves, and extra ammunition on him. Officers also found a Kevlar helmet and a gas mask in his vehicle, which wasn’t registered to him. Investigators have not identified a motive and are trying to determine where the suspect came from. (Axios / Associated Press / Reuters / CNN / CNBC)
\n3/ Senate Republicans have lined up at least 50 votes for the Trump-backed SAVE America Act, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and mandate photo ID nationwide. The measure passed the House last week, but still needs 60 votes in the Senate to clear a filibuster. Democrats have vowed to block it, and Republican leaders have said they don’t have the votes to eliminate the filibuster. Trump, meanwhile, warned he would act without Congress, writing: “There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!” He added, “If we can’t get it through Congress […] I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order.” He claimed he had “searched the depths of Legal Arguments” for an “irrefutable” case. Legal scholars, however, said such an order would likely be struck down, citing a federal judge’s recent injunction against a similar Trump election order. (NBC News / Politico / Democracy Docket / ABC News / CNBC / The Hill / New York Times)
\n4/ The U.S. military destroyed three small boats in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean, killing all 11 people aboard. U.S. Southern Command said “intelligence confirmed” the boats operated by “designated terrorist organizations,” and called those killed as “male narco-terrorists,” but it didn’t release evidence supporting the claims. The five-month campaign of air strikes on boats has killed at least 135 people. Some lawmakers have questioned the campaign’s legality because the U.S. is not in a congressionally authorized war with drug cartels. (NBC News / New York Times / The Hill / CNN)
\n5/ Stephen Colbert said CBS lawyers stopped him from airing an interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate, warning “in no uncertain terms” that the guest “could not have him on the broadcast.” CBS, however, said it didn’t ban the segment, but advised that airing it on air could trigger FCC equal-time obligations for at least two other candidates and offered “options” to satisfy them. Colbert instead posted the interview on “The Late Show” YouTube channel, telling viewers, “I decided to take [FCC Chair] Brendan Carr’s advice,” because the rule “applies only to broadcast TV.” Meanwhile, the FCC’s only Democratic commissioner, Anna Gomez, called CBS’s move “corporate capitulation” as Paramount, CBS’s parent, “has regulatory matters before the government.” (The Hollywood Reporter / Deadline / New York Times / Axios / CNBC / Associated Press / Mother Jones)
\n6/ A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore slavery-related exhibits that the National Park Service removed from the site in Philadelphia where George Washington lived as president. U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe issued a preliminary injunction requiring the President’s House be returned to its physical status as of January 21, rejecting the government’s claim that it could unilaterally alter the displays under Trump’s executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” Rufe said the removals likely violated federal law and cooperative agreements requiring consultation with the city, comparing the administration’s position to Orwell’s “1984” and writing that the government couldn’t “dissemble and disassemble historical truths” simply because it has power. The ruling keeps the panels in place while litigation brought by Philadelphia proceeds.(Philadelphia Inquirer / Washington Post / CNN / Associated Press / Politico)
\n7/ Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader who helped define Black political power after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination and twice ran for president, died Tuesday at 84. He had lived for years with Parkinson’s disease and later progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurodegenerative disorder. He built a national profile through Operation Breadbasket, Operation PUSH and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, mixing voter-registration drives, corporate pressure campaigns and high-profile appearances during unrest where he urged nonviolence. (New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)
\npoll/ 39% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance with 56% disapproving. 49% called Trump “corrupt,” 47% called him “racist,” and 46% called him “cruel,” while roughly 23% rejected those labels and about 30% had no opinion. (Axios)
\npoll/ 38% of Americans approve Trump’s immigration policies – the lowest level since his return to the White House and down from 50% from a year ago. (Reuters)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 259 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 994 days.
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", "summary": "Congressional Democrats sent the White House a new counterproposal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security after the agency’s funding lapsed Saturday; an 18-year-old man was arrested near the U.S. Capitol after exiting a white Mercedes SUV and running toward the building carrying a loaded shotgun; Senate Republicans have lined up at least 50 votes for the Trump-backed SAVE America...", "date_published": "2026-02-17T16:19:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/12/day-1850/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/12/day-1850/", "title": "Day 1850: “Status quo.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1850trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: The Senate failed to advance a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security through Sept. 30, leaving the agency headed for a partial shutdown when funding expires Friday night; the Trump administration said it will end “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota, drawing down thousands of federal immigration agents after a 2-month crackdown that produced mass protests, more than 4,000 arrests, and two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis; the Justice Department tracked the search histories of lawmakers who reviewed the files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation; the whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard centers on an intelligence intercept that captured two foreign nationals discussing Jared Kushner; the House passed the SAVE America Act; a federal judge blocked the Pentagon from demoting Sen. Mark Kelly’s retired Navy rank and cutting his retirement pay over a video advising troops not to follow illegal orders; Trump rescinded the EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding,” removing the legal basis the agency has used to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act for nearly two decades; and 62% of Americans say Trump’s “gone too far” by deploying federal immigration agents into major U.S. cities, and 61% say he’s gone too far using federal law enforcement at protests.
\n1/ The Senate failed to advance a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security through Sept. 30, leaving the agency headed for a partial shutdown when funding expires Friday night. After the vote failed, Republicans then tried to pass a short-term extension to keep DHS open while talks continued, but Democrats blocked it, saying they wouldn’t extend the “status quo” without new enforceable limits on immigration operations after DHS immigration agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. With no agreement, lawmakers left Washington for a weeklong recess with funding set to lapse at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. (Politico / CNN / Washington Post / Bloomberg / New York Times / Wall Street Journal)
\n2/ The Trump administration said it will end “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota, drawing down thousands of federal immigration agents after a 2-month crackdown that produced mass protests, more than 4,000 arrests, and two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. White House border czar Tom Homan said a “significant drawdown” was already underway and would continue into next week. Homan called the operation a success and said he had secured better access to detainees through county jails. The sheriff’s office in Hennepin County, however, said it doesn’t coordinate with ICE and that its policies haven’t changed. Gov. Tim Walz also said there’s been no change in state policy on immigration enforcement. (New York Times / Associated Press / NBC News / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Politico / Bloomberg / The Guardian / Axios)
\n3/ The Justice Department tracked the search histories of lawmakers who reviewed the files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. At a House Judiciary hearing, Attorney General Pam Bondi was photographed with a printout labeled “Jayapal Pramila Search History” listing the unredacted Epstein files that Jayapal had reviewed. Jayapal called it “totally inappropriate” and “against the separations of powers,” and described it as a “burn book.” The Justice Department confirmed that it “logs all searches made on its systems,” saying the tracking is meant to prevent disclosure of victim information. Rep. Jamie Raskin, however, said he would ask the inspector general to examine what he called an “outrageous abuse of power.” House Speaker Mike Johnson also said he didn’t think “it’s appropriate for anybody to be tracking that.” (NBC News / Axios / Politico / CBS News / CNN / Associated Press / Bloomberg / The Guardian / CNBC / The Hill / ABC News)
\n4/ The whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard centers on an intelligence intercept that captured two foreign nationals discussing Jared Kushner. The top secret whistleblower complaint was drafted last May while the Trump administration was deliberating a strike on Iran. A month later, the military bombed Iranian nuclear sites. The complaint has been “locked in a safe” until last week when Congress received a heavily redacted briefing. The conversation between the two foreign nationals, collected by a foreign intelligence service and shared with the U.S., reportedly touched on Iran and included unverified claims about Kushner that some administration officials said were “demonstrably false.” (Wall Street Journal / New York Times)
\n5/ The House passed the SAVE America Act, sending the federal elections overhaul bill to the Senate. The bill would require in-person documentary proof of citizenship to register for federal elections, mandate photo ID for in-person voting nationwide, and tighten mail voting by requiring voters to submit copies of eligible IDs when requesting and returning absentee ballots. Democrats said the measure would disenfranchise eligible voters, noting noncitizen voting is already illegal and rare, while some voting rights groups warned it could create added hurdles for people whose legal names don’t match their birth certificates. The bill has no path to the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster in the Senate. Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans would nevertheless still vote, but ruled out changing Senate rules to bypass the 60-vote threshold. (NBC News / CNBC / The 19th / Politico / New York Times)
\n6/ A federal judge blocked the Pentagon from demoting Sen. Mark Kelly’s retired Navy rank and cutting his retirement pay over a video advising troops not to follow illegal orders. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said the Defense Department had “trampled” Kelly’s First Amendment rights and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees. The ruling stops enforcement of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s censure and the administrative process to reduce Kelly’s retirement grade. Hegseth said the decision would be “immediately appealed,” adding, “Sedition is sedition, ‘Captain.’” The decision separately follows a grand jury refusing to indict six Democratic lawmakers, including Kelly, over the same video. (Politico / New York Times / NBC News / CNN / Reuters / Washington Post / Associated Press / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / NPR)
\n7/ Trump rescinded the EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding,” removing the legal basis the agency has used to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act for nearly two decades. The repeal wipes out federal greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles and clears the way for further rollbacks affecting power plants, and oil and gas operations. The EPA said the change would save about $1.3 trillion by cutting compliance costs and lowering car and truck prices, though the administration didn’t detail its methodology. Environmental and public health groups, meanwhile, said the repeal would increase U.S. greenhouse gas emissions about 10% over 30 years, contributing to as many as 58,000 premature deaths and 37 million asthma attacks by 2055, while also worsening extreme heat, wildfires, floods, and drought risks. Trump, nevertheless, called the endangerment finding “a disastrous Obama-era policy” with “no basis in fact.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom and multiple environmental and public health groups said they’ll sue over whether the EPA can abandon the finding and still meet its obligations under the Clean Air Act and prior court precedent. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / Axios / The Guardian / CNBC / CNN / ABC News / NBC News)
\npoll/ 62% of Americans say Trump’s “gone too far” by deploying federal immigration agents into major U.S. cities, and 61% say he’s gone too far using federal law enforcement at protests. 52% say he’s gone too far deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, and 54% say he has gone too far restricting legal immigration. About 38% approve of Trump’s handling of immigration. 60% view ICE unfavorably and 32% view it favorably. About 33% trust Republicans more on immigration and 29% trust Democrats more, while 28% trust neither party. (Associated Press)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 264 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 999 days.
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", "summary": "The Senate failed to advance a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security through Sept. 30, leaving the agency headed for a partial shutdown when funding expires Friday night; the Trump administration said it will end “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota, drawing down thousands of federal immigration agents after a 2-month crackdown that produced mass protests, more than 4,000...", "date_published": "2026-02-12T15:48:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/11/day-1849/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/11/day-1849/", "title": "Day 1849: “Not sustainable.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1849trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Democrats accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of turning the Justice Department “into Trump’s instrument of revenge”; a federal grand jury refused to indict six Democratic lawmakers over a video that reminded active-duty military and intelligence personnel they must refuse unlawful orders; the House voted to rescind the national emergency Trump used to impose tariffs on Canada, with six Republicans joining nearly all Democrats in approving the resolution; U.S. employers added 130,000 jobs in January and unemployment fell to 4.3%; the Congressional Budget Office projected a $1.85 trillion deficit this fiscal year, rising past $3 trillion by 2036; and 60% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of border security and immigration.
\n1/ Democrats accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of turning the Justice Department “into Trump’s instrument of revenge.” Rep. Jamie Raskin, citing Justice Department investigations into former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and six members of Congress, said: “Trump orders up prosecutions like pizza. And you deliver every time.” In her opening statement before the House Judiciary Committee, Bondi defended her leadership, praised Trump as “the greatest president in American history,” blamed the Biden administration for politicization, and attacked “liberal activist judges,” claiming the country had “never seen” such “coordinated judicial opposition.” Lawmakers also pressed Bondi over the release of the Epstein files, which exposed some survivors’ names and other identifying details that should have been redacted. They accused the DOJ of redacting prominent names through heavy redactions, including a “potential co-conspirators” list. Bondi, however, blamed the errors on a compressed, mandatory deadline, but refused to apologize directly to survivors seated behind her. Raskin said she was “siding with the perpetrators” and called it “a massive Epstein cover-up” at DOJ. (Washington Post / NBC News / New York Times / Reuters / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / NPR / CNN / Politico)
\n2/ A federal grand jury refused to indict six Democratic lawmakers over a video that reminded active-duty military and intelligence personnel they must refuse unlawful orders. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office sought the indictment after Trump called the video “seditious behavior” and demanded prosecution. The November video featured Sens. Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin and four House Democrats saying, “You can refuse illegal orders.” Prosecutors in Pirro’s office argued that the post violated a law barring interference with military loyalty, morale, or discipline. (NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Politico)
\n3/ The House voted to rescind the national emergency Trump used to impose tariffs on Canada, with six Republicans joining nearly all Democrats in approving the resolution. The measure, which passed 219-211, would terminate the emergency declaration behind the 25% duties. It now heads to the Senate, Trump has threatened to veto it and Republicans lack the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto. Trump, meanwhile, warned that any Republican who votes against the tariffs would “seriously suffer the consequences” in primaries. (Bloomberg / New York Times / Politico / CNN / Axios / Wall Street Journal)
\n4/ U.S. employers added 130,000 jobs in January and unemployment fell to 4.3%. While the Labor Department report beat forecasts, it came with revisions showing the economy added 181,000 total jobs in 2025 – about 898,000 lower than previously reported for the year through March 2025. Job gains in January were concentrated in health care and social assistance, with smaller increases in construction and professional services. Federal government employment also continued to fall. Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% in January and were up 3.7% from a year earlier. (Bloomberg / CNN / Axios / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / CNBC)
\n5/ The Congressional Budget Office projected a $1.85 trillion deficit this fiscal year, rising past $3 trillion by 2036. The CBO said Trump’s 2025 tax-and-spending law would add about $4.7 trillion to deficits over the next decade, while immigration limits add $500 billion because lower population growth reduces tax receipts. Trump’s tariffs, meanwhile, are projected to cut deficits by about $3 trillion, but the CBO noted that that assumption depends on those trade policies staying in place. By 2036, interest is expected to consume 26% of federal revenue – up from 19% this year. CBO Director Phillip Swagel called the current fiscal path “not sustainable.” (Associated Press / Politico / Bloomberg / New York Times / Wall Street Journal)
\npoll/ 60% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of border security and immigration, with 49% strongly disapproving. Trump’s overall approval rating stands at 39% – about even with his approval rating (40%) on immigration and border security. (NBC News)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 265 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,000 days.
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", "summary": "Democrats accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of turning the Justice Department “into Trump’s instrument of revenge”; a federal grand jury refused to indict six Democratic lawmakers over a video that reminded active-duty military and intelligence personnel they must refuse unlawful orders; the House voted to rescind the national emergency Trump used to impose tariffs on Canada, with six Republicans joining...", "date_published": "2026-02-11T16:09:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/10/day-1848/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/10/day-1848/", "title": "Day 1848: “Now I see what the big deal is.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1848trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: The Trump administration will rescind the EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding,” stripping the core legal basis for federal limits on greenhouse gas pollution under the Clean Air Act; a newly unsealed FBI search warrant affidavit showed that the seizure of Fulton County, Georgia’s 2020 election ballots and records began with a referral from a Trump-appointed “director of election security and integrity”; acting ICE Director Todd Lyons defended ICE and told the House Homeland Security Committee that he would press ahead with Trump’s “mass deportation” campaign; Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna disclosed the “hidden” names of six wealthy men they say are “likely incriminated” by their inclusion in the Jeffrey Epstein files; Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told senators he had lunch with Jeffrey Epstein on Epstein’s private Caribbean island in 2012; Trump reportedly told the Palm Beach police chief in 2006 that “everyone has known” what Jeffrey Epstein “has been doing”; 59% of Americans said they’re optimistic about the future – a record low since Gallup started asking the question two decades ago.
\n1/ The Trump administration will rescind the EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding,” stripping the core legal basis for federal limits on greenhouse gas pollution under the Clean Air Act. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin called it “the largest act of deregulation” in U.S. history. The administration said rescinding the 2009 endangerment finding would cut more than $1.3 trillion in regulations and lower costs for new vehicles by an average of more than $2,400 per vehicle, by ending federal requirements related to greenhouse gas standards for cars and trucks. Public health and environmental groups, meanwhile, said the EPA’s greenhouse gas rules have prevented hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each year, and warned that the rollback would increase climate pollution and lead to thousands of avoidable deaths. The rule will be finalized Thursday at a White House event. (Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / Reuters / Axios / New York Times / CNBC / New York Times / Politico / Semafor)
\n2/ A newly unsealed FBI search warrant affidavit showed that the seizure of Fulton County, Georgia’s 2020 election ballots and records began with a referral from a Trump-appointed “director of election security and integrity.” Kurt Olsen, who took part in the “Stop the Steal” campaign and promoted baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, was hired to investigate Trump’s 2020 election loss. The affidavit framed the case as a criminal probe into whether alleged “deficiencies” in ballot handling and record keeping were intentional, but it relied on years-old claims that audits, courts, and prior reviews have rejected. The warrant authorized agents to take all physical ballots, ballot images, tabulator tapes, and 2020 voter rolls, citing possible violations of federal record-retention and election-rights laws. Fulton County has asked a judge to order the materials returned. (New York Times / Associated Press / Politico / ABC News / NBC News / CNBC / Washington Post)
\n3/ Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons defended ICE and told the House Homeland Security Committee that he would press ahead with Trump’s “mass deportation” campaign. “Let me send a message to anyone who thinks you can intimidate us: You will fail,” Lyons said. “We will continue carrying out our mission.” Lyons also rejected Democrats’ claims that ICE is operating like a “secret police” and acting “un-American and outright fascist.” But Lyons and CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott declined to detail the Minneapolis killings of citizens Renée Good and Alex Pretti, saying the investigations were ongoing. DHS funding expires Feb. 13. (Washington Post / Politico / CNN / Wall Street Journal / NPR / Washington Post)
\n4/ Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna disclosed the “hidden” names of six wealthy men they say are “likely incriminated” by their inclusion in the Jeffrey Epstein files. Khanna read Salvatore Nuara, Zurab Mikeladze, Leonic Leonov, Nicola Caputo, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, and Leslie Wexner into the House record. The pair said they found the names after a two-hour review of unredacted files at the Justice Department and accused the DOJ of unexplained over-redactions. House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin said some redactions also masked references to Trump, citing a 2009 email exchange about Epstein’s access to Mar-a-Lago. After reviewing the unredacted files, Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis remarked: “now I see what the big deal is.” (The Guardian / CNN / Politico / Bloomberg / The Hill / Axios)
\n5/ Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told senators he had lunch with Jeffrey Epstein on Epstein’s private Caribbean island in 2012. Lutnick, while testifying before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, tried to play down the connection as “three times over 14 years,” and that there were only about “10 emails,” while insisting he had “nothing to hide.” But the account conflicts with Lutnick’s earlier public claim that he cut off contact with Epstein after 2005. And, the recently released Justice Department Epstein files describe additional post-2005 interactions, including 2011 scheduling and 2012 planning tied to the island visit, along with other links cited in the records. The White House said Trump “fully supports” Lutnick, but lawmakers including Rep. Thomas Massie and Rep. Robert Garcia called for his resignation, with senators from both parties saying the island visit raised questions. (Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Politico / Associated Press / ABC News / NBC News / CNN / New York Times)
\n6/ Trump reportedly told the Palm Beach police chief in 2006 that “everyone has known” what Jeffrey Epstein “has been doing,” according to an FBI interview summary released by the Justice Department. The document memorialized what the former chief told FBI agents in 2019 about the alleged call from Trump. The Justice Department, however, said it wasn’t aware of any corroborating evidence that Trump had contacted law enforcement. The summary also said Trump thanked the police for “stopping” Epstein, urged them to focus on Ghislaine Maxwell as Epstein’s “operative,” called her “evil,” and said he once saw Epstein with teenagers and “got the hell out of there.” The White House said the call “may or may not” have happened but argued that, if it did, it fits Trump’s claims that he cut ties with Epstein years earlier and banned him from Mar-a-Lago. (Miami Herald / New York Times / CNN / CNBC / ABC News / The Guardian)
\npoll/ 59% of Americans said they’re optimistic about the future – a record low since Gallup started asking the question two decades ago. 62% report being satisfied with their current lives – the second-lowest in the survey’s history. The lowest was recorded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Gallup)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 266 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,001 days.
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", "summary": "The Trump administration will rescind the EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding,” stripping the core legal basis for federal limits on greenhouse gas pollution under the Clean Air Act; a newly unsealed FBI search warrant affidavit showed that the seizure of Fulton County, Georgia’s 2020 election ballots and records began with a referral from a Trump-appointed “director of election security and integrity”;...", "date_published": "2026-02-10T17:13:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/09/day-1847/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/09/day-1847/", "title": "Day 1847: “Cover-up mode.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1847trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Ghislaine Maxwell invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer all questions during a closed-door House Oversight Committee deposition; the top House and Senate party leaders received a heavily redacted May 2025 whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard after an eight-month delay; the White House deleted Trump’s racist Truth Social post that depicted Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes; the Trump administration told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer it would release frozen federal funding for the $16 billion Gateway rail tunnel if Penn Station and Washington Dulles International Airport were renamed after Trump; Trump, a noted athlete, called a U.S. skier at the Winter Olympics “a real loser”; and Trump, a noted pop-culture tastemaker, declared Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show “one of the worst,” calling the largely Spanish-language performance “absolutely terrible” and that “nobody understands a word.”
\n1/ Ghislaine Maxwell invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer all questions during a closed-door House Oversight Committee deposition, part of its investigation into the government’s of Jeffrey Epstein case and records. Rep. James Comer, the committee’s chair, called it “very disappointing,” while Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat, said Maxwell “answered no questions and provided no information,” asking, “Who is she protecting?” Maxwell’s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, told lawmakers she “must remain silent” because a habeas petition is pending, but said “there is a straightforward path” for testimony: “Ms. Maxwell is prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump,” adding, “Only she can provide the complete account,” and claiming “both President Trump and President Clinton are innocent of any wrongdoing.” Separately, lawmakers who reviewed the unredacted files accused the Justice Department of “mysterious” or “baffling” redactions while also exposing victims. Rep. Jamie Raskin said he saw “tons of completely unnecessary redactions” and warned that the DOJ appeared to be “in a cover-up mode.” Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna said they saw “at least six men” whose names were redacted despite being “likely incriminated.” Massie added that he might disclose them “from the floor” if the DOJ doesn’t “correct their mistakes.” Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to testify on Wednesday. (Associated Press / Politico / The Guardian / Axios / New York Times / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / NBC News / MS Now / The Hill)
\n2/ The top House and Senate party leaders received a heavily redacted May 2025 whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard after an eight-month delay. The complaint followed an NSA intercept last spring of two foreign intelligence-linked callers discussing someone close to Trump involving Iran. The whistleblower’s lawyer, Andrew Bakaj, said Gabbard hand-delivered a paper copy to chief of staff Susie Wiles. Gabbard then told the NSA to stop routine publication and to route any related details only to her office. Gabbard’s office called that account “false” and said her actions were “fully within” her authority. (The Guardian / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / CBS News / NBC News / CNBC)
\n3/ From the Weekend: The White House deleted Trump’s racist Truth Social post that depicted Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes. Trump refused to apologize and insisted, “I didn’t make a mistake,” while claiming he saw only the start of the video. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially dismissed the criticism as “fake outrage” and called it an internet meme, but the White House later said a staffer “erroneously” posted it. (Associated Press / BBC / NPR / Washington Post / Axios / CBS News / New York Times / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / CNN / CNBC)
\n4/ The Trump administration told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer it would release frozen federal funding for the $16 billion Gateway rail tunnel if Penn Station and Washington Dulles International Airport were renamed after Trump. Schumer rejected the request, saying he lacked authority over either facility. New York and New Jersey have sued the administration, arguing the funding freeze is unlawful. (CNN / New York Times / Axios / ABC News)
\n5/ Trump, a noted athlete, called a U.S. skier at the Winter Olympics “a real loser.” After Hunter Hess said he felt “mixed emotions” about representing the U.S. and that wearing the flag didn’t mean endorsing “everything that’s going on” at home, Trump claimed Hess “doesn’t represent his Country” and said it’s “very hard to root” for him. JD Vance, meanwhile, was booed after appearing on stadium screens during the opening ceremony. (Wall Street Journal / Axios / Associated Press / The Athletic / CNN / The Guardian)
\n6/ Trump, a noted pop-culture tastemaker, declared Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show “one of the worst,” calling the largely Spanish-language performance “absolutely terrible” and that “nobody understands a word.” The performance ended with Bad Bunny saying “God bless America,” while holding a football that read: “Together, We Are America.” Turning Point USA, meanwhile, counter-programmed an alternative halftime concert led by Kid Rock, who played two songs and the stream ended with a video tribute to Charlie Kirk. (New York Times / Washington Post / The Hill / Rolling Stone)
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", "summary": "Ghislaine Maxwell invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer all questions during a closed-door House Oversight Committee deposition; the top House and Senate party leaders received a heavily redacted May 2025 whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard after an eight-month delay; the White House deleted Trump’s racist Truth Social post that depicted Barack Obama and Michelle...", "date_published": "2026-02-09T17:35:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/05/day-1843/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/05/day-1843/", "title": "Day 1843: “Two things can be true.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1843trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Democrats threatened to block the Homeland Security funding bill unless Republicans accepted “dramatic changes” to ICE oversight and operations; Trump said Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to attend the FBI search of Fulton County, Georgia’s elections center; the last nuclear arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia expired; the Trump administration plans to reclassify about 50,000 senior career federal workers, making them easier to fire; U.S. job openings fell to about 6.5 million in December – the lowest since September 2020; Trump insisted that the Federal Reserve is “in theory” independent and that he wouldn’t have nominated Kevin Warsh to be the next Fed chair if he wanted to raise interest rates.
\n1/ Democrats threatened to block the Homeland Security funding bill unless Republicans accepted “dramatic changes” to ICE oversight and operations, setting up a shutdown deadline on Feb. 13. Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the Democratic demands “unrealistic,” while Democrats said they would withhold votes without new limits after the Minneapolis shootings. The Democratic proposal seeks judicial warrant requirements in certain cases, rules on masks and identification, and limits on stops based on race, language, or location, but Republicans said they’d reject most of those demands. Thune said he was prepared to move another stopgap funding bill if negotiations don’t produce a deal before the deadline. (NBC News / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / Politico / Axios)
\n2/ Trump said Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to attend the FBI search of Fulton County, Georgia’s elections center. Gabbard, however, told Democratic lawmakers Trump directed her “observance” of the warrant’s execution, and her spokesperson later said both Trump and Bondi asked and that “two things can be true at the same time.” The FBI seized hundreds of boxes of 2020 election materials in the search, which Fulton County has asked a federal judge to order the records returned. Senate Intelligence Committee Democrats have also demanded Gabbard testify under oath about her role. (New York Times / CBS News / NBC News / Axios)
\n3/ The last nuclear arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia expired, ending the last legally binding limits on the two largest nuclear arsenals for the first time since the early 1970s. Trump said he wouldn’t pursue an extension of the New START treaty and instead called for a “new, improved, and modernized” pact, arguing that any future framework should include China, which has rejected arms control talks. Russia said it regrets the treaty’s end and reiterated that it’s willing to keep observing the core limits for at least a year if Washington did the same. U.S. officials, however, gave no indication they would accept. (New York Times / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Axios / Associated Press / Politico / Washington Post / CNN)
\n4/ The Trump administration plans to reclassify about 50,000 senior career federal workers, making them easier to fire. The rule would move those employees into a new “Schedule Policy/Career” category, stripping them of long-standing civil service protections, including key appeal rights to independent bodies, and shifting many whistleblower complaints to internal agency processes instead of the Office of Special Counsel. The Office of Personnel Management said the change would help presidents carry out policy priorities and remove employees who “obstruct” directives. OPM said the rule said it prohibited “political patronage, loyalty tests or political discrimination” and is set to be published in the Federal Register and take effect in about 30 days. (CNN / Wall Street Journal / Axios / New York Times)
\n5/ U.S. job openings fell to about 6.5 million in December – the lowest since September 2020. The Labor Department said vacancies dropped from roughly 6.9 million in November, while layoffs edged up and quits held near 3.2 million. A separate report that tracks corporate layoff announcements said companies have announced about 108,000 announced layoffs in January, up from 35,500 in December, and the highest level for the month since 2009. (ABC News / Wall Street Journal / Axios / Politico / CNBC)
\n6/ Trump insisted that the Federal Reserve is “in theory” independent and that he wouldn’t have nominated Kevin Warsh to be the next Fed chair if he wanted to raise interest rates. Trump said he expects rates to fall soon because they are “way high,” argued inflation was low, and said Warsh understood he wanted rate cuts and “wants to anyway,” while adding he knows the economy “better than almost anybody.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later declined to commit that Warsh wouldn’t face a Justice Department investigation or lawsuit if he refused to cut rates, telling Sen. Elizabeth Warren it would be “up to the president.” (NBC News / Bloomberg / CNBC / Associated Press / Politico)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 271 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,006 days.
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", "summary": "Democrats threatened to block the Homeland Security funding bill unless Republicans accepted “dramatic changes” to ICE oversight and operations; Trump said Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to attend the FBI search of Fulton County, Georgia’s elections center; the last nuclear arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia expired; the Trump administration plans to...", "date_published": "2026-02-05T15:54:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/04/day-1842/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/04/day-1842/", "title": "Day 1842: “A strategic reset.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1842trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump doubled down on his call to “nationalize” voting, saying the federal government should “get involved” in state elections; the Supreme Court allowed California to use its voter-approved congressional map for the 2026 midterms; the Trump administration said it would pull 700 federal immigration officers from Minnesota; the Justice Department removed a Department of Homeland Security attorney in Minneapolis after she told a judge that “this job sucks” and asked to be held in contempt so she “could get 24 hours of sleep”; the man who tried to assassinate Trump at his Florida golf club in 2024 was sentenced to life in prison; the Washington Post laid off about one-third of its staff, calling the elimination of more than 300 newsroom jobs a “strategic reset”; and 37% of voters approve of the job Trump is doing as president.
\n1/ Trump doubled down on his call to “nationalize” voting, saying the federal government should “get involved” in state elections. The White House claimed he was referring to the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register, however the bill doesn’t federalize elections. It also remains stalled in the Senate after passing the House. And even though the Constitution assigns states to run elections and allows Congress to set the rules, Trump said “I don’t know why the federal government doesn’t do ’em anyway.” He first floated the idea Monday in a podcast interview with ex–FBI deputy director Dan Bongino, urging Republicans to “take over” voting in “at least 15” places. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, meanwhile, said he was “not in favor of federalizing elections,” while Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called the idea “outlandishly illegal.” (The Hill / New York Times / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / CNBC)
\n2/ The Supreme Court allowed California to use its voter-approved congressional map for the 2026 midterms, rejecting an emergency effort by state Republicans and the Trump administration to block it as a racial gerrymander. The unsigned order noted no dissents and left in place a lower-court ruling that the Proposition 50 lines were redrawn on a partisan basis, not a racial one. The move also mirrors the court’s December decision letting Texas use its Republican-drawn map. The ruling keeps lines Democrats say could flip up to five House seats, potentially offsetting up to five new Republican-leaning seats in Texas. (Associated Press / New York Times / NPR / Politico / NBC News / Bloomberg / CBS News)
\n3/ The Trump administration said it would pull 700 federal immigration officers from Minnesota, leaving about 2,000 in place as part of the Minneapolis immigration enforcement operation. Border czar Tom Homan said Minnesota county jails were cooperating more with ICE, and he announced a single ICE–CBP chain of command with immediate body-camera deployment for officers in Minneapolis to fix inconsistent use. He added that enforcement would continue at scale, saying mass deportations remain the goal and that people in the country illegally are “not off the table.” Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey, meanwhile, called the move a welcome step, but “not de-escalation.” Homan set no timeline to return to the usual force of roughly 150, saying further drawdowns depend on continued local cooperation and reduced attacks on officers. (Politico / Reuters / New York Times / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / The Hill / Axios / Bloomberg)
\n4/ The Justice Department removed a Department of Homeland Security attorney in Minneapolis after she told a judge that “this job sucks” and asked to be held in contempt so she “could get 24 hours of sleep.” Julie Le had been handling about 90 immigration cases related to Operation Metro Surge, and acknowledged failures to follow court orders, including repeated failures to follow detainee release orders. She told the court that she wasn’t properly trained for the assignment and that “the system sucks.” The judge said workload is no excuse for ignoring orders and demanded an explanation, while weighing contempt for Le and another lawyer. DHS called her conduct “unprofessional” and it’s unclear whether Le has also been fired. (NBC News / CNN / New York Times / Reuters / Associated Press)
\n5/ The man who tried to assassinate Trump at his Florida golf club in 2024 was sentenced to life in prison. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon imposed life without parole on Ryan Routh after a September jury convicted him on five counts, including attempted assassination and assault on a federal officer. Prosecutors had sought life in prison, citing Routh’s lack of remorse, while the defense had asked for 20 to 27 years. Cannon also added a mandatory seven years for a firearm offense. Before sentencing, Routh began reading a 20-page statement before Cannon cut him off. His attorney said he will appeal. (ABC News / NBC News / CNN / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal)
\n6/ The Washington Post laid off about one-third of its staff, calling the elimination of more than 300 newsroom jobs a “strategic reset.” The cuts ended the sports section in its current form, closed the Books section, suspended the “Post Reports” podcast, shrank foreign bureaus, and restructured Metro. Executives cited a nearly 50% drop in search traffic over three years and losses of about $77 million in 2023, and roughly $100 million in 2024. Publisher Will Lewis has set a break-even goal by the end of 2026. Meanwhile, billionaire owner Jeff Bezos, one of the world’s richest people with about $260 billion, did not comment as critics, including former editor Marty Baron and the Post Guild argued that the paper’s losses were negligible relative to his fortune. They warned the cuts would hollow a “pillar” of American journalism, and noted that subscribers canceled in mass after Bezos blocked a 2024 Kamala Harris endorsement. (New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Semafor / NBC News / NPR / CNN / Associated Press / The Atlantic / The Guardian)
\npoll/ 61% of voters say the Trump administration hasn’t given an honest account of the fatal ICE shooting of Alex Pretti. 62% said the Jan. 24 shooting in Minneapolis was not justified, and 80% supported an independent investigation. 58% said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem should be removed, and 63% disapprove of how ICE is operating. Trump’s job approval, meanwhile, stands at 37%. (Quinnipiac)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 272 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,007 days.
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", "summary": "Trump doubled down on his call to “nationalize” voting, saying the federal government should “get involved” in state elections; the Supreme Court allowed California to use its voter-approved congressional map for the 2026 midterms; the Trump administration said it would pull 700 federal immigration officers from Minnesota; the Justice Department removed a Department of Homeland Security attorney in Minneapolis after...", "date_published": "2026-02-04T15:12:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/03/day-1841/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/03/day-1841/", "title": "Day 1841: “More questions than answers.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1841trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump signed the roughly $1.2 trillion spending package into law, ending the three-day partial federal government shutdown; the U.S. military shot down an Iranian drone after it “aggressively approached” the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea and wouldn’t turn away; a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for more than 350,000 Haitians; Tulsi Gabbard told Congress that Trump asked her to show up while the FBI searched Fulton County, Georgia’s election office; Congress still hasn’t received a whistleblower complaint filed last May accusing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard of wrongdoing; and 62% of Americans said ICE officers had gone too far, up from 58% in a poll conducted just before Alex Pretti was shot and killed in Minneapolis.
\n1/ Trump signed the roughly $1.2 trillion spending package into law, ending the three-day partial federal government shutdown. The measure funds most agencies through Sept. 30, but Department of Homeland Security funding expires Feb. 13, leaving about 10 days for Congress and the White House to pass a separate DHS bill or face a department shutdown. Democrats have tied any longer-term DHS funding to new guardrails on immigration enforcement, including requiring agents to wear body cameras, to identify themselves and not wear masks, and to require warrants for some operations. House Republicans, however, have signaled they won’t accept at least some of those demands, especially judicial warrant requirements. (Washington Post / ABC News / NBC News / New York Times / CNN / CNBC / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / Politico / NPR)
\n2/ The U.S. military shot down an Iranian drone after it “aggressively approached” the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea and wouldn’t turn away. The Navy described the drone’s intent as “unclear” and framed the shootdown as self-defense. Central Command didn’t describe what “de-escalatory measures” were tried before the F-35C downed the drone, and Iran’s U.N. mission declined to comment. Hours later, Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats and another drone approached a U.S.-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz at high speed and threatened to board it before a U.S. destroyer showed up and escorted it until the situation “de-escalated.” (Reuters / Associated Press / Bloomberg / Politico / CBS News / Washington Post / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / CNBC)
\n3/ A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for more than 350,000 Haitians, ordering the Department of Homeland Security to extend the program that’s set to expire this week. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem likely failed to follow required procedures and that the record showed no evidence backing the administration’s claim that Haitian TPS holders threatened U.S. interests. Reyes also said the plaintiffs’ claim of hostility toward nonwhite immigrants “seems substantially likely” and that the decision to end TPS appeared motivated, in part, by racial animus. The order keeps deportation protections and work permits in place while the case proceeds. (CNN / ABC News / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / Reuters)
\n4/ Tulsi Gabbard told Congress that Trump asked her to show up while the FBI searched Fulton County, Georgia’s election office and that she watched for only “a brief period of time.” In a letter to Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Jim Himes, the Director of National Intelligence said she acted under her “broad statutory authority” tied to election security, including counterintelligence, foreign malign influence and cybersecurity, and acknowledged that she “facilitated a brief phone call” so Trump could thank the agents, while insisting that neither she nor Trump asked questions or issued directives. Gabbard also said she hadn’t seen the warrant or the probable-cause evidence behind it. The FBI search targeted 2020 election records and seized hundreds of boxes of ballots and other documentation as Trump continues to baselessly claims widespread fraud that courts and election officials have rejected. Lawmakers and former officials said it was highly unusual for the DNI to appear at a domestic FBI search, and Warner’s office said her explanation “raises more questions than it answers.” (Reuters / Associated Press / Axios / The Hill / Politico / Bloomberg / The Guardian / NBC News / CNN)
\n5/ Congress still hasn’t received a whistleblower complaint filed last May accusing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard of wrongdoing. The complaint has been “locked in a safe,” and the intelligence community inspector general’s office said the case involves “exceptionally sensitive materials” that require special handling and storage. One official warned that disclosure could cause “grave damage to national security” and that even the whistleblower’s lawyer hasn’t seen it. Gabbard’s office, meanwhile, called the complaint “baseless” and “politically motivated” and denied stonewalling Congress, saying it’s working through security and legal constraints. While the intelligence community inspector general’s office said allegations specifically about Gabbard weren’t credible, it couldn’t reach a determination on a separate allegation involving an office in another federal agency. The inspector general’s office said parts of the complaint are marked attorney-client privileged and could raise executive-privileges that may involve the White House. (Wall Street Journal / NBC News / Associated Press / The Hill)
\npoll/ 62% of Americans said ICE officers had gone too far, up from 58% in a poll conducted just before Alex Pretti was shot and killed in Minneapolis. Among Republicans, 45% said enforcement was about right and 22% said it hadn’t gone far enough, while 30% said it had gone too far – up from 20% before the shooting. Nearly half of self-described “non-MAGA Republicans” said ICE has been too aggressive in its deportation efforts. (New York Times)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 273 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,008 days.
\nBill and Hillary Clinton agreed to sit for sworn depositions in the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation after Republicans advanced criminal contempt resolutions for defying earlier subpoenas. The pair will appear for transcribed, filmed depositions on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27. Chair James Comer, meanwhile, said they “completely caved.” (Politico / CNN / New York Times / Associated Press)
\nThe U.S. will create a roughly $12 billion “Project Vault” stockpile of critical minerals to curb manufacturing reliance on China. The plan hinges on $1.67 billion in private capital and a $10 billion, 15-year Export-Import Bank loan. The Trump administration likened it to a Strategic Petroleum Reserve-style backstop after China tightened controls such as licensing for rare-earth magnets. (Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)
\nFor the fifth time, a federal judge ruled against the Trump administration’s effort to stop off shore wind farm construction. Judge Royce Lamberth said Orsted’s Sunrise Wind project would suffer “irreparable harm” and said the administration likely acted arbitrarily, failing to adequately explain its claimed national security concerns even after he reviewed classified material under seal. (New York Times / Bloomberg)
\nAfter Trump reportedly dropped his demand that Harvard pay the government $200 million, he denied backtracking and said the government was now seeking $1 billion “in damages.” He called for investigations into Harvard’s handling of antisemitism to become criminal. (New York Times / Politico / Associated Press)
\nTrump said the Kennedy Center will close for roughly two years for what he called a “complete rebuilding,” while insisting he’s “not ripping it down” and will reuse the structure’s steel and some marble. He put the price at “probably around $200 million,” said financing is “fully in place,” and described his big plans for “brand-new” heating and air conditioning. Lawmakers raised oversight questions, saying Congress should have been consulted. Trump, meanwhile, said his plan is “totally subject” to approval by the board he installed. (ABC News / NPR / NBC News / Associated Press / Axios)
\nTrump said he wants the proposed “Independence Arch” overlooking the Potomac River to be the world’s biggest. He wants a 250-foot version, which architectural experts and historians warn would dwarf and overwhelm the corridor between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery and block key sightlines. (Washington Post / CBS News)
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", "summary": "Trump signed the roughly $1.2 trillion spending package into law, ending the three-day partial federal government shutdown; the U.S. military shot down an Iranian drone after it “aggressively approached” the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea and wouldn’t turn away; a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for more than 350,000...", "date_published": "2026-02-03T15:18:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/02/day-1840/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/02/day-1840/", "title": "Day 1840: “An unfolding emergency.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1840trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: The partial federal government shutdown entered its third day after funding lapsed Saturday morning, and the House still doesn’t have the votes needed to pass the Senate-approved bill to reopen agencies; attorneys representing victims of Jeffrey Epstein asked two federal judges to order the Justice Department to take down its Epstein-files website, saying the release exposed victims’ names and other identifying details and created an “unfolding emergency”; the Justice Department opened a federal civil rights investigation into the killing of Alex Pretti; Fulton County, Georgia, plans to sue the FBI and the Justice Department over a search warrant that county officials said resulted in the seizure of 2020 election records; Trump called on Republicans to “nationalize the voting” and seize control of election administration from states; and 44% of voters approve of Trump’s job performance, while 56% disapprove.
\n1/ The partial federal government shutdown entered its third day after funding lapsed Saturday morning, and the House still doesn’t have the votes needed to pass the Senate-approved bill to reopen agencies. The Senate measure would fund most of the government through the end of the fiscal year and extend Department of Homeland Security funding for two weeks. House Democrats, however, said they won’t help fast-track it and Speaker Mike Johnson has faced internal resistance from Republicans demanding changes, even as Trump warned that there can be “NO CHANGES at this time.” With Democrats withholding procedural votes, Johnson can only afford one Republican defection. Meaning, if two Republicans vote no, or one defects and another is absent, the bill will fail without Democratic support. The shutdown has already delayed the January jobs report and other labor market data until funding is restored. (ABC News / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / CNN / CNBC / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Axios)
\n2/ Attorneys representing victims of Jeffrey Epstein asked two federal judges to order the Justice Department to take down its Epstein-files website, saying the release exposed victims’ names and other identifying details and created an “unfolding emergency.” On Friday, the Justice Department published the final tranche of Epstein documents to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act – more than a month after Congress’s Dec. 19 deadline. The release totaled more than three million pages, plus thousands of videos and images. Layers said they had flagged “thousands” of redaction failures affecting nearly 100 survivors, including FBI 302 victim statements and interview notes with full names visible, a document listing 32 underage victims with most names unredacted, and records that paired victims’ names with details like dates of birth, addresses, and bank or ID information. The Justice Department blamed “technical or human error,” said it has removed documents flagged by victims or counsel and is running its own searches for additional problems. It said it aims to repost corrected files within about 24 to 36 hours. Separately, Trump again denied wrongdoing connected to Epstein, saying he “never went to the infested Epstein island,” even though his name appears in at least 4,500 documents. The Justice Department, meanwhile, said “We did not protect President Trump,” while warning the files “may include fake or falsely submitted” material and “untrue and sensationalist claims.” (CNN / Axios / Associated Press / New York Times / NBC News / Politico / Washington Post / NPR / CNN / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / ABC News / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / The Guardian)
\n3/ The Justice Department opened a federal civil rights investigation into the killing of Alex Pretti, who was shot by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the FBI is leading the review with Justice Department civil-rights lawyers involved, without explaining why the FBI was taking over the case from Homeland Security Investigations. Officials had claimed Pretti brandished a gun, but videos show him holding a phone as officers restrained him on the ground and removed a handgun from his clothes before shots were fired. Blanche said the DOJ’s decision to open a civil rights investigation into Pretti’s killing doesn’t change its earlier decision not to open a similar probe into the Jan. 7 shooting death of Renee Good. (Associated Press / Politico / Wall Street Journal)
\nU.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez refused to immediately block the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota. Menendez said officials hadn’t shown that the deployment was unlawful or an unconstitutional attempt to coerce state cooperation, even as she cited evidence of racial profiling, excessive force, and widespread disruption in nearly all aspects of Minnesotans’ lives. (Politico / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / Washington Post)
\nFederal prosecutors indicted journalist Don Lemon and eight others over a Jan. 18 protest that disrupted a service at a St. Paul church. Before the indictment, a magistrate judge declined to approve arrest warrants for Lemon and several others, citing insufficient evidence, and Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz later said there was “no evidence” Lemon or his producer committed or conspired to commit a crime. A judge in Los Angeles then released Lemon without bond after prosecutors sought a $100,000 bond and travel limits. His arraignment is set for Feb. 9 in federal court in Minneapolis. (Washington Post / ABC News / NBC News / CNN / New York Times)
\nA federal judge ordered ICE to release 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, from detention in Texas, calling their seizure from a Minnesota suburb unconstitutional. Judge Fred Biery order didn’t decide the family’s immigration case. (Politico / Associated Press / New York Times)
\n4/ Fulton County, Georgia, plans to sue the FBI and the Justice Department over a search warrant that county officials said resulted in the seizure of 2020 election records. Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. said agents took hundreds of boxes of original ballots, ballot images and voter rolls, and he said a separate court order authorized only copying, leaving the county unable to confirm what was removed because “there was no chain-of-custody inventory.” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was photographed outside the Fulton County election office during the operation, prompting Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence committees to demand she testify about why she was there. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said he didn’t know why Gabbard was present, adding that she was “not part of the grand jury investigation.” Gabbard reportedly met with FBI agents in Atlanta the next day and used her cellphone to call Trump, who spoke to agents on speakerphone. A White House spokesman said Gabbard and FBI Director Kash Patel were working together on the president’s election integrity priorities. After the seizure of Fulton Country election records, Trump then posted and reposted discredited conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, writing “Prosecutions are coming.” (NBC News / New York Times / CBS News / The Hill / CNN / Reuters / ABC News)
\npoll/ 44% of voters approve of Trump’s job performance, while 56% disapprove. 54% said the country is worse off than a year ago and 70% rated the economy as in bad shape. 45% said the economy will get worse this year, while 70% said Trump isn’t spending enough time on the economy, and 52% approved of his handling of border security. (Fox News)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 274 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,009 days.
\nTrump nominated former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to chair the Fed. Trump said he expects Warsh to cut rates even though he said he didn’t get a commitment. Warsh, who served on the Fed’s Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011, has recently called for lower rates and “regime change” at the Fed. Senator Thom Tillis, meanwhile, said he’d oppose any Fed nominee until the Justice Department resolves its investigation into Jerome Powell’s handling of the Fed headquarters renovation. (New York Times / Bloomberg / CNBC)
\nTrump said the U.S. reached a trade deal with India that cuts tariffs on Indian goods to 18% in exchange for India “stop buying Russian Oil,” but no deal text or signed agreement was released. India has been importing roughly 1.5 million barrels a day of Russian oil. (CNN / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / New York Times)
\nA U.S. intelligence official filed a whistleblower complaint in May alleging wrongdoing by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, but the complaint itself hasn’t been shared with Congress and its contents remain undisclosed because it could cause “grave damage to national security.” The whistleblower’s lawyer said Gabbard’s office is blocking transmission by not providing the security instructions needed to send it securely. (Wall Street Journal)
\nThe Justice Department stripped Ed Martin of most authority and removed him from chairing the Weaponization Working Group. Martin had pushed investigations and attempted prosecutions of Trump’s perceived political foes, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI director James Comey, and Sen. Adam Schiff. Despite the demotion, the department said he “continues to do a great job” as Trump’s pardon attorney. (Washington Post / CNN)
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", "summary": "The partial federal government shutdown entered its third day after funding lapsed Saturday morning, and the House still doesn’t have the votes needed to pass the Senate-approved bill to reopen agencies; attorneys representing victims of Jeffrey Epstein asked two federal judges to order the Justice Department to take down its Epstein-files website, saying the release exposed victims’ names and other...", "date_published": "2026-02-02T16:08:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/01/29/day-1836/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/01/29/day-1836/", "title": "Day 1836: “Moment of truth.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1836trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump and Senate Democrats said they reached a tentative agreement to fund most federal agencies through Sept. 30 while splitting Department of Homeland Security funding from the broader government spending package; earlier in the day, Senate Democrats blocked a six-bill spending package from advancing, demanding new limits on the Department of Homeland Security and ICE after the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis; Trump’s border czar said federal agencies were drafting a plan to “draw down” the roughly 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol officers deployed to Minnesota under Operation Metro Surge; Trump held a White House Cabinet meeting, but didn’t call on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem or Attorney General Pam Bondi, and he ended the session without taking reporters’ questions; and 37% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, down from 40% in the fall.
\n1/ Trump and Senate Democrats said they reached a tentative agreement to fund most federal agencies through Sept. 30 while splitting Department of Homeland Security funding from the broader government spending package. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the deal would advance five spending bills to fund the government and extend DHS funding at current levels for two weeks as lawmakers negotiate new restrictions on immigration enforcement operations, including proposals to bar masks and require body cameras. “This is a moment of truth,” Schumer said. “What the nation witnessed […] in the streets of Minneapolis was a moral abomination […] And Congress has the authority and the moral obligation to act.” Trump urged lawmakers support the deal, saying “Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ Vote.” Senate leaders are setting up a Thursday night vote, but the package would require unanimous consent from all 100 senators and still needs to go through the House, which is in recess until Monday, before it can be sent to Trump’s desk for his signature. Federal funding is set to expire Friday at midnight, meaning a partial shutdown could begin early Saturday. (Axios / NBC News / New York Times / Bloomberg / Politico / CNN / CBS News / The Hill / Associated Press)
\n2/ Earlier in the day, Senate Democrats blocked a six-bill spending package from advancing, demanding new limits on the Department of Homeland Security and ICE after the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. The procedural vote failed 45–55 as Democrats insisted that DHS funding be split off from the rest of the package and renegotiated to include bans on masks, required body cameras and visible IDs, tighter warrant rules, and standardized use-of-force policies. (New York Times / Politico / Associated Press / CNN / ABC News / Axios / NPR / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Axios / Washington Post / Bloomberg / The Hill / CNBC)
\n3/ Trump’s border czar said federal agencies were drafting a plan to “draw down” the roughly 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol officers deployed to Minnesota under Operation Metro Surge. While Tom Homan conceded the crackdown “hasn’t been perfect,” he also conditioned the potential “redeployment” of agents with expanded access to state and county jails and cast, calling it “commonsense cooperation.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said a drawdown would be “a step in the right direction,” but repeated that Metro Surge “must end.” Frey also urged other mayors to “speak up” against the Trump administration after two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed by federal agents during the operation. (New York Times / NPR / Wall Street Journal / CNBC / Axios / CBS News / Associated Press / Washington Post / Bloomberg)
\n4/ Trump held a White House Cabinet meeting, but didn’t call on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem or Attorney General Pam Bondi, and he ended the session without taking reporters’ questions. The situation in Minnesota didn’t come up during the televised session, which comes following federal agents shooting and killing two U.S. citizens during immigration enforcement operations. Trump, however, opened the meeting by calling his last cabinet meeting “pretty boring,” but claimed “I didn’t sleep. I just closed them because I wanted to get the hell out of here.” (CNBC / New York Times / The Hill / NBC News / Associated Press)
\npoll/ 37% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, down from 40% in the fall. 50% say the administration’s actions have been worse than they expected, compared with 21% who say better than they expected. 27% say they support all or most of Trump’s policies and plans, down from 35% last year. (Pew Research Center)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 278 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,013 days; and it’s been 42 days since the Trump administration was required by law to release the Epstein files.
\nOn Monday, I asked newsletter subscribers how they were making sense of yet another U.S. citizen being killed by ICE. I received more than 200 emails and here are few anonymous reflections that stood out to me and felt representative.
\n“I feel like I’m in Anne Frank’s diary. I want to speak out, I want to call my senators and tell them to do something, but at the same time I’m confident I’ll be a target.”
\n“We The People are the ones being murdered in the streets by our government.”
\n“As someone living in Minneapolis, it’s kind of a hellscape. Everyone’s struggling with stress and anxiety. The sense of community helps, but things are starting to feel hopeless when just being on the streets can get you shot.”
\n“Under Trump, America is a wealth of embarrassments. We don’t have the right to criticize other countries any more.”
\n“I’m too scared to protest anymore. As a nurse working in a pediatric hospital, my norm is to run toward the danger to take care of my kids, but I’m feeling more and more defeated without action at the federal level to stop this.”
\n“This is America today.”
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", "summary": "Trump and Senate Democrats said they reached a tentative agreement to fund most federal agencies through Sept. 30 while splitting Department of Homeland Security funding from the broader government spending package; earlier in the day, Senate Democrats blocked a six-bill spending package from advancing, demanding new limits on the Department of Homeland Security and ICE after the fatal shootings of...", "date_published": "2026-01-29T15:51:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/01/28/day-1835/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/01/28/day-1835/", "title": "Day 1835: “More relaxed.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1835trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: FBI agents executed a search warrant at Fulton County’s election facility near Atlanta, seeking records related to the 2020 election; Senate Democrats demanded new restrictions on ICE in any deal to avert a partial U.S. government shutdown; Trump’s domestic National Guard deployments are costing taxpayers about $93 million a month; the two federal officers who fired guns during the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis were placed on administrative leave; Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a Minneapolis town hall when a man approached the lectern and used a syringe to spray her with an unknown liquid; the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75%, defying pressure from Trump and pausing after three consecutive quarter-point cuts; Trump warned that a “massive Armada” led was heading toward Iran and threatened another U.S. attack if Tehran did not “make a deal” on its nuclear program; and a record 45% of Americans identified as political independents in 2025.
\n1/ FBI agents executed a search warrant at Fulton County’s election facility near Atlanta, seeking records related to the 2020 election. While FBI only said it was carrying out a “court authorized law enforcement action,” Fulton County said the warrant “sought a number of records related to 2020 elections.” The search comes a week after Trump repeated his false claim at Davos that the 2020 vote was “rigged” and that “people will soon be prosecuted for what they did.” It also follows the Justice Department’s civil lawsuit against court clerk Ché Alexander seeking the 2020 “physical ballots, stubs and absentee ballot envelopes.” (Associated Press / Reuters / Politico / New York Times / Washington Post / ABC News / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
\n2/ Senate Democrats demanded new restrictions on ICE in any deal to avert a partial U.S. government shutdown. Democrats tied funding the Department of Homeland Security to legislation requiring warrants before agents enter homes, end roving patrols, mandate body cameras and visible identification, ban agents from wearing masks, and establish a uniform code of conduct with independent investigations after use-of-force incidents. Government funding expires Friday, and Republicans and the White House oppose rewriting the Homeland Security funding bill, warning that changes would likely force a shutdown if the package must return to the House. (Washington Post / Associated Press / Bloomberg / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Semafor)
\n3/ The two federal officers who fired guns during the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis were placed on administrative leave. The preliminary internal review sent to Congress didn’t describe Pretti as brandishing a gun or trying to attack officers, directly undercutting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s initial claim that Pretti was “brandishing” a gun and Stephen Miller’s portrayal of him as a “domestic terrorist” and “assassin.” After the review, Miller shifted blame to Customs and Border Protection, saying DHS’s initial public narrative came from CBP reports “from a very chaotic scene” and that the White House was evaluating why CBP personnel “may not have been following” guidance to use extra forces for “force protection” and to create a “physical barrier” between arrest teams and “disruptors.” He also pointed to the operation’s leadership, placing blame on then-border patrol commander Gregory Bovino. Trump then suggested agents could use “more relaxed” and “de-escalated” tactics in Minnesota while the operation continued under border czar Tom Homan. The Justice Department, meanwhile, charged 16 Minneapolis protesters with assault and interference tied to the enforcement surge, Attorney General Pam Bondi said. (New York Times / NBC News / ABC News / Bloomberg / New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / Bloomberg)
\n4/ Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a Minneapolis town hall when a man approached the lectern and used a syringe to spray her with an unknown liquid. She appeared unharmed and continued speaking after the man was tackled by security. Minneapolis police said 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak was arrested and booked into Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of third-degree assault, and the FBI later took over the investigation. Trump, meanwhile, attacked Omar – a sitting member of Congress – suggesting without evidence that she “probably had herself sprayed.” Lawmakers from both parties condemned the assault. (Washington Post / ABC News / CNN / Axios / The Guardian / NPR / New York Times / Associated Press / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
\n5/ The Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75%, defying pressure from Trump and pausing after three consecutive quarter-point cuts. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the economy is expanding at a “solid pace,” while “job gains have remained low,” the unemployment rate has shown “some signs of stabilization,” and inflation remains “somewhat elevated.” The decision comes as the Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into Powell over his testimony to Congress about cost overruns in a multibillion-dollar headquarters renovation. Powell has called the investigation politically motivated. (CNBC / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post)
\n6/ Trump warned that a “massive Armada” led was heading toward Iran and threatened another U.S. attack if Tehran did not “make a deal” on its nuclear program. He gave no specifics on the terms, beyond demanding “NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS” and citing “Operation Midnight Hammer,” which was operation that struck Iranian nuclear facilities. Trump warned that “the next attack will be far worse.” Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations said Iran was “ready for dialogue” but would defend itself “IF PUSHED.” (CNBC / Politico / New York Times / ABC News / NBC News / Bloomberg / The Guardian)
\npoll/ 65% of Trump voters support the U.S. taking military action against at least one foreign country, with Iran drawing the highest support at about 50%. (Politico)
\npoll/ A record 45% of Americans identified as political independents in 2025, while Democrats and Republicans each accounted for 27%. Among independents, more leaned Democratic than Republican, giving Democrats a five-point edge in combined party identification and leanings, ending a three-year period in which Republicans held an advantage. (Gallup)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 279 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,014 days; and it’s been 41 days since the Trump administration was required by law to release the Epstein files.
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", "summary": "FBI agents executed a search warrant at Fulton County’s election facility near Atlanta, seeking records related to the 2020 election; Senate Democrats demanded new restrictions on ICE in any deal to avert a partial U.S. government shutdown; Trump’s domestic National Guard deployments are costing taxpayers about $93 million a month; the two federal officers who fired guns during the fatal...", "date_published": "2026-01-28T16:40:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/01/27/day-1834/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/01/27/day-1834/", "title": "Day 1834: “A very good job.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1834trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump said he’ll be “watching over” an “honest investigation” into the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis before blaming Pretti for carrying a gun he was legally permitted to have; House Democrats threatened to begin impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem if Trump doesn’t fire her; Stephen Miller reportedly directed Noem to publicly claim that Alex Pretti wanted to “massacre” immigration agents after he was shot and killed in Minneapolis; Trump’s immigration policies coincided with a year-to-year drop in U.S. population growth; and U.S. consumer confidence fell in January to its lowest level since 2014 as Americans grew more pessimistic about the economy and the job market.
\n1/ Trump said he’ll be “watching over” an “honest investigation” into the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis before blaming Pretti for carrying a gun he was legally permitted to have. “You can’t walk in with guns,” Trump said. “You can’t do that.” Minnesota’s gun laws permit open carrying a handgun as long as the gun owner has a valid permit, which Minneapolis Police said Pretti had. Even the NRA, a longtime Trump ally, called the Trump administration’s rhetoric that officers could be “legally justified” in shooting an armed citizen “dangerous and wrong,” urging a full investigation instead of “demonizing law-abiding citizens.” Trump added that you’d have to be a “stupid person” not to think what happened to Pretti was “very unfortunate.” (New York Times / CNBC / Politico / Associated Press / The Guardian)
\n2/ House Democrats threatened to begin impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem if Trump doesn’t fire her. Democrats said Noem spread false or unsupported claims about the shooting, including that Pretti was “brandishing” a weapon and “violently” resisted officers, that they argued are contradicted by bystander video. Republicans Sens. Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski also called for Noem to resign. A DHS report sent to the House Oversight Committee, meanwhile, confirmed that two federal officers fired their guns at Pretti “approximately five seconds” after an officer yelled “He’s got a gun!” multiple times. The ultimatum came after Trump reportedly met for nearly two hours in the Oval Office with Noem and her top aide Corey Lewandowski to discuss the political and operational response in Minnesota. After the meeting, Trump said Noem was “doing a very good job” and rejected calls for her to step down. (CNBC / Politico / Washington Post / Axios / CBS News / New York Times / Associated Press / The Hill / ABC News / CNN / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)
\n3/ Stephen Miller reportedly directed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to publicly claim that Alex Pretti wanted to “massacre” immigration agents after he was shot and killed in Minneapolis. The DHS statement was rushed out under Miller’s guidance after reports that Pretti had a gun, despite limited information from the officers involved. Video later contradicted parts of that narrative, and Trump subsequently sent border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota. After the statement was released, Miller called Pretti “an assassin” on X, which JD Vance then amplified. (Axios)
\n4/ Trump’s immigration policies coincided with a year-to-year drop in U.S. population growth, which fell to 0.5% in 2025 from nearly 1% in 2024. The population grew by 1.8 million in 2025, the slowest rate of growth since the Covid-19 pandemic. Net international migration dropped to about 1.3 million from roughly 2.7 million a year earlier, a decline Census researchers said reflects tighter border controls late in Biden’s term and Trump’s immigration crackdown in the first half of his first year back in office. The Census Bureau projects that net immigration could fall to about 321,000 by mid-2026 if current trends continue. Births, meanwhile, barely exceeded deaths. (Associated Press / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal)
\n5/ U.S. consumer confidence fell in January to its lowest level since 2014 as Americans grew more pessimistic about the economy and the job market. the Conference Board reporting its index dropped 9.7 points to 84.5 – weaker than during the pandemic and missing all economist estimates. A separate expectations index, which measures consumers’ outlook for business conditions, jobs, and income over the next six months, fell 9.5 points to 65.1 – well below the recession warning threshold of 80. It’s the 12th consecutive month that the reading has come in under 80. (Bloomberg / ABC News / CNN / Associated Press)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 280 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,015 days; and it’s been 40 days since the Trump administration was required by law to release the Epstein files.
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\nSupport today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
", "summary": "Trump said he’ll be “watching over” an “honest investigation” into the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis before blaming Pretti for carrying a gun he was legally permitted to have; House Democrats threatened to begin impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem if Trump doesn’t fire her; Stephen Miller reportedly directed Noem to publicly claim that...", "date_published": "2026-01-27T16:51:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/01/26/day-1833/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/01/26/day-1833/", "title": "Day 1833: “Productive.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1833trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump agreed to “look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota” after a Border Patrol agent killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and U.S. citizen; Trump sent border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to oversee ICE operations; Senate Democrats threatened to block the House-passed funding package unless Republicans strip out the Department of Homeland Security bill; the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel said polio, measles, and possibly all shots should be optional; and the American Academy of Pediatrics told parents to ignore the CDC’s revised federal guidance and instead follow its full childhood vaccine schedule.
\n1/ Trump agreed to “look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota” after a Border Patrol agent killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and U.S. citizen. Early Saturday, DHS claimed agents were on Nicollet Avenue for a “targeted operation” when Pretti “approached” them with a 9mm handgun intending to “massacre law enforcement,” and that he “violently resisted” efforts to disarm him. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed Pretti had been “brandishing” a weapon, while Stephen Miller called Pretti a “domestic terrorist” and an “assassin.” Bystander video, however, shows Pretti holding a phone when agents first confront him. An officer then appears to remove a handgun from Pretti’s waistband area and step away. Less than a second later, an agent fired several rounds. In total, at least 10 shots were fired within five seconds. DHS claimed the Border Patrol agent fired in self-defense, but said investigators are reviewing body camera footage from multiple agents in the fatal shooting. On Sunday, Trump blamed the death on “Democrat run Sanctuary Cities and States” that said they’ve “created dangerous circumstances for EVERYONE involved” by “REFUSING to cooperate with ICE.” But on Monday, Trump said he had “a very good call” with Gov. Tim Walz and that they “seemed to be on a similar wavelength.” Walz’s office called the conversation “productive” and said Trump agreed to speak with DHS about ensuring state investigators can conduct an independent investigation. The White House later said Trump “does not want any Americans to lose their lives in the streets of America,” but press secretary Karoline Leavitt continued to blame Democrats, saying, “This tragedy occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota for weeks.” Pretti’s killing followed the Jan. 7 shooting death of Renée Good, another U.S. citizen in Minneapolis, that federal officials also defended as justified. (New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Axios / NBC News / CNN / New York Times / CNBC / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / New York Times)
\n2/ Trump sent border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to oversee ICE operations, and administration officials said senior Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino was expected to leave Minneapolis. Bovino had become the public face of “Operation Metro Surge,” appearing alongside agents and publicly defending the killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti while asserting without evidence that Pretti intended to “massacre” officers. The Trump administration positioned Homan as the new on-the-ground point person and insisted that Bovino would still lead Border Patrol nationally. Meanwhile, about 140 House Democrats have signed on to articles of impeachment targeting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. (ABC News / New York Times / Axios / NBC News / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Politico / Axios / Associated Press / Bloomberg / The Hill)
\n3/ Senate Democrats threatened to block the House-passed funding package unless Republicans strip out the Department of Homeland Security bill. Democrats said they won’t vote to fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection without new guardrails and accountability after Border Patrol agents killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Republicans have, so far, signaled they they’ll move ahead with the full package anyway as the White House said it didn’t want DHS funding separated out. Government funding is set to expire at the end of the week, and Republicans need at least seven Democratic votes to clear the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. (Associated Press / Washington Post / Bloomberg / Politico / CNN / The Hill / Politico)
\nThe CDC’s vaccine advisory panel said polio, measles, and possibly all shots should be optional. Kirk Milhoan argued personal autonomy outweighs preventable deaths. (New York Times)
\nThe American Academy of Pediatrics told parents to ignore the CDC’s revised federal guidance and instead follow its full childhood vaccine schedule. The AAP still recommends immunizations for 18 diseases—adding back shots like flu, Covid-19, and hepatitis A and B. (Wall Street Journal)
\nModerna’s won’t fund new late-stage vaccine trials because of U.S. hostility to immunizations. CEO Stéphane Bancel said regulatory delays and narrower U.S. eligibility under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have shrunk the market and undercut returns. (Bloomberg)
\nTrump threatened 100% tariffs on Canadian imports if Ottawa makes a trade deal with China. The warning comes after Canada announced a new strategic partnership with China. (CNN)
\nTrump said he will raise tariffs on South Korean autos, pharmaceuticals, and lumber from 15% to 25%. He blamed Seoul’s legislature for not approving a July 30, 2025 trade deal. (CNBC)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 281 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,016 days; and it’s been 39 days since the Trump administration was required by law to release the Epstein files.
\n\n \nSubscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free
\nSupport today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
", "summary": "Trump agreed to “look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota” after a Border Patrol agent killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and U.S. citizen; Trump sent border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to oversee ICE operations; Senate Democrats threatened to block the House-passed funding package unless Republicans strip out the Department of Homeland Security bill; the...", "date_published": "2026-01-26T16:04:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/01/22/day-1829/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/01/22/day-1829/", "title": "Day 1829: “Exploit the violence.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1829trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: An internal ICE memo signed by acting director Todd Lyons authorized immigration officers to forcibly enter a person’s home to arrest someone with a final order of removal using only an administrative warrant; House Democrats helped Republicans pass a Homeland Security funding bill that includes $10 billion for ICE; JD Vance said Minneapolis would be “less chaotic” if state and local officials would “cooperate” with the Trump administration on immigration enforcement; the Trump administration ordered most federal agencies to review funding sent to 14 Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C.; no written documentation memorializing Trump’s verbal “framework” deal with NATO about Greenland exists; Trump sued JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon for $5 billion; Former special counsel Jack Smith testified publicly before the House Judiciary Committee, saying his investigation produced “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump “engaged in criminal activity” and that “no one should be above the law in our country”; 49% of voters say the country is worse off than a year ago and 56% disapprove of Trump’s overall job performance; and Trump said he’s expanding his defamation lawsuit against the New York Times after an unfavorable public opinion poll.
\n1/ An internal ICE memo signed by acting director Todd Lyons authorized immigration officers to forcibly enter a person’s home to arrest someone with a final order of removal using only an administrative warrant, according to a copy of the memo and a whistleblower complaint shared with Congress. The May 2025 document instructs officers to knock and identify themselves, operate between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., give occupants a “reasonable chance to act lawfully,” and then use a “necessary and reasonable amount of force” if refused entry. The memo claims DHS counsel found the practice consistent with the Fourth Amendment and immigration law, but cites no case law or statutory authority. And, according to the whistleblower disclosure, the directive directly conflicts with longstanding ICE and DHS training materials that administrative warrants don’t authorize nonconsensual entry into a residence. (Associated Press / ABC News / NBC News / CBS News / Washington Post / The Hill)
\n2/ House Democrats helped Republicans pass a Homeland Security funding bill that includes $10 billion for ICE, rejecting Democratic demands to block ICE from detaining or deporting U.S. citizens, restrict raids at sensitive locations, like schools and hospitals, and impose stricter limits on use of force. The bill largely holds ICE funding flat while adding $20 million for body cameras, mandating additional training and oversight, and trimming money for enforcement and removal operations and detention capacity – concessions that most Democrats said would do little to restrain the agency. Still, seven Democrats joined Republicans to narrowly approve the funding bill 220-207. The House separately passed a broader spending package, sending the funding measures to Senate days before a Jan. 30 government shutdown. (Politico / NBC News / NPR / New York Times / Associated Press / Washington Post / Bloomberg / CBS News / Axios)
\n3/ JD Vance said Minneapolis would be “less chaotic” if state and local officials would “cooperate” with the Trump administration on immigration enforcement. Two weeks after Renee Good was killed by an ICE agent, sparking widespread protest, Vance said “This is the inevitable consequence of a state and local government that have decided that they’re not going to cooperate with immigration enforcement at all.” He added: “We can do a good job of enforcing our immigration laws without the chaos.” At the same time, a school district just north of Minneapolis said ICE agents detained four of its students in recent weeks, including a 5-year-old taken after his father was arrested. The district said agents refused requests to leave the child with another adult and had him knock on the door to see if others were inside, an account DHS disputes. The boy and his father are now being held together at a family detention facility in Texas. (NBC News / Washington Post / CNN / New York Times / The Guardian / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / Washington Post)
\n4/ The Trump administration ordered most federal agencies to review funding sent to 14 Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., directing them to compile data on their grants, loans and contracts. The Office of Management and Budget memo said the request is a data-gathering exercise to “reduce the improper and fraudulent use” of federal funds and doesn’t withhold money or violate court orders. It excludes the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments from the review. Agencies were told to report back by Jan. 28 – days before Trump has said he plans to cut off funding to states and cities with so-called “sanctuary” policies. (CNN / Washington Post / Associated Press / Politico)
\n5/ No written documentation memorializing Trump’s verbal “framework” deal with NATO about Greenland exists. Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said he hasn’t been told what’s “concrete” in the framework, and said sovereignty and territorial integrity are “red lines,” while Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said ceding territory is “non-negotiable” and any path must “respect international law and respects sovereignty.” Even so, NATO officials reportedly floated the idea of additional U.S. bases on land treated as sovereign U.S. territory. And one European official said the framework includes U.S. missiles and mining rights aimed at keeping Chinese interests out. Trump, meanwhile, said the U.S. would get “total access” with “no end, no time limit,” adding that U.S. acquisition of Greenland remained “possible.” (Bloomberg / CNN / CNBC / The Guardian / Axios /New York Times)
\n6/ Trump sued JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon for $5 billion, alleging the bank closed accounts tied to Trump and his businesses for “political discrimination” following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The lawsuit, however, doesn’t publicly say how Trump determined that politics motivated the decision. It says JPMorgan gave him roughly 60 days’ notice in early 2021, offered no explanation for the closures, and later placed Trump, the Trump Organization and family members on an unspecified “blacklist” that the complaint claimed discouraged other banks. JPMorgan said the suit “has no merit,” denied closing accounts for political or religious reasons, and said account terminations are driven by legal or regulatory risk. (Associated Press / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / CNN / Washington Post / CNBC / Politico / New York Times)
\n7/ Former special counsel Jack Smith testified publicly before the House Judiciary Committee, saying his investigation produced “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump “engaged in criminal activity” and that “no one should be above the law in our country.” Smith, defending his decision to indict Trump twice, told lawmakers that Trump was “by a large measure the most culpable and most responsible person” for efforts to overturn the 2020 election, saying “these crimes were committed for his benefit” and that the Jan. 6 attack “does not happen without him.” Smith said Trump “sought to exploit the violence.” He rejected Republican claims of political bias, saying “I am not a politician and I have no partisan loyalties,” “we followed the facts and we followed the law,” and that subpoenas for lawmakers’ phone records were routine, adding “my office didn’t spy on anyone.” As Trump attacked him on social media during the hearing and called for his prosecution, Smith said the statements were “meant to intimidate me” and that he expects the Trump Justice Department to indict him “because they’ve been ordered to by the president.” Smith said, “I will not be intimidated,” while warning that failure to hold powerful figures accountable “can be catastrophic” for the rule of law. (NPR / New York Times / Politico / Bloomberg / NBC News / Axios / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / Washington Post / ABC News)
\npoll/ Democrats lead the generic 2026 midterm congressional ballot 48% to 42% among likely voters. While partisan voters largely backed their own party, independents broke for the Democratic candidate 50% to 28%. (Emerson College Polling)
\npoll/ 49% of voters say the country is worse off than a year ago, while 32% say it is better off. 56% disapprove of Trump’s overall job performance, including 66% disapproval on the cost of living and 58% disapproval on the economy and immigration. 40% approve of his presidency overall. 73% of Republicans saying the country is better off compared with 86% of Democrats and 52% of independents saying it is worse off. 34% of independents approving of Trump’s job performance. (New York Times)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 285 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,020 days; it’s been 35 days since the Trump administration was required by law to release the Epstein files.
\n\n \nSubscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free
\nSupport today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
", "summary": "An internal ICE memo signed by acting director Todd Lyons authorized immigration officers to forcibly enter a person’s home to arrest someone with a final order of removal using only an administrative warrant; House Democrats helped Republicans pass a Homeland Security funding bill that includes $10 billion for ICE; JD Vance said Minneapolis would be “less chaotic” if state and...", "date_published": "2026-01-22T16:27:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] }, { "id": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/01/21/day-1828/", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/01/21/day-1828/", "title": "Day 1828: “In the midst of a rupture.”", "image": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/uploads/day1828trump.jpg", "content_html": "Today in one sentence: Trump said he would drop planned tariffs on eight European countries, claiming he had “the framework of a future deal” on Greenland and Arctic security; Trump said “Canada lives because of the United States” after Prime Minister Mark Carney argued at Davos that the U.S.-led “rules-based order” bargain “no longer works” and that “we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition”; Congress released a bipartisan funding package to keep most of the federal government open ahead of a Jan. 30 shutdown deadline; House Democrats said they’ll oppose a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security; and the Department of Homeland Security launched “Operation Catch of the Day” and started arresting immigrants in Maine.
\n1/ Trump said he would drop planned tariffs on eight European countries, claiming he had “the framework of a future deal” on Greenland and Arctic security. He said the 10% tariffs scheduled for Feb. 1 were no longer needed after meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. While Trump didn’t release any details of the framework, the compromise reportedly involves Denmark giving the U.S. sovereignty over small areas of Greenland’s territory to build military bases. Trump claims he needs Greenland for his proposed “golden dome,” a missile defense system that could cover North America. NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart only confirmed that negotiations between Denmark, Greenland, and the U.S. “will go forward” focused on Arctic security and limiting Russia and China influence. Danish officials, meanwhile, publicly reiterated that sovereignty is a red line. (Associated Press / NBC News / Bloomberg / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / Politico / Axios / CNN / CNBC)
\n2/ Trump said “Canada lives because of the United States” after Prime Minister Mark Carney argued at Davos that the U.S.-led “rules-based order” bargain “no longer works” and that “we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.” Trump said Canada “gets a lot of freebies from us” and “should be grateful,” saying Ottawa is a beneficiary of U.S. protection and of his proposed “Golden Dome” missile-defense plan. Carney, speaking the day before without naming Trump, said great powers are using “tariffs as leverage” and warned that “if you are not at the table, you are on the menu.” (CBC / Reuters / Bloomberg / Axios / New York Times)
\n3/ Congress released a bipartisan funding package to keep most of the federal government open ahead of a Jan. 30 shutdown deadline. The legislation would fund the Pentagon and major domestic agencies, including Homeland Security, while preserving ICE’s roughly $10 billion budget. While the package provides $20 million for ICE body cameras, it stops short of limits on arrests, detention practices, or deportations that Democrats demanded. The House plans to vote later this week with a separate vote on DHS funding. In the Senate, however, passage is uncertain because Republicans need Democratic support to reach the 60 votes required. (Politico / NBC News / Washington Post / Axios / CBS News / CNN)
\n4/ House Democrats said they’ll oppose a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security. In a closed-door meeting, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other leaders argued the bill doesn’t meaningfully constrain ICE. Republicans, however, are expected to pass the measure without Democratic help. (Axios / Politico / NBC News)
\n5/ The Department of Homeland Security launched “Operation Catch of the Day” and started arresting immigrants in Maine. DHS said the operation targeted people with criminal convictions and, according to U.S. officials, focused largely on immigrants from Somalia. Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin blamed Maine Gov. Janet Mills and other Democratic “sanctuary politicians” for prompting the operation. It’s not clear how long the operation would last or how many federal agents were deployed. (ABC News / Washington Post / New York Times)
\nThe 2026 midterms are in 286 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,021 days; it’s been 34 days since the Trump administration was required by law to release the Epstein files.
\n\n \nSubscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free
\nSupport today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
", "summary": "Trump said he would drop planned tariffs on eight European countries, claiming he had “the framework of a future deal” on Greenland and Arctic security; Trump said “Canada lives because of the United States” after Prime Minister Mark Carney argued at Davos that the U.S.-led “rules-based order” bargain “no longer works” and that “we are in the midst of a...", "date_published": "2026-01-21T14:59:00-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Matt Kiser", "url": "https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/" } ], "tags": ["politics"] } ] }