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.

1/ 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)

  • What else could $200 billion buy?

  • More 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)

  • Trump said “I’m not putting troops anywhere,″ but then immediately added: “If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.” (New York Times / Politico)

  • poll/ 65% of Americans believe Trump send troops into a large-scale ground war in Iran. 7% support sending ground troops to Iran. (Reuters)

2/ 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)

3/ 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)

4/ 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)

5/ 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)

6/ 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)

7/ 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)

The 2026 midterms are in 229 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 964 days.