While our military is busy liquidating the Iranian regime’s ability to function, CNN has pivoted to its favorite pastime: inventing &#8220;intelligence failures&#8221; based on the whispers of anonymous cowards.
On Friday, the network of record for the &#8220;unserious&#8221; released a report claiming the Trump administration &#8220;significantly underestimated&#8221; Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz. Relying on the typical &#8220;three sources familiar with discussions&#8221; — who likely couldn&#8217;t find the Persian Gulf on a map — CNN suggested the Pentagon was caught flat-footed by the regime’s desperate move to choke off global energy.
The response from the administration and those actually in the room was swift, brutal, and entirely justified.
Montana GOP Senator Tim Sheehy — a man who knows a thing or two about mission planning, as he served several hundred days in active combat zones, including multiple deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq as platoon commander and team leader, specializing in unconventional warfare and special operations — wasted no time in nuking the narrative. Having attended a classified briefing, Sheehy took to social media to call out the blatant disinformation.
&#8220;It is categorically false that they did not plan for Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz,&#8221; Sheehy fired back. &#8220;Lawmakers and national security officials have known for years that this was Iran’s plan once their backs were against the wall.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I received a classified briefing from the administration. It is categorically false that they did not plan for Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz. 
Lawmakers and national security officials have known for years that this was Iran’s plan once their backs were against the wall. <a href="https://t.co/3jHvdnKZRg">https://t.co/3jHvdnKZRg</a>
&mdash; Tim Sheehy (@TimSheehyMT) <a href="https://twitter.com/TimSheehyMT/status/2032454091327078845?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The idea that the most sophisticated military planning in human history simply &#8220;forgot&#8221; about a choke point Iran has been threatening since the 1980s isn&#8217;t just bad journalism — it’s fan fiction.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt went even further, labeling the story &#8220;100% FAKE NEWS&#8221; and a &#8220;complete disgrace.&#8221; In a scathing statement, Leavitt pointed out the absurdity of CNN running with anonymous hearsay when the Secretary of War, the Secretary of State, and every lawmaker present for the briefing had already directly debunked the claims.
&#8220;The Pentagon has been planning for Iran’s desperate and reckless closure of the Strait of Hormuz for DECADES,&#8221; Leavitt declared. &#8220;The idea that Chairman Caine and Secretary Hegseth weren’t prepared for this possibility is PREPOSTEROUS.&#8221;
Leavitt correctly noted that Operation Epic Fury was specifically designed to solve this problem permanently. By annihilating the regime’s navy, missile sites, and drone factories, the U.S. is stripping the terrorist Iranian regime of the very tools they use to hold the global economy hostage.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This story is 100% FAKE NEWS. 
CNN decided to run this garbage based on three anonymous “sources familiar with discussions.”  
This is despite the fact that myself, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of State, and multiple lawmakers (who were actually present for the recent… <a href="https://t.co/IchmwpDnO7">pic.twitter.com/IchmwpDnO7</a>
&mdash; Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/2032461051493511299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2026</a></blockquote>
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While CNN frets over &#8220;economic fallout&#8221; and &#8220;interagency debate,&#8221; the adults in the room are focused on the mission. Energy Secretary Chris Wright summed it up perfectly: &#8220;To win in life, you’ve got to suffer short-term pain for the long-term gain.&#8221;
President Trump, for his part, remains unshakable. While the media wrings its hands over oil prices, Trump reminded the world that stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons is a slightly higher priority than a temporary shift in energy markets.
The media’s &#8220;work overtime&#8221; to discredit the administration is failing for one simple reason: the results on the battlefield speak louder than anonymous sources.
Meanwhile, CNN will still be looking for its next fake headline.

MixCollage-13-Mar-2026-10-52-AM-8092

Sheehy, Leavitt Torch CNN’s ‘Garbage’ Fan Fiction On Strait Of Hormuz ‘Intelligence Failures’

Karoline Leavitt

Strait of Hormuz

Tim Sheehy

Trump Administration

Oil prices have dropped for two straight days following previous surges, having hit four-year highs on Monday before logging the biggest single-day percentage drop since 2022.
Oil prices plunged on Tuesday when Secretary of Energy Chris Wright claimed in an X post that the U.S. Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent Crude dropped to around $81 per barrel, according to <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/future/brn00?countrycode=uk&amp;gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqe4k1-WtbbEc0_rDe9RmjIzBeQ_NbvsmIuohb4DQSo55Be0bfuc1Ez2yJhY6Pc%3D&amp;gaa_ts=69a5b024&amp;gaa_sig=kegHiaf_xsPW94kPXb2xUx2YgsMT9F6cMvHsnXelmzUTlyMm_8GalBG_mAiBT6m4gV0Q7YYn6j8miOFnbJ_EGA%3D%3D">MarketWatch</a>. However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt corrected that claim in her Tuesday afternoon press briefing, which sent oil prices back up, with Brent Crude closing around $91 per barrel.
“I can confirm that the U.S. Navy has not escorted a tanker or a vessel at this time, though, of course, that’s an option that the president has said he will absolutely utilize if and when necessary at the appropriate time,&#8221; Leavitt said.
Using the U.S. Navy to escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s oil travels, is just one of the options the Trump administration has announced that would bring down prices.
The administration ordered the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to <a href="https://www.theinsurer.com/ti/news/trump-orders-us-government-to-provide-political-risk-insurance-for-gulf-shipping-2026-03-04/">offer</a> political risk insurance to tankers operating in the Gulf. Insurance policies covering a vessel traveling through the strait have reportedly jumped by as much as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gas-prices-in-focus-after-iran-targets-key-oil-route">37.5%</a>, while others were canceled altogether. In addition, the Treasury Department lifted oil sanctions — most notably on Friday, when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a temporary <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/world/middleeast/iran-war-putin-russia-energy-oil-prices.html">30-day lift</a> allowing India to buy Russian oil.
Senate Democrats criticized the decision to lift oil sanctions, writing in a statement, “Now is not the time to clear the way for sales for Russian oil majors and Russian-owned and shadow fleet vessels.”
Bessent argued that the lifted sanctions were narrow in scope and would not provide a substantial financial benefit to the Russian government. Russia, the United States, and Saudi Arabia lead the world in oil production.

Oil Rig

Oil Prices Yo-Yo As White House Walks Back Navy Escort Claim

Global Politics

Iran

World

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Americans on Tuesday that oil and gas prices would soon come back down, and President Donald Trump&#8217;s massive military operation in Iran would result in lower gas prices in the &#8220;long-term.&#8221;
During a White House press briefing, Leavitt urged Americans to stay patient after gas prices rose to their highest national average in four years. Leavitt said oil and gas prices could drop &#8220;rapidly&#8221; after the U.S. military achieves its objectives in &#8220;Operation Epic Fury.&#8221;
&#8220;The recent increase in oil and gas prices is temporary,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And this operation will result in lower gas prices in the long-term.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW: <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a>: &#8220;Rest assured to the American people: the recent increase in oil and gas prices is temporary.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/KeF8ele6HE">pic.twitter.com/KeF8ele6HE</a>
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/2031437515320598782?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Brent crude, the international benchmark price point for oil, skyrocketed to nearly $120 per barrel earlier this week, but then plummeted to under $90 after President Trump said on Monday that the war in Iran was &#8220;very far ahead of schedule.&#8221; As of Tuesday afternoon, Brent crude remained just below $90 per barrel, which is still much higher than before the United States and Israel began their joint operation targeting Iran on February 28.
The ongoing war in Iran has squeezed oil flow coming through the Strait of Hormuz, which sits between Iran and the United Arab Emirates and is the only passage for tankers leaving the Persian Gulf. Around 20% of the world&#8217;s oil is transported through the Strait of Hormuz, but that oil flow came to a near complete halt last week. As of Monday, oil tankers again began traversing the strait, with oil tanker traffic ticking up to 20% of its normal level, according to analysis from Goldman Sachs.
Trump has floated taking control of the strait. The White House is also considering using U.S. ships to escort oil tankers.
&#8220;That’s an option the president has said he will absolutely utilize if and when necessary at the appropriate time,” Leavitt said on Tuesday.
The president warned Iran on Monday, saying, &#8220;If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far.&#8221;
U.S. intelligence suggests that Iran could be preparing to drop mines in the Strait of Hormuz, CBS News <a href="https://x.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/2031433322555937181">reported</a>. Such a move could further threaten oil tanker traffic and stall oil flow to the world. If tankers are prevented from passing through the Strait of Hormuz for more than two weeks, oil could reach $150 per barrel, some experts warned, according to the Associated Press. Saudi Arabia&#8217;s state-run oil company also warned of &#8220;catastrophic consequences&#8221; for global oil markets if the important shipping lane does not reopen soon.

Gas Prices

White House Reassures Americans About Oil Prices, Hints At ‘Long-Term’ Relief At The Pump

Crude Oil

Donald Trump

Israel

U.S. Military

White House

The following is an edited transcript excerpt from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/hosts/michael-knowles?elementPosition=4&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Hosts&amp;rowType=Hosts+Portrait+Carousel">The Michael Knowles Show</a>.
* * *
You know you&#8217;ve gone too far in your Middle East bombing campaign when Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) tells you to cool your jets. 
Sen. Graham — whom I like personally — has never seen a Middle Eastern country he didn’t want to bomb. He&#8217;s been beating the drum for war for a very, very long time.
That&#8217;s why it gives a lot of credibility to his criticism in his recent tweets on X:
<blockquote>Our allies in Israel have shown amazing capability when it comes to collapsing the murderous regime in Iran. America is most appreciative…</blockquote>
You can just sense there’s a “but” coming. And here it is:
<blockquote>However, there will be a day soon that the Iranian people will be in charge of their own fate, not the murderous Ayatollah regime. In that regard, please be cautious about what targets you select. Our goal is to liberate the Iranian people in a fashion that does not cripple their chance to start a new and better life when this regime collapses. The oil economy of Iran will be essential to that endeavor.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Our allies in Israel have shown amazing capability when it comes to collapsing the murderous regime in Iran. America is most appreciative.
However, there will be a day soon that the Iranian people will be in charge of their own fate, not the murderous ayatollah’s regime.
In…
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) <a href="https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/2030801898891026592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Source: @LindseyGrahamSC/X.com
For background, Graham&#8217;s statement comes after Axios published <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/03/08/us-dismayed-israel-iran-fuel-strikes">this article</a>, which says:
<blockquote>Israel&#8217;s strikes on 30 Iranian fuel depots Saturday went far beyond what the U.S. expected when Israel notified it in advance, sparking the first significant disagreement between the allies since the war began eight days ago, according to a U.S. official, Israeli official and a source with knowledge.</blockquote>
Now, whenever the United States and Israel — or any two allies — are publicly disagreeing, there’s always the possibility that it’s partly a show. Sometimes governments signal disagreement publicly while coordinating privately. But this situation suggests otherwise. There may be a legitimate difference of opinion. Maybe a little tail wagging the dog here?
On its own, Lindsey Graham publicly rebuking Israel is notable. He’s a major, longtime supporter of Israel and a major supporter of regime change in Iran. He is not exactly shy about using the military. And he’s saying: guys, what are we doing here?
The reporting says the United States is worried this could backfire strategically. And those concerns highlight the stakes of the war.
My reaction from the beginning — when the possibility of war with Iran started circulating — has been that there are two very firm camps making overly simplistic arguments.
On one hand you have the pacifists who say war is never the answer, that there is never any place for war. That’s not a serious moral or political position.
On the other hand you have hardcore ideological neocon types — who say the United States has a moral duty to spread liberal democracy everywhere on earth. That’s also a very ideological view.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/hosts/michael-knowles?elementPosition=4&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Hosts&amp;rowType=Hosts+Portrait+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-1054531" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MK-watch-now-1-1024x171.jpg" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MK-watch-now-1-1024x171.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MK-watch-now-1-300x50.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MK-watch-now-1-768x128.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MK-watch-now-1-1536x256.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MK-watch-now-1.jpg 1800w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
If you get rid of those two extremes, then there are the people in the middle where reasonable minds can disagree over the wisdom of the Iran campaign. That&#8217;s certainly where President Trump is. That&#8217;s certainly where I am and where I think most people are.
In the lead-up to the Iran war, when it became clear it was going to happen, I was asking people who were in the know — grand strategy types, diplomats — what do you think about this? Should we go to war in Iran? Should we not go to war in Iran?
And the most persuasive answer I heard was: Well, if we can do it quickly and successfully, then it would be good to change out the regime. But if we can&#8217;t, we shouldn&#8217;t.
So, I&#8217;ve said from the beginning, if I were on the National Security Council (NSC) — not that anyone invited me — but if I had been on the NSC, I would have made all the arguments I could against the Iran strike. Not based on any particular moral argument. I think there&#8217;s legal justification to go into Iran. Again, the government had more knowledge than I did when they launched the strike, but if they had asked me, based only on publicly available knowledge I would have said: Look, I don&#8217;t know that the threat from Iran is as grave as people are suggesting or as imminent. Also, I&#8217;m not confident that we can efficiently and effectively swap out the regime in Iran to get a more Western-friendly regime.
So because of those practical, prudential, pragmatic matters, I don&#8217;t know that it&#8217;s the right idea. But if you could convince me otherwise on those two points, then I would say, yes, it&#8217;s probably a good idea.
And these are the stakes here.
President Trump is taking a much more realistic view. This comes right out of his National Security Strategy that was released last November. President Trump clearly believes that he&#8217;s the guy to do it — that he can do it. He has great confidence in himself and in his foreign policy and in the people he&#8217;s empowered to efficiently get rid of the Iranian regime and build up a more pro-Western regime.
Similar to what he did in Venezuela. An operation free of global fallout, that will rebuff our enemies like China and Russia, and that will make America great again — that will help us on the world stage and give us a chance, after decades of decline in the American empire, to be great again.
He thinks he&#8217;s the guy who can do it. And maybe he is. He&#8217;s got a pretty good record so far.
The distinction between him and, say, George W. Bush when it comes to foreign policy would be: Bush wasn&#8217;t that good at it, and I am good at it.
But in order for that to work, things need to go perfectly. And that&#8217;s a really, really tall order in the best circumstances.
And in order for that to work, we need to not turn the Iranian people against us. We need to keep public sentiment against the Islamic regime and at least tolerating us, if not openly supportive of the United States, grateful for our mission.
And we need to make sure the country doesn&#8217;t become completely destabilized. Which means sometimes we need to rein in Israel — just like we would have to rein in any other ally if they got a little out of control.
That&#8217;s the point Lindsey Graham is making. That&#8217;s the point it seems the White House is making with the leak to Axios.
Those are the stakes.
As I’ve had to explain to friends who are deeply skeptical of the war in Iran — the quasi-isolationists — if this works, it will be the greatest foreign policy achievement of any president since the end of the Cold War. Take the Cold War off the table, and it may rank among the most significant foreign policy victories of the last eighty years.
But if this goes south, Trump’s legacy will look a lot like George W. Bush’s.
Those are the stakes.
Stakes so high that even Lindsey Graham is publicly signaling caution — urging Israel to rein it in. That alone tells you everything about how high they are.

Protests During The 62nd Munich Security Conference

When Lindsey Graham Says ‘Slow Down,’ You Know It’s Serious

When Lindsey Graham Says 'Slow Down,' You Know It’s Serious

Lindsey Graham

Michael Knowles

Middle East

The Justice Department moved Friday to block a lawsuit from Missouri challenging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for allowing the abortion drug mifepristone to be shipped through the mail. 
A <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.moed.224112/gov.uscourts.moed.224112.293.1.pdf">filing</a> from the DOJ argued that allowing the suit to move forward would inhibit a safety study on the abortion pill being conducted by the Trump administration. Missouri and several other Republican-led states have asked a judge to block a COVID-era policy that relaxed regulations for dispensing the abortion pill. 
“Missouri, Kansas, and Idaho are not the only plaintiffs to have challenged the current conditions of use for mifepristone,” the Justice Department wrote. “Given this widespread debate over the safety of mifepristone, FDA has concluded that the best path forward is for the agency to undertake its review based on all the evidence before the agency.”
The filing asked the judge to put the lawsuit on hold while the FDA reviews the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) for mifepristone or dismiss the case altogether. It comes as pro-life <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-voters-want-action-on-mail-order-abortion-pill-as-midterms-loom?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Republican+Voters+Want+Action+On+Mail-Order+Abortion+Pill+As+Midterms+Loom">advocates</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/serious-crisis-hawley-says-congress-must-act-to-combat-rising-abortion-rates?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98Serious+Crisis%E2%80%99%3A+Hawley+Says+Congress+Must+Act+To+Combat+Rising+Abortion+Rates">lawmakers</a> have called for the Trump administration to crack down on mail-order abortion pills. 
Last year, FDA Administrator Marty Makary and Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that they initiated the REMS review. The study has yet to be released, and pro-life lawmakers and advocates have grown impatient as abortions continue to increase in states where medication abortion is banned due to an influx of outside pills. 
A spokesman for the Justice Department told The Daily Wire that the intent of the filing was to allow the FDA to oversee drug policy, not the federal court system. 
“In this filing, the Department of Justice requested more time from the court for the FDA to complete its review of mifepristone REMS,” the spokesman said. “As the Supreme Court recognized in a unanimous ruling less than two years ago, it is the role of the FDA – not the federal courts – to evaluate drug safety data and impose appropriate precautions.”
The filing from the DOJ dismisses concerns from pro-life states that FDA policies allow abortionists to ship pills into their states. The department said that states “remain free to make and enforce their pro-life policies” and that the federal government is not “standing in the way of Intervenor Plaintiffs enforcing their abortion laws against out-of-state prescribers of mifepristone.”
The filing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fda-claims-mail-order-abortion-policies-are-not-preventing-states-from-protecting-the-unborn">mirrors another</a> one from January, where the DOJ asked a judge not to grant a request from Louisiana also seeking to block the FDA&#8217;s abortion pill mailing policy.
Data <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/despite-dobbs-more-babies-are-still-being-aborted-in-the-united-states">indicate</a> that tens of thousands of abortions are still happening in states like Texas, where medication abortion is banned. While Attorney General Ken Paxton has attempted to penalize abortionists accused of shipping pills into the state, New York has so far refused to cooperate due to shield laws put in place for abortionists. 
The Friday filing was condemned by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser, who has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s handling of medication abortion. 
“The pro-life movement has very simple demands,” she said. “There should be no place on the market for drugs meant to poison and kill innocent human beings – but at the very least, this administration can and should take them out of the mail. This is no more or less than the policy of the first Trump administration.”
The Justice Department spokesman told The Daily Wire the department remains “committed to advancing President Trump’s pro-life agenda, including through dismissing criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits against peaceful pro-life advocates targeted by the previous administration, and using the FACE Act to protect pro-life pregnancy centers.”

President Trump Signs Order Establishing White House Great American Recovery Initiative

DOJ Makes New Move In Court Fight Over Abortion Pill

Justice Department Moves To Block Red State Lawsuit Over Abortion Pill

Abortion

Abortion Drug

Department of Justice

Pro-Life Movement

Marjorie Dannenfelser serves as president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. She has been called “the woman who brought down Roe.”
 * * * 
Late last Friday, President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice asked a judge to dismiss Missouri v. FDA, a case brought by pro-life states over FDA rules that allow abortion drugs to be prescribed online, without doctors ever seeing or speaking to the actual patient. These rules risk women’s health, enable <a href="https://sbaprolife.org/latest-news/abortion-drugs-fuel-abuse-the-women-poisoned-against-their-will">abuse and coercion</a>, and effectively nullify all pro-life laws at the state level. In this lawsuit – it’s not the only one – the Trump DOJ argues that the policy should stand indefinitely until the FDA decides what, if anything, it will do.
The vast majority of Americans think women should be required to see a doctor before taking abortion drugs. In every poll where it’s been asked, this has been by a wide margin – including large majorities of independents, suburban women, and Gen Z, as well as nearly half of those who call themselves pro-choice. These requirements were standard for years, until, citing COVID, the Biden administration effectively removed them a few months into his term.
That Biden-era policy still stands today. As a result, throughout the country, abortion is de facto regulated by activist groups in the states with the most lax laws, who ship drugs nationally, regardless of the laws in the state where the patient lives. Many of these groups will prescribe to anyone who fills out an online form, without even requiring a video or phone call. Some advertise that they’ll send these drugs “in advance” to women who aren’t even pregnant.
These groups have no idea of the woman’s medical situation, or the actual age of the baby, creating serious health risks for the mother. Nor do they have any real confirmation of who filled out the form in the first place. Stories of abusive husbands and boyfriends obtaining these pills and forcing them on their unwilling partners have become sadly commonplace. Most recently, a baby girl in Texas named <a href="https://x.com/marjoriesba/status/2027079983009534202?s=20">Presley Mae</a> was delivered stillborn after her father slipped the drugs to her unwilling mother in secret.
Abortion drugs, to be clear, are not like “Plan B” or the “morning-after pill.” They are designed to abort unborn children much, much later. While the FDA’s own limit for the drugs is 10 weeks, the groups who send these pills often say they will provide them through the third month of pregnancy. Some emphasize – for “informational purposes” – that the pills continue to be “effective” until the fifth or sixth month, at which point the baby might survive a usual dosage. After 18 weeks, <a href="https://www.ineedana.com/pills-after-12-weeks">one group</a> warns women that they may see “spontaneous gasping or movements” from the baby, but notes that these “typically stop on their own[.]” Of course, whatever their nominal limits, these companies have no way of verifying the baby’s age without an actual examination.
Trump’s DOJ argues, among other things, that pro-life states suffer insufficient harm from FDA rules (despite the effective nullification of their own state protections) to even be able to sue. They’ve also argued that some victims of this regime – women whose boyfriends filled out the form, obtained the pills, and forced the drugs upon them – shouldn’t have standing to sue without proving that it’s likely to happen again. On top of that, they say, the FDA is monitoring the situation, a full review will take place eventually, and that action is unwarranted until the review is finished at some indefinite point in the future.
The best indication we have for the timeline for this review is reporting from last year that Dr. Marty Makary, the head of the FDA, is waiting until after the midterms to decide whether to act. This wouldn’t necessarily be surprising, but it would be enormously ill-advised. According to a recent national polling from <a href="https://sbaprolife.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/SBA_National_Memo_Final.pdf">Cygnal</a>, not only do the overwhelming majority of Republicans support returning to the old status quo and restoring in-person visits, but around a third of them would be less likely to vote in the midterms if Republicans weaken their dedication to these and other pro-life policies.
That would be a disaster. In midterms, even small mistakes can lead to large losses, and seriously demoralizing a third of your base would be no small mistake. For our part, we’re planning to spend <a href="https://sbaprolife.org/newsroom/press-releases/leading-pro-life-group-announces-80-million-midterms-investment">$80 million</a> this cycle trying to keep a pro-life majority in the House and Senate. But spurning a third of your base to avoid being on the winning side of a 70-30 issue makes that goal unnecessarily difficult. This may be why nearly every Republican in Congress who is up for re-election has already explicitly asked the administration to change its tune.
In the meantime, each month of inaction means around 10,000 babies like Presley Mae will die – just in the states with the strongest pro-life laws. Abusers will continue to get their hands on these lethal drugs. And countless women and girls will be sent to the emergency room with serious complications.
Pro-life states are right to sue – the FDA, as the administration has already admitted elsewhere, can end this situation immediately if they want to. The harms are real and serious. And failure to act risks not just the midterms, but hundreds of thousands of lives. The fact that Trump’s DOJ is siding with the pro-abortion lobby to get these cases thrown out is a disgrace.
 * * * 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Abortion drugs

A Quiet DOJ Move Could Ignite A Midterm Fight

2026 Midterms

The IRS and the Department of Treasury released a series of rules regarding eligibility and procedures for Trump Accounts yesterday.
Under the Trump Accounts, which were part of the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” the federal government will mark the birth of U.S. citizens by depositing $1,000 into a deferred, low-cost index fund, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-announces-1000-newborn-baby-investments-in-big-beautiful-bill">reported</a>. While the accounts start at $1,000, families and others can contribute up to $5,000 total per year per child, including employer contributions.
Parents have until Dec. 31 of the calendar year in which their child turns 17 to open the initial account, the IRS said in a press release.
“Trump Accounts are a pro-family initiative that will help millions of Americans harness the strength of our economy to lift up this generation and generations to follow and unlock the American Dream,” IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank J. Bisignano said in the release. “Creating Trump Accounts was one of the most important provisions in President Trump’s historic One, Big, Beautiful Bill, and these regulations are an example of the hard work of Treasury and the IRS in developing the guidance needed to ensure that eligible families can take advantage of Trump Accounts.”
Parents can open the account with Form 4547 when filing taxes or through a separate <a href="https://form.trumpaccounts.gov/">online portal</a>, the IRS said. Instructions for opening an account can be found <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i4547.pdf">online</a>. The IRS said the person who opens the account will be responsible for it.
For a child to be eligible for the accounts, he must have been born between 2025–2028, be a U.S. citizen, and have a valid Social Security number.
Parents can choose to receive the initial $1,000 when they open the account. If they choose not to claim it then, individuals who can claim the pilot amount are, in order: a legal guardian, a parent, an adult sibling, and a grandparent.
“It is a trust fund, a piece of the American economy for every child that they will be able to take out when they are 18, or they could convert it to a more IRA-type program,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-secret-weapon-that-will-supercharge-the-trump-accounts-for-newborns">said</a> in December.
In February, Bessent said about two million forms for three million children have been filed for the Trump Accounts, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/20/trump-accounts.html">according</a> to CNBC.
“They’ll be getting a big jump on life,” President Donald Trump said last year of the babies benefitting from the accounts.
The program will officially launch in July 2026.

TOPSHOT-US-VOTE-REPUBLICANS-TRUMP

Trump Accounts Move Forward: IRS Releases Rules For $1K Baby Investment Program

Children

Economy

U.S.

When President Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for HHS Secretary in late 2024, some <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5099888-advancing-american-freedom-opposes-kennedy/">Beltway Republicans</a> tried to tank his nomination. For conservatives, these critics’ strongest argument was that Kennedy was for decades a liberal Democrat who supported abortion on demand.
I’m a pro-life conservative. So why did I, along with millions of others like me, support Kennedy’s nomination and tell skeptical pro-life critics to give him the benefit of the doubt?
For me, the story starts with the COVID lockdowns in 2020. I spent the better part of that year co-authoring <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Price-Panic-Tyranny-Pandemic-Catastrophe/dp/1684511410/ref=sr_1_1">the first book</a> to make the case that locking down the population would do far more harm than good. COVID was the greatest test of wisdom and courage in a generation. Most public officials, from both parties, failed the test. Kennedy aced it.
The raspy-voiced lawyer helped millions of Americans see the dangers of a “biomedical security state” that blurred the binary mental map of free versus communist countries that had served us well during the Cold War. That framework was of limited value for fighting this new, domestic threat to our civil and medical freedom: a corporatist state.
Post-Covid, millions of Americans realized our problem was not just Big Government or Big Business. The problem is, in effect, a cartel that blurs the lines of public and private — one often enabled by a corporate media too dependent on ad revenue to speak truth to the real power.
The lockdowns and draconian vaccine mandates taught another lesson: past partisan ties do not guarantee good future results. For many of us, resisting the COVID-inspired assaults on our liberty was a better credential than party affiliation.
This is one of several reasons millions of conservative voters began to warm to Kennedy, even if they planned to vote for Donald Trump in the general election. And that latent support for Kennedy <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/polls-show-americans-conflicted-on-robert-f-kennedy-jr-and-his-health-stances">exploded</a> after he announced his support for Donald Trump on August 23, 2024.
This was no mere marriage of convenience. It was the first sign of a political realignment. No doubt many staunch progressives <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/08/23/as-rfk-jr-exits-a-look-at-who-supported-him-in-the-2024-presidential-race/">abandoned Kennedy</a> when he endorsed Donald Trump. But many independents and disgruntled Democrats stayed. A new MAGA-MAHA coalition was born.
What made Kennedy’s endorsement of Trump truly historic was the topic he chose to elevate — one of deep concern to tens of millions of American families across the political spectrum but mostly missing from our two major party platforms: the staggering rise of chronic diseases among American children.
As HHS secretary, Kennedy has made the fight against childhood chronic disease his lodestar. And despite constant efforts by critics to paint him as extreme, almost everyone is now taking chronic disease seriously.
But what about the year-old charge that Kennedy would be a cheerleader for abortion? It was wrong. As HHS Secretary, he lacks the power to stop all abortions or close every Planned Parenthood clinic. Kennedy must also work within the constraints of the president who nominated him. But within Kennedy’s remit, his actions have been encouraging.
Last September, for instance, he announced a new FDA review of the safety and approval process of the abortion pill mifepristone. Abortion advocates <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/health-secretary-rfk-jr-launches-review-abortion-pill/story?id=125908299">are not pleased</a>. After all, in a Post-Roe world, <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/2024/03/medication-abortion-accounted-63-all-us-abortions-2023-increase-53-2020">most abortions are chemical</a>, not surgical.
In late January, <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/conscience-dlc.html">he beefed up federal conscience safeguards</a> for healthcare workers. This protects providers from being forced to participate in abortions or other procedures. This includes new policy guidance and investigations into violations.
Most dramatically, <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/wtas-hhs-bars-research-using-human-fetal-tissue-from-elective-abortions.html">he has just barred</a> HHS-funded research from using human fetal tissue from elective abortions. Pro-life Americans have asked for this ban for decades. The practice continued even during the tenure of NIH director Francis Collins, an evangelical Christian, who <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/18/anti-abortion-groups-francis-collins-nih-1068724">explicitly defended</a> it.
Like Nixon visiting China, I hope Kennedy will do more to defend pre-born human life. It’s not a vain hope. During one telling interview last year, Kennedy denounced a CDC publication that listed “abortion” as one of the top 10 health achievements of the 20th century.
The press “fact-checked” the comment, since <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/wk/mm4812.pdf">the document</a> he likely had in mind listed “family planning” rather than “abortion.” (Pro-life advocates recognize the family planning as a euphemism for abortion.) But most missed the crucial “tell”: Kennedy recoiled from the notion that abortion could be cited as a health care achievement.
For pro-life conservatives, supporting Kennedy’s nomination posed some risk. One year in, however, my choice to support Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is an easy one.
* * *
Jay W. Richards, PhD, is Vice President for Social and Domestic Policy at The Heritage Foundation.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

FDA Unveils New Framework To Speed Ultra-Rare Drug Approvals

I’m a Conservative. Here’s Why I Support Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

COVID

Department of Health and Human Services

Heritage Foundation

MAHA

Opinion

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The following is an edited transcript excerpt from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1926-kristi-noem-is-officially-out-at-dhs?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">The Michael Knowles Show</a>.
* * *
Are we about to take Cuba? President Trump keeps talking about it.
The first time, you might say, well, it&#8217;s a joke. The second time, maybe it&#8217;s still a joke.
The thing about jokes, though, is they often have an element of truth to them. 
First, on Monday, when asked about the communist nation 90 miles off the Florida coast, he said this:
<blockquote>The Cuban government is talking with us. They&#8217;re in a big deal of trouble, as you know. They have no money. They have no anything right now. But they&#8217;re talking with us, and maybe we&#8217;ll have a friendly takeover &#8230; We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Trump: &#8220;Maybe we&#8217;ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba. We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/YCI8WcxzBG">pic.twitter.com/YCI8WcxzBG</a>
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) <a href="https://twitter.com/unusual_whales/status/2028259238464659778?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Source: @unusual_whales/FoxNews/X.com
This was the line he made a few days ago: maybe we&#8217;ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba. 
Then yesterday, Thursday, he brings up Cuba again. 
<blockquote>All of a sudden you see—where&#8217;s Marco? He&#8217;s not around anymore. I don’t see him, he&#8217;s doing some job. Next one is going to be… we want to do that special Cuba, he&#8217;s waiting. He says let&#8217;s get this one finished first. We could do them all at the same time, but bad things happen if you watch countries over the years. If you do them all too fast, bad things happen. We&#8217;re not going to let anything bad happen to this country.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Trump announces Cuba is the US’ next target.
Follow: <a href="https://twitter.com/AFpost?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AFpost</a>
<a href="https://t.co/GLHIHKv5fB">pic.twitter.com/GLHIHKv5fB</a>
— AF Post (@AFpost) <a href="https://twitter.com/AFpost/status/2029705954074210715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump says, “Look—we&#8217;re not going to do it right away. But maybe Marco is going to head on down.”
Marco Rubio, who&#8217;s wanted to topple the communist regime in Cuba for his entire life.
Are we going to do it?
I think Trump is serious about taking Cuba. I think it makes sense to take Cuba.
And let me remind you that this is something that basically everybody agreed on until recently. 
Trump&#8217;s most vocal critic who used to be on the Right and now is on the Left — Bill Kristol — worked in a Republican White House, was a major thought leader on the Right who then he became a Biden guy and a Kamala guy — even Bill Kristol, who hates Donald Trump with the fire of a thousand suns, said some years ago that we should take Cuba.
We have already taken Cuba on multiple occasions. We&#8217;ve controlled Cuba three or four times over the last hundred years. This is not that weird. It&#8217;s 90 miles off the coast of Florida. The regime is starving right now. They don&#8217;t have oil. They don&#8217;t have leadership. Virtually no one can even name the president of Cuba.
I can, because I&#8217;m particularly interested in the tobacco industry — and also it&#8217;s a nice place, Cuba. But can you name the leader of Cuba? No. 
His name is Miguel Díaz-Canel.
We remember the Castros. Fidel Castro ruled for decades and then his brother Raúl took over. But the Castros are now gone.
After Trump took over Venezuela, Cuba has really been on the brink of collapse. So there does seem to be a method to this. And after Iran — maybe check in five or six weeks — maybe Cuba&#8217;s next.
Not so bad.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1926-kristi-noem-is-officially-out-at-dhs?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-1054531" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MK-watch-now-1-1024x171.jpg" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MK-watch-now-1-1024x171.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MK-watch-now-1-300x50.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MK-watch-now-1-768x128.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MK-watch-now-1-1536x256.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MK-watch-now-1.jpg 1800w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>

President Trump Participates In A Saving College Sports Roundtable In The East Room

President Trump Teases Taking Cuba

Cuba

Marco Rubio

President Trump is not subject to brain rot.
Kristi Noem was captured by brain rot, the online incentive structure that causes people to do dumb things for clicks and ubiquity. She&#8217;s not the only one. Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and Gavin Newsom are all terminal brain rot patients.
But Trump is not. And so he fired Kristi Noem, who took the president’s single most popular issue and proceeded to run it directly into the ground.
In April 2025, President Trump&#8217;s approval rating on his handling of border security and immigration was 49%. Strong disapproval was just 34%, according to NBC News. By February 2026, according to the same NBC News poll, his approval on the issue had dropped to 40%, and strong disapproval had jumped 15 points to 49%.
That takes some doing, but somehow Kristi Noem achieved it.
The problem wasn&#8217;t Trump&#8217;s actual immigration policy, which remains highly popular. Americans still want large-scale deportations, but they would like to focus on criminals first. The moment that Noem was replaced in Minneapolis by White House border czar Tom Homan, the Democratic hysterics stopped.
That&#8217;s not because Democrats suddenly became good-hearted border hawks on this issue. It&#8217;s because Tom Homan does what good administrators should. He quietly goes about his job in a calm, collected fashion. He actually implements policies. He doesn’t make the story about himself.
That&#8217;s the opposite of Kristi Noem, who was into photo ops, which may play well online for people who get very excited about performative politics, but do not play particularly well in mainstream America.
She called Renee Good a domestic terrorist and did it again with Alex Pretti, who similarly was shot by federal agents while resisting arrest. I agree that both the Good and the Pretti shoots were legally justifiable. But do I think either of them was a domestic terrorist with mass murder on their minds?
I don&#8217;t, and most Americans don&#8217;t. 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2382-trump-you-re-fired?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
But Kristi Noem proceeded to put the administration in an unwinnable public relations position by going whole hog. And she blamed everybody else in the administration for it, and then denied doing it.
In fact, she apparently spent some $220 million on an ad campaign featuring — wait for it — Kristi Noem.
She apparently put together a sweetheart deal for her friends to produce exactly those commercials.
Noem testified in front of the Senate that President Trump had cleared this use of taxpayer funds.
I do not think President Trump sat there and greenlit that commercial.
It&#8217;s one thing to direct cash to your friends, to make commercials to burnish your future presidential run. It&#8217;s another thing to then turn around and blame President Trump for that outlay.
And that wasn&#8217;t Noem&#8217;s only scandal, of course.
Obviously, the most salacious scandal involving Noem was her relationship with Corey Lewandowski, which pretty much everybody in D.C. knows likely goes well beyond the platonic.
The pair have apparently been using a luxury 737 Max jet with a private cabin in the back for their travel around the country. DHS is leasing that plane. Now they&#8217;re trying to acquire it for $70 million.
The bottom line is that Kristi Noem was not doing a good job, and it was past time for her to go.
President Trump announced yesterday that he would be replacing her with Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin. He put out a statement: &#8220;I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026. The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida. I thank Kristi for her service at &#8216;Homeland.'&#8221;
Democrats, of course, are trying to claim victory.
Gavin Newsom, fresh off of whatever anti-Israel podcast he can find, is trying to regain those hard-Left voters, saying that Noem&#8217;s firing represents a sort of retreat by the administration. He said:
“Donald Trump is in retreat. Today is a perfect example of that. With the first firing of a high-profile cabinet member, he&#8217;s in retreat, places like Minnesota, because the steel spine of citizens that stood up, real patriots in this country pushed back against all that, and you&#8217;re seeing it globally. You&#8217;re exactly right. That&#8217;s why Trump is acting out as he always does: Weakness masquerading as strength.”
But this, of course, is incredibly stupid. Trump is not retreating. He is making a smart adjustment. You think Markwayne Mullin is going to be soft on the border?
It&#8217;s obviously the right move.
And it gives an important lesson: Addiction to the clicks and the giggles of the internet rots your brain and leaves you on the wrong side of normal Americans.
Up to and including President Trump.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Does TV Interview At The White House

President Trump, Unlike Others, Doesn’t Suffer From Brain Rot

Ben Shapiro

Kristi Noem

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he planned to replace current Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) — and while the impact of that shake-up will certainly be felt across the administration and the Senate, it also marks a clear departure from the frequent personnel shakeups of Trump&#8217;s first term.
By this point in Trump’s first administration, more than half a dozen <a href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/08/politics/trump-admin-departures-trnd/#:~:text=Trump%20was%20irked%20by%20reports,Secretary%20of%20Labor%20%7C%20Trump%20appointee">major players</a> had already been summarily dismissed — from an adviser and a deputy chief of staff to Health and Human Services Secretary and even Secretary of State. And although a few of those who got the presidential boot were holdovers from former President Barack Obama&#8217;s administration, a fair few were people Trump had believed were the right fit for his administration — until they weren&#8217;t.
It was no surprise, for example, that Trump would fire Deputy Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/youre-fired-trump-sacks-acting-attorney-general-ben-shapiro">Sally Yates</a> — an Obama appointee — in the first ten days of his administration. General Michael Flynn lasted three weeks before he was fired as National Security Advisor. Obama&#8217;s Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, resigned by mid-April, and in early May, Trump fired FBI Director <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-trump-fires-fbi-director-comey-ben-shapiro">James Comey</a>.
But by mid-July, the president was already on his second White House Press Secretary after Sean Spicer resigned, and by the end of the month, the tenure of other staffers was being measured in &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/legend-scaramucci-fired-white-house-after-week-ben-shapiro">Scaramuccis</a>&#8221; after Anthony Scaramucci only lasted ten days as White House Communications Director. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus was also fired before the end of July, and advisors Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka were gone before the end of August.
The first cabinet member to go was Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who resigned from his post in late September. And by the end of March 2018, two more cabinet members were out — Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-rex-tillerson-out-secretary-state-amanda-prestigiacomo">Rex Tillerson</a> and Secretary of Veterans Affairs <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-trump-ousts-scandal-plagued-veterans-ryan-saavedra">David Shulkin</a> — along with a laundry list of lower-level staffers.
Trump almost constantly faced attacks and leaks from staff on their way out the door. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/omarosa-former-star-apprentice-leave-white-house-joseph-curl">Omarosa Manigault Newman</a>, for example, was fired in December of 2017 — and within a year, she&#8217;d released a tell-all book and made a slew of accusations against the man who first made her a star on NBC&#8217;s &#8220;The Apprentice.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnbcs-kernen-torches-scaramucci-over-trump-takes-do-you-ever-eat-any-crow">Scaramucci</a> also turned on Trump after he was fired, referring to his former boss — and former friend — as an &#8220;orange wrecking ball,&#8221; and said in 2019 that Trump was suffering from &#8220;early stage fascism.&#8221; Tillerson was slightly more measured in his criticisms of the president, calling him &#8220;undisciplined&#8221; and claiming that he &#8220;disregards briefing reports.&#8221;
After screening more strictly for loyalty his second time around, Trump&#8217;s staff retention has been markedly higher.
Noem is just the second big name in the second Trump administration to be removed from her post — the first being former National Security Adviser <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/flurry-of-reports-claim-mike-waltz-out-as-national-security-adviser">Michael Waltz</a> — and neither of the two have been asked or ordered to leave the administration entirely. Waltz has since been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/curveball-amid-rumors-that-mike-waltz-was-fired-trump-gives-him-another-top-admin-post">appointed</a> to serve as Ambassador to the United Nations, and Noem <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-fires-dhs-secretary-kristi-noem-announces-replacement">will become</a> Trump&#8217;s Special Envoy for &#8220;The Shield of the Americas,&#8221; a western hemisphere security initiative that is set to be unveiled in the coming days.

President Donald J. Trump and Kristi Noem

What Noem Ouster Says About Trump Administration 2.0

James Comey

Markwayne Mullin

Politics

Rex Tillerson

American adversary Russia is reportedly providing intelligence to Iran on the location of U.S. forces, including warships and aircraft.
The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/03/06/russia-iran-intelligence-us-targets/">cited</a> three officials Friday morning who spoke on the condition of anonymity and said that Moscow has indirectly joined the conflict between the United States and Iran. One of the Post&#8217;s sources said that Russia&#8217;s involvement &#8220;does seem like it’s a pretty comprehensive effort.&#8221;
The Trump administration has not yet confirmed publicly whether Russia has stepped into the conflict to help Iran. The War Department declined to comment on the issue when asked by The Daily Wire. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly did not address the Washington Post report but said, &#8220;The Iranian regime is being absolutely crushed.&#8221;
&#8220;Their ballistic missile retaliation is decreasing every day, their navy is being wiped out, their production capacity is being demolished, and proxies are hardly putting up a fight. Operation Epic Fury is meeting or surpassing all of its goals, and the United States will continue to dominate,&#8221; Kelly added.
After President Donald Trump launched &#8220;Operation Epic Fury&#8221; last weekend, Russia condemned the joint U.S.-Israeli military action targeting Iranian leadership, military assets, and nuclear infrastructure. Russia and Iran have long partnered on military efforts. Their ties were further strengthened last year when they signed a 20-year political and economic treaty partially focused on helping each nation fend off outside threats.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin condemned the United States and Israel after they took out Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Putin <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/putin-says-killing-khamenei-is-cynical-murder-2026-03-01/">called</a> the strike that killed Khamenei and members of his family and inner circle a &#8220;cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law.&#8221; The Russian dictator, however, stopped short of committing to defend his ally as the United States continues to pummel Iranian forces and defense systems.
Even if Putin committed to back Iran against the United States and Israel, Russia&#8217;s ability to come to Iran&#8217;s aid would be severely limited as Moscow remains in the middle of a war with Ukraine that has entered its fifth year, with no sign of the conflict ending anytime soon. Iran also has close ties with China, but it appears that the communist regime in Beijing has yet to intervene.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth was recently asked about any potential role Russia and China could play in the conflict, and he replied by saying the countries are &#8220;not really a factor here.&#8221;
Iran has launched precision strikes this week that have hit their targets, including U.S. military bases and embassies. Six American troops were killed in one Iranian strike in Kuwait.
The United States, meanwhile, has decimated Iran&#8217;s navy and continues to hunt down the regime&#8217;s ballistic missile launchers. In an update at Central Command headquarters in Florida on Thursday, Admiral Brad Cooper said that U.S. forces have sunk more than 30 Iranian ships and recently struck an Iranian drone carrier roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier. The Israeli Air Force also hit a military bunker on Thursday night that has been used by senior Iranian political and military leaders.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/live-updates-iranian-protests-intensify-as-citizens-demand-end-to-ayatollah-rule?author=Daily+Wire&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=8&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=LIVE+UPDATES%3A+Overnight+Win+Blows+Apart+Iran+Regime%E2%80%99s+Secret+War+Bunker">LIVE UPDATES: Overnight Win Blows Apart Iran Regime’s Secret War Bunker</a>

Russia/Iran

A U.S. Adversary Quietly Helping Iran In War With America? Here’s What We Know

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Russia

Vladimir Putin

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