The Brief | The Pentagon Has "Final Blow" Options Ready - White House Drops Cryptic Messages
Plus: The DHS shutdown gets an overnight breakthrough, Trump puts his name on your money, and a federal judge calls the Anthropic crackdown "Orwellian."
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Let’s get into it.
In today’s Brief:
Israel takes out the IRGC navy commander behind the Strait of Hormuz closure while the Pentagon quietly draws up plans to end the war with ground troops and island invasions.
Trump declares an airport emergency and orders TSA agents paid — and overnight, the Senate actually struck a deal to reopen DHS (minus the parts Democrats don’t want to fund).
The Treasury announces Trump’s signature will appear on all U.S. paper currency, a presidential first, because apparently the Kennedy Center rebrand wasn’t enough.
A federal judge blocks the Pentagon’s Anthropic crackdown as “Orwellian” — but the Pentagon’s top tech officer makes a surprisingly compelling case for why they did it.
The House Ethics Committee holds its first public trial in 16 years — for a Democrat accused of stealing $5 million in FEMA funds, buying a diamond ring, and laundering the rest into her campaign. Guess which party doesn’t want to talk about it.
Trump announces a May trip to Beijing with Xi Jinping, turning Iran war leverage into a China negotiation.
The Iran War: Tangsiri Is Dead, the Pentagon Has a Playbook, and Nobody Knows If the Talks Are Real
Israel confirmed it killed Alireza Tangsiri, the IRGC Navy commander who authorized the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The strike hit Bandar Abbas, right on the strait. Tangsiri had vowed to keep the waterway shut on orders from Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. He joins a growing list of senior Iranian commanders systematically eliminated since the war began.
Behind the scenes, Axios reported the Pentagon is developing “final blow” options: invading Kharg Island (Iran’s oil export hub), seizing Abu Musa near the strait’s western entrance, or blocking Iranian oil exports outright. The Wall Street Journal reports that up to 10,000 additional troops could join the Marines and 82nd Airborne already deployed.
And yet, Trump extended the pause on energy site strikes to April 6, claiming it was at Iran’s request. Except mediators told the WSJ Iran hasn’t actually requested the pause and hasn’t responded to the 15-point plan. Iranian officials call it a “third deception,” a cover for a ground invasion. All while Iran’s parliament is drafting legislation to codify sovereignty over the strait and charge transit fees.
Trump also revealed Iran’s “present” was letting 10 oil tankers through the strait. Gas is at $3.98 a gallon. Brent crude is above $107. The OECD forecasts U.S. inflation at 4.2% this year, driven by the Middle East crisis.
Does this look like a war winding down, or one being staged for escalation with the hopes of a diplomatic off-ramp?
The DHS Shutdown: Trump Declares an Airport Emergency — Then the Senate Cuts a Deal at 3 AM
Day 42. TSA officers are on their third paycheck of zero dollars. Callout rates exceed 40% at some airports. Lines at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta and O’Hare are stretching for hours. Some TSA employees are donating blood and sleeping in cars. And it’s spring break.
Thursday evening, Trump announced he’d sign an emergency order directing DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to “immediately pay our TSA Agents,” invoking the National Emergency Act to bypass Congress. Fox News reported the White House framed it as a national emergency at airports.
Democrats have blocked DHS funding for over 40 days, demanding reforms after ICE agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minnesota. The House passed a GOP funding bill for the third time, 218-206. Thune called his Senate proposal the “last and final” offer.
Overnight update: The Senate unanimously advanced a DHS deal in the early hours of Friday morning, but it comes with a catch. The deal funds most of DHS but leaves out ICE and CBP enforcement funding, which Republicans plan to secure through reconciliation later. Translation: they got TSA agents paid, but the immigration enforcement fight is not over. The bill still needs to pass the House before hitting Trump’s desk.
Trump’s Signature on Your Dollar Bills: The Gilding Continues
The Treasury Department announced Thursday that Trump’s signature will appear on all newly printed U.S. paper currency, a first for a sitting president. The first $100 bills with Trump’s John Hancock will roll off the presses in June, just in time for July 4th and the nation’s 250th birthday.
Is anyone surprised? This is the man who put his name on steaks, vodka, a university, an airline, and half the skyline of Manhattan. The gilding of the Oval Office continues: first, the 24-karat gold commemorative coin with his likeness; then the Kennedy Center rebrand; and now the dollar bill. Rachael and I have been joking about the slow gold-plating of the White House for months, and honestly, the only shocking part is that it took this long to reach the currency.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called it “the most powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J. Trump.” Treasurer Brandon Beach, whose name gets bumped to make room, said the honor was “not only appropriate, but also well deserved.” Imagine being the guy who gets replaced on the dollar bill and has to smile about it. That’s a level of team-player energy most of us couldn’t pull off.
Look — is it precedent-setting? Sure. Is it unexpected from the guy who literally gold-plates his apartment? Not even a little. This is Trump being Trump. Apparently, the branding instinct doesn’t stop at the Resolute Desk. It just gets a bigger canvas.
The AI Power Struggle: Anthropic Wins in Court, But Does the Pentagon Have a Point?
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from labeling Anthropic a “supply chain risk” and halted Trump’s order for every federal agency to stop using its AI. Judge Rita Lin’s 43-page ruling was scathing: the government’s actions were “Orwellian,” likely illegal, and designed to punish Anthropic for First Amendment-protected speech. One amicus brief called it “attempted corporate murder.”
But here’s what the ruling doesn’t fully grapple with: the Pentagon’s operational argument. In an interview on the All-In Podcast, Under Secretary Emil Michael described the “whoa moment” that kicked this off. After the Venezuela operation, Anthropic contacted Palantir to ask whether Claude had been used in the raid. That inquiry triggered alarm bells: Claude was the only AI model approved for classified military use at the time. Michael’s concern was blunt: “What if this software went down, some guardrail picked up, some refusal happened for the next fight like this one, and we left our people at risk?”
That’s not an unreasonable question. Anthropic demanded its model not be used for mass surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. The Pentagon wanted it for “all lawful purposes.” When negotiations failed and Anthropic went public, Defense Secretary Hegseth called them “sanctimonious,” and the supply chain risk designation followed. Michael has since secured agreements with OpenAI and xAI and pursued Google for classified environments, arguing he needs redundancy, not a single vendor with veto power over military operations.
Was the “supply chain risk” label an overreach? The judge thinks so, and the legal process matters. But the underlying concern — that one company’s guardrails could compromise wartime operations — isn’t something a courtroom ruling resolves. The government has seven days to appeal. Meanwhile, Claude is still being used to support the bombing campaign in Iran even as this plays out.
The Trial Democrats Don’t Want You to Watch: $5 Million in FEMA Funds, a Diamond Ring, and 27 Ethics Violations
The House Ethics Committee held its first public trial in 16 years on Thursday — and the defendant is Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), facing 15 federal criminal counts and 27 ethics violations across a 242-page investigative report.
The scheme: her family company, Trinity Healthcare Services, held a FEMA-funded COVID vaccine contract. A Florida agency accidentally deposited a $5 million overpayment. Instead of returning it, prosecutors allege she and her brother laundered the money through multiple accounts. Trinity transferred $2 million directly to Cherfilus-McCormick on a single day; she moved it to her campaign account the next morning. She allegedly recruited friends and relatives to funnel the money back as straw donations, bought herself a 3.14-carat yellow diamond ring, and falsified her tax returns. Fifteen counts: theft of government funds, money laundering, straw donations, tax fraud. Up to 53 years if convicted.
Now the double standard. Remember George Santos? Democrats couldn’t get to a microphone fast enough to demand his expulsion before Ethics even finished its report. With Cherfilus-McCormick, the same leadership is calling for “presumption of innocence” and asking for delays. She requested a postponement after the committee had already delayed it once because she lost her lawyer. Axios reports Democrats face an “impending dam break,” with internal pressure for her to resign before an expulsion vote embarrasses the caucus. GOP leaders believe they have the two-thirds to expel.
A sitting congresswoman accused of stealing pandemic relief money, laundering it into her campaign, and buying jewelry with the leftovers, and the party that made “accountability” its brand during the Santos saga can barely bring itself to say her name.
Quick Rundown
Trump heads to Beijing May 14–15. The President announced a China visit for talks with Xi Jinping, postponed from March due to the Iran war. A reciprocal Xi visit to D.C. is planned later this year. The trip lands against the backdrop of an $11 billion Taiwan arms package — and the question of whether Beijing’s Gulf oil dependence can be leveraged on Tehran.
IED at MacDill Air Force Base; suspect fled to China. A brother and sister face federal charges after an IED was found at the Florida base housing CENTCOM and Special Operations Command. The alleged bomb-maker is now in China.
Finland convicts MP in “Bible trial.” Finland’s supreme court fined MP Paivi Rasanen for publishing a pamphlet on Christian sexual ethics. The Federalist reports it could effectively ban orthodox Christian teaching in Finland.
NJ governor signs ICE mask ban. Gov. Sherrill signed three laws restricting state cooperation with immigration enforcement. DHS called the ban “despicable” and said it won’t comply.
Trump anti-fraud task force launched. Vance and FTC Chairman Ferguson outlined a plan to combat $250 billion in annual government fraud, targeting Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, and unemployment insurance.
Wait, What Is the White House Doing on Social Media?
The official White House social media accounts went full analog horror this week, and nobody has any idea why.
It started Wednesday night. The White House X account posted a shaky, floor-level video of a woman’s pointed shoes with a voice asking, “It’s launching soon, right?” and someone answering, “Yes.” Caption: “sound on.” Then they deleted it.
A second video followed — static on a screen with text-message sounds and a flash of the American flag.
Thursday brought more pixelated, blurred images, completely unreadable. Then came the kicker: another clip that, when played backwards, appears to say “exciting announcement tomorrow.”
The posts racked up millions of views. Half of X thinks the accounts were hacked. The other half thinks this is a deliberate tease for something dropping today, Friday, March 27. A new initiative? A bomb? Nobody from the White House has explained anything, which is, of course, the point.
But credit where it’s due: the White House comms team has every media outlet in the country heads spinning with speculation using nothing but a shoe video and a pixelated JPEG. Whatever this is, they’ve got everyone watching.
Let’s Talk About It
Two questions for you this Friday:
Should Democrats who demanded Santos be expelled hold their own members to the same standard, or is that just not how Washington works?
And the important one: what do you think the White House cryptic posts are teasing? Wrong answers only.
Drop your thoughts in the comments. I’ll see you Monday.
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