Today's Headlines: Congress was quite busy. Rand Paul turned the Senate into a personal vendetta circus, dragging Anthony Fauci in for a hearing where he pleaded the Fifth almost 100 times — because the entire point was to find something to criminally prosecute him for despite Biden's preemptive pardon — and Paul is now threatening to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress for asserting his constitutional right. Todd Blanche's attorney general confirmation vote was cancelled because Thom Tillis and John Cornyn want the bare minimum assurance that he won't create Trump's insurrectionist slush fund or give Trump permanent IRS immunity — things Blanche won't promise — though both senators still ultimately want to vote for him, so there really is no point to this. Jay Clayton, who has zero intelligence or national security experience, was confirmed as Director of National Intelligence anyway, because experience is optional now. On the war beat, Iran launched a ballistic missile strike on a US base in Jordan, Trump told Fox News the US would "beat the fucking shit out of them," the US and Saudi Arabia jointly struck Iranian-aligned militants in Iraq, and then Iranian drones set two ships on fire in an Egyptian port in what Iranian sources called a demonstration that "global shipping and energy supplies could be more deeply disrupted." Trump called it "more of the same" and said "it's our turn to hit them," he must think war works like the game Battleship. In election interference news, Elon Musk is reviving his America PAC for the midterms after spending $250 million to elect Trump in 2024, with plans for door-knocking, digital ads, and direct mail — and has reportedly been talking to Trump's team about how he can be most helpful. And finally, The Federal Reserve voted 9-3 to keep interest rates between 3.5 and 3.75%, with the three dissenting votes wanting a rate increase due to persistent inflation, which is not the news anyone wanted.
Resources/Articles mentioned:
WaPo: Rand Paul threatens to hold Fauci in contempt after he declines to answer questions
NYT: Senators Cornyn and Tillis Threaten to Block Blanche Nomination Over Trump’s IRS Deal
CNN: Trump’s new intelligence chief takes over an office in turmoil
Axios: Exclusive: Musk plans massive push for GOP in midterms
NYT: Iran War Live Updates: U.S. Begins New Wave of Attacks on Iran, Military Says
Axios:U.S. launches fresh airstrikes in Iran
AP News: Trump announces a $22.5B makeover of Dulles airport that will eliminate the 'people movers'
WSJ: Fed Holds Rates Steady but Three Officials Vote for Increase
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