Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Pete Hegseth’s new price tag for the war is still understating matters: “In response to a question from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Hegseth said the Iran war has cost the U.S. an estimated $37.5 billion. That estimate reflects anticipated costs through the end of September, Hegseth said. That’s more than $8 billion more than the Pentagon’s top budget official told Congress the war cost back in May.”
* No one will benefit from this: “President Donald Trump signed three proclamations imposing an additional 50% tariff on certain Canadian goods, the White House announced on Monday. … The new tariffs will apply to all covered Canadian goods regardless of whether they qualify for duty-free treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.”
* It’s a safe bet that this move will generate some important litigation: “The Trump administration on Tuesday paused more than $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota, which Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said would not be reversed until the Democratic-led states ‘demonstrate that every dollar meets federal requirements.’”
* Speaking of lawsuits worth watching: “The U.S. attorney in Washington state who was fired just 54 minutes after assuming the office has filed a lawsuit challenging his removal, signaling the first legal challenge to the termination of this kind.”
* Some problems can’t be resolved through bombing campaigns: “Iran’s government is unlikely to feel significant impact or soften its negotiating position as a result of new rounds of U.S. military strikes like those now underway, according to a new intelligence assessment described by current and former U.S. officials.”
* It’s far from clear whether he just blurted this out on impulse because Aoun was nice to him, or whether there was a meaningful policy shift: “After his first face-to-face meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun earlier today, Trump announced minutes ago that he’s directing his administration to allow all U.S. airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon. Direct flights between the two countries have been barred since 1985.”
* The White House’s crusade against Harvard is ongoing: “The Justice Department is investigating whether Harvard University is allowing Chinese donors to create scholarships that exclude American students, adding to the barrage of federal inquiries the Trump administration has opened in its battle against the Ivy League school.”
See you tomorrow.
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