After Putin’s Guarded Iran War Comments, Medvedev Enters The Chat
Earlier this week President Putin weighed in on America’s Iran operations, and as we detailed his comments were predictably a bit guarded. He had compared the war and the Hormuz Strait closure – and subsequent impact on global energy – to the massive widescale impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. But fundamentally he highlighted the “unpredictable” nature of the conflict in terms of where it’s headed, as Washington appears to be searching for an offramp on its terms.
On Friday Dmitry Medvedev weighed in, and as expected the former Russian president and current Deputy Chairman of the Security Council was much less guarded in his assessment. He warned at a moment thousands of US Marines and Airborne troop are en route to the Middle East that if the US enters a ground war in Iran it will be another “Vietnam”.
American boots on the ground so far from US shores “threatens roughly the same consequences as what happened in Vietnam,” Medvedev said as quotes in NBC and others.
“When Washington intervened in a foreign country, located a thousand miles away, and for ten years was unable to find a dignified way out of this conflict,” he told the state-run RIA news agency.
He added that a potential ground operation in Iran would have “fatal consequences” for the broader region and for all involved in the war.
Size comparison: Vietnam overlaying Iran
The White House has been insistent that Trump’s Iran “excursion” is not a quagmire. It has especially been Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth who has repeatedly denied that this conflict can be comparable to the start of ‘forever wars’ in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But clearly the US doesn’t have good track record when its forces must endure extended asymmetric warfare and insurgency conditions. Yet that’s exactly where things will likely head if the White House introduces ground forces.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has actually seized on this historic theme as well, earlier writing on X: “Americans haven’t forgotten how (in 1967), even as hundreds of U.S. soldiers were dying in Vietnam, and the outcome was already clear, General William Westmoreland was flown home to reassure everyone that the war was going well – that the U.S. was ‘winning’.”
“The media haven’t forgotten either; those briefings full of fantasy from the frontlines became infamous as the ‘Five O’Clock Follies’,” he said. The “same script, different stage” is now unfolding, Araghchi insisted, adding: “Hegseth steps up, and the message is still detached from reality.”
“There is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J. Trump than U.S. dollar bills bearing his name, and it is only appropriate that this historic currency be issued at the Semiquincentennial,” Bessent said.
Until now, the tradition has been to put the signatures of the treasurer and the Treasury secretary on US paper currency.
This move would mark the first time in history that a sitting president is placing his signature on US currency.
According to a report from Reuters on Thursday, the first $100 bills with Trump and Bessent’s signatures will be printed in June, with other bills following in later months.
Trump’s name and likeness have also made their way to cryptocurrencies, famous landmarks and commemorative coins.
Alongside the Treasury’s plans to put Trump’s signature on US notes, there are also potentially $1 coins with the president’s face on them that could enter circulation as part of the US’s 250th anniversary.
In late 2025, the US Mint released three proposed designs bearing Trump’s face and the caption “In God We Trust.”
Trump has also helped oversee the renaming of major US landmarks such as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The board of the Kennedy Center, reportedly filled with Trump appointees, voted in late December to change the name to the “Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
This has prompted pushback, however, with lawmakers arguing that the move is illegal when done without authorization from Congress.
In the crypto world, Trump has a memecoin named after himself and he has also released multiple NFT projects, including the Trump Digital Trading Cards.
Asian refiners have started pricing their orders for U.S. crude oil against the ICE Brent benchmark instead of the typical pricing on Dubai crude, as the Middle Eastern benchmark has seen wild fluctuations amid choked physical supply from the Persian Gulf.
Dubai crude prices soared last week to an all-time high of $169.75 per barrel, and were around $130 a barrel early on Friday.
These highly volatile prices and the uncertainty about supply from the Middle East have prompted refiners in Asia to seek pricing against Brent, instead of the Dubai benchmark which has traditionally been the marker dictating the price of imports into the world’s top crude-importing region.
Some Japanese refiners have already bought U.S. crude cargoes for delivery in July priced against ICE Brent, sources at trading and refining firms told Reuters on Friday. Taiyo Oil, for example, has purchased 2 million barrels of U.S. light crude via a tender at a premium of $19 per barrel over ICE Brent for July delivery, according to Reuters’ sources. Taiyo Oil usually buys U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude priced against the Dubai benchmark.
The major shift in Asian pricing shows the market’s unwillingness to price trades against Dubai crude, whose prices have been severely distorted in recent weeks due to the major physical supply disruptions with the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Asian refiners are also forced to pay massive premiums for non-Middle Eastern crude, especially for the sour variety suitable for Asian refineries geared to process the sulfur crude from the Persian Gulf. The most suitable grade from Norway, Johan Sverdrup, was being bid last week at record-high double-digit premiums over Dated Brent.
Refiners in Asia are also cutting processing rates due to a lack of crude, fuel prices are skyrocketing, and governments are implementing fuel-saving measures such as four-day work weeks, work from home, and extended national holidays. Many Asian countries are also banning exports of fuels, which ripples through the global fuel supply, especially in jet and diesel markets.
Disturbing “Five Nights At Epstein’s” Online Game Spreads Rapidly Through Classrooms
A disturbing browser game called Five Nights at Epstein’s is spreading in schools, with students playing it during class and sharing videos online, according to Bloomberg.
In the game, players take on the role of victims trapped on Jeffrey Epstein’s island, trying to survive five nights by avoiding assault. Its popularity has been fueled by social media, where clips of students playing have drawn large audiences and, in some cases, even demonstrate how to bypass school restrictions. The game’s accessibility through web browsers makes it especially easy for students to access on school-issued devices.
Parents and educators are alarmed not only by the game’s content but by how casually students engage with it.
One parent noted that classmates seemed “disconnected to the reality that there were real victims,” often joking about the scenario in ways that felt dehumanizing.
Bloomberg writes that despite platform policies that prohibit harmful or exploitative material, videos and links continue to circulate, frequently disguised with misspellings to avoid detection. The game reflects a broader pattern of meme-driven parody content that turns real-world abuse scandals into entertainment, blurring the line between satire and harm.
Educators warn that repeated exposure to this kind of content risks desensitizing young people to serious issues like sexual violence.
As one librarian put it, “That’s not kids being kids; that’s kids hiding from being sexually assaulted,” emphasizing concerns about how such media may shape attitudes and empathy.
Schools are attempting to respond through stricter device monitoring and usage policies, but many believe these measures alone are insufficient. Addressing the issue, they argue, requires a coordinated effort between tech platforms, parents, and educators to help students better understand the real-world consequences behind what they see on screens.
“The people we care about most, the undocumented migrants…”
– Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT)
Cult Classics
Tensions rise as the green fuse drives the flowers of springtime (and thank you, Dylan Thomas, for the loan.)
Too many things are out of whack. Some are actually breaking.
A physics of events is at work that will bring our affairs back to true, but expect it to be painful.
Okay, you’ve been warned.
Asia, especially, suffers bigly with the Persian Gulf shut-down.
For decades these countries took the oil flows for granted without having to do anything. No thoughts of maritime security. No cares for the chaos Iran sowed across the region (and beyond). Leave the tanker insurance to London.
Now, they are rationing the diesel, gasoline, natgas, and aviation fuel.
For the moment they are just stunned. Soon, they’ll be hollering, stomping, jumping up and down crying woo-woo-woo.
Europe, for years, has garishly, and in plain sight, planned its own journey to a de-industrialized neo-medieval Palookaville.
The poster-child, Germany, destroyed its energy prospects with lunatic glee, in thrall to retarded climate change politics, while the European Union turned into a devouring mother, stole her children’s sovereign agency, and herded them into a Klaus Schwab death camp.
No more atomic energy for you! No more cheap gas from Russia. No more heat in wintertime. Jihad for entertainment. The lights are going out and it might be too late to make other arrangements.
Don’t think for a moment that Iran was not a threat to the world, and especially to The Great Satan, as they styled us.
The Persians have been hostage to a cult for half a century, and all cults are crazy. This one, the reign of the Shia ayatollahs, was apocalyptic in the pure sense of the word. They prayed and labored avidly for the destruction of others and relished their own martyrdom. The craziest part was thinking that the USA under Donald Trump might possibly roll over for them.
Quit swallowing those black pills, everybody.
Iran is not some super-monster out of the Marvel Comics movies. Iran doesn’t have the mojo to shut down the Strait of Hormuz indefinitely. It will run out of missiles, drones, torpedoes, mines, launch sites, and a command structure for deploying any of that.
It has converted the other neutral Gulf states into raging enemies eager to help the US — and by extension, most ironically, Israel, too.
This rearrangement of interests in the Middle East would have been unthinkable a mere month ago.
We have way more to worry about here in America with our own apocalyptic coteries and claques.
And our broken institutions. Is it not obvious that the Democratic Party exists now solely to punish half of the country that would prefer to not wreck our republic?
The Democratic Party has no other program. It’s just another death cult.
That’s why you were made to wait four and half hours in some far-off precinct of the airport for a flight that you were guaranteed to miss.
Well, at least that’s over for now, since the Senate passed a spending bill at two o’clock in the morning today and DHS will be up-and-running again — while Congress takes two weeks off for Easter.
Now consider those figures and factions in the Republican Party who won’t lift a finger to allow election reform.
Thune, McConnell (what little is left of him), Murkowski, Tillis, maybe Collins.
What possible calculus judders their brains?
They are about to be drowned in a tsunami of revelation about organized ballot fraud in Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
How will they explain that?
Maybe “election denial” wasn’t a thing all along. Thune’s game is plain stupid. He’s engineering his own downfall as majority leader as he attempts to usher the SAVE Act into a ditch. Our election procedures are patently insane, and only the insane fail to notice. So, failing to notice is an option, at least.
Tomorrow, Saturday, brings another Neville Roy Singham production of “No Kings” demos across the nation, a field-day for the senile.
They want to abolish ICE. They want illegal aliens to stay here and they want them in the voting booth.
Go out and ask them why that’s a good idea.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.
US Signals Allies ‘No Immediate Plans’ For Ground Invasion, As Iran Warns ‘Heavy Price’ To Pay For Nuclear & Steel Plant Attacks
Summary
US signals to allies no ground invasion coming, with thousands of troops still en route: Iran denies requesting Donald Trump’s 10-day halt; Israel attacks steel & industrial sites. Also, Khondab Heavy Water Research Reactor, part of the Arak Nuclear Complex, targeted.Yellow Cake factory in Yazd province hit.
Escalation on all fronts: IRGC HQ targeted by US-Israsel; Iran signals expansion by naming UAE targets, hitting Kuwait ports and sending drones on Riyadh. Iran newly warning it will hit Gulf industry.
Rubio tells G7 foreign ministers war will continue for another 2-4 weeks.
Israel doubles down amid reports of manpower strain: IDF chief warns of manpower pressure even as Defense Minister Katz vows to “intensify and expand” strikes.
Risk rises that Iran is holding back more advanced missilesfor a prolonged war: WSJ writes “The US and Israel are pounding Iran’s missile-launching sites… But Tehran’s missiles keep flying.”
* * *
US Signals Allies: ‘No Immediate Plans for Iran Invasion’ As Tehran Says Bigger Retaliation Coming
Yesterday in Politico: I have no idea what they are trying to do’: Allies say Trump sends mixed signals on Iran. And today in Bloomberg, the latest: US Signals to Allies No Immediate Plans for Iran Invasion.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Fridayopenly questioned whether Washington and Tel Aviv even have a workable plan, warning that President Trump is instead driving toward “massive escalation.”
“I have great doubt about whether there is a strategy, and whether the strategy can be executed,” Merz said, underscoring growing unease among allies. The German leader revealed a tense half-hour call with Trump earlier this week, saying he told the US president bluntly that if he expects allied backing, “then ask us please beforehand” instead of going straight to the media. The conversation, Merz admitted, was “not without controversy.”
Merz said Trump repeatedly brushed off alliance coordination altogether, telling him, “I don’t need NATO.” Meanwhile a new warning from Iran’s Foreign Minister:
Israel has hit 2 of Iran’s largest steel factories, a power plant and civilian nuclear sites among other infrastructure. Israel claims it acted in coordination with the U.S.
Attack contradicts POTUS extended deadline for diplomacy.
And via Newsquawk: Senior Iranian Official says US attacks on Iran while simultaneously calling for talks is intolerable.
More Iran Nuclear Sites Targeted; UAE Presses for Hormuz Security Force
The United Arab Emirates, which has been among the hardest-impacted Gulf states in Iran’s ongoing retaliation, is pressing for a multinational maritime taskforce to reopen vital oil transit waterway, the Financial Times reports Friday.
The UAE, with a navy that’s not really going to strike fear into any enemy (much less the Iranians), says it is willing to participate in a“Hormuz Security Force” to defend the strait and escort shipping. Dozens of countries are being asked to join, sources cited in FT say. So far there have been no takers. Meanwhile, more alarming escalation with fresh US-Israeli attacks on nuclear sites, as Tehran threatens to launch revenge attacks in kind (on Gulf and Israel):
IRAN SIGNALS POSSIBLE ATTACKS ON STEEL FACTORIES IN GULF AND ISRAEL, ACCORDING TO TASNIM.
Aardakan yellow cake factory (nuclear) in Yazd province attacked by US and Israeli Friday evening (local)
No radiation leak detected, local authorities say
Tasnim says that Iran’s response will “not be limited to the region’s steel industries” and that a “broader more severe response” is on the agenda. And…
Israeli/American airstrikes hit the Khondab Heavy Water Research Reactor located on the territory of the Arak Nuclear Complex in western Iran on Friday. pic.twitter.com/qP7ytrCfVb
— Status-6 (War & Military News) (@Archer83Able) March 27, 2026
The IDF announces the following [machine translation]:
After identifying rehabilitation attempts: The Air Force struck the heavy water plant in Arak – a key infrastructure for producing plutonium for nuclear weapons With precise guidance from Military Intelligence, the Air Force struck a short while ago the heavy water plant in Arak, located in central Iran. Heavy water is a unique material used to operate nuclear reactors such as the currently inactive reactor in Arak, which was originally designed to have the capability to produce weapons-grade plutonium. These materials are also used as a source for extracting neutrons for nuclear weapons.
Vital Iranian Steel Plants, Industry Attacked
Israeli media citing military officials on Friday: “The IDF attacked Iran’s two largest steel plants, in Isfahan and Ahvaz. Both plants are vital to Iran’s military industry and are partially owned by the Revolutionary Guards. The strikes on the plants are expected to cause billions in damage to the Iranian economy.”
This could mark a new, expanded phase of the war as Israel goes after key defense industrial targets, which also serve central civilian infrastructure development. The US has still held off on pursuing more attacks on energy sites, but it seems Israel is maintaining a more gloves off approach – opting for total societal destruction, and going after industry. This seems to also be part of efforts to ensure ballistic missile production is degraded.
Reuters: US is certain about having destroyed third of Iran’s missiles, say sources. Another third is believed to be damaged, destroyed or buried.
Also, Khondab Heavy Water Research Reactor, part of the Arak Nuclear Complex, targeted.
Reports from Iran suggest that all three of Iran’s largest steel production plants were struck in a coordinated targeted strikes.
This could substantially affect the national steel industry and manufacturing pic.twitter.com/mmrnyDS8UX
“One of the sources said the intelligence was similar for Iran’s drone capability, saying there was some degree of certainty about a third having been destroyed,” Reuters writes, noting that all of this contradicts White House claims of Iran having “very few rockets left”.
Iran Didn’t Request Trump’s 10-Day Pause: WSJ
Iran has not requested a 10-day pause on strikes on its energy plants, peace talk mediators have been cited in WSJ as saying, and has still not issued formal response to the 15-point US plan delivered via Pakistan. This as the Pentagon is moving thousands of Marines and Army Airborne soldiers into the region.
The Wall Street Journal points out that “The U.S. and Israel are pounding Iran’s missile-launching sites, hitting some over and over across almost a month of war. But Tehran’s missiles keep flying.”
One pundit questions, are we ‘winning’ yet?… writing the following brief assessment of where things stand: IRGC Joint Staff headquarters under US-Israeli strikes. Iran naming UAE targets as Abu Dhabi enters the war. IDF Chief of Staff warning publicly the Israeli military could “collapse” from manpower shortages. Iran claiming over one million fighters mobilised with IRGC lowering the age for support roles to 12. Pentagon considering 10,000 additional ground troops within striking distance of Kharg. Trump pausing energy-plant destruction for 10 days until April 6. Iran denying it requested the pause. Houthis warning they will enter the war. Lavrov saying the quiet part: “Iran did not violate any of its international obligations.” Russia’s oil revenue doubling to $24 billion this month.
Oil prices continued to spike this morning, with international Brent crude oil once again surpassing $110 per barrel. For the day so far that’s up another 3%.
“After several glimmers of hope, fueled by comments from President Trump, which were quickly dashed, the market is becoming more demanding in terms of rhetoric,” said Amélie Derambure, senior multi-asset portfolio manager at Amundi. “The TACO trade is more difficult to do because a return to square one is not possible from here.”
Gulf Flashpoint Widens: Iran Signals No Let Up
Multiple GCC countries issued incoming-attack alerts as drones and missiles light up the region Friday, with Kuwait taking at least two new hits: Shuwaikh Port was struck by “hostile drones” – per the Kuwait Ports Authority, with a second target, Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port, reportedly hit by drones and cruise missiles. Infrastructure damage has been reported in both cases, but no reported casualties.
Saudi Arabia maintains its air defense footing, with the Ministry of Defense saying drones were intercepted and destroyed over Riyadh and the Eastern Province, following a warning for Al-Kharj – home to Prince Sultan Air Base. Six ballistic missiles were detected: two intercepted, with four splashing into the Persian Gulf and empty areas.
Absolute chaos in Tel Aviv…
Caos absoluto en Tel Aviv. La ciudad está en llamas. La sociedad israelí está viviendo su peor momento en décadas. Las nuevas oleadas de misiles de Irán son cada vez mas violentas y la situación se está volviendo insostenible. Se ha prohibido incluso la divulgación de todos los… pic.twitter.com/C5SDgtBigk
New explosions have been reported in Dubai and Abu Dhabi on Friday. It’s as if Iran and the IRGC are sending a clear “f-you” message to Trump in the wake of the series of ultimatums and deadlines Tehran never asked for. Trump earlier went from 48 hours to 5 days to now a 10-day window amid the threats to attack power and energy infrastructure.
Israel Escalates Too: Will ‘Intensify & Expand’ Strikes on Iran
The White House has been busy talking about its backchannel diplomacy and getting the beginnings of a peace deal off the ground via Pakistan, and at one point within the past week there was talk of Vice President J.D. Vance actually traveling to Islamabad – but the situation on the ground suggests the opposite, given also Israel has on Friday announced escalation of its posture. Israel has continued coming under consistent missile strikes.
Now, Defense Minister Israel Katz is vowing Israel’s attacks will “intensify and expand” – citing that Islamic Republic had not heeded warnings “to stop firing missiles at Israel’s civilian population.” Katz said: “The fire has continued – and therefore, IDF strikes in Iran will intensify and expand to additional targets and domains that assist the regime in developing and deploying weapons against Israeli civilians.”
There remains a huge risk for Israel amid the expectation that Iran has been saving its biggest and most advanced, longer range missiles – rationing its arsenal as it settles in for a long war.
Strait of Hormuz Status & Overnight News
Tehran could still be playing a double game of public rejection coupled with private behind-the-scenes signaling. According to Axios’ latest, Iranian officials are quietly showing interest in talks even as they reject Washington’s proposal, with mediators leaning hard to force or ‘will into existence’ a meeting in the coming days. “Things are progressing very slowly” in terms of negotiations between the US and Iran, and as of now, no meeting between senior officials is even on the calendar, per Isreal’s i24NEWS.
An Iranian girl swings on a beach in Bandar Abbas as smoke rises from a nearby naval base hit by strikes.pic.twitter.com/8B2Pdt2iql
The IRGC Navy is still declaring the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut: traffic “to and from” ports tied to enemy allies is banned outright, with warnings any movement will be “severely dealt with.” In a rare twist, The Wall Street Journal and others report Iran has even blocked two Chinese vessels from transiting Hormuz – signaling enforcement isn’t just for Western targets. Washington seems to be trying to adapt in real time, as Reuters reports the US has deployed uncrewed drone boats into the theater, opening yet another front in an already widening conflict.
Tiger Woods Involved In “Rollover Crash” On Jupiter Island
Golf pro Tiger Woods has reportedly been involved in a “rollover crash” on Jupiter Island, just north of Palm Beach County in Martin County, according to local media outlet WPTV.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said the accident occurred near 281 Beach Road on Jupiter Island in Hobe Sound. Property records from Zillow show the closest house to the accident is valued at $14.8 million.
The sheriff’s office has yet to say what happened or whether Tiger was injured.
If the report is correct, this would mark Tiger’s third car crash. Here are his prior two:
November 2009 in Florida, when he hit a fire hydrant and a tree outside his home.
February 2021 in Southern California, a serious single-car rollover that caused major leg injuries.
Sheriff John Budensiek will hold a press conference at around 1700 local time.
Surging LNG prices amid the war in the Middle East are set to lead to the lowest monthly LNG imports into China in eight years as Qatari and UAE supply is off the market and Chinese buyers look to raise supply from domestic gas production and pipeline deliveries.
China is on track to import about 3.7 million tons of LNG in March, per tanker-tracking data by Kpler cited by Bloomberg. That would be the lowest monthly import level in the world’s top LNG importer since the spring of 2018, as well as a 25% slump compared to March 2025, according to Bloomberg data and analysis.
The de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz has stranded all Qatari and UAE supply of LNG. Additionally, Qatar’s LNG capacity has been severely damaged by Iranian missile attacks, which forced state firm QatarEnergy to declare force majeure on contracts and start quantifying the losses.
The Iranian missile attacks on Ras Laffan Industrial City (RLIC) dashed hopes of quick resumption of Qatari LNG flows even if the Strait of Hormuz were to open to unimpeded and safe traffic today. QatarEnergy last week said the damage from Iranian missile strikes on the Ras Laffan LNG complex, the world’s single largest LNG-producing facility, would cost it about $20 billion per year in lost revenue and to take up to five years to repair.
As a result, Asian LNG prices have nearly doubled this month and Asian buyers are outbidding Europe for spot supply.
China had some buffer to allow itself not to spend too much on costly LNG imports this month. The country’s LNG storage was estimated by Kpler at about 51% by end-March, and this buffer allows Northeast Asian buyers to draw on existing inventories.
The effect would shift peak restocking season in China, Japan, and South Korea to June–July rather than April–May, according to Kpler.
Trump Signs Memo Directing DHS To Pay TSA Agents; First Paychecks Could Arrive Monday
Summary:
Reuters says 50,000 TSA agents could be paid as early as Monday
Trump officially puts out a presidential memorandum instructing DHS to pay TSA agents
House Speaker Mike Johnson agreed to put a short-term DHS funding package on the floor
The resolution would fund all of DHS, including ICE and CBP
It would replace the Senate-passed bill on the House floor
Chuck Schumer says it’s ‘DOA’
Trump Puts Out Order Instructing DHS to Pay TSA Agents
President Trump wrote in a presidential memorandum on Friday afternoon that the Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, should use “funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations” to pay TSA agents until regular funding is restored.
“If Democrats in Congress will not act to honor the service of our TSA officers, who are now performing their critical public safety responsibilities without knowing whether they will be able to buy food for their families or pay their rent, then my Administration will take action,” President Trump wrote in the memo.
Trump said, “As President of the United States, I have determined that these circumstances constitute an emergency situation compromising the Nation’s security.”
“Accordingly, I hereby direct the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to use funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations to provide TSA employees with the compensation and benefits that would have accrued to them if not for the Democrat-led DHS shutdown, consistent with applicable law, including 31 U.S.C. 1301(a),” he continued.
The president noted, “Once regular funding for TSA has been restored, every effort should be made, as authorized by law, to adjust applicable funding accounts within DHS to ensure the continuation of DHS operations and activities consistent with planned expenditures prior to the lapse.”
Reuters is reporting that 50,000 TSA agents could be paid as early as Monday.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin reports:
BREAKING: President Trump tells colleague @JacquiHeinrich in a call that the Senate bill that passed in the overnight hours to fund all of DHS except CBP & ICE “wasn’t appropriate.”
“Well, it wasn’t good. It wasn’t appropriate,” Trump told Jacqui. “Now what they should do is they should terminate the filibuster, Jacqui, and just vote, but you have three or four Republicans in there that are not doing the right thing. You can’t have a bill that’s not going to fund – in my opinion, you can’t have a bill that’s not going to fund ICE. You can’t have a bill that’s not going to fund any form of law enforcement, of which ICE is a big form, and so is Border Patrol.”
BREAKING: President Trump tells colleague @JacquiHeinrich in a call that the Senate bill that passed in the overnight hours to fund all of DHS except CBP & ICE “wasn’t appropriate.”
“Well, it wasn’t good. It wasn’t appropriate,” Trump told Jacqui. “Now what they should do is…
Johnson To Advance New 60-Day DHS Funding Package But Schumer Says DOA
After meeting with the Freedom Caucus, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has agreed to advance a 60-day continuing resolution (CR) to the House Floor, which would fund all of DHS – including ICE and CBP – in lieu of the narrower Senate-passed bill. This decision will extend the partial shutdown of DHS, which has already lasted more than five weeks, and force the Senate to return and vote on the revised House measure.
The shift reflects intense pressure from hardline conservatives who threatened to sink the Senate bill without major changes. The Freedom Caucus is demanding the inclusion of voter ID requirements, additional border patrol funding, and resources for child sex trafficking investigations within ICE. While Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris argued the delay would not affect airport operations and that the Senate could quickly approve the bill next week, Democrats have repeatedly opposed short-term clean extensions – and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has already declared the 60-day CR “dead on arrival” in the Senate, stating Democrats will not give what he called a “blank check to Trump’s lawless and deadly immigration militia without reforms.”
A 60 day CR that locks in the status quo is dead on arrival in the Senate, and Republicans know it.
We’ve been clear from day one: Democrats will fund critical Homeland Security functions—but we will not give a blank check to Trump’s lawless and deadly immigration militia… pic.twitter.com/WBivMRihcw
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, meanwhile, has indicated Republicans plan to address ICE and CBP funding later through budget reconciliation using only GOP votes. However, the core disagreements over these agencies have stalled negotiations for five weeks, and the House’s latest approach is unlikely to break the logjam. House GOP leaders are holding a conference call this afternoon to discuss the path forward, though it remains unclear whether they will attempt to pass the short-term funding bill today
Overnight: Senate Unanimously Passed Spending Bill To Fund DHS
At 2:22 a.m. EST, the Senate unanimously passed a spending bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security after a 40-day shutdown that disrupted airport security and sparked travel chaos for millions of Americans.
The bill, which excludes funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, still needs House approval and President Trump’s signature. The overnight breakthrough came as airport TSA lines worsened nationwide this week, with TSA agents calling out sick or quitting due to missed paychecks.
BREAKING.
The Senate just passed funding for most of DHS for the rest of the fiscal year.
The bill funds all but ICE and *Border Patrol*
This was by unanimous voice vote. It now goes to the House, which is still in town and can vote later today.
Unpaid TSA agents have been calling out by the hundreds at major airports so far, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston, and New York, sparking long checkpoint lines. The funding lapse has led to 480 TSA workers resigning.
The breakthrough also came after President Trump added pressure on Thursday (read here), saying he would sign an order to fund TSA officers’ paychecks.
“I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Thursday.
President Trump pins blame on Democrats for DHS shutdown at cabinet meeting: “They need to end this shutdown immediately, or we’ll have to take some very drastic measures.” pic.twitter.com/Pt4pFK2wB0
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said, “Hopefully they’ll be around, and we can get at least a lot of the government opened up again, and then we’ll go from there.”
Thune blamed unhinged Democrats for the airport chaos: “President Trump should never have had to step in to rescue TSA workers and U.S. air travel. We are here because, thanks to Democrats’ determined refusal to reach an agreement, there will be no Homeland Security funding bill this year.”
Democrats have widely objected to passing a DHS spending bill that includes funding for ICE and CBP. This is mostly because the president has used those federal agencies to deport illegal aliens, the very ones that Democrats let in through disastrous open borders to build a new voting bloc in their aspirations of a one-party rule nation, just like the insanity in California, Maryland, and other deeply blue states.
Punchbowl News explained there were “no winners” in this six-week standoff.
“Who won the Senate standoff? No one, in truth. Nothing really changed. Both sides wanted to have this fight, so it happened. It was another example of how little moderation is left in the Trump era, where the first instinct is to go to war,” the outlet wrote in a morning note.
Will QatarEnergy’s LNG Fiasco Derail Goldman’s Prewar View Of A Mega LNG Wave
Global energy flows are being rewired across Eurasia as the Russia-Ukraine war and the latest U.S.-Iran conflict disrupt Gulf energy flows in what may be the worst energy shock on record.
One major new development is that roughly 20% of global LNG flows remain shut in the Gulf region because of the Hormuz chokepoint, with QatarEnergy warning last week that 17% of its LNG export capacity could be offline for three to five years.
That brings us to Goldman commodities expert Samantha Dart’s warning to clients about five months ago, in which she said the “largest-ever LNG supply wave” was set to hit, pushing prices lower.
The question now is whether Dart’s warning still holds, given that the Iranian attack on Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas facility wiped out about 17% of the country’s LNG export capacity, causing an estimated $20 billion in lost annual revenue and threatening supplies to Europe and Asia. Repairs are expected to take three to five years.
Dart’s pre-US-Iran war view was that natural gas prices would remain relatively stable through 2027 before peak glut materializes by the end of the decade, triggering U.S. LNG export cancellations. However, the Ras Laffan disruption may have derailed that oversupplied outlook, as LNG markets could remain tight for years.
Another key development, with Qatari LNG flows hampered, is a recent note from Criterion Research President James Bevan, who wrote: “What had been framed as a two-horse race for global LNG market share now looks considerably more one-sided. The beneficiary is clear: U.S. Gulf Coast LNG.”
And just like that, with Qatari LNG flows hampered for years, the question now is whether Dart’s bearish forecast of the “largest-ever LNG supply wave” will likely have to be revisited. We’ll see what she says in the next update.
