• A rough jobs report: The U.S. economy posted an unexpected 92,000 job loss in February rather than the anticipated 50,000 jobs added. Furthermore, January’s job growth total was revised downward by 17,000. The sectors leading the job losses were healthcare, manufacturing, and information services, which saw losses of 28,000, 12,000, and 11,000, respectively. Most of the healthcare losses were due to a strike at Kaiser Permanente that sidelined some 30,000 workers. One sector that saw positive job growth of 9,000 added was social assistance. Meanwhile, the headline unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.4% while the overall unemployment rate declined by 0.2% to 7.9%. The good news is that hourly wages rose more than expected, increasing by 0.4% to an overall 3.8% rise from a year ago.

• Gonzales drops out of Texas primary runoff, Herrera advances: Rep. Tony Gonzales ended his reelection campaign Thursday night after Republican House leadership called for him to bow out. The House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into Gonzales’s affair with his late staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, whose death by immolation last year was ruled a suicide. Gonzales had barely survived a runoff race against challenger and online personality Brandon Herrera in 2024. Herrera is now all but certain to be the Republican nominee and the next Representative for Texas’s 23rd District. Your Patriot Post team caught up with Herrera moments after he launched his 2026 campaign at the Gun Owners of America Leadership Summit last year.

• Paxton offers to drop out: President Donald Trump wrote the book on the art of the deal, and it seems Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has read it. The Texas primary elections on Tuesday set up a runoff for the Republican Senate nomination between Paxton and incumbent John Cornyn. Trump expressed his desire to skip a runoff and focus on defeating crazed leftist James Talarico. Paxton responded that he would consider dropping out of the race if the Senate passes the SAVE America Act. Paxton accused Cornyn of being unwilling to do what was necessary to pass the voter ID legislation. Currently, the Senate filibuster is in a sorry state; it requires contentious legislation to pass a nearly insurmountable 60-vote hurdle and does not require senators to speak continuously in a traditional filibuster.

• Senate Dems block DHS funding a third time: On Thursday, Senate Democrats again blocked a bill that would restore Department of Homeland Security funding. DHS has been shut down since Valentine’s Day, but a restoration of funding does not seem likely soon — even after Secretary Kristi Noem’s firing. Democrats seem unwilling to accept any funding bill that stops short of eliminating Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Republicans are unwilling to do any such thing. Republicans have added language that will enhance training for DHS agents and fund body cameras, but that has not appeased Democrats. Ironically, ICE is one of the few parts of the Department that has no funding issues since it was funded under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025. FEMA, TSA, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency employees, however, are being furloughed.

• House votes against blocking Trump’s war powers: The day after the Senate shot down a Democrat-led attempt to cull President Trump’s war powers amidst the ongoing U.S-Israel joint strike against Iran in Operation Epic Fury, the House followed suit. By a 212-219 vote that fell primarily along party lines, the lower chamber blocked the effort to limit Trump. The day prior, Rep. Brian Mast argued against tying Trump’s hands, contending he was “defending America from an imminent threat … that no other president has had the guts to stand up to.” On Thursday, the House also passed by a vote of 372-53 a resolution that continues to recognize Iran as the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism.

• Iranian warship surrenders: On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of War published video of the first ship sunk by a U.S. submarine torpedo since World War II. The Islamic Republic of Iran Ship (IRIS) Dena was sunk in the Indian Ocean. The captain of a nearby ship, the IRIS Bushehr, seems to have received the message that it is not safe merely because it is in international waters and is in the process of surrendering to the neutral Sri Lankan government. Sri Lanka sent a craft to bring the Iranian ship into its port of Trincomalee and to remove 208 Iranian officers and men who would spend the rest of the conflict in internment in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan president announced that the nation is not taking sides in the conflict, merely acting to save lives.

• Kurds mull confronting IRGC: Kurdish militia groups within northeastern Iraq, on Iran’s western border, are reportedly preparing an insurgency into Iran to confront the Islamic regime’s forces. President Trump said, “I think it’s wonderful if they want to do that. I’d be all for it.” However, Trump would not disclose whether the U.S. would offer air cover for such an offensive. Kako Aliyar, a leading member of one of the Kurdish groups, stated, “Kurds have been waiting for a moment to do something. We believe that those moments are not far from us.” However, Aliyar also explained that Kurdish action requires the elimination of Tehran’s missile- and drone-striking capabilities. Given that the U.S. and Israel are focusing primarily on eliminating Iran’s ability to launch missiles and drones, it would not be surprising to see the Kurds move against Tehran should those threats be successfully eliminated.

• U.S., Venezuela to reestablish diplomatic relations: For the first time since 2019, the U.S. and Venezuela have reestablished diplomatic relations. “This step will facilitate our joint efforts to promote stability, support economic recovery, and advance political reconciliation in Venezuela,” the State Department announced. Since the U.S. arrested and removed Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, the Trump administration has seen increasingly positive developments with the South American country’s current leadership. Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was vice president under Maduro, welcomed the development, saying it “will contribute to strengthening understanding and opening opportunities for a positive and mutually beneficial relationship.”

• Cuba “is going to fall”: Since the U.S. capture of Venezuela’s Maduro, Cuba has been plunged into chaos. Cuba had close ties with Maduro and was heavily dependent on Venezuela for oil. President Trump noted on Thursday, “We cut off all oil, all money, or we cut off everything coming in from Venezuela, which was the sole source. And they want to make a deal.” He predicted that, just as Iran is collapsing, Cuba would fall too. Cuba’s oil reserves have been dwindling as a result of U.S. intervention to the point that the government has had to impose fuel-saving measures. Cuba was already having trouble with its electrical grid when, as The Washington Times reports, “A blackout hit the western half of Cuba on Wednesday, leaving millions of people in Havana and elsewhere without power.” Trump teased that there may be a “friendly takeover of Cuba.”

Headlines

• Gas prices are up 26 cents since last week (CBS News)

• Nancy Mace stumps Tim Walz again by asking, “What is a woman?” (Washington Times)

• Macron vows nuclear arsenal boost as Europe turns to nukes amid rising global threats (Fox News)

• Pentagon officially informs Anthropic of supply chain risk designation (The Hill)

The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.