• Allies eschew helping police Strait of Hormuz: Despite the fact that 20% of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz and that it is in Europe’s interest to keep it open, many NATO allies declined President Donald Trump’s request to assist. “Nobody is ready to put their people in harm’s way in the Strait of Hormuz,” declared EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated the obvious: “We have to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ensure stability in the market.” Yet he’s refusing to help a longtime ally do so. Trump fired back that the U.S. doesn’t need NATO nations’ help, and he is considering finishing off “what’s left of the Iranian Terror State” and letting the countries that use it “be responsible for the so called ‘Straight.’”

• ChiCom trip officially delayed: President Trump said yesterday that his planned summit trip to China has been delayed. “We’re resetting the meeting, and it looks like it’ll take place in about five weeks,” he said. “We’re working with China. They were fine with it.” Trump added that he’s looking forward to seeing Chinese President Xi Jinping, stating, “We have a very good working relationship with China.” The trip had been scheduled for March 31, but given Trump’s current focus on Iran, as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt explained, the president’s “utmost responsibility right now as commander-in-chief is to ensure the continued success of Operation Epic Fury, as he’s doing a 24/7 here at the White House and here at home.” The focus of the summit meeting will be on trade.

• IDF reenters Lebanon: “Hezbollah is willing to go all the way to defend Iran,” says Samy Gemayel, the head of a historic Christian Lebanese party, “even if that means Lebanon is going to be destroyed.” Israel has waged near-constant war on Iranian proxy groups since October 7, 2023, with a devastating pager attack and ensuing military campaign believed to have severely degraded Hezbollah in Lebanon. That belief was tested last week when Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets into Israel. On Monday, Israel renewed its campaign against Hezbollah with a ground offensive into southern Lebanon. Israel says it is prepared for a prolonged campaign, with the conflict in Lebanon expected to last beyond the end of the Iranian campaign. Israel plans to use similar tactics to those that have all but eradicated Hamas in Gaza.

• Third-country deportations can resume: District Judge Brian Murphy has seen his efforts to save each and every third-world gangbanger from deportation stymied by the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals. Bush appointee Judge Jeffrey Howard and Biden appointee Judge Seth Aframe ruled that the Trump administration is allowed to deport illegal immigrants to “third countries” without undue delay. Biden appointee Judge Lara Montecalvo dissented. The court did not explain its decision and expedited the next phase of this case. Under Murphy’s now-defunct ruling, the administration was required to give illegals already subject to deportation a “meaningful opportunity” to fight for deportation to their home countries. “Third-country deportations” are primarily used for illegals whose home countries will not accept them, so Murphy’s decision was a delay tactic.

• With border closed, unauthorized persons surge at airports: Illegal immigration is still at record lows, but illegal migrants haven’t given up the hope of invading the U.S. With crossings at the southern border all but impossible, the number of illegals attempting to arrive via airports and seaports has more than doubled in recent months. The Department of Homeland Security says the number of “inadmissibles” arriving at ports has surged to more than 19,000 in January, compared with just 8,500 in August and September. In the Biden era, more than 50,000 would arrive at such ports monthly, hoping for a quick catch-and-release parole. Port authorities have three options with inadmissibles: expedited deportation, a longer deportation court battle, or parole, which allows illegals to enter the U.S. with the expectation that they will return with the proper documentation. Some 61.5% of inadmissibles now secure parole.

• Bondi subpoenaed vis-à-vis Epstein: Republican lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee have been none too thrilled with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Justice Department’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. On Tuesday, the committee subpoenaed Bondi as it looks into “the possible mismanagement” of the Epstein probe. As Chairman James Comer wrote in a letter to Bondi, the panel wants to learn about “the circumstances and subsequent investigations of Mr. Epstein’s death,” and the materials and evidence the DOJ gathered in its prosecution of Epstein’s girlfriend and accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Noting Bondi’s position and obligation as AG, Comer wrote, “The Committee therefore believes that you possess valuable insight into these efforts.” The DOJ noted that it has released over three million pages of Epstein-related files, which have failed to corroborate the existence of an Epstein list of individuals supposedly involved in a sinister pedophile ring that trafficked girls.

• Judge reinstates 1,000 VOA employees: U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s near-closing of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees the Voice of America, is unlawful. Lamberth further directed the agency to bring back the roughly 1,000 employees who have been furloughed with pay for the past year. Lamberth blasted Kari Lake, the former acting chief executive of USAGM and current senior adviser, for running the agency illegally, as well as the Trump administration’s “persistent omission and withholding of key information in this case,” which “has been a Hallmark production in bad faith.” USAGM had retained 68 positions. It has yet to respond to the ruling.

• Illinois Senate primary upset: The Democrat establishment’s favored candidate has won the party’s Illinois Senate primary over nine other competitors, as Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton fended off a massive spending effort by leftist candidate Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi. The victory puts Stratton in prime position to replace the retiring Sen. Dick Durbin. Her victory showed that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker still holds significant political sway in the state, as he went to bat for Stratton. This result also bodes well for Pritzker, who is running for a third consecutive term.

• Did Democrats oblige Old Dominion jihadist? The administration at Old Dominion University may have been denied knowledge of jihadi Mohamed Bailor Jalloh’s ties to ISIS before accepting his application to study there last year. In 2019, former Virginia Democrat Gov. Ralph Northam signed a bill into law that bans colleges from asking about applicants’ criminal histories or refusing admissions because of them. Jalloh was sentenced to an 11-year prison sentence for aiding ISIS in 2016 and was released early in 2024 before being accepted to Old Dominion just a year before committing the terrorist attack that left him dead. In Washington, DC, House Republicans are proposing the SCAM Act, which would streamline the process of denaturalizing immigrants who join terrorist organizations. Majority Whip Tom Emmer says that under current law, denaturalizing such a terrorist is “nearly impossible.”

Headlines

• Senate Democrats send DHS counteroffer to Trump (CNBC)

• DHS keeps paying Coast Guard personnel despite partial shutdown (CBS News)

• Growing number of Democrat candidates won’t back Jeffries’s leadership (Washington Times)

• Federal judge strikes down Ten Commandments displays in several Arkansas school districts (Fox News)

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