The Patriot Post® · Thursday Executive News Summary
Iran ceasefire update: Israel and Hezbollah continue exchanging fire despite the announced ceasefire between the U.S., Israel, and Iran. There is some confusion about the status of the conflict in Lebanon, with peace broker Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying it was included in the ceasefire, while Vice President JD Vance says it was simply not part of the negotiations. Oil tankers are apparently still not traversing the Strait of Hormuz despite reassurances from the U.S. and Iran that traversal is now possible. Until tankers feel confident in making the crossing once again, oil prices are unlikely to fall. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump says U.S. military forces will remain in the area until a “real agreement” is reached. Trump suggested that in the “highly unlikely” event that shooting starts up again, it will be “bigger and better” than anyone has seen before.
Sanctions for Tehran’s munitions suppliers: President Trump announced that any “Country supplying Military Weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods” at a 50% rate. This newest tariff primarily affects Russia and China, which have been the main providers of Iranian weapon systems, although both had backed off a bit during Operation Epic Fury. It is not immediately clear under which authority Trump will impose this tariff, since the Supreme Court recently struck down his use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. At the same time, Trump is discussing sanctions and tariff relief for Iran itself, as a fragile ceasefire has entered force, and negotiations for a lasting peace are underway.
Privatizing TSA? The Transportation Security Administration is downsizing, and now the Department of Homeland Security is floating a privatization rollout. The FY 2027 budget includes a reduction of 8,385 positions and the elimination of 9,439 full-time equivalents, which will presumably move to part-time positions. This proposal would reduce the TSA workforce from roughly 65,000 to 53,199 in 2027. The budget proposal insists that the TSA “will maintain all priority mission-critical positions” despite the downsizing. Privatization is also beginning with the Screening Partnership Program, which allows TSA to contract out security at smaller airports. The agency is asking Congress to allocate $477.3 million to the program, resulting in more than $50 million in savings.
Mamdani’s “free” buses delayed: New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is backing down from one of his big campaign promises: free busing. The young mayor is facing the reality that declaring something does not make it so. The promise of “free” (read: taxpayer-funded) transportation through the city was always a ridiculous pipe dream, but it helped get Mamdani elected. Now he’s backing off while at the same time insisting that he’s still “absolutely committed to making buses fast and free.” He points to encouraging “conversations” with Governor Kathy Hochul and the state’s legislature. Of course, when the state government nixes this fiscally impossible pipe dream, Mamdani will have his scapegoat to blame for his failure to provide transportation to NYC residents. It’s Politics 101.
Dem lawmakers now want a federal wealth tax: The very threat of a wealth tax has already sent billionaires fleeing states like California. It starves innovation, shuts down development, and is economically depressing — yet congressional Democrats believe it’s a great idea. “While multimillionaires and billionaires are getting richer and richer, families are getting squeezed by a rigged economy,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren argues. “My bill is about basic fairness and making the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share.” It’s the old “fair share” gambit, even though the wealthiest Americans already pay over 50% of the nation’s annual income taxes. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a millionaire in his own right who has declared that billionaires “should not exist,” introduced a federal wealth tax last month that, if enacted, would take 5% of a billionaire’s wealth annually. There’s a word for this inherently immoral idea: theft.
DOJ investigating J6 witness and former WH aide for perjury: Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide during President Donald Trump’s first term, became the Democrats’ star witness in the J6 investigation. Now, she’s being investigated by the Justice Department for potential perjury. In January, Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk, chair of the House subcommittee probing the J6 investigation, referred Hutchinson to the DOJ over concerns about perjury. Other sources refute her testimony, such as her claim that Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of his Secret Service agents, demanding that they take him to the Capitol. The agents themselves refuted this claim. Even Special Counsel Jack Smith, who sought to prosecute Trump over J6, was unable to substantiate Hutchinson’s claim. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan observed she’s “someone that the whole country knows wasn’t telling the truth.”
Avenatti released from prison: Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who defrauded many and represented, as well as stole from, his client Stormy Daniels, has been released from federal prison after serving four years. In 2020, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison for attempting to steal from Nike and another client. In 2022, Avenatti was sentenced to 14 years in prison for defrauding and extorting multiple clients of millions of dollars, including a paraplegic with mental health issues. He extorted $300,000 out of Daniels by taking some of her book money. That sentence was tossed out in 2024 due to what the Ninth Circuit Court called “sentencing errors” by the judge. Avenatti is now at a halfway house in Hollywood, where he will remain under federal supervision, and he has been ordered to pay $6 million in compensation to his victims and the IRS as part of his release.
Former Army employee charged with leaking classified intel to reporter: Courtney Williams of North Carolina has been arrested and charged with leaking classified information about her time in Delta Force to a reporter. She faces one charge of illegally communicating or transmitting national defense information, which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence. Williams worked for the Army as a contractor from 2010-2016, during which time she held a top secret security clearance. She left in 2016 due to an internal investigation. An FBI affidavit details Williams’s communications with reporter Seth Harp, who published the shared classified National Defense Intelligence in an article and later in a book. Harp expressed his certainty that the DOJ’s indictment would fall apart under scrutiny, though Williams confided to someone in a text message that she was “probably going to jail for life.”
Automatic draft registration: A major proposed change is coming to the Selective Service System. If adopted, young men will no longer be required to register for the military draft personally, as they will be automatically registered in the SSS database when they turn 18. Presented as a means to streamline the process and save money, the agency will “transfer responsibility for registration from individual men to SSS through integration with federal data sources.” The draft was last invoked during the Vietnam War, but some question whether the conflict in Iran will prompt the Trump administration to seek its use. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed this in March, stating that it is “not part of the current plan right now,” yet she was quick to note that President Trump “wisely keeps his options on the table.” That said, enacting the draft would take an act of Congress.
Headlines
Spanberger ripped after taking credit for billions in investments secured under GOP predecessor (Fox News)
Maryland just voted to wipe out its Christian legacy (Daily Caller)
Oklahoma principal shot in leg is praised for tackling school shooter (Fox News)
Mental health worsened after gender transitions for youth, major new study finds (Washington Examiner)
The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.