Exclusive |  Trump Is Preparing to Fire Kristi Noem  —  The president has already been asking aides and congressional Republicans for names of potential replacements.

Republicans Toil to Avoid Saying ‘War’ as Iran Conflict Widens  —  Mission?  Hostilities?  Don't call it a war, say G.O.P. lawmakers grappling with the political and legal challenges of the operation in the Middle East.  —  When President Trump gave reporters a brief update this week …

Trump puts Paxton on notice in Texas Senate primary in interview with POLITICO … Trump had previously stated he would ask the candidate he does not endorse to step aside.  —  Senate Republicans have already asked Trump to back Cornyn, who narrowly pulled ahead of Paxton on Tuesday in the first round of the primary.

Morning Digest: Montana Sen. Steve Daines quits reelection bid at filing deadline  —  Leading Off  —  In a shocking last-second move, Republican Sen. Steve Daines withdrew his name from the ballot mere minutes before candidate filing closed Wednesday evening in Montana and sought to hand off his seat to U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.

Exclusive: Trump says he must be involved in picking Iran's next leader  —  President Trump told Axios in an interview Thursday that he needs to be personally involved in selecting Iran's next leader — just as he was in Venezuela.  — Trump revealed this exclusively in an eight-minute phone call …

Hundreds of thousands of Americans stranded in a war zone  —  On February 28, the United States and Israel launched major combat operations in Iran.  Iran has retaliated by striking multiple U.S. military facilities and embassies across the Middle East, including in Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Thousands of public comments slam Trump's ballroom: ‘I did not vote for this’ … President Donald Trump has spent months touting his planned White House ballroom, but this week the public gets its first chance to formally offer him their thoughts.  —  The verdict: They don't like it.

Susie Wiles sounds the alarm on gas prices … Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other advisers focused on energy policy, including a council led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, “are getting screamed at to find some good news” on bringing down prices, the same executive said.

‘Nazi heaven’: Inside Miami campus Republicans' racist group chat  —  The secretary of Miami-Dade County's Republican Party started a group chat primarily for conservative students last fall — and within three weeks it was filled with racist slurs, someone wrote dozens of ways …

Trump calls on Kurds to aid U.S. effort in Iran, offers support  —  In outreach to Kurdish minority leaders in Iran and neighboring Iraq, the president offered U.S. support to insurgent efforts against Tehran.  —  The Trump administration, bracing for more U.S. casualties and considering whether …

Documents Reveal a Web of Financial Ties Between Trump Officials and the Industries They Help Regulate  —  ProPublica is releasing a trove of disclosure records that detail the finances of more than 1,500 Trump appointees, including former lobbyists, industry executives and at least …

Russia Is Big Winner as Iran War Drains Supplies That Ukraine Needs  —  Kyiv faces a shortfall of missile interceptors for its air defense, while surging oil prices are boosting Russia's economy  —  Russia is one of the biggest winners in the early days of the largest U.S. military confrontation in decades …

Exclusive: Trump demands immediate pardon for Netanyahu to focus on Iran … - “Every day I talk to Bibi about the war. … - But Thursday's comments — which Trump raised himself, unprompted — marked a dramatic escalation and direct intervention in Israel's legal system at a moment of active war.

Vance's “war on fraud” is a fraud  —  PN is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  💥 Subscribe to PN 💥  —  In his State of the Union address, President Trump mentioned his vice president only once.  It came after he denounced the state of Minnesota …

How a feud led a billionaire donor to oust Rep. Crenshaw  —  Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw owes his defeat in this week's Republican primary to a billionaire megadonor who was hellbent on ending Crenshaw's career, sources tell Axios. … - In this case, Marling's clout meant Crenshaw was the first House incumbent to be ousted in 2026.

In 25-Country Survey, Americans Especially Likely To View Fellow Citizens as Morally Bad  —  53% of U.S. adults say Americans have bad morals and ethics  —  This Pew Research Center analysis explores how adults in 25 countries rate the morality of other people in their country.

Bonus 214: Emergency Relief from State Courts  —  At a moment in which the Supreme Court's emergency docket is *already* busier than ever, Monday's stay grant in the Malliotakis case wrongly expands it to encompass countless state-court rulings, too.  —  ∙ Paid

Trump allies expand role in planning America's 250th anniversary  —  The emergence of the Trump-backed Freedom 250 sparks tensions with a bipartisan commission and draws questions from Democrats.  —  Two groups — one with the imprimatur of Congress, the other with President Donald Trump's blessing …

Top House Republican Tom Emmer accuses Minnesota AG Keith Ellison of lying about benefit fraud: ‘Got something to hide’  —  House Majority Whip Tom Emmer publicly accused Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison Wednesday of lying about a 2021 meeting with later-convicted Somali fraudsters.