memeorandum: DHS inspector general probing contracts handled by ex-Secretary Kristi Noem (Luke Barr/ABC News)

4:40 PM ET, April 2, 2026

Top Items:

Pam Bondi already fired as attorney general, Cabinet official teed up as replacement: sources — EPA Director Lee Zeldin is reportedly being considered as Bondi's replacement after a White House meeting Tuesday — President Donald Trump reportedly has already fired Attorney General Pam Bondi …

Daily Mail:

Pam Bondi begged Trump not to fire her during dramatic White House showdown as insider reveals his final straw — Attorney General Pam Bondi begged Donald Trump not to fire her in an explosive showdown at the White House after he accused her of an unforgivable offense.

Discussion: New Republic, Bloomberg, The Gateway Pundit, One America News Network, Newsweek, The Daily Signal and CBS News

CNN:

Trump talked with Bondi about the possibility she'd be replaced as attorney general, sources say — President Donald Trump talked to Attorney General Pam Bondi Wednesday about the possibility she would be replaced, three sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

Discussion: MS NOW, CBS News, Long Island Business News, Palm Beach Post, TMZ.com, Truthout, Christian Science Monitor, Forbes, them., Wonkette, Mercury News, Advocate, UPI, IJR, emptywheel, The American Conservative, Raw Story and Blue Virginia

Shelby Talcott / Semafor:

Trump ousts Bondi from atop the Justice Department — The News — President Donald Trump has removed Pam Bondi as attorney general, ending her tumultuous 14 months at the helm of the Justice Department. — Trump told Bondi on Wednesday that her time in the job was nearing an end …

NBC News:

Trump fires Pam Bondi as attorney general, sources say — Trump has been increasingly frustrated with Bondi in recent days, sources told NBC News. — WASHINGTON — Attorney General Pam Bondi has been fired, a senior administration official and a source familiar with the matter told NBC News.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Salon, ABC News, Patterico's Pontifications, Metro.co.uk, Washington Times, Raw Story and Scott MacFarlane Reports

Politico:

Bye bye Bondi — BULLETIN: Pam Bondi is out as attorney general, President Donald Trump announced just after 1 p.m. — Bondi's dismissal marks the second ouster from Trump's beleaguered Cabinet ranks in as many months. Todd Blanche will step in to serve as acting AG, Trump said.

New York Times:

Trump Administration Live Updates: Bondi Fired as Attorney General — Here's What We're Covering Today — Bondi's firing ends a turbulent 14-month term atop the Justice Department. — President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday, removing the nation's top law enforcement officer …

Discussion: Politico, CBS News, The Atlantic, NewsMax.com, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story and Mediaite

New York Times:

Trump Fires Pam Bondi as Attorney General — In a social media post, President Trump said he was replacing Ms. Bondi with Todd Blanche, her deputy, on an interim basis. — President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday, removing the nation's top law enforcement officer …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Hill, Reuters, Democracy Docket, Federal News Network, Roll Call, WXIA-TV, LGBTQ Nation, Salt Lake Tribune, The Verge, NextDraft, The Guardian, Washington Times, Al Jazeera, Raw Story and The US Sun

Alan Feuer / New York Times: Blanche, Trump's Former Defense Lawyer, Steps In as Interim Attorney General

New York Post:
Trump tells Pam Bondi her time is running out as attorney general

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Politico, MS NOW, Associated Press, New York Magazine, Newsweek, Raw Story, CBS News, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, The Hill and The Gateway Pundit

Politico:

‘What the hell did he just say?’ GOP Iran worries build after Trump speech. … “What the hell did he just say?” one GOP strategist in a battleground state wrote in a text to POLITICO after the president's address, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “A quick recap and a path forward would've been helpful.

Discussion: NBC News and Raw Story

Eric Cortellessa / Time:

Inside Trump's Search for a Way Out of the Iran War — Donald Trump was in the Oval Office during the third week of the Iran war when a group of his most trusted advisers came to deliver some unwelcome news. — His longtime pollster, Tony Fabrizio, had conducted surveys that indicated …

Discussion: RedState and The White House

Hugo Lowell / The Guardian:

Trump polled advisers about replacing Tulsi Gabbard as intelligence chief — Exclusive: Pressure intensifies for Gabbard after president's displeasure with Iran war testimony — Donald Trump has privately asked cabinet officials in recent weeks whether he should replace his director …

Discussion: Townhall, The Independent, Raw Story, NewsMax.com, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Parnas Perspective, The Gateway Pundit, New Republic and Mediaite

Al Weaver / NOTUS:

Thune Says He Gave Trump a ‘Dosage of Reality’ on Shutdown, Warns of Iran Fallout — In an exclusive interview with NOTUS, the Senate Majority Leader gave an inside look at the Senate's spending deliberations with the White House and the political road ahead for Republicans

Discussion: Associated Press, The Guardian, Raw Story, The Hill and Fox News

Zeteo:
First Draft: Has Iran Broken Trump?

Discussion: Telegraph, Truthout, The Guardian, So What, No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story and The Hill

Associated Press:

Read the complete transcript of Trump's address to the nation — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's address to the nation on the war against Iran, delivered Wednesday, April 1, 2026, as transcribed by The Associated Press: — ___ — My fellow Americans, good evening.

Discussion: The Contrarian, Digby's Hullabaloo, Wonkette, The Guardian, Elias Isquith, Council on Foreign Relations, The Times of Israel, Home & Away, emptywheel, El País, The Bulwark, Washington Post, Breitbart, Military and Veteran …, Talking Points Memo, Semafor and WUSA

Paul Krugman:
Trump Doesn't Even Have the Courage to Run Away

Discussion: New York Times, The Free Press, Human Events, Raw Story and The Hill

Ramesh Ponnuru / Washington Post:
Trump's hall-of-mirrors speech

Discussion: New York Times, MS NOW, New Yorker, RealClearPolitics, Spin Class, The Nation, Reason, Newsweek, The Daily Wire, The Independent, UPI, CNN, Boston.com and Bloomberg

Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:
Maybe Trump Should Not Have Given This Speech

Discussion: The Hill, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Associated Press, The Bulwark, Reuters, Axios, Politico, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Washington Post, NBC News, UPI, The Free Press, Bloomberg, Rolling Stone and The Daily Signal

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Trump Mini-Speech: the Definitive Reax

Discussion: New Republic, The Mahablog, Bloomberg, The Federalist and Mediaite

Associated Press:
FACT FOCUS: False claims Trump made as he addressed the nation about Iran

Discussion: MS NOW

Yeganeh Torbati / New York Times:

Iran Says It Will Oversee Strait of Hormuz Traffic, Even in Peacetime — The United States says Iran's claims to control the strait are illegal, but Tehran has made escalating assertions of authority over the vital waterway. — Iran signaled on Thursday that it intended to continue …

Discussion: CNBC

David Dayen / American Prospect:
The Opening of Trump's Box

Discussion: The Atlantic

Reuters:
Britain says 40 countries discuss reopening Strait of Hormuz after Iran blockade

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Straight Arrow News and Bloomberg

Washington Post:
Oil prices jump after Trump demands others ‘take the lead’ on Strait of Hormuz

Discussion: Bloomberg, Politico, Associated Press, New York Times, The Times of Israel, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, BBC, Al Jazeera, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, Fox News, Mother Jones, NPR and NewsMax.com

Associated Press:
Live updates: Oil prices surge, stocks fall after Trump offers no clear end to war against Iran

Discussion: Financial Times, The Times of Israel, Drop Site News, Straight Arrow News, New York Times and Radio Free Europe/Radio …

Scott Horsley / NPR:

Have Trump's tariffs worked? This is where things stand a year after ‘Liberation Day’ — A year ago, President Trump ordered double-digit tariffs on virtually everything the U.S. imports. — In a ceremony at the White House, he promised that jobs and factories would come “roaring back” …

Discussion: Washington Post, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Wall Street Journal, El País, Breaking Defense, GZERO, Reason, Fox News, Washington Examiner, NOTUS, Axios, Council on Foreign Relations and The Economist

Politico:
A year later, here's where things stand on Trump's manufacturing revival

Discussion: New York Times

Bloomberg:
Trump Budget to Focus Midterms Messaging on Defense Boost

Discussion: New Republic, PoliticusUSA and New York Times

NBC News:

Trump says it's ‘not possible’ for the U.S. to pay for Medicaid, Medicare and daycare: 'We're fighting wars' — Trump urged states to fund benefits programs instead because “we have to take care of one thing: military protection.” — President Donald Trump on Wednesday said it's …

Discussion: Straight Arrow News, The Daily Beast, The Hill, New Republic, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Los Angeles Times, Raw Story, Truthout, MeidasTouch News, The Floridian and Crooks and Liars

Isaac Arnsdorf / Washington Post:
Trump backs off campaign promises to protect Medicare, help with child care

Discussion: New York Times

NBC News:

Colorado court throws out election denier Tina Peters' 9-year sentence for tampering with election equipment — The state appeals court is asking the trial court to resentence Peters. — The Colorado Court of Appeals has thrown out election denier Tina Peter's nine-year prison sentence …

Discussion: New York Times, UPI and The Post Millennial

Associated Press:
Colorado appeals court orders resentencing for election conspiracist Tina Peters

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Denver Post, Democracy Docket, Washington Examiner, The Hill, ABC News, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Colorado Politics, Raw Story, The Colorado Sun, MS NOW, The National Pulse and Newsweek

Wired:

Unmasking the Paramilitary Agents Behind Trump's Violent Immigration Crackdown — A WIRED analysis of DHS records identified dozens of specialized federal agents who used force against US civilians during the largest known deployment of its kind in US history.

Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:

Hegseth ousts Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George — Add CBS News on Google — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down and take immediate retirement, sources familiar with the decision told CBS News. — One of the sources …

Discussion: NewsMax.com

Joyce Vance / Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance:

The Constitution Is Clear on Birthright Citizenship. The Question Is Whether the Court Will Be. — Sometimes showing up is a mistake. — Donald Trump made that mistake today, becoming the first president to sit in on an oral argument before the United States Supreme Court …

Discussion: The Guardian, The Nation and Raw Story

Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
April 1, 2026 — Today, for the first time in U.S. history, a sitting president attended oral arguments …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Fox News, The Dispatch, Balls and Strikes, American Immigration Council, The Contrarian and Vox

Politico:

Why Republicans aren't rushing to save Trump's ballroom … Lexi Hamel, a spokesperson for Rep. Mike Simpson, said in a statement Wednesday the Idaho Republican “believes the ruling is stupid” and that “nobody raised hell when Roosevelt or Truman renovated the White House (at taxpayer expense).”

Discussion: Washington Post, Bloomberg, Raw Story and The Independent

Washington Post:
Panel led by Trump allies approves White House ballroom amid legal battle

Discussion: Politico, New York Post, NBC News, CBS News, Washington Times, WXIA-TV, RedState, Deadline, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, Newsweek, MS NOW, UPI and Los Angeles Times

Bernard Condon / Associated Press:

Company backed by Trump sons looks to sell drone interceptors to Gulf states being attacked by Iran — A drone maker backed by President Donald Trump's two oldest sons is trying to sell to Gulf countries while they are under attack by Iran and dependent on the U.S. military led by their father.

Alexander Kustov / The Atlantic:

How the Left Accidentally Bolstered the Nativist Right — By dismissing the distinction between legal and illegal immigration as bogus, advocates signaled that they would not defend it. — On march 12, the Heritage Foundation posted six words on X: “We have a legal immigration problem.”

Discussion: WBUR

Sebastian Vandermeersch / Bellingcat:

The War You're Not Allowed to See: How the UAE Rewrites the Story of Iranian Strikes — Bellingcat has identified several high-profile incidents where authorities in the United Arab Emirates have downplayed damage, mischaracterised interceptions and in some instances not acknowledged successful Iranian drone strikes on the country.

Fox News:

Vance anti-fraud task force suspends 221 California hospice and healthcare providers so far — FIRST ON FOX: The anti-fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance revealed a staggering increase in California hospice and healthcare providers that were suspended as a result of the task force's crackdown on fraud.