Good afternoon everyone, here’s your critical mid-day update from Capitol Hill.
Two major hearings just wrapped: The confirmation hearing for Trump’s DHS nominee Markwayne Mullin turned highly contentious, with Senator Rand Paul opposing his nomination and threatening to delay the vote. In a separate intelligence hearing, Tulsi Gabbard refused to say whether Iran posed an imminent threat, while also acknowledging Iran is not currently rebuilding its nuclear program.
Meanwhile, economic pressure is mounting, fuel prices are surging, with broader cost increases beginning to ripple through the economy. I break it all down for you, including a conversation with Congressman Gabe Amo. Later today, I’ll be speaking with Juliana Stratton, Democratic Senate nominee in Illinois.
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Here’s the news:
- During a contentious Senate confirmation hearing, DHS nominee Sen. Markwayne Mullin clashed repeatedly with Sen. Rand Paul over past remarks seen as condoning violence and questions about his temperament and transparency, while also defending some law enforcement actions, walking back other statements, outlining changes to DHS policy. Rand Paul has come out of the hearing saying he will vote against Mullin’s nomination:
- Sen. Markwayne Mullin refused to provide details about a claimed classified trip during his confirmation hearing, repeatedly citing its classified status when pressed by Sen. Gary Peters about where it occurred and his statement that he had “smelled war.”
- Sen. Rand Paul threatened to delay a committee vote on Markwayne Mullin’s DHS nomination unless Mullin provides more details about his claimed classified travel tied to disputed “stolen valor” allegations, with Mullin agreeing to discuss the matter privately in a classified setting after the hearing.
- Paul argued that Mullin’s past comments appearing to endorse violence and aggressive behavior make him a poor role model to lead DHS and set standards for ICE agents.
- DNI Tulsi Gabbard told lawmakers that U.S.–Israeli strikes in June “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear enrichment program and that intelligence agencies have seen no attempts by Iran to rebuild that capability since, though she noted Iran may still intend to do so in the future.
- Sen. Jon Ossoff pressed Tulsi Gabbard on whether Iran posed an imminent nuclear threat, but Gabbard deflected by saying only the president determines imminence, prompting Ossoff to argue that assessing such threats is the intelligence community’s core responsibility.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe and DNI Tulsi Gabbard Gabbard deflected when questioned about reports that Trump supporters could pay for private national security briefings, with Ratcliffe denying it occurred and Gabbard saying she was unfamiliar with the document. This questioning, from Senator Kelly, concerned a Trump PAC email using Trump at a dignified transfer to fundraise:
- A new investigation has surfaced multiple allegations that civil rights icon Cesar Chavez sexually abused women and underage girls in the 1960s–70s, including claims from co-founder Dolores Huerta that he pressured and later forced her into sex, while other women say they were minors when abused; the accusations—based on extensive reporting and interviews—are roiling his legacy, prompting community backlash and canceled events, though some claims, including Huerta’s, have not been independently corroborated and his family has expressed shock while urging fairness.
- Labor activist Dolores Huerta said she is breaking decades of silence to accuse Cesar Chavez of manipulating and forcing her into sex in the 1960s—encounters that led to secret pregnancies—while also citing a broader investigation alleging Chavez abused multiple underage girls and exploited women in his movement:
- U.S. wholesale prices rose sharply—up 3.4% year-over-year and 0.7% in February—marking a third straight monthly increase and signaling renewed inflation pressure, with especially steep food costs (including a surge in vegetable prices) likely to push higher prices onto consumers and complicate the Fed’s efforts to control inflation.
- Today’s dignified transfer will be conducted privately at the request of the families, with no media or cameras allowed.
- An Iranian IRGC Navy commander warned that oil facilities linked to the U.S. will be treated as military targets and could face imminent attacks across the Middle East following Israeli strikes, urging civilians to evacuate sites in countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE.
- U.S. diesel prices have surged to about $5.06 per gallon—up roughly 38% in a month—driving higher transportation costs that are beginning to ripple through supply chains and raise prices for consumers, with truckers especially impacted by rising diesel and DEF (urea) costs.
- Brent crude oil prices have surged today:
- Iran warned it will retaliate “decisively” after reported Israeli strikes on its South Pars gas field—part of the world’s largest natural gas reserve—raising fears of wider regional attacks on energy infrastructure, with Gulf states bracing for potential strikes and global oil and gas prices already rising. This is what the Qatari Foreign Ministry said concerning those strikes:
- According to journalist Kyle Clark, former Colorado clerk Tina Peters was found guilty of a lower-level prison violation for unauthorized absence following an altercation with another inmate, but was not convicted of assault, and the other inmate faced no charges. Here is a video of the altercation:
- According to MS Now, Juan Chavez Velasco, a longtime DACA recipient with no criminal record, was detained by ICE while trying to visit his premature newborn, separating him from his U.S.-citizen family and highlighting a broader crackdown in which Dreamers are increasingly targeted—especially as renewal delays leave some with expired protections—amid the administration’s stance that DACA does not guarantee protection from detention or deportation.
See you soon.
— Aaron