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Issue: 4/24/2026

Iran Talks Move to Islamabad

President Trump is sending special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad on Saturday for direct negotiations with Iran’s foreign minister — the first real diplomatic engagement since the US-Israel strike on February 28. Vice President Vance is on standby to join if talks show progress; members of his staff will be in Islamabad.

Witkoff and Kushner have worked back-channel contacts for months on Iran’s nuclear material. The Pakistan talks mark the first time those conversations have a formal venue and a foreign minister at the table. A separate ceasefire extension for the Israel-Lebanon front was announced Thursday, clearing the diplomatic lane.

With gas topping $4/gallon nationally and 20% of global crude transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the economic pressure to find an off-ramp is mounting. The Islamabad talks are the most concrete step yet toward ending an eight-week shooting war that has reshaped the entire political landscape.★★★
DOJ Clears Path for Warsh

The Justice Department on Friday dropped its criminal probe of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the Fed’s building renovations — the last major obstacle between Kevin Warsh and a Senate confirmation vote. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced via X that the Fed’s own inspector general would handle any remaining review.

Warsh testified before the Senate Banking Committee on April 21, pledging Federal Reserve (Fed) independence and vowing he would not be the president’s “sock puppet.” He outlined plans to end forward guidance and begin shrinking the Fed’s $6+ trillion balance sheet. The hearing went well enough; it was the looming Powell probe that gave fence-sitting senators pause.

With the probe gone, a confirmation vote is expected within weeks. Warsh would take over as Powell’s term runs through May 2026, immediately facing decisions on interest rates and the balance sheet in an economy rattled by war-driven energy price inflation.★★★
Marijuana Moves to Schedule III

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order Thursday moving Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved marijuana products and state-licensed medical cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act — the most significant federal cannabis policy shift in decades. Schedule I designation — grouping marijuana with heroin — had blocked most clinical research for 50 years.

The move fulfills Trump’s December 2025 executive order directing the Justice Department to act on medical marijuana research access. It does not legalize cannabis or change federal criminal penalties for recreational use. It does expand research access and grants state-licensed dispensaries a federal recognition they have never had.

The Biden administration attempted a similar rescheduling through the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for two years and got nowhere. Trump did it in under 90 days by going directly to the Attorney General.

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Moody Makes It Official

Sen. Ashley Moody paid Florida’s qualifying fee Thursday, officially entering the race to keep her appointed seat. Challenger Josh Weil has raised $15.9M, and Democratic money is flooding in. This Florida special election is shaping up as 2026’s most-watched Senate contest.

★★★
White House Wants a ‘Choice’ Election

Trump’s advisers want to frame 2026 as a choice between their agenda and Democrats — not a referendum on the president. Republicans believe that presenting the election as a binary option between the Trump agenda and the Democrats’ policies benefits Republicans.

★★★
Democrat Calls for Closer Ties With China

Democrat Senate candidate Graham Platner, who is challenging Republican incumbent Susan Coins in Maine, called for closer ties with Communist China to implement the Green New Deal.

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Senate Passes $70B ICE Budget

Senate Republicans adopted a $70 billion budget resolution 50-48 on Thursday, authorizing funds for ICE and Border Patrol via reconciliation. The bill heads to the House, advancing without a single Democratic vote — step one toward ending a nine-week DHS shutdown.

★★★
Warsh Vows Fed Independence

Kevin Warsh told the Senate Banking Committee he won’t be the president’s “sock puppet,” pledging Federal Reserve independence and plans to shrink the $6+ trillion balance sheet. DOJ dropping the Powell probe on Friday clears the way for a Senate confirmation vote.

★★★
House Promises Reconciliation 3.0

House Republican leaders promised conservatives that passing the Senate’s skinny ICE funding bill isn’t the end — pledging a bigger “Reconciliation 3.0” to follow. The Senate stripped Save America Act provisions, and leadership is scrambling to hold the caucus together.

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1. Trump Economic Numbers Hit Floor — Trump’s net approval fell 10 points to -18 in the CNBC All-America Economic Survey — the lowest of his two terms. Gas surged 30%+ since the Iran strike; Americans are cutting spending and expect no relief soon.
2. Trump’s 2024 Coalition Fracturing — An AP-NORC poll of 2,596 adults (April 16–20) finds deep dissatisfaction among Trump’s 2024 coalition — Hispanic adults, men under 50, and young Americans are all pulling back as war-driven energy prices hammer household budgets.
3. Dems Up 6 in Battleground Districts — A Cook Political Report survey of competitive districts gives Democrats a 6-point generic ballot advantage, 50%–44% — the clearest danger signal yet for Republicans in the precincts that will actually decide House control.
4. Fraud Claims Eroding Election Trust — A Reuters/Ipsos poll finds Trump’s election-fraud messaging has taken broad hold with the public — raising real concerns about voter participation and base turnout dynamics heading into November’s midterms.

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1. Reconciliation Is the Right Weapon
   Senate Republicans spent the night defeating every Democratic amendment and passed the ICE budget on a party-line vote. That’s how you govern when the opposition won’t cooperate. Reconciliation is the constitutional answer. No apologies.
2. The DOJ Probe Was Always a Threat
   DOJ dropped the Powell probe the same week Warsh’s hearing wrapped. Coincidence? Please. Using a criminal investigation to informally pressure the sitting Fed chair should concern conservatives too — not just critics of the administration.
3. Someone Show Trump the Gas Chart
   Trump’s economic approval is at its lowest point in his two terms as gas tops $ 4 per gallon. The Iran war may have been necessary — but 2026 candidates need the president to be visibly focused on the economy. The clock is running.
4. Pakistan Talks Are the Real Test
   Sending Witkoff and Kushner to Islamabad is correct — real negotiations need real envoys. But “Don’t rush me” is starting to sound like a man without an exit strategy. The Pakistan talks are the off-ramp. Take it.

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“Don’t rush me.”

-President Donald Trump, declining to give a timeline for ending the US-Iran war when asked by reporters at the White House, April 23, 2026

★★★

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