The Weekly: Iran, Kristi Noem, and Campaign 2026 Kick Off

A suspected attacker is dead after a vehicle reportedly packed with explosives rams into a synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, which has a school & daycare center. A guard was injured, but no children or staff; A deadly shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia is being investigated as an act of terrorism. The suspect has connections to ISIS; Iranian TV says the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in his first statement says the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed to oil tankers affiliated with the U.S. and Israel; Energy Secretary Christopher Wright talks about the release of the more than 170 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to curb rising gas prices; Another Senate vote to end the Homeland Security Department shutdown fails, with Democrats still demanding reforms to federal immigration enforcement be attached and Republicans opposing that; Senate passes a bill to promote more affordable housing, but it differs from the House-passed version. We will talk with Reuters Congressional reporter Richard Cowan about what happens next (32); Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) says a bill to require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote will come up next week, and reports are the debate will be extensive, with late nights expected; Long-time Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), former No. 3 in the House Democratic leadership, announces he will not retire, but run again this November; conversation with Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett; President Donald Trump & First Lady Melania Trump host a Women's History Month celebration at the White House; NASA gives an update on the Artemis II moon mission schedule. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump tells reporters outside the White House the U.S. has hit Iran "harder than virtually any country in history has been hit" but "we're not finished yet"; International Energy Agency says its 32 member countries have agreed to release a record 400 million barrels of oil to try to lower prices that have spiked with the disruptions caused by the war with Iran; United Nations Security Council adopts a resolution condemning Iranian attacks against neighboring Gulf nations. The resolution does not mention the attacks by the United States or Israel. Russia and China abstain from the vote; Department of Homeland Security remains closed after more failed funding attempts on the Senate floor. Democrats offer to reopen all agencies but Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs & Border Protections while negotiations over federal immigration procedure reform continues, and Republicans object. Republicans offered to reopen the entire department, and Democrats object; House Oversight Committee questions the accountant for the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Richard Kahn; Japan pauses to remember the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the country 15 years ago today, killing thousands and causing a nuclear power plant meltdown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the recent increase in oil and gas prices is temporary and the prices will drop rapidly once the objectives of the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran are achieved; Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) says after a classified briefing on the Iran war the Trump Administration is on a path towards putting U.S. troops on the ground in Iran; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a morning briefing says today will be the 'most intense day of strikes' in the war; Senate confirms U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd to lead the National Security Agency and the U.S. Cyber Command; Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is asked about President Donald Trump's demand to make passage of a mandatory voter ID bill the top priority; Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) unveils a proposal to overhaul the delivery of programs like Medicaid,  which have been the subject of federal fraud investigations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Finance ministers from the Group of Seven major economies met today to discuss a possible coordinated release of strategic oil reserves, but no decision was announced. Meanwhile, the son of Iran’s deceased supreme leader has been named the country’s next leader — though President Trump says any transition would need approval from the United States. Back in Washington, House Republicans are holding their annual retreat, where President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson are expected to address reporters. And as the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security enters its fourth week, airport security delays are growing as TSA screeners continue working without pay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, the conflict with Iran escalated, raising fears of a wider war in the Middle East. At home, President Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a major shake-up inside his administration. And the 2026 midterm elections got underway, with the first round of primary contests in Texas, North Carolina, and California offering an early test of the political landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First: a conversation with journalist Avi Mayer - founder of the Jerusalem Journal – discusses ongoing U-S and Israeli combat operations against Iran. Then: the first primaries of Campaign 2026 kicked off this week. We read the tea leaves with National Journal's "Hotline" Editor Kirk Bado. Plus: the video depositions of former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton went public this week. We'll discuss the fallout and what's next in the Epstein files investigation with Ken Thomas of the Wall Street Journal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump says he will accept only 'unconditional surrender' from Iran and there are reports Russia is providing intelligence to Iran to target U.S. military positions in the Middle East; Jobs report from the Labor Department shows the U.S. lost 92,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate went up from 4.3% to 4.4%. We will talk about the jobs report and the effect of the war with Iran on the economy with Courtenay Brown, Axios Senior Economics reporter (18); former Presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton pay tribute to the late Rev. Jesse Jackson at his funeral in Chicago; Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) tells C-SPAN about a late night phone call he had with President Trump; 2026 Paralympics open in Italy with some European countries boycotting because athletes from Russia & Belarus are being allowed to compete. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump says he is removing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and nominating Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) as the new Secretary; House votes down a War Powers Act resolution to restrict President Trump's ability to wage war on Iran; Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) admits he had an affair with a staff member who later committed suicide. House Republicans leaders call on him to no longer seek reelection; Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. says medical schools have agreed to increase instruction on good nutrition; National Park Service predicts the peak bloom dates for the Cherry Blossom trees in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senate defeats a War Powers Act resolution to prohibit President Donald Trump from launching further military attacks on Iran without Congressional authorization; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says of the operations against Iran, “More and larger waves are coming. We are just getting started"; President Trump says the U.S. had to strike Iran because, “if we waited any longer – if we didn’t hit within two weeks – they would have had a nuclear weapon”; Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testifies before the House Judiciary Committee about immigration enforcement operations and the shooting deaths of two protesters by federal agents; Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) & Attorney General Keith Ellison (D-MN) testify before the U.S. House Oversight Committee about fraud in public aid programs; President Trump says he has secured a pledge from big technology companies to pay for the large quantity of electricity needed for AI data centers, so the cost is not passed on to American households. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former President Bill Clinton testifies at a closed-door deposition on the Jeffrey Epstein investigation before the House Oversight Committee in Chappaqua, New York. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices