In #Trump’s [delusional] imagination the new warship would be massive, weighing as much as 40,000 tons, & would be packed with new high-tech weapons, like lasers, hypersonic missiles & electric rail guns, most of which are still in development & years from being deployed.

In recent weeks, it had become clear to Phelan that the #Navy & the #US shipbuilding industry did not have the ability to deliver on Trump’s vision.

#MilitaryReadiness #kakistocracy #GovernmentSpending #narcissism

The churn of senior #Pentagon officials at a time when the US #military is engaged in #war with #Iran has alarmed top #Republican & #Democratic members of #Congress.

The Pentagon did not respond to questions regarding the circumstances surrounding Phelan’s dismissal. Phelan could not immediately be reached for comment.

#MilitaryReadiness #Trump #Hegseth #kakistocracy

Phelan’s job was to deliver the first of Trump’s #battleships by 2028, an impossible deadline.

On Wednesday, #Trump fired Phelan, who had struggled to come up with a plan to deliver the ships on the nearly impossible timeline that Trump has demanded, senior defense & admin officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters.

#JohnPhelan #Navy #GovernmentSpending #narcissism #greed

#Trump wanted one thing, more than anything else, from his secretary of the #Navy, #JohnPhelan: a new class of #battleships.

“They’ll be the fastest, the biggest & by far—100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built,” Trump boasted at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate & resort in Florida a few days before Christmas. Phelan, a billionaire investor who has a home near the club, stood next to the president as he made the announcement.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/23/us/politics/trump-navy-secretary.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

"My big takeaway from this chart is that all but three groups support impeaching Trump: Republicans, Trump’s 2024 voters, and seniors (who oppose impeachment by 4 points, 47-51)...

But also of note is that 21% of Trump’s own 2024 voters now say he should be impeached. That’s roughly one out of every five of the people who put him back in office."
https://www.gelliottmorris.com/p/2026-04-22-strength-in-numbers-verasight-impeachment-polling

#DonaldTrump #Trump #Impeach #Impeachment #Politics #USPol #News #Press #Poll #US #USA #UnitedStates #America

The #Trump admin is placing economic #sanctions on a major #China based #oil refinery & roughly 40 shipping companies & tankers involved in transporting #Iran oil.

The move, announced Friday makes good on Trump’s threat to impose secondary sanctions on companies & countries that do business with Iran. It’s also part of his #Republican admin’s overall ramped-up campaign to cut off Iran’s key source of revenue — its oil exports.

#MafiaState #RevengePolitics
https://apnews.com/article/treasury-bessent-sanctions-china-iran-oil-12a02b5ba394cbcab355d645bfe9cdf7

…The move could lead to a swift confirmation vote by the #Senate for #KevinWarsh, a former top #Fed official whom #Trump, a Republican, nominated in January to replace #JeromePowell, whose term as chair ends May 15. Sen Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, has said he would oppose Warsh until the investigation was resolved, effectively blocking his confirmation.

#law #FederalReserve #economy #RevengePolitics

A prosecutor handling the case conceded at a closed-door court hearing in March that the government hadn’t yet found any evidence of a #crime, & a judge subsequently quashed subpoenas issued to the #FederalReserve. The judge, James #Boasberg, said prosecutors had produced “essentially zero evidence” to suspect Powell of a crime. Boasberg said prosecutors’ justification for the subpoenas as “thin & unsubstantiated.”

#law #Trump #RevengePolitics

"In a new national poll by the Marquette University Law School, the share of adults who 'strongly' approve of Trump’s performance as president has sunk to 17% – less than a fifth of the population. Meanwhile, the share of adults nationally who 'strongly' disapprove of his performance has risen to 48% – roughly half the population."

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #economy #ApprovalRating #MAGA #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas
/7

"President Donald Trump posted dozens of overnight messages on Truth Social, targeting political opponents like Chuck Schumer and reviving claims against Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He amplified accusations of conspiracies and called for investigations or arrests, while also criticizing organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center."

~ Aaron Parnas

#Trump #Hegseth #Obama #HillaryClinton #Iran #war #economy #ApprovalRating
/1

https://aaronparnas.substack.com/p/news-trump-calls-for-arrest-of-obama

"President Donald Trump’s overall — and economic — approval ratings plunged in the latest CNBC All-America Economic Survey in what appears to be direct fallout from widespread dissatisfaction with the war with Iran, high gasoline prices and negative views of the economy."

~ Steve Liesman

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #economy #ApprovalRating #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas
/3

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/23/trumps-approval-rating-on-economy-and-overall-falls-to-lowest-of-his-two-terms-cnbc-survey-shows.html

"Donald Trump has said the Duke of Sussex 'is not speaking for the UK' after Prince Harry told the US to honour its obligations in the Ukrainian conflict. 'I think I am speaking for the UK more than Prince Harry … but I appreciate his advice very much,' the US president said…."

~ Reuters

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #economy #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas #UK #NATO #Europe
/9

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2026/apr/24/donald-trump-prince-harry-ukraine-video

Heather Cox Richardson recounts in detail the behind-the-scenes finagling and vituperation accompanying Hegseth's firing of Trump's friend and supporter John Phelan, Secretary of the Navy. Then she notes:

"Lara Seligman, Josh Dawsey, Alexander Ward, and Natalie Andrews of the Wall Street Journal noted today that Trump sided with Hegseth over Phelan," (continued in /15)

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #economy #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas #UK #NATO #Europe
/14

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-23-2026

"And top GOP senators tell Politico that Trumpworld is bracing for more purges of senior officials, with one senator confiding about Trump: 'He’s in a bad mood, so he’s letting a lot of them go.'”

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas #economy #ApprovalRating #FoxNews
/17

"A new Fox News poll contains crushing findings for Donald Trump. His approval on the economy is at 34 percent with 66 percent disapproving. On inflation, those numbers are even worse, at 28–72. Importantly, the poll also finds Democrats with the advantage on the economy for the first time in years—a milestone."

~ Greg Sargent

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas #economy #ApprovalRating #FoxNews
/16

https://newrepublic.com/article/209461/trump-hit-brutal-fox-poll-aides-scramble-he-bad-mood

"Fox News is embracing the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to President Donald Trump’s war against Iran as an economic boon for U.S. petroleum exports — even though the closure will further increase American gasoline prices."

~ Zachary Pleat

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #economy #ApprovalRating #FoxNews #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas
/17

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/gas-prices-go-iran-war-fox-news-celebrates-biggest-payday-history-oil-companies

"He and he alone created the conditions that made war possible. He and he alone created the chaos that, he then told the American people and the world, made war necessary. ...

Trump made this problem. Entirely and solely. By pulling out of the JCPOA in 2018, he ensured that Iran would start breaking the terms of the deal.:

~ Michael Tomasky

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #economy #ApprovalRating #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas
/18

https://newsletter.tnr.com/index.php?action=social&chash=d2dc6368837861b42020ee72b0896182.3087&s=cdd6377d8462caad2b4695418c877aea

"The situation favors Iran, which has learned how to absorb a great deal of pain after decades of US sanctions and is prepared to endure much worse rather than fold to Trump. ...

In the face of this humiliation on the world stage, Trump and his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, are throwing scapegoats from within the US war machine under the bus."

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #economy #ApprovalRating #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas
/22

"Though notoriously illiterate about religion – Trump once cited 'Two Corinthians' – he is keenly aware that he is venerated by white evangelical Christian nationalists. Despite his tribulations, white evangelicals remain among his strongest devotees. Christian nationalists pray at the altar of the church of Trump."

#PopeLeo #Trump #WhiteChristianNationalism #WhiteEvangelicals #Catholics #morality
/2

"Those who have not studied the movement often express some surprise on seeing the connection between Christian nationalism and corruption. These people are supposed to have Jesus and the Bible on their minds, not Mammon, right? But religious grifting is something of a cottage industry in the US."

#Trump #Orbán #WhiteChristianNationalism #corruption #kleptocracy #PseudoReligion
/8