Thursday Afternoon News Updates: Bondi FIRED + War Escalates — 4/2/26

Hi all, Ben here. It’s Thursday, April 2nd. A lot is happening today, so let’s get into it.

Here are the top stories we’re tracking today:

• Pam Bondi fired as Attorney General — Trump ousts his AG, Todd Blanche steps in, and Bondi still has a congressional subpoena waiting for her. And there may be more firings on the way.

• U.S. bombs Iran’s B-1 bridge in Karaj — a major escalation, with Iran threatening regional infrastructure in response

• Iran assassination attempt — former FM Kamal Kharazi wounded, his wife killed; he was reportedly brokering a back-channel Vance meeting

• Oil surges — markets react to Trump’s incoherence, Strait of Hormuz may stay shut until May

• Iran threatens wider, more destructive strikes — IRGC signals hidden military capabilities, Parliament claims 7 million ready to fight

• Austria denies U.S. airspace access — won’t permit military operations against Iran, citing neutrality law

• Russia sharing intelligence with Iran — Zelenskyy confirms

• Macron rebukes Trump on the war — calls for seriousness, diplomacy, and real inspections; says forcibly reopening Hormuz is “unrealistic”

• Iran and Oman drafting Hormuz monitoring protocol — Iran positioning for long-term control of the strait

• Trump’s 2027 budget — massive defense buildup paid for by cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and domestic programs

• Trump attacks Bruce Springsteen — calls him a “dried up prune,” urges MAGA concert boycott

Now, let’s me dive in in greater detail.

Pam Bondi is out as Attorney General. Trump released a statement claiming she’s a “Great American Patriot” who is “transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector.” Right. Reports indicate Bondi actually begged Trump not to fire her during what was described as a dramatic White House confrontation, per The Daily Mail. Rumors have been swirling about her firing over the past 24 hours. I reported that it was imminent in a YouTube video this morning. Now, it’s official.

What Trump’s statement doesn’t mention: Bondi still has a date with Congress. Rep. Maxwell Frost was quick to point out that Bondi remains under a bipartisan subpoena to testify before the Oversight Committee about the Epstein files. Getting fired doesn’t make that go away. Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney and current Deputy AG will step in as Acting Attorney General.

The Iran war is escalating fast. The U.S. bombed Iran’s B-1 bridge in Karaj today, a major piece of infrastructure. Trump’s response was characteristically unhinged: “The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again — Much more to follow!” He then threatened Iran to “make a deal before it is too late.”

Iran’s response was immediate. The IRGC has already targeted Amazon’s infrastructure in Bahrain, describing it as retaliation for assassinations of Iranian officials and civilians. Iran’s Fars News Agency published a list of bridges across Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Jordan as potential targets, including the King Fahd Causeway, the Sheikh Jaber Bridge, the King Hussein Bridge, and others. These are critical arteries of the region. We are witnessing escalation that could be absolutely devastating.

IRGC spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari has promised “stronger, wider, more destructive” strikes, explicitly rejecting Trump’s claims that Iran’s military is weakened. Iran’s Armed Forces headquarters warned the U.S. and Israel that their intelligence on Iranian military capabilities is woefully incomplete and that key production centers are “far beyond your reach.” The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament claimed 7 million Iranians have declared themselves ready to join the fight.

Meanwhile, Austria confirmed it has denied the U.S. permission to use its airspace for military operations against Iran, citing neutrality law. Austria has rejected every such request since the conflict began.

In what may be one of the more consequential developments today, Kamal Kharazi, Iran’s former foreign minister, was seriously wounded in what appears to be an assassination attempt on his home in Tehran. His wife was killed. Two Iranian officials told the New York Times that Kharazi had been overseeing back-channel engagement with Pakistan to arrange a possible meeting between Iranian officials and JD Vance. The motive remains unclear, but the timing is obviously significant. How could the U.S. be trusted with diplomacy when the Iranian negotiators keep getting killed?

The Strait of Hormuz situation keeps getting worse. Oil markets are reacting accordingly. WTI crude has surpassed $113 per barrel. Brent crude is above $109. Prices spiked during Trump’s speech last night because markets noticed there was no coherent plan. Ya think?!?

The head of Mid-East Energy at Kpler wrote earlier that under the most optimistic scenario, the Strait of Hormuz will remain shut until May. South Korea’s president has already begun urging citizens to conserve fuel. China’s foreign ministry blamed the U.S. and Israel for the disruptions and is pressing for de-escalation, noting several of its vessels have recently transited the strait.

Emmanuel Macron offered a direct rebuke of the broader approach. On the war, Macron said we must be serious, and serious people don’t say the opposite of what they said the day before. He argued that a few weeks of military strikes cannot resolve the nuclear issue long-term and that without real inspections and a diplomatic agreement, the situation will deteriorate again. On the Strait, Macron said reopening it by force is unrealistic and would expose forces to immense coastal and ballistic risks. He has insisted from the start that reopening must be coordinated with Iran.

Iran and Oman are apparently drafting a protocol for monitoring transit through the Strait. Under the framework, tanker traffic would be supervised and coordinated with both countries. Iran describes it as facilitation and safe passage oversight, not restriction. This is framed as a “post-war draft.” Iran is clearly positioning for long-term structural influence over one of the world’s most critical waterways.

And Zelenskyy confirmed today that Ukrainian intelligence has verified Russia is actively sharing intelligence with Iran.

On the budget. Trump is reportedly preparing to release a fiscal year 2027 budget plan Friday built around a massive defense buildup, offset by cuts to domestic programs and health care entitlements. This tracks with what Trump said in a closed-press speech that was accidentally posted and then deleted by the White House: that America simply can’t afford daycare, Medicaid, or Medicare because it’s “fighting wars” and that money needs to go to the military. America First, folks!

Susie Wiles has reportedly expressed concern that aides have been giving Trump a rosy view of how the war is playing domestically, urging more honesty about the political and economic risks, per TIME. Good luck with that.

And finally, because this was clearly of utmost importance to Trump, Trump attacked Bruce Springsteen today, calling him a “dried up prune” with a bad plastic surgeon and urging MAGA to boycott his concerts. The man is overseeing a regional war, a collapsing Strait of Hormuz, $113 oil, and he is writing all-caps posts about Bruce Springsteen.

We’ll have more updates throughout the day. I’ll be going live with an episode of “Ben on Breaking News” at 4:30pm ET, and then later today, I will go live with my brothers at 8pm ET for a new episode of the MeidasTouch Podcast.

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