… Trump bombed Iran again today. He posted: “The US is, as we speak, striking Iranian Targets near the Strait of Hormuz. If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!”
… Fox war correspondent Trey Yingst: "I just spoke with Trump who indicated that if the Iranians respond to these US strikes against their country, 'they'll be hit much harder. If it goes a third time, they're going to be totally wiped out as a country.'"
… Iranian officials said that the US strike hit a wedding in Kuhestak, Sirik County, Hormozgan, killing at least 2 people and injuring 50. The death toll may rise due to the condition of some of the wounded. They also posted photos and videos of the strike and the aftermath.
… So more war crimes to add to the growing list for Trump and Pete Hegseth.
… The Atlantic: “During a WH meeting last week, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll brought his concerns about the future of the Army under Pete Hegseth directly to Trump—a sign of how far tensions between the two Pentagon leaders had escalated, and of the dysfunction inside the building. Trump was surprised when Driscoll told him how many generals and other top officers had been fired, pushed out, or passed over for promotion under Hegseth.”
… “Driscoll argued that the Army could not transform itself the way it needs to, because of the departure of so many leaders, adding that Trump expressed concern about the deep cuts to the Army’s senior leadership. Driscoll informed the president of his intention to resign—and by today, Driscoll was on his way out.”
… “Hegseth’s purge of the military has been so dramatic that with Driscoll gone, the military’s largest service is left without a top civilian leader, a Senate-confirmed top general, a confirmed Army general in charge of operations, or a confirmed commander of Army troops in Europe. Because of all the firings across the service over the past year, the Army, with more than 450,000 active-duty soldiers positioned across the globe, has fewer generals than at any point in recent history.
… “Driscoll’s personal appeal to Trump just days before his exit was the most direct articulation of high-level concerns among Pentagon leaders about the strains facing the force—including Hegseth’s intervention in Army personnel decisions and the mounting demands of the Iran war.”
… House Army Caucus co-chair Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), a former Army Ranger, to CSPAN: “I’ve worked well with Dan Driscoll. We obviously had our policy disagreements. I think this is really unfortunate for the Army. It was actually nice, having somebody who was smart, that knew the policy, that wanted to do the work, that had a background in these issues and was working hard with him to make good policy. It’s unfortunate that somebody like that can’t last in this admin.”
… Retired War College professor Tom Nichols in The Atlantic:
“Making Pete Hegseth the secretary of defense was always a huge gamble. A television host with little background in national-security or defense affairs, who topped out as a major in the National Guard, he was nominated based on the same qualification shared by most of Trump’s other appointees: loyalty. And now the price of that gamble is evident.
The Pentagon is careening offtrack under a secretary of defense who is firing or forcing the resignations of officers and civilian officials, not because they are unqualified but because he believes they are insufficiently loyal to him, personally. The latest casualty of Hegseth’s ongoing purge is Dan Driscoll, who resigned after repeatedly clashing with Hegseth. Driscoll went to the WH to complain about Hegseth, and the president sided with Hegseth.
Even in less dangerous times, Hegseth’s irresponsible behavior would be a hazard to American national security. DOD is a huge bureaucracy; it requires a leader who understands more than the mechanics of teaching trainees how to do push-ups or how to handle a weapon. Secretaries of defense must grasp the economics of the defense industry, the nature of alliances, congressional politics, the policy process, and dozens of other issues for which Hegseth seems to care little and about which he knows even less.
Hegseth was reportedly virtually alone among senior officials in supporting Trump’s decision to attack Iran—when he should have been the one person in the room who knew better. The secretary of state and CIA director were against the idea.
Even then–DNI Tulsi Gabbard mustered the courage to give the president bad news, telling Trump that killing the ayatollah and striking Iran would ‘likely usher in a more hard-line regime open to acquiring nuclear weapons’; that the Iranians ‘would rush to close the Strait of Hormuz, destabilizing the global energy market’; and that Iran ‘would strike US forces and partners in the Middle East,’ all of which happened almost immediately after Trump gave the order to go to war.
Hegseth, however, supported Trump’s fantasies of a quick victory. A man of principle would have warned his president even at the risk of his job, but Pete Hegseth is not that man.”
… WaPo Pentagon reporter Dan Lamothe, who broke the story that Hegseth hired right-wing social media influencers to work at DOD to glaze him on X: “Since publication of this article, retired Cols. Rob Maness, Kurt Schlichter and Tom Anderson have all now acknowledged being SGE employees for the Pentagon in the past year.”
… “They did so only after publication of this article. They also did so after the Pentagon flatly declined to comment on the issue last week ahead of publication, withholding their SGE status. The Pentagon has not explained why it withheld basic details about this issue for days, including following days of speculation about other SGEs on social media.”
… Meidas reporter Pablo Manriquez asked several House Democrats on the hill today if Hegseth should be impeached:
Oversight ranking member Robert Garcia: “He has committed multiple offenses. I would support that. There’s no question, with the level of corruption right now at the DOD, there are reports of pay-to-play, just the way our soldiers are being treated. The war going on right now is illegal, so I would definitely support that.”
Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ): “I think it’s past time. He continues to have complete disregard for people who dedicated their lives in honor of our country. Part of the problem is Hegseth doesn’t want anyone who is more qualified than him.”
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA): “Every day of the week, it is time to do that. This guy should be impeached, and he should go to jail. And he can take all of his little exercise routines and his sorry little Fox News commentating failures with him.”
Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT): “It’s long past time. What I hear from the families of Guard members back in VT and people who have served is that they are embarrassed by him and they don’t have confidence in him.”
Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE): “Absolutely. The reality is, from day one of his tenure, he has fomented culture wars and started forever wars. He is someone who is willing to pursue an ideological agenda at all costs, no matter how much it leaves our nation and our military weaker. It’s not just ideological with Hegseth, it’s insecurity. Hegseth cannot handle having anyone who is smarter than him around him, which is why we are seeing him fire generals, why we see people resigning who have more qualifications than him.”
… Kamlanger-Dove (I love her) was asked about Mike Johnson planning to send everyone home again after just a couple days in session: “I know he’s got to get ready for this gaslighting convention that they have next week in Dallas. I’m just going to ask Grindr to make sure you are at capacity because Republicans are coming to a town near you.”
… They'll be flying in everyone. It will be a busy couple of days in Dallas during the ‘Republican Midterm Convention on that app. They will probably break that app. And that’s just the married ones.
… ProPublica: “An anonymous federal worker has filed a whistleblower disclosure warning that the US Postal Service’s attempt to create a system to regulate mail voting for the midterms has been ‘rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed.’ USPS issued the new rule last week, and it is currently blocked by a federal court. But the merits of the rule are expected to come before the Supreme Court ahead of the election. USPS has been working on a portal that will allow it to move forward.”
… “The whistleblower disclosure, filed with Sen. Blumenthal, says workers were forced to create the new system in weeks when it should have taken 9 months. The whistleblower alleges that work continued on implementing the plan, even after it was ordered to be stopped. The Trump admin ‘has hidden the high likelihood that the new ballot mail verification processes will result in major disruptions in mail ballots ever getting delivered to voters.’”
… “The whistleblower outlines a few specific concerns: The rejections of entire batches - thousands of ballots - when a perceived problem with one mail voter is found; and no acknowledgment or planning for errors that are sure to happen. The disclosure calls one portion of the internal software being developed unusable ‘garbage.’ It adds that internal concerns were brushed off by leadership, who said in response: ‘We cannot fail.’
… Blumenthal has asked the Postmaster General for detailed info about the plan. He says the USPS rule puts all mail voters at risk and accuses the admin of being “hellbent on changing the framework of casting ballots in this country, clearly for political reasons.”
… CNN’s Aaron Blake, citing the new Reuters/IPSOS poll: “Yeah, ‘Lake America’ is a dud. 63% oppose the name change, versus just 14% who support it. The crosstabs are arguably even worse. Just 7% strongly support ‘Lake America.’ 52% strongly oppose it. That’s 7-to-1. And even the GOP opposes it overall, 43%-33%.”
… 7%. Herpes’ approval rating is higher than that.
… VoteHub: In a surprise move, Democrat David Leslie has withdrawn from Alaska’s US Senate race minutes before the deadline, moving Republican Gerald Heikes into the top 4. The change benefits Mary Peltola by removing a potential Democratic spoiler from the ballot. There are now 3 Republicans on the final ranked-choice ballot with Peltola as the only Democrat.
… VoteHub: “RATINGS CHANGE — Alaska Senate has moved from Tossup to Tilt D in VoteHub’s forecast. Despite Alaska’s red lean, Peltola has led our polling average every day since launch, outraised Sullivan by $4M this cycle, and nearly won a majority in the August all-party primary.”
Reminder there is no Bulletin tomorrow because I do my weekly podcast Uncovered where we do a deep dive into the top stories of the week. And we certainly have plenty to talk about this week. I will also be working on my Labor Day weekend special substack: The 100 Most Corrupt Things Trump Did This Year. You don’t want to miss that one, which will be out Saturday morning.
If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. Thank you to everyone who, reads, shares, watches and subscribes.
… NC Newsline: Ronald Hayes was cautious when he talked to a reporter this week about the political TV advertisement he appears in, talking about the death of his son Shemar, a college football player who was murdered in Charlotte in March 2024 at age 23: “I have already been swindled into an ad that was about politics, which I don’t want to be about.”
… “Despite his intentions, the ad has landed him squarely in the middle of one of the nation’s most watched races. Hayes says he was tricked by the Senate Leadership Fund, a well-heeled Republican PAC. He says he agreed to talk to the video crew
