Randy George’s replacement, Gen. Chris LaNeve, is Hegseth’s former military assistant. An Army officer told me that LaNeve “is not well qualified” for the post and “doesn’t have a great reputation.” He won White House favor by congratulating Trump on his inauguration via video call. wapo.st/4v9trlZ

Barry McCaffrey says Gen. Randy George is “probably the best leader I’ve encountered in uniform." Why fire him? I’m told that Hegseth had long been suspicious of George, who had previously worked for Lloyd Austin and clashed with Hegseth over promotions for women and minorities. wapo.st/4v9trlZ

The proposed cuts to the NSF would be “devastating,” says Leigh Stearns, a glaciologist at the University of Pennsylvania. “We cannot cut the pipeline and expect the output to continue. This is how the US loses its scientific leadership — with a reckless budget line.” www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Well at least that’s one day when we know there won’t be any Russian strikes on Kyiv.

Hegseth’s most corrosive actions have been to fire more a dozen senior admirals and generals . A disproportionate number have been minorities or women. One African American officer recently told me that minorities in the Pentagon feel as if they have a target on their backs. wapo.st/4v9trlZ

Time reports Hegseth was “caught off guard” when Iran attacked other Gulf states. Perhaps because Hegseth wasn’t expecting Iran to put up much of a fight, he failed to take some elementary precautions--e.g., he ignored Zelensky's offer to help with drone defenses. wapo.st/4v9trlZ

The ultimatum that went mysteriously unmentioned in Trump’s prime time address makes a reappearance. But this time it is more vaguely worded. He’s not explicitly vowing to attack Iranian power facilities. Iran threatened to attack power and desalination plants in the Gulf if Trump did that.

I wrote a Substack examining John Bolton's NYT suggestions for winning the Iran war. Bolton is one of the smartest hawks, but none of his suggestions are very credible. There is simply no easy exit from the quagmire that Trump created by recklessly attacking Iran. open.substack.com/pub/maxboot/...

Hegseth's premature predictions of victory echo those of “Baghdad Bob." In one widely mocked moment, he insisted, regarding the Strait of Hormuz, that “the only thing prohibiting transit … right now is Iran shooting at shipping. It is open for transit, should Iran not do that.” wapo.st/4v9trlZ

Time reports Hegseth was “caught off guard” when Iran attacked other Gulf states. Perhaps because Hegseth wasn’t expecting Iran to put up much of a fight, he failed to take some elementary precautions--e.g., he ignored Zelensky's offer to help with drone defenses. wapo.st/4v9trlZ

Hegseth's contribution to the war effort is his bombastic news conferences, where his premature predictions of victory echo “Baghdad Bob.” Hegseth insisted “the only thing prohibiting transit … right now is Iran shooting at shipping. It is open for transit, should Iran not do that.” wapo.st/4v9trlZ

Hegseth’s most corrosive actions have been to fire more a dozen senior admirals and generals . A disproportionate number have been minorities or women. One African American officer recently told me that minorities in the Pentagon feel as if they have a target on their backs. wapo.st/4v9trlZ

Randy George’s replacement, Gen. Chris LaNeve, is Hegseth’s former military assistant. An Army officer told me that LaNeve “is not well qualified” for the post and “doesn’t have a great reputation.” He won White House favor by congratulating Trump on his inauguration via video call. wapo.st/4v9trlZ

Early on Feb. 28, Trump announced the biggest US war in more than two decades. What was Pete Hegseth doing the day before? Announcing a settlement with Scouting America to discontinue some diversity initiatives. He’s more focused on fighting culture wars than actual wars. wapo.st/4v9trlZ

Barry McCaffrey says Gen. Randy George is “probably the best leader I’ve encountered in uniform." Why fire him? I’m told that Hegseth had long been suspicious of George, who had previously worked for Lloyd Austin and clashed with Hegseth over promotions for women and minorities. wapo.st/4v9trlZ

The note that Gen. Randy George sent to senior Army generals after getting fired by Pete Hegseth for no good reason. George is and always has been a class act.

"Sanctions relief will likely result in increased revenue for Iran and could result in Russia receiving $3.3B-$5B in additional revenue in March....The waivers have turned Iran and Russia from price-takers into price-setters and left global prices higher than before." www.cfr.org/articles/tru...

From Ukraine’s defense minister.

Ukrainians have a not-so-secret weapon the Russians cannot match: the determination of a democratic nation to stay free. bit.ly/4bQjuRx

Trump is excoriating our European allies but doesn’t have a word to say about the aid that Putin is providing to Iran to kill Americans. Talking on MS Now.

Trump’s war has already created an energy crisis. Now it’s creating a crisis in trans-Atlantic relations too. Talking on CNN.

Turns out Ukraine has a lot of cards to play: "Russia suffered its highest monthly losses since the start of the full-scale invasion, with more than 35,000 killed or wounded in Ukraine in March, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 3." kyivindependent.com/russia-suffe...

The Infinity Machine, a new book by CFR expert Sebastian Mallaby, follows DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis and the quest for superintelligence. Out now:

Hegseth and Trump are getting rid of a true professional who happened to work for SecDef Lloyd Austin (another true professional) and elevating as Army chief if staff a general who curried favor with Trump. www.cnn.com/2026/04/02/p...

Roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers are still intact and thousands of one-way attack drones remain in Iran’s arsenal despite the daily pounding by US and Israeli strikes against military targets over the past five weeks. www.cnn.com/2026/04/02/p...

This tortoise was born in the early 1830s just a couple of years before Mark Twain was, and would’ve been about 65 when exaggerated reports of Twain’s death circulated in 1897

Randy George is an outstanding, dedicated, apolitical officer of the highest integrity. No wonder Hegseth is firing him. He wants to be surrounded by yes men. The only surprise is that Hegseth is firing a white male general. www.cbsnews.com/news/hegseth...

Trump is excoriating our European allies but doesn’t have a word to say about the aid that Putin is providing to Iran to kill Americans. Talking on MS Now.

If Trump ends the war with Iran still in control of the Strait of Hormuz, that will be a victory for the mullahs and a defeat for the US. Talking on MS NOW.

Trump’s war has already created an energy crisis. Now it’s creating a crisis in trans-Atlantic relations too. Talking on CNN.

The speech the president gave last night was all about why he went to war with Iran. But what people want to know is not why he started the war but how he’s going to end it—and he had no information to share on that front. Talking with CNN.

Good news! “Russian oil output cuts are imminent because Ukraine's strikes on port infrastructure, pipelines and refineries have reduced export capability by 1 million barrels per day, or a ​fifth of total capacity, three industry sources said on Thursday.” www.reuters.com/business/ene...

Turns out a little known section of the law mandates that presidential records, especially top secret ones, should only be stored in the bathroom of a country club. Who knew?

“A Cheongung-II interceptor costs roughly $1 million versus $4 million for a Patriot PAC-3.” Forget Patriots—which Trump is recklessly using up against Iran. The Europeans should buy these Korean missiles for Ukraine. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/02/b...

You’ve got to be kidding: “The immediate fault here lies with Europe.” www.wsj.com/opinion/nato...

Zelensky says 30,000 to 35,000 Russian soldiers are being killed every month, which is more than Putin is recruiting, and that 90 percent of the losses are inflicted by drones. In February, Ukraine actually gained more territory than it lost for the first time since 2023. bit.ly/4bQjuRx

While the U.S. is bogged down in the Middle East… www.wsj.com/world/china/...

Newsmax host and former Marine pilot.

This is what I mean by vice signaling

Insanely risky. I have trouble believing even Trump would give a go-ahead for such an operation. He doesn't want his own Desert One.

The mission would require the airlift of potentially hundreds or thousands of troops and heavy equipment to support the excavation and recovery of radioactive material. That could take weeks... and take place under fire deep inside Iran. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Truly reprehensible. Trump threatened to cut off arms sales to Ukraine (including badly needed air defense interceptors) if the Europeans didn't bail him out of his disastrous decision to launch a reckless war with Iran. Putin must be enjoying this. www.ft.com/content/d304...

Israel is now under the largest continuous Iranian attack since the strike three weeks ago, Israel’s Channel 14 reported. How is this possible? Just a couple of weeks ago, Trump said “We have already destroyed 100% of Iran’s military capability.” I’m so confused. Can anyone explain this? 🤷‍♂️

🚨NEW: Gregg Phillips, who holds one of the most consequential jobs at FEMA overseeing disaster response, is doubling down on claims he teleported to a Waffle House and a church — writing "haters gonna hate" on Truth Social and citing biblical accounts on teleportation. www.cnn.com/2026/04/01/p...

Amid the insanity of American politics, it’s highly inspiring to visit a country united in defense of an embattled democracy. maxboot.substack.com/p/why-ukrain...

One of Europe’s foremost Trump whisperers tries to talk him off the ledge.

Eliot Cohen: Never has the United States had a secretary of defense less capable, more egregiously belligerent, or less suited to provide civilian direction of a war than Pete Hegseth. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

The irony is that the more markets rally, the less pressure there is on Trump to end his war. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

You would think that Trump would be angry by the aid Russia has offered Iran to target U.S. troops, but, ever solicitous of Putin, the president appears serenely unperturbed. on.cfr.org/4bVJjQ6

At the moment, roughly 60 percent of Ukraine’s drone-manufacturing capacity remains unused. Ukraine’s goal is to manufacture seven million drones this year, and it can expand production even faster with an influx of funding from the Gulf states. on.cfr.org/4bVJjQ6