DAY AHEAD - My Daily Editorial Note
April 13, 2026
Sometimes it’s easy to be sluggish on a Monday. Sluggish to get out of bed. Sluggish to get up to full speed on the job.
But even if you’re taking it a little slow, you at least want to LOOK busy to the bosses.
Let’s see how the President and Congress fare today. Maybe they’ll at least try to LOOK busy to their bosses (the American people), if they’re not going to actually be busy tackling the many crises unfolding in our country.
As peace talks fell flat with Iran, the President was attending a UFC fight and enjoying the Doral resort over the weekend. (Per reports, he was booed at the event https://www.rawstory.com/trump-booed-ufc-iran-war/ )
Then he spent time blasting ….. the Pope! And he posted an A.I. image portraying himself as Jesus.
However offensive that is --- and it’s offensive to a lot of people --- Trump doesn’t exactly LOOK like he’s urgently tackling the crises America is facing.
Here’s his schedule today. EVERYTHING is closed to the press.
Meanwhile, as gas prices surge and the Department of Homeland Security remains mired in an unforgivable shutdown, Congress begins the day putting the finishing touches on its wayyyyy long Easter recess. Some will trickle back to DC tonight. Others will wait until tomorrow to return.
And the only glimmer of unity from Congress appears to be on expelling its own members.
Those expulsions (more on that in a moment) may be exceptionally warranted, but constituents back home might like to see Congress become similarly unified on lowering gas prices or reopening life-saving homeland security agencies.
So…. Let’s begin with Iran.
1) “U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports at 10 a.m. ET, in accordance with the President’s proclamation” An already blocked strait (to some of the world) will now be blockaded.
Trump’s political instincts in announcing this blockade are the same instincts he used to criticize Pope Leo in a late night social media post last night. He wrote “Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime and terrible on Foreign Policy.” (his capitalization, not mine) The A.I. image in which Trump portrays himself as Jesus
Per NBC News, the Pope said he has “no fear of the Trump Administration” and will continue to appeal for peace. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-says-not-big-fan-weak-terrible-pope-leo-rcna331461
2) Uranium enrichment remains the sticking point in peace talks with Iran. Nothing over the weekend indicated this will (or can) be resolved promptly. Looooong week ahead on that front.
3) Meanwhile, the week begins with the Justice Dept pledging prosecutions for those who buy sanctioned Iranian oil. Any such prosecution would be months-long or years-long odyssey. But I’m struck by the acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s statement of full support for the “commander in chief.” Not a small thing: From an agency that had historically triumphantly championed its independence from the White House.
Other threads to pull today:
1) Eric Swalwell is suspending his campaign for Governor of California. His top surrogates had already bailed on his candidacy, amid the tumult of revelations of alleged sexual misconduct. Will he quit the U.S. House too? As of this morning, he hasn’t. But pressure will grow.
Some of that pressure will come from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who appears poised to make a move to launch an expulsion against Swalwell and Rep. Tony Gonazales (R-TX).
It was noteworthy how Democrats joined the call for Swalwell to resign…. Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA) did so on national TV yesterday morning. Others are doing the same:
Other gubernatorial candidates will now jockey with increasing fierceness. Matt Mahan, a gubernatorial candidate and mayor of San Jose, issued a statement overnight, saying “Eric Swalwell does not get any credit for doing less than the bare minimum. Exiting a race you should never have entered deserves no credit. It is an overdue acknowledgment of what the brave survivors who came forward already made clear: Eric Swalwell represented the worst of politics.”
2) Political analysts worldwide will try today to read the tea leaves of what in the heck happened in Hungary over the weekend. Viktor Orban was toppled. Perhaps most strikingly – 6 million people voted in a nation of 9 million. That’s – quite a turnout.
It’s not a ringing endorsement for Trumpism.
3) My new enterprise reporting posted overnight about the Democrats prospects here in our country’s midterm elections. Four key “rematches” could decide the final outcome. Four challengers outperformed their fellow Democrats in 2024, yet lost in narrow elections. They’re trying again, including: The former Harrisburg, Pennsylvania TV anchor, the Wisconsin dairy farmer, the former president of the Navajo Nation and the former Iowa state Rep. who’s aiming for a THIRD attempt to oust the Republican incumbent.
4) The cost crisis spreads. Your morning cup of coffee is gonna get more expensive.
5) Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) has an 1130am news conference in Annapolis to tackle costs, which are unequivocally a true “kitchen table” issue for constituents. He’ll “announce an agreement to advance the Utility RELIEF Act through final passage and address rising costs for Maryland families.”
6) Congress still hasn’t finalized a plan to extend critical foreign intelligence surveillance tools. Deadline is looming. The surveillance authority expires one week from today. Congress will spend some of its behind-the-scenes time today game-planning how to approve an extension in a viciously divided US House, where some Republicans oppose a clean extension. Even getting FISA through the Rules Committee appears to be a puzzle that’s yet to be solved.
7) Epstein survivors will continue pressing the Trump Administration to release more of the withheld files. Pam Bondi’s scheduled deposition tomorrow does indeed appear to be a “no-go.”
The fight over how to get it back on the calendar continues today. And we continue to wonder what inspired the First Lady abrupt speech last week about Epstein.
At 10am eastern, watch for my substack live with former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance. Amid the chaos – and the unfolding purge – inside Trump Department of Justice, Joyce will have insights into what’s happening and what it means for us.
I don't disagree that convicted sexual predators should be expelled from their government positions but can we please start with Trump? The pearl clutching from the other side of the aisle is so transparent when they pointedly ignore the actual convictions of their beloved grifter.
Is it possible to NOT show photos or memes of trump anymore? He wants the attention. Don’t give it to him. Many of us are getting increasingly stressed and exhausted from this chaotic and truly insane news cycle even though we are trying to stay informed and motivated. Thank you.