Posted by Matt Kiser
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/03/day-1869/
Today in one sentence: Trump warned that “I guess the worst case” from U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran would be “somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person”; Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed the U.S. attacked Iran first because “we knew that there was going to be an Israeli action” and that it would “precipitate an attack against American forces”; Sen. Thom Tillis threatened to block Trump administration nominees and stall committee work unless Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem answers his questions about the Charlotte’s Web immigration operation; Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick agreed to a voluntary, closed-door House Oversight interview on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein after Justice Department records contradicted his Senate testimony; the Justice Department abruptly reversed itself and will defend Trump’s executive orders targeting four law firms, less than 24 hours after telling the same court it wanted to drop the appeals; the Interior Department threatened to hold employees “accountable” after an internal database leaked showing National Park Service staff flagging hundreds of items that could “disparage” Americans for possible revision or removal; the Supreme Court temporarily blocked California from enforcing a 2024 law that limited when educators could tell parents about a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation; and voters in Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas head to the polls today to kick off the 2026 midterm season.
1/ Trump warned that “I guess the worst case” from U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran would be “somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person.” He said “most of the people we had in mind are dead,” and that “another group, they may be dead also,” leaving “a third wave coming” and “pretty soon we’re not going to know anybody.” said Israel struck the Council of Experts building in Qom as votes were being counted to choose a successor to Ali Khamenei, adding, “We wanted to prevent them from picking a new supreme leader.” (Bloomberg / New York Times / The Guardian / Politico / CNN / Axios)
2/ Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed the U.S. attacked Iran first because “we knew that there was going to be an Israeli action” and that it would “precipitate an attack against American forces,” arguing that waiting meant “higher casualties” and that “we were not going to get hit first.” Trump, however, publicly contradicted that version of events, saying, “If anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.” Rubio later tried to reframe the decision, saying “this had to happen anyway” because Iran “was not going to be allowed to hide behind its ballistic missile program.” Democrats said a classified briefing failed to show an “imminent threat,” with Chuck Schumer calling the answers “completely and totally insufficient” and Mark Warner saying, “There was no imminent threat to the United States,” warning of “uncharted territory” and demanding “the objective” and “our exit plan.” (The Guardian / Axios / Politico / ABC News / Washington Post / CNBC)
3/ Sen. Thom Tillis threatened to block Trump administration nominees and stall committee work unless Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem answers his questions about the Charlotte’s Web immigration operation, saying “I’m giving you a performance evaluation here, I’m not looking for a response,” and adding that “time after time after time, I’ve been disappointed.” Tillis called Noem’s leadership “a disaster,” accused DHS of detaining U.S. citizens, chasing arrest “numbers” over judgment, and said he had “reason to believe” she was “violating the law, either knowingly or unknowingly,” citing delays in FEMA reimbursements tied to her sign-off policy. He then accused her department of “stonewalling” Congress, citing a DHS inspector general letter that described “10 different instances” where investigators were “misled” or blocked. “Does anybody have any idea how bad it has to be for the OIG in this agency to come out and do this publicly?” he said. “That’s a failure of leadership, and that is why I’ve called for your resignation.” Tillis warned he would put a hold on “any en bloc nominations” unless he got answers, and threatened to “deny quorum and markup in as many committees as I can” – a threat that would slow nominations and legislation. (The Hill / CNBC / NBC News / Politico / Axios / New York Times / Associated Press / Bloomberg / CBS News / CNN)
4/ Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick agreed to a voluntary, closed-door House Oversight interview on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein after Justice Department records contradicted his Senate testimony that he “did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person.” Lutnick said he “did nothing wrong” and wants to “set the record straight,” while the White House said he remains a “critical asset” to Trump. Lutnick previously claimed he cut off Epstein after a 2005 visit to Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, vowing he would “never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again,” but the documents showed Lutnick meeting at Epstein’s home in 2011 and his family having lunch on Epstein’s private Caribbean island in 2012. (Axios / NBC News / CNN / CNBC / Politico / Washington Post)
5/ The Justice Department abruptly reversed itself and will defend Trump’s executive orders targeting four law firms, less than 24 hours after telling the same court it wanted to drop the appeals. The Justice Department gave no explanation, but instead argued a procedural point: that the court hadn’t yet granted the voluntary dismissal request and so the administration could still pursue the cases. Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, and Susman Godfrey objected, calling the reversal “unexplained” and urged the court not to reward the government’s attempt to withdraw a dismissal the parties had agreed to ahead of Friday’s deadline. Trump’s executive orders, which trial judges had already found unconstitutional, would have stripped security clearances, restricted access to federal buildings, and pushed agencies to cut off contracts involving the firms and their clients. (Politico / Associated Press / New York Times / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
6/ The Interior Department threatened to hold employees “accountable” after an internal database leaked showing National Park Service staff flagging hundreds of items that could “disparage” Americans for possible revision or removal. The entries were compiled under Trump administration orders to strip “partisan ideology” from park sites and instead refocus on the nation’s “beauty, abundance, or grandeur.” The Interior Department said the material was “draft, deliberative” paperwork and “not a representation of final action.” Even so, the submissions included exhibits and material on Emmett Till, slavery, civil rights, LGBTQ+ history, pollution, and climate change. And, many entries read as staff trying to interpret the directives, with some proposing softer wording for documented violence to avoid “denigrating” perpetrators. (Washington Post / Reuters)
7/ The Supreme Court temporarily blocked California from enforcing a 2024 law that limited when educators could tell parents about a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation, reviving a lower-court injunction while the case continues. In an unsigned order, the court said the parent plaintiffs were “likely to succeed” on their First Amendment claim, citing constitutional “parental rights” in participating in decisions about a child’s mental health. The court granted emergency relief for the parents, but declined to extend the same relief to teachers, who also challenged the policies. Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented and criticized the court for intervening on the emergency docket before the appeals process played out, while Justice Amy Coney Barrett, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, said the order was meant to prevent “irreparable harm” and was preliminary. The litigation now returns to the lower courts, with California officials saying they remain committed to student safety and privacy while the case proceeds. (Sacramento Bee / Washington Post / NBC News / Politico / CNN)
8/ Voters in Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas head to the polls today to kick off the 2026 midterm season. In Texas, Sen. John Cornyn faces Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt in the Republican Senate primary, a race that could go to a runoff if no candidate wins 50% of the vote. Republican leaders have warned that if Paxton is the nominee, Democrats could have their best shot in decades at flipping the seat in November. Democrats will also pick a Senate nominee, choosing between Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico. In North Carolina, voters begin filling an open Senate seat after Sen. Thom Tillis declined to run again, with former governor Roy Cooper expected to win the Democratic nomination and Trump-backed former RNC chair Michael Whatley favored on the Republican side. And in Arkansas, Republican incumbents are expected to advance with the more competitive primaries further down the ballot. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / ABC News / CBS News / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
- The Supreme Court blocked a New York state court decision that would likely have flipped a Republican congressional district into a Democratic district. Earlier this year, a state judge ruled that New York’s 11th District must be redrawn because the current map violates the state’s Constitution by diluting the votes of Black and Latino voters. The district is currently held by a Republican. (ABC News / NPR / The Guardian / Washington Post)
The 2026 midterms are in 245 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 980 days.
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