Here’s what happened this week under the Trump administration that you may have missed.
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The fallout from the midterms is extending to the Iran war
After his party’s crushing losses last week, President Donald Trump appeared to look for a way to end the war. He started out this week by saying that military operations against Iran were “effectively over.” Vice President JD Vance had started talking to leaders in Iran to find a deal.
But by the end of the week, Trump said there wouldn’t be a deal and told Vance to stop negotiating.
Experts told my Washington Post colleagues that without a peace deal, prices — gas, in particular — will remain high.
And more fighting — or a sustained, quasi-war — could be especially damaging to Vance, who is trying to distance himself from a war that he blames for Republicans’ biggest losses in modern times as he considers running for president in 2028.
Trump’s Cabinet secretaries get some really bad press
The week started with an attempt in the House, spearheaded by a Republican, to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his handling of the Iran war. It was quickly shut down by a majority of Republicans (with several Democrats missing the narrow vote in Hegseth’s favor), but Democrats could pick up impeachment efforts when they take over the majority in Congress in January.
Then Hegseth and his entourage were scolded by a soldieron Veterans Day for laughing and talking loudly while at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, a hallowed site for the military where visitors are required to maintain decorum. Hegseth sought to quickly end the controversy by awarding a medal the next day to the soldier who was standing guard. “We love soldiers,” Hegseth posted on social media. “We love standards. Well done, Specialist. Carry on Patriots.”
The Post reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio flies by a taxpayer-funded military jet nearly every weekend to watch his son play in University of Florida football games. The flights have cost the government more than $1.2 million.
Like other top officials, Rubio is barred from flying commercially for security reasons and is required, when traveling for personal reasons, to reimburse the government the equivalent of an economy-fare ticket.
Construction on Trump’s arch could begin this month
Of all the legacy construction projects Trump is undertaking, his planned arch in Washington is the most controversial.
The 250-foot arch has gained more attention after historical preservationists couldn’t stop Trump from demolishing a wing of the White House and building a ballroom in its place.
It’s also important to Trump, reports The Post’s Dan Diamond. The president has cast it as a monument to the nation’s 250th birthday, a tribute to veterans, and even a drone-and-weapons storage site. He also just likes the idea of such a European-esque monument for his legacy, Dan reports: “Administration officials say he’s drawn to the arch by its size, dramatic sweep and comparison to the Arc de Triomphe, the 164-foot-tall Parisian monument that Trump has long admired and hopes to surpass.”
It would sit near the entrance of Arlington National Cemetery and would cast shadows across the cemetery, including on John F. Kennedy’s grave site. Members of the Kennedy family sued this week to stop its construction. A federal judge has paused construction for a separate reason, but that could be lifted next week. Trump could start construction soon after.
“Soon we’re going to dedicate a magnificent triumphal arch to our veterans,” Trump said this week while visiting the cemetery for Veterans Day.
The Supreme Court clears the way for Trump’s border construction in Texas
A federal judge had ordered a halt to the Trump administration’s construction of border barriers along the Big Bend National Park in Texas over concerns that it could destroy wildlife, ranching and the environment.
But the Supreme Court said this week that Trump could keep building the barriers while the lawsuit plays out. The justices said federal law has a “clear preference” for border construction over protecting public land.
Anna Claire Beasley of No Big Bend Wall told my Post colleagues that she was dismayed by the high court’s decision.
“The consequences of this decision are not theoretical,” she said. “Every road cut into the desert, every stretch of land cleared, and every barrier built changes this landscape in ways that may never be undone.”
Trump’s efforts to dismantle the Voice of America are failing in court
Some of the most intense efforts by the administration to shrink government have centered on foreign aid and outreach. Over the past year, it has decimated the Voice of America, the international broadcaster set up in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda.
The administration has fired hundreds of staffers (while still paying them). The former head of VOA has sued, and an appeals court agreed this week that he was illegally fired. The courts have also said that Kari Lake, Trump’s pick to lead VOA, was illegally running the agency.
It’s possible with all these court losses that the VOA functions closer to normal in the second half of Trump’s presidency.
Amber Phillips writes The 5-Minute Fix newsletter, a quick analysis of the day’s biggest political news. Send her an email here, or ask a question that could be featured in an upcoming newsletter.
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