Said Trump: “I mean, they have to have some, because other people have some. You got to have some.”

He added: “Well, what am I going to do? Am I going to let Saudi Arabia have missiles, but they can’t have them? Doesn’t work that way, you know, it doesn’t work that way, and missiles aren’t the problem. Missiles, they hurt a little location, but they don’t blow up the planet.”

“Mr. Pulte has used his current post as a top federal housing official to help with Mr. Trump’s campaign of retribution against his perceived enemies. Lawmakers are worried that Mr. Pulte could find ways to weaponize the spy office even in just a few days on the job.”

“Now, the president is turning to a pot of money Congress approved last year for the U.S. Secret Service.”

“The Reflecting Pool now evokes the joy of a Green Bay Packers victory. Or a high-school prank. Or St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago. It most certainly is not the gleaming American-flag blue that Trump’s repainting of the pool was supposed to produce.”

“That project—the one that cost taxpayers at least $16.4 million and came with a nanobubbling system that promised to kill off algae growth—is hidden under 18 to 30 inches of swamp water dense with scraggly plumes of algae.”

Said Van Hollen: “If you are asking me whether I think Democrats need to shake things up, you bet I do. It’s pretty clear operating that from within the confines or the halls of Congress is not a successful recipe for actually getting change.”

“But in retrosepct, Cornyn might have been the lucky one. Yes, the Texan had to suffer the humiliation of Donald Trump endorsing his opponent, Ken Paxton, even after he all but crawled on his knees to Mar-a-Lago to show his loyalty to the president. But it turns out Trump had a different hell in mind for Thune, as he has perpetually thwarted his efforts to manage the U.S. Senate.”

Semafor: Trump and Thune’s dynamic turns the Senate “very chaotic.”

The astonishing collapse comes after an investigation that exposed Jackson Lahmeyer’s intimate relationship with campaign fundraiser Caitlin Simmons Key, a former Miss Oklahoma USA.

Key said that she and Lahmeyer, who is married, kissed on several occasions during the heat of the campaign. He sent her thousands of text messages, in one telling her “I enjoyed those lips,” and recounted leaving Mar-a-Lago for a strip club at 1am after being offered cocaine.

New York Times: Trump rescinds endorsement of right-wing pastor after texting scandal.

— President Trump, talking to reporters about the deal negotiated to end the war in Iran.

Said Collins: “I do not regret that vote. I do disagree with Justice Kavanaugh’s vote.”

“The provisions, tucked into the Senate Armed Services Committee’s defense policy bill, would withhold 75 percent of the Pentagon chief’s travel budget until lawmakers receive the documentation.”

“The Senate Intelligence Committee was forced to cancel its confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton to serve as director of national intelligence after Trump instructed him not to attend.”

“At 3:54 a.m. today, Trump posted on Truth Social that he was looking to ‘cancel’ Clayton’s confirmation hearing to be DNI because he wanted the Senate to also confirm James McDonald as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York…”

“Trump’s meandering post is having a cascading effect on other legislative priorities, too. It threatens to upend an extension of FISA Section 702 authority, which has been dark since Friday. Democrats have vowed they won’t vote to reauthorize Section 702 until a permanent DNI nominee is in place. And Trump repeated his unrealistic demand that GOP leaders attach the SAVE America Act to a FISA extension.”

Playbook: “The last-minute U-turn is Trump’s latest capricious decision that is puzzling Republicans on the Hill.”

“Trump said he was influenced by the stock market’s rise as he worked toward a resolution of the conflict. He said he didn’t want to be compared with former President Herbert Hoover, who was president during the 1929 market crash that led to the Great Depression.”

Said Trump: “He was always the one I didn’t want to be. I didn’t want to see an economic catastrophe.”

“For weeks, investors had been bracing for a Fed that would keep rates higher for longer, selling off bonds and driving up long-term yields. The decision to hold rates in the current range between 3.5% and 3.75% was unanimous.”

Said Trump: “If it works out, I’m going to take the credit. If it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming JD. You better be careful, JD. He’s going to turn his plane around and get the hell out of here.”

“The currently untitled film will follow the early life of a cop who goes on to be caught up in the January 6th Capitol riots. Penn has scripted and will direct the movie, which has five-time Oscar nominated actor Bradley Cooper in talks to star in the lead role. There’s no deal yet.”