“Former lawmakers across the political spectrum have warned for years of a hushed congressional bacchanal marked by inappropriate revelry and sexual misconduct. But a sense of growing momentum gripped Congress on Tuesday, as Democrats grappled with Swalwell’s resignation and Republicans called for other lawmakers to face scrutiny.”

“On the same day that the Senate Banking Committee announced the date of his confirmation hearing to become the next Fed chairman, prosecutors from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office sought to escalate the very investigation that threatens to delay his appointment.”

“Then, in a Fox Business interview that aired Wednesday morning, President Trump made a full-throated defense of the probe of Chair Jerome Powell related to the renovation of the Fed’s headquarters.”

“The confirmation faces a roadblock led by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who has vowed not to advance any Fed nomination until the Justice Department ends its probe.”

— New York Times, April 15, 2026.

Said Trump: “Everything is drone-proof and bulletproof.”

“It was hardly the first time the administration had invoked national security to justify a contentious decision. Over the past year, top officials have cited similar concerns when stripping union rights from thousands of federal workers, pausing the construction of wind farms off the East Coast, and exempting oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from protections for endangered species of whales.”

“Critics see a troubling trend that is testing the limits of presidential power.”

“Judging from those posts, the commander in chief is in distress. No one can say for sure what is causing the president’s bizarre behavior. Perhaps Trump’s narcissistic insistence that he is always successful in everything he undertakes is feeling the sting and strain of multiple public failures, including the collapse of his campaign to dislodge the Iranian regime, plummeting approval ratings, the decline of the U.S. economy, and, on Sunday, the crushing defeat of one of his favorite fellow authoritarians, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán.”

“But whatever is driving this decline in Trump’s self-control, Americans must not shrug off the president’s latest implosion.”

“Mr. Trump, clearly jilted, lashed out at Ms. Meloni, saying in an interview with an Italian newspaper on Tuesday that he hadn’t talked to her ‘in a long time,’ was vexed by her lack of participation in the war in Iran and was ‘shocked by her,’ adding, ‘I thought she was brave, but I was wrong.’”

“Elon Musk was a special government employee, and so was Corey Lewandowski. But Kushner has not been designated one. He is both outside and inside government—a ‘volunteer,’ the White House calls him. And he is vaulting over strictures that were put in place to defend the mechanisms of government from becoming tools of foreign or private interests.”

“Fuller represents a deep red district in northwest Georgia and has sought to align himself with President Donald Trump as much as possible.”

“A full analysis of why Hungarians repudiated Orbán will surely contain many details unique to Hungary. However, it’s also clear that there were three main factors that led to Orbán’s overthrow. And understanding these factors is important if Americans are to defeat Trump’s MAGA regime.”

Said Trump: “I’ll have to fire him. If he’s not leaving on time.”

“Trump also refused to distance himself from the Justice Department’s criminal probe into the Fed’s $2.5 billion office renovation, which prosecutors have used to ratchet up pressure on the Fed even as its legal standing has crumbled in court. Asked whether he would direct the department to stand down from the investigation, which a federal judge last month found to be part of a broader White House pressure campaign, Trump declined.”

“The forces moving into the region include about 6,000 troops aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush and several warships escorting it… About 4,200 others with the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and its embarked Marine Corps task force, the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, are expected to arrive near the end of the month.”

Said Trump, in a late night Truth Social post: “Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable.”

“Even before (waves arms) all this, a record number of lawmakers weren’t running for re-election in November. There have been two government shutdowns in the past year. A growing number of lawmakers look at Congress as more of a side hustle, focusing instead on their work as ‘influencers’ or podcasters.”

NPR: How Congress’ workplace culture made accountability elusive.

“The measure has virtually no chance of passing this Congress, but it is the latest sign that Democrats have coalesced around Hegseth as their new top target in Trump’s Cabinet.”