Catherine Rampell

Trump’s “Warflation” Has Just Begun If he were trying to increase prices on purpose, would he be doing anything differently?

Get ready for some "warflation": higher prices for oil, gas, food (lots of fertilizer passes through Hormuz), goods made with petrochemicals (umbrellas, shampoo, toys, etc.), and pretty much anything that needs to be transported anywhere.
Affordability! open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

I continue to be gobsmacked at 1) how common this formulation is 2) how antisemitic and generally bigoted it is 3) and how for all the talk of anti-semitism this is never cited as an example even though it’s quite literally the original incarnation.

A Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by Trump was sentenced to life in prison for child sex abuse Since receiving presidential pardons, dozens of former Capitol rioters have gotten into more legal trouble. In Florida, Andrew Paul Johnson was sentenced to life in prison for child sex abuse.

“Police reported that Johnson, 45, tried to keep the children quiet by telling them he would share millions of dollars in restitution money he expected to receive from the Trump administration in connection with his Jan. 6 case.”
www.npr.org/2026/03/05/n...

More than 20 states sue over new global tariffs Trump imposed after his stinging Supreme Court loss Some two dozen states are challenging President Donald Trump’s new global tariffs in court. On Thursday, the states filed a lawsuit over import taxes he imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court.

BREAKING: More than 20 states sue over new global tariffs President Trump imposed after the Supreme Court loss.

What does this imply for those of us who are not Christian, and who labor under the assumption that we're protected by the First Amendment?

China no longer buys US exports: Drawing the right lessons for the next Trump-Xi deal China essentially stopped buying US exports in April 2025. President Donald Trump had started his second term by launching a new trade war that he headlined with steep new tariffs on China. When China...

Without Trump’s trade wars since 2017, US exports to China would have been nearly 60 percent higher in 2025, or roughly $90 billion annually.

www.piie.com/blogs/realti...

Scott Bessent says 15% global tariff ‘likely’ to be imposed this week US Treasury secretary says duty is set to increase from 10% rate introduced after last month’s Supreme Court defeat

Scott Bessent says 15% global tariff ‘likely’ to be imposed this week www.ft.com/content/8f1b...

Pete Hegseth Treats Fallen American Soldiers as a PR Problem His use of the Iran war dead to attack the media was disgraceful.

Pete Hegseth Treats Fallen American Soldiers as a PR Problem
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

No Help and Few Options for Travelers Stranded by Mideast Conflict

One woman who called the State Department helpline looking for help said they told her to "stop ranting and raving" and hung up on her.

Another woman said they asked her how to spell Oman.

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/04/t...

Iraq plunged into nationwide blackout as US tells citizens to leave immediately - Türkiye Today Iraq's entire national power grid has collapsed in a total blackout as the country reels from the widening US-Israeli military campaign against Iran

Iraq plunged into nationwide blackout as US tells citizens to leave immediately
www.turkiyetoday.com/region/iraq-...

It's a war again bsky.app/profile/atru...

This is what “regime change” means for Trump. No freedom for the Venezuelan, no democratic vote, just leave the old dictatorial system in place with most of the same people.

Supertankers Begin to Back Away From Gulf as Hormuz Crisis Bites Supertankers have begun to abandon planned voyages into the Persian Gulf and seek safer destinations amid the turmoil at the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

At least three very large crude carriers that sailed from Asia with plans to load in the Gulf have diverted toward the Atlantic Basin, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Florence ICE detainee dead after tooth infection, Chandler official says A Haitian asylum seeker held for four months at Florence Correctional Center died Monday at a Scottsdale hospital due to complications from an infected tooth, a local official in Chandler

Haitian asylum seeker Emmanuel Damas, 56, died at a Scottsdale, AZ hospital Monday, while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, after struggling to receive timely care for a worsening toothache: @tucson.com tucson.com/news/local/b...

Hastily scribbling "NOT A" on the Department of War signage

outtake from Dr. Strangelove bsky.app/profile/atru...

Oh. bsky.app/profile/atru...

Haitian Asylum Seeker Dies of Toothache in What ICE Calls "The Best Healthcare of Their Lives" Detention deaths are a foreseeable outcome of specific policy choices made by people in position of power. This post steps back to think through the broader trends and steps toward accountability.

Haitian Asylum Seeker Dies of Toothache in What ICE Calls "The Best Healthcare of Their Lives"
open.substack.com/pub/austinko...

Comer on "boots on the ground" in Iran: "Sometimes that's unavoidable in a situation like this"

So proud to work at @thebulwark.com

Powell Won, but the Fed Might Still Lose Current chair wields deep bipartisan support and personal independence, but Trump has a closer relationship to his successor and three years to tighten his grip.

Powell Won, but the Fed Might Still Lose www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Republicans can’t even agree on whether the war in Iran is an actual “war” When the question is, “Is the United States currently at war?” and the answer is, “It depends on whom you ask,” there’s a problem.

When the question is, “Is the United States currently at war?” and the answer is, “It depends on whom you ask,” there’s a problem.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

KUWAIT SAYS TWO ARMY PERSONNEL WERE KILLED MONDAY AS A RESULT OF IRAN’S ATTACKS AGAINST THE COUNTRY: STATEMENT

As Trump endangers our servicemembers' lives in the Middle East, he's also cutting care for veterans back home.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/u...

CIA working to arm Kurdish forces to spark uprising in Iran, sources say | CNN Politics The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran and the Trump administration has been in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish lea...

The next Forever War is here.

"The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, multiple people familiar with the plan told CNN."

Why Trump Iran Operation Isn’t Winning Over the Hill Plus: Senators are confused about whether to call this a “war.”

More senators struggle to answer whether we are, in fact, in a "war" (via @cheetah.bsky.social)
www.thebulwark.com/p/why-trump-...

AI-generated art can’t be copyrighted after Supreme Court declines to review the rule A lower court previously said that “human authorship is a bedrock requirement of copyright.”

AI-generated art can’t be copyrighted after Supreme Court declines to review the rule www.theverge.com/policy/88767...

As I said the other day: It’s only a war if it comes from the war region of France. Otherwise it’s just sparkling military conflict

Kash Patel’s latest firings ousted agents with expertise in Iran The FBI director gutted a specialized, global espionage unit of counterintelligence agents, just days before Operation Epic Fury.

When FBI Director Kash Patel fired a dozen FBI agents and staff last week for their role in the classified documents investigation of Donald Trump, he targeted an elite counter espionage unit that investigates threats from foreign adversaries and specializes in Iran www.ms.now/news/kash-pa...

Military officials question fortifications at site where U.S. troops were killed in Iranian strike The first American service members to die in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran were killed in an apparent Iranian drone attack on a makeshift office space in Kuwait, sources told CBS News.

On the 6 US troops who died at Shuaiba port in Kuwait: Troops asked for more drone defeat capabilities, none came. It was recommended that the makeshift tactical operations center not be used because it was hard to defend and concentrated too many troops in one place. www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-st...