The Daily Brief — Mar. 26, 2026
The latest on Iran, Olympic transgender ban, and more
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Iran
The Iran war is now in its fourth week. More than 3,000 people have been killed in Iran, Lebanon, Israel, and other countries in the Middle East, according to Al Jazeera. Thirteen US service members have been killed, with two additional noncombat deaths.
Iran said it was open to President Trump’s “15-point ceasefire plan” but denied holding talks to end the war. However, Pakistan’s top diplomat said indirect US–Iran talks are ongoing, with Pakistan passing messages between the two sides. Trump warned Iran to consider the proposal “before it is too late,” after Tehran said it was reviewing it.
Israel said it killed Alireza Tangsiri, the navy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, along with other senior commanders in an overnight strike. Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tangsiri led operations that targeted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, President Trump, speaking at a cabinet meeting at the White House today, said that Iran let 10 oil tankers travel through the Strait of Hormuz. “They said, to show you the fact that we’re real and solid and we’re there, we’re going to let you have eight boats of oil, eight boats, eight big boats of oil,” Trump said. “I guess they were right, and they were real, and I think they were Pakistani-flagged… It ended up being 10 boats.”
Later, Trump announced in a social media post that he would delay attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure by an additional 10 days.
DHS Shutdown
With Congress unable to reach a deal to end the impasse on DHS funding, several Senate Republicans are urging the White House to declare a national emergency to free up funds to pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers if Congress fails to reach a funding deal. This would allow the government to take unspent funds and direct them toward TSA salaries.
Separately, the White House is considering unilateral action to ensure TSA officers are paid if lawmakers cannot agree on funding for the Department of Homeland Security. When asked for details, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said many ideas are being discussed but declined to provide details.
The shutdown has halted pay for officers of the TSA. Some workers have called out, and others have left their jobs. One report said nearly 500 TSA officers have resigned.
Airports are reporting longer security lines as staffing levels drop. TSA officials have warned that some airport operations could be suspended if funding is not restored. The Trump administration has deployed ICE agents to at least 14 airports to provide security. ICE agents are being paid through last year’s budget allocation.
Republicans have proposed funding most of DHS while excluding immigration enforcement and removal operations in order to secure Democratic support for the funding. The proposal includes new limits on immigration officers, such as requiring body cameras, but does not include Democratic demands that agents wear visible identification and avoid enforcement actions near schools, churches, and other sensitive locations.
Gas Prices and Postal Costs Rise
As the war in Iran enters its fourth week, gasoline prices have risen sharply across the US, with higher increases in some states.
In California, prices are approaching $6 per gallon. On Tuesday, the national average was $3.98 per gallon, with prices in California averaging $5.82, according to the American Automobile Association.
A month earlier, averages were $2.95 nationally and $4.63 in California. California’s prices are higher in part due to state taxes and fees. In several Midwestern and Southern states, prices range from about $3.20 to $3.50 per gallon.
Meanwhile, the United States Postal Service said it will add a temporary 8% surcharge on package deliveries to offset higher fuel and transportation costs. The surcharge will take effect April 26 and run through Jan. 17, 2027. It will not apply to regular letter mail.
The agency said it will review whether a longer-term pricing change is needed after the surcharge ends.
Troop Deployment Briefings
Republican lawmakers said they were not given clear answers about US troop deployments tied to the Iran conflict during classified briefings on Wednesday.
Without offering details, some said the military objectives described in private differed from public statements. “The justifications presented to the American public for the war in Iran were not the same military objectives we were briefed on today,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) wrote on X. “This gap is deeply troubling.” She said she would not support deploying ground troops.
The briefings were held for both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. Reports said Pentagon officials did not explain when or how US ground forces might be used.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), who chairs the House committee, said: “We want to know more about what’s going on, what the options are, and why they’re being considered.” The chair of the Senate committee, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), also raised concerns.
Separately, Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee blocked a Democratic effort to compel Trump administration officials to testify about the war’s objectives and costs.
Nicolás Maduro
A US judge declined to dismiss the case against ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro but questioned why the prosecution is blocking Maduro from using Venezuelan government funds to pay for his legal expenses.
The use of Venezuelan funds was initially blocked because of national security interests, but the judge, Alvin Hellerstein, said that Maduro and his wife “present no further national security threat,” indicating that perhaps they should be given access to Venezuelan funds.
The US government has argued that Maduro and his wife should use personal funds, but Maduro has said he has no money.
Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, had asked a federal judge in New York to throw out the drug trafficking charges because US sanctions are preventing Venezuela’s government from covering the defense’s legal fees.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been in US custody since January after being captured in a US military operation. They face charges including drug trafficking and exporting cocaine to the US, which carry potential life sentences, and have pleaded not guilty.
Newsbreak
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Classified Map
President Trump showed a classified map to passengers aboard his private plane in 2022, according to a Justice Department memo shared with Congress. Among the passengers was Susie Wiles, then the CEO of Trump’s super PAC and now the White House chief of staff. The memo did not disclose what the map showed. The number of other passengers and their identities is not known.
The memo also said Trump retained another document that had been accessible to only six senior officials, including the president.
Responding to a letter from Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who referenced the classified documents, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, “President Trump did nothing wrong.”
The memo is part of an investigation led by former Special Counsel Jack Smith into Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving office.
A Florida judge dismissed the classified documents case in July 2024, ruling that Smith’s appointment by the Justice Department violated the Appointments Clause of the US Constitution.
Separately, MSNBC reported that investigators examined whether Trump kept certain classified materials because they related to his business interests.
Flynn settlement
The Justice Department agreed Wednesday to pay about $1.2 million to Michael Flynn, the retired general who was briefly national security adviser during Trump’s first term, to settle his lawsuit against the federal government.
Flynn was charged in 2017 with lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia’s ambassador and pleaded guilty that year.
In May 2020, the Justice Department moved to drop the case. President Trump pardoned Flynn in November 2020.
After the pardon, Flynn sued, alleging malicious prosecution and related claims. The Justice Department asked the court to approve a settlement without disclosing the amount, but a source told the Associated Press it was about $1.2 million.
The government did not admit wrongdoing as part of the agreement.
CDC Director
The Trump administration had not named a new director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the acting director’s term expired Wednesday.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who has been serving as acting director since mid-February, is reaching the end of his allowable tenure in that position under federal law. Bhattacharya also leads the National Institutes of Health and “will continue to oversee the CDC by performing the delegable duties of the CDC director,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said.
HHS said the White House is still considering candidates for the role and has not finalized a nomination.
Under the federal Vacancies Act, an acting official can serve for up to 210 days. Wednesday marked 210 days since the previous CDC director, Dr. Susan Monarez, was removed by HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy. Monarez has claimed she was ousted after refusing to implement the changes to vaccine policy favored by the secretary. Kennedy has linked vaccines to autism, a link debunked by experts.
Olympic Transgender Ban
The International Olympic Committee announced a new policy barring transgender women from competing in female events at future Olympic Games. It also directed member countries to introduce mandatory genetic testing for women’s competitions in IOC events.
The policy will take effect before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females,” the IOC said.
Under the policy, eligibility will be determined through a one-time gene test using saliva, a cheek swab, or a blood sample.
The White House applauded the decision, pointing out that Trump signed an executive order in February 2025 that aims to ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports by denying federal funds for schools that allow it.
It is unclear how many transgender women have competed in the Olympics. None participated in the 2024 Paris Games. Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard competed in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 but did not win a medal.
The ban also restricts female athletes with medical conditions known as “differences in sex development” (DSD), a group of rare conditions affecting genes, hormones, and reproductive organs. Two-time Olympic champion runner Caster Semenya, who was assigned female at birth in South Africa but has a Y chromosome and high natural testosterone levels, is an example of such an athlete.