The Daily Brief - May 12, 2026
FDA chief resigns, inflation rises, mayor in southern California pleads guilty to being a foreign agent, and more
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FDA Chief Resigns
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary resigned today after clashing with the Trump administration over flavored e-cigarettes.
Makary was confirmed in March 2025 and oversaw a tenure marked by senior-staff turnover, massive reductions in FDA staff due to cuts and departures, and internal disputes over policy. He was criticized for shortening the review and approval process for certain drugs, while dragging out a study on the abortion drug mifepristone.
But according to news reports, Makary’s departure was over the FDA’s May 6 authorization of fruit-flavored e-cigarettes from Glas Inc., a vape manufacturer from California — a decision Makary opposed and that came only after Trump personally pressed him to approve it. Sources say Makary did not want to sign off on products he believed would fuel nicotine addiction among young people.
Deputy Commissioner Kyle Diamantas is expected to serve as acting commissioner.
Inflation
Consumer prices rose 3.8% in April, the highest annual rate since May 2023, driven largely by oil costs from the war in Iran.
The Consumer Price Index — an economic indicator that tracks how much the prices of everyday goods and services, such as food, gas, rent, and clothing, change over time — released this morning showed prices climbed 0.6% from March. Gasoline is up 5.4% since last month and more than 28% since this time last year.
Congressional Map Redistricting
The fight over congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms is intensifying after last month’s Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which narrowed the Voting Rights Act’s protections against states drawing districts that disadvantage minority voters.
In Alabama, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the state to use an older congressional map a lower court had previously blocked. Returning to the old map would likely eliminate one of the state’s two Democratic seats by removing a majority-Black district from the map. Alabama plans to redraw the boundaries of congressional districts 1, 2, 6, and 7, and Gov. Kay Ivey today pushed the primary from May 19 to Aug. 11.
In South Carolina, the state senate is expected to vote today on a revised map after President Trump urged Republicans to back it. Republicans hold six of seven House seats and the proposed new map will potentially give them all seven, eliminating Rep. Jim Clyburn’s district and removing South Carolina’s only Black representative from Congress.
In Missouri, the state Supreme Court is hearing a challenge to a GOP-backed map that opponents say violates the state constitution’s requirement that districts be drawn as one connected area and kept as compact as possible. Republicans hold six of Missouri’s eight House seats; the primary is Aug. 4.
In Virginia, Democratic leaders yesterday asked the US Supreme Court to restore a Democratic-leaning map after the state Supreme Court struck it down. Voters narrowly approved the map last month, which could give Democrats four more seats. The state’s congressional primary is on Aug. 4.
Newsbreak
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Supreme Court Extends Abortion Pill Access
The Supreme Court yesterday extended its temporary order keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available by mail and telemedicine while it weighs Louisiana’s challenge to the drug. The order will remain in effect through Thursday.
Louisiana sued the FDA for allowing the pill to be dispensed without an in-person clinic visit, arguing that allowing mifepristone to be prescribed by telehealth and shipped by mail undermines the state’s near-total abortion ban. On May 1, a three-judge Fifth Circuit panel sided with Louisiana, ruling the drug can only be dispensed in person at a clinic and cutting off mail and telehealth access nationwide.
Mifepristone, used in about two-thirds of US abortions, is one of two drugs typically used in medication abortion.
Southern California Mayor Pleads Guilty
The mayor of Arcadia, California, has resigned and agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government, the Justice Department said yesterday.
In her plea agreement, Mayor Eileen Wang admitted that from 2020 to 2022, she helped to run a local Chinese-American news website that posted pro-China content at the direction of Chinese officials, all without registering as a foreign agent.
Wang, 58, faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison. The man she partnered with to run the site — a Chinese citizen living legally in the US — is currently serving a four-year federal sentence after pleading guilty to the same offense.
City manager Dominic Lazzaretto said no city finances or staff were involved in Wang’s conduct.
Iran War
President Trump said the month-old US-Iran ceasefire is on “massive life support,” rejecting Iran’s latest peace proposal as a “piece of garbage.”
Trump is reportedly considering renewed strikes on Iran because of its continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has restricted shipping traffic in the waterway since the war began on Feb. 28. The waterway remains effectively closed because of both Iran’s restrictions and the US blockade of Iranian ports.
Pentagon Officials Defend $1.5 Trillion Budget Request
The Pentagon raised its estimate of the war’s cost by about $4 billion today, putting the total at $29 billion since fighting began in late February.
Two weeks ago, Pentagon comptroller Jay Hurst put the cost at $25 billion, saying the extra money is needed for equipment repair, replacement, and operational expenses.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine appeared before House and Senate committees today. Hegseth declined to say how much additional money outside the Pentagon’s normal budget would ultimately be needed to finance the war.
DOJ Seeks WSJ Reporters’ Records on Iran
The Department of Justice has subpoenaed The Wall Street Journal seeking reporters’ records tied to alleged government leaks about the Iran war.
The WSJ said the subpoenas relate to a Feb. 23 story the newspaper published revealing that Gen. Dan Caine and other Pentagon officials had warned President Trump about the risks of an extended campaign against Iran.
Trump complained to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche last month about leaks related to the war, administration officials said, and Blanche vowed to seek subpoenas of reporters who have covered sensitive national security stories. In one recent meeting, Trump handed Blanche a stack of articles he and other senior officials viewed as threats to national security, with a sticky note that read “treason.”
A spokesperson for The Journal’s parent company Dow Jones called the subpoenas “an attack on constitutionally protected newsgathering” and said the company will vigorously oppose them. The First Amendment protects newsgathering, and longstanding Justice Department guidelines have required prosecutors to exhaust other avenues of finding information before seeking reporters’ records.