Escalation and Exhaustion

Iran US Israel

Aircraft on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln that are operating in support of the war in Iran, on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. U.S. Navy via AP

Today’s notice: Congress grapples with the escalating Iran war. Hakeem Jeffries gets a DSA-shaped lifeline. Primary day in Arizona. A full legislative plate for House Republicans. And: Trump brings back (a version of) the tariffs.

THE LATEST

Fresh attacks: “It looked like things were tapering off, and now things look like they’re heating up,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) told NOTUS as the Iran war inches closer to the five-month mark. With 17 service members confirmed killed in action and a hundred more injured since early July, there’s growing anxiety on Capitol Hill over the intensifying hostilities and the lack of justification for them.

The U.S. launched a new round of airstrikes yesterday, the 10th consecutive day of the assault. The Houthis in Yemen declared a “maritime blockade” against Saudi Arabia, blocking off another key waterway and potentially opening up a new front in the war.