By Damian Paletta
Good morning. If Iran doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Monday, President Trump threatened Sunday, he would destroy its power plants. Well, not just destroy, but "obliterate" them.
If the "O" word sounds familiar, it's because Trump and his allies are using it A LOT.
On Feb. 28, Trump used the word twice in one speech, saying "last June, we obliterated the regime's nuclear program at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan." And then later adding that Iran's missile industry will be "totally again obliterated."
Others have used the word too. On March 4, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the mission of Operation Epic Fury was to " obliterate Iran's missiles and drones and facilities that produce them." Trump is working to act as if Iran has already been destroyed (on Truth Social Sunday, he started one post with "Now with the death of Iran...") but Iran has shown signs of not giving in after more than three weeks of fighting. It's unclear if these repeated threats of obliteration are working or if Iran is becoming desensitized to them as it continues to dig in and wreak havoc on the global economy. After Trump's latest threat to obliterate the power plants, Iran appeared to shrug it off and vowed swift retaliation.
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People and Policies I'm Watching
Iran war: Follow live updates after Iran's top diplomat publicly rejected talking to the U.S., and airstrikes on Iranian prisons have threatened dissidents and Americans.
Supreme Court: The high court is to hear arguments in a case on vote-by-mail ballots to decide whether they can count if postmarked by Election Day but don't arrive until later.
Trump's Monday: After 8 a.m. "executive time" at Mar-a-Lago, the president is to travel to Memphis, Tenn., for a Memphis Safe Task Force roundtable at noon Eastern time, after which he is to return to the White House.
What I'm Following
Kevin Warsh is facing an awkward transition to head the Federal Reserve. Warsh, whose Senate confirmation is stalled, could ultimately arrive at a central bank under pressure from a president demanding lower rates and colleagues skeptical of cuts -- all while current Fed Chair Jerome Powell has signaled he might not leave. Warsh had already promised a sharp break with the man he would follow, something no incoming Fed leader has done in the past four decades.
ICE agents are expected at airports on Monday. The agents will begin trying to ease bottlenecks as the Trump administration scrambles to develop a plan to end hourslong airport security lines amid a partial government shutdown. Border czar Tom Homan said on Sunday that ICE officials could monitor exit lanes to make sure people don't enter through them, or check identification before passengers enter the screening area to free up officers to move customers through the lines with body scans and X-rays.
Senators look to ban sports betting on prediction markets. Two senators are introducing legislation to prohibit entities regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, including prediction-market exchanges Kalshi and Polymarket's U.S. platform, from listing contracts related to sporting events. The proposed bill is coming from Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, and Sen. John Curtis, a Utah Republican.
What Else Is Happening
-- Taiwan has spent a whirlwind 15 months trying to win over the most
unpredictable American leader in living memory as he tosses aside decades
of precedent.
-- If Republicans lose the House majority in the midterms, it could lead to
fresh jockeying to push aside current House Speaker Mike Johnson to lead
the party in the minority.
-- Peptides have an ally in Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.
Kennedy Jr., who wants to make the unapproved drugs easier -- and legal
-- to buy.
-- Trump's deportation push is taking an economic toll on mixed-status
families that include U.S. citizens.
What I'm Reading
-- Editorial: Congress Must Act Now to Fix Ridiculously Long Lines at
American Airports (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
-- Did Trump Already Win War? (Breitbart)
-- New Jersey Farming Town Fighting Back Against One of East Coast's Biggest
AI Data Centers (Star-Ledger -- NJ.com)
About Me
I'm Damian Paletta, The Wall Street Journal's Washington coverage chief. I've covered Washington for 22 years as a reporter and editor. I've covered the White House, Congress, national security, the federal budget, economics and multiple market meltdowns.
WSJ Politics brings you an expert guide to what's driving D.C., every weekday morning. Send your feedback to politics@wsj.com (if you're reading this in your inbox, you can just hit reply). This edition was curated and edited in collaboration with Joe Erwin and Michael Connolly. Got a tip for us? Here's how to submit.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2026 07:02 ET (11:02 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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