WTF Just Happened This Week

Curated by Matt Kiser, WTF Just Happened Today

7.27.26/ Today in One Sentence
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to let it impose new mail-in voting restrictions in 23 states and the District of Columbia before the November midterms; ¶ Trump demanded that the Senate cancel its August recess until Republicans pass the SAVE America Act or eliminate the filibuster; ¶ Trump paused U.S. strikes on Iran after 13 consecutive nights to give negotiations “some space,” but “if they don’t work out, we will go back to very strong military action”; ¶ former FBI Director James Comey urged a judge to dismiss the Justice Department’s federal charges over his “86 47” seashell post on Instagram; ¶ Trump ordered the National Park Service to install signs outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, warning visitors that its exhibits contain “inaccurate information”; ¶ Mitch McConnell is not medically cleared to leave rehabilitation or return to the Senate, six weeks after falling at home; ¶ Trump attacked journalists at Friday night’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, and then continued escalating his attacks over the next three days; ¶ 32% of Americans said Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act hurt their finances, while 49% said they couldn’t explain what the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” does.

Today's Top Top Story
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to let it impose new mail-in voting restrictions in 23 states and the District of Columbia before the November midterms. Trump’s order directs federal agencies to build a citizenship-based voter list and requires the Postal Service to withhold ballots from voters who don’t appear on the state-approved lists. A federal appeals court, meanwhile, declined to lift a lower-court injunction blocking the order because the Constitution gives the authority over elections to the states and Congress, not the president. The appeals court warned the “unprecedented” federal intervention would “sow confusion” and “threaten disenfranchisement of many eligible voters.” (Associated Press / Washington Post / Bloomberg / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Politico / USA Today / ABC News / Reuters)

7.23.26/Today in One Sentence
Trump said he’s “close” to deciding whether to launch a “massive attack” on Iran that would be larger than the opening strikes of the war; ¶ the House passed a nonbinding resolution directing Trump to end the war in Iran, while Senate Republicans blocked a separate measure that could have required him to seek congressional authorization or withdraw U.S. forces; ¶ the Trump administration will impose 10% tariffs on imports from the European Union, Canada, Mexico, and India, and 12.5% tariffs on goods from China, Japan, South Korea, and dozens of other countries; ¶ House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan referred former special counsel Jack Smith to the Justice Department, alleging that Smith lied to Congress; ¶ the Secret Service has opened roughly 10,000 investigations into threats against Trump and other protectees since January; ¶ the Secret Service placed a member of JD Vance’s protective detail on leave while investigating if the employee compromised “operational and information security”; ¶ the Justice Department withdrew subpoenas seeking phone records and grand jury testimony from three New York Times reporters; ¶ Trump used the dignified transfer of four U.S. soldiers killed in the Iran war to promote his war, claiming that all four had said “we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon”; ¶ and Bill O’Reilly suggested that Trump should “take the next month off.”.

Today's Top Story
Trump said he’s “close” to deciding whether to launch a “massive attack” on Iran that would be larger than the opening strikes of the war. The threat follows the 12 consecutive day of U.S. strikes and Trump’s warning that another Houthi attack on tankers in the Red Sea would bring “major military punishment” against both the Houthis and Iran. Trump, meanwhile, claimed that Iran wants to negotiate but “hasn’t received enough pain yet.” Tehran, however, warned that attacks on its bridges, power plants, or other infrastructure would trigger a “severe and escalatory” response. (Axios / Wall Street Journal / The Hill / Bloomberg / The Guardian / ABC News / CNN)

7.22.26/Today in One Sentence
Arizona Republicans nominated three 2020 election deniers for statewide offices that would be responsible for overseeing and certifying the 2028 presidential election; ¶ the House passed a temporary funding bill to avert a possible ​government shutdown ahead ​of the November midterm ⁠elections; ¶ House Republicans passed a $1.15 trillion defense policy bill and advanced a separate $95 billion budget plan to pay for Trump’s unauthorized war in Iran; ¶ Trump threatened to “bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT” for every ship Iran attacks in the Strait of Hormuz; ¶ the Trump administration signed a civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia that could open a path to enriching uranium for nuclear reactors; ¶ New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani dropped his campaign pledge to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, acknowledging that the city lacks the “independent legal authority” to enforce the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant; ¶ Trump threatened to impose a 100% tariff on imported generic drugs unless manufacturers build plants in the U.S.; ¶ the U.S. has reported 2,295 measles cases so far in 2026 – the most in 35 years and already more than all of last year; ¶ 37% of self-identified MAGA voters say the Iran war is worth its economic costs, down 13 points since May; ¶ and 50% of registered voters say they’d support Democrats in the generic congressional ballot.

Today's Top Story
Arizona Republicans nominated three 2020 election deniers for statewide offices that would be responsible for overseeing and certifying the 2028 presidential election. Trump-backed Rep. Andy Biggs, who voted against certifying Biden’s victory, won the nomination for governor, Alexander Kolodin, who filed lawsuits challenging the 2020 and 2022 results and was disciplined by the state bar, won the nomination for secretary of state, and Warren Petersen, who launched a taxpayer-funded review that confirmed Biden won Maricopa County, won the nomination for attorney general. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs warned that if Biggs wins, Arizona would become “the first swing state with an election denier in charge” heading into 2028. (Politico / Washington Post / NBC News / CNN)

7.21.26/Today in One Sentence
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth estimated that the war with Iran has cost taxpayers $37.5 billion so far as the Trump administration asks Congress for roughly $67 billion more in funding; ¶ New Jersey removed roughly 6,600 self-identified noncitizens from its voter rolls after a software error automatically registered them through the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission; ¶ the Trump administration withheld an additional $1.07 billion in federal Medicaid payments from California and Minnesota over suspected fraud; ¶ a federal appeals court rejected Biden’s effort to block the Justice Department from releasing redacted recordings and transcripts of his private interviews with a memoir ghostwriter; ¶ and Trump has pardoned nine companies in his second term to erase nearly $200 million in criminal penalties.

Today's Top Story
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth estimated that the war with Iran has cost taxpayers $37.5 billion so far as the Trump administration asks Congress for roughly $67 billion more in funding. Hegseth called the request an “urgent, necessary” infusion and warned that “without these funds, we face critical shortfalls.” The estimate includes some anticipated expenses through Sept. 30, but excludes damage to U.S. bases. Lawmakers, however, questioned why the Pentagon needs more money after approving a $1 trillion defense budget and about $75 billion from an earlier package remains unspent. Sen. Patty Murray argued that “the problem is not a lack of money, but poor planning” and warned that the conflict was “spiraling out of control again.” Gen. Dan Caine, meanwhile, acknowledged that “air power’s got limits” as fighting intensifies, the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, and the U.S. death toll has risen to 17.(Associated Press / New York Times / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Reuters / Washington Post)

• Trump said the U.S. will “pretty soon” bomb Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain. Israeli intelligence believes Iran moved thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges into tunnels deep inside a mountain last year. Trump, however, acknowledged that the U.S. doesn’t have the transfer “on record” and said Iran has no nuclear material there, but nevertheless threatened to hit the site “very heavily.” Experts estimate that the facility sits beneath 300 to 450 feet of rock. It’s unclear whether U.S. weapons can even penetrate the site. (Axios / Wall Street Journal)