President Donald Trump lashed out at oil companies and his own U.S. attorney on Monday as his political standing showed fresh signs of strain. CNN said Trump accused oil executives of making too much money from his war against Iran and singled out Chevron, warning it to make gasoline cheaper even though, he said, he is a "big free enterprise guy — nobody bigger." He also said Jeanine Pirro, his handpicked U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., "choked" after court papers acknowledged that a botched rehab by the Interior Department, not vandalism, caused setbacks in the renovation of the Reflecting Pool. Trump said Monday that he had the idea of applying material meant for swimming pools to the 100-plus-year-old landmark. "She folded like an umbrella," Trump said of Pirro.
Who Gets Blamed When Power Stumbles
The first people in the blast radius were oil executives and a federal prosecutor. Trump accused the oil companies of profiting too much from his war against Iran, then turned on Chevron with a warning to lower gasoline prices. That’s the language of command, not persuasion. He wrapped it in the usual free-market costume, calling himself a "big free enterprise guy — nobody bigger," while demanding obedience from a corporation that answers to profit, not public need.
Pirro got the same treatment. Trump said his own U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., "choked" after court papers said the Reflecting Pool problems came from a botched rehab by the Interior Department, not vandalism. He said he had the idea of using material meant for swimming pools on the 100-plus-year-old landmark. Then came the contempt: "She folded like an umbrella." The hierarchy is plain enough. The handpicked official takes the hit when the story goes bad.
The People at the Bottom Pay First
CNN reported that Trump is now considering removing Pirro from her position. That’s how the apparatus works when loyalty stops being useful. The person elevated by the boss can be discarded by the boss. No mystery there.
The article said Trump’s victory to open the week was winning enough support for Todd Blanche, his former personal attorney, to be confirmed as attorney general. But Blanche, currently acting attorney general, had to officially and permanently squelch the $1.8 billion fund widely seen as a way to pay Trump’s political supporters. CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said Monday on CNN’s "The Situation Room" that "for all the drama around this written document from Todd Blanche, it really accomplishes essentially nothing as a legal matter." He said Trump or his attorneys could, in theory, sue to have the agreement reinstated because Trump and his lawyers have not signed the document clawing it back.
That’s the reform trap in miniature. A paper move, a legal flourish, a public show of restraint — and then the same machinery remains in place, waiting for another signature, another lawsuit, another round of managed theater.
What They Call Order
Two Republicans, Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Thillis, wanted the settlement rescinded in writing and have also argued the GOP should move on, for now, from Trump’s SAVE America Act, which would impose new proof-of-citizenship requirements in addition to voter ID conducted in the states. CNN said there’s no evidence for the mass voter fraud Trump cites and that the bill has not gained enough momentum to pass, with no time to implement it before the midterm elections. It said neither Tillis nor Cornyn will be on the ballot in November. Tillis is not running for reelection, and his North Carolina seat is considered a strong pickup opportunity for Democrats. Cornyn lost a primary runoff against a more MAGA opponent who won Trump’s late endorsement, and Democrats are said to be eyeing Texas.
The bill’s logic is familiar: more paperwork, more gatekeeping, more state power over who gets to participate. The names change, but the machinery stays the same. Even here, the article makes clear the limits of the whole performance. No evidence for the fraud claim. No momentum to pass the bill. No time to implement it before the midterm elections. The system keeps manufacturing threats, then stumbles over its own deadlines.
Another Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, inserted language into a spending bill to block, for now, a rule proposed by Trump’s Office of Management and Budget that would give political appointees, rather than subject experts, more power over federal grants. CNN said Collins is the only Republican running for reelection in a state Trump won in 2024 and is locked in a tight reelection battle.
That’s not democracy working cleanly. That’s factional management inside the same hierarchy, with grants, appointees, and election math all tangled together.
Trump’s approval rating is dipping to record lows, with about one-third of Americans approving of his job as president in a CNN Poll conducted by SSRS and released last week. The article said the last time a U.S. president drew approval that low was at the tail end of Trump’s first term, after the storming of the Capitol by his supporters in January 2021. It said two major drags on his popularity have been his handling of the economy and the war he launched on Iran. The article also said the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed and the status of talks is unclear.
The numbers are ugly for the man at the top, but the structure underneath is still there. Approval falls. The war continues. The Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed. The talks are unclear. And the people below keep living with the consequences while the powerful argue over who gets to hold the pen.