Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clashed with Democratic lawmakers in Congress for a second day. At the start of a hearing Thursday in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hegseth rejected senators' accusations that the Iran war was launched without evidence of an imminent threat and waged with no coherent strategy. He called Democratic lawmakers "reckless naysayers" and "defeatists from the cheap seats." He said they have failed to recognize the many successes of the military against the Islamic Republic over the last two months and in other operations since President Donald Trump returned to office.

When the Supreme Court killed his favorite tariffs in February, President Donald Trump rolled out temporary import taxes to replace them. But those stopgap levies expire in less than three months. Now the administration is scrambling to put more durable tariffs in place to keep revenue flowing into the U.S. Treasury and to shore up the president's protectionist wall around the American economy. Starting this week, the government will begin hearings in two investigations — one on countries that lag in enforcing bans on forced labor, another on overproduction — that will likely lead to a new round of U.S. tariffs.

King Charles III has acknowledged "times of great uncertainty" while addressing the U.S. Congress. Charles on Tuesday marked the 250th anniversary of American independence from Britain and highlighted the enduring bonds between the two nations. Charles is only the second British monarch to speak to Congress, following Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. Charles' speech comes amid political turmoil, with tensions between President Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the war in Iran. Trump and Charles met at the White House earlier on Tuesday. Charles and Queen Camilla will continue their U.S. trip with stops in New York City and Virginia.

Two U.S. officials killed in a vehicle crash as they returned from destroying a clandestine drug lab in northern Mexico over the weekend were working for the CIA. That's according to a U.S. official and two other people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity Tuesday. The crash also killed two Mexican investigators. Mexican authorities say the group was returning from an operation to destroy the drug labs of criminal groups. The crash has sparked debate over U.S. involvement in Mexican security operations. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum faces pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to crack down on cartels. The CIA and State Department have declined to comment.

The House has rejected a resolution requiring President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from the war with Iran unless Congress authorizes military action. The vote Thursday was the latest such attempt that fell short of passage as Republicans largely continue to support Trump's operation. Democrats are concerned about the United States getting further entrenched in another lengthy Middle East conflict and are promising to keep raising the issue through more votes in the coming weeks. Republicans counter by noting that Congress never voted on a war powers resolution when the Biden administration attacked Iranian-backed Houthis.

President Donald Trump says the only reason the Iranians are alive today "is to negotiate," as he sends Vice President JD Vance overseas to work on a resolution to the war. Vance is warning Iran not to "play" the U.S. as he heads to Pakistan for talks aimed at ending the 6-week-old conflict. The Republican vice president set off Friday to lead mediated talks with Iran in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. Vance says he's "looking forward to the negotiation" and thinks it'll be positive. Vance's trip comes as a temporary ceasefire appears to be on the precipice of collapsing.