For the Trump administration, the central battle over girls’ sports is still unresolved.
Page A10From§Eachthe sunrise edition — 2 September 2026
Trump nominates Hung Cao as Navy Secretary, Trump DOJ lawsuit tossed by California judge, Trump shrugs off talks with Iran
This cluster of stories—Trump nominating Hung Cao as Navy Secretary ([4], [36]), the Trump DOJ lawsuit tossed by a California judge ([12]), and Trump's public dismissal of talks with Iran ([18], [28])—shows the typical pattern of big moves, bigger headlines, and a familiar outcome. The official line is that each act is a demonstration of leadership: nominating new figures, taking legal action, and projecting strength abroad. The reality is a sequence of setbacks and contradictions. The nomination is announced with fanfare, but the lawsuit is tossed, leaving the administration with less leverage than before. The Iran stance is presented as tough, but the absence of talks and the shrugging off of negotiations leave the field to escalation, not resolution. The message to the base is strength, but the receipts show a string of gestures with little follow-through. The stakes are not just the headlines, but the underlying machinery—the offices filled and emptied, the lawsuits filed and dismissed, the foreign policy moves made and then walked back. In each case, the action is a performance; the outcome is a return to status quo.
“It's the Trump show: nominate a Navy Secretary, lose a lawsuit, wave off talks with Iran. The headline is new faces up front, but the policy is the same old noise behind the curtain. The stakes are who's steering—it's not you.”
“The administration is just moving forward, showing decisive leadership. If a judge disagrees, that's just judicial activism, and as for Iran, tough talk is the best negotiation strategy. Did I say negotiation? I meant not negotiating. Anyway, it's all under control.”
The receipts
President Trump said on Tuesday he would be nominating Hung Cao for Navy Secretary after the predecessor to the role stepped down in April. The president announced his pick on Truth Social Tuesday night, saying “We need Patriots like Hung leading our Navy and Marine Corps, and I can think of no one better than...
The announcement comes one day after Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned
The U.S. military completed a new wave of strikes Tuesday on targets in Iran as the conflict in the region stretches into its seventh month. “U.S.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday entreated Iranians to “rise up and fight” while also dismissing the possibility that U.S. strikes on Iran are intended to bring Tehran to the negotiating table.
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.