Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,
Amid stalled peace talks and a US blockade on Iranian ports, the Trump administration has added a new member to its negotiating team who comes from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a notoriously hawkish think tank that has been lobbying for aggressive action against the Islamic Republic for many years.
Nick Stewart, the head of the FDD's lobbying arm, has joined the office of US envoy Steve Witkoff, journalist Alex Marquardt first reported on his Substack on Friday.
The White House confirmed the appointment to Marquardt, calling Stewart a "sharp, seasoned policy expert who is a valuable asset to Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s talented team."
Stewart worked in the State Department during the first Trump administration under then-US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, who oversaw the increasing economic sanctions regime following the US withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018, known as the Iran nuclear deal.
"Hiring a FDD staffer onto your team strongly suggests that reaching a diplomatic deal is not Trump's objective," Trita Parsi, an Iran expert who works as the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, wrote on X in response to Stewart’s appointment.
However, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales confirmed later of Stewart:
“He brings a wealth of leadership and Iran policy experience to the role - from serving at the Department of State in the first Trump Administration and on Capitol Hill - and is a trusted voice as Special Envoy Witkoff works in lockstep with President Trump and his entire national security team to make a deal that is good for the United States and the world.”
Iran has reportedly submitted a new proposal to the US to reach a complete end to the war within 30 days, and President Trump has already cast doubt on it and suggested he'd rather continue the conflict.
"I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but can’t imagine that it would be acceptable in that they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years," the president wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.
Tyler Durden Mon, 05/04/2026 - 17:00As pump prices for gasoline (and diesel) hit Iran War highs, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Sunday that gasoline prices should begin to decline “immediately” once shipping resumes through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing back against analyst warnings that relief for consumers could take months.
Duffy, speaking on ABC’s “This Week” program on May 3, acknowledged that prices may take time to return to pre-war levels but said reopening the critical oil transit chokepoint would quickly ease pressure at the pump.
“Once the Strait opens, you'll see prices come down, come down immediately,” Duffy said.
“There’s going to be a tail to that ... but you’re going to see, I think, immediate relief.”
As Tom Ozimek reports for The Epoch Times, prior to Duffy’s remarks, several analysts featured on the program said they expect fuel prices to climb further and predicted that a sustained decline could take months.
The transport chief’s comments come as U.S. fuel prices have risen to their highest levels in roughly four years, driven by disruptions linked to the Iran conflict and constrained flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime transit route that typically carries about one-quarter of global oil shipments.
Duffy’s remarks build on recent statements by President Donald Trump, who said on April 30 that gas prices would “drop like a rock” once the Iran war ends.
It comes as the Trump administration has launched “Project Freedom,” a military-backed effort to ease disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command said on May 4 that about 15,000 U.S. personnel, along with guided-missile destroyers, aircraft, and unmanned systems, would support merchant vessels “seeking to freely transit” the strait.
Iran’s military responded to the initiative by threatening to target U.S. forces entering the waterway.
Prices Climb as Disruptions PersistOil prices rose again on Monday, with Brent crude climbing above $111 per barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate topping $105 in morning trading, after Iran claimed it had forced a U.S. warship to turn back from the strait—an assertion denied by U.S. Central Command.
The market reaction fed into ongoing supply uncertainty driven by the ongoing Middle East conflict. UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said the “path for prices remains skewed to the upside” as long as flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain restricted.
At the pump, the national average gasoline price has climbed to around $4.45 per gallon, up more than $1.50 since the conflict began, according to American Automobile Association data. Analysts say further increases are likely.
GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick De Haan, said on May 4 that crude had jumped around $5 per barrel, with spot gasoline values pointing to another 10-cent rise.
He predicted the national average could soon reach $4.55 per gallon or higher, with uneven regional impacts.
Prices are “all over the place,” De Haan added in a separate post, noting that while $3.99 per gallon remains the most common price, levels near $4.39 and $4.99 are close behind.
Diesel costs—a key driver of freight and food prices—have climbed even faster, with averages above $6 per gallon in eight states, including California, Washington, and Illinois, according to GasBuddy data.
Trump’s ‘Project Freedom’ PlanDetails of “Project Freedom” remain unclear, with some analysts suggesting the initiative may struggle to deliver the kind of rapid supply normalization that would significantly ease fuel prices.
While U.S. Central Command has said U.S. forces will support merchant vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, officials have not clarified whether consistent naval escorts will be provided.
Analysts at ING said the initial oil price dip following Trump’s announcement of the initiative quickly faded as traders reassessed the plan’s likely impact.
“The announcement saw a brief sell-off in oil prices, but the market has since pared these losses,” ING said in a May 4 note. “The market does not seem convinced by the plan. ... Even if this allows vessels to leave the Persian Gulf, we’re likely to see little inbound traffic. This would only amount to temporary relief.”
At the same time, risks in the region remain elevated. Iranian officials have warned that foreign military forces entering the strait would face retaliation, and Iran’s military has imposed a new maritime control zone in the Strait of Hormuz, further complicating efforts to normalize shipping, according to Iran’s state-affiliated media outlet Tasnim.
In an update on May 4, U.S. Central Command said U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers had transited the Strait of Hormuz and were operating in the Arabian Gulf, adding that two U.S.-flagged merchant vessels had safely passed through the chokepoint.
Tyler Durden Mon, 05/04/2026 - 16:45For a man who fancies himself the future of the Democratic Party, Gavin Newsom had a rough Friday night.
The California governor appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher, probably expecting the kind of warm exchange that comes with being a friend of the host.
What he got instead was a methodical, public undressing from one of liberalism's most prominent voices — and it proves how weak Newsom really is as a potential presidential candidate.
It may be early, but the Democratic presidential primary field for 2028 is slowly starting to take shape, and Newsom is quite clearly an early contender. Kamala Harris is the undisputed frontrunner at this point, owing much to her four years as vice president, but Newsom remains the only other potential candidate who has ever topped a primary poll to date. Earlier this year, an Emerson College poll also showed Newsom at 20% nationally, leading the Democratic pack.
The best thing that Newsom has going for him is that the Democrat establishment and donor class aren’t likely to want to gamble the 2028 election on her, given her two prior poorly run campaigns. The only thing that might give them pause is the optics of passing over a black female who happens to be the former vice president of the United States. But, considering the last two female Democratic Party nominees for president, Harris and Hillary Clinton, lost to Donald Trump, there’s plenty of reason to believe that Newsom, as a politically seasoned white male with a national profile, seems like a safer bet.
And yet, that viability is precisely what makes Maher’s observations about Newsom so damaging.
Maher did not come at Newsom with Republican talking points.
He came as a friend with facts about how poorly California has been run on his watch, and that's what made it sting.
"The other side, what they are going to say, though, is, ‘But have you seen the stats from California?’” Maher said, framing the coming attack ad before it's even produced.
Newsom fired back with "Good! One of the largest economies. Let's go!"
Suggesting that the mere size of California was enough to distract from the state’s problems. "Well… are they going to say ‘Good,’ about gas prices?" he followed.
"Are they going to say ‘Good,’ about how high their rents are?" And even Maher couldn’t deny that those issues only scratched the surface.
"So many people live… I mean, there's a whole litany."
One key problem for Newsom is California's high-speed rail project, which is a monument to what happens when ambition collides with institutional incompetence.
Initially sold to voters in 2008 with a price tag somewhere between $33 and $45 billion, the project has ballooned catastrophically. Its first phase isn't expected to be complete until 2032 at the earliest, and the California High-Speed Rail Authority's own 2026 business plan now projects costs north of $230 billion.
"The train, Gavin," Maher said. "You got to get rid of the train!"
When Newsom pushed back — insisting the number wasn't accurate — Maher leaned harder: "I say this as a friend, you got to let that train go! Let the train go. It's up to $231 billion."
Newsom's expression visibly shifted, the polished composure cracking just enough to notice.
🚨 BOOM: Bill Maher CONFRONTS a cocky Gavin Newsom on his abysmal FAILURE
MAHER: “What they're going to say though is, have you seen the stats from California?”
NEWSOM: “We’re the largest economy, let's go!”
MAHER: “Gas prices? Are they going to say good about how high the… pic.twitter.com/XdSEpF3o5z
Because here's the thing about Gavin Newsom — his record is a verified reality that liberal commentators — the people who want to see Democrats win back the White House — are refusing to ignore. He inherited a $21 billion budget surplus, and his final year began with an $18 billion deficit. California has the highest cost of living of any state in the nation besides Hawaii. Its housing crisis has been ongoing for years, despite billions of dollars spent to address it. Over $37 billion has been spent to combat the state's homelessness problem without anything to show for it. Crime remains a persistent and increasingly politicized issue. Newsom has governed all of this while simultaneously insisting — on national stages, in media appearances, to anyone who will listen — that California is a model the rest of the country should emulate.
The danger for Newsom is that Bill Maher isn’t a Republican operative. The danger is precisely the opposite.
When the critique of your leadership comes from the left, from someone who genuinely wants the Democrats to win elections and whose audience leans in your political direction, it strips away the only shield a Democrat typically carries into a policy debate: the ability to dismiss the criticism as partisan noise.
Maher made it clear that Newsom's California record is ammunition for the left and the right against Newsom.
Tyler Durden Mon, 05/04/2026 - 16:40