U.S. Ends Major Combat Operations in Iran; Trump Targets Indiana GOP

Members can share articles with friends & family to bypass the paywall. Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Megan McArdle, and Mike Warren to discuss the potential end of major combat operations against Iran and Trump's retribution campaign against Indiana Republicans who opposed his mid-decade redistricting efforts. The Agenda:—End of Operation Epic Fury—Did the U.S. achieve its military goals?—Post-Iran War U.S. economy—Trump's waning political capital—Indiana GOP primary revenge—The ballroom flip-flop—NWYT: A Dispatch cruise Dispatch Recommendations:—The Fading Trump Presidency—Will MAGA Come for Thomas Massie?—My Father’s Conservatism—Anti-Zionism Is a Dead End for Palestinians Steve Hayes is CEO and editor of The Dispatch, based in Annapolis, Maryland. Prior to co-founding the company in 2019, he worked at The Weekly Standard for 18 years, covering Washington, politics, and national security. Steve is the author of two New York Times bestsellers. He also worked as a contributor at CNN and Fox News, and currently serves as a political analyst at NBC News. When Steve is not focused on The Dispatch, he’s probably traveling with his family, grilling, or riding his mountain bike. Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Dispatch, based in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, enormous lizards roamed the Earth. More immediately prior to that, Jonah spent two decades at National Review, where he was a senior editor, among other things. He is also a bestselling author, longtime columnist for the Los Angeles Times, commentator for CNN, and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. When he is not writing the G-File or hosting The Remnant podcast, he finds real joy in family time, attending to his dogs and cat, and blaming Steve Hayes for various things. Michael Warren is a politics editor at The Dispatch and is based in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the company in 2023, he was an on-air reporter at CNN and a senior writer at the Weekly Standard. When Mike is not reporting, writing, editing, and podcasting, he is probably spending time with his wife and three sons. Megan McArdle is a Washington Post columnist, host of the Reasonably Optimistic podcast, and the author of The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success. The podcast transcription below was generated using artificial intelligence and may include occasional errors or misspellings. [upbeat music] Welcome to the Dispatch Podcast. I'm Steve Hayes. On today's roundtable, we'll discuss the potential end of armed conflict with Iran as Operation Epic Fury wraps up and the administration pauses Project Freedom, the quote-unquote "humanitarian effort to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz." We'll also discuss the coming end of the Trump era, looking at normie Republicans souring on the president and his disapproval at second-term lows, but also his ability to exact revenge on Indiana state senators who defied his wishes on mid-decade redistricting. And finally, not worth your time, amidst some bad news about cruises, we weigh the pros and cons of starting Dispatch cruises. I'm joined today by my Dispatch colleagues Jonah Goldberg and Mike Warren, and Dispatch contributor Megan McArdle. Let's dive in. [upbeat music] Welcome, everyone. After a week of warning the American public that wars take a long time to win, and announcing on Sunday the launch of Project Freedom to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio went to the White House Tuesday to announce the close of Operation Epic Fury, thus theoretically ending combat with Iran and shifting to a humanitarian Project Freedom. But less than four hours later, President Trump announced himself on social media a pause on Project Freedom in pursuit of a deal, a peace deal, at, quote, "the request of Pakistan and other countries." As of this recording Thursday morning, the world is eagerly and anxiously awaiting what has been reported as a one-page peace deal, reporting suggesting that the United States has made some offers, the Iranians have made some offers. Much discussion about a one-pager. Mike Warren, y- you follow this stuff closely. I often turn to you to make sense of things- ... that are hard to make sense of. [laughs] Why do you, why do you do this to me? Interactive transcripts are available to Premium members. Join to follow along with the audio.