President Donald Trump's options towards the Iran conflict -- with a focus on the US midterms and the political calculus of his decisions -- led Bloomberg Intelligence's Washington Policy Pulse on March 16. Bloomberg News reports that despite Trump's call for a coalition of ships to guard the Strait of Hormuz, several countries have yet to commit support. We also discussed the upcoming Basel III Endgame proposal, set for release this week, and how it will work in conjunction with other rules. Other areas of focus include a proposal on stablecoins and the CFTC's new actions on prediction markets. We ended with an update of Kevin Warsh's nomination as Fed Chair.

The Bloomberg Intelligence Financial Policy weekly call is designed to provide investors an opportunity to learn about the most recent relevant policy research, information regarding forthcoming political catalysts and other on-goings within Washington DC.

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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

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President Donald Trump reiterated his appeals for help from other nations to secure the Strait of Hormuz, saying that Iran was nearly obliterated even as the war keeps roiling oil markets and global shipping.

“Numerous countries have told me they’re on the way — some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren’t. Some are countries that we’ve helped for many, many years,” Trump told reporters Monday during a White House event.

The president expressed his frustration with other nations, who have so far been publicly noncommittal on his calls to help ensure vessels can transit the strait. The vital waterway has been effectively closed since the start of the war, crunching global energy supply chains.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Kailey speaks with:

• Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
• Chatham House Associate Fellow Natasha Hall.
• Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino.
• Bloomberg Government Senior Washington Reporter Jonathan Tamari.
• Airlines for America President and CEO Chris Sununu, former Governor of New Hampshire.

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Jeanine Pirro vowed to continue her investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after a judge rejected subpoenas issued to the central bank, threatening to delay the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as Powell’s successor.

US District Judge James Boasberg said the government had advanced no evidence to justify the subpoenas — relating to renovations to the Fed’s headquarters and Powell’s comments about the project — and said they clearly reflected an “improper motive” of retaliating against Powell over policy differences. Pirro, who leads the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, called the ruling wrong and said they would appeal the decision.

“This process has been arbitrarily undermined by an activist judge,” Pirro said in a press conference Friday. “The process should have been allowed to run its course, and it wasn’t. And shame on them.”

For instant reaction and analysis, Bloomberg Businessweek Daily cohosts Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec speak with:

• June Grasso, Bloomberg legal analyst and host of Bloomberg Law
• Michael McKee, Bloomberg International Economics & Policy correspondent
• Tim O'Brien, Bloomberg Opinion senior executive editor 

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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

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The US said it had further stepped up strikes on Iran as both sides in the war threatened to escalate a conflict hitting its two-week mark that has upended energy flows and financial markets.

“They’re going to be hit. They can talk all they want but, you know, let’s see what they do,” President Donald Trump told Fox News Radio in an interview that aired Friday. “They’re going to maybe do something having to do with the straits.”

The 14th day of the war marked the largest attacks yet against the Islamic Republic, with the US and Israel hitting around 15,000 targets since the war began, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. 

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall is in for Kailey. Joe and Tyler speak with:

• Bloomberg Economics Chief Geoeconomics Analyst Jennifer Welch.
• Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck Partner Rosemary Becchi.
• Bloomberg News Senior Editor for Technology and Strategic Industries Michael Shepard.
• Bloomberg Intelligence Senior US Policy Analyst Nathan Dean.
• Andesite Co-Founder and CEO Brian Carbaugh.

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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

President Donald Trump and Iran’s new supreme leader both struck defiant tones on the 13th day of the war, offering little relief to energy markets despite fresh US efforts to curb oil prices. 

The US president said in a social media post Thursday that preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons and threatening the Middle East is “of far greater interest and importance to me” than the cost of oil. 

Mojtaba Khamenei said the Islamic Republic would seek to ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed. In his first public comments since succeeding his father, he added that Tehran will look to open other fronts in the war if the US and Israel persist with their attacks. 

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:

• Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
• Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin.
• Maywood Strategies Principal Doug Farrar and Bluestack Strategies Founder Maura Gillespie.
• Former Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren.

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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

President Donald Trump said he didn’t believe Iran was laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz and repeated his suggestion that the war would end soon, even as the confirmation of an emergency oil release did little to calm volatile markets.

Asked Wednesday whether Iran had laid mines in the strait, Trump told reporters, “We don’t think so.” The Islamic Republic has laid about a dozen mines in the waterway, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:

• Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
• Republican Senator Rand Paul.
• Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino.
• Former Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry.

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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

US officials signaled military operations were escalating against Iran and there was little chance of diplomatic talks, throwing cold water on President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the conflict could be resolved soon.

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said the US leader is always willing to talk, while casting doubt on Iranian willingness to do so. 

“It’s the same question today that we had when we were negotiating with them — do they actually want to have a diplomatic solution here,” Witkoff said in a CNBC interview on Tuesday. “So far, the evidence suggests no.”

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:

• Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
• Republican Congressman Marlin Stutzman of Indiana.
• Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino.
• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Senior Fellow Aaron David Miller.
• Bloomberg White House Correspondent Jeff Mason.

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A preview of the House Republican annual retreat starting on March 9 led the March 9 edition of Bloomberg Intelligence’s Washington Policy Pulse. Republicans are expected to discuss the next steps on an Iran supplemental defense bill as well as chances for another reconciliation bill -- potentially tied to health care, taxes and tariffs. We also discussed the likelihood of the DHS shutdown ending next week as well as a Congressional update views towards the US-Iran conflict. We also previewed several of the key races to watch in the US midterm elections.

The Bloomberg Intelligence Financial Policy weekly call is designed to provide investors an opportunity to learn about the most recent relevant policy research, information regarding forthcoming political catalysts and other on-goings within Washington DC.

The call is open to all and is held every Monday at 10:00 a.m. EST. You can register for the call here: https://bloomberg.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__PqCkwY-S2m3hbQqvVC1_Q#/registration

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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

US President Donald Trump confronted mounting pressures on the 10th day of the Iran war as oil prices surged past $100 and the Islamic Republic announced the hardline son of the assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as its new supreme leader.

Oil pared some gains Monday as the world’s largest economies considered a coordinated release of emergency oil stockpiles. Turmoil in weekend trading saw prices top $118 a barrel. The Strait of Hormuz remained all but closed, with no finalized plans on how nations will safeguard ships passing through the key waterway.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:

• Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
• Former Democratic Congresswoman Jane Harman.
• Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino and Bluestack Strategies Founder Maura Gillespie.
• Bloomberg Markets Live Blog Managing Editor Kristine Aquino.
• CIBC Private Wealth Managing Director Rebecca Babin.

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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

US President Donald Trump demanded Iran surrender as the war on the Islamic Republic raged for a seventh day, with the impact reverberating across global supply chains and energy markets.

Washington won’t negotiate an end to the conflict and will only accept “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday, raising fears of a protracted conflict. The US and its allies plan to select a “GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s),” he said.  

US crude futures hit $90 a barrel and Brent crude neared $95 a barrel for the first time in almost two years during the session, with traders warning $100 could be on the horizon sooner rather than later. US oil is on track for the biggest weekly percentage gain in at least two decades.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall is in for Kailey. Joe and Tyler speak with:

• Gulf Oil Chief Oil Advisor Tom Kloza.
• Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino.
• Former White House Director of Legislative Affairs March Short.
• Bloomberg This Weekend Co-Host Christina Ruffini.
• Groundwork Collaborative Managing Director of Policy and Advocacy Liz Pancotti.

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