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Meet the Top War Skeptic Inside the Trump Pentagon. Plus. . .
It’s Thursday, May 28. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Kat Rosenfield asks, is Belle Burden telling the truth? Patrick McGee on how Intel saved itself, and may soon save America. Joe Nocera on Old School. And much more.
But first: The Pentagon official defending the kind of war he once opposed.
In Washington, they say personnel is policy. That’s why Donald Trump’s appointment of influential foreign policy guru Elbridge Colby to a top Pentagon job last year was seen as a big deal. Colby is in the vanguard of MAGA thinkers who reject the bipartisan interventions that have defined U.S. foreign policy for the last quarter century. Anti-war populists saw in Colby’s rise a sign that Donald Trump would govern as a “restrainer” in his second term.
With Trump having toppled Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, prosecuting a war with Iran, and eyeing Cuba, that prediction aged like milk.
Now Colby finds himself having to defend the kind of conflict with Iran that he has spent most of his career warning against. Colby’s story is a way into a bigger tale, about the worldview governing Donald Trump’s unconventional and potentially era-defining foreign policy in his second term.
Which is why we asked Eli Lake to profile him. Eli speaks to Colby, and dives into the backstory of this unlikely populist with impeccable Washington credentials and a controversial grandfather. Read Eli on the MAGA guru whose influence and resolve is being tested by the Iran war.
—The Editors
And, ICYMI: Check out Joe’s introduction to The Lindbergh Conspiracies, and listen wherever you get your podcasts.
At 12 p.m. EST, Suzy Weiss will hop on our new Free Press Forum for her first AMA. She’ll be around for an hour to talk about all things culture—so click here to drop your questions about the latest books, movies, summer trends, or anything else, and don’t forget to tune in this afternoon for her answers.
MORE FROM THE FREE PRESSTHE NEWSSmoke rises from the site of an Israeli strike near the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on May 27, 2026. (Kawant Haju/AFP via Getty Images)Israel launched another round of attacks against Hezbollah on Tuesday, striking several targets across Lebanon. The renewed offensive comes at a particularly volatile moment, as the U.S. continues to push for a peace deal with Iran.
Oil prices fell on Wednesday morning, as the temporary ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran remains largely intact. The S&P 500 ended Wednesday slightly higher, but will be closely watched as diplomacy continues in the Middle East.
After 88 days of large-scale shutdown, the Iranian government is reportedly restoring internet access across the country. If it holds, the change would mean the end of one of the longest nationwide internet blackouts in history, and the ability for Iranians to finally return to reading news and communicating with friends and family online.
Former president Joe Biden filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department on Tuesday. The action came as part of Biden’s attempt to block the release of audio files and transcripts from interviews he gave to a biographer in 2016 and 2017, which eventually became part of the investigation into the then-president’s handling of classified documents.
The Trump administration is reportedly planning to send U.S. citizens who are exposed to Ebola to Kenya for treatment. The program would be a stark contrast to previous public-health policies, which returned Americans to specialized domestic facilities.
The financial app Robinhood launched a new feature that will allow AI agents to trade stocks and make credit-card purchases. The addition will let users directly connect programs like Anthropic’s Claude or coding software like Cursor to their profile, and even provide the agent with its own dedicated trading account.
A chemical tank at a paper mill in Washington State imploded on Wednesday. The accident killed at least two people, and nine more workers remain unaccounted for.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has purchased a stake in the Cleveland Guardians baseball team. Kelce has long dreamed of a career in Major League Baseball, and his investment in the Guardians will officially make him part of his hometown team.
View all episodes
By Bari WeissIt’s Thursday, May 28. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Kat Rosenfield asks, is Belle Burden telling the truth? Patrick McGee on how Intel saved itself, and may soon save America. Joe Nocera on Old School. And much more.
But first: The Pentagon official defending the kind of war he once opposed.
In Washington, they say personnel is policy. That’s why Donald Trump’s appointment of influential foreign policy guru Elbridge Colby to a top Pentagon job last year was seen as a big deal. Colby is in the vanguard of MAGA thinkers who reject the bipartisan interventions that have defined U.S. foreign policy for the last quarter century. Anti-war populists saw in Colby’s rise a sign that Donald Trump would govern as a “restrainer” in his second term.
With Trump having toppled Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, prosecuting a war with Iran, and eyeing Cuba, that prediction aged like milk.
Now Colby finds himself having to defend the kind of conflict with Iran that he has spent most of his career warning against. Colby’s story is a way into a bigger tale, about the worldview governing Donald Trump’s unconventional and potentially era-defining foreign policy in his second term.
Which is why we asked Eli Lake to profile him. Eli speaks to Colby, and dives into the backstory of this unlikely populist with impeccable Washington credentials and a controversial grandfather. Read Eli on the MAGA guru whose influence and resolve is being tested by the Iran war.
—The Editors
And, ICYMI: Check out Joe’s introduction to The Lindbergh Conspiracies, and listen wherever you get your podcasts.
At 12 p.m. EST, Suzy Weiss will hop on our new Free Press Forum for her first AMA. She’ll be around for an hour to talk about all things culture—so click here to drop your questions about the latest books, movies, summer trends, or anything else, and don’t forget to tune in this afternoon for her answers.
MORE FROM THE FREE PRESSTHE NEWSSmoke rises from the site of an Israeli strike near the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on May 27, 2026. (Kawant Haju/AFP via Getty Images)Israel launched another round of attacks against Hezbollah on Tuesday, striking several targets across Lebanon. The renewed offensive comes at a particularly volatile moment, as the U.S. continues to push for a peace deal with Iran.
Oil prices fell on Wednesday morning, as the temporary ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran remains largely intact. The S&P 500 ended Wednesday slightly higher, but will be closely watched as diplomacy continues in the Middle East.
After 88 days of large-scale shutdown, the Iranian government is reportedly restoring internet access across the country. If it holds, the change would mean the end of one of the longest nationwide internet blackouts in history, and the ability for Iranians to finally return to reading news and communicating with friends and family online.
Former president Joe Biden filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department on Tuesday. The action came as part of Biden’s attempt to block the release of audio files and transcripts from interviews he gave to a biographer in 2016 and 2017, which eventually became part of the investigation into the then-president’s handling of classified documents.
The Trump administration is reportedly planning to send U.S. citizens who are exposed to Ebola to Kenya for treatment. The program would be a stark contrast to previous public-health policies, which returned Americans to specialized domestic facilities.
The financial app Robinhood launched a new feature that will allow AI agents to trade stocks and make credit-card purchases. The addition will let users directly connect programs like Anthropic’s Claude or coding software like Cursor to their profile, and even provide the agent with its own dedicated trading account.
A chemical tank at a paper mill in Washington State imploded on Wednesday. The accident killed at least two people, and nine more workers remain unaccounted for.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has purchased a stake in the Cleveland Guardians baseball team. Kelce has long dreamed of a career in Major League Baseball, and his investment in the Guardians will officially make him part of his hometown team.