A Rock and a Hard Strait

Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for March 10, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

The Latest

About 140 U.S. service members have been injured since the start of Operation Epic Fury, according to the Pentagon.

• Most injuries have been minor and 108 of the service members have returned to duty, a spokesperson told The Associated Press in an email.

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a press conference this morning that today would be the “most intense day of strikes inside Iran.” He declined to give an update on the previously stated timeline of four to five weeks.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright briefly sent oil prices sliding when he posted — and then quickly deleted — on X that the U.S. Navy escorted an oil tanker across the Strait of Hormuz. Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a press conference this afternoon that such an escort never happened.

• The price of a barrel of oil briefly dipped below $80 when the post was published, before bouncing back after it was deleted.

• Leavitt emphasized that escorting tankers remains an option as Donald Trump attempts to control gas prices, which have jumped since the war with Iran began last weekend.

• After CBS News reported that U.S. intelligence is seeing Iran potentially deploying mines in the strait, Trump said that “within the last few hours” the U.S. has destroyed “10 inactive mine laying boats.”

The Hill

Don’t expect a SAVE America Act anytime soon. Despite Trump’s threat to not sign any bills until the act is passed, the call for a near-total ban on mail-in ballots remains a sticking point, Politico reports.

• The bill would require all voters to show photo identification and proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. It would also ban gender conversion surgeries for minors and transgender participation on sports teams.

• “There are no easy ways to do this,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters today when asked about passing the bill.

THE AGENCIESA whistleblower claims an ex-DOGE member said he took Social Security data to a new job, The Washington Post reports.

• The Social Security Administration’s internal watchdog is investigating the complaint, which claimed that the DOGE software engineer said he had access to two agency databases and had planned to share them with his private employer.

The Courts

Justice Department official Ed Martin is facing disciplinary proceedings from the D.C. Bar related to a previous effort to punish Georgetown Law for its DEI programs.

• The department defended Martin in a statement to NOTUS, calling the D.C. Bar’s “attempt to target and punish those serving President Trump” an indication of a partisan agenda.

Career Corner

Thank you for reading! Today’s newsletter was produced by Matt Berman and Andrew Burton. If you liked it, please forward it to a friend. If someone shared it with you, please subscribe — it’s free! Got a tip or comments to share? Email us at finalnotus@notus.com.