Episode summary
Trump Will Escalate Attacks; ICE To Halt Vehicle Stops | Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition
Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition
· · Guests: Todd Blanche
Summary
President Trump kept intensifying his warnings toward Iran after a fourth straight night of strikes, saying the attacks would expand from missile and drone capabilities to power plants, bridges and eventually energy targets. Bloomberg’s Patrick Sykes said the campaign now looks like a full escalation over control of the Strait of Hormuz, with the temporary peace framework effectively breaking down and traffic through the waterway already sharply reduced.
At home, the Department of Homeland Security ordered ICE to pause most vehicle stops during deportation operations after the fatal shooting of a driver in Maine. The move follows a second deadly shooting by immigration agents in a week and reflects mounting scrutiny of enforcement tactics, while Tom Homan said investigators would determine whether officers acted appropriately. Protesters in Maine condemned the shooting and called for accountability.
Washington also remained focused on Todd Blanche, who is set to appear before the Senate for his confirmation hearing to lead the Justice Department. Democrats are criticizing his role in settling Trump’s IRS lawsuit, and three Senate Republicans remain undecided, leaving the nomination vulnerable. The show also covered a cooler-than-expected CPI report, ASML’s raised sales outlook on AI demand, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s one-year moratorium on large data centers.
Key takeaways
- President Trump said the US will keep striking Iran and is now threatening power plants, bridges and energy infrastructure as pressure over the Strait of Hormuz escalates.
- Patrick Sykes said traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is now “vastly reduced,” with only a small trickle of ships still moving through.
- DHS ordered ICE to pause most vehicle stops after the Maine shooting, limiting the policy to serious criminal cases until new training is in place.
- Todd Blanche faces a difficult Senate confirmation fight after a federal judge criticized his role in Trump’s IRS settlement and three Republicans said they were undecided.
- ASML raised its annual sales forecast for a second time this year, citing AI-driven demand for chipmaking equipment.
Notable quotes
“We're going to hit him very hard tonight. We're going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. We're going to hit them very hard the night after”
“the attacks do appear to be increasing in intensity both on the ground where Iran says about 30 civilians have been killed in recent days”
“DHS has ordered a temporary pause on vehicle stops to give agents more training”
“Just one no vote could be enough to kill Blanch's nomination”
“you're going to contribute to the locality. You're going to contribute to bring your own power and also this larger dynamic”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news. — Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager — And I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today. — Karen, we begin with the latest from the Middle East. The US has completed a fourth straight night of attacks against Iran. President Trump says the strikes will continue until he says it's enough.
We're going to hit him very hard tonight. We're going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. We're going to hit them very hard the night after. And then next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the uh power plants. Next week comes the bridges.
That was President Trump in an interview on Fox News. We get more from Bloomberg Middle East correspondent Air Abu Omar in Dubai.
The United States has been attacking Iran over the past few days consecutively every single night. The latest round of strikes happened in the early hours of this morning or was finalized in the early hours of this morning here in the Middle East. 7 hours of waves of attacks on some weapon launchers, some military targets.
President Trump, as you just heard, saying that next week the US will start hitting bridges, some infrastructure in Iran as well. So, threats that have been made before. And Bloomberg's Zabir Abu Omar reports these latest attacks came after President Trump backed off plans for a 20% charge on cargo shipments through the Straight of Hormuz.
That's after allies in the Gulf urged him to drop it. The president says the fee will be replaced by direct investment by Gulf allies. He did not specify a dollar amount or which countries would be taking part.
Nathan, let's get the latest now on an incident that sparked protests near Portland, Maine.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- iran strait of hormuz escalation
- immigration vehicle stop halt
- ice deportation operations
- justice department nomination
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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