June 18, 2026 · The DNI meltdown, Warsh's pivot, the Friday signing

Wednesday morning at 3:54 AM ET, President Trump went on Truth Social and cancelled his own Director of National Intelligence nominee's confirmation hearing, tied FISA 702 renewal to his election-overhaul bill, and demanded a US Attorney replacement be approved first. Wednesday afternoon, new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh delivered his first press conference and the dot plot showed his FOMC projecting rate HIKES, not the cuts Trump nominated him to deliver. The Iran deal signs tomorrow at the Burgenstock resort in the Swiss canton of Nidwalden — VP Vance attending, Trump may not be. The Newsom investigation turns out to be at the US Attorney's Office in Sacramento, focused on Siebel Newsom's tax filings. Anthropic's order came via letter from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick; the company says it's verbal evidence only and the capability is widely available. Russia hit Kyiv overnight, Ukraine struck the Moscow Oil Refinery for the second time in three days. Iran says Israel's violated the Lebanon truce 84 times. A Russian Navy vessel fired shots near a British yacht in the English Channel. The Guardian reported a US strike in Somalia killed 12 civilians including 8 children. SCOTUS is expected to release decisions today. - **The DNI meltdown** — Trump's 3:54 AM Truth Social post Wednesday cancelled Jay Clayton's confirmation hearing; FISA 702 renewal tied to the SAVE America Act election overhaul; Jamie McDonald replacement demand; Tom Cotton called it "regrettable" - **Warsh signals hikes, not cuts** — first press conference Wednesday; 12-0 hold at 3.50-3.75; dot plot shows nine of eighteen projecting rate hikes by end-2026; median end-2026 rate at 3.8 percent up from 3.4 percent in March; task forces announced to overhaul Fed operations; anti-forward-guidance posture - **Iran deal signs tomorrow** — Burgenstock resort, Swiss canton of Nidwalden; VP Vance attending, Trump may not; one-and-a-half-page MOU per Vance; 60-day follow-on talks start Friday immediately - **Newsom case sharpens** — US Attorney's Office Sacramento investigating Siebel Newsom's tax filings; no formal probe of Gavin Newsom himself yet; Todd Blanche as acting DOJ head named as trigger; multiple probes into his circle - **Anthropic order details** — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sent the letter; Anthropic says verbal evidence only, capability widely available in competing models, would halt all frontier deployments if applied industrywide - **Russia hit Kyiv + Ukraine hit Moscow refinery + Russian Navy in English Channel** — Kyiv strike killed two; Moscow Oil Refinery struck for second time in three days; Russian Navy vessel fired shots near British yacht - **Lebanon, Somalia, SCOTUS** — Iran says Israel's violated Lebanon truce 84 times since MOU; Guardian revealed US Somalia strike killed 12 civilians including 8 children and a pregnant woman; SCOTUS expected to release decisions today More analysis at [Power Moves Before Policy Does](https://annardudley.substack.com).