The Daily Herold: 4/23/26 - Navy Secretary Fired, DCSA Directive & Iran Blockade

Jon Herold is sleep-deprived, mildly cranky, and working with a slow news cycle today, which means you get the unfiltered version. The Navy Secretary was just fired over clashes with Trump on shipbuilding and fleet deployment, and Jon tries to make sense of why that name keeps showing up everywhere this week. He also digs into a quiet but potentially significant Department of Defense directive that rescinds a key surveillance designation from the DCSA, asking whether the timing, right in the middle of the FISA reauthorization fight, is a coincidence. Jon reads through a piece on Joe DiGenova as the new Russiagate czar and gives an honest take on whether this time actually feels different or if it is just another iteration of the same stop-start accountability cycle. Trump's Truth Social posts on Iran continue to escalate, with orders to shoot at boats placing mines and a full Strait of Hormuz lockdown. Plus the DOJ watchdog is now reviewing Epstein document compliance, SOUTHCOM just stood up a new autonomous warfare command, and Trump settled with Carter Page. Jon also has feelings about NHL officiating.