The day after the drubbing Vice President JD Vance blamed the Middle East conflict for Republican losses saying “the reason we lost is the war”.
One Trump adviser said Hegseth “could be on the chopping block” because of Operation Epic Fury which started on February 28.
Although the Strait of Hormuz, through which one fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas flows, remains technically open to commercial shipping it is highly restricted and dangerous due to ongoing military conflict, sea mines, and recent vessel attacks. The effective blockade has seen forecourt fuel prices skyrocket.
Earlier this year Trump issued an expletive-filled threat in which he vowed to unleash a fresh blitz on Iran, signing off: “Praise be to Allah.”
In a Truth Social post uploaded by the president on Easter Sunday he said: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran.
“There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F***in’ Strait, you crazy b*****ds, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”
Trump vowed to turn the country into a living hell if he continues to block the shipping route – a move that has sent oil prices into the stratosphere.
US airstrikes destroyed the newly-built B1 bridge, which links Tehran and the western city of Karaj, after Trump said he would bomb the capital “back to the Stone Age”.
Iranian officials are continuing to demand the US lifts sanctions and releases billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets.
On the midterm election drubbing a White House source said: “Someone is going to get blamed for this and you know it’s not going to be him [Trump].”
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