Americans have splashed out $59 billion more on fuel since President Donald Trump started his war against Iran — and the extra costs have already eaten up the boost in this year's average tax refund, according to a report Friday.
Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi estimated that the increased spending amounted to about $450 per U.S. household, "made up mostly of gasoline, then there's a diesel cost and an implied jet fuel cost in those higher airline fees,” CNBC senior economics reporter Steve Liesman said on the cable network's Squawk Box show.
The
added costs were initially offset by this year's increase in the size
of many federal income tax refunds, which averaged around $380 more per
household, but by mid-May, "the extra fuel cost outstrips the refunds,"
and "now it's higher," Liesman said, according to a transcript posted on
the Mediaite website.
Zandi also predicted, "Unless the war ends soon, financially pressed consumers will have no option but to turn more cautious in their spending, threatening the already soft economy," Liesman said.
Two Northwest Jacksonville business owners closed their doors, saying a challenging economy, changing consumer spending habits, and financial pressures have made it difficult to continue operating.
For years, both businesses served as gathering places for the community — one through photography and content creation, the other through food and fellowship. Now, their owners are saying goodbye.
Carissa Glanton recently closed The Selfie Showroom, a photography and content creation space that operated in Jacksonville for four years.
“A lot of people came here to celebrate birthdays, take pictures, and have a unique experience,” Glanton said. “It was something different that I really wanted to bring to Jacksonville.”
But by the middle of last year, she said business began slowing down.
“That’s when things started to trickle down for us, and it was just hard to keep the operations going,” Glanton explained.
[. . .]
Just a few minutes away at Trout River Food Truck Park, another owner is facing a similar reality.
Chef Love, owner of Chef Love Sol Cuisine, announced she is also closing after five years in business.
Business, she said, has become increasingly difficult.
“Challenging. Uncertain. Confusing. Doubtful,” Chef Love said when asked how business has been lately.
“We’ve seen a big decrease because of the economy,” she said. “People are unsure right now. Going out to eat is a luxury for many families. Even though I feel my food is affordable, it still comes out of their income.”
For years, American consumers have defied predictions and kept the economy moving forward with their spending even amid a raft of financial pressures. Yet signs of financial strain are emerging as households grapple with the highest inflation rate in nearly three years.
Consumer spending drives about 70% of U.S. economic activity, raising concerns about a slowdown if Americans pull back amid an ongoing spike in energy prices.
"If gas prices stay elevated, middle-income families will likely face more tradeoffs. For most households, gas isn't optional — it's how they get to work, take care of their families and manage daily life," said Glenn Williams, CEO of Primerica, a provider of financial products.
Inflation tends to hit low- and middle-income households hardest because they spend a greater share of their income on basics such as gas and food.
Geoff Bennett:
So what did Bondi say?
Ali Rogin:
Not much, according to Democrats in the room. She answered many questions by saying she did not know or did not recall. She deferred many questions to Todd Blanche, saying that he handled the documents, including all the mistakes of failing to redact some of the survivors' names and images.
In her opening statement, she said she -- quote -- "delegated oversight over this process" to Blanche. She also refused to comment on her conversations with President Trump.
Geoff Bennett:
And Blanche, now the acting attorney general, who used to be President Trump's personal attorney.
Ali Rogin:
That's right, Geoff. And he's been very involved in this investigation. He met with co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in 2025, after which she was transferred to a minimum security prison.
Bondi said she was unaware that that meeting was happening. And as acting attorney general, Blanche has said that he said the Epstein files -- quote -- "should not be a part of anything going forward at the DOJ."
Whatever his role was, Blanche is now the head of the department and Democrats said they will subpoena him to testify. For their part, survivors say that the most important thing for them is that the DOJ follow through on some of the investigative leads that are revealed and some of the names that have been released in the Epstein files.
Geoff Bennett:
And, as we have reported on this program, President Trump's own relationship with Epstein has come under scrutiny. The president has gone after media outlets, news organizations that have chosen to report on it. So what's the latest on that front?
Ali Rogin:
Yes.
So, earlier this week, President Trump refiled a defamation lawsuit that he had filed against The Wall Street Journal over a report that he had written a letter to Epstein for his birthday in 2003 which featured an illustration of a naked woman silhouette. Trump denied he wrote the letter or drew the picture. And he sued The Journal for defamation.
The judge threw out the case, saying he had not proved that the reporters deliberately reported false information. He said Trump could file a new complaint. We have seen that today. He -- there's not very much new in this new complaint, except there's an anecdote that he spoke with Rupert Murdoch, the chairman, before this article was released.
Murdoch said he would handle it. We don't know how this judge is going to respond to this, and The Wall Street Journal stands by its reporting, Geoff.
Washington, D.C. — Today, Oversight Democrats released the following statement following the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) confirmation that then-Attorney General Pam Bondi’s transcribed interview will not be videotaped for the American people.
“Pam Bondi was at the heart of a White House cover-up and Oversight Chairman James Comer is working to hide her testimony from the American people. The survivors and the American people deserve to see her respond to real questions about her mismanagement and cover-up of the Epstein files,” said Sara Guerrero, spokesperson for Oversight Democrats.
In March, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform voted with bipartisan support on a motion by Rep. Nancy Mace to subpoena then-Attorney General Pam Bondi. On April 14, 2026, Pam Bondi refused to appear for her deposition before the Oversight Committee, despite the lawful bipartisan subpoena the Committee issued. The subpoena followed the Department of Justice’s botched release of the Epstein files and the continued White House cover-up.
###
Glenn Thrush and Michael Gold (NEW YORK TIMES via PHILADELPHIA INQURIER) note:
Pam Bondi, fired as attorney general by President Donald Trump in April, insisted Friday that she had little real authority in overseeing the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, putting responsibility squarely on her former deputy and successor, Todd Blanche.
Her remarks, delivered during a closed-door interview before the House Oversight Committee, were a bracingly candid admission of her own powerlessness that belied her nominal role as one of the most powerful figures in government. It was a noticeable shift from her past appearances on Capitol Hill, when she resorted to maximum-volume attacks on Democrats who raised questions about her performance or challenged her authority.
Bondi told committee members that Blanche was managing “the entire investigation,” Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said after emerging from a tense session that Bondi had long sought to delay or dodge.
She added in the hearing that Blanche was responsible for determining which documents would be released, another person present for her testimony said, describing how she also repeatedly punted to FBI Director Kash Patel.
One interesting note? NDTV adds:
Former US Attorney General Pam Bondi, during her long-awaited interview with US House lawmakers, reportedly said that Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell should die in prison and should not receive a pardon.
Maxwell was a longtime associate of Epstein, the US financier and convicted sex offender, who died by suicide in jail in 2019. She was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking and conspiracy involving underage girls. She is currently serving a 20-year sentence and remains in a Texas prison facility.
And how did Maxwell get there? How did she go from a low security Florida prison to a minimum security prison in Bryan, Texas? Bondi said they needed to ask Blanche about that.
Perry Stein and Maegan Vazquez (WASHINGTON POST) note:
Bondi said that “Acting attorney general Blanche was managing the entire investigation,” Rep. Robert Garcia (California), the top Democrat on the committee, told reporters during a mid-interview break.
[. . .]
Garcia told reporters: “I also personally asked the former AG five times and five different questions about her conversations with President Trump, whether he directed her at any given time on the Epstein files, what he knew, what he asked her to redact or not, and she refused to answer any questions about President Trump. In fact, she said that she would not speak or respond to any questions that [have] anything to do with President Trump.”
It must be something to dictate to Congress what you will and will not answer questions about. Australia's ABC reports on the survivors who were outside the hearing:
Survivors of Epstein's abuse were in the building and criticised Ms Bondi's handling of the material.
They held posters that had documents from the Epstein files that feature Mr Trump's name, among others, and they made their presence known to Ms Bondi as she entered the room.
Several survivors said they were shoved aside by police officers.
"It boggles my mind that the Department of Justice released nude photos … the Department of Justice released pornography. That is unacceptable," survivor Sharlene Rochard told reporters outside the committee hearing room.
"I just hope that she does have a moment where she remembers her own humanity and our humanity and finds her compassion and remembers that this is a bigger story than political rhetoric," said Danielle Bensky, another survivor.
The survivors also implored lawmakers to hold Ms Bondi accountable for the handling of the Epstein case files' release, which included the personal information of potential victims.
As New Mexico’s bipartisan Epstein Truth Commission will hold its first public meeting this week at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe, many Otero County political leaders — have remained notably quiet on the matter.
Local state leaders voted affirmative for the resolution creating the special commission but for the most part have been silent on the demand for transparency and release of all documents in DC and for state level prosecution in New Mexico if appropriate.
The commission is examining allegations of sex trafficking, abuse of minors, and potential state and local oversights tied to Jeffrey Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch. With subpoena power and a $2 million budget, the panel is seeking survivor testimony and reviewing how such activities could occur in New Mexico with little apparent intervention for years.
A former Fox host and current political analyst believes a recent Donald Trump action may have finally spurred a real rebellion among Republicans.
“It’s a revolt,” wrote Howard Kurtz for Fox News. “Practically a revolution.” He said the backlash “seems to be breaking, or at least loosening, Trump’s iron grip on power.”
At issue is Trump’s proposed $1.8 billion slush fund to compensate alleged victims targeted by “political weaponization” from former-President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice.
These so-called “victims” would include rioters arrested for storming the Capitol building during the attempted January 6, 2021 insurrection. The rioters attempted to disrupt the Senate’s certification of the 2020 election results.
Kurtz said for many Republicans, the concept of this massive taxpayer-funded compensation for people who have been convicted of crimes “was a bridge too far.”
“Some of these people had attacked and injured police officers, seized members’ offices and chanted for Mike Pence’s hanging,” Kurtz said.
The former judges, appointed by both Democrat and Republican presidents, wrote that the lawsuit was used as a justification for the "looting" of American taxpayers. They described the case as a type of "collusion" between the president's lawyers and the federal government and asked the judge to re-open the case to determine if the settlement was reached only after the court was "deceived."
Williams, appointed by former President Barack Obama, had initially granted a dismissal of Trump's lawsuit following the settlement, but, in light of the former judges' motion, she said the court is "empowered to investigate serious misconduct."
It follows another judge in Virginia temporarily freezing the fund, which Trump officials have described as an effort to compensate Trump allies, Jan. 6 rioters and others the president says have been unjustly targeted.
That judge, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia, ordered on Friday that Trump officials stop setting up the pool of money to "ensure that no funds are irreversibly disbursed."
Brinkema, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, set a June 12 hearing for arguments over whether the order should be extended.
When the details of the agreement were first revealed two weeks ago, Democrats and former government officials lodged accusations of corruption and self-dealing, and even some Republicans reacted with scornful disbelief. Some G.O.P. senators were so angry they abandoned plans to approve a measure to finance the administration’s immigration crackdown.
Within days of the agreement becoming public, and before the judge raised questions about it, senior administration officials began preparing to get rid of the fund amid the intense blowback. Those discussions were reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.
But while the agreement appeared to have emerged abruptly, it fused two ideas that had been kicking around in Mr. Trump’s circle for years: a desire by him and his family to avoid extensive tax audits, and a longing by his allies to obtain financial restitution for legal wrongs they claimed to have suffered during the Biden administration.
DOJ’s attempt to cut a sweetheart deal for the Trump family and MAGA political allies is a crooked and corrupt abuse of taxpayer money
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche this week demanding that the MAGA Department of Justice preserve records related to a corrupt purported settlement agreement in Trump v. Internal Revenue Service, DOJ’s creation of a $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund to reward the President’s political allies, and the related tax amnesty agreement for the Trump family and their business associates.
“This sweetheart deal from the Trump IRS and the Trump DOJ attempts to give President Trump and the Trump family business a magical free pass on tax violations and set up a slush fund for cop-beaters and MAGA criminals. It’s the very definition of corruption and merits further investigation. Acting Attorney General Blanche – himself a former Trump defense attorney – must preserve all records related to this outrageous abuse of power and misuse of taxpayer money,” said Whitehouse.
“A MAGA ‘weaponization’ slush fund is so outrageous that Senate Republicans were forced to send lawmakers home to stay in President Trump’s good graces. Americans are struggling to afford gas, groceries, housing… you name it. And President Trump is more interested in cashing in on the presidency than focusing on the things that matter. This blatantly corrupt deal deserves further scrutiny, and the Acting Attorney General must order the preservation of all documents related to it,” said Durbin.
Earlier this month, the MAGA Department of Justice announced that President Trump had agreed to drop a $10 billion lawsuit he initiated against his own Internal Revenue Service after he was inaugurated for his second term over the leak of the President’s tax information by an IRS employee in exchange for the creation of an unprecedented $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” The commission overseeing the fund would have the authority to dole out the nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer funds to settle claims brought by anyone who claimed they were harmed by “weaponization” of the justice system, including participants convicted of beating police and other crimes related to the January 6 insurrection.
“The Fund would allow those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to apply, including those who assaulted law enforcement officers during the attack on the Capitol. This would mean nearly 175 January 6 rioters who used a dangerous or deadly weapon to assault law enforcement officers can seek compensation from the Fund, including a rioter who drove a stun gun into a law enforcement officer’s neck. The Fund also lacks basic transparency and accountability measures, granting President Trump the authority to remove any administrator of the Fund without cause and allowing only the Attorney General to receive information about the identity of recipients per the terms of the ‘Settlement Agreement,’” wrote Whitehouse and Durbin in the letter.
One day after the settlement agreement was announced, the Department of Justice announced an addendum that would purportedly prohibit the IRS from pursuing audits against Trump, his family, and their business associates for any previous tax offenses as part of a bizarre side deal to the Department’s compensation fund agreement.
“This addendum purports to grant President Trump and a wide swath of associates and related companies immunity from any ongoing tax audits, including one in which a potential adverse ruling could have cost President Trump more than $100 million,” added the senators in their letter.
Full text of the letter is below and a PDF is available here.
May 26, 2026
The Honorable Todd Blanche
Acting Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530
Dear Acting Attorney General Blanche:
We write to request that the Department of Justice preserve all records related to the proposed $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” (the “Fund”) and the purported “Settlement Agreement” in Trump v. Internal Revenue Service, No. 1:26-cv-20609 (S.D. Fla.).
On May 18, 2026, DOJ announced the creation of the Fund “to provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare.” You testified to Congress on May 19, 2026, that the Fund would allow those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to apply, including those who assaulted law enforcement officers during the attack on the Capitol. This would mean nearly 175 January 6 rioters who used a dangerous or deadly weapon to assault law enforcement officers can seek compensation from the Fund, including a rioter who drove a stun gun into a law enforcement officer’s neck. The Fund also lacks basic transparency and accountability measures, granting President Trump the authority to remove any administrator of the Fund without cause and allowing only the Attorney General to receive information about the identity of recipients per the terms of the “Settlement Agreement.”
Additionally, on May 19, 2026, DOJ released an addendum to the “Settlement Agreement” stating that the U.S. government would be “forever barred” from pursuing “examinations” of President Trump, his family, “related or affiliated individuals,” and related trusts and businesses, for any matter involving previously filed tax returns or “Lawfare and/or Weaponization.” This addendum purports to grant President Trump and a wide swath of associates and related companies immunity from any ongoing tax audits, including one in which a potential adverse ruling could have cost President Trump more than $100 million.
Please preserve any existing and future records, documents, and materials related to the Fund and “Settlement Agreement,” including any materials related to DOJ’s development of and decision to create the Fund and enter into the “Settlement Agreement.” As you know, federal law, including the Federal Records Act, imposes an obligation to preserve federal records on all DOJ employees and makes violations subject to criminal prosecution. This requirement includes preservation of electronic messages sent using both official and personal accounts or devices and records created using text messages, phone-based message applications, or encryption software.
We look forward to your prompt response and acknowledgment of your compliance with this request.
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