Good morning, it's Friday, Sept. 25. The Senate rejected a war powers resolution on Iran by a single vote Thursday — the last time Congress will go on record about the war before November's midterms.

Also in today's issue: Judge orders press credentials restored, Carlson calls for the 25th Amendment, Diesel hits a record $6.51, Education Dept. scattered across nine buildings.

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Here's what happened in the Senate yesterday — and why the final score doesn't tell the whole story.

The Senate voted 49-50 on Thursday to reject a resolution directing President Trump to end military operations in Iran unless Congress formally authorized the war. One vote. That's the margin that separated a symbolic rebuke from a symbolic endorsement — on a conflict that has pushed diesel to a record $6.51 a gallon, sent regular gas past $4.48, and disrupted roughly 20% of the world's oil supply by closing the Strait of Hormuz. A July Reuters/Ipsos poll found 62% of Americans disapprove of U.S. strikes on Iran, and 69% said Trump hadn't clearly explained the goals. This is a war most Americans don't support, and it's costing them money every time they fill up or buy groceries.

Four Republicans broke ranks. Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina voted with Democrats. Tillis — who is leaving the Senate in January and won't face voters again — cast his first-ever vote for a war powers resolution. Lawmakers who no longer need to worry about primaries sometimes vote very differently. On the other side, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the lone Democrat to vote no. Senator Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland missed the vote due to a family emergency.

Now here's the part most coverage skips. This was a concurrent resolution — a type of measure that doesn't carry the force of law and can't be vetoed. The House already passed it 214-208, with seven Republicans crossing over. But even if the Senate had approved it, the White House wasn't going to comply. The administration ignored a similar resolution back in June, arguing Congress can't legally bind the president's war powers. That position isn't new. Administrations of both parties have held it for decades.

So what was Thursday actually about? The record. This was the last chance for every senator to tell voters where they stand on the war before the midterms. Every "no" vote now belongs to a candidate's re-election file — with gas prices as the backdrop. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, seemed to feel the weight. He pointed to "voter fatigue with high gas prices and high diesel prices" and said the administration should focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. That's a senior leader of the president's own party saying, out loud, that the war's economic toll is becoming a political problem.

The vote landed on the same day Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping at a state dinner — a reminder that the Iran conflict is now shaping global diplomacy alongside domestic politics. The war and its costs dominated both the congressional and diplomatic calendars on the same Thursday.

Here's the honest truth: the war powers framework has been strained for decades. Presidents stretch their authority. Congress avoids the hard vote — the one where they actually declare war or refuse to fund one. Thursday didn't break that pattern. But the margin, and the names attached to it, tell us something about where the ground is shifting. When members of the president's own party start voting against his war — even on a measure with no legal teeth — the pressure is building in a direction that's hard to reverse.

Watch the 60-day clock under the War Powers Resolution — the law that requires the president to get congressional approval or pull back forces. If the administration doesn't seek formal authorization, the legal fight intensifies after the midterms. Watch the lame-duck session in December, when lawmakers who just lost their seats may vote very differently than they did yesterday. And watch diesel prices. If they stay above $6 a gallon through October, the political math changes for every incumbent on the ballot.

Judge orders press credentials restored — and the White House resists. A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to immediately return White House press passes to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, ruling the ban lacked basic due process. Judge Timothy Kelly — a Trump appointee who issued a similar ruling for CNN's Jim Acosta in 2018 — said he was doubtful the government's national security argument would hold. But compliance didn't come easy. Secret Service turned reporters away for hours after the predawn ruling. Badges were restored only after the outlets filed an emergency motion. That evening, CNN and MS NOW reporters were blocked again from covering Xi Jinping's arrival at the state dinner — an open-press event. No major broadcast network aired live coverage. The five-network TV pool remains suspended in solidarity with the banned outlets, meaning there is currently no independent video record of presidential events for American viewers. The restraining order expires before the midterms.

Tucker Carlson called for President Trump to be removed from office under the 25th Amendment, in an NPR interview published Thursday. Carlson — who spoke on Trump's behalf at the 2024 Republican convention — described a private Oval Office meeting where he warned Trump that Israel was drawing the U.S. into war. Carlson claims Trump responded: "Yes, you're right. But in the end we all die anyway, so it doesn't matter." Carlson called it "nihilism" and said Trump "should have been bundled up and taken out" after threatening nuclear war. The White House didn't address the claim directly, instead sharing a social media post where Trump called Carlson and others "stupid people." Carlson floated a possible third-party movement but said he isn't the one to organize it. Five weeks before midterms, the coalition that elected Trump is fracturing in public.

Diesel hit a record $6.51 per gallon Thursday — up 77% from $3.69 a year ago — and the pain is landing hardest on the people who keep the economy moving. Michigan steel hauler Paul Russo is now charging a 45% fuel surcharge on every load. Montana farmer Sarah Degn said filling her two empty farm tanks would cost $11,740 at current prices. Some Republican senators are pushing Trump to impose a temporary ban on diesel exports — Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa wrote: "IF U CAN EMBARGO CHIPS U CAN EMBARGO DIESEL." Trump said he supports the idea, but Treasury Secretary Bessent and Energy Secretary Wright said they're still weighing options. Economists and the American Petroleum Institute warn a ban could backfire by disrupting refinery economics and ultimately pushing prices higher.

The Trump administration's breakup of the Education Department has scattered hundreds of employees across at least nine federal buildings — and is making the agency harder to run, not simpler. An NPR investigation found that over 100 special education staffers began reporting to an HHS building on September 10. Dozens of civil rights employees moved to the Justice Department. Five employees, speaking anonymously for fear of retaliation, said the moves are making it harder to serve the states and schools that rely on billions in federal education grants. Some grants will now flow through systems built for other agencies rather than the single platform Education has used for years. The department is the smallest Cabinet-level agency, but it manages one of the largest federal grant portfolios — funding services for low-income students and students with disabilities nationwide.

That's the one-year increase in U.S. diesel prices — from $3.69 to $6.51 a gallon. Diesel powers the trucks that deliver virtually everything Americans buy. That spike is already baked into the cost of food, shipping, and heating fuel from coast to coast.

P.S. At what gas price does the war stop being worth it? Hit Reply — We Read Each one.