---
title: "The Morning Brief — April 3, 2026"
date: 2026-04-03T01:00:02-05:00
draft: false
description: "Hegseth reshapes the Pentagon, sanctuary cities rack up a body count, ActBlue lied to Congress, Artemis II heads moonward, and Bondi's out — it's a busy Friday in Trump's America."
tags: ["Morning Brief", "conservative", "news", "America First"]
---

### [Hegseth Ends 34-Year Military Base 'Gun-Free Zone' Policy](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense/4514789/hegseth-order-troops-carry-guns-bases/)

For three decades, the Pentagon had the inspired idea that the most effective way to protect the world's most lethal fighting force was to disarm it at home. Pete Hegseth signed a memo Thursday putting an end to that particular piece of theater, allowing service members to carry privately owned firearms on base for personal protection. The presumption is now *approval*, not denial — which is how it should work when you're dealing with people who've already passed a security clearance and marksmanship training. Raise your hand if you think our troops were the threat.

---

### [Hegseth Removes Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense/4514671/who-is-randy-george-army-chief-of-staff/)

The Pentagon shakeup continues, and I for one am not losing sleep over it. Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to retire immediately, with the stated rationale being a desire for leadership "aligned with" the administration's direction. Whether you love or hate the pace of these changes, the principle is sound: the civilian leadership of the military should actually lead it, and generals who can't get on board with that arrangement have a perfectly honorable exit option called retirement. The woke-proofing of the officer corps isn't going to be painless, but it's necessary.

---

### [Artemis II Crew Heads to the Moon](https://www.foxnews.com/us/artemis-ii-crew-describes-life-aboard-orion-spacecraft-historic-journey-moon-back)

America is sending humans back toward the moon for the first time since the Apollo era, and somehow this is the *third* story on most newscasts today. Artemis II completed its translunar injection burn Thursday and the crew is now on their way. This is what American government should be doing — defending the country, exploring space, and otherwise getting out of the way. More of this, please, and less Department of Education.

---

### [Sanctuary City's Three Murders in Five Weeks — Homan Calls for a Deal](https://www.dailywire.com/news/homan-calls-for-a-deal-after-sanctuary-city-faces-string-of-brutal-murders/)

Fairfax County, Virginia has been doing its best impression of a welcoming committee for illegal immigrants for years, and the bill is coming due in the worst possible way: three murders in just over a month, including a three-month-old infant, allegedly committed by people ICE had asked to detain. Tom Homan is calling for a deal, but I'd start with something simpler — maybe county officials should have to explain to those victims' families why their political principles were worth more than a baby's life. Illegal is illegal, and "sanctuary" is just a fancy word for complicity.

---

### [Illegal Aliens Released Despite ICE Detainer — Then Allegedly Kill Young Mom](https://www.theblaze.com/news/illegal-alien-detainer-denied-murder/)

California ignored a federal detainer on two illegal aliens. Those two allegedly went on to murder Kembery Chirinos-Flores, a 24-year-old single mom, leaving her five-year-old son without a mother. There is no policy nuance here, no "both sides," no complicated cost-benefit analysis — a woman is dead and a child is motherless because local officials decided their ideological objections to federal law outranked their basic duty to protect the public. The people who signed off on releasing these two should be explaining themselves in a federal courtroom.

---

### [Trump Fires Bondi, Todd Blanche Steps In as Acting AG](https://dailycaller.com/2026/04/02/donald-trump-pam-bondi-fired-justice-department/)

Pam Bondi is out, Todd Blanche is in on an acting basis, and Chip Roy is already on record demanding an "aggressive" replacement who delivers results rather than press releases. The Epstein files situation seems to have been the last straw, and frankly, given how long that particular can has been kicked down the road by every administration, the frustration is understandable. Whoever comes next will be judged not by their confirmation hearing performance but by what actually lands in front of a grand jury.

---

### [ActBlue Likely Lied to Congress About Illegal Foreign Donations — Its Own Lawyers Knew](https://thefederalist.com/2026/04/02/report-actblue-likely-lied-to-congress-about-illegal-foreign-donations-its-lawyers-feared-privately/)

The Democratic Party's premier small-dollar fundraising machine apparently had lawyers who privately feared the organization faced "substantial risk" from illegal foreign donations — right around the same time ActBlue was telling Congress everything was fine. Funny how that works. If a conservative fundraising platform had done this, we'd be on week six of Senate hearings and a special counsel would already have his own Wikipedia page. The new AG, whoever that turns out to be, should add this to the inbox.

---

### [Liberation Day, Year One: Trump Adds Pharma Tariffs](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-slaps-up-100-tariff-some-brand-name-drug-imports-major-america-first-push/)

On the one-year anniversary of Liberation Day, Trump layered on a new round of tariffs targeting brand-name drug imports — up to 100% — with the explicit goal of bringing pharmaceutical manufacturing back to American soil. The industry is howling, which is roughly what the industry does every time someone suggests they shouldn't be entirely dependent on Chinese supply chains for drugs that keep Americans alive. National security and pharmaceutical self-sufficiency aren't complicated concepts; they just require someone willing to take the short-term heat.

---

## Bottom Line

From the moon to the military to the southern border, the week's stories share a common thread: a government that actually governs looks very different from what we had before, and the people who liked the old arrangement are going to keep being very loud about it.