Tax enforcement weakened after Trump job cuts, IRS data shows

2026-04-15 16:17:44 UTC / Reuters

By Jacob Bogage

April 15, 2026 4:17 PM UTC Updated 4 hours ago

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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building is seen in Washington, U.S. September 28, 2020. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• IRS enforcement revenue fell 5% in 2025 after mass staffing cuts
• DOGE oversaw IRS staffing reductions
• Experts warn IRS cuts shift audits to low-income taxpayers, harm high-end compliance

WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) – The Trump administration dramatically reduced efforts to pursue tax cheats in 2025, ​government data shows, shedding tens of thousands of employees at the Internal Revenue Service, including those charged with ‌enforcement.

The result was a 5% decline in revenue collected through enforcement actions, or almost $5 billion, in the fiscal year, according to data obtained by Reuters through the Freedom of Information Act. The agency opened more than 120,000 fewer tax audits, opens new tab in 2025 than in the year prior, the Taxpayer Advocate ​Service, the IRS’ internal watchdog, reported.

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The vast majority of revenue collected through tax enforcement comes from unpaid balances. Audits ​are often years-long processes that do not immediately yield revenue.

Treasury Department officials told Reuters that the ⁠IRS has seen a 12% increase in enforcement revenue in the first five months of the 2026 fiscal year, which began ​October 1.

The Department of Government Efficiency, the now-defunct cost-cutting agency created by President Donald Trump and led by billionaire Elon Musk, oversaw ​mass staffing cuts at the IRS that carved into every aspect of the tax agency.

But the IRS’s enforcement arm lost roughly 5,000 of its employees headed into 2026 and is on track to cut another 5,000 in the coming year, according to the agency’s budget projection.

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Frank Bisignano, the CEO ​of the IRS and Social Security Administration Commissioner, told the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday that the tax agency was reviewing ​the “tax gap,” or the amount of taxes owed but not paid, to see what quantity is “addressable.”

Completely eliminating the tax gap, experts say, would require ‌the IRS ⁠to act far more aggressively than Americans are generally used to.

Bisignano said he would soon return to the committee with “a plan to drive the number down and you’ll have the resources allocated and the technology” to recoup the unpaid sums.

The moves at the IRS essentially wipe out one of the Biden administration’s signature achievements, sending tens of billions of dollars to the agency to increase ​tax scrutiny of major corporations ​and wealthy individuals.

At its height ⁠during the Biden administration, the IRS employed 103,000 people, opens new tab, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. It aims to employ about 69,000 by the 2027 fiscal year, which begins October 1.

Before ​that infusion of cash, the IRS had struggled for years with its finances as Republicans in ​Congress blocked funding ⁠for the agency intended to help it maintain its outdated technology systems and retain high-skilled staff.

That led the IRS to move enforcement away from businesses and wealthy individuals and toward low-income taxpayers whom it costs less to audit, the Taxpayer Advocate Service has reported.

“I think ⁠that the ​agency has suffered potentially irreparable harm because it wasn’t as if we ​were starting off from a system of tax administration that was modernized and set up to pursue compliance on the high end of the income spectrum,” said ​Natasha Sarin, the president and cofounder of the Yale Budget Lab, a financial think tank.

Reporting by Jacob Bogage, Editing by Nick Zieminski

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‘Privileged’ Hunter Biden, spared by dad’s pardon, blasts Trump’s clemency power

April 15, 2026 1:07pm EDT / Fox News

Hunter said he is ‘filled with gratitude to my dad’ while acknowledging he is ‘uniquely situated’

By Ashley J. DiMella Fox News

Former first son Hunter Biden acknowledged he is “completely biased” about the sweeping pardon his father granted him in 2024, renewing attention on former President Joe Biden’s decision to reverse course after publicly ruling out clemency for his son.

“I’m completely biased as it relates to what my dad did for me. I fully understand how uniquely situated I am in being privileged enough to have received a pardon from my father,” Hunter said in an interview published Tuesday by liberal outlet MediasTouch, when asked if there should be reforms made to presidential pardons.

The remarks put fresh attention on Biden’s decision to pardon his son after repeatedly pledging he would not – a reversal that undercut Democrats’ longtime “no one is above the law” message as Hunter Biden faced federal gun and tax charges.

Hunter Biden added that he was not in the position to weigh in on potential presidential pardon reforms following his father’s order, but went on to slam the Trump administration for its pardons since 2025 – including more than 1,000 individuals pardoned from prosecution related to the Jan. 6, 2021 protest at the U.S. Capitol.

PRESIDENT BIDEN PARDONS HIS SIBLINGS JUST MINUTES BEFORE LEAVING OFFICE

A photo shows U.S. President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden stepping out of a bookstore while shopping in Nantucket, Massachusetts on Nov. 29, 2024.(Mandel Ngan/AFP)

Biden reversed course in the final months of his presidency, and issued a sweeping pardon to his son. Hunter Biden was pardoned for any offense he “has committed or may have committed” from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024.

Hunter Biden said that he was “filled with gratitude” to his dad when discussing the pardon.

In September 2024, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges in California for a scheme evading over $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2019. He was also convicted in Delaware in June 2024 for lying on a federal form about his drug use to purchase a firearm in 2018.

Hunter Biden also pointed fingers at the current first family in the interview, saying, “I don’t think that the founders ever imagined Donald Trump. I don’t think they ever imagined the Trump family.”

DAVID AXELROD QUESTIONS BIDEN’S MASCULINITY AFTER LAST-SECOND FAMILY PARDONS: ‘MAN UP’

“I don’t think people understand is that, in the first year, I think—I don’t know the exact number—I think my dad gave 80 or so pardons over a four-year period of time. I think that that’s about the number,” said Hunter Biden.

He added, “Donald Trump has given over 1,500 pardons in the first year alone. But I’m obviously—I’m not the one to be, I don’t think, fairly or unbiasedly talking about the presidential pardon vote.”

Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, arrives at the federal court on the opening day of his trial on criminal gun charges in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., June 3, 2024.(Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Trump did not pardon any of his children during his first administration. He did pardon the father of his son-in-law, Charles Kushner, in December 2020. Charles Kushner had served over a year in federal prison for tax evasion, witness retaliation, and campaign finance violations.

“President Trump has exercised his constitutional authority to issue pardons and commutations for a variety of individuals, including those who have been victims of Biden’s weaponized justice system,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

“And the only pardons anyone should be critical of are from President Autopen, who pardoned and commuted sentences of violent criminals including child killers and mass murderers – and that’s not to mention the proactive pardons he ‘signed’ for his family members like Hunter on his way out the door.”

Biden issued pardons to his son, Hunter, brother James, sister-in-law Sara, sister Valerie, and brother Francis before leaving office.(Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)

Biden also issued pardons to his brother James, sister-in-law Sara, sister Valerie, and brother Francis, defending the move as protection from attacks and threats from Trump.

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Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Hungary’s new leader has vowed to wean his country off Russian energy. It will be a painful transition.

April 15, 2026 / 1:08 PM EDT / CBS News

By Aidan Stretch

Kyiv – In the hours before Peter Magyar defeatedHungary’s longtime leader Viktor Orbán in Sunday’s landmark election, Magyar’s supporters filled the streets of Budapest chanting “Russians out!”

The mandate was clear for the incoming prime minister, who had described Orbán as a “puppet of the Kremlin” in his campaign speeches and long pledged to reduce Russia’s influence in Hungary.

The question now is whether Magyar will make good on that promise. As he attempts to pull Hungary out of Russia’s sphere of influence, he faces a central roadblock: Magyar will have to find ways to wean his country off Russia’s cheap energy products, which have, during many years of close ties, been a lifeline for Hungary’s ailing economy.

Experts say there are alternatives to Russian energy — but they warn that the new prime minister and his constituents will have to accept financial trade-offs to make the transition.

Hungary’s prime minister-elect Peter Magyar delivers a press statement in front of the Presidential Palace in Budapest on April 15, 2026. Janos Kummer / Getty Images

During his 16 years in power, Orbán deepened Hungary’s reliance on Russian oil, gas and nuclear power. Hungary gets the majority of its crude oil via Russia’s Druzhba pipeline, and most of its natural gas through contracts with Russia’s state-owned gas giant Gazprom.

Hungary’s nuclear power plants rely heavily on Russia’s state-owned energy company Rosatom, which has been building reactors at the Hungarian Paks Nuclear Power Plant since 2014.

Some degree of reliance was difficult to avoid. Hungary is a landlocked country with limited direct access to global energy markets, making pipeline infrastructure central to its supplies. Much of its crude oil arrives via the Druzhba pipeline, and its refineries are calibrated specifically for Russian-grade crude, making diversification technically and financially challenging.

But there are alternatives.

“Technically, Hungary could do without Russian oil and gas,” Sergey Vakulenko, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, told CBS News.

Hungary’s domestic oil consumption, Vakulenko said, could be covered by the Adria pipeline, which transports crude from the Adriatic Sea to refineries in Croatia, Serbia, Hungary and Slovakia. Vakulenko noted that Hungary could also rely more on the continental European energy grid to fulfil its gas needs, albeit at higher costs.

Throughout his campaign, Magyar signaled that he is serious about turning to these alternative sources of energy. Anita Orbán, the woman expected to serve as his foreign minister (no relation to Viktor Orbán), has identified reducing consumption of Russian energy as a key priority for the new government.

“Less dependence on Russian energy has been her thing for 20 years,” Balázs Váradi, founder of the Budapest Institute for Policy Analysis, told CBS News.

The transition will be expensive.

Vakulenko noted that oil imported via the Adria pipeline would carry an international market price much higher than the discounted rates Hungary has been paying for Russian crude. Hungary continues to rely heavily on Russian fuel to power its nuclear power plant, too.

Quitting a Russian natural gas habit will also be complicated for Hungary.

The European Union, of which Hungary is a member, has pledged to eliminate Russian natural gas imports by 2027, but even Magyar admitted during his campaign that it would likely be infeasible for his country by that deadline.

He is targeting a 2035 cutoff instead.

“He might bargain about a deadline,” Varadi said. “The thrust of Magyar’s policy will be clear, but he will be quite cash-strapped, so I expect them to bargain hard with the EU for more structural funds as a quid pro quo.”

In his first press conference since the April 12 elections, Magyar was clear-eyed about these challenges.

“No one can change geography. Russia and Hungary are here to stay. The government will procure crude oil and gas in the cheapest and safest way possible,” he said.

Still, experts remain cautiously optimistic that a gradual realignment may soon be underway.

“None of these points is a complete killer,” Vakulenko said. “But this is a decision of principles versus economics.”

US envoy Waltz appears to torpedo Bachelet as next UN leader

2026-04-15 19:07:22 UTC / Reuters

By David Brunnstrom and Patricia Zengerle

April 15, 2026 7:07 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

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Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, a candidate for UN Secretary-General, speaks at an event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the first government presided over by a woman at the University of Valparaiso in Valparaiso, Chile, March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido/File Photo

WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) – The U.S. envoy to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, appeared to torpedo the ​candidacy of former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to be the next leader of the world body on ‌Wednesday by saying he shared a U.S. senator’s concerns about her fitness for the job.

At a U.S. Senate committee hearing, Republican Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska charged that Bachelet had pulled punches as U.N. human rights chief in a 2022 report in failing to label China’s ​actions against Uyghur Muslims as genocide, and has also promoted abortion as a fundamental human right.

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Waltz said he ​was not currently in a position to say whom the United States would support to ⁠replace U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and whom it would oppose. But he said in response to Ricketts, “I share your concerns.”

He ​added that he was sure that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also shared the concerns.

A new United Nations secretary-general will ​be elected this year for a five-year term starting on January 1, 2027.

Support of the five permanent veto-wielding members of the U.N. Security Council – the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France – is vital for a candidate to succeed.

Bachelet also fell foul of China over the ​Uyghur report, which said the detention of Uyghurs and other Muslims in the country’s Xinjiang province may constitute crimes ​against humanity.

A representative for Bachelet’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Waltz said the conventional wisdom and in New York, where ‌the ⁠United Nations has its headquarters, was that because there had never been a female secretary general, or one from Latin America, that the future U.N. leader should therefore be a Latin American woman.

“We have taken the position of we just need the best,” he said. “And this institution desperately needs strong, effective leadership.”

Waltz said, “reform, reform, reform … and getting back to basics ​on peace and security will be ​at the top of ⁠our criteria.”

So far four candidates have been nominated, including Bachelet, Chile’s first female head of state, who twice served as president of the South American nation.

In March, Chile withdrew its ​backing for her candidacy after a change in leadership in the country and a ​sharp shift to ⁠the right, but she said she would press ahead with support from Brazil and Mexico.

Bachelet was U.N. high commissioner for human rights from 2018-22 and executive director of U.N. Women from 2010-13.

The other declared candidates are Rafael Grossi, a veteran Argentine diplomat ⁠who is ​currently director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rebeca Grynspan, a former vice ​president of Costa Rica, and Macky Sall, the former president of Senegal.

The candidates are due to take part in interactive dialogues next week at the United ​Nations that will be broadcast live, starting with Bachelet on Tuesday.

Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Patricia Zengerle Editing by Nick Zieminski

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

GOP holds with Trump on Iran war, but cracks emerge as deadline nears

2026-04-15T14:54:03-04:00 / Fox News

Democrats vow to force a debate and vote every week until the war ends or Republicans ‘do their constitutional duty’

By Alex Miller Fox News

Published April 15, 2026 2:54pm EDT

Chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst and senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich report on the U.S. naval blockade entering its third day in the Strait of Hormuz, halting economic trade into and out of Iran by sea. President Donald Trump believes the conflict is ‘close to over’ and hints at new talks, despite a White House statement denying a formal ceasefire extension.

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Republicans aren’t ready to jump ship against President Donald Trump’s Iran war, as evidenced by another failed attempt to handcuff his war powers in the Middle East, but they also aren’t lining up to support a prolonged conflict.

Senate Republicans blocked another war powers resolution from Senate Democrats for a fourth time on Tuesday as Operation Epic Fury entered its 46th day. It comes as a fragile ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. is nearing its end, and talks toward a broader peace agreement remain tenuous.

Democrats initially started their war powers strategy to compel Secretary of State Marco Rubio and War Secretary Pete Hegseth to testify publicly on the administration’s rationale behind the conflict. They argued that Iran posed no imminent threat, making the war unconstitutional without congressional approval under the War Powers Resolution.

ROGUE DEM BUCKS PARTY ON TRUMP WAR POWERS, CALLS IRAN ‘47-YEAR-OLD WAR CRIME’

President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media outside the Oval Office of the White House on Monday, April 13, 2026.(Salwan Georges/Bloomberg)

Now, they’ve loaded up six new resolutions to continue that push.

“We’re going to have a debate and a vote every week in the United States Senate until either this war comes to an end or our Republican colleagues decide to do their constitutional duty,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said.

Most Republicans, for now, aren’t breaking with the president. But a 60-day deadline that will require either Congress to weigh in or Trump to cease hostilities is fast approaching, and it’s raising questions among some in the GOP.

Under the War Powers Resolution, Trump has 60 days until Congress is required to weigh in and either authorize or disapprove of the war. If the latter, the administration has 30 days to draw down forces in Iran.

SCHUMER BLASTS TRUMP’S IRAN WAR AS FAILURE, MOVES TO REIN IN HIS WAR POWERS AMID CEASEFIRE

Sen. Lisa Murkowski speaks to members of the media outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 3, 2025.(Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)

“The president needs to come to Congress in the absence of some imminent threat to the country or an attack on the country, to seek an authorization,” Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said. “Otherwise, it’s illegal to make war as he’s doing.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who has bucked Trump before on Venezuela but toed the party line on Iran, is drafting an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) on the war in Iran, describing the effort in an interview with The New York Times as a way to put parameters around Operation Epic Fury.

When asked by Fox News Digital if she was still working on the AUMF, she said, “Uh huh, I’m working on so much.”

Whether Republicans will support the administration and authorize the war remains an open question. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has sided with Senate Democrats on each effort to handcuff Trump’s war powers, wouldn’t say how he’d vote on a potential AUMF.

TOP GOP HAWK GRAHAM WARNS IRAN DEAL HAS ‘TROUBLING ASPECTS’ AS CEASEFIRE BEGINS

“The president needs to come to Congress in the absence of some imminent threat to the country or an attack on the country, to seek an authorization,” Sen. Adam Schiff said.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images)

“I’m not for the war in Iran, I think it’s a war of choice but not my choice,” he said.

Others see an AUMF as a potentially useful tool, if successful, for Trump and his efforts in the Middle East.

“I think maybe an AUMF could be an advantage for the president, to say, even Congress is here for the long time, removing the political calculation that maybe the president doesn’t have Congress’ support,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said.

Still, the economic toll at the pump and on goods is making Republicans’ constituents feel the immediate pain of the conflict.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged the crunch that the war was having on the cost of fertilizer in his agriculture-heavy state, but he questioned the authority of the War Powers Resolution.

“If you accept the war powers as being constitutional, it would be the threshold under which that law would apply,” Thune said. “But I think, you know, at least right now, the steps that have been taken so far I think have been very effective and successful. But we do, they need a plan out, how to wind this down, how to get an outcome.”

Democrats still argue that the war was illegal to begin with and have no plans of letting up on their war powers push, even as the deadline nears.

“If the president has a plan, he can come to Congress and ask for authorization, and we can have the debate we should have had beforehand,” Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said.

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

Allbirds says it’s ditching footwear and pivoting to become an AI company. Its stock just jumped 600%.

April 15, 2026 / 1:50 PM EDT / CBS News

Allbirds is trading in sneakers for servers, selling its footwear brand as it races to reinvent itself as an AI company in a move that sent its stock soaring 600%.

The eco-friendly shoe company announced Wednesday that it is transitioning into an AI business, which it plans to name “NewBird AI.” Allbirds said it will focus on “AI compute infrastructure,” with a long-term goal of offering a fully integrated cloud computing model. The company said it has reached a $50 million agreement with an institutional investor to make the change.

Allbirds, known for its minimalist wool sneakers, will sell its footwear assets to American Exchange Group, which owns more than 30 brands across fashion, jewelry, footwear and personal care. Investors cheered the move, with its outsized gains reminiscent of the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, when companies’ stocks soared after they announced they were switching to an online model.

GlobalData retail analyst Neil Saunders said Allbirds is using the shell of the former business to generate capital and transform itself into a new AI-focused venture.

“That is not a bad thing as it could provide a new lease of life for investors and some employees,” he told CBS News in an email. “There is demand for AI compute capacity, but quite what expertise the so-called NewBird AI has in the space and how it intends to capture market share remain unclear.”

The company’s stock jumped $14.86, or 597%, to $17.35 in early afternoon trading.

The San Francisco-based company is entering the AI race at a time when the technology is delivering huge financial returns for investors. Many think the optimism is overstated, citing concerns that the market could be in an AI bubble.

Allbirds framed its pivot as a way to help fill a gap in the AI market. “The rise of AI development and adoption has created unprecedented structural demand for specialized, high-performance compute that the market is struggling to meet,” the company said in its statement.

S&P 500 hits record high as investors shrug off Iran war fears

April 15, 2026 / 3:30 PM EDT / CBS News

The S&P 500 surged to a new all-time high on Wednesday, as investors shrug off the hottest inflation in nearly two years and ongoing concerns about the economic impact of the Iran war.

The rally marks a sharp reversal from late March, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell into correction territory — a drop of at least 10% from its recent high — after five straight weeks of losses, underscoring how quickly investor sentiment has shifted.

Although the war has taken a toll on the U.S. economy, driving up gasoline prices and boosting inflation, the stock market has shown resilience, fueled by investor optimism that the conflict in the Middle East will eventually blow over.

Don’t mention the war

Despite the U.S. this week imposing a blockade of Iranian ports, the prevailing view on Wall Street is that the conflict is likely to de-escalate, equity analyst Adam Crisafulli, head of Vital Knowledge, told CBS News.

“I feel like it’s becoming the consensus view that this will be resolved, in which case the current impact from it, the economic fallout, will be brief,” he said.

In a Fox News interview on Wednesday, President Trump said the fighting in Iran is “very close to over.”

Scott Wren, senior global market strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute, expects the Middle East conflict to continue for weeks, not months. Investors are betting that the Strait of Hormuz, the vital chokepoint for global oil and other commodities, will reopen soon, he added.

Since sinking sharply in March, major U.S. indices have rebounded with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite now on the cusp of closing at record highs. In late-day trading, the S&P 500 was up 55 points, or 0.8%, to 7,022, above its record close of 6,979 on January 27.

Wells Fargo projects the broad-based stock index will reach 7,400 to 7,600 points by year-end, according to Wren.

The Nasdaq, which was up 1.4% in Wednesday trading, was also on track to eclipse its record close of 23,958 in October 2025. The index has seen 10 consecutive days of gains, the longest streak since 2021, Mark Hackett, chief market strategist for Nationwide, said in an email.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 52 points, or 0.1%.

Strong earnings boost sentiment

Strong corporate earnings have also helped buoy investor sentiment.

“Markets have absorbed a surge in oil prices and ongoing geopolitical strain without derailing earnings expectations,” Nigel Green, the CEO of the financial firm the deVere Group, said in an email.

Bank of America on Wednesday reported first-quarter profits of $8.6 billion, up 17% from the year-ago period. Morgan Stanley also delivered better-than-expected quarterly results on Wednesday.

“It’s definitely been encouraging to hear Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, all of them saying that the underlying economy, the economic activity on the consumer and on the corporate front, has been pretty resilient,” Crisafulli said.

Tech heavy hitters, including Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, are scheduled to report their earnings next week, which could prove to be another tailwind for stocks.

In addition to strong corporate earnings, Wren pointed to strong corporate investment in artificial intelligence, larger tax refunds and low unemployment as positive signals for investors.

“You’ve got some really good underlying fundamentals going on,” he said.

Edited by Alain Sherter

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/latest-on-iran-as-trump-insists-war-will-end-soon/

WATCH: Ex-NATO chief draws red line as Trump fumes alliance abandoned US during Iran war

2026-04-15 1:47pm EDT / Fox News

Former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg acknowledges disagreements inside the alliance while defending Europe’s limited role in the Iran conflict.

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Former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg signaled clear limits on the alliance’s role in the Iran conflict, saying it should not be pulled into supporting U.S. military operations even as President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on European allies — exposing a growing divide over what NATO is meant to do.

“NATO is a defensive alliance,” Stoltenberg, now Norway’s finance minister, told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday. “The strikes or the war against Iran were never an attempt to make that into a NATO operation.”

Stoltenberg framed the disagreement not over whether Iran poses a threat, but over how to confront it, with European governments favoring sanctions and diplomatic pressure over direct military involvement.

“We all agree the Iranian nuclear program is dangerous,” he said. “The question is how we achieve that goal.”

Former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg signaled clear limits on the alliance’s role in the Iran conflict, even as President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on European allies.(Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

NO RETREAT AT HORMUZ — IRAN MUST NOT CONTROL THE WORLD’S ENERGY LIFELINE

The divide reflects a deeper mismatch between Washington and its allies: Trump has treated the conflict as a test of NATO support — urging countries that benefit from the Strait of Hormuz to help secure it militarily — while European governments have largely rejected that approach, arguing the war falls outside the alliance’s mandate.

Trump has sharply criticized NATO allies for refusing to back U.S. operations tied to the conflict, at times questioning the alliance’s value and warning it had failed a key test as tensions escalated in the Strait of Hormuz.

“NATO wasn’t there for us, and they won’t be there for us in the future,” Trump said Wednesday on Truth Social.

The president has alternated between pressuring allies to step up and downplaying their importance, at one point calling NATO’s response a “very foolish mistake” while also insisting the United States “doesn’t need any help.”

Major European powers have resisted Trump’s push to provide military support.

“The feeling is, this is not Europe’s war,” European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Reuters in an interview published March 17.

Former NATO Secretary-General and current Norwegian finance minister Jens Stoltenberg said the Iran war was not a matter for NATO to provide support.(Fox News Digital)

NATO CHIEF SIGNALS ALLIES MAY ACT ON HORMUZ, WARNS OF ‘UNHEALTHY CODEPENDENCE’ ON US

Spain blocked U.S. aircraft involved in the Iran conflict from using its airspace and denied access to key bases at Rota and Morón, forcing American forces to reroute missions. France has provided limited logistical support but restricted certain overflight requests tied to military operations, reviewing them on a case-by-case basis.

Stoltenberg pushed back on the idea that Europe has broadly abandoned the United States, arguing most allies have still provided logistical support behind the scenes.

“The majority of European allies have made sure that their bases and infrastructure were available for the United States,” he said. “There are some exceptions, but most have contributed.”

Countries like the United Kingdom and Romania have allowed U.S. forces to use bases for refueling, surveillance and defensive operations even as they declined direct combat roles.

The tension underscores a broader split inside the alliance: Trump has framed the Iran conflict as a test of NATO support, while NATO leadership has drawn a clear distinction between formal obligations and political expectations, maintaining the war falls outside the alliance’s core mission.

“President Trump has made his disappointment with the United Kingdom and other NATO allies clear, and as the President emphasized, ‘the United States will remember,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital.

Asked whether he would pull the U.S. out of NATO, Trump said the move was “beyond reconsideration” in an interview with The Telegraph on April 1.

The Iran conflict began in late February after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets triggered retaliation from Tehran, including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping lane that carries roughly a fifth of the world’s energy supply. The U.S. has since launched airstrikes and imposed a naval blockade aimed at increasing pressure to reopen the strait.

The Iran conflict began in late February after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets triggered retaliation from Tehran, including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.(Reuters/Stringer)

The economic fallout from the conflict is also shaping how European countries view the war and their role in it.

European natural gas prices surged — jumping around 50% early in the conflict and, at times, nearly doubling as LNG supply disruptions intensified.

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For Norway, however, the impact is more mixed. As one of Europe’s largest oil and gas exporters, the country stands to benefit from higher prices even as broader economic instability creates risks at home.

“There are two effects,” Stoltenberg said. “When prices are going up, our oil and gas revenues will increase. But at the same time … when inflation increases and economic growth slows, it will affect our economy.”

White House offers no hint of Iran war cost as it seeks military funding surge

2026-04-15 19:42:37 UTC / Reuters

By Nolan D. McCaskill and David Morgan

April 15, 2026 7:42 PM UTC Updated 18 mins ago

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[1/2]Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought appears before House Budget Committee hearing on the Trump administration’s 2027 budget request, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 15, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein Purchase Licensing Rights

• Summary

• Lawmakers from both parties criticize Pentagon’s lack of audit
• Vought says social program cuts target fraud
• Trump budget faces partisan hurdles in Congress

WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) – White House budget director Russell Vought said on Wednesday he could not estimate the cost of the Iran war, as he defended President ​Donald Trump’s request for a massive $1.5 trillion annual military budget against bipartisan criticism from U.S. lawmakers who cited the Pentagon’s historic lack ‌of financial accountability.

“We’re not ready to come to you with a request. We’re still working on it. We’re working through to figure out what’s needed,” Vought told a hearing of the House of Representatives Budget Committee. “I don’t have a ballpark.”

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The cost of the war with Iran, which Trump began alongside Israel on February 28, has remained an open question on Capitol ​Hill. An initial $200 billion request for additional funding for the war met with stiff opposition in Congress last month.

Vought appeared before the panel to ​discuss Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2027, with its $500 billion increase in military spending and 10% reduction for non-defense programs.

The ⁠request is intended to reflect Republican priorities heading into the November midterm elections, in which Trump’s Republicans hope to retain control over the House of Representatives ​and the Senate but face growing public concern about the cost of living, energy prices and the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

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‘NEVER PASSED AN AUDIT’

Democrats took issue with Vought’s ​assertions that healthcare, education and low-income energy assistance programs were marred by fraud.

“I’m so glad you asked about fraud, because you are coming back to ask for a $1.5 trillion budget for the Department of Defense,” Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington state told the budget director. “The Department of Defense is the only federal agency that has never passed an audit … But ​you’re not going after any of that.”

Vought said the administration is pursuing “inefficiencies” at the Pentagon.

“I don’t think you’re doing enough,” said Republican Representative Glenn Grothman, who ​called for a Pentagon audit to be completed before Congress votes on defense spending.

“There is so much arrogance in that agency,” added Grothman, of Wisconsin. “They just say we don’t have ‌to do ⁠it on audit. We’re so damn important. We don’t care what Congress thinks.”

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Vought promoted Trump’s budget proposal for the fiscal year beginning October 1 as aimed at reducing spending. He promoted Trump’s 2025 tax-cut-and-spending package known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” as an initiative that achieved $2 trillion in mandatory savings through cuts to Medicaid health coverage and food assistance to low-income families.

That bill, which extended 2017 tax cuts, will add $4.7 trillion to U.S. deficits over the next decade, while reduced ​immigration will add another $500 billion, according to ​the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

STRAIGHT ⁠FACE

Representative Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the budget panel’s top Democrat, pointed to forecasts saying the legislation’s healthcare cuts would mean the loss of health coverage for more than 15 million people. Vought said they were able-bodied adults, people in the country ​illegally or ineligible for benefits.

“You’re going to sit here with a straight face and say they’re all illegals? They ​were all defrauding ⁠the system? That’s actually your position?” Boyle asked.

“Yes,” Vought replied.

Democratic Representative Scott Peters of California pointed out to Vought that the watchdog Government Accountability Office has found the administration illegally withheld billions of dollars allocated for National Institutes of Health grants, public schools and Head Start early education programs nationwide.

“Do you dispute GAO’s findings?” Peters asked.

“Yes. GAO ⁠is typically ​wrong. They’re very partisan,” Vought replied.

To become law, Trump’s proposed budget needs approval from Congress ​at a time when Republicans are trying to overcome Democratic opposition to funding for Trump’s immigration crackdown, just months after the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Democrats have already declared the budget proposal dead ​on arrival, leaving government funding to closed-door negotiations between appropriators.

Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill and David Morgan; writing by David Morgan; editing by Scott Malone, Rod Nickel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Live Nation and Ticketmaster illegally monopolized big concert venues, jury rules

April 15, 2026 / 3:26 PM EDT / CBS News

A New York jury ruled on Wednesday that Live Nation operated as an illegal monopoly, handing dozens of states an important legal win against the ticketing giant.

Live Nation reached a deal with the Department of Justice last month to pay $280 million to states that sued the company over its practices.

However, a contingent of states vowed to move forward with litigation in what Attorney General Letitia James of New York said was an effort to “restore fair competition to the live entertainment industry.”

The verdict came after less than a week of deliberations in a federal courtroom in New York.

Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

—This is a developing story and will be updated