Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

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President Donald Trump claimed the US had “total control over the Hormuz Strait,” as Washington and Tehran hardened their positions in deadlocked negotiations over the critical waterway.

“We own it,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington late Tuesday, an assertion Iran has dispelled via intermittent attacks on ships transiting the passage. “At some point, maybe they’ll do something, and then they get blown away.”

Trump has oscillated for months between threatening to resume attacks on Iran and expressing confidence that talks to bring an end to America’s war with the Islamic Republic are progressing. His latest comments came after Pakistan’s defense minister, Khawaja Asif, told Bloomberg in Islamabad that the two sides are “close to some sort of arrangement” over Hormuz, a key sticking point. 

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:

• Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
• Former Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry of North Carolina.
• Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino.
• Bloomberg Markets Live Blog Managing Editor Kristine Aquino.
• CIBC Private Wealth Senior Energy Trader Rebecca Babin.