By Damian Paletta

Good morning. Last month, the FBI arrested David Rush at his Virginia home, where investigators found over 300 gold bars worth more than $40 million.

What's so special about Rush? He had been a senior official at the CIA. The gold bars were allegedly taken from the CIA for "work-related expenses." (Notably, he so far hasn't been charged with anything related to the gold bars).

The CIA's budget is classified, or secret, or nonna-your-business, as they do all sorts of undercover things all over the world. Suitcases of cash? That's not just for the movies. That kind of stuff does happen. But gold bars? In huge quantities? Just sitting in a suburban home?

This story raised all sorts of questions when it broke recently, but here's a new twist. The Wall Street Journal's Philip Wegmann interviewed Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, daughter-in-law of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. She said that she recently quit the White House's budget office, where she played a senior role in the intelligence community's budget, in part because she felt uneasy signing off on what she describes as runaway spending on a range of things -- including gold.

"Until there's functional oversight of the IC's ample and unsupervised movement of money and gold, we are stuck living in something less than the constitutional republic our founders designed," she said in the interview.

If you know anything about the CIA and its gold bars, we'd love to hear from you. Politics@wsj.com

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People and Policies I'm Watching

Supreme Court decisions: The latest batch of decisions are expected to be handed down by the Supreme Court.

Graham Platner: The Democrats' embattled Senate candidate in Maine has attempted to quell concerns about his personal life from some in the party.

Scott Bessent: The Treasury secretary is expected to appear before the House Ways and Means Committee at 10 a.m. ET.

Trump's Thursday: President Trump is expected to receive an intelligence briefing at 11 a.m. and make an announcement on coal at 3 p.m.

What I'm Following

Trump's bar for restarting fighting in Iran is the death of U.S. troops. The president has told aides privately that he would consider ending the ceasefire with Iran if Tehran kills American troops. Trump's reluctance to reignite the war suggests he might be willing to withstand smaller flare-ups for weeks -- or even month -- rather than go back to a full-scale conflict.

Top AI bosses warn of biological weapons threat. Sam Altman, Dario Amodei and others are among a group of top AI executives joining security experts in calling for Congress to protect against the threat of biological weapons posed by AI. The goal is to make companies that sell the synthetic nucleic acids screen customer orders to block any combinations that could be dangerous.

House votes to restrict White House autonomy over war. The Republican-led House has voted to restrict the Trump administration's ability to continue the war against Iran without congressional approval. The vote is a reproach to Trump and a sign the GOP in Congress is starting to grow tired of the conflict.

What Else Is Happening

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   -- The statue wars that swept away monuments six years ago are back, but 
      this time the battle is to restore those that were once deemed 
      unacceptable for public display. 
 
   -- The opening this month of the Obama Presidential Center is arguably the 
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What I'm Reading

   -- Steve Hilton Shows Off Special Election Night Jacket at Governor's Race 
      Rally (Sacramento Bee) 
 
   -- 'Sounds Very Mamdani': DeSantis Embraces Tax-the-Rich Message on Property 
      Taxes (Miami Herald) 
 
   -- Voters Still Pick Platner Over Collins in Wake of Sexting Scandal, His 
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About Me

I'm Damian Paletta, The Wall Street Journal's Washington coverage chief. I've covered Washington for 22 years as a reporter and editor. I've covered the White House, Congress, national security, the federal budget, economics and multiple market meltdowns.

WSJ Politics brings you an expert guide to what's driving D.C., every weekday morning. Send your feedback to politics@wsj.com (if you're reading this in your inbox, you can just hit reply). This edition was curated and edited in collaboration with Alistair Dawber and Yolanda McBride. Got a tip for us? Here's how to submit.

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June 04, 2026 07:00 ET (11:00 GMT)

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