Senator Lindsey Graham was a great American patriot. He was a freedom fighter. He was a throwback to an older Republican party that shunned isolationism and understood that America must never retreat from its friends, its allies, or the cause of freedom.

He was a great friend of Israel at a time when far too many in American politics are turning away from Israel. And even retreating to a hateful bigoted antisemitism, that is plaguing the socialist leaning Democratic party today, and even I say with regret, infiltrating some extreme elements in the GOP.

On this and most things regarding foreign policy, Graham knew the difference between right and wrong, good and evil. He passed away Saturday. But he would not have been happy with the events that transpired Sunday in the Middle East.

Here’s how President Trump, a dear friend of Lindsey Graham’s, reported to Fox & Friends this morning: “So something that nobody knows. Yesterday they had an 11-hour meeting. Everything’s 11 hours with these guys. You know, you can’t settle one sentence in one hour and one minute. It should be one minute. And everything was agreed to yesterday.” 

Mr. Trump added: “And they leave the room and they call back and they say we had to make a couple of changes. They got to make changes. We’re not going to make changes. Always changes. They just, you know, they’re professional negotiators. That’s all they are. I don’t even call them good at it. They haven’t gotten anything from me.”

If I understand the chronology here, yesterday meaning Sunday, according to Mr. Trump, there was an 11-hour meeting with Iran of course, and everything was agreed to. Presumably that means opening up the Hormuz Strait, and denuclearizing Iran, and moving the enriched Uranium out of that country. Then, the Iranians walk out of the room shortly after, call back and say we have to make some changes.

The next thing you know — we’re still on yesterday, Sunday — the Iranians hit an oil tanker in the Strait, and then proceeded to bomb Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Six of our Gulf allies.

Presumably these decisions were made within an hour or two, after this 11-hour meeting agreement that turned out to be a complete lie. Which of course that’s what the Iranians do, they lie. It’s the nature of their immoral, gruesome, barbaric, Nazi-like regime.

Now, in response to that, as I understand the chronology here, reported by Mr. Trump, the commander-in-chief has decided the United States will become the guardian of the Strait of Hormuz, and restore the naval blockade on Iranian ports for Iranian ships. And later today, Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social that he will be making a Speech to the Nation on Thursday at 9 p.m. Eastern. Somehow it seems that the American response to Iran’s warfare escalation should be greater. Now we may hear about that Thursday evening, but not tonight.

And by the way, in addition to Iran’s repeated violation of the ceasefire, and the memorandum of understanding, by bombing oil tankers and our Gulf state allies and American military bases, our satellite pictures have discovered that Iran appears to be using the roughly $5 billion worth of oil sales given to them prematurely, to rebuild their nuclear installations at Pickaxe and Parchin Mountains.

To be sure, we bombed them heavily in recent days. And that’s important. And to be sure when you cross a red line with Mr. Trump, you will pay for it. Yet I would think the late Senator Graham would want even bigger strikes at Iran right now, this evening.

And perhaps those bigger strikes are in fact coming. I hope so. I knew Lindsey down through the years. I loved his wickedly hilarious sense of humor. And the good work he did as the budget chairman on one, big, beautiful bill last year. 

By the way Senator Ron Johnson, a free market supply-sider, may well become the next Senate budget chairman. Wouldn’t that be something. Graham also defended Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his September 2018 Supreme Court confirmation hearings. He was not really an economic guy, and I never agreed with him and his gang of eight bipartisan attempts to solve immigration, or climate change, or other domestic matters. Yet when it came to defending America, and our allies, and the freedom that has made this the greatest country in the history of history, my hat’s off to the late senator, Lindsey Graham.

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Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

The Trump administration on Monday released guidance from several financial regulators reminding banks and credit unions about the credit risks posed by lending to borrowers who aren’t authorized to work in the U.S.

The guidance said that borrowers who aren’t legally eligible to work in the U.S. pose an elevated credit risk because there’s greater uncertainty about their ability to generate income, maintain employment and remain financially stable.

It was issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Credit Union Administration, with the agencies urging financial institutions to identify, measure, monitor and control these risks through safe underwriting practices that take it into account.

“President Trump has made restoring integrity to America’s financial system a priority, and Secretary Bessent has provided strong leadership in ensuring that federal financial policy reflects that objective,” Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould told FOX Business in an exclusive statement. “Americans expect their banking system to support lawful business, not facilitate money laundering, or risks associated with criminal illegal immigration.”

The inter-agency guidance informs banks and credit unions that they should consider credit risks when lending to borrowers who aren’t authorized to work in the U.S. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

TRUMP ADMIN TO TELL BANKS IMMIGRATION STATUS MAY BE CONSIDERED IN MORTGAGE, CREDIT DECISIONS

The comptroller added that the guidance is based on existing requirements that financial institutions must abide by in their dealings with customers and that a prospective borrower’s work authorization should be part of those considerations.

“Banks already have a responsibility to know their customers and appropriately manage risk. Our interagency guidance reinforces that obligation by making clear that institutions should account for the safety and soundness, compliance, and credit risks associated with serving individuals who are not authorized to work in the United States,” Gould explained.

TRUMP EYES BANK CITIZENSHIP CHECKS AMID IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN: REPORTS

A prospective borrower’s authorization to work in the U.S. could factor into mortgage applications. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The agencies’ announcement notes that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a guidance in June that informed financial institutions that they may consider a consumer’s ability to legally work and earn income in the U.S. when making lending decisions around things like mortgage and credit card applications.

CFPB’s guidance explained that the lack of legal authorization to work in the U.S. could lead to changes in a borrower’s income, citing an example in which a credit applicant may be subject to deportation.

It added that information can be derived from a direct inquiry or the consumer’s use of “atypical identification methods, such as an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), typically issued to taxpayers… who lack proof of legal residency.”

BIDEN-ERA ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION DROVE UP HOUSING COSTS, FED ECONOMISTS FIND

Applications for credit cards may also evaluate a would-be borrower’s work authorization. (iStock)

The guidance also follows the release of a working paper by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, which the authors noted was a preliminary draft circulated for professional comment, which found that the influx of illegal immigrants between 2021 and 2024 significantly increased housing demand while boosting employment and having little measurable effect on wages.

The Fed economists estimated that unauthorized immigrant worker flows accounted for about 30% of employment growth, roughly 30% of home-price growth and about 20% of rent growth in the average metro area between March 2021 and March 2024.

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However, they emphasized that the estimates apply to the average metro area studied and don’t suggest immigration was the sole driver of rising housing costs nationwide.

FOX Business’ Amanda Macias contributed to this report.

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Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given that any particular security, portfolio, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. The author is not advising you personally concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security or other matter. You alone are solely responsible for determining whether any investment, security or strategy, or any product or service, is appropriate or suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal and financial situation. The author is an employee of Seeking Alpha. Any views or opinions expressed herein may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank.

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of SPE either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Kody’s Dividends, Justin Law, and Rachel Kaufman are part of the Dividend Kings team

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.