July 20, 2026

The American Conservative Morning Briefing · Jul 20, 2026 · 4m

Good morning! Today is Monday, July 20th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. A third American service member was killed this weekend in the Iran war, bringing the U.S. death toll to seventeen as CENTCOM completes its eighth consecutive night of strikes and Iranian attacks batter Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Peter Van Buren asks why the State Department has been sidelined in Trump's second term, arguing that Foggy Bottom's culture of leaks, dissent memos, and impeachment-era resistance has left it under siege and largely bypassed by special envoys. Scott Greer warns…