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Hoover Daily Report | March 11, 2026 · Hoover Daily Report

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  Welcome to the Hoover Daily Report, Ideas Advancing Freedom. It's Wednesday,
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  March 11th, 2026.
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  Today,
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  Matt Pottinger writes about the decision Trump must make on whether to exit his
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  war with Iran quickly or stick it out at least a few more weeks.
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  Eugene Volk and Jane Bambauer explore the origin of the equal time rule and
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  how it is being applied to television appearances by politicians this year.
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  And Ahmit Siru writes of the systemic risk posed by incomplete and fractured
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  regulatory supervision of private credit portfolios.
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  Trump could end the war tomorrow. I don't think he will.
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  Writing in the free press,
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  distinguished visiting fellow Matt Pottinger writes that even though President
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  Donald Trump is seemingly expressing a desire for a quick end to his war against
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  Iran,
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  his better instincts will likely see him continue the fight for a longer period.
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  Citing his own time in the White House during the first Trump administration,
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  Pottinger argues Trump views the Iranian regime differently than other habitual
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  American foes.
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  He says Trump genuinely believes the Islamic Republic is made up of
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  evildoers and will have a hard time tolerating them remaining in power after
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  this war ends.
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  Pottinger says more fighting has a higher chance of preventing the regime from
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  repeating its congenital cycle of bad faith negotiations,
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  pursuit of nuclear weapons, and proxy warfare all over again.
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  Equal time, Stephen Colbert, and the future of political broadcasting.
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  On the latest episode of Free Speech Unmuted,
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  hosts Eugene Volack and Jane Bambauer are joined by Duke Law Professor Stuart
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  Benjamin to discuss the constitutional backstory behind the federal broadcasting
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  equal time rule and why broadcast media has long been treated differently from
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  newspapers, cable, and the internet.
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  From the 1969 Supreme Court ruling in Red Lion to the collapse of the fairness
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  doctrine and beyond,
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  the panel explains how we ended up with a broadcast
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  only regulatory regime and why that consensus may now be
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  unraveling.
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  They also dig into the latest controversy involving political candidates
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  appearing on shows like The View and Late Night Television,
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  the FCC's renewed scrutiny,
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  and what it all could mean for the future of media regulation.
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  Would today's Supreme Court uphold broadcast exceptionalism or is this doctrine
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  headed the way of the eight track tape?
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  The blind spot in private credit.
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  Recent turmoil involving private credit lenders points to potential problems.
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  Investors face uncertainty over how much such portfolios,
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  which lie outside the supervision and protection of the traditional banking
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  system are Worth Warns, Hoover, Senior Fellow Ahmit Siru.
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  Nor is it clear how liquid these funds are, he writes.
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  "There are advantages to the private lending market,
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  but the risks do not disappear, "Siru rights.
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  They shift to different balance sheets.
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  The root of the problem is fragmented regulation.
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  No single federal or state authority has oversight over private credit.
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  This means that trouble might not be seen coming and its effects might expand
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  beyond the funds themselves. Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsch,
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  if confirmed,
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  may be confronted with the problem of containing financial shocks arising from
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  this blind spot, Saru writes.
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  The real cost of student loan forgiveness.
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  In this week's grumpy economist weekly rant,
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  senior fellow John Cochran asks a simple question," Can a democracy lend money
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  to its citizens and still expect repayment?
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  Student loans were once largely private.
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  Banks financed education for students expected to earn more and repay their
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  debt. But over time, the federal government became the dominant lender,
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  transforming the scale and incentives of the entire system.
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  Cochran explains how cheap federal borrowing expanded credit,
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  sending student loans sharply higher while tuition climbed alongside it.
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  As repayment rules weakened and forgiveness programs expanded,
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  a system once expected to generate returns for taxpayers evolved into
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  one producing hundreds of billions of dollars in federal losses.
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  BioStrategies and leadership hosts, lunch on biosecurity innovation.
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  The Hoover Institution's Bio Strategies and Leadership Initiative convened a
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  discussion on January 29th with founders and CEOs working at the intersection of
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  biotechnology, defense, and artificial intelligence.
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  The conversation focused on how private sector innovation can help prevent and
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  respond to biological threats now and in the future,
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  titled Biosecurity Innovation:
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  Advancing the Public Good Through Private Leadership,
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  the lunch brought together nearly 70 participants, both in person and online.
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  The discussion centered on a shared recognition that securing biology is
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  possible,
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  but that doing so often hinges less on scientific advancements and more on
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  ownership, incentives, and deployment at scale.
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  Featured Hoover publication,
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  the net present value of the Billionaire Tax Act and assessment of the fiscal
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  effects of California's proposed wealth tax.
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  This report by researchers from Hoover's State and Local Governance Initiative
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  examines the revenue and migration impact of the 2026 California Billionaire
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  Tax Act,
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  a one time 5% tax on the worldwide net worth of individuals exceeding $1
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  billion.
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  That's your Hoover Daily Report for Wednesday, March 11th, 2026. Each weekday,
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  we bring you research, analysis, and commentary focused on public policy,
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  national security, and the ideas shaping American society and government.
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  The Hoover Institution at Stanford University is grounded in constitutional
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  principles with a commitment to sustaining the safeguards of the American way of
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  life. Thank you for listening.
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  For links to all the articles and interviews mentioned today, visit
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  hoover.org/hdr.