There Are Limits After All

Trump discovers that missiles run out, money cannot always buy an election, Congress still controls its own funding, and even Susan Collins occasionally locates a boundary.

Last night, we became tractor mechanics. The tractor stalled, which immediately threatened to send my husband into an emotional crisis over the possible loss of his dearest friend. The rest of us understood that we were dealing with more than a piece of machinery. This was a beloved colleague, agricultural partner, and occasionally the only member of the household willing to follow instructions without asking for a snack.

We used our wits, our muscles, and whatever mechanical knowledge could be summoned under pressure. Eventually, we got her running again, my husband was reunited with his companion, the homestead regained its mechanical heartbeat, and disaster was narrowly avoided. We planted blueberries, explored the woods, made plans, solved problems, and managed the large emotions of tiny humans.

Children have no sense that their parents are “busy.” They don’t knock, they interrupt conversations with the confidence of federal agents executing a warrant, and they need something precisely when your hands are full, your patience is depleted, and the thought you were trying to express has wandered permanently into the fog. They hurt one another’s feelings, and they become devastated by the wrong cup, the wrong seat, or the criminal injustice of another child looking at them. It’s maddening, to say the least.

Then morning arrives. We wake to their sweet smiles, their warm little bodies, and their absolute certainty that we are the people they most want to see, and all feels right with the world again. Each of our children has their own challenges, and their own gifts. Every day, a little more of who they are comes into the light. They’re still learning how to live inside their emotions, that’s what childhood is for. Donald Trump, unfortunately, is out of developmental excuses.

While we spent our time fixing problems, making plans, and helping small people through big emotions, the president spent his time creating big emotions and insisting someone else fix the problems.

The United States, Iran, and Oman may be nearing a temporary agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said an announcement could come today or tomorrow after months of war, repeated threats of further attacks, disrupted shipping, and the deaths of 18 American service members. The proposed arrangement would last 60 days. Ships entering the Persian Gulf would travel through Iranian waters, while outbound traffic would pass through Omani waters in coordination with Iran. The deal would give Tehran greater control over shipping than it had before the war.

This is apparently what victory looks like now. First, create a regional catastrophe, then negotiate an agreement granting the other side new authority, and finally, announce that everyone should admire your restraint because you briefly decided not to bomb them again. There are limits after all. There are limits to military force, limits to how many countries America can threaten at once, and most inconveniently for an administration that treats weapons like an infinite resource available through an Amazon Prime subscription, there are limits to the number of missiles sitting in storage.

CNN reported that the United States has used nearly 80 percent of its THAAD missile stockpile and roughly half of its Patriot interceptors since the war with Iran began. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to the report with “NOT TRUE,” which is less a detailed Pentagon accounting than the traditional reply of a child standing beside a broken lamp, while their sibling points their direction.

Independent estimates also show significant depletion. Analysts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies believe the United States may have roughly one-third of its prewar Patriot inventory remaining. Rebuilding those supplies could take years.

The stakes of interceptor scarcity are already visible in Ukraine. Russia launched 24 ballistic missiles, four other missiles, and 115 drones at Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight. Ukrainian forces intercepted 98 drones but were unable to stop any of the missiles. At least 17 people were killed and 44 injured.

The targets included warehouses, a brewery, a mail-sorting center, and a railway station. Russia claimed they had military purposes because Russia has apparently expanded the definition of military infrastructure to include anything civilians require to remain alive.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the deaths could have been prevented if Ukraine had received more air-defense interceptors. Supplies of Western missiles to Ukraine have reportedly fallen to one-third of last year’s level. Trump began a new war in the Middle East, burned through a large share of America’s interceptor stocks while Ukraine’s own supplies were collapsing, and now appears surprised that the United States can’t supply every battlefield simultaneously.

There are limits to political money, too. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens for the Democratic Senate nomination. Stevens was backed by much of the party establishment. Outside groups supporting her spent more than $50 million, including more than $30 million from AIPAC.

El-Sayed ran on Medicare for All, campaign-finance reform, and ending military aid to Israel. He won by fewer than 15,000 votes out of more than 1.5 million cast.

“We took on a machine,” he said.

The machine had money, institutional support, and an impressive collection of people explaining why voters should select the candidate deemed safest by other people with money and institutional support.

The voters selected El-Sayed. His victory doesn’t guarantee Democrats the Senate seat; he’ll face Republican Mike Rogers in November in a race that could help determine control of the chamber. It does, however, suggest that Democratic voters are losing patience with a party establishment whose preferred campaign message often sounds like a hostage negotiator asking everyone to remain calm while the building is actively being dismantled.

There are still limits to presidential authority, although the administration continues treating each discovery as an unpleasant surprise. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the Trump administration improperly terminated billions of dollars in climate funding authorized by Congress. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund was created to finance clean-energy projects, efficient buildings, cleaner transportation, and other local investments.

The administration froze the money, accused the nonprofit recipients of mismanagement, and attempted to terminate the grants. Six of the ten judges who considered the case concluded that the EPA likely violated the law. The funds will remain frozen briefly while the administration considers asking the Supreme Court to intervene, but the ruling establishes an important principle: Congress appropriating money is not the governmental equivalent of leaving a suggestion in the office comment box.

Finally, there may even be limits to Republican obedience. Sen. Susan Collins announced that she will oppose Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general. Blanche previously served as Trump’s personal attorney and currently leads the Justice Department in an acting capacity, because apparently the administration’s idea of independence is assigning the president’s former defense lawyer to supervise federal law enforcement.

Collins said Blanche had further eroded the department’s independence. She cited efforts to shield Trump and his sons from IRS audits, create a taxpayer-funded compensation mechanism for Trump’s political allies, and pursue Democratic senators over constitutionally protected speech. Blanche’s nomination still advanced from the Judiciary Committee after he rescinded the administration’s proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund.” It remains unclear whether Republicans have enough votes to confirm him, and the margin has narrowed.

Susan Collins has discovered a line. Admittedly, she discovered it after the Justice Department proposed spending nearly $2 billion compensating Trump’s allies, but explorers don’t always arrive early.

Last night, our tractor reached its limit. We stopped, examined the problem, worked together, and repaired it. Our children reach their limits every day. We help them name what they feel, mend what they have damaged, and try again in the morning. Healthy systems acknowledge limits; they adjust, learn, and repair. Authoritarian power does the opposite. It treats every boundary as an insult, every restraint as sabotage, and every consequence as something inflicted by an enemy.

But missiles run out, money loses elections, courts block unlawful actions, a senator occasionally defects, and children still grow. Perhaps, there are limits after all.

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