President Donald Trump promised to run the government like a business. Unfortunately, his model seems to be the one that burns money.

Most CEOs who waste billions of dollars on failed projects get a summons from the board of directors — and often, the boot.

But we live in the era of Elon Musk’s rocket ships and OpenAI’s chatbots, where business leaders can burn staggering amounts of money chasing their own obsessions and simply ask investors for more.

Trump’s response to an expensive military failure is the same as Silicon Valley’s response to many unprofitable startups: spend even more money.

After five months, the official Pentagon estimate is that the Iran war has cost $38 billion so far. The actual bill likely will be even higher. 

And that’s just the direct costs. The war has sent oil and gas prices higher while making one of the world’s most important shipping lanes — the Strait of Hormuz — more expensive and risky to navigate.

War-related inflation has already cost the average household more than $574 in higher fuel costs alone, according to a Brown University tracker.

Rather than rethink his strategy, however, Trump is doubling down, going back to Congress to ask for a 50% increase in defense spending.

Read Rick Newman’s analysis here.

The Trump administration wants to renovate an East Potomac golf course as part of its broader overhaul of public spaces in the nation’s capital. But locals fear the project could come at the expense of casual golfers, bike paths and the city’s beloved cherry trees.

Here are some more highlights of the president’s actions over the past seven days:

The news can feel overwhelming. But each week, we pause to highlight a person, organization or movement sticking up for their principles. This week’s challengers are Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. 

The two Republicans will leave the Senate at the end of the year: Cornyn because he lost a primary to a Trump-backed challenger; Tillis because he is retiring. That may have emboldened them in their final months to push back on the president’s agenda. This week, they slowed the confirmation of Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney and nominee for attorney general, by raising concerns about the settlement in Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. Cornyn and Tillis said they would withhold their support until the Justice Department provides more information about the agreement. Because both serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Blanche’s nomination cannot advance to the Senate floor without their votes. And with the Senate about to leave for its August recess, that could delay his confirmation until at least September. Read more.