The Trump administration is leaning toward firing Kimberly Guilfoyle over reports of improper conduct, one piece of a wider corruption and competence problem inside the administration.

• Reports describe texts asking for $100,000 routed through an associate, with efforts to avoid a paper trail; Trump and Rubio are said to be furious and a decision is expected this week.
• Five board members of Trump's Gaza "board of peace" are linked to a small Israeli arms company that just won a US military contract worth up to $150 million.
• A global democracy perception survey ranks the US near the very bottom, 64th out of 68 countries, with Israel last and Switzerland and Canada tied at the top.
• Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is reportedly moving between bunker-equipped palaces under a hand-picked security team as Iran-backed militants press him.
• Campaign debates show candidates backing more war spending and new Russia and Iran sanctions while calling government healthcare unaffordable against $40 trillion in national debt.

Outlook: A firing announcement is likely within days, but the bigger fight over war spending versus domestic priorities runs straight into the midterm campaigns.