Will He or Won’t He?

Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for April 7, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

THE LATEST

‘A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” That’s how Donald Trump described his plans for strikes in Iran this evening, should the country not reach a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. ET.

A wave of Democrats called for Trump’s removal over the post. Pope Leo XIV said it was “truly not acceptable.” Even some Republicans balked at the language.

• Sen. Ron Johnson: “I am hoping and praying that President Trump is, that this really is bluster. I do not want to see us start blowing up civilian infrastructure.”
  
• Sen. Lisa Murkowski: “This type of rhetoric is an affront to the ideals our nation has sought to uphold and promote around the world.”
  
• Rep. Nathaniel Moran: “Let me be clear: I do not support the destruction of a ‘whole civilization.’ That is not who we are.”
  
• Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: “25TH AMENDMENT!!!”

The Pentagon is looking for creative ways to both fulfill the president’s threats and avoid the risk of committing war crimes under international law, Politico reported. That includes targeting sites that provide energy to both civilians and Iran’s military.

But there’s still hope for an off-ramp: Trump told Fox News that he was in “heated negotiations” and that it was possible he might push back his self-imposed deadline for a fourth time.

Meanwhile: Middle Eastern officials told The Wall Street Journal that Iran abruptly cut off direct talks with the U.S. over Trump’s statement.

• The prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, floated a two-week ceasefire during which Iran would open the Strait of Hormuz as a means to facilitate further discussions.
  
• “The president has been made aware of the proposal and a response will come,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response.

Further reading: The New York Times’ Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman published the most detailed account to date of how Trump made the decision to launch this war, drawn from reporting for an upcoming book.

THE HILL

House Democrats are preparing to bring another war powers resolution to the floor — and this time they’re more confident it could pass.

• “We only need one or two additional Republicans, and I think we’re on track to securing that,” Hakeem Jeffries told The New York Times’ Annie Karni. The minority leader didn’t give a timeline.

Bill Gates is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee for a transcribed interview on June 10 as part of the panel’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

• “While he never witnessed or participated in any of Epstein’s illegal conduct, he is looking forward to answering all the committee’s questions to support their important work,” a spokesperson for Gates told The Washington Post.

THE ADMINISTRATION

Gas prices will remain high through at least the end of the year, according to a new forecast from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an arm of the Department of Energy. NOTUS’ Anna Kramer reports that the agency predicts the average price per gallon will sit above $3.70 in 2026 — and that’s if the conflict with Iran concludes by the end of April.

Iraqi officials say American journalist Shelly Kittleson was released today in exchange for members of that country’s Kata’ib Hezbollah militia, a force aligned with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its foreign arm, the Quds Force. She had been held in captivity for a week.

JD Vance made a campaign-trail appearance in support of Hungary’s far-right prime minister, Viktor Orbán, as part of a two-day visit to Budapest this week.

• “Freedom-loving Americans and Hungarians must unite and save Western civilization,” Vance told supporters at a rally. “To do this, we must fight the progressives that nest in Brussels.”

LOOK AT THAT

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