Today\u2019s notice: A new deadline for Iran, and a new conversation about the war. A scoopy story about Jim Jordan\u2019s future. The new White House app has a security hole so big, we couldn\u2019t print who was affected. Plus: Democrats feel good about the bottom of the ballot and bad about the top. <\/p>\n
THE LATEST<\/p>\n
Escalating, but to what? President Donald Trump vowed yesterday to take the U.S. down a path that expands the war with Iran to include widespread bombing of civilian infrastructure and toward an existential conversation about America\u2019s fundamental principles.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin\u2019 Strait, you crazy bastards, or you\u2019ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!\u201d Trump posted<\/a>, promising that Tuesday \u201cwill be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran.\u201d He later clarified<\/a> the deadline is \u201c8:00 P.M., Eastern Time!\u201d which is actually early Wednesday morning in Tehran.<\/p>\n How it\u2019s playing: \u201cTrump Revels in Threats to Commit War Crimes in Iran,\u201d read the NYT headline<\/a>.<\/p>\n The president skipped Easter mass, but had time to chat on the phone briefly with a number of reporters \u2014 a tactic he\u2019s increasingly used in recent weeks to disseminate crucial information about the war.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, they want us to do it,\u201d he told the WSJ<\/a> when asked if his promised total destruction of electricity generation and transportation infrastructure would risk civilian suffering. Trump\u2019s reasoning was that civilians have been \u201cliving in hell\u201d under Iranian theocracy. In the space of a few hours, Trump managed to overshadow the daring and successful rescue of a downed American airman \u2014 one of the few truly unifying moments from the war \u2014 and replace it with a debate about how far he can push things before he shreds any notion of American decency and public trust.<\/p>\n Stuck dealing with the whiplash are supporters of the war. Rep. Mike Lawler, the purple district Republican from New York, told NBC: \u201cThe idea that the administration and our armed forces are not meeting their objectives or that there wasn\u2019t a plan is absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n But faced with Trump\u2019s push to expand the conflict and spend more taxpayer money, Lawler dropped his own deadline. \u201cIf it goes beyond the 60- to 90-day window, then yes, Congress will need to take necessary action,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I would support that.\u201d The 60-day mark would be April 29.<\/p>\n Open tabs: Sen. Ruben Gallego considers a 2028 presidential run<\/a> (NBC); Trump\u2019s new budget seeks TSA privatization. Here\u2019s what that could mean for airport security<\/a>. (CNN); Ousted general says Army deserves \u2018leaders of character\u2019 in farewell letter<\/a> (The Hill); Holocaust Memorial Museum quietly changed content after Trump returned to office<\/a> (Politico)<\/p>\n From the Hill<\/p>\n Jordan jockeys. As Republicans stare down the prospect of losing the House in November, a shadow race of sorts may have already begun to replace current Speaker Mike Johnson if he gives up the gavel. Many members believe that Rep. Jim Jordan is laying the groundwork to take Johnson\u2019s place, NOTUS\u2019 Reese Gorman reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n It wouldn\u2019t be the first time that the Judiciary chair sought the top spot. He ran in 2023 as a conservative firebrand. But nearly all of the more than two dozen lawmakers, congressional aides, outside advisers and lobbyists Reese spoke to say there are signs Jordan is now preparing for a potential leadership bid by making inroads with the moderate and establishment wings of the party.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s done a really good job kind of broadening his base of support,\u201d said one moderate Republican. \u201cHe\u2019s gone out of his way to help people and build relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n Jordan told Reese he is \u201cnot at all\u201d focused on any leadership bid should Republicans get shellacked in November. \u201cMy job is to go around and help us raise money, help candidates, help colleagues, and help turn out, hopefully, Republican voters, so that we don\u2019t have that happen,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n From the White House<\/p>\n Unsecure app. Several cybersecurity experts told Emily and NOTUS\u2019 Samuel Larreal<\/a> they were shocked by the slipshod approach to data protection on the White House\u2019s much-ballyhooed new app.<\/p>\n One example: A researcher shared screenshots showing that Elfsight \u2014 a third-party, Russia-founded software kit company that provides premade widgets for the app \u2014 makes public the personal information of some White House staffers through the app, as of Thursday. NOTUS chose not to reveal more than that.<\/p>\n The company sent an AI-generated response. The White House told us, \u201cElfsight went through a full security review by White House IT and was approved for use. This is a vulnerability on Elfsight\u2019s side \u2014 and they have been informed of it.\u201d<\/p>\n From the campaign trail <\/p>\n Bumper crop of downballot Democrats. In a handful of key states this year, Democrats are running an uncommonly large slate of state legislative candidates. Dems say that it\u2019s the result of recruitment efforts in GOP strongholds that are finally paying off, NOTUS\u2019 Alex Roarty reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n In states like Texas and North Carolina, according to data compiled by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, Democrats have recruited a candidate to run in every state House and Senate district up for election this year. It\u2019s a big achievement: Around a quarter of state House races in Texas and North Carolina (where it\u2019s technically a General Assembly) did not have a Democratic candidate last midterm.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no question that state Democrats are breaking recruitment records across the country,\u201d Heather Williams, DLCC president, said in an interview. \u201cWe\u2019re hitting these markers in all of these important states.\u201d<\/p>\n Then again: Democrats gonna Democrat. \u201cI think it\u2019s been a miscalculation and the Democratic primary voters in these states are responding,\u201d a prominent U.S. senator said of the DSCC\u2019s decision to recruit and back moderates who are now facing expensive and increasingly undignified primaries against more progressive challengers. \u201cThey should have stayed out from the beginning, and they should get out of them now,\u201d the senator added.<\/p>\n NOTUS\u2019 Daniella Diaz and Christa Dutton report<\/a> that a growing number of Democrats believe Chuck Schumer and DSCC chair Kirsten Gillibrand backed the wrong horses, particularly in critical states like Maine and Michigan.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think a lot of average political consumers even know what the DSCC is, but they do know who Schumer is, and anything connected to his support is not helpful,\u201d Shaniqua McClendon, the head of political strategy for Crooked Media, said.<\/p>\n From your favorite podcast app <\/p>\n Rep. Ben Cline, a Republican lawmaker from Virginia, says Republicans need to message more on why they think it was necessary for Trump to strike Iran. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to communicate that this is not a war that is a choice,\u201d Cline told NOTUS\u2019 Reese Gorman during the latest episode of the On NOTUS podcast<\/a>. Reese and Cline also discuss redistricting efforts in Virginia and what it\u2019s like being in both the Freedom Caucus and the Problem Solvers Caucus.<\/p>\n NEW ON NOTUS<\/p>\n Another lawmaker runs afoul of the STOCK Act. Rep. Kelly Morrison, a Democrat from Minnesota, violated Congress\u2019 stock-trading law by improperly disclosing seven figures worth of personal investments, according to a review of her financial disclosures conducted by NOTUS\u2019 Dave Levinthal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Her response: \u201cRep. Morrison\u2019s portfolio is managed by an investment manager. She had no prior knowledge of these transactions before they occurred, and they were discovered during a yearly audit for her financial disclosure,\u201d Morrison\u2019s spokesperson, Liz Smalley, told NOTUS. \u201cThe reporting processes have been updated with the investment manager to ensure all future transactions will be reported on time.\u201d<\/p>\n More: Senator\u2019s Leadership PAC Had Thousands Stolen by \u2018Unaffiliated Third Party\u2019<\/a>, by Torrie Herrington<\/p>\n NOT USWEEK AHEAD<\/p>\n This week<\/p>\n Congress remains in recess<\/a>.<\/p>\n Today<\/p>\n Trump has promised<\/a> an Oval Office presser at 1 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n Tuesday<\/p>\n The president\u2019s latest version of a deadline<\/a> for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz expires.<\/p>\n Wednesday<\/p>\n NATO chief Mark Rutte is set to meet<\/a> with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense\/War Pete Hegseth in D.C.<\/p>\n Thursday<\/p>\n Rutte is scheduled to make a speech<\/a> at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation Institute.<\/p>\n BE SOCIAL<\/p>\n Just astonishing to learn what\u2019s in those UFO files, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n Thank you for reading! If you liked this edition of the NOTUS newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If this newsletter was shared with you, please subscribe<\/a> \u2014 it\u2019s free! Have a tip? Email us at tips@notus.com<\/a>. And as always, we\u2019d love to hear your thoughts at newsletters@notus.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Today\u2019s notice: A new deadline for Iran, and a new conversation about the war. A scoopy story about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-567743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cIf they don\u2019t make a deal, I am blowing up everything over there,\u201d Trump told Axios<\/a>, a threat that would dramatically broaden the conflict. He vowed<\/a> just last week in a prime-time address: \u201cThe hard part is over.\u201d
\u201cIf it happens, it happens. And if it doesn\u2019t, we\u2019re blowing up the whole country,\u201d Trump told ABC News<\/a> of a potential ceasefire deal. When asked if anything was off-limits, Trump replied: \u201cVery little.\u201d<\/p>\n