‘Legitimate Misunderstanding’

Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for April 8, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

THE LATEST

The ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. appears to be falling apart in the first 24 hours, before in-person negotiations on a permanent truce have even begun. The speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the U.S. “clearly violated” three of the deal’s tenets.

Driving the acrimony are the terms that both sides say they’re using as a starting place.

• Donald Trump declared last night: “We received a 10-point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
• The Iranian 10-point plan, first shared by state media, included allowing Iran to further enrich its uranium stockpiles — required to advance both a domestic energy program and the development of nuclear weapons — and a cessation of strikes on Lebanon.
• But today, Karoline Leavitt said that 10-point plan was “literally thrown in the garbage by President Trump” and the two sides were using “a more reasonable and entirely different and condensed plan.” She insisted that Lebanon was not a part of the ceasefire and that any further uranium enrichment was unacceptable.
• The Trump administration’s position appears to be that Iran is an unreliable negotiator. “What Iran says publicly or feeds to all of you in the press is much different than what they communicate to the United States,” Leavitt said.
• When asked what was driving the current breakdown, JD Vance said: “I think this comes from a legitimate misunderstanding. I think the Iranians thought the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn’t. We never made that promise, we never indicated that was gonna be the case.”

As of this afternoon, Iran claims that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. But Leavitt also insisted that was untrue. Shipping companies that monitor the strait contradicted the press secretary’s claim that traffic through the narrow waterway had increased.

So … is the ceasefire still in place, or not? Neither side has publicly backed away from negotiations even as they accuse the other of moving the goalposts.

What happens next? Vance is still scheduled to head in-person peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, starting this weekend, Leavitt said. Also on the U.S. side: Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.

THE HILL

Democratic House leadership is looking to pass a war powers resolution on Iran via unanimous consent tomorrow morning during a pro forma session, according to a “Dear Colleague” letter written by Hakeem Jeffries and obtained by NOTUS’ Hill team. The measure is unlikely to pass.

• “All Members who are in Washington are invited to join the effort on the House Floor,” the letter reads.

Jamie Raskin and his Democratic colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee also plan to hold a briefing Friday on their long-shot effort to remove Trump from office via the 25th Amendment.

THE ADMINISTRATION

Trump is expected to significantly reduce the amount of taxpayer money he is requesting to fund the war with Iran, from $200 billion to something closer to $100 billion, The Washington Post reported.

Pam Bondi won’t have to testify about the Jeffrey Epstein case now that she’s no longer attorney general, the DOJ says. But Democrats — and some Republicans like Nancy Mace, who first introduced the subpoena — are insisting she testify on April 14 as scheduled.

• “Our bipartisan subpoena is to Pam Bondi, whether she is the attorney general or not. She must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges in the Congress,” said Robert Garcia, the House Oversight Committee’s top Democrat.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is launching a podcast that he says will “name the names of the forces that obstruct the paths to public health.” It’s a familiar medium for Kennedy, who had his own podcast before becoming secretary of health and human services, often interviewing other activists in the “vaccine-safety” movement. The show, called “The Secretary Kennedy Podcast,” will feature Kennedy interviewing public-health experts, doctors and agency staffers, according to HHS.

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