‘No Cards’ but the Strait of Hormuz

Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for April 10, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

THE LATEST

Donald Trump is preparing a $98 billion ask for U.S. military operations in Iran, NOTUS’ Joe Gould reports. In a sign that the political realities of a big new war are setting in, it’s way down from the initially floated packages of around $250 billion. But even at that steep discount, it’s likely to face steep odds on Capitol Hill, where both Democrats and Republican fiscal hawks are expected to oppose it.

Inflation tripled last month, according to the Consumer Price Index released today. The jump was overwhelmingly driven by the price of gas, which has skyrocketed as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed despite the fragile ceasefire.

• Gas prices jumped 21.2%, the single-largest monthly jump since the data started being published in 1967.

• “The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards,” Trump wrote on Truth Social this afternoon, “other than a short term extortion of the world by using international waterways.”

The Trump administration will ask Iran to release detained Americans as it enters negotiations in Pakistan tomorrow, The Washington Post reported. JD Vance, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to participate in the negotiations.

THE ADMINISTRATION

Trump’s arch would be taller than the Lincoln Memorial, if the Interior Department’s latest proposal goes through as submitted. The arch, which would sit on a roundabout between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial, would stand 250 feet tall, according to new renderings.

The department will present to the Commission of Fine Arts — which is entirely made up of Trump appointees — on Thursday. Trump plans to spend $15 million in National Endowment for the Humanities funds for the construction, NOTUS reported this week.

Trump will offer pardons to “everyone who has come within 200 feet of the Oval” before he leaves office, The Wall Street Journal reported the president said at a recent meeting. It’s a joke Trump has repeated several times, the article said, in a term where he has already pardoned some 1,600 people.

• “The Wall Street Journal should learn to take a joke, however, the President’s pardon power is absolute,” Karoline Leavitt told the Journal.

The FAA’s administrator dumped millions in airline stock seven months after he took the job, despite saying he would fully divest within 90 days, NOTUS’ Mark Alfred reports. Bryan Bedford is the former longtime chief executive of an aviation company that owns two airlines, and he held millions of dollars worth of stock in the companies when he was confirmed by the Senate last year.

THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Kamala Harris is ‘thinking about’ running for president again, she told Rev. Al Sharpton at the National Action Network today. It’s nothing new — she’s been hinting at another run since last year — and she’s one of a handful of perceived presidential candidates to coyly answer the same question at Sharpton’s civil rights conference.

• The crowd chanted “Run again! Run again!” when Harris mentioned elections. When Pete Buttigieg later in the day hinted at a run, he received a comparatively muted applause and eventual standing ovation.

NEW YORK IS THE ALBANIA OF AMERICA

Thank you for reading! Today’s newsletter was produced by Matt Berman and Andrew Burton. If you liked it, please forward it to a friend. If someone shared it with you, please subscribe — it’s free! Got a tip or comments to share? Email us at finalnotus@notus.com.