Dial-a-President

Today’s notice: A new deadline for Iran, and a new conversation about the war. A scoopy story about Jim Jordan’s future. The new White House app has a security hole so big, we couldn’t print who was affected. Plus: Democrats feel good about the bottom of the ballot and bad about the top.

THE LATEST

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’s fundamental principles.

“There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH!” Trump posted, promising that Tuesday “will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran.” He later clarified the deadline is “8:00 P.M., Eastern Time!” which is actually early Wednesday morning in Tehran.

How it’s playing: “Trump Revels in Threats to Commit War Crimes in Iran,” read the NYT headline.

The president skipped Easter mass, but had time to chat on the phone briefly with a number of reporters — a tactic he’s increasingly used in recent weeks to disseminate crucial information about the war.

• “No, they want us to do it,” he told the WSJ when asked if his promised total destruction of electricity generation and transportation infrastructure would risk civilian suffering. Trump’s reasoning was that civilians have been “living in hell” under Iranian theocracy.
  
• “If they don’t make a deal, I am blowing up everything over there,” Trump told Axios, a threat that would dramatically broaden the conflict. He vowed just last week in a prime-time address: “The hard part is over.”
  

• “If it happens, it happens. And if it doesn’t, we’re blowing up the whole country,” Trump told ABC News of a potential ceasefire deal. When asked if anything was off-limits, Trump replied: “Very little.”
  

In the space of a few hours, Trump managed to overshadow the daring and successful rescue of a downed American airman — one of the few truly unifying moments from the war — and replace it with a debate about how far he can push things before he shreds any notion of American decency and public trust.

Stuck dealing with the whiplash are supporters of the war. Rep. Mike Lawler, the purple district Republican from New York, told NBC: “The idea that the administration and our armed forces are not meeting their objectives or that there wasn’t a plan is absurd.”

But faced with Trump’s push to expand the conflict and spend more taxpayer money, Lawler dropped his own deadline. “If it goes beyond the 60- to 90-day window, then yes, Congress will need to take necessary action,” he said. “And I would support that.” The 60-day mark would be April 29.

Open tabs: Sen. Ruben Gallego considers a 2028 presidential run (NBC); Trump’s new budget seeks TSA privatization. Here’s what that could mean for airport security. (CNN); Ousted general says Army deserves ‘leaders of character’ in farewell letter (The Hill); Holocaust Memorial Museum quietly changed content after Trump returned to office (Politico)

From the Hill

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’s place, NOTUS’ Reese Gorman reports.

It wouldn’t 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.

“He’s done a really good job kind of broadening his base of support,” said one moderate Republican. “He’s gone out of his way to help people and build relationships.”

Jordan told Reese he is “not at all” focused on any leadership bid should Republicans get shellacked in November. “My 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’t have that happen,” he added.

From the White House

Unsecure app. Several cybersecurity experts told Emily and NOTUS’ Samuel Larreal they were shocked by the slipshod approach to data protection on the White House’s much-ballyhooed new app.

One example: A researcher shared screenshots showing that Elfsight — a third-party, Russia-founded software kit company that provides premade widgets for the app — makes public the personal information of some White House staffers through the app, as of Thursday. NOTUS chose not to reveal more than that.

The company sent an AI-generated response. The White House told us, “Elfsight went through a full security review by White House IT and was approved for use. This is a vulnerability on Elfsight’s side — and they have been informed of it.”

From the campaign trail

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’s the result of recruitment efforts in GOP strongholds that are finally paying off, NOTUS’ Alex Roarty reports.

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’s a big achievement: Around a quarter of state House races in Texas and North Carolina (where it’s technically a General Assembly) did not have a Democratic candidate last midterm.

“There’s no question that state Democrats are breaking recruitment records across the country,” Heather Williams, DLCC president, said in an interview. “We’re hitting these markers in all of these important states.”

Then again: Democrats gonna Democrat. “I think it’s been a miscalculation and the Democratic primary voters in these states are responding,” a prominent U.S. senator said of the DSCC’s decision to recruit and back moderates who are now facing expensive and increasingly undignified primaries against more progressive challengers. “They should have stayed out from the beginning, and they should get out of them now,” the senator added.

NOTUS’ Daniella Diaz and Christa Dutton report 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.

“I don’t 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,” Shaniqua McClendon, the head of political strategy for Crooked Media, said.

From your favorite podcast app

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. “We’re trying to communicate that this is not a war that is a choice,” Cline told NOTUS’ Reese Gorman during the latest episode of the On NOTUS podcast. Reese and Cline also discuss redistricting efforts in Virginia and what it’s like being in both the Freedom Caucus and the Problem Solvers Caucus.

NEW ON NOTUS

Another lawmaker runs afoul of the STOCK Act. Rep. Kelly Morrison, a Democrat from Minnesota, violated Congress’ stock-trading law by improperly disclosing seven figures worth of personal investments, according to a review of her financial disclosures conducted by NOTUS’ Dave Levinthal.

Her response: “Rep. Morrison’s 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,” Morrison’s spokesperson, Liz Smalley, told NOTUS. “The reporting processes have been updated with the investment manager to ensure all future transactions will be reported on time.”

More: Senator’s Leadership PAC Had Thousands Stolen by ‘Unaffiliated Third Party’, by Torrie Herrington

NOT US

• Congressional Race Takes a Strange Turn—One Guy Keeps Showing Up at Quinceañeras, by Sabrina Rodriguez for The Wall Street Journal
  
• Meet the woman who wants Democrats to get hot, not bothered, by Jay Stahl for USA Today
  
• The Man Holding MAHA Together, by Tom Bartlett for The Atlantic
  
• Stephen Miller Is Still Pursuing His Immigration Agenda, but More Quietly, by Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Hamed Aleaziz, Christopher Flavelle, Emily Cochrane and Glenn Thrush for The New York Times

WEEK AHEAD

This week

Congress remains in recess.

Today

Trump has promised an Oval Office presser at 1 p.m. ET.

Tuesday

The president’s latest version of a deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz expires.

Wednesday

NATO chief Mark Rutte is set to meet with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense/War Pete Hegseth in D.C.

Thursday

Rutte is scheduled to make a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation Institute.

BE SOCIAL

Just astonishing to learn what’s in those UFO files, isn’t it?

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