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Trump Says It’ll Be ‘Easy’ to Wrap Up the War

April 1, 2026 at 10:34 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump declared victory over Iran in a prime time address, saying that U.S. military objectives are “nearing completion” while suggesting that American forces would not be used to reopen the Strait of Hormuz because it will “open up naturally” once the conflict is over, NOTUS reports.

Immediately following Trump’s address, CNBC notes both S&P 500 and Dow Jones futures fell nearly 1%, while Nasdaq futures fell more than 1%.

The price of crude oil also spiked close to 4%.

Wall Street Journal: Here’s what Trump didn’t talk about in his speech.

Trump to Address the Nation

April 1, 2026 at 8:45 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump is set to address the nation at 9 p.m. ET with an “important update” on Iran.

It’s his first prime-time address since the U.S. and Israeli assault on Iran began more than one month ago.

Leave your reactions in the comments.

NASA Fuels Up Rocket for Moon Mission

April 1, 2026 at 6:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “For the first time since 1972, NASA is sending astronauts to the moon. (But not to land there.)”

“The mission, Artemis II, is scheduled to launch on Wednesday at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time. A giant rocket will lift off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the crew of four astronauts — three Americans and one Canadian — will embark on a 10-day journey around the moon and back to Earth.”

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Trump Faces Deep Skepticism About Iran War

April 1, 2026 at 4:25 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Just one-third of the public believes President Trump has a clear plan to handle the situation in Iran, according to a new CNN Poll, underscoring the deep skepticism ahead of his Wednesday night White House address on the war.

Senate and House GOP Strike Deal to End Shutdown

April 1, 2026 at 3:49 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Senate and House Republicans announced an agreement on Wednesday to move ahead as early as Thursday morning with legislation to reopen the Department of Homeland Security, resurrecting a bipartisan deal that President Trump and the House G.O.P. angrily rejected last week.”

“The plan would fund the department through Sept. 30 but omit money for the agencies carrying out Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown. Republicans said Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol would continue to be paid for out of funds they pushed through Congress last year over Democratic objections. This year, Democrats have refused to approve spending for those agencies without new restrictions on federal immigration agents’ conduct.”

30 Members of Congress on Scotland Junket

April 1, 2026 at 3:46 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

TMZ: “Over two dozen members of Congress are on an overseas trip during the government shutdown… and it’s all being paid for by taxpayers while tons of federal workers go unpaid with rent due.”

Democrats Risk a Historic Upset in California

April 1, 2026 at 3:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “With a sprawling field threatening to split the vote and hand the governorship to a Republican, a late-hour effort failed to persuade longshot contenders to drop out. A preeminent labor group split its coveted endorsement four ways, elevating no one. And in the most recent upheaval, a televised debate was hastily canceled after an uproar from within the party that leaving out low-polling candidates of color would produce an all-white stage.”

Earlier for members: Crowded Field in California Opens the Door for Republicans

Ocasio-Cortez Will Oppose All U.S. Military Aid to Israel

April 1, 2026 at 2:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said that she “would vote against all U.S. military aid to Israel, including for defensive systems, a shift that underscores how opposition to the Israeli government has grown among various wings of the Democratic Party since the war in Gaza,” New York Times reports.

A Generational Test for Democrats in Tennessee

April 1, 2026 at 2:14 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Justin Pearson (D), a 31-year-old state lawmaker in Tennessee, and his former boss, 76-year-old Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), are facing off in a contentious August primary, offering another test of Democrats’ generational divide, the New York Times reports.

Trump Not Immune from Civil Claims from January 6

April 1, 2026 at 1:59 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“More than five years after violent riots at the U.S. Capitol, President Donald Trump still can’t avoid lawsuits seeking to hold him legally responsible for the chaos that temporarily disrupted Congress’ certification of the 2020 election,” Bloomberg reports.

“A federal judge in Washington handed a multi-part loss to Trump on Tuesday night, keeping civil claims alive in multiple, consolidated lawsuits that were brought by Democratic members of Congress and law enforcement officers. It’s one of the last remaining legal fights against Trump predating his second term in the White House.”

Hill Staffers Brace for Their Boss’s TMZ moment

April 1, 2026 at 1:57 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “TMZ has launched an effort to shame members of Congress into ending their recess early and funding the Department of Homeland Security — and many congressional aides are quietly delighting in the celebrity gossip site’s interest in covering Congress.”

Said one Hill staffer: “I am super stoked. I think a lot of offices, particularly ones who aren’t in major media markets, are in for a rude awakening.”

Trump Threatened to Stop Weapons for Ukraine

April 1, 2026 at 1:55 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump threatened to stop supplying weapons for Ukraine in order to pressure European allies to join a “coalition of the willing” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reports.

GOP Senate Candidate Taps Defender of Hitler Group Chat

April 1, 2026 at 1:47 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers’s (R) newly announced student outreach team “includes a member who complained about women in politics and another who defended a leaked Young Republicans group chat filled with praise for Hitler, gas chamber jokes, racial slurs, and rape comments,” the Detroit Metro Times reports.

Trump Says Iran’s Enriched Uranium Is No Problem

April 1, 2026 at 1:23 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “For more than a decade President Trump has been intently focused on making sure Iran never had the nuclear fuel in hand to build a nuclear weapon. Until this morning, when he told Reuters in an interview, that he didn’t really care because it is ‘so far underground.'”

“Asked about the 970 pounds of near-bomb-grade enriched uranium that international inspectors say is likely buried at two sites in Iran — enough to make 10 to a dozen bombs — Mr. Trump said it was no longer a worry.”

Trump Calls for ‘Focused’ Reconciliation Bill to Fund ICE

April 1, 2026 at 1:21 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump said on Truth Social that he wants Republicans to send him a reconciliation bill for ICE funding by June 1.

He added that the process should be “fast” and “focused,” as some Republicans want to use the reconciliation bill as a vehicle for unrelated priorities.

Trump’s Fateful Choice

April 1, 2026 at 1:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Nancy Youssef and Jonathan Lemire: “As thousands of additional U.S. troops arrive in the Persian Gulf, military officials are planning for two potential ground assaults in Iran: one on Kharg Island, the hub of the country’s energy industry, and the other to seize enriched uranium to hobble Iran’s nuclear-development program… They just need the go-ahead from President Trump.”

“Putting troops in Iranian territory would rank among the most dangerous missions of either of Trump’s terms. And neither operation would guarantee the end of the war within weeks, as Trump has promised—nor the collapse of the regime that the United States has described as an imminent threat, nor the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the closure of which has gripped the world’s energy markets.”

Flashback Quote of the Day

April 1, 2026 at 12:37 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“No U.S. President should be able to withdraw from NATO without Senate approval. Thankful my colleagues in Congress passed this bipartisan measure.”

— Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), on X, in 2023.

Why Trump Didn’t Predict the Gas-Price Spike

April 1, 2026 at 12:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

David Frum: “How did Trump get Hormuz so wrong? The answer reveals one of Trump’s most characteristic and most fateful mistakes: his steadfast refusal to acknowledge that Americans live in a world economy.”

“Trump wishes for a United States economy walled off from the rest of the world. That’s why he loves tariffs so much—and why he refuses to think about what they mean to American producers, who now must pay more for inputs such as aluminum.”

“But with energy, there is no walling off. Most of America’s oil and gas is produced in the United States. American imports come overwhelmingly from Canada and Mexico. But American oil can be put on a tanker and sent to Japan or the European Union if the price across the ocean rises. The global process of buying and selling equalizes prices worldwide.”

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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