Iran defiant as Trump’s deadline day arrives

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Trump’s Iran deadline day

Wisconsin Supreme Court race

Midterm planning heats up 

Vance visits Hungary 

Iran is showing no signs of backing down as President Trump’s deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is hours away, poising the commander-in-chief to either follow through on a major escalation of the war or once again push back his ultimatum.  

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said Monday that it “officially rejects” the U.S.’s proposed 15-point peace plan to end the conflict, calling it “unrealistic.” 

“Iran firmly refuses any negotiations conducted under the shadow of illegal sanctions, military threats, or coercion,” the Iranian government said in a post on the social platform X, adding diplomacy requires “mutual respect, not pressure.” 

Trump told reporters Monday that Iran’s latest offer was “significant” offer but not “good enough” to avoid attacks on its power plants and bridges. 

During a press briefing at the White House later in the day, the president doubled down on his deadline of 8 p.m. today for Iran to make a deal with the U.S.  

“The entire country could be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said at a press conference Monday. 

It’s not clear if reopening the strait on its own would be enough for Trump. Axios’s Barak Ravid reported Trump also told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he would insist Iran hand over its enriched uranium and pledge not to resume enrichment. 

The president has already delayed his deadline for Iran to reopen the waterway twice. He brushed off concerns that striking the power plants and bridges would constitute war crimes, as critics have argued. 

“No, not at all,” he said in response to a question about whether he was concerned the strikes amount to war crimes. 

Trump said the majority of Iranian people want the U.S. to “keep bombing,” claiming that they are “willing to suffer” the destruction of their power plants and energy infrastructure to gain “freedom.”  

He added that Iran is still negotiating and that the U.S. believes it is doing so in good faith, but “we’re going to find out.” 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were scheduled to deliver a press briefing this morning at 8 a.m., 12 hours before the deadline, but the briefing was canceled hours after being announced, without explanation. 

The U.S. and Iran have reportedly received a draft peace proposal sent by mediators from Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey to establish a 45-day ceasefire. It would include a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. 

But Iranian state media reported that Iran is insisting on a permanent end to hostilities and delivered its own 10-point proposal, which includes a guarantee that Iran not be attacked again, an end to Israeli strikes against Hezbollah and a lifting of all sanctions. 

“Pakistan positive and productive endeavours in Good Will and Good Office to stop the war is approaching a critical, sensitive stage,” Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan wrote Tuesday morning on X. “Stay Tuned for more.” 

▪ The Hill: GOP patience with Iran operations growing thinner. 

▪ The Hill: Five takeaways from Trump’s Iran news conference. 

▪ The Hill: Trump says U.S. searching for ‘leaker’ of information on downed pilot. 

3 Things to Know Today:

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in a transcribed interview scheduled for May 6. Lutnick’s agreement follows accusations that he misled the public about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. 

The United Kingdom is hosting a virtual meeting today for more than 40 countries to discuss securing a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which won’t include the U.S. The New York Times reports the meeting is mostly focused on steps that could be taken after fighting between the U.S. and Iran ends. 

The Artemis II crew is on their way back home after completing a flyby of the moon and traveling the furthest humans have ever gone from the Earth. The journey back will take a few days and is scheduled to be completed Friday. 

A person places an envelope in a ballot return box for mail-in ballots outside of City Hall in Philadelphia, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

TO THE POLLS: Voters are heading to the polls in battleground Wisconsin today for a state Supreme Court race that could extend liberal control of the court for years to come. 

Wisconsin Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor, who is backed by Democrats, is favored heading into Election Day against conservative state Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar, who is supported by Republicans. The race for retiring conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley’s seat is officially nonpartisan but has in effect been a partisan battle, as has been typical for court races in the state. 

Liberals currently hold a 4-3 majority on the court, but they’re eyeing a pickup opportunity that would expand it to a 5-2 advantage. The race has drawn considerably less attention than the contest for an open seat last year, as that election determined who would hold a majority. 

The president has also stayed out of the race, holding off from endorsing Lazar, unlike last year, when he was deeply involved in promoting the conservative candidate. Billionaire Elon Musk also poured millions of dollars into last year’s race to back the conservative, an unsuccessful effort that he is not replicating this time. 

But the race is still considered critical, as a win by Taylor could ensure liberal control of the court through the remainder of the decade. And limited polling points to Taylor holding the edge. 

Taylor’s campaign has also outraised her opponent by a roughly 5-to-1 margin. Some Republican operatives have criticized Lazar’s campaign for not doing enough to appeal to the GOP base, The Hill’s Caroline Vakil reports. 

Political observers will be looking to the outcome of the race as another indicator of what may be to come for the midterms. 

Meanwhile, voters in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District are also heading to the polls in a runoff to fill the seat vacated by former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). Republican Clay Fuller is favored to win in the deeply red district against Democrat Shawn Harris, but Democrats will be hoping to improve on their 2024 performance as another sign of boosted momentum heading into November.  

▪ The Hill: What to know about Tuesday’s Wisconsin, Georgia elections. 

▪ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why early voting is lagging past court elections. 

ON YOUR MARKS: Big spending on the midterm election cycle is quickly getting underway as two major campaign groups are revealing some of their plans. 

The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC associated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) that works to elect Republicans to the Senate, announced a whopping $342 million investment across eight states in its largest-ever ad buy. 

The group is making a push to go on offense for key seats in Michigan, Georgia and New Hampshire while defending GOP-held seats in Ohio, North Carolina, Maine, Iowa and Alaska. 

The largest ad buy amounts are $79 million in Ohio, where Sen. Jon Husted (R) is seeking to fend off a challenge from former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), and $71 million in North Carolina, as former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley faces former Gov. Roy Cooper (D). 

Republicans are seeking to defend their 53-47 majority in the upper chamber as Democrats hope to win back control. 

A Democratic group responsible for growing the party’s majorities in state legislatures announced its first slate of target candidates Monday. 

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee said it would back candidates in key local races in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia, Texas and Iowa. The group said it plans to get involved in at least 500 races, including 300 for Republican-held seats. 

The announcement comes after a string of victories for Democrats in state legislative races, outperforming their 2024 results. 

Election Day is less than seven months away. Democrats are favored to take the House and expressing increasing optimism about winning Senate control as Trump’s approval ratings sink and economic anxiety rises.  

▪ Politico: Republicans losing clout in statehouses. 

PATH CLEARED: Trump ally Steve Bannon appears set to have his conviction for contempt of Congress thrown out after the U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back to a lower court judge, who is expected to dismiss it. 

The justices declined Tuesday to hear arguments in Bannon’s appeal of his 2022 conviction for refusing to follow a subpoena from a House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. The court instead granted his petition to vacate a lower court’s holding and send it back for review. 

The conviction will likely be erased there, as the Department of Justice (DOJ) moved in February to dismiss the two-count indictment against Bannon that was filed nearly five years ago. A federal jury in Washington, D.C., found Bannon guilty on both counts for failing to appear for a deposition before the committee and refusing to hand over subpoenaed documents. 

Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison and served his time during 2024. 

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro also served a four-month sentence for his conviction on the same charges as Bannon’s. Navarro is still appealing the case, though the DOJ has said it won’t defend the conviction. 

▪ The Hill: Dem demands information on DOJ settlement with Michael Flynn. 

▪ The Hill: Case against former Cincinnati official likely to be dismissed. 

The president will participate in executive time at 8 a.m. He will participate in a policy meeting at 4 p.m. He will have dinner with U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor at 7 p.m. 

The House and Senate are out today. 

Former U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel speaks to voters as he participates in the South Carolina Democratic Party’s “On the Road” series on Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Newberry, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)

FREE ADVICE: After spending years helping mold the modern Democratic Party, Rahm Emanuel is arguing that it isn’t working. 

The Hill’s Amie Parnes reports Emanuel, who served as White House chief of staff to former President Obama, has become one of the party’s sharpest internal critics. As speculation has swirled that he’s eyeing a 2028 presidential bid, Emanuel has argued that Democrats have lost their way on a range of topics, from economic messaging to cultural issues. 

“Every one of our most successful electoral presidents anchored themselves in what I call middle-class values and values that are universal, at least in this country, ascribed to. We went from acceptance to advocacy,” Emanuel said last month on a podcast. 

Emanuel was at the center of Democrats’ efforts to regain control of the House in 2006 as the chair of House Democrats’ campaign arm, recruiting centrist candidates to run in purple districts. Two decades later, Democrats are once again arguing a Republican president has been distracted by a war in the Middle East and drawn away from economic issues affecting the middle class. 

Parnes reports Emanuel has been offering advice to Democrats who are struggling to connect with voters as he travels to a few key early-voting states in the Democratic presidential nominating process. He told Fox News Digital last month that Democrats must “ground ourselves in middle-class values” and “get to the core” of what voters want. 

But some Democrats are skeptical as to whether Emanuel can be a serious contender for the nomination in 2028 if he runs, while others say he is the kind of candidate who can win, Parnes reports. 

▪ The Hill: Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) looking at 2028 presidential run. 

▪ Axios: 2028 Dem hopefuls run away from 2020 positions.

FILE – Vice President JD Vance, left, listens as Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

VANCE VISIT: Vice President Vance will visit Hungary on Tuesday and Wednesday just days before a key Trump ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, faces a tough reelection bid. 

Vance will hold a bilateral meeting with Orbán and speak on the U.S.-Hungarian relationship. But the timing of the meeting is noteworthy as the prime minister is trying to survive the most significant challenge to his leadership since he came back to power more than 15 years ago. 

Polls show a close race between Orbán’s party and the opposition, raising huge questions about the country’s future ahead of the vote Sunday. 

Orbán has been a dominating force in Hungarian politics for decades. He served a four-year term as prime minister at the turn of the century before his party lost power. But it came back to power in 2010, and he has held the prime minister’s office since then. 

Since Trump’s first rise to the presidency, Orbán has been a key ally as a far-right standard bearer in the European Union. Trump endorsed Orbán in a social media post last month, as he did in 2020 and 2022. 

“He fights tirelessly for, and loves, his Great Country and People, just like I do for the United States of America,” Trump wrote. “Viktor works hard to Protect Hungary, Grow the Economy, Create Jobs, Promote Trade, Stop Illegal Immigration, and Ensure LAW AND ORDER!” 

▪ The Hill: Former CIA director says Russia doesn’t have the ‘upper hand’ in Ukraine. 

▪ The Guardian: Why the U.S., Russia are backing Orbán. 

SOLDIER’S WIFE: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have reportedly arrested the wife of a U.S. Army staff sergeant at the military base where he is stationed. 

ABC News reported ICE officers detained 22-year-old Annie Ramos just days after she married 23-year-old Matthew Blank. Relatives were present at the military base in Fort Polk, Louisiana, to help Ramos get registered as a military spouse and move in before the arrest. 

An attorney representing the family told ABC that Ramos was born in Honduras and was just 20 months old when she was issued an order of removal. Relatives of military service members are often eligible for various forms of relief, but Ramos is being detained through enforcement of that order. 

Ramos is also eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which grants protections to those brought to the U.S. as children, but the program is paused for new applicants. 

“She has no legal status to be in this country and was issued a final order of removal by a judge. This administration is not going to ignore the rule of law,” a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told ABC. 

“I never imagined that trying to do the right thing — registering my wife so she could receive her military ID, access the benefits she is entitled to as my spouse, and begin the process toward her green card — would lead to her being taken away from me,” Blank said in a statement. “Instead of preparing for our future together, I am now fighting for her freedom.” 

Iran could defeat the US just by not losing, Harlan Ullman writes in The Hill. 

Tennessee should not be allowed to execute Christa Pike, Austin Sarat writes in The Hill. 

The March Madness logo is seen on a ball in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 23, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

And finally … The University of Michigan reigns supreme. The University of Connecticut stayed within striking distance for much of the NCAA March Madness final on Tuesday, but the Wolverines rolled to victory. 

Michigan defeated UConn 69-63 to win its second ever title in the men’s tournament, its first since 1989. The Wolverines became the first team in the tournament’s history to score at least 90 points in five consecutive games.  

But it was solid defense and a near-perfect free throw percentage that clinched the victory Tuesday.  

Michigan’s win follows the triumph from the University of California, Los Angeles in the women’s tournament on Monday. UCLA defeated the University of South Carolina in a commanding 79-51 win to claim its first women’s March Madness title.  

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