Washington, DC

1. Rubio on Iran
2. Biden endorses old friends
3. Vance storms Iowa
4. March hiring spree
5. The great repricing

Memory maker Micron saw its market cap ▲ hit $700 billion, as demand from AI data centers sends the whole sector higher.

Trump, Rubio, Hegseth resist escalation rhetoric

The US’ focus in Iran is on returning the Strait of Hormuz “back to the way it was,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a White House briefing this afternoon, emphasizing it’s a defensive operation: “There’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first.” Rubio said repeatedly that “Operation Epic Fury has concluded,” as the US has “achieved” its military objectives. Earlier today, President Donald Trump and Pentagon leaders downplayed the violence that flared in the strait yesterday. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said: “Right now the ceasefire with Iran holds.” The US plans to continue to guide stranded vessels out of the Gulf, an effort started yesterday that resulted in at least two ships making it through safely — though no ships reported traveling through the strait today.

Biden wades into Democratic primaries

Joe Biden is wading back into Democratic primaries, endorsing two former advisers-turned-candidates who are making gains with the former president’s support, Semafor’s David Weigel reports. Biden backed Massachusetts congressional candidate Dan Koh and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms. Both asked for Biden’s backing and got it, with videos and fundraising appeals. In California, where candidates for governor will meet for a CNN-sponsored debate tonight, former Biden Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has broken from the pack of Democrats while running on his Cabinet service; his experience “declaring emergencies” during the pandemic is central to his campaign. The former president remains personally popular with Democratic base voters, but Republicans were happy with the trend. “The more candidates that Biden endorses, the more we will make sure voters know about it in November,” said Republican Governors Association communications director Kollin Crompton.

Vance to Iowa

Vice President JD Vance will campaign in Iowa tonight for GOP Rep. Zach Nunn. It’s the latest in a string of trips Vance has made this year to shore up Republicans in close races. The Iowa trip is also a convenient stop to meet voters in the shadow 2028 presidential race, though Vance has been noncommittal about his plans. In a statement, Nunn said Vance “understands that the path to keeping our majority runs through Iowa, and the best way to hold this district is … by showing up everywhere, listening to Iowans, and delivering on their priorities in Washington.” Sarah Trone Garriott, the likely Democratic challenger in the district, said Nunn “voted with party leaders like JD Vance and special interests to close clinics in our community while raising costs on everything from health care to gas and groceries for Iowa families.”

— Nicholas Wu

Hiring surges in March, but economists wary of war

US employers went on a hiring spree in March, a welcome signal in a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that also found job openings remained flat and layoffs ticked up. The official US hiring rate hit 3.5% — the highest it’s been since 2024. Hiring was especially strong in transportation, warehousing, and utilities, and was solid in professional and business services. The labor market has been branded in recent years as a “low fire, low hire” environment, but the hiring pickup could signal a return to greater dynamism. Still, economists say the war in Iran is a risk to the labor market as disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continues to push up the prices of oil, fertilizer, and other commodities, which all threaten to increase inflation.

View: The real oil price shock is getting closer

The great repricing is underway. As much as oil has spiked since the Iran war began, analysts have been more surprised it hasn’t gone higher. There are signs that’s about to change. The market didn’t take kindly to the first day of “Project Freedom,” the US’ latest effort to safeguard ships through the Strait of Hormuz. At least two US-flagged ships managed to pass, but Iran launched new attacks on oil storage facilities and tankers. Brent remains around $114 per barrel, and US gasoline prices are pushing $5 per gallon. Barclays and the World Bank significantly upped their forecasts for prices during the rest of the year and Goldman Sachs warned supplies of refined products are poised to fall sharply in Asia, Africa, and Europe. “The market hasn’t seen the full impact yet,” ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods warned last week.

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White House

• Marty Makary, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, is on thin ice with the White House for refusing to approve flavored vapes, a priority President Trump has discussed with Makary directly. — WSJ
• The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a rule change that would allow publicly traded companies to report earnings twice a year instead of quarterly.
• The Commerce Department signed deals with Microsoft, xAI, and Google DeepMind that will allow the government to vet the companies’ AI models for national security risks before they are released.

Congress

• A group of House Democrats wrote a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging the Trump administration to publicly acknowledge Israel’s undeclared nuclear weapons program given the risk of military escalation in the war in Iran. — WaPo
• Senate Republicans proposed $1 billion to pay for new White House security measures, setting off an immediate debate about whether the money would cover President Trump’s ballroom. — WaPo

Campaigns

• A survey by the University of Houston of likely voters in the May 2026 Texas Republican primary runoff found that Attorney General Ken Paxton (48%) leads incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (45%).

Courts

• Pennsylvania is suing an AI chatbot company over chatbots that allegedly illegally present as doctors.

World

• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is scheduled to visit China tomorrow at Beijing’s invitation.
• President Trump took a shot again at Pope Leo XIV today over his stance on the Iran war, which Leo dismissed, saying the Catholic Church’s mission is to “preach peace.” Leo is scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio Thursday.

Health

• Officials at the FDA have prevented the release of several studies that found the COVID-19 and shingles vaccines to be safe in recent months. — NYT
• An interim report produced for the National Park Service found lead, chromium, and other toxic metals present in material from the demolition of the White House East Wing that was dumped at a historic golf course. — AP

Media

• Media investor James Murdoch is in talks to buy Vox Media’s New York Magazine and its podcast division. — WSJ

— Job posting for trial attorney at the Department of Justice Civil Division, which Bloomberg reports is struggling with recruitment.

Laura McGann, editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor, and Morgan Chalfant, Washington briefing editor

Graph Massara and Lauren Morganbesser, copy editors

Contact our reporters:

Burgess Everett, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott, Nicholas Wu, David Weigel