Today in One Sentence. Trump, bypassing Congress, ordered Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin “to immediately pay our TSA Agents” Trump, denying he was “desperate” to make a deal with Iran, said Tehran had “better get serious soon, before it is too late” the Iran war and higher energy prices will push U.S. inflation to 4.2% this year Trump interrupted a Cabinet meeting discussing the war in Iran, long security lines at airports, and rising oil prices to explain how he’s replaced White House pens with custom black-and-gold Sharpies Trump’s signature will be added to U.S. dollars to mark the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence and despite referring to the mail voting as “mail-in cheating,” Trump defended voting by mail in Florida’s special election, saying “because I’m president” and “I had a lot of different things” to do.

1/ Trump, bypassing Congress, ordered Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin “to immediately pay our TSA Agents,” seeking to ease airport disruptions during the partial government shutdown that left Department of Homeland Security unfunded. It’s not clear, however, what legal authority Trump would use or where those funds would come from. The partial shutdown, now in its sixth week, has left TSA officers unpaid, which has contributed to staffing shortages, long security lines, and warnings of possible airport closures. Senate Republicans and Democrats, meanwhile, still haven’t reached a deal to reopen DHS, with Republicans proposing to fund all of DHS except ICE’s deportation operations and Democrats demanding limits on ICE tactics, including rules on masks and judicial warrants. (Associated Press / Washington Post / New York Times / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)

2/ Trump, denying he was “desperate” to make a deal with Iran, said Tehran had “better get serious soon, before it is too late.” After threatening to “obliterate” Iran’s energy infrastructure, he then announced a five-day pause and today extended it by another 10 days, saying that the latest delay came at Iran’s request and that talks were “going very well.” He also insisted Iran was “begging us to make a deal” to end the war. But Iranian officials publicly denied direct negotiations with Washington, saying messages were being passed through mediators. “We’ll see if they ​want to do it. If they don’t, we’re their ​worst nightmare,” Trump said. “In the meantime, we’ll just keep blowing them away.” (ABC News / CNBC / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Axios / Associated Press / Washington Post / Axios / Reuters)

3/ The Iran war and higher energy prices will push U.S. inflation to 4.2% this year, up 1.2 percentage points from its December forecast, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD said the disruptions tied to the conflict, including reduced shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, are raising oil, gas, and fertilizer costs, will push up the costs of food and consumer goods. Markets, meanwhile, suffered their largest daily decline since the war began, with the S&P 500 falling 1.7% and the Nasdaq sliding into correction territory. (Bloomberg / Axios / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / CNBC / Associated Press / New York Times)

  • The U.S. Postal Service said it will impose a temporary 8% fuel surcharge on packages starting April 26. The move follows similar fuel surcharges by FedEx and UPS and comes as the Postal Service lost $9 billion in fiscal 2025 after a $9.5 billion loss in fiscal 2024. (Wall Street Journal / New York Times)

4/ Trump interrupted a Cabinet meeting discussing the war in Iran, long security lines at airports, and rising oil prices to explain how he’s replaced White House pens with custom black-and-gold Sharpies. “See this pen right here?” Trump said. “This pen is an interesting example.” He said the White House had once stocked “beautiful” ballpoint pens that cost $1,000 each, and that he contacted Sharpie and insisted on paying $5 per marker. Online searches, however, show that typical Sharpies usually sell for about $1 to $2 apiece. “We’ve gotta get our priorities straight,” Trump said. (Associated Press)

5/ Trump’s signature will be added to U.S. dollars to mark the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. It’s the first time in U.S. history that the sitting president’s signature appears on American currency. The Treasury Department said the first $100 bills with Trump’s signature will be printed in June, with other bills to follow. The overall design of the notes will remain unchanged, but Trump’s name will appear on the bills until a future administration decides to remove it. (Reuters / Vanity Fair / New York Times)

6/ Despite referring to the mail voting as “mail-in cheating,” Trump defended voting by mail in Florida’s special election, saying “because I’m president” and “I had a lot of different things” to do. He explained that his mail-in ballot qualified as part of an “exception,” but he didn’t say which one, even though he had been in West Palm Beach during the early voting period and his polling place was near Mar-a-Lago. (NBC News / New York Times)

The 2026 midterms are in 222 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 957 days.