Good Friday evening. In this edition: Iran agrees to reopen Strait of Hormuz; and Congress approves short-term FISA extension.
Plus, ICE and FEMA.
Iran War
Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway through which about a fifth of the world's oil transits, following the announcement of a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
"In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on social media.
President Trump praised the decision but said the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, which began Monday, will continue until a long-term deal is reached.
"THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ IS COMPLETELY OPEN AND READY FOR BUSINESS AND FULL PASSAGE, BUT THE NAVAL BLOCKADE WILL REMAIN IN FULL FORCE AND EFFECT AS IT PERTAINS TO IRAN, ONLY, UNTIL SUCH TIME AS OUR TRANSACTION WITH IRAN IS 100% COMPLETE," he wrote on Truth Social.
President Trump later told reporters that U.S. and Iranian negotiators will likely meet face-to-face again in Islamabad this weekend and predicted a deal could be reached within days.
"As soon as the agreement gets signed, that's when the blockade ends," he added.
The governments are hashing out the details of a plan to end the war, with one proposal reportedly involving the U.S. unfreezing $20 billion in Iranian assets in exchange for the country turning over its enriched uranium.
If true, the proposal would mark a notable concession, as President Trump has repeatedly criticized the Obama administration for unfreezing funds as part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which he withdrew from during his first administration.
President Trump, however, appeared to reject that proposal in a subsequent social media post.
"The U.S.A. will get all Nuclear 'Dust,' created by our great B2 Bombers — No money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form," he wrote.
The president also issued a stark warning to Israel, which reluctantly agreed to the Lebanon ceasefire on Thursday, saying the U.S. would "prohibit" Israeli forces from continuing strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah targets.
"This deal is in no way subject to Lebanon, either, but the USA will, separately, work with Lebanon, and deal with the Hezboolah [sic] situation in an appropriate manner," he wrote. "Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer. They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!!!"
The warning followed a video message from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he hinted at further military action against Hezbollah.
"I will say honestly, we have not yet finished the job," he added. "There are things we plan to do regarding the remaining rocket threat and the drone threat, which I will not detail."
President Trump also criticized NATO allies again for refusing to get involved in the conflict.
"Now that the Hormuz Strait situation is over, I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help," he wrote on social media. "I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL. They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger!"
Oil prices plummeted and stocks soared following the announcement of the reopening of the strait, which marked the clearest signal yet that the conflict is coming to a close.
Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, fell about 9% to settle at $90 per barrel, though it remains above its roughly $70 level before the war began in late February.
The S&P 500 rose 1.2%, notching another all-time high, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.5%.
Both chambers of Congress approved a 10-day extension of a key surveillance authority, sending the measure to President Trump's desk ahead of the program's Monday expiration.
The temporary stopgap measure — reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) through April 30 — passed the House very early Friday morning after a pair of longer-term reauthorization bills were defeated amid a GOP rebellion.
The Senate followed suit with a voice vote before leaving town for the weekend.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and President Trump had sought a longer-term renewal of the controversial warrantless surveillance program but were unable to sway privacy-minded conservative hardliners.
The House voted down a five-year reauthorization with program changes in a 200–220 tally, then rejected a "clean" 18-month extension in a 197–228 vote.
The speaker then brought the 10-day extension to the floor, where it was approved by unanimous consent, buying time for further negotiations.
"We were very close tonight. There's some nuances with the language, and some questions need to be answered, and we'll get it done," he told reporters after the vote series. "The extension allows us the time to do that."
Section 702 allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect large amounts of communications involving foreigners without a warrant.
However, communications involving Americans who interact with those overseas surveillance targets can also be incidentally collected, raising privacy concerns.
The House's failure to approve a longer extension suggests changes may be needed to how Americans' data is collected and stored to win over holdouts.
Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, will resign at the end of May, the Homeland Security Department announced. "Director Lyons has been a great leader of ICE and a key player in helping the Trump administration remove murderers, rapists, pedophiles, terrorists, and gang members from American communities," Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement. "We wish him luck on his next opportunity in the private sector." It is unclear who will replace him atop the agency still reeling from intense public scrutiny following incidents in Minneapolis earlier this year in which federal agents killed two U.S. citizens.
President Trump is expected to nominate Cameron Hamilton to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), multipleoutletsreported. Mr. Hamilton previously served as acting FEMA administrator during the early months of President Trump's second term but was fired in May 2025 after testifying before Congress that he disagreed with calls from President Trump and then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to abolish the agency. If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Hamilton would become the first permanent FEMA administrator of the president's second term.
For your radar…
Former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) speak Saturday at a fundraising luncheon hosted by the Michigan Democratic Women's Caucus in Detroit. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN at 11:30am ET.
Govs. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) and Andy Beshear (D-KY) address the Michigan Democratic Party's annual Legacy Dinner fundraiser on Saturday evening. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN at 7:45pm ET.
