• Trump’s presser: President Donald Trump and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine gave a press conference Monday detailing the daring rescue of a downed Air Force Colonel from deep inside Iranian territory. The rescue was a moment of high patriotism and monetary cost, although, thankfully, no lives were lost and everyone was extracted safely. The presser then turned to the future of Iran and Operation Epic Fury. After having previously admonished Tehran to make a deal by Tuesday at 8 p.m., lest bridges and power plants across the country be destroyed, Trump this morning said, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” Many around the world and inside Iran are begging Trump not to strike civilian infrastructure. Hopefully, the Islamic regime will make a deal today.

• Army chief of staff ordered to retire: Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George was asked to retire immediately by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth last Thursday. Gen. George was thanked for his service and wished well in his retirement by chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. Another War Department official said of the decision, “It was time for a leadership change in the Army.” Vice Chief Gen. Christopher LaNeve will now serve as the acting chief of staff. There are suggestions that this move is an escalation in disagreements between Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. On the other hand, with Gen. George’s retirement, the majority of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have been let go since the beginning of Trump’s second term, with only the Marine Commandant and the Space Force head remaining.

• David Daleiden’s case formally expunged: The prosecution of pro-life journalist David Daleiden for simply doing his job is finally over. Recall that back in 2015, then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris went after Daleiden, who was charged in 2017 by then-California Attorney General Xavier Becerra with 15 felonies over his undercover investigative journalism exposing Planned Parenthood’s illegal selling of fetal tissue from aborted babies. Instead of Planned Parenthood facing prosecution, it was Daleiden who was targeted for breaking state law for secretly videotaping individuals without their permission. Now, all criminal charges against Daleiden have been dismissed and expunged. The dismissals are in accordance with the terms of a 2025 settlement. Daleiden responded to the development by observing that “putting an end to the lawfare launched by Kamala Harris is a huge victory… Now we all must get to work to protect families and infants from the criminal abortion-industrial complex.”

• SCOTUS vacates Steve Bannon’s criminal conviction: On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling against former Trump campaign adviser Steve Bannon. Bannon was appealing his conviction for criminal contempt of Congress, for which he already served jail time. The Court issued a statement vacating the judgment and remanded it back “to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for further consideration in light of the pending motion to dismiss the indictment.” Bannon’s argument is that his refusal to testify before Congress was not a willful flouting of the law but was in keeping with his counsel’s legal advice. Bannon was clearly a target of Democrat lawmakers in connection with the January 6 Capitol Hill riot, and his refusal to submit to a congressional subpoena resulted in him being held in contempt and serving four months in jail. Solicitor General D. John Sauer also sought the dismissal, arguing that it was “in the interests of justice.”

• Tracking Artemis II: On Monday night, the four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft Integrity traveled farther from Earth than any other human being before them. The Integrity made a historic flyby of the far side of the moon, putting them out of contact with NASA for 40 minutes, which ended with Astronaut Christina Koch’s message at 7:24 p.m.: “We are happy to say, ‘We copy.’” The crew are making numerous scientific observations, including of impact flashes on the Earth side of the moon as meteors strike the surface. In a more touching moment, the crew suggested naming one crater “Carroll” in honor of Commander Reid Wiseman’s deceased wife. The crew will be returning to Earth over the next few days and are expected to make landfall on April 10. “We will visit again. We will construct science outposts,” Koch said of the moon. “But ultimately we will always choose Earth.”

• The changing middle class: The middle class is shrinking. Or maybe it’s growing. Or maybe it depends on the observer. According to research by the American Enterprise Institute, in 1979, 36% of families were in the “core” of the middle class, while 54% fell short and 11% ranked above. In 2024, only 31% of families fell into the core of the middle class, while 34% fell below. Furthermore, for the first time, more families (35%) were upper middle class or above than were below the middle class. Scott Winship, co-author of the AEI report, explained, “The whole distribution of Americans, from poor to rich, has done better over time.” So while the middle class may have shrunk and may receive a smaller share of the income than 50 years ago, that’s primarily because so many families have jumped into the upper middle class.

• RNC sues Virginia over out-of-state voters: The Republican National Committee has raised a lawsuit against Virginia’s voting system, alleging that the state is allowing people to cast ballots in elections while not actually residing in the state. The RNC’s lawsuit asserts, “Voting by individuals who are not and have never been Virginia residents dilutes the votes of qualified Virginia voters, undermines the integrity of Virginia’s electoral process, and inflicts concrete harms on political parties that compete in Virginia elections." The case hinges on Virginia’s policy allowing former Virginia residents who move overseas to remain legal voters, as well as their adult children, even if those children have never resided in the state.

• Judge refuses to order restart of Medicaid in MN: President Trump got a win in federal court over his administration’s action to withhold over $250 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota following revelations of massive fraud related to the program in the state. Judge Eric Tostrud rejected the state’s attempt to recoup the frozen funds, noting the fact that Minnesota has yet to take serious steps to rectify the problem. "Though Minnesota credibly complains that the federal government’s deferral is historically unprecedented in its size and timing, I conclude on this record that the deferral likely complies with the controlling federal regulations,” Tostrud wrote. MN Attorney General Keith Ellison filed the lawsuit, arguing that withholding Medicaid funding harmed legitimate beneficiaries and claiming that the Trump administration had singled out the state for punishment. However, Tosturd found that, given the scope of the state’s fraud problem, the federal government had valid reasons for its action.

• The EU passes a measure to start mass deportations: The European Union is finally starting to do something about the immigrants overrunning their countries, voting to deport asylum seekers who have been rejected to “return hubs.” The EU plans to build these detention facilities outside the 27-nation bloc, where the deported migrants will wait to then be sent back to their countries of origin or one that will accept them. Some of the EU countries are negotiating with African nations to host several of the “return hubs,” while Italy is in talks with Albania. Those who are opposed to the initiative cite the human rights abuses that will likely come as a result of the hubs being beyond EU oversight, creating a “legal black hole.” However, the majority of Europeans want to uphold the rights of their own citizens. As a Swedish MEP noted after the vote, “There is a new consensus in Europe. The era of deportations has begun.”

Headlines

• U.S. strikes Iran’s oil-critical Kharg Island (NY Post)

• Two more pharmaceutical companies to officially launch on TrumpRx (CBS News)

• More than 1,000 IRS employees jilted student loan repayment program (Washington Times)

• Maine Supreme Court shoots down Dems’ ranked-choice voting scheme (The Federalist)

The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.