Axios

Gasoline prices could start reversing nationally in the next two days by dropping a few cents daily, GasBuddy head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan said Tuesday night.

Why it matters: Average U.S. gas prices have climbed more than 70 cents over the past month due to the Iran conflict, presenting a worsening political headache for President Trump.

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) has tapped Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) to join his whip team, replacing former Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) who is now secretary of Homeland Security.

Why it matters: Sheehy will be responsible for sounding out senators on how they intend to vote on consequential pieces of legislation, as Congress weighs a second reconciliation package and a potential supplemental to replenish munitions used in Iran.

Pope Leo XIV denounced President Trump's threat to wipe out Iran's civilization on Tuesday.

The big picture: The first U.S.-born pontiff told reporters in Italian "this threat against the entire people of Iran" is "truly unacceptable," according to a Vatican News translation.

With a few exceptions, congressional Republicans were silent on Tuesday as the clock ticked down on President Trump's threat to wipe out Iranian civilization unless the Strait of Hormuz was reopened.

Why it matters: Republicans in Congress have shown unwavering loyalty to Trump, and the president's threat against Iran appears to be no exception to the long-standing pattern of limited GOP resistance.

Military officers could face a moral dilemma if President Trump follows through on threats to bomb Iran's civilian infrastructure, military law experts tell Axios.

The big picture: Established procedures and rules of warfare dictate that civilian infrastructure is protected from an attack, and though the Joint Chiefs' chair says the U.S. military has abided by "normal procedures," Trump's rhetoric dramatically raises those stakes.

Four states — Tennessee, Utah, Idaho, and Nebraska — say they're interested in hosting the entire range of nuclear energy-related development, including high-level waste.

Why it matters: The Energy Department hopes that by building what amount to nuclear mega-cities for such activities as uranium enrichment and fuel fabrication, states will have to address the thornier problem of waste as well.

The Iran war has scattered the highly concentrated helium supply chain, knocking out a significant share of global production for a practically irreplaceable element.

Why it matters: Helium does more than fill party balloons: It's critical for cooling highly advanced tech and integral to chip production and medical imaging. Now, roughly a third of the world's supply is in limbo.

Calls for President Trump's removal from office reached a fever pitch among congressional Democrats on Tuesday after he threatened that "a whole civilization will die tonight" in a post about Iran.

Why it matters: Lawmakers are openly floating impeachment or even removal via the 25th Amendment — a far cry from the strict taboo around such procedures at the start of Trump's second term.

Progress has been made in the past 24 hours in the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, though reaching a ceasefire deal by President Trump's 8pm ET deadline still looks like a long shot, according to a U.S. official, an Israeli official and two other sources with knowledge of the talks.

• A U.S. official said the thinking in the White House has shifted from "can we get there?" to "can we get there by 8 o'clock tonight?"

Why it matters: Failure to reach a deal by the deadline —or at least make enough progress to convince Trump to extend it— would lead to an unprecedented escalation in the war.

American consumers are bracing for an Iran war inflation jolt, though they don't anticipate the effects will linger.

• That's the upshot of the New York Federal Reserve Bank's March Survey of Consumer Expectations, the first to capture sentiment since the war began.

Why it matters: So far, that is more consistent with a one-time inflation surge than the alternative outcome that might alarm the Fed: signs of unmooring in long-run inflation expectations.