Bondi Voyage!

Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for March 31, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

The Latest

Pam Bondi’s out as attorney general and her fellow former Trump attorney Todd Blanche is in, the president announced this afternoon. Sources tell NOTUS that Donald Trump was frustrated with Bondi in part due to lack of movement on Justice Department cases against his enemies.

Some senators are planning to pitch the White House to appoint Sen. Mike Lee as the next attorney general, sources told NOTUS.

• Bondi faced bipartisan criticism for her handling of the Epstein files. The House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena for her testimony over the files — but that may not happen now. Oversight’s chair, Rep. James Comer, will speak to committee members and the DOJ about next steps, a committee spokesperson told NBC’s Ryan Nobles.
• Bondi is the second member of Trump’s Cabinet to be dismissed this year, but it’s possible she won’t be the last: two sources told NOTUS that the president has been asking around about Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, whom one source said was in “hot water.”
• Next steps TBD: “We love Pam, and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector, to be announced at a date in the near future,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The Hill

The DHS funding bill goes back to the House, again. Senators today unanimously approved a procedural vote to send back the bill that would end the partial shutdown, only this time it had Mike Johnson’s approval.

• The bill doesn’t include any of the reforms to immigration enforcement Democrats demanded after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and the pathway to funding ICE and parts of CBP is still murky.
• John Thune said this morning that Republicans are “singularly” focused on funding those two agencies with the bill, and that leadership would make any bill “narrow” and “as focused as possible.”
• In an exclusive interview with NOTUS’ Al Weaver, Thune described the topsy-turvy push to fund most of the DHS as a “wild ride.”

The Administration

Congressional Democrats are investigating the millions of dollars in federal contracts linked to Corey Lewandowski during Kristi Noem’s tenure as DHS secretary, NOTUS’ Reese Gorman and Anna Kramer report. The investigation scrutinizes a former State Department employee, William Walters, who is connected to contracts worth hundreds of millions and who has donated to pro-Trump groups.

Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on Oversight, requested information about Walters’ relationships with Lewandowski and Salus Worldwide Solutions, which lists Walters as CEO. Garcia’s letter said that Salus was “allegedly directing subcontractors to funnel taxpayer dollars to consultants affiliated with Mr. Lewandowski.”

• Lewandowski’s office denied benefitting from any companies tied to Walters: “Mr. Lewandowski has never done business with or been compensated by the companies referred in any way, shape or form.”

The White House

Trump’s ballroom cleared a procedural hurdle today when the National Capital Planning Commission — which the president filled with his own allies — voted 8-1 to approve the 90,000-square-foot building, The Washington Post reports.

• Officials have previously said that construction could start this month, but a court ruling Tuesday put a halt to construction. The White House has notified the court that it will appeal.

Happiest Place On Earth

Thank you for reading! Today’s newsletter was produced by Kate Nocera and Andrew Burton. If you liked it, please forward it to a friend. If someone shared it with you, please subscribe — it’s free! Got a tip or comments to share? Email us at finalnotus@notus.com.