Don’t Bring Fish to the Senate

Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for March 11, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

THE LATEST

The International Energy Agency announces its plan for a record oil reserve release, in hopes the markets will stabilize. The IEA agreed to release a record amount of oil to address supply disruptions caused by the U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran.

• The move could buy the world economy 45 to 50 days, one analyst told NOTUS. But it would not prevent an economic crisis if the war goes beyond mid-April, he warned.

• The Strait of Hormuz, which is a critical passage for about 20% of the world’s oil, has been closed since the fighting began. Though Karoline Leavitt told reporters yesterday that U.S. forces escorting tankers through the strait was an option, The Wall Street Journal reports that the military has declined these requests until the threat of Iranian fire eases.

The U.S. military hit the Iranian elementary school, according to the preliminary findings of an ongoing military investigation, The New York Times reports.

• Donald Trump has attempted to shift blame for the strike that killed at least 175. He suggested, without evidence, at a press conference Monday that Iran struck the school, and when asked by a reporter on the South Lawn today about the preliminary findings, he responded, “I don’t know about it.”

• Outdated intelligence might have led to the targeting error, the Times reported. The school used to be a part of an Iranian base.

THE HILL

John Cornyn flip-flops on filibusters: The Texas senator announced today that he supports scrapping the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act.

• Cornyn denied that he’s changed his mind to curry favor with the president, who has not yet endorsed anyone in the runoff primary election between Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

• However: “We don’t have the votes,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters today.

House Republicans are preparing to shut down the Senate’s housing bill because they feel shut out of negotiations, NOTUS exclusively reports.

• “If the Senate thinks we’re going to take this medicine, we’re not,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told members, one House Republican said.

• The bill is aimed at building more homes and has Trump’s support, but the Senate has made changes that have kept many in the House from supporting it.

THE PENTAGON

The Defense Department blocked photographers from briefings on the ongoing conflict with Iran after they published pictures of Secretary Pete Hegseth that his staff deemed “unflattering,” The Washington Post reports.

• Hegseth’s relationship with the press has always been thorny: Last October, hundreds of journalists turned in their Pentagon credentials after refusing to sign a policy that would prohibit them from seeking information the government didn’t authorize.

SMELLS OF THE SENATE

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this newsletter misstated the timing of the planned oil release. The IEA announced an agreement to release reserves today.

Thank you for reading! Today’s newsletter was produced by Matt Berman 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.