Golf the Blues Away

Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for August 3, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

THE LATEST

President Donald Trump complained this morning about the “unbelievably duplicitous” Iranian regime after it denied his assertion that another round of ceasefire negotiations were set to begin.

But he’s having a better time on the links. Trump, 80, apparently won the club championship at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey over the weekend. He posted video this morning of what he called “the winning shot,” a short chip that landed within a few feet of the hole.

• “It’s called TALENT, and I have it, and they don’t!” Trump wrote.

The House Ethics Committee recommended Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-North Carolina) for censure over what it classified as inappropriate relationships with staffers.

• This is the first time the committee has resorted to censure since it knocked former Rep. Charles Rangel (D-New York) in 2010 over improper fundraising, financial disclosures and failure to pay taxes.

THE HILL

Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) have agreed to back Trump’s attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche, after he officially agreed in writing to kill the “anti-weaponization” fund and limit a legal settlement shielding the president and his businesses from IRS audits.

The Senate version of a continuing resolution released over the weekend would prohibit the Office of Management and Budget from implementing an overhaul of the federal grant-approval process that would have handed more power over to the White House.

• The upper chamber is scheduled to vote this evening on the short-term government funding bill.

THE ADMINISTRATION

The president is weighing whether to fire Jeanine Pirro over her decision to drop charges against a formern Olympian who had been accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, CNN reported.

• “Frankly, I think she choked, because the judge was really vicious,” Trump told reporters this afternoon.
• When asked whether he was reconsidering Pirro’s role, Trump called the reporter “fake news.”

Embattled FIFA boss Gianni Infantino called up Marco Rubio this morning in an attempt to shore up U.S. support and protect his job. He’s facing pressure to resign after abandoning a scheme to sell off shares of the World Cup to Joshua Kushner’s private equity firm, the New York Post reported.

The U.S. dollar is weakening against the Japanese yen today after the U.S. Treasury Department made a rare intervention to prop up the floundering currency last week.

The National Park Service assessed that Trump’s massive arch would “adversely” affect dozens of iconic D.C. monuments.

THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

The author of the DNC’s 2024 election “autopsy” claimsrevealed that the document made public by embattled chair Ken Martin earlier this year had a missing chapter. It focused on both President Joe Biden’s ill-fated decision to run for reelection and the reasons Democratic operatives did not properly weigh voters’ affordability concerns, according to The New York Times.

• “That is false,” Martin told the Times. “This alleged report section was not in any binder I reviewed … If we had this in May, we would have released it with the rest of the report.”

THE KING OF SHOCK AND TROLL

THANK YOU FOR READING

Today’s newsletter was produced by Kelly Poe and Jonann Brady. If you like 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.