Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for August 4, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
THE LATEST
House Ethics opened a probe into Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) today after he requested an investigation in hopes of clearing his own name “from these horrific attacks on myself and family.”
- Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), his ex-father-in-law, told reporters today he doesn’t care about the politics of the situation: “This is truly the seventh level of hell. This has been a horrific experience for my entire family.”
THE HILL
Trending
Todd Blanche advanced via committee vote today, but his confirmation is still on thin ice, with several Republicans yet to say they will back the acting attorney general.
- Sign of the times: “There’s nothing we could do to rein in the president when he said he likes the fund and he wishes it still exists,” Sen. John Cornyn told reporters, reiterating that it’s dead. “That’s all we could do under these circumstances.”
House Republican leadership is privately pushing Rep. Chuck Edwards to drop out after Ethics recommended censuring the North Carolina Republican.
The Senate is proposing temporarily blocking a pathway for the White House to cancel grants for any reason at any time. But it wouldn’t undo the administration’s takeover of the federal grants process that’s already underway.
THE ADMINISTRATION
Trump plans to spend $1.4 billion to keep the National Guard in D.C. until 2029.
Trump ordered changes to the new White House South Lawn helipad, after weeks of around-the-clock work, because of the area’s slope, The Washington Post reports.
The big white box U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro wheeled to the White House? A case of evidence to show Trump that shoddy construction had caused the Reflecting Pool damage, CBS reports.
THE COURTS
An appeals court blocked Trump from rescinding billions in climate funds issued under former President Joe Biden.
Absentee voting in Wisconsin discriminates against disabled voters, a judge ruled today, siding with groups who want to force election officials to allow the electronic casting of ballots.
GRAB THE POPCORN
A guy steps into the White House, wanders through its halls and discovers, at its very center, a really big television. https://t.co/eXbILb91ul
— willy 🌜💧 (@willystaley) August 4, 2026
THANK YOU FOR READING
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