Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for April 30, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

THE LATEST

The 76-day partial shutdown will end after the House voted to fund much of DHS sans immigration enforcement. The bill now heads to Donald Trump’s desk, where he’s expected to sign it soon. The bill has been languishing in the lower chamber since the Senate passed it earlier this month.

• Hard-line conservatives objected, calling the approach “offensive” to ICE and Border Patrol agents: “While we are all unified in funding the rest of DHS, we are absolutely horrified that we are blowing up the appropriations process to target those brave men and women,” Rep. Chip Roy said.

Janet Mills dropped out of the U.S. Senate race in Maine this morning after polls repeatedly found her lagging badly behind Graham Platner in the primary to face Sen. Susan Collins in the fall. Republicans are giddy about getting their preferred opponent, who has a history of comments disparaging women and rural Americans.

THE HILL

The House passed the farm bill after a chaotic week of procedural fights, last-minute negotiations and a near collapse of the deal. Republicans were split over state pesticide labeling laws and year-round sales of E15 ethanol fuel, which generally can’t be sold in the summer driving season.

• The fate of the bill in the Senate isn’t clear but a new farm bill hasn’t been passed since 2018.

Susan Collins today became the first Republican senator to switch her position on curbing the president’s power regarding the ongoing war with Iran. She voted with Sen. Rand Paul and nearly every Democrat on a war powers resolution, though the measure ultimately failed by a vote of 47-50.

THE ADMINISTRATION

More early broadcast license reviews are coming, FCC Chair Brendan Carr said at a press conference. He denied the decision to review ABC-owned stations came after pressure from Trump, who wants Jimmy Kimmel fired for his “expectant widow” joke.

• “I think there should be another one here soon on the radio side, where we do a short renewal cycle as well,” Carr said.

Trump ditched Casey Means as his surgeon general nominee, replacing her with Nicole Saphier, a doctor and Fox News contributor who has been a vocal critic of vaccine mandates. Means did not appear to have enough support in the Senate, in part because she never completed a residency after medical school.

The mere fact that Saphier has a professional medical background — she’s a radiologist in New Jersey — is likely to increase her odds of confirmation greatly, public health experts told NOTUS.

The ceasefire with Iran should delay tomorrow’s 60-day deadline requiring Congress to authorize a war before the president must remove military forces, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing this morning.

• “I do not believe the statute would support that,” Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine countered. “I think the 60 days runs out maybe tomorrow — a really important legal question for the administration there. We have serious constitutional concerns, and we don’t want to layer those with additional statutory concerns.”

THE CAMERA ADDS 10 POUNDS

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