Recon Retcon

Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for July 14, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

THE LATEST

The House floor is back open for business for the first time in weeks.

Up ahead, Mike Johnson and the White House want to push a narrow Reconciliation 3.0 through the House by the end of the week with defense, agriculture and SAVE America provisions. They’re aiming for a Budget Committee markup and vote on Thursday.

• But rank-and-file House Republicans feel left in the dark as plans progress.

• Leadership, including Johnson, Steve Scalise and several committee chairs, headed to the White House today to discuss Reconciliation 3.0. Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers says the emerging defense figure is insufficient.

Senate Democrats blocked the advancement of the annual defense policy bill in opposition to the ongoing Iran war.

THE ADMINISTRATION

Trump backed down from threats to implement a toll for ships going through the Strait of Hormuz after pressure from Gulf states. The proposed 20% fee would be replaced with “trade and investment deals,” he said on Truth Social.

• The U.S. will be “doing a lot of deals” with Iraq and “taking out a lot of oil” going forward, Trump told reporters today before a visit with Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi.

ICE agents will temporarily halt car stops after two fatal shootings in Houston and Maine.

The National Guard will remain deployed in Washington, D.C., through the next presidential inauguration.

A bizarre court battle is trapping DHS’ citizenship database — and with it, states’ attempts to pare down voter rolls before the midterms.

THE HILL

A bipartisan set of senators introduced a revamped Russia sanctions bill following Lindsey Graham’s death.

• Darline Graham (R-South Carolina) was sworn in this afternoon to fill her brother’s seat. Her appointment brings women’s representation in the Senate to a record high.

“Black eye”: Progressives in Congress are reckoning with Graham Platner’s Maine Senate collapse.

THE COURTS

Supreme Court justices told Congress today that more must be spent on their security as safety risks increase.

Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia grad student, is suing the federal government and private organizations for allegedly conspiring to suppress Israel critics. The suit cited the Ku Klux Klan Act, a Reconstruction-era law restricting government coordination with vigilante groups.

IT’S ALWAYS IOWA

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