Say My Name, Say My Name

Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for August 5, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

THE LATEST

Michigan finally has its Democratic Senate nominee in Abdul El-Sayed, whose razor-thin race was called this morning after weeks of touting expectations for a blowout victory. His previous opponents, Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, have lined up behind him.

What do his potential colleagues think? A quick search among Michigan Dems shows only Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet and Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s personal X accounts have congratulated El-Sayed by name today. Rep. Hillary Scholten’s personal account issued a congratulatory statement that did not name the Senate nominee.

• Retiring Michigan Sen. Gary Peters — who says he’ll back El-Sayed — bashed reporting that showed the candidate up by double digits based on internal polling. He told NOTUS’ Igor Bobic it was a “technique as old politics itself. We saw polls that were questionable right from the start for me.”

The NSRC put up its first attack ad today, calling him “Abdulrahman Muhammad El-Sayed — the most radical Senate candidate in America.”

• “That’s the only play they got,” El-Sayed told voters this morning. “My name is not raising your gas prices. My name is not taking us to war.”

THE HILL

The allegations against Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) prompted different statements from the House’s two women’s caucuses. Democrats called for his resignation, while Republican Women’s Caucus Chair Kat Cammack said she respected the Ethics Committee’s need to follow due process.

• Cammack, who is working to tackle workplace sexual misconduct on the Hill, called the situation “painful” for everyone involved: “My heart especially breaks for the little girl caught in the middle.”

The Senate confirmed CDC director nominee Erica Schwartz, the agency’s first permanent director in nearly a year.

THE ADMINISTRATION

Donald Trump’s helicopter taking off triggered an air-traffic safety incident at DCA yesterday when Marine One potentially got closer than the acceptable range between aircraft.

A California judge held the Homeland Security Department in contempt for allegedly slow-rolling an order to produce data from last year’s controversial Los Angeles immigration raids.

Trump sought to shield his business finances from the BBC in a defamation lawsuit in an emergency stay motion today.

THE STATES

Amir Hassan, the Trump-endorsed candidate in MI-8, trailed Thomas J. Smith by about 17 percentage points after yesterday’s primary — even though Smith had already dropped out of the race. Smith accepted his nomination in a statement today.

• Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar lost his reelection bid in MI-13 to state Rep. Donavan McKinney, and conceded the race today.

New Mexico’s attorney general is suing Todd Blanche and the DOJ for allegedly blocking access to unredacted Epstein files, as “one of the few jurisdictions that still may have an opportunity to hold Epstein’s associates accountable.”

STRANGER THAN FICTION

Thank you for reading! Today’s newsletter was produced by Kelly Poe and Erik Schutz. 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.