Today’s notice: The Senate says goodbye to the SAVE America Act. Expect to be yelled at if you’re outside the WHCD tomorrow night. A fight for the future of the Democratic Party in the middle of one of America’s most reliably Republican states. Plus: Congressional Democrats aren’t as old as they think they are.

THE LATEST

There’s no saving the SAVE America Act: Ardent proponents of the measure have “convinced themselves that the longer it hangs around, the more popular it gets,” a Senate Republican told NOTUS. But, “the reality is — I’m quite certain they haven’t gained a single vote, and may have lost a few with time,” added the lawmaker, one of many relieved to see the effective end of Donald Trump’s favorite voting bill.

For now, that is: Senate Republican leaders have removed the SAVE America Act from pending business this week so they could move on to budget votes.

NOTUS’ Al Weaver reports on the frayed nerves among Republicans who have faced friendly fire over the bill, which cannot pass without eliminating the filibuster. It’s something supporters — the president included — have been told over and over will not happen given the makeup of the Senate GOP conference. Spiking everyone’s cortisol is Sen. Mike Lee, who has been posting video after video calling out his colleagues.

“First of all, how do you have the time to do all of this?” a Republican senator fumed about Lee. “And how is this a priority in a serious institution of intellects discussing big stuff?”

But Lee’s not done yet: “It’s not on the floor right now, but we’re gonna get back to it,” he told NOTUS earlier this week.

Don’t forget to smile tomorrow! Photos of dolled-up reporters navigating through waves of angry protesters outside the Washington Hilton have become an iconic part of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner weekend. There’s been plenty of talk about how journalists should respond to the media-critic-in-chief, who is preparing to attend the event for the first time as president. But NOTUS’ Adora Brown previews what’s in store for them.

Code Pink plans to parade around a protester dressed as a handcuffed Pete Hegseth in an orange jumpsuit as part of its “War Crimes Correspondents’ Dinner”-themed action. Making people uncomfortable is the point. “If you’re not walking into that door planning on disrupting, what are you doing there?” group organizer Olivia DiNucci said.

“For an event celebrating the First Amendment, what’s more apt than people exercising that right outside the building?” one Washington correspondent told Jasmine.

But if the reporters in those photos look a little annoyed, it’s because many of them will be. “I don’t think anyone who’s familiar with the WHCA thinks this is a dinner that is truly in honor of Trump,” one White House reporter said. Just look at the reporters being honored, they said: Josh Dawsey and Kaitlan Collins among them. Not exactly water carriers for the president.

Open tabs: Trump’s Dreams for a Battleship Led to His Navy Secretary’s Ouster (NYT); U.S. Soldier Involved in Maduro Raid Accused of Betting on the Operation (NOTUS); Kristi Noem Has Continued Using a Waterfront Coast Guard House Since Ouster (WSJ); Trump says he’ll renovate ‘filthy’ reflecting pool on National Mall (NBC)

From the Hill

First on NOTUS: Gabby Giffords, a former House Democrat from Arizona, tried to speak with Mike Johnson after a recent mass shooting in his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, but he declined. Giffords, who survived her own shooting to become one of the country’s most prominent advocates for gun-violence prevention, reached out to the speaker this week after the horrifying incident, NOTUS’ Daniella Diaz reports.

“I want us to work together to ensure it never happens again. I mourn for your constituents, as I trust you do, and I know there are bipartisan reforms that can save lives,” Giffords wrote Johnson in a letter dated Wednesday. “I hoped to discuss this with you on the telephone and was disappointed when you declined my request.”

Johnson’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Who will be the House Armed Services Committee’s next leader? It’s a question that won’t be resolved until after the midterms — but campaigning is already underway, NOTUS’ Joe Gould reports.

Reps. Trent Kelly and Rob Wittman are vying to replace Rep. Mike Rogers on the powerful panel, and the showdown is heating up. Oh, and Rep. Ronny Jackson, a close Trump ally, told Politico this week that he’s considering a bid as well.

From the White House

No end in sight: The president bristled at multiple questions from reporters yesterday who asked how long the war with Iran, now approaching the 60-day mark, would continue.

“Don’t rush me,” Trump said when asked how long he would give the Iranians to come up with a “unified” proposal — something he has requested but given no deadline for.

Trump said the war has only been going on for six weeks. Reporters corrected him that it has actually been eight weeks. Pushed by Jasmine, who asked for his message to Americans who question how much longer the war could last, the president snapped.

“You’re such a disgrace, do you know what I just said? Vietnam, how many years was Vietnam?” he answered. “I don’t want to rush myself, you know, because every story says, ‘Oh, Trump is under time pressure’. I’m not. No, no, you know who is under time pressure? They are.”

Meanwhile, Trump last night announced a three-week ceasefire extension between Israel and Lebanon.

From the campaign trail

First on NOTUS: Trust-buster endorsements. Fight Corporate Monopolies, a progressive populist-economic group representing the wing of Democrats most excited by Joe Biden’s FTC chair, Lina Khan, is directly endorsing political candidates for the first time starting today.

The highest-profile candidates are attorneys general — the group is backing Colorado AG Phil Weiser’s bid for governor, as well others up for reelection like Keith Ellison in Minnesota and Letitia James in New York. Other candidates include state legislators.

From Utah

More like Blue-tah? “Normally, I don’t think Bernie [Sanders] would get involved in Utah races,” Democratic pollster Adam Carlson told NOTUS’ Christa Dutton. “But there’s such an opportunity here.”

The incredibly active primary in Utah’s newly drawn 1st Congressional District shows progressives were serious when they vowed to leave no safe Democratic seat unchallenged this cycle. Christa talks to the main players in the race — former Rep. Ben McAdams from the center and state Sen. Nate Blouin from the left — about having a fight for the soul of the Democratic Party in the middle of one of the nation’s most reliably Republican states.

This may be the least stereotypically Utah district imaginable. Another candidate for the 1st District Democratic nomination, Salt Lake City Council member Eva Lopez Chavez, saw her campaign thrown into chaos yesterday after four people accused her of unwanted sexual advances. (She denied the claims through an attorney.)

NOTUS PERSPECTIVES

Dana Milbank mostly ignored politics for 10 months. Today, at NOTUS Perspectives, he looks back at what he missed — and concludes that while Trump hasn’t changed, America has.

NEW ON NOTUS

You’re only as old as you feel: After the passing of the late Rep. David Scott at age 80, House Democrats are once again in an argument over how old their caucus is. But NOTUS’ Paul Kane writes that the median age of House Democrats and Republicans is actually almost exactly the same, with both coming in at about 57.5-years-old at the start of 2025 — and the Democratic caucus is only getting younger.

More: The Trump Administration Has Approved Just One ‘Gold Card’ Visa So Far, by Torrie Herrington

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill Are Learning to Love AI, by Igor Bobic and Samuel Larreal

House Democrats Are Investigating FEMA Contractor Tied to Corey Lewandowski, by Reese Gorman and Anna Kramer

NOT US

• Tony Dokoupil Is the Face of the Bari Weiss Revolution at CBS News. Will He Survive It? By Aidan McLaughlin for Vanity Fair
  
• How Beijing Views the War in Iran, by Isaac Chotiner for The New Yorker
  
• ‘Shall I project a world?’ — ‘The Crying of Lot 49’ episode, by Jason Dick for Roll Call

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