‘Weeks, Rather Than Months’

Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for March 2, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

The Latest

Donald Trump won’t rule out ground troops in Iran. “I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground,” the president told the New York Post. “[E]very president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it. I say ‘probably don’t need them,’ [or] ‘if they were necessary.’”

• Trump predicted that the war would last four or five weeks but said the U.S. has “the capability to go far longer than that.” Stop us if you’ve heard that one before.
• The U.S. says six Americans have now been killed in the war.
• The Trump administration has offered several different explanations for why it attacked Iran, but, as Politico notes, it hasn’t produced evidence to support them.
• Kuwait shot down three U.S. fighter planes. U.S. Central Command says it was an accident, and that everyone on board ejected safely.
• Early polling has found widespread opposition to the war. Trump said he doesn’t care.
• The war isn’t starting an oil crisis in the United States — yet. NOTUS’ Anna Kramer explains why.

Congressional Democrats said Trump needs to explain his reasoning. “I have seen no evidence of an imminent threat from Iran against the United States or our interests,” Sen. Mark Warner said in a video. “The administration itself has given three answers. Are we going after their nuclear weapons? Their ballistic missiles? Regime change?”

Congress won’t declare war, but The Associated Press already has.

The Hill

Rep. Ryan Zinke will not seek reelection. The Republican from Montana said he needs to focus on medical treatment for injuries he suffered as a Navy SEAL.

Rep. Nancy Mace is under investigation for alleged improper reimbursements on her Washington home. The Office of Congressional Conduct said there was evidence Mace repeatedly filed for reimbursement for an amount that exceeded the total of the property’s expenses.

• She’s also in an online feud with Rep. Ilhan Omar. Mace accused Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib of being allies of Iran’s supreme leader. Omar accused Mace of being drunk. Mace corrected Omar for using the word “restrain” when she meant “refrain.”

The Administration

The Trump administration asked for a pause on processing tariff refunds. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said no.

The administration is dropping its fight with law firms with ties to Democrats.

HHS told its employees to stop using Claude after the president called Anthropic a “supply chain risk” run by “Leftwing nut jobs.”

The president has a red rash on his neck. His doctor said it’s because he’s using a “very common cream.”

The Campaign Trail

After months of bitter fighting, Sen. John Cornyn said he’d support state Attorney General Ken Paxton for Senate should he lose the Texas primary tomorrow, The New York Times reports. Cornyn said Democrats James Talarico and Rep. Jasmine Crockett were unfit to represent the state: “These people should be running for the Senate in California, not in Texas.”

Rep. Kevin Kiley will dodge a race against Rep. Tom McClintock by running in California’s 6th District rather than its 5th. McClintock said he “made the right decision.”

So Apparently We’re Doing This Again?

Thank you for reading! Today’s newsletter was produced by Kate Nocera and Andrew Burton. If you liked 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.