Today’s notice: What comes after the primaries. Elizabeth Warren crosses the aisle. Double-checking White House crime stats. Tom Sietsema reviews The Ned. And: buying nuclear.
THE LATEST
Let’s pivot to the general, shall we? In 82 days, the midterm election will be officially here.
If it’s been a minute since you thought about it, let us catch you up. News cycle after news cycle brought Democratic tea parties, campaigns imploding under scandal, tests of Donald Trump’s endorsement power, debating the importance of TV ad buys, learning who Hasan Piker is, polling-pocalypses and all other the fun (or: “fun”) stuff the primaries have been about. After all that, the general election is still about the same thing it was the last time you checked: prices.
Trending
Call it affordability, call it the economy, stupid, call it whatever you want. Just make sure you call it salient. Surveys show over and over: Voters want to know how their electeds will make things cheaper.
Politicians are more clued into this than some might think. Before they left town, NOTUS’ Manuela Silva asked senators the one word they thought would define the election. “Economy,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina). “Affordability,” said Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah). “Costs,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota).
“Gas,” said Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas). “I can’t say, ‘cost of gas’?” We’ll allow it.
Shifting the conversation to prices is crucial to any midterm strategy. Democrats say they can do it easily, pointing to drama-free unity rallies and the surge of voters turning out for all types of Democrats this year as evidence they can put messy primaries behind them quickly. Besides, a good deal of primary season ads were about prices. But it was sometimes quite nasty out there, with ideological purity tests dominating many races. Can all that be back-burnered until the party’s traditional circular firing squad returns to prominence, 30 seconds or so after the November polls close?
Republicans have a different challenge: the toll of the Iran war and how much voters don’t like it. “We get a lot of calls about it into the office. They’re just wearing out on it,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) told NOTUS’ Al Weaver. “They don’t want to see boots on the ground. They don’t want to see our money going there.” It’s hard to move on from something that is still happening, especially when it affects the cost of gas.
Open tabs: Trump administration again urges Supreme Court intervention on mail ballots (Reuters); The backlash to social media bans has already begun (Politico); Lawsuit seeks to ban Trump Media from charging for early access to president’s posts on US policy (AP); Take a look at Trump’s Kennedy Center renovation plans (Axios)
From the Hill
Republican senators’ favorite Democrat? No, it’s not Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has worked on a slew of bipartisan populist legislation co-sponsored by the likes of Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Bernie Moreno of Ohio — not generally seen as among their party’s ideological squishes, NOTUS’ Avani Kalra reports. “We have a great work relationship,” Hawley said about Warren.
From the White House
Karoline Leavitt’s exit: The president’s press secretary says she’s leaving the gig for greener pastures. That kicked off a round of D.C. gossip reasoned speculation about who might take the briefing-room lectern next. One person close to the White House told NOTUS’ Jasmine Wright that her replacement would almost certainly come from outside and not from the current press office.
Running the numbers: The White House misrepresented and exaggerated a recent crime report to overstate the impact of last summer’s federal intervention in four cities, NOTUS’ Ben T.N. Mause reports. The White House cited a Council on Criminal Justice report to say drops in homicides were most pronounced in cities where Trump has surged federal agents. But the underlying data doesn’t support that claim.
“President Trump promised to make America safe again and the data proves he has done just that,” a White House spokesperson responded.
NOTUS METRO
Sign up for our local newsletter, written by Martin Austermuhle and Zara Norman.
Local news: Ned’s Club Is Buzzy, Exclusive — And a Work in Progress, by Tom Sietsema
Also, from Sietsema: Talk to Tom: Where to Go for D.C.’s Restaurant Week
Sports desk: Commanders Show Few Weaknesses in Joint Practice With Dolphins, by Martenzie Johnson
NEW ON NOTUS
The president’s nuclear portfolio: Trump has invested between $6.4 million and $19.45 million in U.S. nuclear technology companies or utility companies that operate nuclear reactors, NOTUS’ Jade Lozada reports. These holdings stand to pay off big if Trump’s promise to dramatically expand nuclear power generation in America comes to pass.
The two things have a close connection — the administration’s nuclear campaign kicked off last May, with Trump signing four executive orders favorable to the industry. Within three weeks, Trump acquired between $114,000 and $485,000 of stock in energy companies with nuclear facilities, including several five-figure purchases on the same day.
More: ICE Wants to Give Agents Gloves That Deliver Electric Shocks, by Manuela Silva
Energy Department Abandons Biden-Era Plans for More Power Lines, by Anna Kramer and Mara Hoplamazian
Rep. Max Miller’s Ex-Wife Sues Him Over Photo He Shared of Their Daughter, by Jenna Monnin
A Small Texas Law Firm Backs Out of HHS Contract After Backlash, by Manuela Silva
NOT US
- Inside the White House bet that Netanyahu’s peace plan rejection is for show, by Myah Ward and Megan Messerly for Politico
- Mamdani’s Honeymoon With New York Is Over, by James Fanelli for The Wall Street Journal
- Hong’s defeat shows the left evolving further away from 2020, by David Weigel for Semafor
BE SOCIAL
Can’t argue with the math.
Karoline Leavitt lasted 50.7 Scaramuccis. Surprised by this, I thought she was going to last longer.
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) August 12, 2026
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The newsletter was produced by Thomas Burr, Brett Bachman and Andrew Burton. Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/AP.
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