Today\u2019s notice: The speaker is having a long week. Hope you are enjoying redistricting, because it may never end. The state of things (or lack thereof) at the FEC. Democrats are allowing themselves to get excited about Alaska\u2019s Senate race. And: The candidate died in 2013, but their campaign lived on. <\/p>\n
THE LATEST<\/p>\n
No one wants to be like this Mike. As in, Speaker Mike Johnson. NOTUS\u2019 Reese Gorman collected<\/a> this group of descriptors for the Republican leader from members of his conference this week: \u201ccan\u2019t organize a one-car parade\u201d; \u201cobviously doesn\u2019t listen to members\u201d; \u201cchaotic\u201d; and simply: \u201cfucked.\u201d<\/p>\n Yikes. It is a particularly difficult moment for a particularly slim House majority. Nerves are frayed by months of bad generic-ballot polls, special-election struggles, Epstein-related headlines and intraparty disagreements regularly spilling out into the open. Even in rosier times, a speaker bears the brunt of a party\u2019s frustrations. But Reese reports on how this week has been especially rough, with just about everyone mad at Johnson.<\/p>\n One example of why: A controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act extension passed last night over the wishes of conservatives who want tighter restrictions on government surveillance. Johnson wanted it passed, and leveraged another conservative fight to do so \u2014 he swapped FISA votes for a promise to delay another vote on the farm bill, which the more MAHA-minded have turned into an argument about pesticides<\/a>.<\/p>\n But then he scheduled a farm bill vote for today, which made some Republicans who thought they had made a deal feel betrayed. \u201cWe had an agreement today and then you changed it!\u201d Rep. Chip Roy yelled at Johnson yesterday before slamming a door in the speaker\u2019s face.<\/p>\n Johnson says he\u2019s used to the static.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been working really hard to get consensus in here from all corners of the conference and get all viewpoints,\u201d he told NOTUS. \u201cIt\u2019s sometimes impossible to touch nearly 220 people, but most of the interests certainly been listened to.\u201d<\/p>\n Open tabs: Louisiana governor prepares to suspend House primaries after court ruling<\/a> (WaPo); Amazon Discusses \u2018Apprentice\u2019 Reboot\u2014With Don Jr. as a Potential Host<\/a> (WSJ); Why Ruben Gallego put himself in the barrel<\/a> (Semafor); The Progressive Caucus Unveils Its Contract with America<\/a> (American Prospect)<\/p>\n From the redistricting wars<\/p>\n Are Republican states going to jump at the chance to redistrict following yesterday\u2019s Supreme Court ruling, which effectively weakens a key provision within the Voting Rights Act?<\/p>\n Some are ruling it out: \u201cWe are not in a position to have a special session at this time,\u201d Alabama\u2019s Republican governor, Kay Ivey, said in a statement.<\/p>\n What the chair of the NRCC said: \u201cWe were glad to see this ruling come down \u2026 It still remains to be seen how it\u2019s going to impact this election because we are pretty far along in the election calendar. It remains to be seen how many states have time to respond to this, but certainly I think we\u2019ll see a change out of Louisiana\u201d Rep. Richard Hudson told Reese in an interview for our podcast, On NOTUS<\/a>, airing next week.<\/p>\n What strategists think: Operatives on both sides say this ruling is at best likely to result in one to four new House seats for Republicans this cycle, NOTUS\u2019 Alex Roarty and Elena Schneider report. States to watch are Louisiana (which brought the case to SCOTUS in the first place), Tennessee and (there is some disagreement on this one) South Carolina.<\/p>\n The wild card: Democratic-aligned Black advocacy groups condemned the ruling and hinted that the anger in some communities over it could boost Black turnout in the fall.<\/p>\n What comes next? Everyone agrees that this ruling is broad enough to give Southern states the go-ahead to draw maps that would have been unthinkable in previous cycles. That\u2019s a huge boon for Republicans on its face, but could also mean more blue states redraw their lines in retaliation.<\/p>\n Florida is moving forward with new lines crafted before the Supreme Court ruling. NOTUS\u2019 Manuela Silva reports<\/a> that Republicans on the Hill breathed a sigh of relief that the map pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis isn\u2019t as bold as they had feared \u2014 many worried they\u2019d see safe red districts turn pink.<\/p>\n From the campaign trail<\/p>\n An election without a functioning Federal Election Commission is looking more and more likely as the year drags on, NOTUS\u2019 Dave Levinthal and Taylor Giorno report<\/a>. The FEC is still without enough members to even conduct public meetings, much less do the enforcement work it was created to do. Trump in February sent the Senate two nominees \u2014 enough to get things going again \u2014 but they have yet to be scheduled for confirmation. Dave and Taylor go deep on what that is like a few months before a midterm.<\/p>\n Alaska\u2019s Senate race looks real tight: At least it did last week, when Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan voted for a slew of Democratic-sponsored affordability-focused amendments during an immigration-enforcement debate. The only other Republican to vote that way? Sen. Susan Collins, generally considered the most vulnerable incumbent up this cycle. This has made Democrats excited about Alaska, NOTUS\u2019 Al Weaver and Igor Bobic report<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sullivan says he\u2019s ready for a bumpy ride. \u201cI always have tough races \u2014 2014, 2020 \u2014 and I\u2019m always prepared,\u201d he told NOTUS this week. \u201cSo you deal with externalities. Having high energy prices, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s good in any part of the country.\u201d <\/p>\n NEW ON NOTUS<\/p>\n Frank Lautenberg\u2019s campaign is finally closing, 13 years after he died. The legendary Democrat from New Jersey passed away in 2013 after three decades in Washington. His campaign operation kept running until very recently. Dave reports<\/a> on the financial gymnastics going on as Lautenberg for Senate finally comes to an end.<\/p>\n More: FEMA Tells Congress It Has Hit Critically Low Funding Levels Under the DHS Shutdown<\/a>, by Anna Kramer<\/p>\n NOT USBE SOCIAL<\/p>\n A missed opportunity to headline with “Mark Sanford decides to leave the Trail.”<\/p>\n \u2014 Tripp Whitbeck (@trippwhitbeck) April 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Thank you for reading! If you liked this edition of the NOTUS newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If this newsletter was shared with you, please subscribe<\/a> \u2014 it\u2019s free! Have a tip? Email us at tips@notus.com<\/a>. And as always, we\u2019d love to hear your thoughts at newsletters@notus.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n