Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for February 19, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
The Latest
Ten Days: That’s President Donald Trump’s new likely timeline for a decision on whether to take military action in Iran. He said as much, naturally, at this morning’s Board of Peace meeting.
- “It’s proven to be, over the years, not easy to make a meaningful deal with Iran. We have to make a meaningful deal. Otherwise bad things happen,” Trump said at the meeting. He later added: “Maybe we’re going to make a deal. You’re going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days.”
- What’s on the table? The Wall Street Journal reports Trump “is weighing an initial limited military strike on Iran to force it to meet his demands for a nuclear deal.”
The Hill
Trending
It’s everyone’s favorite time of year: State of the Union rebuttal/guest reveal time! Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the official Democratic response, with Sen. Alex Padilla giving the Democrats’ response in Spanish. Sen. Rick Scott says he’ll bring Mr. Wonderful (“Shark Tank” and “Marty Supreme” star Kevin O’Leary) as his guest. No word yet on who will be brave enough to bring Timothée Chalamet.