Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for February 18, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
The Latest
Talks to end the DHS shutdown seem to be going nowhere fast. Karoline Leavitt called last night’s proposal from Democrats “very unserious,” but did say the White House team has “been in direct conversations with both Democrats and Republicans.”
Republicans are eager to move on to other things in the Senate when they return next week, but will need to sort out DHS first. Sen. Mike Lee and others have been pushing for a fast vote on a voter ID bill, but Majority Leader John Thune told Fox News the ongoing shutdown “obviously will have some bearing on what we decide, how we decide to schedule the floor.”