new - Dem group Majority Forward launching new $600K ad dinging Sen. Collins on Iran during her to “stop supporting Trump’s war, Mainers can’t afford it.” She said yesterday after the 60-day mark that "it is very likely that I would vote not to authorize further hostilities"

Dems have BIG leverage on FISA and Iran War supplemental - One Senate D predicted FISA will get 60 next week. Shaheen will vote for it, Coons said he needs a briefing. Wyden will "fight like hell" - Coons talking to admin about Iran. Schatz a "hard no," said most Dems oppose

Ahead of votes on weapon sales, Sen. Mark Kelly says he "cannot and will not abandon Israel" and will "always" support Israel's right to exist But he says he will vote yes "on these resolutions to stop these transfers"

Defense $ leaders McConnell and Coons met with Sec Hegseth and other admin officials about defense spending and Iran supplemental yesterday Coons called it “relatively constructive, respectful, normal.” Coons told them to work with his staff if they want a positive response vs stonewalling him

Big day of foreign policy votes in Senate: vote on Iran War Powers at 2 and expected votes later on disapproving of arm sales to Israel

Ossoff raised a respectable $14 million and has $31 million in the bank (!)

Wow: Talarico campaign says it raised $27 million in Q1, including $10 million since the primary

Schumer says "Operation Epic Failure is a much more appropriate name for Trump's war of choice"

Pa. GOP Sen. McCormick on President Trump's attack on the pope as "weak" on nukes "I mean, I didn't love it. I wish he hadn't done it. And the reason is, I just think it's distracting from this moment we're in," he told me this morning at Semafor's World Economy"

Md. Gov. Moore to @daveweigel.bsky.social : "It’s sad for me, because the Sun used to be the paper of record, and it has become the paper of the right wing" www.semafor.com/article/04/1...

Republicans fight among themselves over their long pre-election to-do list www.semafor.com/article/04/0...

Democratic Sen. Andy Kim tells reporters in the Capitol that President Trump should be removed from office via either the 25th Amendment or impeachment

News: 2015 law that required Congress to vote on Obama's Iran nuclear deal will likely apply to Trump's agreement w/ Iran “Any agreement relating to Iran’s nuclear program must be submitted to Congress," said a Democratic aide. Also makes it hard to "lift or waive sanctions while Congress reviews"

Schumer on the Iran war arc: "This is one of the very worst military and foreign policy actions that the United States has ever taken" Says the Senate will vote next week on another one of Democrats' War Powers resolutions

Dem Committee leaders Coons, Shaheen, Schumer, Reed, Schatz "condemn President Trump's threat to extinguish an entire civilization ... It’s unconscionable to threaten the lives of so many people – grandparents, children, families – simply because they were born in Iran"

Maine Gov. Janet Mills running on instituting term limits and to "reform the filibuster by requiring senators to remain on the Senate floor and actually speak, rather than simply threatening a filibuster to delay action" janetmills.com/wp-content/u...

Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown announces he raised $12.5 million between his campaign ($10m) and affiliated committees and has $16.5 million onhand. He'll need it: Senate Leadership Fund announced yesterday a $79 million investment in Ohio to support GOP Sen. Jon Husted

Money bomb alert: Thune-aligned Senate Leadership Fund invests $342 million to defend GOP majority R held states $15M in Alaska $44M in Georgia $29M in Iowa $42M in Maine $71M in NC $79M in Ohio D held states $45M in Michigan $17M in NH Nothing in Minnesota yet

A VERY strange (and ugly) GOP primary shaping up in NH between two former senators, Scott Brown and John Sununu. Trump + GOP groups endorsed Sununu, hoping Brown would take hint (or get job with admin) “They want me to drop out," Brown told me. "I’m not going anywhere."

Staff drafting agreement to reopen almost all of DHS but likely leaving out a significant portion of ICE (ERO + HSI) and CBP funding. No reforms for immigration enforcement This will largely end the DHS shutdown after 41ish days because the Trump administration is still sitting on money for ICE/CBO

Michigan Dem Senate (McMorrow internal) McMorrow 30 El-Sayed 25 Stevens 23 Undecided 21 globalstrategygroup.app.box.com/s/8eyptrb9ej...

Big health care news: There's a bipartisan deal on capping monthly insulin costs at $35 from Sens. Shaheen, Collins, Warnock and Kennedy Caps costs for people with health insurance + creates pilot program in 10 states for uninsured Shaheen: "I think we’re going to get there"

New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen positive on DHS funding discussions: "Could I support funding everything else in DHS, except ICE enforcement? Yes. Do I think it should come with reforms? Yes. Because just dealing with the funding doesn't address the excesses that we've seen"

News: Schumer has indicated to colleagues that he sees potential for a deal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security this week. BUT pushing for more: Removing [Enforcement and Removal Operations] funding without any other reforms is not enough,” said a spokesperson for Schumer.

All fluid, but a potential DHS deal looks like it would fund most of the department with Democratic votes -- likely leaving out some enforcement money but keeping funding for investigations on human/drug trafficking More enforcement money, SAVE Act priorities could go in a GOP-only reconciliation

Sen. Chris Murphy's War Powers Iran resolution is expected to get a vote tomorrow afternoon/evening, according to a person familiar. That'll be the third one this month forced by Dems

! After meeting with Trump and other senators about DHS standoff, Sen. Britt says “we do” have a solution

Sen. Daines and Sen. Britt among the Republicans heading to the White House as DHS shutdown continues. Lots of urgency to end the shutdown ahead of the recess and with massive TSA lines

Thune: it's "not realistic" to link the SAVE America Act w/ DHS funding "It’s something that I think there is almost unanimous agreement among Republicans on the policy, but the idea that we have to guarantee its passage in order to fund the government, I think you all know that’s not realistic"

The White House turned down Democrats' ask to meet this morning on DHS negotiations, according to a person familiar with the matter Republicans blamed Democrats for cancelling a Saturday meeting. Yesterday, Sen. Murray said she offered to meet with Tom Homan today

Rep. Craig (MN Senate candidate) on Laken Riley Act “I can make the case that the administration isn’t using Laken Riley for any of what they’ve been doing in Minnesota. And at the same time, I can regret voting for any bill that gave Trump and Kristi Noem’s ICE any additional authority"

Senate advances Sen. Markwayne Mullin to be DHS Secretary, 54-37 Heinrich and Fetterman voted yes on Dem side

Ds starting to finalize opposition to Mullin at DHS. Fetterman could be only Dem Kaine says Mullin's votes against certifying 2020 election "makes him the wrong person to serve as the DHS Secretary.” Coons says he's gotten to know him and traveled with him but "DHS needs a foundational shift"

The TSA situation in airports combined with an approaching 2-week recess is driving more urgency in the Senate for a DHS funding deal. TBD if it goes anywhere The Senate is in for SAVE/Mullin, but the side effect is a bunch of weekend DHS talks, which is a new dynamic

Senate Democrats are in *disarray* in four key Senate races: Michigan, Maine, Minnesota and Iowa - Totally new dynamic for Dems, who stage-managed primaries effectively for 15 or so years. Schumer + DSCC have their views, but lots of senators squaring off in opposite sides of primaries.

Senate shaping up for a “rare” weekend session. Best guess at the schedule: Friday-cloture vote on DHS funding (needs 60) Saturday-cloture vote on women’s sports amendment to SAVE America (needs 60) Sunday- Cloture vote on Mullin DHS nomination (needs majority). Mullin confirmation early next week

Iowa Senate Dem primary - Zach Wahls picks up his first Senate endorsement from Sen. Warren. Follows two of her colleagues, Sens. Hassan and Cortez Masto, endorsing Josh Turek earlier this week

The White House sent Sens. Collins and Britt this letter detailing the immigration enforcement changes they are willing to make to fund DHS -body cameras -limit enforcement at sensitive locations -oversight -visible officer identification -no deporting US citizens cdn.sanity.io/files/ifn0l6...

“President Trump has sincere beliefs that he doesn’t want to have more war, doesn’t want to have more troops on the ground, doesn’t want the ‘forever wars,’” Rand Paul told Semafor. “I wish there were more Joe Kents around, and less of the people who seem to be influencing foreign policy.”

Maine Senate: Janet Mills going after Graham Platner on his Reddit posts about how women should "not get so f----d up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to." First paid advertising going negative on him www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMJr...

GOP Sen. Moreno says in interview he wants Senate to ax that two-week March/April recess without a DHS deal "As long as DHS is not funded, no senator should leave Washington, DC, and we should stay here and hash things out until we get an agreement”

Sen. Schmitt has updated the SAVE America Act with a substitute supported by President Trump. It would fulfill Trump’s calls to expand the legislation to limit mail-in voting, gender-related surgeries for children, and biological men competing in women’s sports. www.semafor.com/article/03/1...

.@maxwelltani on Trump and his phone as he becomes the "presidential version of a drive-time radio host" for reporters "in the two weeks since the US and Israel began military operations in Iran, Trump has done more than 30 cell phone interviews" (He didn't pick up when Max called)

Update on Senate voting fight: First vote on SAVE America Act is likely Tuesday afternoon. Will be at a simple majority to get on bill and then it will be on the floor for some time. Eventually, Thune will file cloture, setting up a vote at 60. Democrats say they will block it

I asked Schumer if Democrats had ever concluded that the talking filibuster is a viable way to pass legislation with a simple majority "Every different thing came up one way or the other" "We're familiar with all the possible scenarios"

Schumer says the SAVE America Act is "a cynical attempt by Donald Trump to steal the election"

Schumer says when it comes to the SAVE America Act, Democrats have reviewed GOP's options and gone over "every single thing they might do. We're prepared to meet each one and defeat this bill"

On conference call convened by Sen. Schumer, Marc Elias says the voter ID provision for voting by mail is unworkable "This ID provision thing is just a backdoor to ban mail-in voting"

Republicans are in *disarray* on the SAVE America Act www.semafor.com/article/03/1...

Michigan Dem Senate primary couldn't be tighter if they tried Stevens 27 McMorrow 25 El-Sayed 23 Undecided 26 (Upswing Research poll) static1.squarespace.com/static/691ce...