Senate Majority Leader John Thune accused Democrats of taking a "terribly irresponsible position" by voting against a FISA extension, but he'll still need their help to pass legislation next week.

‼️ Why it matters: The Senate's struggle to extend FISA is increasingly tied to President Trump's decision to name FHFA director Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.

• Republican senators have openly questioned Pulte's qualifications, but they have spent the week arguing that his appointment should be kept separate from the debate over FISA reauthorization.
• Democrats have brushed aside Thune's warnings that blocking an extension is a "really risky strategy."
• "We'll take another run at it. We're gonna need some help from Democrats, obviously," Thune told reporters.

Section 702 surveillance authorities could lapse next week. The Senate has so far failed to pass a reauthorization measure, and some House Republicans have little interest in another short-term extension.

🛟 Zoom in: Thune suggested that rescuing FISA may require help not only from Democrats, but also from the White House.

• Trump's declaration that Pulte is not his permanent choice for DNI has done little to ease Democratic concerns about his appointment.
• Thune said Pulte's role is "something the administration will have to consider" and "Democrats will have to think about."
• "But next week it gets real," he said.

🛑 Between the lines: Even if GOP leaders find a way to get Democrats on board, Speaker Mike Johnson still faces resistance from his own members.

• Concessions, like a three-year central bank digital currency ban, haven't been enough to satisfy conservatives, who want harsher warrant requirements.
• Johnson likely won't have the two-thirds support needed to move the bill under suspension, and some on his right flank are already threatening the rule vote.

What's next: GOP leaders are viewing another short-term extension of the program as an increasingly likely outcome.

• It would be Congress' third extension of the program, a prospect that's testing the patience of some House Republicans.
• "We grow weary of these short-term extensions," Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) told us.

— Hans Nichols and Kate Santaliz

Republican-led states have redrawn enough congressional districts to force Democrats to outperform their 2024 national results by nearly 5 percentage points if they want to retake the majority in the 2026 midterms.

Why it matters: Speaker Mike Johnson's majority has been on a razor edge for years. But the math from redistricting gives him just a little more buffer.

• Democrats need to flip three seats to win the House, assuming vacancies return to the parties that last held them.
• Democrats have an almost 6-point advantage over Republicans on the generic congressional ballot as of today, according to polling aggregator FiftyPlusOne.

By the numbers: Harris carried 205 House districts before redistricting but would win just 200 under the new maps. Democrats need 218 to win a majority.

• Trump beat Harris by 1.5 points nationally. She needed a roughly 3.4-point national margin to carry a majority of districts.
• Across the 10 states that redistricted, Democrats held 80 seats in 2024 to Republicans' 101. Just to hold that ground, Democrats would need to outrun Harris' margin by 10.5 points.

Yes, but: The pro-Republican tilt is real, but not historically extreme.

• Harvard Law professor Nicholas Stephanopoulos tells us the current GOP skew is "not remotely as bad" as the post-2010 maps, when Republicans' aggressive gerrymanders met few Democratic offsets.
• In 2012, Democrats needed about a 5.6-point national win to control the House. The median district backed Romney by 1.7 points even as Obama won nationally by 3.9.

The bottom line: Candidate quality, turnout, money, scandals and the national mood still decide races, but pro-GOP redistricting gives Republicans a head start.

— Andrew Pantazi