House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is using his signature light touch on the delicate subject of his older members' reelection plans. So far, his strategy seems to be paying dividends.

Why it matters: "Everyone knows the last eight people who died in office were Democrats," one House Democrat told us.

• Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), both 78, dropped their bids for reelection in recent weeks rather than battle younger primary rivals to stay in office.
• They join Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), 81, Danny Davis (D-Ill.), 83, and Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), 71, all of whom retired in the face of primary challenges.
• Several House Democrats told us to expect additional retirements.

Driving the news: Nadler told the New York Times that the furor over former President Biden's age last year "said something about the necessity for generational change in the party, and I think I want to respect that."

• Davis told us in an interview about his decision to retire: "On Saturday, I'm going to be 84 years old. Most people have retired. It was just time to go and let my community begin to build up seniority with another member."
• Nadler, Davis and Doggett told us they did not speak with Jeffries before announcing their retirements and they felt no pressure from leadership to step aside.

Jeffries was asked about Nadler at a press conference yesterday.

• He told reporters: "I think that generational change has been underway in the House Democratic caucus for the last several years."
• "It's something that every caucus member, regardless of which generation they find themselves in, has embraced."

The bottom line: Many House Democrats 70 and older are pushing back against the idea they should make room for the next generation of leaders.

• "Seniority still counts, experience still matters," said Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), 77. "'Generational change,' what does that mean? That means you start at the bottom in the system of seniority."
• Larson said of his challengers: "They're not saying what they're running on, other than 'generational change.' God bless 'em."

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— Andrew Solender

Fed up with Democratic stalling, Senate Republicans are preparing to expedite the confirmation process before their next recess.

Why it matters: Democrats "will tell you privately they know it's broken, but they can't bring themselves to fix it," Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said today.

• Senators emerged from a conference-wide discussion this afternoon united on moving forward with en bloc confirmation votes for non-Cabinet nominees, while discussions continue about judiciary positions.
• En bloc allows batches of nominees to be voted on at the same time.

Zoom in: That's similar to a proposal introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) in 2023. But her plan capped the number of nominees in any bloc at 10.

• Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told reporters today there would be no numerical limit in the GOP proposal.
• Barrasso suggested U.S. District Court judges may also be included in the en bloc proposal. He said it would include nominees who require two hours of debate, as opposed to higher-level positions requiring 30 hours.
• Majority Leader John Thune told reporters the conference is "still having conversations about" including judiciary nominations, saying right now the focus is largely on the executive branch.

What to watch: Other rule changes are still under consideration, senators said.

• "En bloc is definitely top of the list," Schmitt told reporters.
• "There's some other things — further collapsing time is another possibility and there's also the recess appointments that [are] on the back end."

— Stef Kight

Senate Republicans are publicly and privately enthusiastic about the prospect that former Sen. John Sununu will jump into New Hampshire's open Senate race.

Why it matters: Republicans have been hungry for some pleasant surprise on the recruitment front all cycle.

• A potential Sununu bid gives them one.

Driving the news: Sununu announced a listening tour today, confirming a report in NOTUS that he was exploring a Senate bid.

• "I'll travel across the state, I'll talk to people, listen, get their perspective, make sure we can build a really strong team and I'll make a decision by the end of next month," Sununu told a local TV station.
• The former one-term senator has spoken to Thune about a potential bid, according to a person familiar with the matter. The two served together in the Senate.
• He has also discussed the race with former Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), who has been chair of the Senate Leadership Fund.

What they are saying: Republican leaders aren't offering any official endorsement, but they are unabashedly optimistic about Sununu's prospects.

• "I think he'd be a great candidate and be a great senator," Thune told the Washington Examiner.
• "I want to win New Hampshire," Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who ran the Republican campaign committee last cycle, told Axios.
• "I haven't made any endorsements on New Hampshire, but it seems like he would be a strong candidate, OK, with some tremendous name ID."

Zoom out: Senate Democrats are pleased with their recruiting efforts to date. They convinced former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to run in the open North Carolina seat and former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) to try to recapture his Ohio seat.

• Two popular Republican governors — former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (John's brother) and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp — passed on Senate bids.
• But Republicans have effectively cleared the field in Michigan for former Rep. Mike Rogers, who is running for the Senate again after losing in 2024. On the Democratic side, three well-funded candidates are engaged in a contentious primary.
• In Alaska, Democrats are still courting former Rep. Mary Peltola to challenge Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Zoom in: Sununu, whose father, John, also served as a governor of New Hampshire, lost to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in 2008, when former President Obama's campaign helped Democrats net eight seats.

• If he does run, Sununu would face former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) in the GOP primary.

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— Hans Nichols

Former GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn is preparing to run for Florida's 19th Congressional District seat, people familiar with the matter told us.

• The seat will be open with Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) running for governor.

Why it matters: Cawthorn, who once said the House Republican conference is full of degenerates, appears eager to rejoin his old colleagues. If elected, he'd almost certainly create fresh headaches for Speaker Mike Johnson.

• Cawthorn was meeting with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill today to discuss his bid for the seat, a source familiar told us.
• He did not meet with Johnson during his Hill swing.

Catch up quick: Cawthorn represented North Carolina's 11th District from 2021–23 before losing his seat after a scandal-plagued first term.

• He alleged, without evidence, that his GOP colleagues used cocaine and invited him to orgies.
• Cawthorn later admitted to then-Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy his claims were "exaggerated."

Donalds told us Cawthorn approached him about his bid, but he didn't commit to backing him yet.

• "He was 25 years old when he came to Congress. Everybody has an opportunity to grow and mature." Donalds said.

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— Kate Santaliz