Illinois Democrat tries to bleep her way through a tough Senate primary with a new expletive-laden anti-Trump ad
By Natasha Korecki As the Democratic Party wrestles with how much to focus on President Donald Trump on the campaign trail, one Senate candidate is giving a clear answer: “F— Trump.” Juliana Stratton, the state’s lieutenant governor, is running her first TV ad beginning Friday, a spot featuring a series of people, including Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., all saying “F— Trump.” “F— Trump, vote Juliana,” one person after another says in the ad. t least half a dozen bleeps will be audible to obscure the salty language when it airs on TV, according to the campaign. For her part, Stratton does not take
Democrats send counteroffer on ICE reforms to Republicans as DHS shutdown continues
By Kaia Hubbard Democrats sent a counteroffer on overhauling immigration enforcement to the White House and Republicans on Monday, the latest development in talks over how to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Funding lapsed on Saturday for DHS, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Democrats vowed to oppose funding without reforms to ICE and CBP following two deadly shootings by federal agents during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis last month. A short-term funding extension aimed at giving negotiators more time to reach a deal ended late last week without a resolution, though Democrats and the
Trump’s election bill tops 50 Senate votes, but Democrats could still block it
By Sahil Kapur The SAVE America Act to require proof of citizenship nationwide to register to vote and overhaul voting laws has now topped 50 votes in the Republican-controlled Senate. The bill is supported by President Donald Trump and passed the House last week, meaning the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster rule is the only thing standing in the way of it becoming law. The tally guarantees a battle over the bill on the Senate floor as Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has promised a vote. But he warned last week that there are “not even close” to enough votes for getting rid of the filibuster,
More than 70,000 voters will stay on North Carolina voter rolls after settlement
By Jane C. Timm More than 73,000 North Carolinians will be given more time to show identifying documentation to election officials to remain on the state’s voter rolls following a settlement between the national parties and the state’s election board. The settlement, which lays out the ways in which the state will collect the required proof of identity for the voter list, was signed by the Democratic and Republican parties Monday and sent federal court for approval. The Republican National Committee and North Carolina GOP sued state election officials in 2024, alleging a quarter million voters had been improperly registered because
Obama derides social media ‘clown show’ in first comments since Trump’s racist video post
By Alexandra Marquez Former President Barack Obama called the kind of rhetoric coming from President Donald Trump and his administration “a clown show” in a podcast interview that aired Saturday. Obama was asked by YouTube podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen about the “de-evolution of the discourse” coming from Trump, Vice President JD Vance and others in their administration, including a racist video Trump posted online that depicted the former president and his wife, Michelle Obama, as apes. Obama did not directly address the video, but discussed Trump’s actions, rhetoric and his administration’s mass deportation agenda. “I think it’s important to recognize that the majority of the
House passes SAVE America Act, sending Trump-backed election bill to the Senate
By Sahil Kapur and Kyle Stewart The Republican-controlled House voted Wednesday to pass the SAVE America Act, a sweeping election bill that President Donald Trump is pushing Congress to enact. The vote was 218-213, with Republicans unanimously voting in favor and all but one Democrat voting against it. The one Democrat voting yes was Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas. The 32-page legislation would require states to obtain documentary proof-of-citizenship “in person,” such as an American passport or birth certificate, from someone in order to register them to vote in a federal election. The bill, which was revised from an earlier version to include new demands from
Virginia Democrats propose congressional map that could boost their party in the midterms
By Jane C. Timm Virginia Democrats released a congressional map proposal Thursday evening that could allow the party to win all but one of state’s districts in this year’s midterm elections. Under the proposed map, former Vice President Kamala Harris would have carried 10 of Virginia’s 11 congressional districts in the 2024 election rather than six. Two of them she would have won only narrowly, but Gov. Abigail Spanberger carried them by slightly greater margins in last November’s elections, according to data provided by the Legislature. Since Democrats control six of Virginia’s districts, the redrawn map would give them an opening
Members of Congress are fleeing the job at a historically high rate
By Bridget Bowman Some feel they’ve hit an appropriate retirement age. Others want to tend to their health or their families. Yet more are leaving because they don’t like the workplace. Add it all together, and members of Congress are heading for the exit at a historically high rate ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, with two more House Republicans adding themselves to a growing roster just last week. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., announced Wednesday that he was retiring from Congress, while Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., announced Friday that he wouldn’t run for re-election, either. Loudermilk said he wants “to spend
Congressional Black Caucus chair says Trump’s post on the Obamas shows a ‘bigoted and racist regime’
BY Bill Barrow AND River Zhang Ever since a racist video was posted on President Donald Trump’s social media account, the White House has offered shifting responses. First it dismissed “fake outrage,” then it deleted the post and blamed a staff member. Trump later told reporters Friday that “I didn’t make a mistake.” The Republican president insisted that before the video was posted, no one saw the part that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as primates in the jungle. But the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus had a different explanation when she spoke to The Associated Press. “It’s
FBI invites state election officials to an ‘unusual’ briefing on the midterms
By Jane C. Timm Days after a tense gathering in Washington, D.C., laid bare growing acrimony between President Donald Trump’s administration and state election officials, the FBI invited those same officials to discuss “preparations” for the midterm elections. The invitation, which was first reported by Crooked Media and confirmed to NBC News by an election official who received it, is scheduled for Feb. 25. It will include the FBI, the departments of Justice and Homeland Security, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Election Assistance Commission. The invitation, which was sent this week, according to the election official, was signed by Kellie M. Hardiman, who identified
