Republicans praise U.S. strikes on Iran as Democrats question the administration’s strategy
By Megan Lebowitz Members of Congress split largely along party lines in their assessments of the U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran, with Republicans mostly backing the operation and Democrats urging the administration to seek congressional approval and questioning President Donald Trump’s strategy. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that it’s not the United States’ job to pick Iran’s next leader and that the U.S. should not put boots on the ground after Iran’s supreme leader was killed in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes. Pressed by moderator Kristen Welker on whether the U.S. has a plan to ensure that Iran’s
A competitive Texas Senate race looms over Tuesday’s primaries
By Bridget Bowman AUSTIN, Texas — Democrats are starting to believe that the stars at night, big and bright, just might align in Texas. Those lyrics from “Deep in the Heart of Texas,” the Lone Star State’s unofficial anthem, blared through the speakers at a packed rally for state Rep. James Talarico ahead of Tuesday’s primary, with the prospect that Democrats could have a real shot at winning this year’s Senate race weighing heavily on voters’ minds. “I get so excited every time,” said Certya Lockett, a Democrat from Austin who attended the rally, as a friend noted that Lockett “gets
Minneapolis woman who Ilhan Omar took to State of the Union needed medical care after arrest
By Frank Thorp V, Inshara Ali and Raquel Coronell Uribe WASHINGTON — Aliyah Rahman, a Minnesota woman whom Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., took as her guest to the State of the Union address Tuesday, needed hospital treatment after she was arrested during the speech, Rahman and Omar said. Rahman silently stood up during the part of President Donald Trump’s speech in which he called on Democrats to restore funding for the Department of Homeland Security. The people around her remained seated. When U.S. Capitol Police approached and asked Rahman to sit down, she refused. During her conversation with Capitol Police officers, the crowd around
Trump heads into the State of the Union facing diminished voter trust on the economy
By Sahil Kapur President Donald Trump has spoken before Congress plenty of times. But when he delivers his State of the Union speech Tuesday, he’ll be standing on unfamiliar political ground: Americans watching the speech distrust him on the economy. An AP-NORC poll this month found that just 39% approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, while 59% disapprove. It’s the latest measurement, but it’s no outlier, with other surveys showing Trump’s economic approval rating underwater. Over the last year, Trump has seen his ratings on the issue sink. That’s a marked contrast from his first term, when he largely broke even or
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
