Jeffries: ‘We will not let Trump rig the midterm elections’
Chris Stein
Top House Democrats were in a triumphant mood at a press conference held after Virginia voters last night approved new maps that could help Democrats win all but one of the state’s seats in the House of Representatives.
“We will not let Donald Trump rig the midterm elections by gerrymandering maps all across the country without a forceful Democratic response. That is what you saw in Virginia,” the Democratic House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, said.
The chair of the House Democrats’ campaign arm, Suzan DelBene, said: “We have held back a Republican power grab and leveled the playing field in the fight for the majority in the people’s house. Last night’s results are what happens when voters decide, and it’s as simple as that.”
Key events
Joseph Gedeon
House judiciary Democrats have launched a formal inquiry into the alleged drinking habits of the FBI director, Kash Patel, demanding he complete a standardized alcohol abuse assessment and submit the results to Congress.
In a letter sent on Tuesday, led by Jamie Raskin, a Maryland representative, Democrats on the committee called on Patel to take the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (Audit) – a 10-question World Health Organization screening tool used to identify harmful patterns of drinking – along with a sworn statement attesting to his answers. Lawmakers also requested all security clearance questionnaires Patel has completed since taking the role.
The letter cited a pattern of alleged conduct that Democrats argued had directly compromised national security, claiming Patel’s alleged unavailability had led to delays in terror-related decisions – including the issuance of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa) warrants – and that his behavior had undermined two high-profile criminal investigations: the manhunt following a mass shooting at Brown University and the search for the assassin of Charlie Kirk. In both cases, the letter alleged, Patel had publicly broadcast inaccurate information.
In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said that “certain” Republican justices on the supreme court have “gone weak, stupid, and bad” amid their skepticism over the president’s effort to overturn birthright citizenship.
“The Republican Justices don’t stick together, they give the Democrats win after win,” Trump said. “Certain ‘Republican’ Justices have just gone weak, stupid, and bad, completely violating what they ‘supposedly’ stood for.”
He also blasted the court’s February ruling against his emergency tariff plan.
“Their Tariff decision was an unnecessary and expensive slap in the face to the U.S.A., and a giant victory for its opponents,” he wrote.
In the post, Trump falsely claimed that “virtually NO OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD IS STUPID ENOUGH TO ALLOW” birthright citizenship. In fact, multiple countries have birthright citizenship laws that are similar to those in the US.
Lutnick avoids questions over relationship with Epstein in Senate hearing
During a Senate appropriations subcommittee today, Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, avoided questions from lawmakers about his relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A reminder that Lutnick was a longtime next-door neighbor of Epstein in New York. He has previously claimed that he distanced himself from Epstein in 2005. However, the justice department’s release of case files showed that Lutnick had two engagements with Epstein years past that. He attended a 2011 event at Epstein’s home. And Lutnick’s family had lunch with Epstein on his private island in 2012 – four years after Epstein was sentenced to 13 months in jail for procuring a minor for prostitution.
Lutnick, a longtime ally of Donald Trump, admitted to the 2012 lunch during his 10 February testimony before the Senate appropriations committee.
“I did have lunch with him, as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation,” Lutnick said. Inclusion in the files does not imply wrongdoing.
On Wednesday, the Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen asked Lutnick why he had not replied to his letter asking the commerce secretary to produce all records of meetings, phone calls, and correspondence with Epstein or his associates, as well as a complete timeline of every interaction he has had with Epstein, including after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting an underage girl for prostitution.
“I have voluntarily agreed, in less than two weeks, to sit and answer questions on this topic fully … in less than two weeks with your House colleagues,” Lutnick said. “But I am here today to testify about the budget, and I look forward to discussing the president’s budget with you today.”
Van Hollen said that while he was aware of the upcoming hearing, he will continue to pursue his requests. “The reason I’m asking this question at this hearing is because we didn’t get a response to the letter,” the Maryland Democrat said.
Chris Stein
Triumphant though they may be, there’s still the question of what House Democrats’ recent embrace of retaliatory gerrymandering to offset Republican efforts elsewhere means for the party’s previous support for legislation to abolish partisan gerrymandering.
“We’ve continued to stand behind our prior efforts to establish one national standard that would prohibit mid-decade partisan gerrymandering all across the country,” the House Democratic majority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, replied when a reporter asked him about the party’s inconsistency on the issue. “But what we’re not going to do is unilaterally disarm.”
In recent congressional sessions, Democrats have introduced the For the People Act, a comprehensive reform legislation addressing democracy issues that would require states to create independent commissions to draw maps.
Democrats passed the legislation through the House in 2021, during Joe Biden’s presidency, but it lacked the votes to advance through the Senate.
Jeffries: ‘We will not let Trump rig the midterm elections’
Chris Stein
Top House Democrats were in a triumphant mood at a press conference held after Virginia voters last night approved new maps that could help Democrats win all but one of the state’s seats in the House of Representatives.
“We will not let Donald Trump rig the midterm elections by gerrymandering maps all across the country without a forceful Democratic response. That is what you saw in Virginia,” the Democratic House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, said.
The chair of the House Democrats’ campaign arm, Suzan DelBene, said: “We have held back a Republican power grab and leveled the playing field in the fight for the majority in the people’s house. Last night’s results are what happens when voters decide, and it’s as simple as that.”
Bessent says that gas prices could be ‘lower’ than prior to Iran war after conflict ends
At a Senate appropriation subcommittee hearing today, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, told lawmakers that he anticipates gas prices to plummet as soon as the war in Iran ends.
Bessent added that fuel costs could be “perhaps lower” than before the conflict began. Currently, the average price for a gallon of gasoline in the US is more than $4, up from $2.98 in late February, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
Per my earlier post, the supreme court did not issue any opinions in the key cases we were watching. It’s not immediately clear when the court will next hand down decisions.
Edward Helmore
A trio of political polls indicate public approval of Donald Trump’s management of the US economy, immigration and the Iran conflict is slipping, flashing warning lights for Trump-aligned Republican candidates with six months to go until the US midterm elections.
Polls by Reuters-Ipsos poll, Strength in Numbers-Verasight and AP-NORC had the president’s approval rating hovering in the mid-30s, at 36%, 35% and 33% respectively, which are near his lowest numbers.
The AP-NORC center for public affairs research poll published on Monday found that 7 in 10 Americans described the economy as poor and think the country is headed in the wrong direction.
The poll showed that Trump’s handling of the economy has fallen to 30% approval, down from 38% in March, while 72% said the country is headed in the wrong direction, a figure unchanged since February. Just 23% approve of how he is handling the cost of living, while 76% disapprove.
Virginia redistricting win portends ‘devastating consequences’ for Republicans ahead of midterms, says Marjorie Taylor Greene
Former GOP congresswoman and ex-Trump loyalist Marjorie Taylor Greene warned that Virginia’s redistricting victory –where voters approved new congressional maps intended to boost Democrats’ chances of retaking the US House – is an example of the “devastating consequences” to come for Republicans in the upcoming midterms.
The former representative said a “revolt on the right” and a “mass exodus of America First Trump voters” will be down to president launching the war with Iran, the hike in gas prices as a result of the conflict, and Trump’s reticence to release the complete Epstein files.
Also today, we can expect the Senate to vote on another war powers resolution, to curb the Trump administration’s war in Iran.
Led by Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, this will be upper chamber Democrats’ fifth attempt to pass a resolution.
Democrats have vowed to keep bringing the motions to the floor each week the war in Iran continues to put “Republicans on record”.
Supreme court poised to issue opinions
The supreme court will hand down opinions at 10am ET today. Here’s a reminder of the major cases we’re tracking closely.
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Louisiana v Callais: A high-stakes voting rights case in which the court’s conservative majority appears poised to gut one of the most powerful provisions of the Voting Rights Act.
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Trump v Cook: Donald Trump’s case for firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, as he continues to exert greater control over the US central bank.
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Trump v Slaughter: A case which examines the legality of Trump’s firing of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member, Rebecca Slaughter.
A reminder that my colleagues are covering the latest developments out of the Middle East at our dedicated live blog. Following Trump’s announcement that he will extend the ceasefire with Iran as negotiations on a peace deal remain elusive, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it seized two ships in the strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian media. Despite the ceasefire, the US blockade of all Iranian ports in the vital waterway continues.
Donald Trump is in Washington today. He’ll spend most of the day in meetings, but he’ll welcome the Social Security Administration commissioner, Frank Bisignano to the White House at 10am ET. Currently that’s closed to the press but we’ll let you know if anything changes.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent among those due to testify at hearings today
There are a number of congressional hearings coming up later, with treasury secretary Scott Bessent testifying before Senate Appropriations at 10am ET.
Energy secretary Chris Wright will follow at 2.30pm ET, with both men expected to be questioned by Democratic lawmakers on how Donald Trump’s war in Iran has sent gas prices soaring.
Other appearances today include commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, interior secretary Doug Burgum and agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins.
California’s race for governor will get its first marquee moment since one-time frontrunner Eric Swalwell abruptly exited the contest, with six candidates set to debate on Wednesday.
Four Democrats and two Republicans will take the stage together starting at 7pm PDT. The top two will advance on 2 June to the runoff in November, even if they are from the same party.
Nexstar Media Group will broadcast the debate in six of the state’s largest markets, giving this debate a wider audience than the first televised debate, which aired on two Fox stations in February.
In the poll that determined debate eligibility, Republican and former Fox News host Steve Hilton led the entire field with 17%. Fellow Republican and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco tied for second with 14%. Meanwhile, 23% of those polled were undecided.
David Smith
He can’t live with him and can’t live without him. But, finally, the conservative podcaster Tucker Carlson seems to have made up his mind about Donald Trump. Their up-and-down marriage of political convenience is heading for the divorce court.
On Tuesday Carlson admitted that he will be “tormented” for a long time by his support for Trump in the 2024 US presidential election “and I want to say I’m sorry for misleading people”. What he did not say is whether this presages his own run for president in 2028.
The breaking point was the war in Iran, a betrayal of Trump’s promise to end US foreign entanglements, and the perceived influence of Israel, which has become a Carlson obsession.
It was the latest – and perhaps final – twist in a long and tortured relationship. Back in 1999, when Trump was potentially running for president on a Reform party ticket, Carlson said he was “the single most repulsive person on the planet”. In 2016, he reportedly told an acquaintance that the Republican frontrunner was “not evil” but “mentally ill”.
Maya Yang
Nearly half of children in the United States are breathing dangerous levels of air pollution, according to a new report, as experts warned Donald Trump’s expansive rollback of protections will make the situation worse.
The 27th annual air quality report from the American Lung Association (ALA) released on Wednesday evaluates pollution across the country by grading levels of ground-level ozone – also known as smog – as well as year-round and short-term spikes in particle pollution, commonly referred to as soot. The report analyzed quality-assured data collected between 2022 and 2024.
It found that 33.5 million children in the US – 46% of those under 18 – live in areas that received a failing grade for at least one measure of air pollution.
The report also found that 7 million children, or 10% of all children in the US, live in communities that failed all three measures.
Speaking to the Guardian, Will Barrett, assistant vice-president of the ALA’s Nationwide Clean Air Policy, said: “Children’s lungs are still developing. For their body size, they’re breathing more air. And also, kids play outdoors, they’re more active, they’re breathing in more outdoor air … So, air pollution exposure in children can contribute to long-term developmental harm to their lungs, new cases of asthma, increased risks of respiratory illness and other health considerations later in life.”
Chris Stein
Polls showed a close race in the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s vote, with signs that right-leaning voters in Virginia’s rural areas were incensed by new maps that would see many of them represented by lawmakers who live in the state’s northern suburbs outside Washington DC.
The surveys also showed that voters were divided on Spanberger’s performance as governor, with Republicans accusing her of lying about her moderate credentials on the campaign trail then quickly pivoting left as governor, including by supporting the referendum.
The race saw heavy spending by Democratic-linked groups and others, who poured more than $64m into the main committee backing the referendum. Groups opposing redistricting brought in around $30m.
Barack Obama recorded television ads in favor of the yes vote, while those opposed aired their own ads focused on past comments he had made criticizing gerrymandering. Glenn Youngkin, the Republican who preceded Spanberger as governor, campaigned heavily for the no vote.
Obama celebrated the result on Tuesday evening.
“Congratulations, Virginia!” the former US president posted on social media. “Republicans are trying to tilt the midterm elections in their favor, but they haven’t done it yet. Thanks for showing us what it looks like to stand up for our democracy and fight back.”
Top House Democrat tells Florida’s Ron DeSantis his redistricting plans could backfire on Republicans
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
The vote to approve new congressional maps in Virgina puts pressure on Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who has called a special session next month to consider tit-for-tat changes to its own map. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries warned any such effort could backfire on Republicans.
Voters in Virginia on Tuesday approved new congressional maps intended to boost Democrats’ chances of retaking the House of Representatives, in the latest blow to Donald Trump’s effort to use mid-decade redistricting to preserve his control of Congress.
Florida could now consider changes to its own congressional maps with the aim of picking up as many as three more GOP seats – depending on how the legislature draws the boundaries.
But Jeffries, the House minority leader, said Tuesday’s result in Virginia should serve as a warning to DeSantis. He wrote in a statement:
double quotation mark If Florida Republicans proceed with this illegal scheme, they will only create more prime-pick up opportunities for Democrats.We are prepared to take them all on, and we are prepared to win.
There is concern how a redrawn Florida map could play out, Politico reports. Democrats recently managed to flip a seat in the Florida state house in the district that is home to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago.
The tit-for-tat redistricting battle began last year after Trump pressed Texas’s Republican-controlled legislature to redraw that state’s congressional maps in a bid to oust as many as five Democratic House lawmakers in the November midterm elections.
California voters retaliated by approving new maps that could flip five Republican-held seats, and in Virginia, Abigail Spanberger, the newly elected Democratic governor, backed an effort to redraw her state’s maps following her January inauguration. Tuesday’s referendum could help Democrats win four additional House seats in November’s midterm elections.
Under the new maps, Democrats are now favored to win in 10 of Virginia’s 11 districts. In the current delegation, Democrats hold six seats and Republicans five.
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