Republicans

• Vice President JD Vance has urged Republicans to attach White House-backed voter identification legislation to a partisan funding bill for the Iran war. • The move aims to advance the administration's election priorities and appease President Donald Trump, who is expected to further challenge the 2020 election results. • This strategy creates a potential conflict with Senate Republicans, who have resisted Trump's efforts to eliminate the 60-vote filibuster threshold.

Effort is latest attempt to pass bill that seeks to ban mail-in ballots and imposes voter identification requirementsHouse Republicans on Wednesday made another attempt to answer Donald Trump’s demand for new restrictions on voting nationwide by linking the measure to an unrelated spending bill and passing both largely along party lines.The effort was the latest attempt by congressional Republicans to pass the Save America Act, which would ban mail-in ballots and impose new identification requirements on voters when they register and cast ballots. While the Trump administration has cast the bill as necessary to prevent non-citizens from voting and combat election fraud, voting rights advocates say there’s no evidence of widespread election tampering and warn the bill could disenfranchise swaths of eligible voters ahead of November’s midterm elections. Continue reading...

• Republicans have returned to Capitol Hill to begin their legislative agenda, though they face immediate complications including demands from Donald Trump and the absence of Mitch McConnell. • The sudden death of Senator Lindsey Graham, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has created further uncertainty for the GOP's leadership and scheduling. • Despite these setbacks, the Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled two days of confirmation hearings for Todd Blanche, Trump's nominee for acting attorney general.

Lawmakers face obstacles, including demands from Trump, Mitch McConnell’s absence and Graham’s sudden deathRepublican lawmakers return to the Capitol this week facing a lengthy to-do list and Donald Trump’s demands for new voting restrictions, as Democrats jockey for an advantage ahead of the November midterm elections.Lawmakers from both parties are eager to highlight before voters legislative victories ahead of the midterms, where control of Congress is at stake. But for Senate Republicans, who are already navigating an array of demands from Trump, their agenda grew further complicated over the weekend with the death of Lindsey Graham, the budget committee chair who is a key player in negotiating a party line bill to fund additional defense spending and other priorities outlined by the president. Continue reading...

Clark has been on the end of hard fouls during careerBlack players routinely receive racist abuse in WNBAEleven Republican politicians have written to the WNBA asking the league to protect Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark from “multiple attacks” on court.Clark has been on the receiving end of hard fouls since she entered the league in 2024 after a stellar college career with Iowa. Recently, the Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas hit Clark in the throat during a game. Thomas was not called for a foul at the time but the WNBA later suspended her for one game. Thomas and her family received racist abuse and death threats after the incident. Continue reading...

• House Republicans are facing a severely constrained legislative calendar after an internal party revolt forced Speaker Mike Johnson to implement an early recess for the second consecutive week. • The disruption has significantly reduced the available time for the GOP majority to advance its ambitious policy agenda during a critical election year. • This legislative gridlock highlights ongoing instability and division within the House Republican conference, hindering their ability to pass key priorities.

• The Supreme Court ruled against Republicans in Watson v. RNC, upholding the legality of grace periods for the receipt of mail-in ballots. • During hearings, Mississippi lawyers noted that the federal government failed to provide a single example of fraud resulting from post-Election Day ballot receipts in this century. • This decision arrives as a critical election-related ruling ahead of the November midterm elections, impacting how states manage ballot deadlines.