The race to succeed Gavin Newsom has teetered wildly, and with Democrats in disarray, the Republican ex-Downing Street adviser is leading in the polls. Can he really pull it off?Few political aspirations have proved more futile over the past two decades than running as a Republican for statewide office in California. Yet Steve Hilton ā transplanted Brit, erstwhile business entrepreneur, a former Downing Street adviser to David Cameron and a former Fox News host who says he is friends with half of Donald Trumpās cabinet ā is having a remarkably good time of it.With less than six weeks to go before a primary election that has proved to be both dramatic and wildly unpredictable, most polls put Hilton narrowly ahead of a fractured field of Democrats in the race to succeed Gavin Newsom as governor. It is an astonishing turn of events in a state where Democrats enjoy supermajorities in the state legislature and a two-to-one advantage over the Republicans in voter registration. Continue reading...
Housing secretary also targets Reform as May elections loom, saying Farage more interested in Trump than own constituencyThe Greens have welcomed activists kicked out of Labour for antisemitic views and people should be āvery carefulā who they vote for next month, one of Keir Starmerās most senior ministers has said in a notable stepping-up of attacks on Zack Polanskiās party.In a double-pronged attack on the two parties expected to make big gains in the elections on 7 May, Steve Reed also accused Nigel Farage of being more interested in talking to Donald Trump then representing his Clacton constituency. Continue reading...
ā¢ The Supreme Court issued a ruling clearing the way for the Department of Justice to erase Steve Bannon's January 6 conviction, reversing lower court obstacles to the administration's efforts.
ā¢ The decision represents a significant legal victory for the Trump administration in its effort to address convictions related to the Capitol riot.
ā¢ The ruling overturned a district judge's previous injunction that had blocked the administration's actions on the matter.
US supreme court files brief order vacating lower court ruling that had upheld rightwing media hostās conviction Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxSteve Bannon, the rightwing media host and ally of Donald Trump, appears likely to have his criminal conviction dismissed.The US supreme court filed a brief order on Monday that vacated a lower court ruling that had upheld Bannonās conviction and sent the case back to the US court of appeals for the DC circuit for āfurther consideration in light of the pending motion to dismiss the indictmentā. The Trump administration had moved to dismiss Bannonās conviction. Continue reading...
Move to back the Republican candidate could dash partyās hopes of locking Democrats out of the November runoffDonald Trump has endorsed Republican former Fox News host Steve Hilton in the California governorās race, a move that could dash Republican hopes of locking Democrats out of the November runoff.Trump announced his backing on Monday on Truth Social, writing that Hilton āhas my COMPLETE & TOTAL ENDORSEMENTā and pledging federal support for his candidacy. āSteve can turn it around, before it is too late, and, as President, I will help him to do so,ā he wrote. Continue reading...
Former White House strategist says current situation at airports will help āreally perfect ICEās involvement in the 2026 midterm electionsāHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.The former White House strategist and podcaster Steve Bannon has suggested the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers at airports is a ātest runā for using them at polling stations in the midterms later this year.We can use whatās happening with these ICE [officers] helping out at the airports, we can use this as a test run, as a test case to really perfect ICEās involvement in the 2026 midterm elections, sir?Yeah, I think we should have ICE agents at the polling places, because if youāre an illegal alien you canāt vote, right? Itās against the law, itās a federal crime for you to vote in federal elections.And so, if youāre an American citizen, you should be happy that ICE is there, because youāre not going to have illegal aliens canceling out your vote.The US Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin to serve as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, elevating the Republican senator to a role where he will be among the public faces of Donald Trumpās crackdown on undocumented immigrants. The Republican controlled chamber confirmed Mullin largely along party lines, with a vote of 54-45. More here.Donald Trump has claimed there have been talks between the US and Iran over the past day in which the two sides had āmajor points of agreementā, appearing to avert a potentially severe escalation of the conflict. Tehran has denied the claim, in which Trump also speculated that a deal could soon be done to end the war. Iranās foreign ministry spokesperson said no talks had been held with the US since the bombing campaign began 24 days ago. More here.The US supreme court appeared poised to curtail how mail-in ballots can be counted if they arrive after election day, which would affect laws in more than a dozen states during a midterm election year. The justices are considering Watson v Republican National Committee, a challenge over a Mississippi state law that was brought in 2024 by the Republican party. More here.California attorney general Rob Bonta said he has sued the US energy department to stop it from using a cold-war era law to restart the long-disputed Sable Offshore pipeline system linking the Santa Ynez offshore platform to California refineries. US energy secretary Chris Wright earlier this month restarted the pipelines using powers granted to him by Donald Trump through an executive order that invoked the Defense Production Act to supersede state laws. More here.Prediction markets are facing fresh bipartisan scrutiny in the US Senate as companies such as Kalshi and Polymarket continue to battle state-led efforts to regulate online betting. A bill was introduced in the US Senate on Monday that would ban federally regulated platforms from allowing wagers on sporting events, what would be a huge blow to marketplaces where billions of dollars have been traded on major events like the Super Bowl and the NCAAās March Madness. More here. Continue reading...
