The former public health official has slight lead over congresswoman Haley Stevens, but vote count could continue well into the dayEl-Sayed holds narrow lead in Michigan Senate primary but race too close to callUS representative Haley Stevens, who is currently trailing in the Democratic primary for Senate in Michigan, has cast herself throughout her campaign as a pragmatic problem-solver and workhorse.Stevens, who has represented Michigan’s 11th House district since 2019, after flipping the seat, has a long list of high profile endorsements from within the Democratic party that include the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, and Gary Peters, the retiring senator who holds the seat she is now running for. Her campaign had also been boosted by tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, including from groups affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), the pro-Israel lobbying organization. Continue reading...
Jake Richard acknowledges ‘unimaginable pain’ of Harper’s family but says government faces an ‘unenviable position’Good morning and welcome to the UK politics blog.Ministers continue to defend the release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers as part of the government’s early prisoner release scheme, despite a potential legal challenge from the Police Federation.Well, look, we understand that people are angry. The Harper family are, of course, angry. The police are angry too.We’re angry that we’re in this situation where we face the unenviable position of having to make sure that we have a sustainable prison system, which is so vital to a functioning law and order system in our country, but also that we do right by victims as far as possible.Because without a functioning prison system, it means it’s difficult for police to make arrests, it’s difficult for our courts to try cases, and it could mean to the collapse of law and order in this country.We cannot be in that situation, so that is the challenge that we face as government ministers and the prime minister faces ultimately.I feel sick to my stomach, if I’m really honest with you. I’ve had a gut wrenching feeling in my stomach the past couple of weeks with this, and it doesn’t go away.And arguably, I would say that many of my members across Thames Valley also have this gut wrenching feeling, even at the prospect of these two killers being released in the space of weeks, potentially.Ministers will scrap the requirement for companies to prove their green and progressive values before they are awarded government contracts, and instead ask firms to prove they will help young people back into work.Women should not feel pressurised into experiencing an “ideal birth”, the new health secretary, Yvette Cooper, has said, promising a root-and-branch reform of standards after several damning maternity scandals.An official investigation has been launched into charities in England and Wales donating funds to illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.Andy Burnham has inherited a Labour membership that is sceptical about increased welfare spending, supportive of higher defence spending, and ranks the climate crisis as one of the country’s biggest challenges, according to new polling.BP’s chief executive has urged Andy Burnham to make use of the UK’s oil and gas resources even as the oil company prepares to sell its North Sea business after 60 years in the ageing basin.The Conservative party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has defended the selection of a former neo-Nazi activist as a candidate for a local election in Somerset despite him being jailed in 2016 after he was convicted of racially aggravated harassment of the former Labour MP Luciana Berger.Pupils in Scotland’s schools received their exam results this morning, with exam pass rates at all levels having risen this year, including a record number of National 5 passes. Continue reading...
• The US Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to advance Todd Blanche’s nomination for Attorney General.
• Ranking member Senator Dick Durbin expressed skepticism over Blanche's assurances that the Trump administration would not reinstate a $1.8bn "anti-weaponization" fund.
• This nomination is critical as it determines the leadership of the Department of Justice and the handling of controversial federal funds.
Trump’s former personal lawyer appears on track to become attorney general despite reservations over deal withdrawing ‘anti-weaponization fund’Critics denounce Blanche deal to halt Trump slush fundSign up for US Breaking News emailHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Todd Blanche appears on track to become the next US attorney general after two Republican senators drop their opposition to his nomination.Trump declined to call for Rep Max Miller’s resignation following allegations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife, Emily Moreno. Trump said he has always known Miller as “a good person” and called the situation “a very sad thing.”In an 89-4 vote, the Senate voted to take up a measure that would temporarily keep the government funded and help avoid a shutdown in the fall. The measure, known as a continuing resolution, would maintain government funding at current levels through 11 December, with some adjustments for specific programs. The Senate is slated to debate the funding bill and move it closer to a final vote.A coalition of 25 US states sued the Trump administration over new tariffs pegged at 10% to 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes struck down by the supreme court in February. The states are asking the US Court of International Trade to halt the tariffs, declare them unlawful and order refunds of duties that have already been paid. More here.Trump accused US attorney Jeanine Pirro of having “folded like an umbrella” amid reports that he was considering removing her from her post. Trump criticized Pirro on Monday after she dropped vandalism charges against a former Olympian accused of damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. More here. Continue reading...
• Reform UK leader Nigel Farage claimed he was "open to conversation" regarding a potential electoral deal, sparking speculation about a political pact.
• Rupert Lowe, a prominent figure within the party, has publicly accused Farage of "outright lying," stating that no such talks have actually taken place.
• This internal contradiction threatens to undermine the party's stability and could scupper potential alliances before formal negotiations even begin.
Todd Blanche issues formal order to withdraw ‘anti-weaponization fund’ after weeks of negotiations with Republican senators who were blocking his nominationBlanche formally rescinds Trump’s $1.8bn ‘anti-weaponization fund’Sign up for the US Breaking News emailHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Acting US attorney general Todd Blanche issued a formal order late on Sunday terminating Donald Trump’s $1.8bn “anti-weaponization fund” to compensate his political allies. Continue reading...
Labour say plan is a ‘desperate attempt to distract from sleaze’ while a retired commander says it ‘lacks substance’The leader of Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe, told the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, that if he was “prepared to work together around serious policies, serious reform and serious government, then so are we”.In a video posted on X on Sunday, Lowe said:I truly believe there could be sufficient common ground for our two movements to cooperate collectively, destroy the looming leftwing alliance that will finish off what hope remains for this country.In my view, failing to even try because of our own personal difficulties is simply not an option. Now is the time to put our differences aside and cooperate for the good of the country that we all love.Mass deportation of illegal migrants “including women and children”.Tougher rules on legal migration, a ban on halal and kosher slaughter, the burqa, cousin marriage and sharia courts.A referendum on the death penalty.Welfare cuts to fund “self-sufficiency”.The exclusion of former Tory ministers from any future cabinet. Continue reading...
President grapples with finding a resolution to Middle East conflict that has pushed up gasoline prices ahead of vital midterm electionsSign up for the US Breaking News emailHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.President Donald Trump will convene a cabinet meeting later today at his Camp David retreat as he grapples with how to resolve his war against Iran.President Donald Trump has said he may pull Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney-general until senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis leave office. The Republicans have demanded written assurances about the settlement of the president’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. Cornyn recently lost the GOP primary in Texas and Tillis is not seeking reelection.The US Senate narrowly rejected a largely symbolic effort to check Donald Trump’s war in Iran, as a war powers resolution directing the president to end hostilities failed in a 49-50 vote.The House Democratic Women’s Caucus called on Thursday for an ethics committee investigation of Republican congressman Max Miller, a former Trump aide who has been accused of domestic abuse by his ex-wife and former girlfriend.New polling commissioned by Fox News shows Texas Democrat James Talarico narrowly ahead of the state’s Trump-backed Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, in their contest for a seat in the US Senate. Continue reading...
Lawmakers scrap planned committee vote and seek further assurances that president’s ‘anti-weaponization fund’ is deadSign up for the US Breaking News emailHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Todd Blanche’s nomination to become attorney-general stalled last night as lawmakers scrapped a planned committee vote.Barack Obama, the former president who installed basketball hoop on the White House tennis court, endorsed the US Senate campaign of Iowa Democrat Josh Turek, a state lawmaker who played wheelchair basketball in four Paralympic Games, winning two gold medals, in a new ad filmed as the two shot hoops.The US Senate unanimously passed a resolution declaring its opposition to any presidential pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex-trafficking crimes.Marjorie Taylor Greene, the former Maga congresswoman, announced on Wednesday that she was married on Tuesday in Las Vegas to another recent exile from Trump’s good graces, Brian Glenn, the self-described “Maga mouthpiece” who quit his job as White House correspondent for the far-right network Real America’s Voice after his fiancee was cast out by the president for supporting the release of the Epstein files and criticizing his bombing of Iran in 2025.Lawyers for former FBI director James Comey have alleged that US Secret Service agents illegally surveilled him, Trump requested regular updates into the investigation, and law enforcement turned to ChatGPT and a known mafia killer as they scrambled to find justification for criminally charging Comey for posting a picture of seashells that spelled out “8647”. Continue reading...
Veteran medical adviser likely to face questions over disputed ‘lab leak’ theory in investigation seen by scientists as ‘vilification and harassment’ of 85-year-oldSign up for US Breaking News emailHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Senators are expected to question Anthony Fauci, the former veteran director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Niaid), about whether the Covid-19 virus began as a “lab leak” in a high-profile hearing later today. Continue reading...
Israeli prime minister meets US president after Trump’s closed-door meeting with Ukrainian presidentSign up for the Breaking News US emailTrump’s meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, set for 9:30am ET on Tuesday, will be closed to the media, the New York Times is reporting.The meeting is expected to be much more cordial than the one last year where Trump openly berated Zelenskyy and said, “you don’t have the cards”. The administration and rightwing influencers have shown a shift on Ukraine as of late, and Trump and Zelenskyy had a friendly meeting at a Nato summit earlier this month. Continue reading...
The US president’s pick to be the country’s director of national intelligence is expected to be approved within days – but only after a tense confirmation hearingSign up for the Breaking News US emailHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.The Senate is due to begin voting as early as Monday on the nomination of Manhattan US attorney Jay Clayton, Donald Trump’s pick to be the top US spy, and he is expected to be approved within days despite a tense confirmation hearing.The Pentagon updated its official war casualty database over the weekend, adding more than 140 wounded service members. The Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) also introduced a new casualty category labeled “Overseas Operations” for personnel killed and wounded “starting July 7”. According to the updated database, the official toll for the earlier phase of the US-Iran war, known as Operation Epic Fury, now stands at 14 service members killed and more than 400 wounded in action.Donald Trump’s Republican party has “nothing to run on” for the congressional midterm elections after the president broke promises to lower costs and avoid starting war overseas, Hakeem Jeffries has said. The House minority leader, a New York congressman, made those comments on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, exactly 100 days from the 3 November midterms, when Jeffries and his fellow Democrats are aiming to take control of the US House and Senate from their Republican opponents.Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, is “fomenting hate” by calling the Israeli prime minister a war criminal who should be arrested over Israel’s war in Gaza if he visits the city for the United Nations general assembly.Tom Homan, the Trump administration “border czar”, on Sunday said he did not believe the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer at the center of a recent fatal shooting in Maine “should have ever cleared vetting”. Speaking to CNN’s State of the Union, Homan was asked by host Dana Bash about the officer’s eligibility to serve following reports that two of his ex-wives had accused him of abuse.Pop star Katy Perry has condemned the Trump White House after it used her hit song Firework in a TikTok video showing US military strikes on Iranian targets, saying she never approved the use of her music. The White House video, which featured Firework playing over footage of a missile striking an Iranian naval ship, has amassed more than 6 million views. The post was captioned: “Iran has been warned.”New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill recently signed a new law prohibiting businesses from using shoppers’ personal information to charge different prices for identical products, making her state the third in the US to ban the practice. The Fair Price Protection Act passed by New Jersey’s legislature seeks to protect consumers from surveillance pricing, in which retailers can use data including online activity, location and purchasing history to arbitrarily change prices for individual shoppers. Continue reading...
Even some Republicans apparently expressing concern over measures against 85 countriesSign up for the US Breaking News emailHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Donald Trump’s move to impose a fresh round of tariffs on more than 80 countries has drawn criticism from both Democratic politicians and his own allies.If he was serious, he would not be applying the same tariff rate to China, one of the worst forced labor abusers in the world, as he does to countries like Australia. Then again, unlike China, Australia, doesn’t manufacture any Trump corporation products.This is the same administration that gutted funding to combat forced labor through cuts to the Bureau of International Labor Affairs and rolled back worker protections here at home, while encouraging companies to profit off some of the world’s worst forced labor abusers through his proposed US-China Board of Trade.Everything that you do that’s not focused on affordability is not helpful. This might not be a negative five, but it’s a negative 0.5. Anything that you’re doing that is not on the plus side of the scale is a problem.When you announce new tariffs, it’s not like, okay, well, let’s see what they do. It’s, ‘Oh crap, those are the bad things.’I think Republicans are comfortable with the threat, even though that has some market impacts. But actual revenue coming away from people’s pocketbooks is not what Republicans are happy with.Any conversation about tariffs, unless it’s reducing them, is a bad conversation for Republicans.The government of Brazil has rejected the Trump administration’s claim that it, and 84 other nations, failed to enforce a ban on forced labor, and called the new 12.5% US tariff on imports from Brazil “completely arbitrary and unjustified”.The Pentagon’s official online list of service members killed in the ongoing Iran war does not include the four soldiers who died during renewed fighting over the weekend, despite the fact that their names were included in a Pentagon press release on the formal transfer of their remains back to the United States on Wednesday.The premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, said “it’s very hard to deal with President Trump when he changes his mind every single day. One day the prime minister is with him side by side, and next thing you know, President Trump turns on him like a rabid dog.” Continue reading...
• The White House, via spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, stated that a potential nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia is contingent upon the kingdom joining the Abraham Accords.
• Separately, President Donald Trump is meeting with Republican governors and tech executives at the EPA to discuss a ratepayer protection pledge, aiming to shift electricity costs for data centers onto big tech companies.
• In Congress, Democrats have condemned the House Judiciary Committee's referral of former special prosecutor Jack Smith for criminal prosecution, calling the move "baseless" and "vindictive."
Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran without first seeking congressional approval has sparked further controversy over the National Defense Authorization ActSign up for the Breaking News US emailHello and welcome to our live coverage of US politics.The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) typically passes in Congress each year with bipartisan margins. But the $1.15tn defense policy bill passed in a near-party-line vote in the House of Representatives on Wednesday has lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in an uproar. Continue reading...
The prime minister said the £100m package would mean the typical pub would save around £1,100 in the next financial yearGood morning and welcome to the UK politics live blog.Andy Burnham will cut business rate bills for pubs, clubs and live music venues in England by 20% from next April.For too long, governments have stood by while cherished venues have disappeared from our local high streets. So today I am changing that.This government will back the businesses that people want to see in their communities. I said I would protect pubs and local high streets – the beating heart of our communities – and that’s what we will do.The new chancellor, John Healey, said the government would return to its commitment to overhaul the wider business rates system, including small business rates relief, at the budget.Ministers also plan to crack down on businesses that sell through online marketplaces but do not comply with their tax obligations, putting them at an unfair advantage over those that do, and is consulting on measures to make those marketplaces more responsible for this.Burnham announced that the government would cut VAT on electricity bills, reducing them by an average of £45 a year from October. This would be funded, officials said, by his decision to scrap the digital ID scheme.The prime minister also announced he would reduce the fare cap from £3 a journey to £2 next year, funded mainly by changing international climate donations into repayable loans.Burnham is immersed in a deepening political row after ordering a review of plans for the early release of thousands of killers, rapists and sex offenders from prison in September.Victims of crime have accused ministers of making “cheap jokes” about releasing prisoners early after Wes Streeting and Shabana Mahmood were caught on camera “ribbing” about the scheme.Scottish Labour’s rivals in Holyrood have slammed Anas Sarwar’s shock decision to resign as leader to sit in Andy Burnham’s new government, calling him a “chancer” and accusing him of lying to voters.The Conservatives have asked HMRC to investigate whether Nigel Farage should have paid tax on the £5m gift he received from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. Continue reading...
Andy Biggs – a hard-right congressman endorsed by Donald Trump – won the Republican nomination for Arizona governorHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Andy Biggs – a hard-right congressman endorsed by Donald Trump – won the Republican nomination for Arizona governor, saying he will “work with people that don’t necessarily agree with me”.As he wages war on Iran to prevent that country from enriching uranium, Donald Trump has reportedly approved a deal with Saudi Arabia to have US firms build a civilian nuclear energy program in the kingdom, which could include a uranium enrichment facility, US officials told the Wall Street Journal. The deal, which the administration plans to submit to Congress in the coming days, does not include safeguards to stop materials being used in nuclear weapons programs, Reuters reports.The US-Israeli war on Iran has cost the Pentagon $37.5bn so far, defense secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people,” New York mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a video statement in which he called the International Criminal Court warrant for the Israeli prime minister’s arrest justified but admitted that he lacks the legal authority to enforce it.Donald Trump announced a new package of tariffs on Tuesday, this time on generic drugs made overseas, to begin in 2028.The Senate intelligence committee on Tuesday advanced the nomination of Jay Clayton to serve as the US intelligence director, despite criticism from Democrats.The Trump administration paused more than $1bn in Medicaid funding to California and Minnesota, two states run by elected Democrats, citing “suspected fraud and noncompliance”. Continue reading...
Earlier this week, Burnham’s new government faced questions about how the removal of VAT on electricity bills would be fundedGood morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics.Andy Burnham’s new government is facing fresh questions on how it will fund its new policies aimed at easing the cost of living, after the prime minister announced a £2 cap on single bus fares this morning. Continue reading...
• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Ottawa is ready to intensify trade negotiations with the United States following President Donald Trump's order for fresh tariffs.
• Canada has already submitted proposals aimed at resolving the dispute before tariffs are imposed on a wide range of goods.
• The situation highlights escalating trade tensions between the two North American neighbors as the U.S. administration seeks to implement more aggressive protectionist measures.
PM Mark Carney says Canada has made proposals to resolve dispute as tariffs are due to be imposed on wide range of goodsSign up for US Breaking News emailHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Canadian prime minister Mark Carney has said that Ottawa is ready to deepen trade talks with the United States, after US president Donald Trump ordered fresh tariffs targeting Canada.Canadians across the political spectrum united in anger at Trump. “If these tariffs proceed, Canada should respond tariff for tariff, dollar for dollar,” Ontario premier Doug Ford said. Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, called the tariffs a “direct violation” of the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement Trump negotiated. Canada’s Conservatives called the tariffs “another unacceptable and unjustified attack on Canadian workers and our businesses,” adding: “Canadians are not a punching bag.” The leader of Canada’s New Democrats called them “the latest economic grenade thrown over the border by an out of control President who has lost touch with reality.”Ilya Somin, a professor of law at George Mason University who helped file the successful challenge to Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs, points out, the president’s new 50% tariffs on Canadian imports “are based on Section 338 of the notorious 1930 Smoot-Hawley tariff legislation, which severely exacerbated the Great Depression.”Nancy Mace, a Republican congresswoman from South Carolina, announced on Monday that she is not entering the race to replace the late senator Lindsey Graham in the snap Republican primary next month. Continue reading...
Former state legislator in strong position to become Democratic candidate after several appointments drop out over the weekend In other news, the Trump administration has filed a first-ever petition to a secretive and dormant court created 30 years ago to consider government requests to deport so-called “alien terrorists” from the US.The Alien Terrorist Removal Court (ATRC) was established in 1996 but had never received a petition until Wednesday, when the US justice department filed an application seeking the removal of an individual whose name is withheld from the single-page document posted on the court’s website. Continue reading...
Democrats also criticize speech as ‘lies and long-debunked conspiracies’Sign up for US News Breaking emailTrump makes unverified claims of China ‘election meddling’Donald Trump repeated calls in his Thursday speech for the passage of the Save America Act – a rebranded and expanded version of last year’s Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (Save) act, which passed in the US House but didn’t get a vote in the Senate.This year’s version includes a very strict voter ID requirement for casting a ballot and a provision that requires states to regularly turn their voter rolls over to the Department of Homeland Security, in addition to criminal liability for election officials who register a voter without proper documentary proof of citizenship. Continue reading...
President will meet new Republican senator who has taken over the seat following the death of her brother Lindsey GrahamSign up for the Breaking News US emailHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Donald Trump is due to meet Darline Graham - the sister of the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham, was sworn in to temporarily fill his Senate seat – later today.103 House Democrats voted to cut military aid to Israel as accusations that Israel’s government carried out a genocide in Gaza are gaining more traction in the party.Two of Donald Trump’s nominees for powerful positions, Todd Blanche and Jay Clayton, buckled under pressure during their confirmations hearings. Blanche, the acting attorney general, described himself as Trump’s lawyer, before correcting himself. Clayton, the would-be national intelligence director, refused to say who won the 2020 election when asked by senator Jon Ossoff.Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna, who wrote the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law requiring the release of investigative files on the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, introduced a sequel that would allow state officials, victims and members of Congress to sue the attorney general over withheld records.In an interview with the podcaster Joe Rogan, US vice-president JD Vance discounted the conspiracy theory that Trump’s long association with Epstein had been used by Israel to blackmail the president into attacking Iran.The treasury department announced Wednesday that the US Mint has started producing a new commemorative $1 coin featuring Donald Trump as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration. Continue reading...
Trump’s nominee – his former personal defense lawyer – will face what is expected to be a contentious Senate nomination hearing Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next US attorney general – his former personal defense lawyer Todd Blanche – faces what is expected to be a contentious Senate nomination hearing today.Federal immigration officials have been instructed to stop pulling over vehicles until further notice, according to a homeland security source, following two recent deadly shootings in Texas and Maine during which officials shot and killed immigrants in vehicles. More here.Darline Graham, the sister of the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham, was sworn in to temporarily fill his Senate seat on Tuesday, just three days after his sudden death. Graham was appointed by Henry McMaster, South Carolina’s governor, to fill the remainder of her brother’s current term. More here.A person died during an encounter with federal immigration officials on Tuesday morning in Florida, marking the third death in one week linked to immigration enforcement operations. Officials with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which is a component of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), had an “encounter” with four men in a vehicle in the parking lot of a convenience store along a busy road in St Augustine, Florida, the highway patrol spokesperson said. More here.Supreme court justices requested $14.6m increase in security amid a rise in threats. Amy Coney Barrett told House lawmakers that a sharp rise in threats against her and other justices is increasingly affecting her personal and family lives. More here. Continue reading...
• Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan testified before the House regarding the necessity of an increased security budget due to rising threats against judges.
• In a separate legal matter, Hunter Biden won a defamation lawsuit totaling $1.7 million against Donald Trump ally Tony Bobulinski (referred to as Byrne in the text).
• The lawsuit centered on false claims that Hunter Biden accepted an $800 million bribe to influence U.S. policy and unfreeze $8 billion in Iranian assets.
Lawmakers face obstacles, including demands from Trump, Mitch McConnell’s absence and Graham’s sudden deathHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Republican lawmakers return to the Capitol this week after the unexpected death in office of Lindsey Graham, as the party seeks to appoint a new senator to see out his term.The Senate judiciary committee has scheduled two days of confirmation hearings for Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general Trump has nominated to the post, though it was unclear if the death of Graham, who served on the committee, will affect the schedule. The intelligence committee has separately announced that the confirmation of Clayton is back on.Republicans in both chambers remain confounded by Trump’s renewed fixation on the Save America Act, which would ban mail-in ballots and impose new rules on voting nationwide. The measure, a version of which was approved by the House of Representatives earlier this year almost entirely with Republican votes, has no path through the Senate, where it faces opposition from Democrats and some in the GOP.Ro Khanna accused the Israeli government and military of “lying” on Sunday about the US congressman’s detention by armed settlers and Israeli soldiers during a recent visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Khanna – a California Democrat – had posted video evidence on social media of Israeli settlers and soldiers blocking the path of his convoy on Wednesday in the South Hebron hills, near the village of Zanuta, where Israelis have driven Palestinians from their homes in what Amnesty International calls a government-backed “ethnic cleansing campaign”. Continue reading...
Cather Atkinson hinted that the Home Office may threaten to stop issuing visas to Pakistan unless it agrees to accept Shabir AhmedGood morning. Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, will be in the Commons for much of the afternoon and she is involved in several of the main news stories in the mix today. MPs are debating the second reading of the immigration and asylum bill, meaning that those Labour MPs opposed to her plans may speak out at some point. (Her most controversial proposal is about extending the amount of time migrant workers have to wait until they can apply for indefinite leave to remain [ILR], and that is not actually part of the bill, but it would be surprising if ILR does not come up.) We are also expecting a Home Office statement about security, in the light of the murder of Ann Widdecombe. As Aletha Adu reports, the police, who have arrested a man on suspicion of murder, have said at this point there is no evidence to suggest the killing was politically motivated. But that has not stopped Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, doing exactly that.And Mahmood is also due to give MPs details of how she plans to amend the law so that the Rochdale grooming gang leader, Shabir Ahmed, can be deported.I understand that the home secretary will be having more to announce on this later today.She has been absolutely clear that this government will take action to see Shabir Ahmed removed, and we’ve seen the success that she has had when it comes to removals in previous cases.There were previous negotiations where countries refused to take back foreign national offenders. And Shabana was able to secure those returns.I can’t get ahead of what the home secretary will be announcing today, but she has a strong track record on being able to see progress where people previously have said things weren’t possible. Continue reading...
Senate pick announced his withdrawal in angry video accusing party and media of acting as ‘judge, jury and executioner’Sign up for the Breaking News US emailHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.The Maine Democratic party has voted to hold a convention after its Senate pick Graham Platner withdrew from the race following accusations of sexual assault.Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would ask the US supreme court to reconsider its ruling that the 14th amendment to the US constitution guarantees birthright citizenship in light of what he described as shocking new evidence: a hospital in Texas advertising its services to expectant mothers in Mexico on a pair of billboards. “Signs and Billboards are being put up all over our Southern Border, and Mexico, advertising BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP, with ‘Deliveries starting at $4000’, the president wrote on his social media platform, in what appeared to be a wild exaggeration of a Fox News report on just two billboards.Donald Trump flew from Turkey to England onboard the older Air Force One on Wednesday, rather than the new, Qatari-gifted aircraft he used to travel to the Nato summit in Ankara, an unexpected change in plans that prompted questions about security fears. Trump later boarded the new plane at Mildenhall air force base in the United Kingdom for the trip back to Washington.Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House’s World Cup taskforce, has defended Donald Trump’s lobbying of Fifa to lift the suspension of US player Folarin Balogun for Monday’s game against Belgium. The US president claimed that Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, who showed Balogun a red card in the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, was “a little bit suspect, if you check his past”.US stock markets fell on Wednesday as the US continued strikes on Iran and the Federal Reserve flagged concerns that would warrant higher interest rates. Donald Trump’s declaration at the Nato summit in Ankara that the Iran-US ceasefire is over sent oil prices sharply higher on Wednesday. Brent crude, the global benchmark, jumped more than 5% to crest $80 a barrel.A Manhattan federal court judge on Wednesday ordered the release of the more than $5m Donald Trump owes E Jean Carroll following her successful 2023 sexual abuse and defamation trial against him. Less than an hour after the judge issued his order, Trump filed paperwork indicating he was appealing the decision. Continue reading...
Vermont senator is latest figure to call for Democratic nominee to step down after sexual assault allegationsHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.The fight to replace Graham Platner is already under way as Bernie Sanders became the latest key figure to call for the scandal-hit Democratic nominee to step down.Donald Trump has revived his bid for the US to acquire Greenland, threatening to pull all American armed forces out of Europe after the continent repeatedly pushed back. Arriving at the Nato summit in Ankara, the US president also suggested his commitment to defending Europe had been tempered by political decisions by leaders on immigration and energy. More here.A federal appeals panel struck down a significant chunk of Ron DeSantis’s so-called Stop Woke Act, delivering another rebuff to the Republican Florida governor’s efforts to stifle free speech in higher education. Judges of the 11th circuit court of appeal said that the higher education component of the law – which prevented college and university professors teaching or sharing thoughts on concepts of race and gender – breached the free expression rights guaranteed under the US constitution’s first amendment. More here.Ninety-five per cent of Americans believe the US is suffering an affordability crisis, as many report trouble with the rising cost of groceries and gas, according to an exclusive new poll conducted for the Guardian. The survey, conducted by Harris Poll, paints a bleak picture of how people feel about the US economy amid the war in Iran and ahead of the key midterm elections this fall. More here. Continue reading...
Maine’s party leadership calls for Platner to withdraw after after sexual assault allegation emergesHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Maine’s Democratic party leadership has called for US Senate candidate Graham Platner to withdraw from the race, as the scandal-hit Marine veteran loses support from his previously most vocal backers.Trump’s latest attempt to delay payment of a $5.8m judgment for defaming a magazine columnist whom a jury determined he sexually abused has been emphatically rejected by a federal court judge. More here.Trump rang the bell of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) from the White House to mark the first trading day for Trump accounts, a government initiative that provides children with a $1,000 investment account. It is the first joint opening of the exchanges, and the first time the bell had been rung at the White House. More here.National guard soldiers on patrol in Memphis shot and killed a man that authorities in the Tennessee city said turned and pulled a gun on the troops during a chase. The shooting took place at about 4am on Sunday as the soldiers responded to a report of gunfire. The Tennessee national guard was deployed controversially by the state’s governor, Bill Lee, in October to support the federal push by Donald Trump, his fellow Republican, to tackle perceived crime surges in Democratic-run cities. More here. Continue reading...