Vote Trump

• The Kennedy Center board voted on Thursday, August 13, 2026, to add President Donald Trump’s name to the building's facade. • The board also approved a two-year closure of the facility to facilitate substantial renovation work. • This decision marks a significant symbolic shift in the branding of the national performing arts center.

The center has until next week to present plan to judge who had blocked earlier rehab and name changeUS politics live – latest updatesThe board of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington is said to have voted once again to move forward with Donald Trump’s controversial plan to temporarily shutter the building for substantial renovations, as well as to inscribe the US president’s name on the facade of its building, despite a federal order for his name to be removed from the signage.The board – mostly handpicked, staunch allies of the president – voted “to close the Kennedy Center’s main building, while keeping a newer addition to the campus, known as the Reach, open for limited programming and to operate as an active memorial to John F Kennedy”, according to the New York Times, which was first to report the results. Continue reading...

• President Trump and his top aides remain bullish on the expansion of data centers despite growing national blowback and voter anxiety regarding the facilities. • In a shift from a previously hands-off approach, the White House recently prepared a plan to monitor specific AI models to prevent the creation of security vulnerabilities. • The new monitoring framework was developed in coordination with major industry leaders, including Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI.

• The Republican-led Senate narrowly confirmed Todd Blanche as Attorney General in a 50-49 overnight vote. • Blanche secured the position after winning over GOP holdouts by pledging to eliminate the "anti-weaponization fund." • The appointment is significant as President Trump has openly expressed a desire to utilize the Department of Justice to investigate his political opponents.

• Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and his Democratic colleagues successfully blocked the advancement of the SAVE Act in the U.S. Senate. • The legislation, supported by Donald Trump and Senate Republicans, is characterized by Democrats as a voter suppression effort. • This move marks another defeat for the bill, which Republicans prioritize while Democrats argue the focus should remain on addressing skyrocketing costs for American families.

Alaska Republican is concerned that proposed fund to compensate January 6 rioters will proceed even though Blanche confirmed it was deadUS politics live – latest updatesLisa Murkowski, Alaska’s moderate Republican senator, announced early on Friday that she will not vote for Donald Trump’s nomination of Todd Blanche as US attorney general, leaving his elevation from “acting” to official confirmation in the post even narrower.Murkowski issued a statement expressing her concerns that the Trump administration could proceed with its proposed fund to compensate rioters who invaded the US Capitol on January 6 in a failed attempt to overturn Joe Biden’s defeat of Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Continue reading...

• The House is proposing a measure to establish a dedicated office within the Defense Department to legally mandate and facilitate military cooperation between the United States and Israel. • This new office would oversee the joint development, testing, and rollout of advanced weapons and military technology. • A separate intelligence bill, likely to be merged with the defense legislation, would require the president and the director of national intelligence to expand intelligence sharing with Israel.

• The Justice Department has faced a series of legal defeats, including 20 consecutive losses, in its efforts to obtain state voter rolls as part of a broader "voter fraud" initiative. • Republican Senator John Cornyn recently claimed that Republicans lack power over President Trump, despite the Senate Judiciary Committee voting to advance acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation. • Concerns have been raised regarding Trump's repeated assertions that he intends to find a way to pay individuals involved in the January 6 insurrection.

• Michigan voters participating in the Democratic Senate primary identified the economy and Donald Trump's influence as primary concerns. • Key issues cited by voters included the impact of data centers, health care access, and the ongoing conflicts involving Israel and Iran. • Voters expressed concern that Trump is dividing the U.S. domestically and damaging its international reputation, specifically criticizing his politicization of the Justice Department.

Missouri’s top election official has rejected a petition for a referendum on new congressional districts Missouri’s top election official has rejected a citizens’ petition seeking a statewide referendum on the states redistricting plan backed by Donald Trump.Supporters of the referendum had submitted hundreds of thousands of petition signatures in a bid to force a November election on a new US House map approved by the Republican-led state legislature. But the Republican secretary of state, Denny Hoskins, asserted Tuesday that the petition is void because congressional redistricting plans cannot be subject to voter referendums. Continue reading...

• A federal judge rejected the Trump-era Department of Justice's argument that certain evidence was "not relevant," despite claims involving "hundreds of federal crimes." • This ruling extends the government's losing streak to 18 cases within a specific state voter rolls lawsuit. • The decision highlights a continuing judicial clash over the transparency and legality of voter roll management and government oversight.

• A Senate motion to prevent the Trump administration from continuing hostilities against Iran failed in a narrow 49-50 vote. • Republican senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Rand Paul broke party lines to vote in favor of the motion. • The political landscape is shifting as Senators Cornyn and Tillis are set to leave office next year, with Cornyn having lost his primary in May.

• The House of Representatives approved a nonbinding proposal directing President Donald Trump to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities in the war with Iran. • While the House passed the measure, Senate Republicans voted against it, effectively allowing the President to continue waging the conflict. • Democrats forced these votes to strategically tie Republican lawmakers to an unpopular war in an effort to gain political leverage ahead of the November elections.

Energy secretary grapples with mounting criticism over length of US war as Democrat calls conflict ‘war of choice’A Trump administration official on Sunday grappled with mounting criticism over the length of the US war with Iran after months of promised diplomatic breakthroughs, short-lived ceasefires, and the deaths of two more American troops in Jordan bringing the total number of American military members killed in the conflict to 16.Appearing on ABC’s This Week, US energy secretary Chris Wright defended the Trump administration’s strategy after being confronted with his earlier claims that the war which began in February would have ended by now. Continue reading...

• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) drafted a press release claiming thousands of non-citizens are registered to vote in California, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. • The document was circulated internally prior to a planned prime-time speech by Donald Trump, who promised to reveal significant news regarding election security. • DHS has not provided evidence of actual illegal voting, nor has it explained the methodology or data sources used to reach these findings.

• 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.

• A federal judge dismissed a Department of Justice lawsuit against Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt, ruling that Pennsylvania is not required to share its unredacted voter-registration database with the Trump administration. • This legal action was part of a broader effort by the DOJ to sue more than half of U.S. states to force the release of unredacted voter rolls. • The ruling marks the tenth time a federal judge has sided against the administration in these specific efforts to obtain voter data.

• President Trump's loyalist Pulte has selected Norton for a top spy aide position, sparking fears among Democrats and former intelligence officials regarding potential election interference. • Critics, including Rep. Jamie Raskin, argue the appointment prioritizes absolute political loyalty over professional intelligence experience, noting Pulte's history of referring political rivals for prosecution. • The move is seen as a potential effort to use the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to make false fraud claims and tamper with upcoming midterm elections.

• A federal judge has halted an executive order signed by President Trump that aimed to create a centralized federal voter list. • Judge Talwani rejected the administration's motions to dismiss, ruling that postponing judicial review would be impracticable given the upcoming election cycle. • The decision marks the second ruling in two days against Trump's executive orders seeking increased federal oversight of national elections.

• Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is leading a House blockade, claiming she has the votes to freeze all floor action until Republicans pass the SAVE America Act. • This legislative hold-up focuses on advancing Donald Trump's stalled voter ID push, effectively halting other scheduled business for the week. • Luna dismissed the importance of a recently passed bipartisan housing bill, despite GOP leadership viewing the expansion of housing stock as vital for affordability messaging.

• A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's attempts to implement mail-in voting restrictions and create a national voter database ahead of the midterm elections. • The administration argued these measures were necessary to strengthen election integrity and combat potential voter fraud. • A key point of contention involves a proposed U.S. Postal Service rule that would require states to provide lists of eligible absentee voters to the federal government to ensure ballot delivery.

• U.S. District Judge Denise Casper, an Obama appointee, ruled on Wednesday that President Donald Trump's plan to require proof of citizenship for voter registration is unconstitutional. • The judge determined that the U.S. Constitution does not grant the president specific powers to dictate how elections are administered, rejecting administration arguments regarding election fraud. • This ruling blocks the White House from implementing the mandate, marking a significant legal setback for the administration's efforts to restrict voter registration.

• U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston has permanently barred the Trump administration from implementing a proof of citizenship requirement for voters. • The ruling converts a preliminary injunction issued one year ago into a permanent ban, blocking several of the administration's attempts to overhaul election rules. • Judge Casper rejected the administration's claim that the lawsuit, filed by Democratic state attorneys general, was premature since the rules had not yet been implemented.

Ruling is win for democracy advocates who have fought back against Trump’s push to take power over votingA US federal court blocked Donald Trump’s attempt to regulate elections via executive order, a win for democracy advocates who have fought back against the US president’s push to take power over voting.Trump issued an executive order on elections, including a documentary proof of citizenship requirement that would have necessitated that people show passports, birth certificates or other documentation when they registered to vote, or changed their registration. Continue reading...

• Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to stop allowing states to access a federal voter database that includes Social Security records. • The ruling comes after the judge found that states were "actively" using the data, creating a risk that eligible voters could be purged from rolls before an upcoming election. • The court determined that the federal government knowingly violated the privacy rights of American citizens and threatened the "sacred right to vote."

Democratic primary elections to test strength of party’s left flank as old guard faces string of challengesNew Yorkers were voting on Tuesday in a slate of Democratic primaries poised to reveal the strength of the party’s left flank and shape the battle for control of the US House of Representatives in November.Voters in Maryland and Utah will also nominate congressional candidates on Tuesday, while South Carolina holds a series of runoff elections for candidates who did not receive a majority of the vote earlier this month. Continue reading...

Representative Mike Collins defeats former college football coach Derek Dooley, while Rick Jackson selected as governor pickGeorgia’s Republican primary runoff voters chose US representative Mike Collins over former college football coach Derek Dooley to lead the party’s bid to challenge US senator and rising Democratic star Jon Ossoff in November’s midterm elections.They also selected billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson over Trump-backed lieutenant governor Burt Jones to face Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms in November, after a bruising election campaign that led to libel litigation and federal challenges to Georgia election law. Continue reading...

Democrats have rolled the dice in Maine as they pursue a post-Trump future. Will it work?It was over the moment he received the endorsement of Maine’s most famous resident: Stephen King, the master of horror, who announced on Tuesday that he voted for Graham Platner.More than 100,000 Democrats in Maine agreed, making Platner, a marine veteran and oyster farmer, their nominee for the US Senate against Republican incumbent Susan Collins in November. Continue reading...