Live updates: Progressives score more primary wins; Trump suggests Iran deal is coming
Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., is dropping his bid for re-election after a censure recommendation over sexual harassment allegations.
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What to know today<!–>
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- PROGRESSIVES WIN: Voters used a raft of primaries yesterday to drop fresh clues about the direction of the Democratic Party and how several leading political figures are wielding their influence.
- EL-SAYED VICTORY: Progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan’s slugfest of a Democratic Senate primary, NBC News projects, clinching the nomination in a close race over Rep. Haley Stevens.
- EDWARDS DROPS OUT: Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., said he is dropping his bid for re-election, days after the House Ethics Committee recommended censure over sexual harassment allegations.
- IRAN WAR: President Donald Trump said a deal on the Strait of Hormuz could come as early as today as Iran and Oman inched toward an agreement to reopen the critical waterway and potentially help end the war.
Slumping Democratic establishment takes another blow with Abdul El-Sayed’s Michigan win<!–>
Abdul El-Sayed swaggered down the home stretch in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, mugging for photos at a pool party with content creators and calling his opponent “the least capable candidate in America.”
The former public health official projected the image of a candidate who believed he was headed for a decisive, establishment-slaying win. But Tuesday came and went without a winner, and with the margin of votes between him and Rep. Haley Stevens narrowing.
“Look, I wish I could tell you that I was declaring victory right about now,” a humbler El-Sayed told supporters early Wednesday morning, before NBC News projected him as the winner of the race.
El-Sayed would have his chance hours later, surrounded by the state Democratic Party chair and others. In victory, he offered kind words for Stevens, saying that she “brings the best of herself to her work,” and he put behind them a campaign that had involved nasty attacks in both directions.
How Abdul El-Sayed won in Michigan — and how the results illustrate his challenges ahead<!–>
Abdul El-Sayed’s younger and higher-educated base drove him to victory in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, according to an analysis of county results. Those results also show exactly where he has work to do to go from primary winner to general election victor.
Trump says oil prices may have to rise again <!–>
Trump said today that oil prices might be on the rise again soon after having told reporters last night that a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz was imminent.
“When gasoline, when oil goes down, and it’s going to go down very rapidly, and it’s happening very soon, already happening,” Trump said in a speech in Las Vegas. “It’s dropping, and we may have to send it up again.”
“We may have to. You know what happens when we send it up, but we hope we don’t have to,” he added.
Average gas prices in the U.S. were sitting at $4.08 per gallon today, according to data from motor club AAA. The cost of gasoline has shot up by more than 30% since the war with Iran began and the global oil supply constricted.
Trump told reporters last night that a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz, a pathway for a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas, could happen “tomorrow or the next day.”
The U.S. and Iran had reached a deal to open the strait in June, but it fell apart after attacks resumed.
Trump takes aim at Abdul El-Sayed, Francesca Hong over ‘communist threat'<!–>
Trump ripped into progressive candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Francesca Hong in a speech in Las Vegas today, reiterating his claim that communism is the “greatest threat against our country,” which has become a feature of his rally speeches.
Trump criticized El-Sayed, who won the Democratic primary in Michigan’s Senate race last night, telling the crowd, “When I watch Abdul, he’s full of s—.”
“He doesn’t love Israel. He doesn’t love Jewish people. He hates them. He hates them with a passion that burns in his heart, and there’s not a fricking thing he can do about it,” Trump said.
El-Sayed, who was backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has strongly criticized Israel, arguing that it is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Trump later shifted to attack Hong, who is running for governor of Wisconsin.
“And in Wisconsin, the communists even have a woman who said that the holiday of Thanksgiving should be immediately abolished and the police only exist to quote ‘uphold white supremacy,'” Trump said.
Hong recently addressed a now-deleted post from 2021 that called for canceling Thanksgiving, telling CNN this week that Thanksgiving “is also a time that’s incredibly painful for many people in our communities.” She has also previously called to defund the police, though has softened her stance on the issue during her run for governor.
Trump said: “These people are dangerous, and frankly, they are lunatics. They’re crazy, and we can’t let them get into office. Communism is the greatest threat to our country in its history.”
As a slew of progressive candidates have found success this primary cycle, he has repeatedly warned against communism this summer.
Schumer says he had a ‘very good talk’ with El-Sayed this afternoon<!–>
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said today that he spoke to Michigan Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, “and we had a very good talk this afternoon.”
“I’m feeling optimistic about winning the Senate and with Michigan,” Schumer said just off the chamber floor. “We are going to win in Michigan. We’re going to beat Rogers, and we’re going to take back the Senate.”
Schumer had endorsed Haley Stevens in the primary but announced his support for El-Sayed shortly after his projected victory. El-Sayed would take on Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers in the general election.
Jeanine Pirro ‘eviscerated’ Doug Burgum during Oval Office meeting with Trump<!–>
In addition to defending her handling of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism case from a furious Trump, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, also “eviscerated” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum over his department’s handling of the pool during a White House meeting, a source briefed on the discussion told NBC News.
A separate source familiar with the meeting confirmed Burgum’s attendance and said Pirro admitted there was some degree of vandalism to the pool, pointing to Burgum’s lengthy post Saturday on X calling the evidence of vandalism “clear.”
Pirro met with Trump on Monday hours after he harshly rebuked her, telling reporters she had “choked” and “folded like an umbrella” in dropping a felony case against Olympian David Hearn. Trump stopped short of firing Pirro, who did not offer him her resignation.
First to NBC News: Ruben Gallego to attend inauguration in Colombia for staunch pro-Trump ally Abelardo De La Espriella<!–>
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., plans to travel to Colombia this week for the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo De La Espriella, a staunch pro-Trump ally who has vowed to crack down on crime in the country.
Gallego, one of two Colombian-American members of Congress, plans to attend De La Espriella’s swearing-in in Cali on Friday, according to his spokesperson Renata Miller.
The White House announced an official presidential delegation this afternoon, which will be led by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. The list did not include Gallego. A spokesperson for Gallego said he is traveling as part of his own congressional delegation and in coordination with the Colombian government.
Other officials named to Trump’s presidential delegation include Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, R-Fla.; Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terrance Cole; and Sara Carter, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
While he is in the country, Gallego plans to meet with new foreign affairs minister, Omar Bula, and newly elected members of Congress in Colombia. He will also attend a lunch with the American Chamber of Commerce to discuss bilateral commerce.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, a key voice shaping Trump’s policy in Colombia and Latin America, will not be going to the inauguration. A spokesperson said today that Moreno would not attend because of Senate votes, which they expect will run into Friday and into the upper chamber’s scheduled August recess.
Gallego has traveled to Colombia in the past as part of congressional delegations. He has previously said the future of Latin America will be “pivoting on Colombia.”
Blanche is meeting with Sens. Bill Cassidy and Lisa Murkowski<!–>
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is on Capitol Hill meeting with Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, in a basement hideaway room.
The two senators have said they are undecided on his nomination to be attorney general. Blanche needs at least one of their votes to be confirmed.
Thune says Republicans are still working to secure votes to advance Blanche nomination<!–>
Republicans are still working to secure the votes needed to advance Todd Blanche’s nomination and adopt a budget resolution, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said today.
Asked whether Republicans have the votes for a budget resolution, Thune replied, “It’s hard to say at this point.” On Blanche, he said: “We’re working on that one. I’m hoping eventually we get there.”
Thune also said Republicans are moving forward on the continuing resolution now that cloture has been invoked. While he did not commit to allowing amendment votes, he said leadership is listening to members and trying to determine the “right and best path forward” while allowing votes on issues senators care about when possible.
Asked whether the Senate is likely to adopt a budget resolution after the August recess, Thune declined to make a prediction.
Sen. Bill Cassidy says he’s undecided on Blanche’s nomination, pointing to concerns about lawfare<!–>
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has not yet locked in the votes he needs to be confirmed, and with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announcing she is a no on his confirmation, eyes are on Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.
If Cassidy and Murkowski vote no alongside all 47 Democrats and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., doesn’t vote, then Blanche’s nomination fails.
In an interview on SiriusXM’s “The Briefing with Steve Scully,” Cassidy said he has not made a decision about Blanche’s nomination, citing concerns about “lawfare” coming from the Trump administration.
“I’ve got to be convinced that he is an attorney general who just happens to have once been President Trump’s personal attorney, as opposed to President Trump’s personal attorney who is now the attorney general. I think there’s a big difference between the two,” Cassidy said.
He added, “I am very concerned about so-called lawfare — people being prosecuted not for a valid reason beyond somebody in high office being angry at them.”
Blanche was named acting attorney general after Trump grew frustrated with Pam Bondi’s inability to successfully prosecute his political foes. Since the start of Trump’s second term, the Justice Department has launched investigations and sought indictments against many of Trump’s adversaries, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Murkowski declined to comment on where she was on Blanche’s nomination but told NBC News it was a “pretty good step” that he signed an order to disband the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and that she’d like to find out more about negotiations between Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, and the Justice Department.
Asian American groups backing James Talarico for Senate say he needs to step up his game<!–>
Asian American groups in Texas say they are “sounding the alarm” on Democrat James Talarico’s Senate campaign, warning that if he wants to pull off an upset in November, he must change course on his outreach to voters in their community.
The warnings came from the three Asian American groups that have endorsed him.
The Asian Texans for Justice Action Fund announced in May that it backed Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian. But since then, Executive Director Nabila Mansoor said, his campaign has fallen short of reaching Asian voters she said he needs if he is to beat his Republican opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton. The action fund is the sister group of Asian Texans for Justice, which says it represents more than 1.9 million Asians in the state.
Two other groups that backed Talarico — Asian American Democrats of Texas and the AAPI Victory Fund — also expressed worries to NBC News.
While Talarico has generated excitement in many corners of the state, Mansoor said that with only three months to go to Election Day, community groups do not feel the campaign is connecting with them.
“I think that’s what’s been lacking,” she said.
Republican lawmakers complain about White House’s hemp push<!–>
The White House has been actively engaged in pushing to delay an impending ban on intoxicating hemp, four people with direct knowledge of the matter told NBC News.
The delay concerns a provision Trump signed into law last year that would ban most low-THC hemp-derived products sold around the country beginning Nov. 12.
The measure closed a loophole that allowed unregulated products to flourish nationwide. The products include items that are sold at places like gas stations, like Delta-8, as well as mild full-spectrum CBD tinctures used for sleep and inflammation.
Since at least July, White House Legislative Affairs Director James Braid began calling lawmakers on the issue, according to three people directly familiar with the calls who were granted anonymity to speak candidly.
The White House’s request for a delay worked; over the weekend, Senate leaders struck a bipartisan agreement on a stopgap government funding bill that included a provision pushing the hemp ban back to Dec. 11. The Senate hopes to pass the legislation this week before it leaves for its August recess.
A delay in the ban would benefit a relative of a top White House official: chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Rep. Haley Stevens says she has offered Abdul El-Sayed her full support in Senate race<!–>
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., said on X that she spoke to Abdul El-Sayed this morning after her primary election defeat and offered her full support for his Senate bid against Republican Mike Rogers.
“I want to congratulate Abdul El-Sayed on winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. He is a doctor, a community health official, a Rhodes Scholar, and a dedicated Michigander. I am proud to offer my support as he takes on Mike Rogers in the general election,” she said in a statement.
Stevens said Trump and Rogers want Democrats to come out of this process “tired and divided” and want to keep the Senate in GOP hands.
“I’m not going to let that happen,” she said. “We need to win this Senate seat, because Elissa Slotkin deserves a partner like Abdul in the U.S. Senate.”
Sen. Gary Peters says Democrats will ‘unite the party’ behind Abdul El-Sayed<!–>
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., said today he congratulated Abdul El-Sayed on his Democratic Senate primary victory and urged Democrats to quickly rally behind him.
“I talked to him this morning and congratulated him on the victory,” Peters said. “We have to win Michigan. It’s absolutely essential for us to keep that state blue … so that we can take the majority here in the U.S. Senate.”
“So he’s going to work hard, and we’re going to now unite the party behind him,” Peters said.
Asked why he predicted the race would be close despite polling, Peters replied: “I’m a Michigander. I’ve been through a lot of elections in Michigan … so I knew it’d be very tight.” He added, “Whatever differences existed between Haley Stevens and Abdul, those are very small compared to the difference between Abdul and Mike Rogers.”
Peters said that El-Sayed now needs to begin unifying the party immediately and that El-Sayed assured him that outreach would begin right away. He added that he had not yet spoken with Stevens.
Asked whether El-Sayed’s views on Israel reflect a broader shift in the Democratic Party, Peters said, “Certainly he campaigned on that issue, and the results speak for themselves.”
Candidate who dropped out beats Trump’s pick in a battleground GOP House primary<!–>
Thomas Smith, a political unknown who raised almost no money for his campaign, defeated Trump’s endorsed candidate in a Republican primary for a Michigan congressional seat the GOP hopes to contest this fall, NBC News projects.
Trump had backed military veteran Amir Hassan in his bid to take on Democratic Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet in the 8th District, which the president carried by 2 points in the 2024 election. But Hassan lost to Smith, who suspended his campaign in mid-July, according to local media reports.
With nearly all of the vote tallied, Smith led with 50% of the vote, followed by Hassan with 33%. A third candidate, Al Lemmo, took 16%.
Jasmine Crocket skeptical of Senate candidate James Talarico’s prospects to win Texas<!–>
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said she’s skeptical her former Senate primary rival James Talarico can turn Texas blue this fall.
“I don’t know,” she told NBC News last night at an election night party for Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Mo.
Crockett said she doesn’t buy the general election polls, saying they’ve historically overstated Democrats’ prospects in Texas.
“I watch money,” Crockett said. “When I look at the money, if Republicans start spending money in Texas, then I’ll be convinced. But right now, national Republicans decided they wanted to dump money into North Carolina, as well as Georgia. That’s where they’re fighting, and national Democrats have not decided to dump money into Texas either.”
“I look at where does the NRSC stand? Where does DSCC stand? Right now, neither one are investing, which tells me that their internals are saying the same thing,” she said. “So it looks like status quo. I won’t get on the ground to really start to feel it until maybe end of September, October, as I start to dig into which races I’m going to help out in, the races that I really feel like we can win.”
Blanche praises Jeanine Pirro but deflects on Reflecting Pool case<!–>
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche praised D.C.’s U.S. attorney, Jeanine Pirro, today while also calling the president’s frustration with her decision to drop charges in the Reflecting Pool case “appropriate.”
Speaking at an unrelated press conference, Blanche declined to answer when asked if he’d known ahead of time that Pirro’s office was going to recommend charges be dropped against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn and others charged with vandalizing the pool and whether he had signed off on her decision.
As for what he knew about Pirro’s decision, Blanche said today, “I’m not going to talk about internal discussions. I don’t approve or disapprove decisions that our U.S. attorneys make in a general matter, but I’m not going to talk about what we knew about the case or didn’t know about the case.”
“I don’t want the message to be because President Trump expressed appropriate frustration at the damage done to the Reflecting Pool” that Pirro and her office “are not working every day to combat violent crime and make this city safe.”
“I think that U.S. Attorney Pirro, over the past year and a half she’s been there, year plus, has led an unprecedented effort to turn the city on its head to be a safe place for all of us to live and eat” and is “doing a great job,” Blanche said.
In moving to dismiss the case, Pirro’s team said internal Interior Department documents showed the damage was caused by a “botched” installation process.
Hearn had denied the charge against him. His lawyers said in a court filing yesterday that the case was “motivated by political considerations and devoid of adequate factual support.”
A source told NBC News yesterday that Trump was “pretty furious” with longtime ally Pirro over her decision. Asked by reporters last night if he was considering firing her, Trump told reporters, “I haven’t made a determination.”
Blanche said today that the president “has every right to be extraordinarily frustrated with damage done to our national monuments.”
Asked what message it would send if Trump were to fire Pirro, Blanche said, “It turns out he’s allowed to do that, because he’s the president of the United States.”
“He understands he has the power to do that,” Blanche said. He said Pirro has done a “phenomenal job” but “does that mean every case goes exactly the way President Trump or I want or U.S. Attorney Pirro wants? Of course not.”
FAA says it is investigating Trump helicopter safety incident in Washington<!–>
The Federal Aviation Administration is reviewing an air traffic safety incident yesterday involving a military helicopter carrying the president, the agency said.
“The FAA is investigating a safety incident involving Marine One but it didn’t appear to be a dangerous close call and the aircraft weren’t apparently converging,” the FAA said.
Trump’s Marine One helicopter took off from the White House yesterday afternoon, but air traffic controllers had not halted commercial flights at nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as required under a policy set last year following a fatal collision, two sources told Reuters.
‘We took on a machine’: Abdul El-Sayed thanks supporters after primary victory<!–>
Abdul El-Sayed held a press conference to thank his family and supporters after winning Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary. NBC News’ Shaquille Brewster reports on the race in Michigan and whom El-Sayed will be facing in November.
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Thune takes steps towards Blanche Senate vote, working on getting support from undecided Republicans<!–>
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has just taken the first procedural step to bring Todd Blanche’s nomination to the Senate floor, filing a procedural motion that sets a vote for Friday to move forward with Blanche’s nomination.
Thune just told reporters he’s “confident” they will confirm Blanche, but said they’re working to get support from Republicans such as Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — both of whom have clashed with Trump in the past.
“We’re having conversations with the folks, the small number of people who will be undecided in this, and I’m hopeful we’ll get there,” Thune just said, “But again, it’s a work in progress, and we’re not there yet.”
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced her opposition to Blanche’s nomination yesterday, meaning only one additional Republican can oppose Blanche if he is to be confirmed (assuming all Democrats vote no and Sen. Mitch McConnell, who has been absent from the Senate due to health issues, doesn’t vote).
The timing of Friday’s vote could change if all 100 senators agree to move it. Thune just described talks to finish work before the August recess as a “train wreck.”
Trump and Vance suggest El-Sayed represents the future of the Democratic Party <!–>
Trump weighed in on El-Sayed’s projected Senate primary win in Michigan, saying in a Truth Social post that the results were “great news for the Republican Party.”
Trump referred to the progressive as a “communist loser who hates Jews and Israel,” referring to the Democratic nominee’s calls for cutting off U.S. military aid and weapons sales to Israel and his allegations that Israeli forces have committee genocide in Gaza.
“Now, the Dumocrats crazy policies will only get worse!” the president wrote.
Vice President JD Vance also framed El-Sayed as the future of the Democratic Party, referring to him as a potential presidential contender in 2028.
“God forbid, you’re going to have President El-Sayed in three years,” he said at an event on fighting fraud with other senior Trump administration officials. “We don’t want him to undo all the incredible work that we’ve been doing when we’ve been taking out the fraudsters and saving the American people money.”
Abdul El-Sayed speaks in Detroit today.<!–> t=dz–>Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP<!–>
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Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar loses his primary to a progressive challenger in Michigan<!–>
Rep. Shri Thanedar has lost his Democratic primary in Michigan to state Rep. Donavan McKinney, NBC News projects, in a victory for the party’s progressive wing.
The 34-year-old McKinney won the backing of a number of prominent progressives across the state and country and secured the latest victory for the faction mounting an intraparty insurgency against the Democratic establishment.
Michigan state Rep. Donavan McKinney.<!–> t=ej–>Sarah Rice / Getty Images file<!–>
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Presidential prospect Glenn Youngkin launches group focused on education policy<!–>
Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2028, has founded a national policy group that will launch with a push to promote a new school choice program.
Empowering America’s Parents will begin a multimillion-dollar advertising blitz targeting several battleground states, including Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, a person familiar with the internal planning told NBC News.
Speaker Mike Johnson calls Rep. Max Miller allegations ‘serious,’ but says process must play out<!–>
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., responded to Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, telling\n CNN that the speaker was “standing behind me” as Miller faces allegations of domestic violence, which he has denied.
Johnson told Politico in an interview that he has not spoken with Miller “in a few days” due to a busy travel schedule.
Johnson said that he has been “intellectually consistent” in that “we don’t take disciplinary action against members for allegations,” noting that Miller has denied the allegations and has called them politically motivated.
Asked whether he will tell Miller to drop out of his race, Johnson said, “no, I will tell Max what I tell everyone. These are serious allegations.”
“I think Max is taking them seriously,” Johnson said. “I think our colleagues are. But again, we have to allow this process to play out. It’s just begun.”
Emily Moreno, Miller’s ex-wife, has accused him of throwing hot water on her, throwing her against a wall and holding a gun to her head, according to police reports. Their daughter, over whom they are involved in a custody battle, has also allegedly sustained a broken collarbone and bruising, the cause of which was disputed but investigated by police in February, according to police records included in a court filing by Moreno in an Ohio county court.
Miller has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged. Yesterday, Miller asked that the House Ethics Committee investigate the domestic abuse allegations an an effort to exonerate himself.
El-Sayed says U.S. needs ‘abolish’ ICE ‘and start from scratch'<!–>
El-Sayed, who has called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be abolished, floated the possibility of trying to return the U.S. to having an agency like the Immigration and Naturalization Service in an interview on MS NOW this morning.
INS was disbanded in 2003, when service’s functions were shifted to ICE, Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
“It’s been weaponized to do the worst things, and I think we need to abolish it and start from scratch,” El-Sayed said. “Perhaps going back to something like the INS, which for a very long time very capably enforced immigration policy without, of course, shooting Americans and violating our civil liberties.”
Abdul El-Sayed at his election night watch party.<!–> t=gf–>Sarah Rice / Bloomberg via Getty Images<!–>
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El-Sayed, who NBC projects won the Democratic primary for Senate in Michigan, emphasized that he does not believe in “unconditional foreign military aid” for any country, although the debate has largely focused on Israel. During the primary race, he repeatedly attacked his opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, over her support for aid to Israel.
“Our money should be spent here rather than sent in the form of bombs or tanks to foreign governments, particularly when they’re doing the most heinous things with them, as is the case with the government of Israel,” he said in the interview this morning. “I also just believe in international law, and I think we need to hold all foreign actors accountable to that international law.”
State Department is closing 5 smaller U.S. diplomatic posts<!–>
The State Department says it intends to close five smaller U.S. diplomatic posts in Africa, Asia and North America as it continues reorganizing under the Trump administration.
They include the U.S. Embassy in St. George’s, Grenada; U.S. consulates in Nagoya, Japan, and Medan, Indonesia; an American Presence Post in Winnipeg, Canada; and a U.S. diplomatic branch in Douala, Cameroon, according to individual notifications to Congress late last week that were seen by NBC News. The decision to close the diplomatic posts was first reported by Reuters.
The closures would save the State Department $4.4 million annually, although the initial shutdown would cost over $2.7 million, according to agency estimates provided in the congressional documents. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The affected missions employ relatively few people, relying mostly on local employees with minimal and in some cases no American staff. The notifications follow a State Department announcement this year that it would permanently close the U.S. consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan, which was the diplomatic post closest to Afghanistan after U.S.-led troops withdrew from the country in 2021.
Former prosecutors call on Senate to reject nominations of any judicial nominees who are election deniers<!–>
A group of former government attorneys who prosecuted defendants in the Jan. 6 riot are calling on the Senate to deny confirmation of any judicial nominee who refuses to say the riot was an attack on the U.S. democracy, that it was led by Trump supporters and that Joe Biden was legitimately elected president in 2020.
In a letter first obtained by NBC News, the 12 lawyers argue that the gravity of a lifetime appointment requires acknowledging the above points.
“For judges nominated for lifetime seats in the judiciary branch, this refusal to contradict the President’s lies is particularly dangerous, and raises significant questions about whether, once confirmed, a nominee could act independently and free from political interference from the president that nominated them. The truth matter,” the letter reads.
Democratic senators in particular have pressed Trump’s judicial nominees on their views about the 2020 election and the attack on the Capitol in 2021.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., recently questioned three nominees — Arthur Robert Jones, Michael Hendershot and Jeffrey Kuntz — on the points raised in today’s letter and all three refused to describe Jan. 6 as an attack or concede that Biden won the 2020 election. All three were eventually confirmed by the full Senate to lifetime appointments as federal judges.
Trump says deal to reopen Strait of Hormuz could come as early as Wednesday<!–>
Trump said a deal on the Strait of Hormuz could come as early as today, as Iran and Oman inched toward an agreement to reopen the critical waterway and potentially help bring an end to the war.
Israel and the U.S. originally cited goals including toppling Tehran’s government and ending its nuclear program, but the war has devolved into a fight over the strait as Iran’s attacks and threats ground shipping to a halt.
Rep. Chuck Edwards drops re-election bid after censure recommendation over harassment claims<!–>
Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C. has said he is dropping his bid for re-election, days after the House Ethics Committee recommended censure over sexual harassment allegations.
“After much prayer and reflection, I’ve decided to withdraw from my re-election campaign. I will complete my current term,” Edwards announced early this morning in a post on X. “Serving Western North Carolina has been the honor of my life. Thank you for your trust, prayers, and support.”
Progressives expand their reach and money finds its limit: Takeaways from yesterday’s primaries<!–>
Voters used a raft of primaries yesterday to drop fresh clues about the direction of the Democratic Party and how several leading political figures are wielding their influence.
No state or race loomed larger than Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary.
Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, notching a Midwest victory for the left<!–>
Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan’s slugfest of a Democratic Senate primary, NBC News projects, clinching the nomination in a close race over Rep. Haley Stevens and establishing a Midwest beachhead for a progressive left on the march this midterm cycle.
El-Sayed overcame a nearly $65 million onslaught of outside money and an establishment that had rallied around Stevens. Popular Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorsed Stevens late last month — a move seen as a last-ditch effort to stop a rising El-Sayed.
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/
