Category Archives: Republicans

Mamdani-backed candidates sweep Democratic primaries in New York City

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JFK’s grandson Jack Schlossberg fails to advance in election to replace Jerry Nadler in Manhattan district

Zohran Mamdani’s growing influence over the Democratic party was on show in New York City on Tuesday as three congressional candidates endorsed by New York’s democratic socialist mayor won closely watched primaries, while voters in Maryland, Utah and South Carolina cast ballots in primaries and runoffs.

Brad Lander, the former New York City comptroller who also ran for mayor last year before endorsing Mamdani, won his race comfortably, defeating the Democratic representative Dan Goldman.

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Top Republican decries Trump’s Iran deal: ‘Reagan is rolling over in his grave’

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Senator Bill Cassidy attacks ‘worst foreign policy blunder in decades’ while others in his party skeptical over peace deal

A handful of Senate Republicans have sharply criticized the agreement Donald Trump reached with Iran, accusing the administration of committing “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades”.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration released the text of an interim deal between Washington and Tehran to end the 110-day conflict, framing it as a “major win” for the US – even as the 14-point accord made significant political and financial concessions to Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz and prevent a “worldwide depression”.

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Vance says details of US-Iran agreement still to be worked out amid scepticism from Republicans

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Senate Republicans say there are many unanswered questions about the deal and question inclusion of funds for Iran

The US vice-president, ⁠JD Vance, has said a number of issues still need to be figured out with Iran, as many Republicans expressed scepticism of the agreement reached this week by Donald Trump, and pressed the White House to release more information about it.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) announced Sunday to end the war in Iran, set for a ceremonial signing on Friday in Geneva, is centred around reopening the strait of Hormuz and lifting the United States’ naval blockade in the region, along with financial incentives for Iran if it meets certain benchmarks.

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Alaska rules Dan Sullivan cannot run against Dan Sullivan in key Senate race

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Elections chief says bid by ex-teacher to challenge senator with same name was filed ‘to confuse or mislead’ voters

There will still be one Dan Sullivan on the ballot, but election officials in Alaska determined a second man by the same name cannot run against him in the high-stakes Senate race.

A man named Dan Sullivan, or Daniel J Sullivan Jr, filed to run as a Republican against incumbent Alaska senator Dan S Sullivan, also a Republican. Republicans filed complaints against the other Dan Sullivan, saying the candidate had coordinated with a Democratic campaign to confuse voters.

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JD Vance says he will discuss 2028 presidential run after midterm elections

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Vice-president says he tries not to make decisions until he ‘absolutely must’ but has ‘no doubt’ Trump will support him

JD Vance said that he will discuss a 2028 US presidential run with his wife after the 2026 midterms.

The US vice-president gave insight into his ongoing decision on whether to run during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning where he spoke on his new memoir, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, which details his conversion to Catholicism.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene criticizes Trump’s 80th birthday UFC event on White House lawn

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Former congresswoman nevertheless said she hoped the fighting event would be ‘great’ and wished president well

Marjorie Taylor Greene has criticized Donald Trump’s plan to hold a UFC fight on the White House lawn, as the president prepares to host seven fights on Sunday.

The former rightwing Republican congresswoman, a once fierce defender of Trump who turned on him towards the end of her time in office, told NewsNation the location is inappropriate for the mixed martial arts event.

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Bob Packwood, senator who resigned amid sexual misconduct scandal, dies aged 93

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The moderate Republican, an advocate of abortion rights, resigned in 1995 amid accusations of sexual harassment

Former US senator Bob Packwood, a moderate Oregon Republican whose reputation as a champion of abortion and women’s rights was spoiled at the end of his career by allegations of sexual harassment, has died. He was 93.

Packwood’s death on Saturday was announced in an obituary sent to media outlets by his family.

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US House passes war powers resolution to curb Trump’s authority in Iran

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Stunning rebuke to president as lawmakers vote 215-208 for measure forcing him to seek congressional approval

The US House of Representatives delivered a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump over his war on Iran on Wednesday, as representatives backed a move to force him to seek approval from Congress or withdraw US forces.

The House voted 215 to 208 in favor of the war powers resolution, as four Republicans voted with Democrats. The dissident Republicans were Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Tom Barrett of Michigan.

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Trump-backed candidate loses in Iowa governor’s race as Democrats look to flip Senate seat

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Establishment Democrat beats Zach Wahls in primary as party eyes success in Republican-dominated state

Iowa voters cast their ballots in Tuesday’s heated primaries, setting up for months of fervent campaigning ahead of the November midterms in contests that could determine the balance of power in Congress.

A red state that the GOP has dominated for the past decade, Democrats believe they can be competitive in three of its four House races, its Senate election, and the contest to replace Kim Reynolds, the retiring Republican governor.

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Aipac affiliate has funded lavish trips to Israel for dozens of Congress members since 7 October, filings reveal

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Revealed: AIEF, a charitable affiliate of pro-Israel lobby Aipac, has spent millions on travel for lawmakers from both parties, even as voters’ support for Israel plummets

Dozens of members of Congress and Capitol Hill staffers have enjoyed lavish gifted travel to Israel funded by an Aipac affiliate since 7 October 2023, amid Israel’s expanding wars on its neighbors and despite plummeting levels of support among Americans for the country’s policies, a Guardian analysis has found.

Congressional ethics filings and other public records show the trips, led by the American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF), revolved around one-sided briefings on Middle East politics and Israeli domestic and foreign policy. Lawmakers and their staffers from both parties met Israeli officials, military contractors and civil society figures, including Benjamin Netanyahu and advocates for the annexation of the West Bank and the displacement of Palestinians from Jerusalem.

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California’s conservative Huntington Beach could get a gay, Democratic congressman

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Robert Garcia became the lead contender in Tuesday’s primaries for congressional district 42 after redistricting

The conservative California community of Huntington Beach, known for banning the Pride flag from city property and fighting the state over pandemic and housing policy, could soon be represented by a gay, Democratic congressman.

Robert Garcia, an incumbent two-term Democratic LGBTQ+ congressman, immigrant and Donald Trump critic, is considered the leading contender in Tuesday’s primary race for the US House seat. Thanks to a successful restricting effort that redrew California’s voting maps to favor Democrats, Huntington Beach is now part of Garcia’s congressional district 42.

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Trump-backed Ken Paxton ousts John Cornyn in heated Texas primary after scandal-plagued campaign

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Race had wide implications for Trump’s strength heading into midterms, where Paxton will face Democratic candidate James Talarico

Ken Paxton, the Donald Trump-backed Texas attorney general, triumphed over incumbent John Cornyn in the Republican primary runoff for senator. His victory signals that even a scandal-plagued candidate can win over the deep red state with the support of the president.

“After a public service career lasting more than four decades and 18 consecutive campaign wins, tonight we’ve come up short in this primary runoff,” Cornyn said shortly after the race was called. “I’ve always supported the GOP ticket. I intend to do so again this general election.”

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Federal court blocks new Republican-friendly voting map in Alabama

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Panel of three judges says congressional map was drawn to intentionally discriminate against Black voters

Alabama cannot use a new Republican-friendly map in this year’s midterm elections because it was drawn to intentionally discriminate against Black voters, a panel of three federal judges ruled on Tuesday.

The decision blocks Alabama from using a congressional map lawmakers passed in 2023 but never went into effect because the same court found it was drawn with intent to discriminate. Alabama was eventually ordered to adopt a map with two majority-Black districts that both elected Democrats. After the US supreme court gutted a major provision of the Voting Rights Act in a case called Louisiana v Callais in April, Alabama took the extraordinary step of moving its imminent congressional primary and sought to use the 2023 congressional map this year.

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Thomas Massie files to run in 2028 after losing to Trump pick Ed Gallrein

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Kentucky conservative says ‘I haven’t made a final decision about which office to seek, if I run’

Thomas Massie is planning his comeback.

The conservative Kentucky congressman filed to run again for the US House of Representatives in 2028, less than a week after losing to Donald Trump’s hand-picked challenger Ed Gallrein 55-45 in a bruising primary.

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Republican hawks warn of ‘disastrous mistake’ as Trump nears deal with Iran

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Trump insists US won’t rush talks with Tehran after rebukes from Republicans, including Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham

Republican hawks have issued a rare rebuke of Donald Trump over his planned peace deal with Iran, describing it as a “disaster” and questioning why the US president launched the war in the first place.

Allies of Trump who strongly backed his controversial decision to order war on Iran alongside Israel urged him to “hold the line” this weekend, despite mounting economic costs and no sign of progress on many of the the initial objectives set out by his administration.

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How big tech got its way on Trump’s AI executive order

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The US president’s reversal on calling for a safety review of new AI models is a green light for tech’s unchecked power

Only hours before Donald Trump was set to sign a long-awaited executive order on Thursday that would have called for a government safety review of new artificial intelligence models before their release, the president abruptly backed out. Despite growing public backlash to the technology and experts warning new models will pose critical security risks, Trump vowed the US government would not slow down the AI race.

During a meeting with reporters on Thursday, Trump cited both American dominance and competition with China and as his reasoning behind the reversal.

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Trump critic Thomas Massie defeated in Kentucky Republican House primary

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Massie says opponents ‘decided to buy the seat’ as victory for Ed Gallrein shows strength of president’s grip on party

Donald Trump displayed his supremacy over the Republican party on Tuesday when voters in northern Kentucky rejected the maverick congressman Thomas Massie in favour of the US president’s hand-picked challenger.

Ed Gallrein, a retired Navy Seal and farmer who was recruited into the race by Trump, defeated the seven-term incumbent in a primary election in Kentucky’s fourth congressional district in what the president’s allies framed as a test of whether dissent could still exist inside today’s Republican party.

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Six US states hold primaries as Trump urges Kentucky voters to oust Massie

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Republican critic of president faces challenge from Ed Gallrein, while Georgia and Pennsylvania hold key contests

The biggest day of primaries yet arrives Tuesday, with voters in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Alabama, Oregon and Idaho, heading to the polls to select candidates ahead of November’s midterm elections.

While many primaries will be resolved with little drama, some have shaped up to be among the most contentious elections of the year so far, serving as gauges of Donald Trump’s control of Republicans, and the direction Democratic voters are looking to steer their party as they seek to retake control of Congress.

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Trump attacks Massie as Republican critic describes ‘desperate’ attempts to oust him from primary

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US president writes ‘vote the bum out’ as congressman faces close race against Trump-endorsed Republican

With two days to go before the next big test of Donald Trump’s iron grip over his party, the president went head-to-head on Sunday with his nemesis, Thomas Massie the Kentucky congressman who is in a fight for his political life in Tuesday’s Republican primary.

Over an eight-hour period starting in the early hours of Sunday, Trump took to his bully pulpit on Truth Social to taunt Massie, one of very few senior Republicans who has dared to defy him. Massie is the “worst and most unreliable Republican Congressman in the history of our Country”, the rant began, followed by a mid-morning exhortation to Kentucky voters to “vote the bum out on Tuesday”.

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Minnesota Democratic lawmakers stage sit-in over gun violence protection bill

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Representative Samantha Sencer-Mura leads action after Republican speaker rescinds promise to bring bill to vote

Democratic state representatives in Minnesota staged an overnight sit-in in their house chamber on Thursday after the Republican speaker failed to put a gun violence prevention bill up for a vote.

Samantha Sencer-Mura, a Democratic representative from Minneapolis, first announced the plan on Wednesday from the floor of the state’s house of representatives, giving speaker Lisa Demuth, a candidate for governor, 24 hours to give the bill a vote before the sit-in would start.

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