ice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris speaks at a rally on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, with the White House as her backdrop, gave what she called her closing argument Tuesday evening, pressing voters to support her bid over that of “unstable” Republican candidate Donald Trump.

The 30-minute speech on the Ellipse was the same location where Trump, then president, held a rally nearly four years ago before his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol. Harris highlighted Democrats’ core argument that another term for the former president would present a threat to the country’s future.

“This election is more than just a choice between two parties and two different candidates,” Harris said. “It is a choice about whether we have a country rooted in freedom for every American, or ruled by chaos and division.”

Harris evoked the conception of the United States, how it was “born when we wrested freedom from a petty tyrant.” She said since then, Americans across generations have fought to protect those freedoms and expand them, from those who marched in the civil rights movement to the troops who stormed the beaches of Normandy.

“They didn’t do that only to see us submit to the will of another petty tyrant,” she said. “We are not a vessel for the schemes of wannabe dictators.”

Karoline Leavitt, Trump campaign national press secretary, said in a statement that Trump’s “closing argument to the American people is simple: Kamala broke it; he will fix it.”

In the crowd of tens of thousands of rallygoers was LaShaun Martin, 52, of Prince George’s County, Maryland, who said she is voting for Harris because the vice president is “incredibly positive.”

“She has been for all people, Republicans and Democrats,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what walk of life you come from. She really wants to represent you, and whatever it is you need to be able to be a prosperous person.”

One week until Election Day

Harris’ speech took place just one week before voting ends on Nov. 5, following a history-making campaign that began when President Joe Biden withdrew from the race following a disastrous debate this summer.?

Biden’s endorsement of Harris and widespread support from Democrats throughout the country forced the GOP to overhaul its approach to the campaign, as Democrats shifted their focus from the policies that Biden wanted to champion to those important to Harris.

In her remarks, Harris rebuked Trump and his supporters for their disparaging comments about immigrants living in the country illegally, a main element of his campaign.

“Politicians have got to stop treating immigration as an issue to scare up votes in an election,” Harris said. “And instead treat it as the serious challenge that it is, that we must finally come together to solve.”

Harris pledged to work with Congress on immigration policy as well as a pathway to citizenship for farmworkers and for the more than 500,000 children brought into the country without authorization. They are known as Dreamers, enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Harris touched on several of her top policy issues, including housing affordability, abortion access nationwide, a ban on price gouging at grocery stores and expansion of the child tax credit.

Reaching out to the undecided

Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler previewed the speech earlier Tuesday, telling reporters the vice president would speak directly to undecided voters’ “sense of frustration, their sense of exhaustion with the way that our politics have played out under the Trump era — and offer them directly a vision that something is different, that something different is possible.”

Trump on Sunday appeared at a six-hour campaign event at Madison Square Garden in New York City that brought bipartisan condemnation for a comedian who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean.”

Ahead of Harris’ Tuesday speech, Trump gave remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, accusing her of trying to divide the country and seeking to distance himself from the racist and vulgar remarks made by the comedian and other speakers during the rally.

Trump did not take questions, but told ABC News earlier in the day he did not hear the comedian’s remarks.

“I don’t know him,” Trump said. “Someone put him up there.”

With the presidential race essentially tied, Harris and Trump have both focused their final campaign push on the crucial swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Harris promised the crowd during her speech that if elected she will protect institutions and the democratic ideals that are the bedrock of American law. She also slammed Trump’s comments referring to Democrats as the “enemy from within.’”

“The fact that someone disagrees with us does not make them the enemy within,” Harris said. “They are family, neighbors, classmates, coworkers, they are fellow Americans, and as Americans, we rise and fall together.”

Time to ‘turn the page’

Harris said the country must move beyond the ever-widening polarization that she described as a distinct feature of Trump’s grip on American politics.

“Donald Trump has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other,” Harris said. “That’s who he is.”

In her pitch to undecided voters, Harris offered an opportunity to leave the Trump era behind.

“It is time to turn the page on the drama and the conflict, the fear and division,” she said. “It is time for a new generation of leadership in America and I am ready to offer that leadership as the next president of the United States.”

That leadership, she said, would seek to build on bipartisan work.

“I pledge to seek common ground and common sense solutions to make your life better. I am not looking to score political points. I am looking to make progress,” she said. “I pledge to listen to experts, to those who will be impacted by the decisions I make and to people who disagree with me. Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy.”

During her speech, protesters advocated for an arms embargo on U.S. military weapons sent to Israel amid the war with Hamas. Several senators have also called for an arms embargo.

“Stop arming Israel. Arms embargo now,” one protester said before being escorted out.

The death toll of more than 43,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to health authorities there, has fractured Muslims, Arab Americans and anti-war Democrats within the party. It spurred the Uncommitted National Movement that sent 30 delegates to the Democratic National Convention this summer.

After Harris’ speech, nearly 100 pro-Palestinian protesters surrounded an exit of the campaign rally.

Harris supporters gather

The campaign’s finale in Washington, D.C., was expected to draw more than 50,000 supporters, according to the local NBC affiliate. The Harris campaign estimated 75,000 spectators showed up.

It featured speeches from supporters such as a mother who was able to access affordable insulin for her son because of the Affordable Care Act; a farming couple from Pennsylvania who were previously Trump voters; and Craig Sicknick, the brother of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died following the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.??

“(Trump) incited the crowd to riot while my brother and his fellow officers put their lives at risk,” Craig Sicknick said. “Now, Mr. Trump is promising to pardon the convicted criminals who attacked our Capitol, killing my brother and injuring over 140 other officers. This is simply wrong.”

The Justice Department has charged more than 1,500 defendants in the Jan. 6 attack.

Craig Sicknick endorsed Harris, who he called a “real leader.”

The family farmers, Bob and Kristina Lange from Malvern, Pennsylvania, said they are lifelong Republicans, but will be voting for Harris this election.

“It’s very clear that Donald Trump doesn’t care about helping hard-working people like us,” Bob Lange said. “He’s too focused on seeking revenge and retribution to care about what we need. We deserve better.”

The couple have been featured in multiple digital ads targeting rural voters in Pennsylvania.

History and excitement

Attendees from as far as Illinois to local residents made the trek to the Ellipse for the speech.

Tiffany Norwood, 56, of Washington, D.C., said she attended the rally with her 87-year-old mother, Mary Ann Norwood, for “the history of it, the excitement.”

“I feel we need something different in the United States, and she is it,” said Tiffany Norwood, who identified herself as an entrepreneur. “Her plan for the economy, for the future, for women, for everyone. I love the fact that it’s a big umbrella that includes the melting pot of the United States.”

Some attendees weren’t old enough to vote, such as 13-year-old Grace Ledford of Champaign, Illinois.

The teenager said her first political rally felt “like a big party.”

“Kamala would be a great president because she is, for one, a woman, and she is African American,” she said. “A lot of men presidents don’t know how hard it is to be a woman, especially Trump.”

Daniel Nyquist, 79, of Rockville, Maryland, stood in the crowd wearing a hat with the words “Make America Less Hateful.”

“It’s the alternative of Trump’s theme,” Nyquist said, pointing to his hat. “He’s a big promoter of hate, and this is to counter that.”

A man participates in exit polling after voting in the South Carolina Republican presidential primary at Dreher High School on Feb. 24, 2024 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — A pro-democracy organization warned Monday that disinformation and violent rhetoric could make the weeks that follow Election Day especially fraught, pushing the country past the upheaval that arose four years ago during the last presidential transition.

The comments from three members of the Defend Democracy Project came just days before voting ends on Nov. 5, though with several races extremely close, the country may not know for days who won the presidential contest as well as control of Congress.

That could leave considerable space for speculation as state election workers count mail-in ballots and potentially undertake full recounts, similar to four years ago.

“I think the biggest vulnerability will continue to be the mis- and disinformation that will happen in the aftermath of the election,” said Olivia Troye, who previously worked for Vice President Mike Pence as a special adviser on homeland security and counterterrorism.

Troye raised concerns that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump may make false claims about election fraud and encourage violence similar to what took place on Jan. 6, 2021, should he lose the Electoral College again.

Troye referenced an election bulletin from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security she said cautioned that “candidates, elected officials, election workers, members of the media, judges involved in these cases” could all become targets of post-election violence.

“And they’re also concerned about the visible attacks and violence on polling places or ballot drop boxes,” Troye said, referencing the burning of ballots inside drop boxes in Oregon and Washington states early Monday morning.

Michael Podhorzer, chair of the Defend Democracy Project, said during the virtual briefing for reporters that one of the reasons many state officials didn’t go along with requests to “find votes” for Trump in the days following the 2020 election was because President Joe Biden had “two states to spare.”

“And that created a prisoner’s dilemma for every Republican election official who might have done the wrong thing,” Podhorzer said. “So if you take the call to (Georgia Secretary of State) Brad Raffensperger, he understood that even if he could find those votes that Trump wanted, unless two Democratic secretaries of state overturned their results, Donald Trump was not going back to the White House.

“And what that meant was that there wasn’t any single actor, in the way there was in 2000 in Florida, who could actually change the results of the election.”

That could be different this time, should Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris win by a small margin, potentially just one state’s Electoral College votes, he said.

Accepting the results

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released a survey Monday showing 86% of registered voters believe whoever loses the presidential election should accept the results, though just 33% expect Trump will concede if he fails to secure the votes needed to win the Electoral College.

About 77% of those surveyed expected Harris to accept the results should she lose the presidential race.

Anxiety about post-election violence was rather high among the registered voters surveyed, with 76% saying they are extremely or somewhat concerned about violent attempts to overturn the election results.

Eighty-two percent said they were at least somewhat concerned about “increased political violence directed at political figures or election officials.”

Voters are also worried about foreign interference in the elections, with 78% of the registered voters surveyed saying they are extremely or somewhat concerned about it “influencing what Americans think about political candidates.”

The co-chairs of Issue One’s National Council on Election Integrity —? former U.S. Reps. Barbara Comstock, R-Va., Donna Edwards, D-Md., Tim Roemer, D-Ind., and Zach Wamp, R-Tenn. — released a written statement Monday addressing a fake video produced by Russian actors about ballots in Pennsylvania. The statement also criticized a Maryland Republican congressman who said North Carolina should just give its Electoral College votes to Trump.

“Foreign adversaries are seeking to influence U.S. elections by sowing division and spreading false information to undermine confidence in our system of self-government,” the co-chairs wrote. “In addition, people who want to win at all costs continue to spread false claims about election integrity and may create chaos, delay results, and challenge the outcome of our fair electoral process.”

The four wrote the suggestions from Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, chairman of the far-right U.S. House Freedom Caucus, that North Carolina simply grant its 15 Electoral College votes to Trump “before votes are counted are dangerous and against the rule of law.”

“By rejecting the so-called independent state legislature theory in Moore v. Harper, the Supreme Court affirmed that state legislatures do not have the power to replace the popular will with a slate of electors,” they wrote.

Issue One describes itself as a “crosspartisan” organization that works to “unite Republicans, Democrats, and independents in the movement to fix our broken political system and build an inclusive democracy that works for everyone.”

GOP blowback on Puerto Rico insults at Trump rally

Democrats and Republicans united somewhat Monday to express anger about comments a comedian made about Puerto Rico during a Trump rally on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

Tony Hinchcliffe, who spoke in the hours leading up to Trump’s comments, called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now.”

Hinchcliffe later said Latinos “love making babies” and made additional lewd comments.

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Nanette Diaz Barragán, D-Calif., released a statement Monday calling the comments shameful and dangerous.

“This type of language emboldens prejudice, encourages violence, and undermines the values of unity and respect that our country is built on,” Barragán wrote. “It’s deeply troubling to see Republican leaders celebrate this rhetoric instead of promoting unity and truth.”

Vice President Harris told reporters traveling with her that the comedian’s comments were part of the reason voters are “exhausted” and “ready to turn the page” on Trump.

“It is absolutely something that is intended to, and is fanning the fuel of trying to divide our country,” Harris said.

Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott posted on social media that the comedian’s comments about Puerto Rico were “not funny and it’s not true.”

“Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans! I’ve been to the island many times. It’s a beautiful place. Everyone should visit!” Scott wrote. “I will always do whatever I can to help any Puerto Rican in Florida or on the island.”

Florida Republican Rep. Carlos A. Giménez posted on social media that the comedian’s comments were “completely classless & in poor taste.”

“Puerto Rico is the crown jewel of the Caribbean & home to many of the most patriotic Americans I know,” Giménez wrote. “@TonyHinchcliffe clearly isn’t funny & definitely doesn’t reflect my values or those of the Republican Party.”

Puerto Rico’s delegate to the U.S. House, Jenniffer González-Colón, a Republican, called the comedian’s remarks “despicable, misguided, and revolting.”

“What he said is not funny; just as his comments were rejected by the audience, they should be rejected by all!” González-Colón wrote. “There can be no room for such vile and racist expressions. They do not represent the values of the GOP.”

Ariana Figueroa contributed to this report.?

Beyoncé takes part in a campaign rally focused on reproductive rights with the Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, at Shell Energy Stadium on Oct. 25, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris appeared alongside superstar performer Beyoncé on Friday night to encourage voter turnout and reinforce the differences between the two parties on reproductive rights, with just days to go before voting ends.

The rally at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas, followed months of speculation about whether Beyoncé would support Vice President Harris publicly ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election. The two-hour event featured other celebrities, including Willie Nelson and Jessica Alba, as well as women detailing being denied medical care for pregnancy complications in Texas after its abortion ban went into effect.

Beyoncé, who has won more than 30 Grammy Awards as well as hundreds of others throughout her career, said casting a vote is “one of the most valuable tools” that Americans have to decide the future of the country.

“We are at the precipice of an incredible shift, the brink of history,” Beyoncé said, adding that she wasn’t speaking at the rally as a celebrity or a politician.

“I’m here as a mother,” she said. “A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in. A world where we have the freedom to control our bodies.”

‘Horrific reality’

Harris, who is locked in an extremely close race with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, said abortion bans and restrictions implemented during the last two years have been “devastating.”

“We see the horrific reality that women and families face every single day,” Harris said. “The stories are vivid, they are difficult to hear, they are difficult to tell.”

Harris said there are also many stories that women and their families won’t discuss in public about challenges they’ve faced with access to medical care during pregnancy complications.

“An untold number of women and the people who love them, who are silently suffering — women who are being made to feel as though they did something wrong, as though they are criminals, as though they are alone,” Harris said. “And to those women. I say — and I think I speak on behalf of all of us — we see you and we are here with you.”

Harris said if voters give Trump another four years in the Oval Office, he will likely nominate more justices to the Supreme Court, which she argued would have a negative impact on the country.

“If he were reelected, he’d probably get to appoint one, if not two, members to the United States Supreme Court,” Harris said. “At which point Donald Trump will have packed the court with five out of nine justices … who will sit for lifetime appointments; shaping your lives and the lives of generations to come.”

Texas has one of the country’s most restrictive abortion laws, which has led to concerns about its OB-GYN workforce, how the state addresses maternal mortality and testimony before Congress about women having to leave the state to get care for pregnancy complications.

Texas is also where anti-abortion organizations decided to file a federal lawsuit in November 2022 challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2000 approval of medication abortion.

The two-drug regimen, consisting of mifepristone and misoprostol, is currently approved for up to 10 weeks gestation and is used in about 63% of abortions nationwide, according to data from the Guttmacher Institute.

The case made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled earlier this year the organizations lacked standing to bring the lawsuit in the first place, but the justices didn’t address the merits of the anti-abortion groups’ arguments.

Speaking at ‘ground zero’

Harris told reporters on Friday before the rally began that Republican lawmakers in Texas have made the state “ground zero in this fundamental fight for the freedom of women to make decisions about their own body.”

Harris contended that access to reproductive rights, including abortion, is “not just a political debate” or “some theoretical concept.”

“Real harm has occurred in this country, real suffering has occurred,” Harris told reporters. “People die, and it is important to highlight this issue because this is among the most critical issues that the American people will address when they vote for who will be the next president of the United States.”

During Trump’s first term in office, he nominated three Supreme Court justices, who later joined with other conservatives to overturn the constitutional right to abortion established in the 1973 Roe v. Wade case.

The Supreme Court’s ruling two years ago sent “the authority to regulate abortion … to the people and their elected representatives.”

That has led to a hodgepodge of laws with 13 states banning abortion, six states restricting access between six and 12 weeks, five states setting a gestational limit between 15 and 22 weeks, 17 states restricting abortion access after viability and nine states not setting a gestational limit, according to KFF.

Polls find support for abortion access

Public support for abortion access has outpaced support for restricting access for decades, according to consistent polling from the Pew Research Center.

The most recent survey from May shows that about 63% of Americans want abortion to be legal in most or all cases, while 36% said they believe it should be illegal in most or all cases.

Additional surveying from Pew shows that 67% of Harris supporters believe abortion access is “very important — nearly double the share of Biden voters who said this four years ago, though somewhat lower than the share of midterm Democratic voters who said this in 2022 (74%).

“And about a third of Trump supporters (35%) now say abortion is very important to their vote — 11 points lower than in 2020.”

In addition to playing some role in the presidential election, voters in 10 states — Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York and South Dakota — will weigh in on abortion access directly through ballot questions.

Congress could supersede any protections or restrictions on abortion access established within states, if the House and Senate ever agree on legislation and a future president signs it into law.

Republicans are slightly favored to gain control of the Senate for the next two years following the election, while control of the House is considered a toss-up, as is the presidential race.

People cast their votes on the first day of early voting at East Point First Mallalieu United Methodist Church on Oct. 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Nearly 30 million Americans by Thursday had cast their ballots ahead of Election Day, with 13 million choosing to vote in person at early voting centers and another 17 million submitting mail-in ballots, according to data from the University of Florida’s election lab.

The total number of early votes is expected to increase significantly in the days leading up to Election Day on Nov. 5.

Voters will determine whether Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris or Republican candidate Donald Trump occupies the Oval Office for the next four years. On the national level, they’ll also decide which political party controls the U.S. House and U.S. Senate for the next two years.

The nonpartisan Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics say the presidential race is still very much up for grabs, rating the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as toss-ups.

Early voting is higher in several of those purple states than some of their counterparts, according to data from the University of Florida’s election lab.

Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia have each received at least 1.2 million early ballots, while California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas have all received at least 2 million early votes.

The University of Florida data shows that among states that disclose party breakdowns, Democrats have cast nearly 42% of ballots while Republicans have submitted 35% and other voters have sent in about 23%.

U.S. House control up in the air

Sabato’s Crystal Ball projects that Republicans are at least slightly favored to win 212 House seats, with Democrats holding onto at least 209 seats in that chamber. Another 14 races are rated as toss-ups, meaning control of the chamber is still far from decided.

“Overall, our ratings show just 7 Republican-held Toss-ups and 7 Democratic-held Toss-ups, for 14 total,” Managing Editor Kyle Kondik and Associate Editor J. Miles Coleman wrote in the latest update, released Thursday morning.

“Splitting the Toss-ups down the middle would produce a 219-216 Republican House, so the ratings technically have the Republicans very narrowly ahead—but neither side is favored in the race for the House majority, even at this late stage,” they wrote.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairwoman Suzan DelBene of Washington state told reporters Thursday the organization has several voter protection efforts underway to ensure Americans who want to vote have an opportunity to do so.

Those efforts won’t stop when the polls close on Election Day, but will continue as absentee ballots are counted, she said in a virtual meeting with the Regional Reporters Association.

“So this is obviously a priority for us, and some of these races are very, very close, so we want to make sure we’re there to help make sure ballots are counted across the country,” DelBene said.

Control of the House might not be announced on election night, or for several days afterward. It took more than a week after the 2022 midterm elections before The Associated Press called control for the GOP.

U.S. Senate tilts toward GOP

The Senate is leaning slightly toward Republican control, with GOP candidates on track to pick up seats in West Virginia and Montana.

Sabato’s has, however, moved Nebraska’s rating from likely Republican to leans Republican, “as the Republican cavalry has had to ride in to help” incumbent GOP Sen. Deb Fischer maintain her seat against independent challenger Dan Osborn.

“Unlike Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rick Scott (R-FL), the only other two GOP incumbents in races that we rate as something other than Safe Republican, Fischer has, arguably, never had to run in a legitimately competitive statewide general election,” Kondik and Coleman wrote.

Early in-person voting as well as who is eligible for mail-in ballots is determined by each state, meaning when and where voters can cast early ballots varies considerably.

All states are required to host in-person voting on Election Day, scheduled for Nov. 5. More information about voting can be found here.

Donald Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The threat of political violence will likely hang over the nation’s capital in the weeks following Election Day, security experts say, despite intensive preparations by law enforcement officials determined to avoid another Jan. 6 insurrection.

The 2,000-plus officers who make up the U.S. Capitol Police, as well as other federal law enforcement agencies like the Secret Service, have responded to a surge in threats against elected officials during the last few years, including two assassination attempts against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump just this year.

But the threats, attacks and shooting have led to questions about whether the two agencies are truly prepared for the presidential transition, especially after a report released this week said the Secret Service “requires fundamental reform to carry out its mission.”

The agency is tasked with planning and coordinating security for Congress’ certification of the Electoral College on Jan. 6 —the first time it’s been designated a National Special Security Event — and Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.

Experts interviewed by States Newsroom said there is a very real chance of political violence in the weeks and months ahead, though they said law enforcement agencies have learned from recent events. The unrest could build after what is expected to be a very close presidential election, with results possibly delayed for days or longer or even litigated in the courts.

“Unfortunately, you can never have 100% security,” said Javed Ali, associate professor of practice at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.

“It’s nice to think that would exist. But, if you’re trying to consider all the different kinds of variables that you have to plan for, there’s always going to be a gap or vulnerability — now what you try to do is kind of minimize the big one and hope that the small ones don’t get exploited.”

Darrell M. West, the Douglas Dillon Chair in Governmental Studies at the Brookings Institution, said the risk of political violence could increase following Election Day if one or more political leaders object to the outcome.

“For months, we’ve been hearing extreme and sometimes violent rhetoric,” West said. “And rhetoric has consequences — it can encourage some people to take action.”

Trump has refused to accept the 2020 election results, and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, declined to say Trump lost the election. Vance on Oct. 12 said there was a “peaceful transfer of power” in January 2021.

Trump has repeatedly recycled false claims he made following his loss that the system is rigged — a talking point he’s likely to use to rile up supporters should he lose this year’s election. Trump has been charged by special counsel Jack Smith with four felony counts in connection with 2020 election interference, in a complex case that will continue after the election.

Threats against lawmakers

Members of Congress are more vulnerable than presidential candidates, in part because most lawmakers live in normal houses and don’t have security details anywhere close to the kind the Secret Service provides for high-ranking officials.

And unlike the presidency, which has a long line of succession to avoid gaps in authority following a death or a crisis, Congress has been criticized for not having better plans in place to address continuity of government following a mass casualty or similar event.

U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger testified in April the agency was looking for ways to bolster protection for lawmakers in the line of presidential succession, like the speaker of the House and Senate president pro tempore.

Manger told the panel that security for those two officials was substandard to that provided for the Secretary of State, who sits below them in the line of succession.

“We can’t just go back to the days when we said, ‘Well, we’ll just follow them around and we’ll make sure they’re well protected wherever they are,’ because their homes, their families are at risk,” he testified.

Members of Congress who haven’t risen to the ranks of leadership don’t get security details unless there are specific threats to their safety. And those aren’t permanent.

That could present challenges for lawmakers who have higher profiles or who regularly receive threats, especially if people respond violently to the election results and encourage their supporters to take matters into their own hands.

Trump assassination attempts

Making the situation more complicated, this year has shown that substantial levels of security aren’t a guarantee of safety.

Trump has some of the highest levels of protection in the country, if not the world, but that did not stop a man from shooting at the former president during a rally in Pennsylvania this summer. A separate would-be gunman was spotted and apprehended just off Trump’s Florida golf course with a semi-automatic weapon in September.

Both instances raised questions about the Secret Service’s ability to protect Trump as well as others, though agency leaders maintain they’re up to the task.

Trump’s experiences, as the subject of political violence, haven’t deterred him from spreading disinformation about Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris as well as other lawmakers who disagree with him on policy issues.

Trump’s comments about immigrants have also led to threats against everyday people, including Haitian immigrants in Ohio, who are in the country legally.

During an interview with Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures” on Fox News earlier this month, Trump said he may use the National Guard or the military against his political opponents should he win reelection, calling them “the enemy from within.”

“We have some very bad people,” Trump said. “We have some sick people. Radical left lunatics. And it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”

The military and National Guard have significantly different training programs and missions than local, state, or federal law enforcement, making Trump’s comments somewhat darker than previous claims he’d try to put his political opponents in prison if reelected.

Trump hasn’t committed to respecting the results of the election or supporting a peaceful transition in power should he lose his bid for the White House.

Trump’s comments could indicate that violence is likely following the election, if he loses, or after he regains the powers of the presidency, if he wins.

Delayed election results predicted

West from the Brookings Institution said violence isn’t likely to take place in the days immediately following the end of voting on Nov. 5, since it’s unlikely anyone learns the results of the presidential election for a few days.

The Associated Press didn’t call the race for President Joe Biden until the Saturday after the election in 2020, following days of speculation and ballot counting.

Mail-in ballots, which Democrats tend to submit in larger numbers than Republicans, could lead to confusion in swing states, especially if people don’t understand they tend to boost numbers for Democratic candidates over GOP politicians as they’re counted, he said.

“We could end up in a situation where on election night, Trump is ahead, because we know Republicans tend to vote in person on Election Day, and Democrats often vote via mail ballots,” West said. “And then as the mail ballots get counted on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the numbers may shift from Trump to Harris.

“And I think that’s a very bad combination, because it will look to some individuals like voter fraud, even though there’s a perfectly logical explanation for the change. But that’s a scenario that could lead to violence, because it’ll look like the election is being stolen from Trump.”

While the presidential candidates will play a significant role in stirring up or calming down their supporters, members of Congress, many of whom sought to legitimize misinformation and disinformation four years ago, have responsibilities as well.

“We need leaders who act responsibly, but unfortunately, in the last few months, we have not seen that,” West said. “We’ve seen members of Congress who have promoted misinformation. There’s been a lot of it surrounding the hurricane, and so the fear is that there will be blatant lies that then will incite people to take action.”

Learning from 2020

Ali, from the University of Michigan, said he expects federal law enforcement will be better prepared for post-election violence than they were four years ago, though there are still chances for violent people to slip through the cracks.

The most likely scenario, Ali said, is a single actor or “lone wolf” attack and not a mob marching to the Capitol, the way Trump supporters did on Jan. 6.

“I still think it’s relatively low,” Ali said of the likelihood of violence. “But as we’ve seen, all it takes is one person to really shake up the perception of security. And if they’re aiming at President Trump or Vice President Harris, well then, you know the stakes are even higher.”

Ali said he’s confident that the Secret Service, U.S. Capitol Police and other law enforcement agencies in the Washington, D.C., area are preparing for various scenarios, though he’s less sure about what would happen if there’s violence at state capitals.

“There might be a little more vulnerability there,” Ali said. “But I still think, at least when we’re getting to the Electoral College (certification) day, that January 6th-type insurrection will be almost impossible to pull off.”

When it comes to spreading disinformation, Ali said, he expects there will be a combination of foreign adversaries, including Iran and Russia, as well as domestic actors.

“You’ll probably see a lot of disinformation, especially if Vice President Harris wins, sort of casting doubt on the integrity of the voting, the credibility of the process, maybe going after specific individuals and key swing states, or even counties,” Ali said.

“All those things that were happening in 2020. But there were also costs to doing that, as we’ve seen too, with the civil charges and some of the potential criminal ones as well,” he added. “So I think that’s also an area domestically, where people will have to tread very cautiously. That doesn’t mean that you won’t see it, but again, there might be a line that gets crossed where people will be held accountable for that.”

‘More prepared than ever before’

U.S. Capitol Police Inspector General David T. Harper said USCP leadership has implemented the 100-plus recommendations put forward by his predecessor following the Jan. 6 attack, closing gaps that existed that day.

“I think they’ve made a lot of improvements, and I think that they’re more prepared than ever before,” Harper said, though he later added he couldn’t “say for certain that they are prepared to handle anything that can come up” due to the unpredictable nature of domestic terrorism and political violence.

The OIG is also “prepared to be all hands on deck” in the event of another attack on the Capitol or lawmakers takes place, to analyze what went wrong and make recommendations for USCP to implement, he said.

Harper, whose tenure as inspector general began earlier this year, noted during the interview that much of what he can publicly discuss is restricted by national security concerns.

The U.S. Capitol Police declined an interview request from States Newsroom, but provided written information about changes that it’s implemented during the last few years.

Among those is a law approved by Congress that allows the USCP chief to request the National Guard without the approval of the three-member Capitol Police board.

USCP has also overhauled its intelligence-gathering activities and established partnerships with other law enforcement agencies to bolster its ranks ahead of major events.

Secret Service planning for Jan. 6

The Secret Service is one of those partners and it will take the lead this year planning security for major events during the presidential transition, even those undertaken by Congress inside the Capitol.

While Inauguration Day has traditionally been categorized as a National Special Security Event, the Department of Homeland Security has extended that classification for the first time for Congress certifying the winner of the presidential race on Jan. 6.

Nate Herring, spokesperson for the United States Secret Service, said part of the process includes planning with other law enforcement agencies for “various scenarios” that could take place, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Metropolitan Police Department.

“We work very closely with our partners throughout the whole planning process,” Herring said. “And D.C. is especially unique because National Special Security Events occur fairly frequently.”

But the Secret Service’s leadership and structure have come under scrutiny during the last few months.

The four-member panel tasked with investigating the Pennsylvania assassination attempt against Trump wrote in the 52-page report released in mid-October that the Secret Service “has become bureaucratic, complacent, and static even though risks have multiplied and technology has evolved.”

“This is a zero-fail mission, for any failure endangers not only the life of the protectee, but also the fundamentals of our government itself,” they wrote.

Without substantial changes to the Secret Service, the independent review panel wrote, it believes the type of deadly attack that took place in Butler, Pennsylvania, “can and will happen again.”

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas released a written statement after the report’s release, saying the department had begun “taking the actions needed to advance the Secret Service’s protection mission,” including addressing the “systemic and foundational issues” described by the review panel.

D.C. planning

District of Columbia Assistant City Administrator Chris Rodriguez said that city officials will be watching for any indications people intent on violence begin traveling or gathering inside the city following Election Day.

“We are obviously attuned to what happened last time. I mean, I don’t think we can ignore that, and we’re not,” Rodriguez said, referring to the Jan. 6 attack. “But we also are in a place where we have great relationships among our agencies within the region, with the federal government in terms of coordination, and we will be prepared to adapt our operational posture in any way that we need to.”

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser originally requested the NSSE designation for Jan. 6, which Rodriguez said has increased planning and coordination, in hopes of avoiding any violence.

Rodriguez also stressed D.C. officials and the city’s police department are used to planning for the large crowds and protests that tend to take place whenever there’s a presidential transition.

“We are a city that prides itself, as the nation’s capital, to ensuring that there is a peaceful transition of power,” he said. “And we will do our part to ensure that.”

How to address projected shortfalls for both the Social Security and Medicare trust funds will become an increasingly important topic for the president and Congress during the next decade.?(Photo by Getty Images)

This is one in a series of States Newsroom reports on the major policy issues in the presidential race.

WASHINGTON — The presidential debate in early September included just one mention of Social Security and three references to Medicare, making the safety net programs a minuscule part of the policy discussion, despite their importance to tens of millions of Americans.

Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump have both mentioned the programs numerous times during appearances, though neither campaign has sought to elevate the financial stability of the two programs as a core issue.

More often than not, Harris and Trump rebuke their opponent, while committing to “save” Social Security and Medicare — skipping over the details or the role Congress must play in the discussion.

How to address projected shortfalls for both the Social Security and Medicare trust funds will become an increasingly important topic for the president and Congress during the next decade.

The latest Social Security trustees report expects the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and the Disability Insurance trust funds will be able to pay full benefits until 2035, after which, without action by lawmakers, benefits would drop to about 83%.

The trustee report for Medicare shows the funding stream for the hospital insurance trust fund can cover all of its bills through 2036 before it would only be able to cover 89% of costs.

There are currently 67.5 million people enrolled in Medicare, which provides health insurance and prescription drug coverage for people over the age of 65 as well as younger people who have certain severe illnesses or disabilities.

Nearly 68 million people receive some level of benefit from Social Security each month, accounting for about $1.5 trillion in spending by the federal government annually, according to a fact sheet.

While the issue is somewhat less pressing for Trump, who would be term limited to another four years, Harris could theoretically spend the next eight years in the Oval Office, making the solvency of the trust funds an issue she would likely need to address with Congress.

Protecting seniors

During the September debate, Harris brought up Social Security and Medicare following a question about how her policy beliefs on fracking, assault weapons and border security have changed over time.

“My work that is about protecting Social Security and Medicare is based on long-standing work that I have done. Protecting seniors from scams,” Harris said as part of a longer answer. “My values have not changed. And what is important is that there is a president who actually brings values and a perspective that is about lifting people up and not beating people down and name-calling.”

Harris later brought up Medicare again, noting that legislation Congress approved during Biden’s term in office allowed program administrators to negotiate certain prescription drug prices for the first time. That law, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, also capped the cost of insulin for Medicare enrollees at $35 per month.

Trump didn’t broach the subject of Social Security or Medicare during the September debate with Harris, but he did speak about the two programs during an earlier summer debate with President Joe Biden, before he stepped aside as the Democratic nominee.

During that debate, Trump claimed the Biden administration was going to “destroy” the two programs by allowing noncitizens to draw down benefits.

FactCheck notes on its website that comments and viral posts about noncitizens receiving Social Security benefits don’t always represent reality and sometimes confuse different programs.

“Immigrants who are lawfully living or authorized to work in the U.S. are eligible for a Social Security number and, in some cases, Social Security benefits. But viral posts make the false claim that ‘illegal immigrants’ can receive Social Security numbers and retirement benefits, and they confuse two programs managed by the Social Security Administration.”

KFF writes on its website that whether legal immigrants are eligible for Medicare depends on several factors, including how long they’ve paid into the system.

“New immigrants are not eligible for Medicare regardless of their age. Once immigrants meet the residency requirements, eligibility and enrollment work the same as they do for others.”

Trump on entitlement programs

Trump’s comments on entitlement programs haven’t always been consistent or entirely clear, but his campaign and he both maintain they will “save” the program.

During an interview with CNBC in March, Trump said that there are numerous things lawmakers could do to address solvency.

“There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting and in terms of also the theft and the bad management of entitlements,” Trump said, declining to list any of those policy proposals.

Trump’s campaign website posted a video of him back in January 2023, saying Republicans “should not cut a penny” from Medicare or Social Security to pay for other legislation.

The problems facing Social Security and Medicare aren’t related to Congress reducing the amount of tax dollars flowing into the programs. Rather it is the structure for the programs lawmakers set up previously.

Without action by Congress, the trust funds won’t be able to account for benefit payments in the long term.

So the challenge for the next president won’t be preventing lawmakers from taking action related to Social Security and Medicare, but helping find a bipartisan path forward on legislation to change revenue, spending, or both.

Trump does want to end taxes on Social Security benefits, writing on social media in July that “SENIORS SHOULD NOT PAY TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY!”

Henry Aaron, the Bruce and Virginia MacLaury Chair and senior fellow in the Economic Studies Program at the Brookings Institution, wrote in a detailed analysis of the platform that Trump’s proposal to end income tax on Social Security benefits “would accelerate trust fund depletion by about two years and deepen the long-run funding gap by more than 7%.”

Harris policies

Harris’ campaign website says she would “protect Social Security and Medicare against relentless attacks from Donald Trump and his extreme allies.”

“She will strengthen Social Security and Medicare for the long haul by making millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share in taxes,” the policy page states. “She will always fight to ensure that Americans can count on getting the benefits they earned.”

Harris announced in early October during an appearance on “The View” that if elected she would work toward including long-term home care for seniors enrolled in Medicare.

“There are so many people in our country who are right in the middle: They’re taking care of their kids and they’re taking care of their aging parents, and it’s just almost impossible to do it all, especially if they work,” Harris said during the live interview. “We’re finding that so many are then having to leave their job, which means losing a source of income, not to mention the emotional stress.”

The proposals would likely need partial, if not complete, buy-in from Congress to move forward and could come with a $40 billion annual price tag, though the campaign noted in a fact sheet that there are pay-fors.

“These new benefits will be fully paid for and extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by expanding Medicare drug price negotiations, increasing the discounts drug manufacturers cover for certain brand-name drugs in Medicare and addressing Medicare fraud,” it states.

A Harris administration would also “crack down on pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs) to increase transparency, disclose more information on cost, and regulate other practices that raise prices” and “implement international tax reform” to pay for the changes.

he Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, right, walks into the studio with Charlamagne Tha God before “We The People: An Audio Townhall With Kamala Harris and Charlamagne Tha God” on Oct. 15, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on a popular radio show Tuesday encouraged Americans to vote this year even if they don’t believe all of the issues they’re concerned about can be fixed in the immediate future.

“The solutions are not going to happen just overnight, and the solutions that we all want are not going to happen in totality because of one election,” Harris said during a live interview in Detroit with Charlamagne Tha God, co-host of the nationally syndicated “The Breakfast Club.”

“But here’s the thing — the things that we want, and are prepared to fight for, won’t happen if we’re not active and if we don’t participate.”

Harris said she didn’t “subscribe” to the idea that just because something takes a long time that it can’t be achieved, pointing to the years of struggle before the 1965 Voting Rights Act became law.

“It took the brutality of what happened when John Lewis and all those (who) were trying to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge,” Harris said, referring to Bloody Sunday. “It took a lot of work over our history to do what we have accomplished thus far, and we have to remain committed.”

Harris, who’s targeting outreach to Black male voters, encouraged listeners who have been disillusioned or traditionally disenfranchised by politics to vote this year, arguing that if they stayed home they would send a message to “obstructionists, who are standing in the way of change, they’re winning because they’re convincing people that it can’t be done.”

“Look at that circle, look at that vicious circle,” Harris said. “So let’s not fall for it.”

Harris said during the hour-long radio town hall that while the race between her and Republican candidate Donald Trump is extremely close, she expects to win once all the ballots are counted.

She also criticized him for making false statements about her career, actions taken by the Biden administration and policy proposals she’s put forward during her bid for the Oval Office.

“One of the biggest challenges that I face is mis- and disinformation, and it’s purposeful, because it is meant to convince people that they somehow should not believe that the work that I have done has occurred and has meaning,” Harris said.

Trump and his allies, she said, are trying to “scare people away” from voting for her in the presidential race “because they know they otherwise have nothing to run on.”

Police brutality

Harris spoke in detail about her proposals to expand the child tax credit, help first-time home buyers afford a down payment, increase access to capital for startup small business owners and decriminalize cannabis.

She said that if elected she would work with Congress to address police brutality through legislation, and noted that President Joe Biden signed an executive order more than two years ago that made several changes to how federal law enforcement agencies operate.

The executive order required the Justice Department to establish a database of “official records documenting instances of law enforcement officer misconduct as well as commendations and awards.”

Harris said during her interview that, as well as other provisions in the executive order addressing how federal law enforcement can use “no-knock warrants” and language barring chokeholds, marked significant change.

“This is no small issue … because, as we know, we’ve seen plenty of examples of a police officer who committed misconduct in one jurisdiction and then goes to another jurisdiction and gets hired because there’s no place that’s tracking their misconduct,” Harris said, adding if elected she would press Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

That bill, which passed the House in March 2021, would have made substantial changes to how law enforcement officers at the local, state and federal level operate, including to racial profiling.

‘Running to be president for everybody’

Harris was asked during the interview how her policies would affect the Black community and whether she planned to establish ways for people to access new education and career opportunities.

“I am running to be president for everybody. But I am clear eyed about the history and the disparities that exist for specific communities. And I’m not going to shy away from that,” Harris said. “It doesn’t mean that my policies aren’t going to benefit everybody, because they are. Everything I just talked about will benefit everybody.”

“Small business owners — whatever their race, their age, their gender, their geographic location — are going to benefit from the fact that I’m going to extend tax deductions to $50,000,” she added.

“Every first time homeowner — wherever they are, whatever their race — will benefit if they are a first-time home buyer with a $25,000 down payment assistance. Everyone is going to benefit from my plan to extend the child tax credit to $6,000 for the first year of their child’s life. That’s going to benefit everybody.”

The Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, on Tuesday, Oct. 15, spoke to the Economic Club of Chicago. In this photo, he speaks to attendees during a campaign rally at the Mosack Group warehouse on Sept. 25 in Mint Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump defended his plans for steep tariffs on Tuesday, arguing economists who say that those higher costs would get passed onto consumers are incorrect and that his proposals would benefit American manufacturing.

During an argumentative hour-long interview with Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait hosted by the Economic Club of Chicago, Trump vehemently denied tariffs on certain imported goods would lead to further spikes in inflation and sour America’s relationship with allies, including those in Europe.

“The higher the tariff, the more likely it is that the company will come into the United States, and build a factory in the United States so it doesn’t have to pay the tariff,” Trump said.

Micklethwait questioned Trump about what would happen to consumer prices during the months or even years it would take companies to build factories in the United States and hire workers.

Trump responded that he could make tariffs “so high, so horrible, so obnoxious that they’ll come right away.” Earlier during the interview, Trump mentioned placing tariffs on foreign-made products as high as 100% or 200%.

Harris-Walz 2024 spokesperson Joseph Costello wrote in a statement released following the interview that “Trump showed exactly why Americans can’t afford a second Trump presidency.”

“An angry, rambling Donald Trump couldn’t focus, had to be repeatedly reminded of the topic at hand, and whenever he did stake out a position, it was so extreme that no Americans would want it,” Costello wrote. “This was yet another reminder that a second Trump term is a risk Americans simply cannot take.”

Smoot-Hawley memories

Micklethwait noted during the interview that 40 million jobs and 27% of gross domestic product within the United States rely on trade, questioning how tariffs on those products would help the economy.

He also asked Trump if his plans for tariffs could lead the country down a similar path to the one that followed the Smoot-Hawley tariff law becoming law in June 1930. Signed by President Herbert Hoover, some historians and economists have linked the law to the beginning of the Great Depression.

Trump disagreed with Micklethwait, though he didn’t detail why his proposals to increase tariffs on goods from adversarial nations as well as U.S. allies wouldn’t begin a trade war.

The U.S. Senate’s official explainer on the Smoot-Hawley tariffs describes the law as being “among the most catastrophic acts in congressional history.” And the Congressional Research Services notes in a report on U.S. tariff policy that it was the last time lawmakers set tariff rates.

Desmond Lachman, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, wrote last month that Trump’s proposal to implement tariffs of at least 60% on goods imported from China as well as 10 to 20% on all other imports could have severe economic consequences.

“It is difficult to see how such a unilateral trade policy in flagrant violation of World Trade Organization rules would not lead to retaliation by our trade partners with import tariff increases of their own,” Lachman wrote. “As in the 1930s, that could lead us down the destructive path of beggar-my-neighbor trade policies that could cause major disruption to the international trade system. Such an occurrence would be particularly harmful to our export industries and would heighten the chances of both a US and worldwide economic recession.”

CRS notes in its reports that while the Constitution grants Congress the authority to establish tariffs, lawmakers have given the president some authority over it as well.

The United States’ membership in the World Trade Organization and various other trade agreements also have “tariff-related commitments,” according to CRS.

“For more than 80 years, Congress has delegated extensive tariff-setting authority to the President,” the CRS report states. “This delegation insulated Congress from domestic pressures and led to an overall decline in global tariff rates. However, it has meant that the U.S. pursuit of a low-tariff, rules-based global trading system has been the product of executive discretion. While Congress has set negotiating goals, it has relied on Presidential leadership to achieve those goals.”

The presidency and the Fed

Trump said during the interview that he believes the president should have more input into whether the Federal Reserve raises or lowers interest rates, though he didn’t answer a question about keeping Jerome Powell as the chairman through the end of his term.

“I think I have the right to say I think he should go up or down a little bit,” Trump said. “I don’t think I should be allowed to order it. But I think I have the right to put in comments as to whether or not interest rates should go up or down.”

Trump declined to answer a question about whether he’s spoken with Russian leader Vladimir Putin since leaving office.

“I don’t comment on that,” Trump said. “But I will tell you that if I did, it’s a smart thing. If I’m friendly with people, if I have a relationship with people, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing.”

Journalist Bob Woodward wrote in his new book “War” that Trump and Putin have spoken at least seven times and that Trump secretly sent Putin COVID-19 tests during the pandemic, which the Kremlin later confirmed, according to several news reports.

Trump said the presidential race will likely come down to Pennsylvania, Michigan and possibly Arizona.

The Economic Club of Chicago has also invited Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris for a sit-down interview.

President Joe Biden speaks about the federal government’s response and recovery efforts to hurricane season in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building’s South Court Auditorium on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday urged Congress to end its recess early and return to Capitol Hill to approve emergency funding for hurricane recovery, even though his budget office hasn’t released the supplemental request that would kick off the process.

Biden also rebuked Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for spreading misinformation about the federal government’s response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, saying it was irresponsible.

“Mr. President Trump, former President Trump, get a life man, help these people,” Biden said, later adding he has no plans to speak directly with Trump.

Biden criticized Trump and others for saying the $750 payment people in the hardest-hit areas are eligible for from the Federal Emergency Management Agency would be the only aid they get from the federal government.

“Mr. Trump and all those other people know it’s a lie to suggest that’s all they’re going to get. That’s bizarre,” Biden said. “They’ve got to stop this. I mean, they’re being so damn un-American with the way they’re talking about this stuff.”

Biden said the public would hold Trump accountable and then told the small group of reporters allowed to listen to his remarks in person that journalists better “hold him accountable, because you know the truth.”

Helene brought devastation to multiple states including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and? Virginia. More than 230 deaths have been reported.

At least 12 deaths ?have been reported after Milton struck Florida this week.

Trump video

Trump released a video on social media Thursday addressed to Florida residents, saying that he was praying for them and that they would receive help if he’s elected president. Trump is in the last weeks of a tight contest with the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Hopefully on January 20th you’re going to have somebody that’s really going to help you and help you like never before because help is on the way,” Trump said. “Together we will rebuild, we will recover and we will come back stronger, bigger, better than ever before.”

Trump has repeatedly claimed that FEMA doesn’t have enough funding to help natural disaster survivors because money is being directed to noncitizens.

FEMA wrote that is not true, on a webpage designed to address a spike in misinformation and disinformation following the hurricanes.

“No money is being diverted from disaster response needs. FEMA’s disaster response efforts and individual assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts. Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts.”

Misinformation and disinformation about natural disaster recovery have been spreading through other avenues as well, including social media and podcasts.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said earlier this week she expected combating rumors and lies will become a regular part of natural disaster recovery.

SBA in need of funding

Speaking from the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Biden said the cost of recovery would be in the billions of dollars, but declined to put a specific number on how much emergency funding he’ll ask lawmakers to approve.

While FEMA has the funding it needs for now, with about $20 billion in its disaster relief fund, Biden said the Small Business Administration is in urgent need of emergency money from Congress so that it can provide assistance to natural disaster survivors.

“In terms of the SBA, it’s pretty right at the edge right now,” Biden said. “And I think the Congress should be coming back and moving on emergency needs immediately. They’re going to have to come back after the election as well because this is going to be a long haul for total rebuilding.”

Congress left Capitol Hill in late September for a six-week election break and isn’t scheduled to return until Nov. 12.

Numerous lawmakers have called on congressional leaders to bring the two chambers back into session to approve emergency spending legislation.

So far, Republican leadership in the House and Democratic leaders in the Senate have decided against summoning lawmakers back to Washington, D.C., in part, because they don’t yet have a request from the Biden administration.

Typically, emergency spending bills begin to move forward in Congress after the White House budget office sends lawmakers a supplemental spending request.

That agency, also known as the Office of Management and Budget, hasn’t yet released the request, which will detail how much in extra funding it would like Congress to approve for various agencies, like the Small Business Administration and FEMA.

The Office of Management and Budget didn’t respond to a request from States Newsroom asking when it plans to send lawmakers the supplemental spending request.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which was issued electronically, is seen on June 24, 2022 in Washington, D.C. The court’s decision overturned the landmark Roe v Wade case and erases a federal right to an abortion. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

This is one in a series of States Newsroom reports on the major policy issues in the presidential race.

WASHINGTON — This year’s election marks the first time voters are casting ballots for president since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion and made reproductive rights a pivotal issue for many voters.

Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump have spoken about reproductive rights and abortion access numerous times during the last few months.

Trump’s stance has evolved during his bid for the White House. He now contends he wouldn’t sign legislation implementing nationwide abortion restrictions and wants regulation left up to the states.

Harris has consistently said a nationwide law guaranteeing access would ensure the choice is left up to women, not politicians.

“I pledge to you, when Congress passes a bill to put back in place the protections of Roe v. Wade, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law,” Harris said during the September presidential debate.

Trump patted himself on the back during the same debate for nominating three justices to the Supreme Court who later ruled with their conservative colleagues that the Constitution didn’t provide the privacy rights that two former high court rulings said insulated women’s choices about abortion.

“I did something that nobody thought was possible,” Trump said about nominating the three justices. “The states are now voting. What she says is an absolute lie. And as far as the abortion ban, no, I’m not in favor of (an) abortion ban. But it doesn’t matter because this issue has now been taken over by the states.”

Harris had just said that Trump would sign a nationwide abortion ban if elected and cited Project 2025, the blueprint for a second Trump administration released by the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation. Trump and his campaign have repeatedly tried to distance themselves from the document and many of its proposals.

Many politicians have misrepresented the Supreme Court’s ruling two years ago as sending abortion regulation back to the states. What the conservative justices wrote was that ending Roe v. Wade meant the “authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.”

That, of course, includes Congress and the president.

Trump position varies

Trump’s stance on abortion hasn’t always been linear or consistent. He told Republicans earlier this year that they should avoid discussing the topic in order to win elections, while also courting organizations that view him as one avenue to ending abortion outright.

Trump got himself into hot water with several anti-abortion organizations and conservative Republicans in April when he announced he didn’t want Congress to take action on a nationwide law.

Trump had previously said he would support a 16-week nationwide ban. He reiterated in his April announcement that he supported exceptions to state abortion bans in cases of rape, incest and the life of the pregnant patient.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser released a statement following Trump’s April announcement that she was “deeply disappointed.”

“Saying the issue is ‘back to the states’ cedes the national debate to the Democrats who are working relentlessly to enact legislation mandating abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy,” Dannenfelser wrote. “If successful, they will wipe out states’ rights.”

About a month later, in May, Trump, Dannenfelser, President of the Family Research Council Tony Perkins and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham had a “terrific meeting,” according to a statement released afterward.

Then, this summer, Trump muddied the waters on his abortion stance yet more, when he spoke to an organization in June that describes abortion as the “greatest atrocity facing” the United States that should be “eradicated entirely.”

“These are going to be your years because you’re going to make a comeback like just about no other group,” Trump said to The Danbury Institute’s inaugural Life & Liberty Forum. “I know what’s happening. I know where you’re coming from and where you’re going. And I’ll be with you side by side.”

Then, most recently, Trump posted on social media during the vice presidential debate in early October that he would veto any nationwide abortion restrictions.

Trump wrote in all capital letters that he “would not support a federal abortion ban, under any circumstances, and would, in fact, veto it, because it is up to the states to decide based on the will of their voters (the will of the people!).”

Trump added that he didn’t support access to abortion during the seventh, eight or ninth months of pregnancy, nor did he support killing babies, which is already illegal.

During 2021, about 93% of abortions took place within the first 13 weeks of gestation, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed by the Pew Research Center.

Another 6% of abortions took place between 14 and 20 weeks with the remaining 1% taking place after 21 weeks gestation, according to the data.

“Almost half of individuals who obtained an abortion after 20 weeks did not suspect they were pregnant until later in pregnancy, and other barriers to care included lack of information about where to access an abortion, transportation difficulties, lack of insurance coverage and inability to pay for the procedure,” according to analysis from KFF Health.

Harris position?

Harris has repeatedly criticized Trump for celebrating the Supreme Court’s decision to end Roe v. Wade and said during the presidential debate that state restrictions have harmed women in innumerable ways.

“Trump abortion bans that make no exception even for rape and incest,” Harris said. “Understand what that means — a survivor of a crime, a violation to their body, does not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next. That is immoral.

“And one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government, and Donald Trump certainly, should not be telling a woman what to do with her body.”

Harris has called for Democrats to eliminate the Senate’s legislative filibuster to ease the passage of a bill that would restore nationwide abortion protections.

That Senate rule requires at least 60 lawmakers vote to advance legislation before that bill can move on to a simple majority passage vote. It is different than the so-called talking filibuster, when one senator, or a group of like-minded lawmakers, talk on the floor for hours to delay a vote.

Democrats would have to maintain their majority in the Senate against long odds to actually carve out an exception to the legislative filibuster, in order to pass a bill restoring Roe v. Wade. Democrats would also need to regain control of the House of Representatives.

A divided Congress, or a few Democrats objecting to rule changes in the Senate, would hinder Harris’ efforts to sign nationwide abortion protections.

Democrats tried to pass legislation through the Senate that would have provided nationwide protections for abortion when they had unified control of government in 2022, but were blocked by the filibuster.

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Arizona independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema later introduced a bipartisan bill that would have had a similar result, but it wasn’t scheduled for a floor vote.

The legislation of two years ago likely would again fail to advance if Democrats sweep in the November elections, unless they carved out an exception in the Senate filibuster.

Swing state voters

Harris’ and Trump’s stance on abortion access will likely play a role in determining which candidate wins the Electoral College in crucial swing states like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Democrats are optimistic that abortion access ballot questions in 10 states will bolster Harris’ chances through increased voter turnout and higher spending by reproductive rights organizations.

While many of the referendums are in solidly blue or red states, the proposals in Arizona and Florida could affect turnout and motivation.

Louis Jacobson, senior columnist at Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, wrote earlier this month that a key question on Election Day will be whether “abortion-rights advocates extend their perfect 7-for-7 record since Roe v. Wade was overturned.”

Voters will decide on numerous other ballot questions as well, including recreational cannabis, increases in the minimum wage and ranked-choice voting.

In an earlier post about the abortion ballot questions, Jacobson and Samantha Putterman wrote that “(e)very post-Roe measure has been on the ballot during a relatively low turnout election—either the November midterm, a primary ballot, or an off-year election.”

“Any measure that makes the ballot in 2024 will face voters in November of a presidential year, when turnout is far higher,” they wrote. “This has the potential to hurt abortion rights backers, because moderate and liberal voters have recently flexed their electoral muscles more when turnout is low.”

Public opinion polls conducted by the Pew Research Center for the past three decades have consistently shown support for keeping abortion legal outpacing support for making the procedure illegal in most or all cases.

The 2024 survey showed that 63% of people want abortion legal in most or all cases while 36% believe it should be illegal in all or most cases.

People toss buckets of water out of a home as the streets and homes are flooded near Peachtree Creek after Hurricane Helene brought in heavy rains over night on Sept. 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Hurricane season has not only wreaked havoc on people’s lives throughout much of the country, but could also make it more difficult for voters to cast their ballots in hard-hit regions.

Other election threats include misinformation and even terrorism, with warnings from the Department of Homeland Security and an arrest in Oklahoma allegedly connected with an Election Day plot.

Election officials in states regularly affected by hurricane season have considerable experience ensuring residents can vote following natural disasters, but those in other parts of the country less accustomed to the destruction this year are learning as they go.

Voters used to a quick drive to their polling place or a drop box might need to spend more time getting there amid washed-out roads, while some may be so bogged down in rebuilding their lives, they simply choose not to cast a ballot. Regular mail service may be disrupted for mail-in ballots.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said earlier this week he didn’t expect recovery from Hurricane Helene to have a significant impact on voting, lauding county election officials for troubleshooting power outages and a loss of internet during the storm, the Georgia Recorder reported.

Local election officials throughout the state, he said, were ready to ship mail-in ballots on time and didn’t expect any delays to the start of early voting on Oct. 15.

County election officials “really put public service first because they understand how important voting is in 53 counties that so far have been declared federal disaster areas,” he said during a press briefing.

North Carolina’s legislature unanimously passed an emergency funding package Wednesday that includes $5 million for the Board of Elections to help it recover from the hurricane and ensure the election goes forward somewhat smoothly, according to NC Newsline.

Elections officials in the state will be allowed to make changes to early voting and polling locations throughout 25 western counties, an increase from the 13 counties previously authorized to make changes.

“While the Board of Elections made a good effort, we want to extend it to additional counties that were impacted,” Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger said during a press conference.

The Trump campaign released a list of 10 requests for voting in North Carolina on Tuesday evening, including that voters “who have been displaced to another North Carolina county to have the ability to vote a provisional ballot on election day, which will be delivered back to and processed at the voter’s correct County Board of Elections.”

That specific request was not approved by the state, according to NC Newsline.

In Florida, where residents barely began addressing damage from Hurricane Helene before Hurricane Milton emerged, there are disagreements about how best to proceed, the Florida Phoenix reported.

The League of Women Voters of Florida Education Fund and the Florida State Conference of the NAACP have filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to extend the voter registration deadline, which ended on Monday.

The organizations argue that Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis should have allowed more time for voter registration, since residents have been focused on storm preparation, evacuation and recovery.

“While issuing mandatory evacuation orders, he has refused to extend the voter registration deadline, disenfranchising many Floridians who were unable to register due to a disaster beyond their control,” the organizations wrote in a statement. “Voters should not have to worry about registering to vote while they are trying to protect their lives and communities.”

Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett announced Wednesday that there would be changes throughout six counties to address impacts from Hurricane Helene, though he committed to ensuring residents in the state would be able to vote in person or by mail.

“The devastation experienced in northeast Tennessee is heartbreaking and unimaginable,” Hargett said in a written statement. “However, I continue to be amazed at the planning and resiliency of our local election officials.

“We have been working with our local elections administrators — Josh Blanchard, Sarah Fain, Tracy Harris, Dana Jones, Cheri Lipford, and Justin Reaves — throughout the entirety of this disaster, and their unwavering leadership and commitment will ensure this election proceeds as planned, so registered voters have the opportunity to vote.”

Hargett reiterated in the statement that early voting would still begin on Oct. 16 and run through Oct. 31.

Specific changes to voting throughout the six counties were posted on the Secretary of State’s website, which will be updated with any additional alterations in the days ahead. Tennessee voters who sent in absentee ballots can track the status here or by calling 877-850-4959.

Elections and artificial intelligence

Kentucky secretary of state urges lawmakers to protect election officials from AI impersonations

In Kentucky, elections officials are warning state lawmakers that artificial intelligence has the “potential for significant impact” on elections in the months and years ahead, the Kentucky Lantern reported.

Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams urged lawmakers during a meeting of the General Assembly’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force to take the technology seriously.

“Should you take up AI legislation when you return in 2025, I would encourage you to consider prohibiting impersonation of election officials,” Adams said during the meeting. “It is illegal to impersonate a peace officer, and for good reason. It should be equally illegal to impersonate a secretary of state or county clerk and put out false information in any format about our elections.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a report earlier this month saying officials expected “state actors will continue to pose a host of threats to the Homeland and public safety,” including through artificial intelligence.

“Specifically, China, Iran, and Russia will use a blend of subversive, undeclared, criminal, and coercive tactics to seek new opportunities to undermine confidence in US democratic institutions and domestic social cohesion,” the 46-page report states.

“Advances in AI likely will enable foreign adversaries to increase the output, timeliness, and perceived authenticity of their mis-, dis-, and malinformation designed to influence US audiences while concealing or distorting the origin of the content.”

Terrorism and the election?

Oklahoma City man faces charges related to planned Election Day terrorist attack, authorities say

DHS also expects threats from terrorism to remain high throughout the year, including around the elections, according to the report.

“Lone offenders and small groups continue to pose the greatest threat of carrying out attacks with little to no warning,” the report states.

That appears to be the case in Oklahoma, where federal officials allege a 27-year-old Afghanistan national living in the state purchased an AK-47 and ammunition as part of a plot to conduct an attack on Election Day in the name of ISIS, the Oklahoma Voice reported.

Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi and a co-conspirator under the age of 18 allegedly met with an FBI asset in rural western Oklahoma to purchase two AK-47 assault rifles, 10 magazines and 500 rounds of ammunition, according to the criminal complaint.

An FBI search of Tawhedi’s phone found communications with a person who Tawhedi believed was affiliated with ISIS. He also “allegedly accessed, viewed, and saved ISIS propaganda on his iCloud and Google account, participated in pro-ISIS Telegram groups, and contributed to a charity which fronts for and funnels money to ISIS,” according to the complaint.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign has sought to blame Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris for Tawhedi’s presence within the United States.

Trump Campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt released a written statement claiming that Harris “rolled out the red carpet for terrorists like Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi.”

“President Donald Trump will deport illegal immigrants on the terror watch list and secure our borders from foreign threats,” Leavitt wrote.

Tawhedi entered the United States on Sept. 9, 2021, on a special immigrant visa and “is currently on parole status pending adjudication of his immigration proceedings,” according to the criminal complaint.

The co-defendant is Tawhedi’s wife’s younger brother. While unnamed because he is a juvenile, the criminal complaint says he is a citizen of Afghanistan with legal permanent resident status who entered the United States on March 27, 2018, on a special immigrant visa.

Leavitt’s statement didn’t comment on the co-defendant entering the United States during the Trump administration.

Harris has not yet commented publicly on the arrest.

This story has been updated with new information from North Carolina.

Republican women are falling behind in candidacies, nominations and primary contest success when it comes to running for Congress, political experts said Tuesday. In this photo, the U.S. Capitol Building is seen on Oct. 22, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Republicans are struggling to recruit and elect women to Congress, lagging behind Democrats in ensuring women, who make up half the population, have a strong voice in the halls of power, experts on women in politics said Tuesday.

“This year’s data shows clearly that Republican women are falling behind in candidacies, nominations and even primary contest success,” Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University in New Jersey, said on a call with reporters.

Democratic women, on the other hand, “are not only outperforming their male counterparts, but are also reaching near parity with Democratic men in nominations and office holding.”

The 435-member U.S. House currently has 126 women, 34 of whom are Republicans. The 100-member Senate has 25 female lawmakers, with nine belonging to the GOP.

CAWP Director of Data Chelsea Hill explained on the call that while women overall account for just 31.1% of general election nominees for the House, the breakdown shows a stark difference for Democratic and Republican politicians.

“Women continue to be significantly underrepresented as a percentage of all U.S. House and Senate candidates and nominees,” Hill said. “But Republican women are a significantly smaller percentage of their party’s candidates and nominees than are Democratic women.”

Democratic women running for the House represent 45.9% of candidates within their party, coming close to parity with their male colleagues and increasing female candidate percentages over 2022, she said.

Republican women, however, make up 16.2% of GOP House candidates this election cycle, a lower share than during 2020 and 2022, Hill said.

In the Senate, female candidates account for 30.9% of general election nominees, with a similar split between Democrats and Republicans.

Democratic women account for 46.9% of the party’s candidates for that chamber of Congress, also near parity, though women make up 17.6% of Republican Senate nominees, “a smaller share than in the three previous cycles,” according to Hill.

Why are fewer Republican women running?

CAWP experts said the difference in female candidates is predominantly due to structural differences as well as differing beliefs about the importance of women holding office among leadership and voters.

CAWP Director of Research Kelly Dittmar said if party leadership doesn’t believe women’s underrepresentation in government is a problem in need of a solution, that will make “it hard to build the type of support infrastructure — whether it be for women’s PACs, trainings, recruitment programs — that would ensure that those numbers stay high.”

Dittmar said one example of this was House Republican leaders’ decision to roll a program called “Project Grow” that was aimed at recruiting female GOP lawmakers into the “Young Guns” program, which is focused more on general recruitment.

“Young Guns” is also the title of a book published in 2010 by former House Republican leaders Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy, all of whom are men.

Dittmar said the evolution of the Republican Party under former President Donald Trump and the change in abortion access stemming from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022 are not significant factors accounting for the lower numbers of female Republican candidates.

“I would suggest that when we get to the candidate level, there are enough conservative Republican women in the country that could be recruited and supported as candidates,” Dittmar said.

Walsh said one of the reasons GOP leaders don’t focus on recruiting and encouraging women in public office is that there is a “reluctance” within the Republican Party to engage in identity politics.

“The Democratic Party places value on that, versus the Republican Party, which says the best candidate will rise to the top and let the best person win,” Walsh said. “So it is a deeply philosophical difference that plays out in candidate recruitment, candidate support.”

Dittmar added that Democrats aren’t necessarily recruiting and advancing female candidates “out of the goodness of their hearts,” but are doing so because it’s expected by their voters.

“There’s an electoral incentive, partly due to the gender gap in voting, as well as racial and ethnic differences in terms of the Democratic base, where there is more demand on the Democratic Party to say, ‘Look, we’re bringing you votes, you need to prioritize and value this level of representation.’”

The Rocky Broad River flows into Lake Lure and overflows the town with debris from Chimney Rock, North Carolina after heavy rains from Hurricane Helene on Sept. 28, 2024, in Lake Lure, North Carolina. Approximately 6 feet of debris piled on the bridge from Lake Lure to Chimney Rock, blocking access. (Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — ? Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said Tuesday that rumors and disinformation will become a regular part of natural disaster response moving forward, and rebuked those seeking to benefit politically from spreading false information.

The volume and type of disinformation spreading about FEMA, as Southeast states struggle to recover from Hurricane Helene, is the worst Criswell said she has ever seen, following a “steady increase” in rumors following previous natural disasters.

Incorrect information about FEMA and its response to natural disasters has been spreading through numerous avenues, including social media, podcasts and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s numerous comments and posts. Criswell did not name any politicians or other individuals during the call with reporters.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Milton is barrelling toward Florida’s Gulf Coast and expected to make landfall by Wednesday night. Meteorologists are warning the storm could be one of Florida’s worst. Thousands of people were evacuating Tuesday.

Criswell said she’s concerned the lies about various aspects of FEMA’s response to Hurricane Helene may have a chilling effect on whether people harmed by natural disasters apply for assistance. It could also potentially endanger first responders on the ground.

“It’s just really demoralizing to them. It hurts their morale and they’ve left their families to be able to come in here and help people,” she said of first responders and FEMA staff.

While no one has physically attacked FEMA staff or other emergency responders so far, Criswell said, she and others are closely monitoring misinformation as well as how people in areas hit by natural disasters react to it.

FEMA’s collaboration with local law enforcement can help to monitor safety and security issues, though rumors and disinformation could make matters worse, she said.

“If it creates so much fear that my staff don’t want to go out in the field, then we’re not going to be in a position where we can help people,” Criswell said, adding that she does have concerns about “the safety of our folks that are walking around in neighborhoods that may or may not have full confidence in the government.”

“And so we are watching that closely to make sure that we’re providing for their safety as well,” she said.

Helene brought devastation to multiple states including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and ?Virginia. ?More than 230 deaths have been reported.

Storm victims

The rumors and inaccurate information about FEMA’s response and recovery efforts are “creating fear in some” people who are trying to navigate their way through the hurricane recovery process, Criswell said.

“I worry that they won’t apply for assistance, which means I can’t get them the necessary items they need,” Criswell said. “And so those are the biggest impacts I see as a result of this constant narrative that is more about politics than truly helping people.”

She said the current situation is worse than ever.

“We have always put up rumor control pages because there’s always been people that have been out there trying to take advantage of those that have just lost so much in creating false websites and trying to get their information and defrauding people and the federal government,” Criswell said. “And so not something that’s new, but the level of rhetoric just continues to rise.”

Following the Maui wildfires in August 2023, federal officials worked with local officials to help reassure Hawaiians the rumors and disinformation that spread following that disaster were not true.

Some of the disinformation about the Maui wildfires was from “foreign state actors,” Criswell said.

FEMA was eventually able to get federal assistance to everyone who needed it, but it took much longer than it would have otherwise, she said.

The first assistance people in hard-hit areas often receive from FEMA is a $750 payment meant to help with immediate needs like water, food, clothing and medicine.

There has been significant misinformation around that amount. Criswell clarified on the call that it’s the first installment from FEMA and that more assistance goes out to people affected by natural disasters as the recovery process moves forward.

“We know that they have immediate needs in the first few days, and it’s just an initial jump start to help them replace some of that,” Criswell said.

As FEMA gathers more information about property damage and other problems related to natural disasters, people will likely receive additional assistance for home repairs as well as the cost of staying in a hotel if their home was badly damaged.

FEMA then continues to work with people on longer-term needs, like rental assistance, if that’s needed.

FEMA has set up a webpage seeking to dispel rumors and disinformation about its response and recovery efforts.

It says that in most cases the money FEMA gives to disaster survivors does not have to be paid back and notes that the agency “cannot seize your property or land.”

“There are some less common situations in which you may have to pay FEMA back if you receive duplicate benefits from insurance or a grant from another source. For example, if you have insurance that covers your temporary housing costs, but you ask FEMA to advance you some money to help you pay for those costs while your insurance is delayed, you will need to pay that money back to FEMA after you receive your insurance settlement.”

The webpage also says that no funding for disaster recovery was diverted to address border security or immigration issues.

“This is false. No money is being diverted from disaster response needs. FEMA’s disaster response efforts and individual assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts. Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts.”

Funding questions

FEMA has plenty of funding to cover response and recovery efforts for the 100-plus open natural disasters throughout the country, but will need supplemental funding from Congress in the months ahead.

“I have enough funding to continue to support the response efforts for both of these events, and then continue to support the recovery efforts from all of the storms across the nation,” Criswell said, referring to Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

“However, I’m not going to be able to support those recoveries for long without a supplemental,” she added. “And we anticipate needing additional funding in the December, January time frame, or I’ll have to go back into what we call immediate needs funding again, where we pause obligations in our recovery projects to ensure that I can respond to an event like we’re seeing today.”

The first step for Congress to approve emergency funding for FEMA or any other federal agency is typically when the Office of Management and Budget sends a supplemental spending request to lawmakers on behalf of the White House.

Lawmakers can then choose to write legislation providing some, all, or more money than requested. They can also choose not to fund the emergency request, though that appears unlikely this time.

For the moment, FEMA has about $20 billion in its disaster relief fund, she said.

People who need assistance from FEMA should call 1-800-621-3362, register on https://www.disasterassistance.gov/ or fill out an application on the FEMA app.

Vice President Kamala Harris was interviewed on the CBS news show “60 Minutes” that aired Monday night. In this photo, she speaks at the American Federation of Teachers’ 88th National Convention on July 25, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Montinique Monroe/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris said during an interview with the CBS News show “60 Minutes” that aired Monday she believes Congress would work with her to implement economic and tax policies if she’s elected.

She also criticized Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for declining to sit for an interview with the news program, but noted that voters interested in his goals for the country should just listen to one of his rallies.

“You’re going to hear conversations that are about himself and all of his personal grievances — and what you will not hear is anything about you, the listener,” Harris said. “You will not hear about how he’s going to try to bring the country together, find common ground. And that is why I believe in my soul and heart, the American people are ready to turn the page.”

Harris reinforced her support for Ukraine during the interview, saying she wouldn’t sit down to bilateral talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin about the conflict.

“Ukraine must have a say in the future of Ukraine,” Harris said, though she declined to say if her administration would support bringing Ukraine into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Harris argued that were Trump president when Russia invaded Ukraine, “Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now,” the Ukrainian capital.

“He talks about, ‘Oh, he can end it on day one.’ You know what that is? It’s about surrender,” Harris said of Trump.

Trump and immigration

Harris focused many of her answers to questions about immigration and border security on Trump, criticizing him for working behind the scenes to scuttle bipartisan legislation that took months to negotiate.

She also noted more than once that Congress is responsible for writing laws governing immigration policy and questioned why lawmakers didn’t approve a bill President Joe Biden sent up in the first days of his administration.

Harris said she believes Americans will vote for her over Trump, in part, because they want a president who doesn’t make the types of comments about immigrants that Trump regularly makes on the campaign trail.

“I believe that the people of America want a leader who’s not trying to divide us and demean,” Harris said. “I believe that the American people recognize that the true measure of the strength of a leader is not based on who you beat down, it’s based on who you lift up.”

Harris said she was confident that members of Congress would work with her, if she’s elected president, to implement some of her core policy proposals, including expanding the Child Tax Credit and establishing a tax credit for first-time home buyers.

She said paying for those proposals could be achieved through making “sure that the richest among us, who can afford it, pay their fair share in taxes.”

“It is not right that teachers and nurses and firefighters are paying a higher tax rate than billionaires and the biggest corporations, and I plan on making that fair,” she said.

When Harris talks with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, many of them understand the points she’s making about the tax code, she said.

“There are plenty of leaders in Congress who understand and know that the Trump tax cuts blew up our federal deficit,” Harris said. “None of us, and certainly I, cannot afford to be myopic in terms of how I think about strengthening America’s economy.”

Harris provided more details during the interview on her gun ownership, revealing that she owns a Glock and has fired it at shooting ranges.

“I have a Glock, and I’ve had it for quite some time,” Harris said. “And I mean, look, Bill, my background is in law enforcement. And so there you go.”

Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, joined by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks at the Capitol on Sept. 29, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans shortly after Election Day will face a major decision for their chamber as well as the national party when they pick a new leader.

Once the dust from the election clears and the balance of power in the Senate is decided, senators will gather behind closed doors to choose who will lead their conference. Come January, that person will step into one of the more important and influential roles in the U.S. government, as well as becoming a prominent figure for messaging and fundraising for the GOP.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, Florida Sen. Rick Scott and South Dakota Sen. John Thune have all publicly announced they’re seeking the post. Thune is currently the minority whip, the No. 2 leader in the Senate GOP, and Cornyn held the whip job before him.

The lawmaker who secures the support of his colleagues will replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who since 2007 has led his party through three presidencies, numerous votes on natural disaster aid packages, the COVID-19 pandemic, two impeachments and the Jan. 6 insurrection.

McConnell, who served as majority leader when Republicans controlled the Senate, has been at the center of dozens of pivotal negotiations and ensured his position was a boon for his home state of Kentucky.

The Republican who takes his place will have to navigate choppy political seas in the years ahead as the GOP continues to hold onto the Reagan-era policies many still value, while adjusting to the brand of conservatism that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump champions.

States Newsroom interviewed Republican senators to find out what characteristics they believe the next GOP leader needs to have to earn their vote, and about the challenges that person will face in the years ahead.

While only one senator would volunteer an opinion on a favorite candidate, many said they are interested in a leader who will emphasize moving legislation through the chamber, listen closely to members and forge strong ties with what they hope is a Trump administration.

In search of a workhorse?

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley said he’s looking for a “competent” Republican leader who will listen to members and work behind the scenes.

“I don’t want to see leaders on television commercials, I don’t want to see them featured in Senate races, I don’t want them as the deciding factor days before an election,” Hawley said. “I want somebody who is going to be a workhorse and who’s going to work with members to achieve our priorities and then get stuff accomplished.”

West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said the next GOP leader should hold the line on conservative priorities while also being able to negotiate bipartisan deals during what is expected to be a divided government. Democrats narrowly control the Senate, but Republicans are projected to possibly take the majority in the election.

“I would like somebody who can be strong in the face of opposition, present a strong argument, not afraid to take it to the other side when needed, but then also somebody that could get in the room and negotiate right when it gets tough,” she said.

Capito acknowledged the outcome of the presidential election could have an impact on who becomes the next Republican leader.

“(It) just depends on who wins,” she said.

Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall said his choice will “be the most important vote that I take.”

“You vote for the president, that’s important, but mine is one vote out of 150 million votes, or whatever it is. But this vote will be one out of, hopefully 53, so I think it has a lot of weight,” Marshall said. “And I think it’s really important that we elect a majority leader that shares the same priorities as, hopefully, President Trump.”

Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty said the overarching criteria for the next GOP leader is their “ability to get along well with President Trump and the incoming administration.”

“The first 100 days are going to count, and we need to have very close alignment to make certain we’re successful,” Hagerty said.

There is no guarantee that voters will elect Trump as the next president during this year’s presidential election. The next Senate GOP leader could end up working with an administration led by the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

That would require whomever Republican senators elect to walk a tightrope on Cabinet secretary confirmation votes, judicial nominees, must-pass legislation and potentially a Supreme Court nominee.

Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said he’s vetting the candidates based on which one would be the most savvy, strategic, patient and inclusive.

That person, Kennedy said, must also be “willing to test his assumptions against the arguments of his critics and willing to ask God for money if necessary.” McConnell has been known as a prodigious fundraiser for Republicans.

Chairmanship clout

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, ranking member on the Appropriations Committee, said she’ll vote for the candidate willing to devote significantly more floor time to debating and voting on bipartisan legislation.

“I think that’s a real problem,” Collins said. “I’d like us to go back to the days where power was vested in the committee chairs. And if they and their ranking members are able to produce a bill, that it gets scheduled for floor consideration.”

Collins, a moderate in a Senate conference packed with more conservative members, said she wants the next Senate Republican leader to recognize “that we’re a big tent party and that we need to be inclusive in our approach.”

North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven, the top Republican on the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, said he wants a GOP leader to follow “regular order on appropriations.”

“We get them through committee with bipartisan votes, but they’re not getting to the floor,” Hoeven said of the dozen annual government funding bills. “We need to get them to the floor, there needs to be an amendment process, and we need to act on the bills and get back to voting on bills and that’s called regular order. And I think that’s the biggest key for our next leader is to be able to do that.”

Alabama Sen. Katie Britt has begun talking with the candidates and is evaluating their plans for the Senate floor schedule, especially for bringing the annual government funding bills up for debate and amendment.

“I want to know how we’re going to get the appropriations process back working; like, how we’re actually going to move the ball down the field on that,” Britt said. “I want to know how we’re going to actually embolden the committees and the committee process.”

Britt, ranking member on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, expressed frustration with how much floor time goes toward confirming judicial nominees, something that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, and McConnell have both championed.

Senate floor procedures are much more time-consuming than the rules that govern debate in the House. Legislation can take weeks to move through the filibuster process, which requires 60 votes for bills to advance, and for leaders to negotiate which amendments will receive floor votes.

The Senate, unlike the House, is also responsible for vetting and confirming executive branch nominees, like Cabinet secretaries, as well as judicial nominees. With a new president in place, 2025 will mean many confirmation votes.

“When we have a leader that really knows how to lead, they’ll put appropriations bills on the floor, they’ll figure out how to embolden members,” Britt said, adding that “a weak leader consolidates all the power, and that’s, unfortunately, what I think we have right now when it comes to Chuck Schumer.”

‘Getting stuff done’

Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford said whomever he votes for needs to “be successful at getting stuff done, finished, completed.”

“We have to be able to get our committees working and get legislation up, negotiated and moved,” Lankford said.

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst said whoever takes over as the next GOP leader must be able to communicate well with senators.

That person “needs to be someone that has strategy, and knows how to work the floor, certainly. And then, also fundraising is a portion of that, too.”

Arkansas Sen. John Boozman said his vote will go to the person he believes can best build consensus and listen to members, though he hasn’t yet decided which of the three contenders he’ll support.

“I’m a true undecided,” Boozman said. “I think the reality is most members just want to get the election over. They don’t want to deal with this until then.”

Boozman said the results of the battle for control of the Senate in the November elections could influence which candidate he and his colleagues pick to lead them during the next Congress.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said that the next GOP leader should be in tune with Republican voters and the issues important to them.

“It’s someone who I think has an affinity and is in touch with where our voters are,” Rubio said.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley declined to list off any characteristics he believes the next leader needs, saying he doesn’t want any of the three to figure out his choice.

“I wouldn’t want to tell you that, because this is what I told all three people that came to my office — I said, ‘I’m not going to tell either one of you. You’re all friends of mine. You ain’t going to know who I vote for,’” Grassley said. “And if I answered your question, they’re going to start figuring out who I’m going to vote for.”

Grassley said the next leader’s first major challenge will be negotiating a tax bill during 2025 that addresses expiring elements from the 2017 Republican tax law.

Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran said character matters in determining who he’ll vote for, but said he hadn’t created a score sheet just yet.

“I’ll have an idea of who I’m voting for before the November election,” Moran said. “Those characteristics that I think are important would be important regardless of what the makeup of the House, Senate and the White House is.”

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson threw his support behind Scott for GOP leader, saying he prefers someone who previously served as a governor and worked in the private sector. He was the only senator interviewed by States Newsroom to reveal his vote, which will be conducted via secret ballot.

He said that Scott “is willing to tackle tough issues.”

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said that Republicans have “a lot of good choices” among the three men and that he wants someone who can carry the GOP message.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage by U.S. Secret Service agents after being grazed by a bullet during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump will return to the site in Butler on Saturday, Oct. 5 2024 for a rally. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesImages)

WASHINGTON — Saturday marks one month until Election Day, giving the presidential campaigns little time before voting closes to convince voters that their vision for the country offers the best path forward.

Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump will spend much of that time attacking each other, though they are also leaning on high-profile allies to support voter turnout efforts and help sway the dwindling number of undecided voters.

Former Democratic President Barack Obama is set to rally supporters in battleground states throughout the next month after starting off in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 10.

Obama is expected to make the case that Harris “is ready for the job.”

“This is a person who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a champion,” Obama will say, according to prepared remarks shared by the campaign. “Kamala wasn’t born into privilege. She had to work for what she’s got, and she actually cares about what other people are going through.”

The campaign didn’t disclose which other states Obama is likely to visit, though it’s a safe bet he’ll be traveling to swing states like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

Trump is set to rally supporters in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, returning to the location where a gunman climbed onto a roof before taking several shots at Trump in July.

The rally will include numerous members of Congress as well as the family of Corey Comperatore, who was killed by the gunman.

Comperatore’s widow, daughters and sisters are all expected to attend the Trump rally, as are several people who attended the one where the shooting broke out, according to an announcement from the campaign.

Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, is expected to attend along with billionaire businessman Elon Musk; Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt; Pennsylvania Reps. Mike Kelly, Dan Meuser, Guy Reschenthaler and Glenn Thompson; Florida Rep. Cory Mills; Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson; and several Pennsylvania officials.

Separately on Saturday, Vice President Harris will travel to North Carolina to receive a briefing on recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene and survey storm damage.

On Sunday, former President Trump is expected to give a speech in Juneau, Wisconsin.

Biden warns of election denial

President Joe Biden said Friday during a surprise appearance at the White House press briefing that he expects the November elections will be fair and free, though he expressed concern about the possibility of violence.

“I don’t know whether it will be peaceful,” Biden said. “The things that Trump has said and the things that he said last time out, when he didn’t like the outcome of the election, were very dangerous.”

Biden criticized Vance for declining to say during this week’s vice presidential debate that he would accept the outcome of the election.

“They haven’t even accepted the outcome of the last election,” Biden said. “So I’m concerned about what they’re going to do.”

Trump has falsely claimed for years that he won the 2020 presidential election, despite multiple lawsuits failing in the court system due to a lack of evidence and numerous Republican officials saying there was no evidence of widespread fraud.

Special counsel Jack Smith is pursuing a case against Trump for attempting to overturn the results of the election that includes actions he took leading up to and during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The latest filing in that case, which included new details, was released this week.

Control of Congress

Democrats and Republicans are also focusing on the race for control of Congress during the final weeks of campaign season.

Republicans are projected to reclaim the Senate, most likely through picking up seats in West Virginia and Montana, with races in Michigan and Ohio ranked as toss-ups by the Cook Political Report with Amy Walters.

The House could also go either way, though Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has repeatedly said he expects to keep that chamber red and increase his razor-thin majority.

There are 26 toss-up races that will determine control of the House for the next two years, according to the Cook Political Report. The remaining 409 House districts are rated as either leaning, likely or solidly favoring Republicans or Democrats.

Which party controls the House and Senate will determine how much the next president can actually accomplish.

Leaders of the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said on a call Friday they are coordinating their efforts to boost Harris and Democratic candidates during the weeks ahead.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, DSCC Chair Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan and DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington highlighted some of those efforts to mark nearly one month out from Nov. 5.

“I think we have probably one of the most coordinated efforts we’ve seen, at least in my memory, where three committees are working together to make sure that we use our resources as effectively and as efficiently as possible, to make sure that we win all across the board,” Peters said.

Harrison said party leaders were focused on dozens of races ranging from “the school board to the White House.”

“When I became the chair of the DNC, I committed to a 57-state-and-territory strategy,” Harrison said, adding that he’s proud to say “we’ve taken that commitment to the next levels, rounding out our mission, again, sending electoral investments to all 57 states and territories to bolster down-ballot races in a single cycle.”

A case of bird flu in a Missouri resident is the only diagnosis in the United States this year where the person did not have contact with infected dairy cattle or poultry. (Photo by Stephen Ausmus/Animal Research Services, USDA)

WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should have results later this month that provide more insight into how a Missouri resident, who hadn’t had any contact with infected animals or food, contracted a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, said on a call with reporters Friday the agency is working through its investigation of that bird flu case, while providing several more details.

“As we previously reported, CDC would be able to perform partial sequencing of the avian influenza H5 virus from the case in Missouri, despite a nearly undetectable level of viral RNA in the patient sample,” Daskalakis said.

That process is complex and time-consuming, in part because the patient had rather small amounts of the virus in their system when the test was taken.

Another contributing factor, he said, is “that the virus has two potentially important mutations, meaning two amino acid differences, in comparison with the viruses previously characterized during this event that could affect antigenicity.”

Daskalakis explained that antigenicity is when someone is able to produce “a specific immune response, such as creation of specific antibodies.”

Both the mutations and small sample size have presented challenges for the CDC, but the agency expects to announce results of the test later this month after completing the complicated lab process, he said.

Two cases in California

The Missouri case is the only bird flu diagnosis in the United States this year where the person hadn’t had direct contact with infected poultry or dairy cattle.

The remainder of the 16 people diagnosed with H5N1 during this calendar year had direct contact with farm animals, with nine of those cases linked to poultry and six related to dairy cows.

One of those cases was diagnosed in Texas, two in Michigan, two in California just this week and 10 in Colorado.

Public health officials on the call emphasized that the risk to the general public remains low and that several studies undertaken by the Food and Drug Administration show pasteurized dairy products as well as other foods remain safe to eat.

Since February, the CDC has tested more than 50,000 samples that would have “detected Influenza A, H5 or other novel influenza viruses,” Daskalakis said.

The Missouri case was the first case of bird flu detected through that influenza surveillance system, he said.

Public health officials at the state and federal level have been trying to determine how the Missouri patient, who officials are not identifying for their privacy, contracted the virus through a series of “intense interviews,” Daskalakis said.

That is how they learned someone living in the same house had been symptomatic with various gastrointestinal issues at the same time the patient had been ill.

That simultaneous onset of symptoms implied “a common exposure, rather than human-to-human transmission,” Daskalakis said, before reinforcing that the second person never tested positive for the virus and isn’t considered a case of bird flu.

“At the time of the interview, the household contact had also completely recovered and had not been tested for influenza while they were sick,” he said. “To be clear, there is only one case of H5N1 influenza detected in Missouri.”

Because the person living in the same house as the Missouri patient had been symptom-free for more than 10 days when they were interviewed by public health officials, Daskalakis said there was “no utility in testing the contact for acute influenza.”

Instead, officials in Missouri took blood samples from the two people so the CDC could test for “antibodies against H5 to assess for possible infection with this virus,” he said.

A separate investigation was taken at the hospital where the Missouri patient had been diagnosed to see if any health care workers had contracted H5N1.

Out of 118 health care workers who interacted with the patient in some way, 18 had higher-risk interactions before the patient was diagnosed and began using what Daskalakis referred to as “droplet precautions.”

Six of those health care workers later developed respiratory symptoms, though only one of them had symptoms by the time the public health investigation had begun retroactively, he said.

That one person’s PCR test for acute influenza came back negative and the other five health care workers, who had recovered, did not require a PRC test, he said.

“Since exposures could only be assessed retrospectively, Missouri has also obtained blood specimens from these individuals for antibody or serology testing at CDC to search for any evidence to support the unlikely possibility that their symptoms were related to H5 infection resulting from their interaction with the patient,” Daskalakis said. “Despite the low risk, this testing is important to complete the public health investigation of this case.”

The CDC began working on that serology testing in mid-September when it received the samples from Missouri, though the complicated process likely won’t conclude until later in October.

“For serology testing to be conclusive, it needs to be done using a virus that is genetically identical to the one obtained from the human case from Missouri or there is a risk of a false negative test,” Daskalakis said. “Since this H5 virus was not recoverable, we could not grow it because there was not enough for the Missouri specimen.”

The CDC, he explained, has to “create the right virus for the test using reverse genetics to match the one from Missouri, so that we can use it in these serology tests.”

“We realize people, including all of us at CDC, are anxious to see results from this testing,” he said. “CDC is moving at a very accelerated pace while conducting rigorous science to assure the validity of these results.”

Poultry, dairy cases

In addition to human cases, bird flu continues to infect poultry flocks and dairy herds within the United States.

While the poultry industry has had years of experience supplying its workers with personal protective equipment and culling affected farms, the dairy industry has had to figure out how to address the virus this year.

Eric Deeble, deputy under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs at USDA, said on the call Friday that Colorado’s mandatory testing program of bulk milk tanks, which began in July, offered a hopeful case study for ridding farms throughout the country of H5N1.

“Initially, this revealed a significant local prevalence, about 72% of dairies, centered in Weld County,” Deeble said.

But following months of hard work by farmers and public health officials, Colorado has just one dairy herd that’s currently affected by H5N1 out of 86 dairy herds within the state, he said.

“Mandatory surveillance in the state allows for continuous monitoring of herds and helps detect any instances of non-negative results early on, ensuring timely intervention,” Deeble said. “This decrease in Colorado cases, even in the absence of a vaccine, gives us further confidence that H5N1 can be eliminated in the national herd, even in places where we have seen an initial rapid increase in cases.”

Data from the USDA show that during the past month, three dairy herds in Idaho and 53 in California have tested positive for H5N1.

Congress is in recess in the leadup to Election Day, but will return afterward for a lame-duck session. Pictured is the U.S. Capitol on March 14, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress left Capitol Hill last week to focus their attention on the campaign trail during the six weeks leading up to Election Day, leaving much of their work unfinished.

The Republican House and Democratic Senate are scheduled to remain on recess until Nov. 12, though the urgent needs created in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which are fully funded for the moment, could bring the chambers back into session before then.

When lawmakers do return to Washington, D.C., they’ll need to address the must-pass legislation they’ve left on autopilot instead of negotiating new bipartisan compromises.

So far this year, lawmakers have pushed off reaching brokering agreement on must-pass measures like the farm bill as well as this year’s batch of government funding bills and the annual defense policy legislation.

Kids’ online safety, radiation exposure

There are also a handful of measures that have passed one chamber with broad bipartisan support, but haven’t been taken up on the other side of the Capitol that leadership could decide to move forward during November or December.

For example, an interesting combination of senators, led by Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal and Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn, are advocating for House Republican leaders to hold votes on a pair of online safety bills designed to better protect children from the darker side of the internet.

The rail safety bill drafted by a bipartisan group of senators from Ohio and Pennsylvania after the train derailment in East Palestine remains unaddressed following more than a year of intransigence.

And legislation to reauthorize the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA, which passed the Senate on a broadly bipartisan vote earlier this year, sits on a shelf collecting dust in the House.

Cancer victims, Indigenous communities and many others have pressed House GOP leadership to hold a vote to reauthorize the program after it expired this summer, but they have avoided it due to cost.

Five-week lame duck

Lawmakers interviewed by States Newsroom and congressional leaders all indicated the outcome of the November elections will have significant sway on what Congress approves during the five-week lame-duck session that spans November and December.

All interviews took place before Hurricane Helene made landfall and Israel was directly attacked by Iran, both of which are likely to be at the top of congressional leaders’ to-do lists.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune said it’s “hard to say” what, if anything, Congress will approve during the lame-duck session.

“I think a lot will be shaped by what happens in November,” the South Dakota Republican said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said just a day before Hurricane Helene made landfall that Democrats would advocate for passing natural disaster response funding previously requested by the Biden administration.

“Extreme weather events are on the rise and they affect everyone — in blue states, purple states and red states,” Jeffries said. “This is not a partisan issue, it’s an American issue in terms of being there, in times of need for everyday Americans, who have had their lives and livelihood upended.”

Other House Democratic priorities during the lame duck include approving the dozen full-year government funding bills that were supposed to be completed before Oct. 1, the defense policy bill that had the same deadline and the farm bill, which is more than a year overdue.

Missouri GOP Sen. Josh Hawley said he “sure hopes” the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act reauthorization bill reaches the president’s desk before the end of the year.

He didn’t rule out lobbying to attach it to a must-pass government funding bill, but said the real hurdle is House GOP leaders.

“It doesn’t need help in the Senate. It just needs the House,” Hawley said. “I’ve had good, productive conversations with Speaker (Mike) Johnson in the last few weeks, and I appreciate his personal engagement on this, and I hope that that will lead to action.”

Haley said the House allowing RECA to expire, preventing people who qualify for the program from receiving benefits, was “outrageous.”

Defense priorities, farm bill

Senate Armed Services Chair Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, said staff would work during October to bridge the differences between the two chambers on the annual defense policy bill, called the National Defense Authorization Act.

Those staff-level talks will lay the foundation for Republicans and Democrats to meet once they return to Capitol Hill following the elections.

“We have to be ready when we come back to go right to the ‘Big Four’ meeting,” he said, referring to the top leaders in both chambers. “That’s our objective.”

Reed said many of the differences between the House and the Senate aren’t typical Defense Department policy issues per se, but are “more political, cultural, social.”

Congress may begin to debate additional military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine this year, though said that’s more likely to happen next year, Reed said.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said she was making a “big push” for the House and Senate to reach agreement on the farm bill in the months ahead, though she cautioned talks don’t actually constitute a conference.

“I wouldn’t call it a conference; technically to have a conference, you have to have a bill passed by the House and a bill passed by the Senate, which will not happen,” Stabenow said.

“But I believe that there is a way,” Stabenow added. “I believe there’s a way to get a bipartisan bill.”

Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, the top Republican on the Agriculture panel, said lawmakers didn’t need the election results to “start working through our disagreements” on the farm bill, adding there’s some new momentum in talks.

“I think what’s changed is that there is a recognition among members, all members, how difficult it is right now as a farmer,” Boozman said. “So that’s really what’s changed in the last three or four months. It’s developing a real sense of urgency for these folks.”

Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said the election outcome could influence what lawmakers choose to accomplish during the lame-duck session.

“There’s any number of scenarios, whether it’s NDAA, whether it’s farm bill, whether it’s anything else,” she said. “But it comes down to Leader Schumer.” New York Democrat Chuck Schumer is the majority leader in the Senate.

Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine said he expects Congress will broker some agreement on government funding legislation and the NDAA, but not necessarily anything else.

“In an odd way, the better the Dems do on Nov. 5, the more we’ll get done,” Kaine said. “Because I think if the House is going to flip back to Dem, I think the Rs will say, ‘Well, let’s get a whole lot of stuff done before the House goes down.’ So I think the better we do, the more we’ll get done in the lame duck.”

Kaine said if Democrats do well in the elections, they might not need to approve additional aid for Ukraine this Congress, since that funding can last into next year.

“If we don’t do well in the (elections), we might need to do it in the lame duck,” Kaine said. “So that’ll all depend.”

Special counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on a recently unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former U.S. President Donald Trump at the Justice Department on Aug. 1, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan unsealed a lengthy and partly redacted motion Wednesday that charts special counsel Jack Smith’s final argument before November that former President Donald Trump acted in a private capacity when he co-conspired to overturn the 2020 election.

Much of the motion concerns Trump’s interactions with individuals in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, as he sought to disrupt election results, Smith alleged.

The document, due on Chutkan’s desk late last month, is central to reanimating the case after months of delay as Trump argued for complete criminal immunity from the government’s fraud and obstruction charges related to his actions after the 2020 presidential contest, which Joe Biden won.

The U.S. Supreme Court returned Trump’s case to Chutkan after ruling that former presidents enjoy criminal immunity for core constitutional acts, presumed immunity for acts on the perimeter of official duties, and no immunity for personal ones. At that point it became clear that the case against the Republican presidential nominee would not be tried prior to Election Day.

Smith’s superseding indictment shortly thereafter retained all four felony counts against Trump, and Chutkan is tasked with parsing which allegations can stand in light of the Supreme Court decision.

In his unsealed 165-page motion, Smith outlines Trump’s alleged plots with private lawyers and political allies — names redacted — to ultimately deliver false slates of electors to Congress so that he appeared the winner over Biden in the seven states.

“Working with a team of private co-conspirators, the defendant acted as a candidate when he pursued multiple criminal means to disrupt, through fraud and deceit, the government function by which votes are collected and counted — a function in which the defendant, as President, had no official role,” Smith wrote.

Trump slammed the court filing on social media in numerous posts, writing in a mix of upper and lowercase letters that “Democrats are Weaponizing the Justice Department against me because they know I am WINNING, and they are desperate to prop up their failing Candidate, Kamala Harris.”

“The DOJ pushed out this latest ‘hit job’ today because JD Vance humiliated Tim Walz last night in the Debate. The DOJ has become nothing more than an extension of Joe’s, and now Kamala’s, Campaign. This is egregious PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT, and should not have been released right before the Election,” he continued in just one of his many reactions on his platform, Truth Social.

Trump’s running mate, Ohio GOP Sen. J.D. Vance, faced Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, in a vice presidential debate on Tuesday night.

Here are key arguments from Smith’s filing, which alleges efforts by Trump and allies to subvert voters’ will during the last presidential election:

Arizona

Smith detailed calls to and communications with various Arizona officials, including the governor and speaker of the Arizona state House, arguing the interactions were made in Trump’s “capacity as a candidate.”

• “The defendant and his co-conspirators also demonstrated their deliberate disregard for the truth — and thus their knowledge of falsity — when they repeatedly changed the numbers in their baseless fraud allegations from day to day. At trial, the Government will introduce several instances of this pattern, in which the defendant and conspirators’ lies were proved by the fact that they made up figures from whole cloth. One example concerns the defendant and conspirators’ claims about non-citizen voters in Arizona. The conspirators started with the allegation that 36,000 non-citizens voted in Arizona; five days later, it was ‘beyond credulity that a few hundred thousand didn’t vote’: three weeks later, ‘the bare minimum [was] 40 or 50,000. The reality is about 250,000’; days after that, the assertion was 32,000; and ultimately the conspirators landed back where they started at 36,000 — a false figure that they never verified or corroborated.”

Georgia

Smith plans to introduce into evidence Trump’s communications, in his personal capacity, with Georgia’s attorney general, including a call on Dec. 8, 2020, and to the secretary of state.

• Trump “had early notice that his claims of election fraud in Georgia were false. Around mid-November, Campaign advisor [redacted] told the defendant that his claim that a large number of dead people had voted in Georgia was false. The defendant continued to press the claim anyway, including in a press appearance on November 29, when he suggested that a large enough number of dead voters had cast ballots to change the outcome of the election in Georgia.”

• “In the post-election period, [redacted] also took on the role of updating the defendant on a near-daily basis on the Campaign’s unsuccessful efforts to support any fraud claims…. He told the defendant that if the Campaign took these claims to court, they would get slaughtered, because the claims are all ‘bullshit.’ [Redacted] was privy in real time to the findings of the two expert consulting firms the Campaign retained to investigate fraud claims — [redacted] and [redacted] — and discussed with the defendant their debunkings on all major claims. For example, [redacted] told the defendant that Georgia’s audit disproved claims that [redacted] had altered votes.”

Michigan

The document details an Oval Office meeting Trump held with Michigan’s Senate majority leader and speaker of the House on Nov. 20, 2020, during which Trump tried to acquire evidence of voter fraud in Detroit.

• “Despite failing to establish any valid fraud claims, [redacted] followed up with [redacted] and [redacted] and attempted to pressure them to use the Michigan legislature to overturn the valid election result.”

Michigan and Pennsylvania

The filing said that directly following the 2020 election, Trump and his “private operatives sought to create chaos, rather than seek clarity, at polling places where states were continuing to tabulate votes.”

• “For example, on November 4, [redacted]—a Campaign employee, agent, and co-conspirator of the defendant—tried to sow confusion when the ongoing vote count at the TCF Center in Detroit, Michigan, looked unfavorable for the defendant.”

• “When a colleague suggested that there was about to be unrest reminiscent of the Brooks Brothers Riot, a violent effort to stop the vote count in Florida after the 2000 presidential election, [redacted] responded ‘Make them riot’ and ‘Do it!!!’ The defendant’s Campaign operatives and supporters used similar tactics at other tabulation centers, including in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the defendant sometimes used the resulting confrontations to falsely claim that his election observers were being denied proper access, thus serving as a predicate to the defendant’s claim that fraud must have occurred in the observers’ absence.”

Michigan voting machines

Smith will argue that Trump, outside his official presidential duties, tried to persuade political allies in Michigan to sway the election in his favor.

• Among the evidence he will introduce: The former president held a meeting, “private in nature,” with Michigan legislators at the White House.

• Smith also wrote that “In mid-December, the defendant spoke with RNC Chairwoman [redacted] and asked her to publicize and promote a private report that had been related on December 13 that purported to identify flaws in the use of [redacted] machines in Antrim County, Michigan. [Redacted] refused, telling the defendant that she already had discussed this report with [redacted] Michigan’s Speaker of the House, who had told her that the report was inaccurate. [Redacted] conveyed to the defendant [redacted] exact assessment: the report was ‘f—— nuts.’”

Nevada

In Nevada, Trump allegedly ignored warnings about spreading lies about the state’s election results. Smith wrote: “Notwithstanding the RNC Chief Counsel’s warning, the defendant re-tweeted and amplified news of the lawsuit on November 24, calling it ‘Big News!’ that a Nevada Court had agreed to hear it. But the defendant did not similarly promote the fact that within two weeks, on December 4, the Nevada District Court dismissed Law v. Whitmer, finding in a detailed opinion that ‘there is no credible or reliable evidence that the 2020 General Election in Nevada was affected by fraud,’ including through the signature-match machines, and that Biden won the election in the state.”

• Trump continued to repeat false claims in tweets and speeches “as a candidate, not as an office holder,” Smith wrote.

Pennsylvania?

In the Keystone State, officials warned Trump there was no smoke and no fire related to election fraud in the commonwealth, Smith wrote.

• “Two days after the election, on November 6, the defendant called [redacted], the Chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party—the entity responsible for supporting Republican candidates in the commonwealth at the federal, state and local level. [Redacted] had a prior relationship with the defendant, including having represented him in litigation in Pennsylvania after the 2016 presidential election. The defendant asked [redacted] how, without fraud, he had gone from winning Pennsylvania on election day to trailing in the day afterward. Consistent with what Campaign staff already had told the defendant, [redacted] confirmed that it was not fraud; it was that there were roughly 1,750,000 mail-in ballots still being counted in Pennsylvania, which were expected to be eighty percent for Biden. Over the following two months, the defendant spread false claims of fraud in Pennsylvania anyway.”

• “In early November, in a Campaign meeting, when the defendant suggested that more people in Pennsylvania voted than had checked in to vote, Deputy Campaign Manager [redacted] corrected him.”

Wisconsin

Smith wrote Trump ignored reality in Wisconsin as well.

• “On November 29, a recount that the defendant’s campaign had petitioned and paid for confirmed that Biden had won in Wisconsin — and increased the defendant’s margin of defeat. On December 14, the Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected the Campaign’s election lawsuit there. As a result, on December 21, Wisconsin’s Governor signed a certificate of final determination confirming the prior certificate of ascertainment that established Biden’s electors as the valid electors for the state.”

Trump responded by rebuking the Wisconsin Supreme Court judge who had signed the majority opinion that rejected the lawsuit, forcing the state marshals responsible for the judge’s security to enhance protection due to a rise in “threatening communications.”

Fake electors?

Smith alleged that as Trump and co-conspirators faltered at overturning states’ official election results, they turned their attention to fake slates of electors.

As early as December 2020, Trump and his allies “developed a new plan regarding targeted states that the defendant had lost (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin): to organize the people who would have served as the defendant’s electors had he won the popular vote, and cause them to sign and send to Pence, as President of the Senate, certificates in which they falsely represent themselves as legitimate electors who had cast electoral votes for the defendant,” Smith wrote.

Trump and his allies lied to Vice President Mike Pence heading toward Jan. 6, “telling him that there was substantial election fraud and concealing their orchestration of the plan to manufacture fraudulent elector slates, as well as their intention to use the fake slates to attempt to obstruct the congressional certification.”

Trump’s alleged lies to Pence and the public “created a tinderbox that he purposely ignited on January 6.”

The filing details numerous people, including Trump, pressuring Pence for weeks to use his role overseeing Congress’ certification of the Electoral College vote to overturn the election results.

On the morning of Jan. 6, Pence, once again, told Trump he would not go along with the plan.

“So on January 6, the defendant sent to the Capitol a crowd of angry supporters, whom the defendant had called to the city and inundated with false claims of outcome-determinative election fraud, to induce Pence not to certify the legitimate electoral vote and to obstruct the certification.”

“Although the attack on the Capitol successfully delayed the certification for approximately six hours, the House and Senate resumed the Joint Session at 11:35 p.m. But the conspirators were not done.”

The filing alleges a co-conspirator once again urged Pence to “violate the law” by delaying the certification for 10 days. He refused.

Pressure on Pence

Smith must prove that Trump’s pressure on Pence was outside of their official duties together, and therefore can not be considered immune from prosecution.

Smith plans to introduce evidence of private phone calls and conversations between Trump and his VP, including some with campaign staff, essentially tying their interactions to their interests as those seeking office again, “as running mates in the post-election period.” Smith also plans to highlight that Pence’s role in certifying the election was largely ceremonial and within the realm of the Senate, and strictly outside the bounds of the Oval Office.? Among Smith’s points made in his motion:

• “Because the Vice President’s role is and has always been ministerial, rather than substantive or discretionary, it is difficult to imagine an occasion in which a President would have any valid reason to try to influence it. As such, criminalizing a President’s efforts to affect the Vice President’s role as the President of the Senate overseeing the certification of Electoral College results would not jeopardize an Executive Branch function or authority.”

The Republican vice presidential candidate, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, and the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, participate in a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on Oct. 1, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The vice presidential candidates outlined vastly different visions for the country and traded barbs about their qualifications Tuesday during their first and only debate before Election Day.

Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance, who’s on the ticket with former President Donald Trump, and Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, running mate to Vice President Kamala Harris, stuck to their rehearsed, scripted remarks to answer many questions, though they deviated from the talking points more than once.

Here are 10 telling moments from the vice presidential debate, moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan at CBS studios in New York City:

Vance on his past negative comments about Trump: “When you screw up, when you misspeak, when you get something wrong and you change your mind, you ought to be honest with the American people about it. It’s one of the reasons, Margaret, why I’ve done so many interviews, is because I think it’s important to actually explain to the American people, where I come down on the issues and what changed.“

“I’ve been extremely consistent that I think there were a lot of things that we could have done better in the Trump administration in the first round, if Congress was doing its job.”

Walz on bipartisan immigration bill and threats against Haitian immigrants: “We could come together and solve this if we didn’t let Donald Trump continue to make it an issue. And the consequences in Springfield (Ohio) were the governor had to send state law enforcement to escort kindergartners to school.”

Vance on the legislative branch: “Congress is not just a high-class debating society. It’s not just a forum for senators and congressmen to whine about problems. It’s a forum to govern. So there were a lot of things on the border, on tariffs, for example, where I think that we could have done so much more if the Republican Congress and the Democrats in Congress had been a little bit better about how they govern the country.”

Walz on access to fertility treatments: “Infertility treatments are why I have a child. That’s nobody else’s business.”

Vance on reproductive rights: “I want us as a Republican Party, to be pro-family in the fullest sense of the word. I want us to support fertility treatments. I want us to make it easier for moms to afford to have babies. I want to make it easier for young families to afford a home, so they can afford a place to raise that family. And I think there’s so much that we can do on the public policy front just to give women more options.”

Walz on trade and tariffs: “Look, I’m a union guy on this. I’m not a guy who wanted to ship things overseas. But I understand that, look, we produce soybeans and corn; we need to have fair trading partners. That’s something that we believe in. I think the thing that most concerns me on this is Donald Trump was the guy who created the largest trade deficit in American history with China.”

Vance on debating national health care policy: “You’re not going to propose a 900-page bill standing on a debate stage. It would bore everybody to tears, and it wouldn’t actually mean anything, because part of this is the give-and-take of bipartisan negotiation.”

Walz on previously saying he was in China during the Tiananmen Square massacre: “I’m a knucklehead at times.”

Vance on housing shortages: “What Donald Trump has said is we have a lot of federal lands that aren’t being used for anything, they’re not being used for a national park … and they could be places where we build a lot of housing. And I do think that we should be opening up building in this country.”

Walz on the peaceful transition of power following the election: “So America, I think you’ve got a really clear choice on this election of who’s going to honor that democracy and who’s going to honor Donald Trump.”

The Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and the Republican vice presidential candidate, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, speak after their debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on Oct. 1, 2024 in New York City. This is expected to be the only vice presidential debate of the 2024 general election. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Republican Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance squared off Tuesday night in a vice presidential debate that marked the last scheduled in-person meeting for the campaigns as Americans decide the country’s next chapter.

Meeting for the first time, Walz and Vance engaged in a policy-heavy, nearly two-hour back-and-forth hosted by CBS News at its studios in New York City. The debate was moderated by Norah O’Donnell, host of the “CBS Evening News,” and Margaret Brennan, who anchors the network’s Sunday political show “Face the Nation.”

The vice presidential candidates emphasized their modest upbringings and laid out their visions to lower high living costs, address charged issues like reproductive rights, immigration and gun violence, and navigate a quickly worsening conflict in the Middle East.

And, with the presidential contest marking the first since the violent aftermath of the 2020 election, and Trump’s continued false claims that he won, the moderators pressed the men on whether voters would see a peaceful transfer of power, no matter the winner. Vance would not provide a direct answer whether he would have certified the 2020 vote.

Walz is a second-term governor who previously served six terms in the U.S. House. Prior to his election, Walz worked as a public school teacher and football coach while also enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard for 24 years.

Vance served in the U.S. Marines for four years before earning his Yale law degree and becoming a venture capitalist and bestselling memoirist. He was first elected to public office in late 2022 to serve as Ohio’s junior U.S. senator.

The mostly amicable debate, with some moments of tension, was a noticeable departure from the bitter polarization on display daily during the presidential campaign. Walz and Vance shook hands and lingered onstage afterward chatting and introducing each other to their wives.

The presidential nominees, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, met on the debate stage last month in a more acrimonious exchange during which the former president falsely claimed immigrants were eating pets in Ohio and Harris ripped into him for his remarks on race and abortion.

Trump has refused to debate again. Following the Vance-Walz exchange, the Harris campaign renewed its offer for another presidential meetup offered by CNN in Atlanta later this month.

Growing Middle East conflict

Answering the first question from the moderators Tuesday night, Walz and Vance sparred over which administration, if elected, would best quell signs of a widening war in the Middle East.

Tensions in the region escalated earlier Tuesday when Iran fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, according to the Pentagon.

Walz accused Trump of being “fickle” on foreign policy and said the world is worse off since Trump pulled the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal. Walz argued for “steady leadership.”

“You saw it experienced today where, along with our Israeli partners and our coalition, (we were) able to stop the incoming attack,” Walz said.

“It’s clear, and the world saw it on that debate stage a few weeks ago, a nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment,” the governor continued.

Vance maintained that Trump headed off heated global conflict by invoking fear.

“We have to remember that as much as Governor Waltz just accused Donald Trump of being an agent of chaos, Donald Trump actually delivered stability in the world, and he did it by establishing effective deterrence,” Vance said. “People were afraid of stepping out of line.”

The barrage in the Middle East followed Israel’s ground incursion into Southern Lebanon and its recent assassination in Beirut of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iranian proxy militant group Hezbollah.

While Israel intercepted the majority of the rockets Tuesday, U.S. Navy destroyers in the Middle East fired roughly a dozen interceptors at incoming Iranian missiles, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said.

The Biden administration promised “severe consequences,” though it has not provided details. Harris said late Tuesday that Iran poses a “destabilizing, dangerous force in the Middle East” and her commitment to Israel is “unwavering.”

Despite a visit to Washington less than a week ago from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the CBS moderators did not ask about the ongoing war in Ukraine, and neither candidate brought up the costly and ongoing fight against Russia’s continued invasion.

2020 election

Vance and Walz sparred over how Trump handled his loss in the 2020 presidential election and his actions leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol following a rally that Trump hosted.

Walz said while he and Vance found some areas of common ground at other points during the debate, the two were “miles apart” on Trump’s actions following the 2020 election.

“This was a threat to our democracy in a way that we had not seen, and it manifested itself because of Donald Trump’s inability to say – he is still saying he didn’t lose the election,” Walz said.

Vance didn’t directly answer whether he would have certified the electoral count for President Joe Biden had he been a member of Congress at the time, to Walz’s dismay.

“I’m pretty shocked by this,” Walz said. “He lost the election. This is not a debate.”

Walz said he was concerned that Vance wouldn’t follow the example set by former Vice President Mike Pence, who refused to go along with a scheme to recognize fake slates of electors and deny Biden the presidency.

Vance tried to pivot to Harris’ actions following the COVID-19 pandemic and whether she “censored Americans from speaking their mind” before saying that both he and Trump “think that there were problems in 2020.”

There was no evidence of widespread voter fraud during the last presidential election, during which Trump lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College.

Walz also criticized Trump and Vance for using the same narrative ahead of this November’s elections, saying they were “already laying the groundwork for people not accepting” the results should Trump lose.

Taxes and tariffs

Both Harris and Trump have released economic plans that would add trillions to the national deficit — though analysis after analysis shows Trump’s proposals outpacing Harris’ by at least a few trillion.

Harris and Walz are running on an “opportunity economy” theme that would permanently expand the Child Tax Credit, including giving $6,000 to new parents, and provide tax credits and deductions to first-time homebuyers and entrepreneurs.

Harris, following Biden’s earlier budget proposal, has said she would impose a minimum tax on high-wealth individuals, but vowed steeper levies on long-term capital gains.

Trump has promised to fund the Treasury’s coffers with money raised by taxing imported goods. Largely he wants to extend his signature 2017 tax law and permanently lower the corporate tax rate.

When asked by the moderators how the candidates could accomplish those goals without ballooning the national debt, both Vance and Walz sidestepped directly answering the question. Rather they touted Trump and Biden administration policies and then went on the attack.

“Donald Trump made a promise, and I’ll give you this: He kept it. He took folks to Mar-a-Lago (and) said, ‘You’re rich as hell. I’m gonna give you a tax cut,’” Walz said, adding that Trump’s tariff plan would be “destabilizing” for the economy.

Economists warn that Trump’s plan to slap tariffs on imports across the board —? as high as 60% on Chinese imports and 100% to 200% on cars and John Deere tractors manufactured in Mexico — could cause consumer prices to increase and invite retaliation.

But Vance said he wanted to “defend my running mate” on the issue.

“We’re going to be taking in a lot of money by penalizing companies for shipping jobs overseas and penalizing countries who employ slave laborers and then ship their products back into our country and undercut the wages of American workers. It’s the heart of the Donald Trump economic plan,” the senator said.

High costs and housing

Both candidates spent significant time addressing housing and child care costs.

Walz touted Harris’ “bold forward plan” that calls for construction of 3 million new homes and “down payment assistance on the front end to get you in a house.”

“A house is much more than just an asset to be traded somewhere. It’s foundational to where you’re at,” Walz said.

Vance said some of Walz’s ideas on housing were “halfway decent.”

One of the central pillars of Trump and Vance’s housing plans is to turn over federal lands to private hands for development.

“We have a lot of federal lands that aren’t being used for anything. They’re not being used for national parks. They’re not being used, and they could be places where we build a lot of housing,” Vance said.

On child care, Walz pledged a paid federal family and medical leave mandate as a priority for the Harris campaign, and advocated a parallel workforce development program for the care professions.

“We have to make it easier for folks to be able to get into that business, and then to make sure that folks are able to pay for that,” Walz said.

The dual goals, he said, “will enhance our workforce, enhance our families, and make it easier to have the children that you want.”

Vance said he sees an opportunity for a “bipartisan solution” to the high cost of child care, though he stopped short of agreeing with a federal paid leave law.

Instead he proposed expanding the potential recipients for federal child care grants.

“These programs only go to one kind of child care model. Let’s say you’d like your church maybe to help you out with child care. Maybe you live in a rural area or an urban area, and you’d like to get together with families in your neighborhood to provide child care and the way that makes the most sense. You don’t get access to any of these federal monies,” Vance said.

Immigration, again

Vance also repeatedly connected the housing shortage and high costs to immigration — the central issue for Trump’s campaign and a common answer from him for several of the nation’s woes.

The Ohio senator said housing is “totally unaffordable because we brought in millions of illegal immigrants to compete with Americans for scarce homes.”

“The people that I’m most worried about in Springfield, Ohio, are the American citizens who have had their lives destroyed by Kamala Harris’ open border,” Vance said, referring to the town where he and Trump falsely claimed over and over that Haitian migrants were stealing and eating pets.

Debate moderator Brennan pressed Vance on his claim: “Senator on that point, I’d like for you to clarify. There are many contributing factors to high housing costs. What evidence do you have that migrants are part of this problem?”

Vance said he would share on social media following the debate a Federal Reserve study that supported his claim.

Reproductive rights?

Access to abortion and fertility treatments was one of the more contentious areas of disagreement, though neither candidate trod new ground for their party.

Vance maintained the Trump stance that abortion laws should be set by voters or state lawmakers, while Walz said women and their doctors are best suited to make those decisions.

Vance told a story about a woman he grew up with having an abortion, then telling him a few years ago that “she felt like if she hadn’t had that abortion, that it would have destroyed her life because she was in an abusive relationship.”

“And I think that what I take from that, as a Republican who proudly wants to protect innocent life in this country, who proudly wants to protect the vulnerable, is that my party, we’ve got to do so much better of a job at earning the American people’s trust back on this issue, where they frankly, just don’t trust us,” Vance said. “And I think that’s one of the things that Donald Trump, and I are endeavoring to do.”

Walz rejected Vance’s position that state lawmakers should determine women’s access to the full slate of reproductive decisions, including fertility treatments.

Walz referenced some of the stories women have told in the last two years about being denied medical care for miscarriages or other dangerous pregnancy complications because of vaguely written state laws that banned or significantly restricted access to abortion.

“This is a very simple proposition: These are women’s decisions to make about their health care,” Walz said, later adding that people should “just mind their own business on this.”

Gun violence

The two vice presidential candidates had one of the more genuine exchanges of the debate after the moderators asked them about solutions for gun violence.

Vance conceded that he and Walz both want to reduce the number of people killed by guns every year, but said the solution should center around addressing illegal guns, including those used in drug trafficking, and through changing how schools are designed.

“Unfortunately, I think that we have to increase security in our schools. We have to make the doors lock better. We have to make the door stronger. We’ve got to make the windows stronger,” Vance said. “And of course, we’ve got to increase school resource officers, because the idea that we can magically wave a wand and take guns out of the hands of bad guys, it just doesn’t fit with recent experience.”

Walz said school shootings are every parent’s “worst nightmare” before telling a story about how his son witnessed a shooting at a community center while playing volleyball.

“Those things don’t leave you,” Walz said, before talking about meeting with parents of the children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, when he was a member of Congress.

“We understand that the Second Amendment is there, but our first responsibility is to our kids to figure this out,” Walz said. “In Minnesota, we’ve enacted enhanced red flag laws, enhanced background checks.”

Walz said he absolutely believes Vance hates it when children die from gun violence, but added that’s “not far enough when we know they’re things that work.”

“No one’s trying to scaremonger and say, ‘We’re taking your guns,” Walz said. “But I ask all of you out there, ‘Do you want your schools hardened to look like a fort?’ … when we know there’s countries around the world that their children aren’t practicing these types of drills.”

Vance expressed sympathy that Walz’s son had witnessed a shooting and thanked him for bringing up Finland as an example of a country with a high rate of gun ownership that doesn’t have school shootings.

“I do think it illustrates some of the, frankly, weird differences between our own country’s gun violence problem and Finland,” Vance said, before mentioning higher rates of substance abuse and mental health issues within the United States.

“I don’t think it’s the whole reason why we have such a bad gun violence problem, but I do think it’s a big piece of it,” Vance said.

Hurricane Helene response, climate change?

The two candidates expressed dismay about the destruction stemming from Hurricane Helene in states in the Southeast, but disagreed about how best to address climate change.

Vance said “a lot of people are justifiably worried about all these crazy weather patterns,” before criticizing how Democrats have drafted climate change laws.

“This idea that carbon emissions drive all the climate change; well let’s just say that’s true, just for the sake of arguments,” Vance said. “Well, if you believe that, what would you want to do? The answer is that you’d want to restore as much American manufacturing as possible, and you’d want to produce as much energy as possible in the United States of America, because we’re the cleanest economy in the entire world.”

Walz said that Biden and Harris have worked with Congress to enact legislation addressing climate change that also created jobs.

“We are producing more natural gas and more oil at any time than we ever have. We’re also producing more clean energy,” Walz said. “Reducing our impact is absolutely critical, but this is not a false choice. You can do that at the same time you’re creating the jobs that we’re seeing all across the country.”

Walz also said that farmers in Minnesota know climate change is real because some years they experience significant drought and other years they’re inundated with too much rain for their crops to handle.

“They’ve seen 500-year droughts, 500-year floods back-to-back,” Walz said. “But what they’re doing is adapting, and this has allowed them to tell me, ‘Look, I harvest corn, I harvest soybeans, and I harvest wind.’”

Ron Grindstaff, right, comforts his wife, Marie, as they remove belongings from their home in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 30, 2024 in Old Fort, North Carolina. According to reports, at least 100 people have been killed across the southeastern U.S., and millions are without power due to the storm, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on Thursday. (Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — White House Homeland Security Adviser Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall said Monday during a press briefing there are 600 people unaccounted for following Hurricane Helene, as federal officials mount a response to the catastrophic storm in states across the Southeast.

Sherwood-Randall said that could lead the death toll to rise into the hundreds, but added officials are “very hopeful” some of those missing have cell phones that are not working and “actually are alive.”

“I’ll caution you, because we’ve seen this before, those numbers vary widely,” Sherwood-Randall said. “There’s a lot of reporting that doesn’t add up about the numbers.”

The Associated Press said Monday night more than 125 lives have been claimed.

President Joe Biden, who has held multiple briefings and calls on the hurricane, also announced late Monday he plans to travel to North Carolina on Wednesday. Biden had said he wanted to wait until his presence would not be disruptive to recovery operations.

Sherwood-Randall told reporters the Federal Emergency Management Agency and numerous other federal departments have moved staff and equipment into the Southeast to assist local and state emergency responders as residents struggle to access basic necessities.

FEMA, among many other recovery efforts, was speeding up its $750 payments to households that qualified for “serious needs assistance,” which can be used to pay for essential items like water, food, baby formula and medication.

“This is not the full extent of FEMA assistance to individuals, but it’s the first element of it that becomes immediately available with a major disaster declaration,” Sherwood-Randall said. “And it gets people cash when they’re absolutely desperate for it.”

Survivors who register for FEMA’s individual assistance program will be able to receive federal help repairing cars, homes and some other types of personal property that were damaged by the hurricane, she said.

People who have damage to their homes should first contact their insurance companies, but Sherwood-Randall noted there are several federal programs that help with the rebuilding and recovery process as well.

“If people have insurance, that’s of course very important for rebuilding. If they do not have insurance, they have access to federal assistance,” she said. “But it’s a long road to recovery for people because there’s so much work to be done. We have to acknowledge that.”

People who need assistance from FEMA should call 1-800-621-3362, register on https://www.disasterassistance.gov/ or fill out an application on the FEMA app, she said.

Disaster recovery centers opening

FEMA was also in the process of opening disaster recovery centers in affected communities.

“What’s important about these centers is they aggregate federal support in one place,” Sherwood-Randall said. “It used to be the case that survivors had to go to multiple different departments and agencies to find out what kind of help they could get access to. What we do is we put everyone together, either in a standing building that survived the natural disaster, or in a trailer, if that’s necessary.”

Centers opened on Monday in Manatee County, Sarasota County and Hillsborough County in Florida, she said.

In places like Asheville, North Carolina, where FEMA likely won’t be able to open a brick-and-mortar center, employees will go door-to-door, she said.

“FEMA literally goes knocking with an iPad in hand so they can help people register for the assistance they need because they may not have power, their cell phone may have run out and they need someone to help them get registered quickly,” Sherwood-Randall said.

FEMA was also planning to install 30 Starlink receivers in western North Carolina “to provide immediate connectivity for those in greatest need,” Sherwood-Randall said.

FEMA, the Federal Communications Commission and private cell phone companies were moving to install temporary cell phone towers and allow roaming, which would allow customers to use cell networks they don’t subscribe to, she said.

So far more than 3,500 federal employees involved in response and recovery efforts related to Hurricane Helene are on the ground throughout the Southeast, including more than 1,000 from FEMA, she said.

Multiple federal agencies in action

The Department of Defense was using helicopters and high-water vehicles to assist in search and rescue efforts. The Army Corps of Engineers was helping to restore electricity, assess infrastructure, including dams, and remove debris.

The U.S. Coast Guard had diverted thousands of personnel on post-storm assessments to help get ports in Florida reopened as quickly as possible.

U.S. Department of Agriculture staff, particularly in its Farm Services Agency, were working to provide emergency assistance to farmers with damage to crops and livestock.

Additionally, more than 50,000 utility workers from the United States and Canada were in the region to help the 2 million people without power get reconnected as soon as it was possible and safe to do so, Sherwood-Randall said.

“FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are also making available generators of many different sizes that are ready to be deployed upon the request of any state,” Sherwood-Randall said. “And as power is being restored throughout parts of Florida and Georgia, power crews are being moved into other states to assist with additional restoration efforts.

“We see power outage numbers improving where restoration teams are able to gain access to communities and the debris is cleared.”

Men on a four wheeler pass a storm damaged house along Mill Creek in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 30, 2024 in Old Fort, North Carolina. According to reports, more than 100 people have been killed across the southeastern U.S., and millions are without power due to the storm, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on Thursday. The White House has approved disaster declarations in North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Alabama, freeing up federal emergency management money and resources for those states. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden pledged Monday that the federal government would help people throughout the Southeast recover from the devastation of Hurricane Helene and its aftermath, and said he expects to ask Congress for emergency funding in the weeks ahead.

“I’m here to tell every single survivor in these impacted areas that we will be there with you as long as it takes,” Biden said in brief remarks from the? Roosevelt Room in the White House.

Biden said he plans to travel to North Carolina later this week, once his motorcade and other presidential travel requirements wouldn’t get in the way of recovery efforts.?

“I’m committed to traveling to impacted areas as soon as possible, but I’ve been told that it would be disruptive if I did it right now,” Biden said. “We will not do that at the risk of diverting or delaying any of the response assets needed to deal with this crisis.”

Biden said he didn’t know how much money his administration would request Congress provide for recovery efforts, but didn’t rule out asking lawmakers to return to Washington, D.C., before their six-week election recess ends on Nov. 12.?Emergency declarations have been issued by Biden for the affected states, enabling disaster assistance.

Helene, which is on track to become one of the deadliest hurricanes in the country’s history, made landfall in Florida last week before leaving a trail of devastation and destruction in its wake. The Associated Press reported Monday the death toll has risen to at least 107, including 30 reported deaths in the North Carolina county that includes Asheville.

Residents throughout the Southeast, including those in Georgia, South Carolina, western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee were hit by some of the worst flooding and wind damage.

Many communities are completely destroyed and lack access to clean drinking water, functioning grocery stores, electricity and cell phone service.

Roads and bridges that should have allowed residents to drive to pick up supplies, or stay with friends or family, have been completely washed out by the hurricane, leaving many people stranded without necessities.

The high water also destroyed many people’s homes and vehicles, making disaster recovery even more complicated throughout the region, but especially in rural areas where people often live far away from town.

Senators appeal for help

North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis posted on social media Sunday afternoon that the state is in desperate need of assistance.

“Entire communities in Western North Carolina have no power, no cell service, and remain in severe danger from flooding,” Tillis wrote. “First responders (are) doing the best they can with what they have, but the devastation is incomprehensible. WNC needs all the help it can get and it needs it now.”

North Carolina Republican Sen. Ted Budd released a written statement Saturday after a call with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, North Carolina Emergency Management, the National Weather Service and the American Red Cross.

“It is clear that the damage in Western North Carolina is catastrophic,” Budd wrote. “There is no doubt that the road to recovery will be long and difficult, but we will marshal all available resources to assist the region, including public, private, and charitable. We are all in this together.”

Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff released a statement Sunday that he’d surveyed storm damage and spoken with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.

The statement said Ossoff “discussed the importance of communicating to Georgians the full range of recovery resources and programs that will be available upon the State’s completion of damage assessments.”

Florida Republican Rep. Kat Cammack said on C-SPAN on Monday that the hurricane not only destroyed people’s homes and businesses but devastated farms throughout the region.

“The agricultural damage there is tremendous,” Cammack said. “They saw winds of nearly 100 miles an hour. And so we’re looking at catastrophic losses inland as well as on the coast. It’s really devastating.”

An employee adds a stack of mail-in ballots to a machine that automatically places the ballots in envelopes at Runbeck Election Services on Sept. 25, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. The company prints mail-in ballots for 30 states and Washington D.C. (Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — United States Postal Service Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testified before Congress on Thursday that voters can “absolutely” trust their mail-in ballots will be secure and prioritized, though he emphasized they must be mailed at least a week ahead of the various state deadlines to be delivered on time.

DeJoy’s testimony to House lawmakers became heated at times, as members questioned whether delays in general mail delivery and previous issues with mail-in ballots in swing states could disenfranchise voters this year.

DeJoy also brought USPS’s facilities into question, calling them “ratty” twice during the hour-long hearing.

His various comments about the management of the USPS and how the agency plans to handle election mail appeared to frustrate some members of the House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee.

For example, in response to a question from Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan about the pace of mail delivery in his home state, DeJoy responded that “the first rockets that went to the moon blew up, OK.”

Pocan then said: “Thanks for blowing up Wisconsin,” before DeJoy gave a lengthier answer.

“We’re going to do a series of transactional adjustments and service measurement adjustments and service metric adjustments as we move forward with this that are going to get your service to be 95% reliable,” DeJoy said.

Millions of ballots in the mail

The hearing came as state officials throughout the country are preparing to, or have already, sent out millions of mail-in ballots that could very well decide the results of elections for Congress and potentially even the presidency.

Mail-in voting surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as a central part of the 2020 presidential election and has remained a popular way for voters to decide who will represent their interests in government.

Voters can also cast ballots in person during early voting and on Election Day.

Lawmakers focused many of their questions during the hearing on how USPS keeps mail-in ballots secure and whether the agency can deliver them on time, though several members voiced frustration with DeJoy’s plans to change operations at USPS.

When asked specifically whether Americans could trust in USPS to handle their election mail, DeJoy said, “Absolutely.”

“I don’t know why you wouldn’t,” he testified. “We’ve delivered in the heightened part of a pandemic, in the most sensationalized political time of elections, and … we delivered it 99 point whatever percent, I mentioned earlier.”

DeJoy had previously said USPS delivered 99.89% of mail-in ballots within seven days during the 2020 election.

DeJoy wrote in testimony submitted to the committee ahead of the hearing that not all state laws consider the speed of the USPS when deciding when voters can request mail-in ballots and when those are sent out.

“For example, some jurisdictions allow voters to request a mail-in ballot very close to Election Day,” he wrote. “Depending on when that ballot is mailed to the voter, it may be physically impossible for that voter to receive the ballot mail, complete their ballot, and return their ballot by mail in time to meet the jurisdiction’s deadline, even with our extraordinary measures, and despite our best efforts.”

‘I see horror’

DeJoy brought up the state of USPS facilities on his own at several points during the hearing, implying that they aren’t clean or up to his standards as a work environment.

“I walk in our plants and facilities, I see horror. My employees see just another day at work,” DeJoy said.

Following a question about whether USPS employees had the appropriate training to handle and deliver mail-in ballots on time, DeJoy said leadership was “overwhelmingly enhancing our training,” before disparaging the facilities.

“We’re on a daily mission to train over 600,000 people across 31,000 ratty locations, I might say, on how to improve our operating practices across the board and at this time most specifically in the election mail area,” he testified. “We’re doing very well at this, just not perfect.”

No members of the panel asked DeJoy to clarify what he meant by “ratty” or followed up when he said separately that he was “sitting on about $20 billion in cash.”

A USPS spokesperson said they had nothing to add to DeJoy’s characterization when asked about the “ratty” comment by States Newsroom.

“If you are listening to the hearing, you just heard him describe the condition of postal facilities further,” Martha S. Johnson wrote in an email sent shortly after DeJoy made his “horror” comment. “I have nothing to add to that.”

Deliveries for rural Americans

Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright questioned DeJoy during the hearing about how plans to “consolidate resources around regions with higher population densities” under the so-called Delivering for America plan will affect delivery times overall for rural residents.

DeJoy disagreed with the premise of the question, saying he believed it was “an unfair accusation, considering the condition that the Postal Service has been allowed to get to.”

DeJoy said the USPS had committed to a six-day-a-week delivery schedule and pledged that it would not take longer than five days for mail to arrive.

“It will not go beyond five days, because I’ll put it up in the air and fly it if I have to,” DeJoy said.

Cartwright mentioned that 1.4 million Pennsylvania residents requested to vote by mail during the 2022 midterm elections, a number he expected to rise this year.

The commonwealth has numerous competitive U.S. House districts, a competitive U.S. Senate race and is considered a crucial swing state for the presidential election. Several of those races could be determined by mail-in ballots arriving on time.

Ohio Republican Rep. David Joyce, chairman of the subcommittee, asked DeJoy about issues with the Cleveland regional sort facility during the 2023 election. The secretary of state, Joyce said, found that some mail-in ballots sent as early as Oct. 24 didn’t arrive until Nov. 21.

“These voters are disenfranchised because of the USPS failures,” Joyce said. “How specifically have you enhanced the all clear procedures you referenced in response to the National Association of Secretaries of State? And can you assure us that these procedures will ensure that that doesn’t happen in this upcoming election?”

DeJoy responded that he would “need the specifics of Cleveland,” but said that USPS procedures are “extremely enhanced.”

Georgia primary problems

Georgia Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde, who isn’t on the panel, submitted a question for DeJoy about how a new regional processing and distribution center in Atlanta had “a negative impact” on mail delivery just weeks ahead of the GOP presidential primary earlier this year.

DeJoy said the USPS was investing more than $500 million into the region, but conceded “what went on in Georgia was an embarrassment to the organization, okay, and it should not have happened.”

“We are correcting for it aggressively,” DeJoy said. “Specifically with regard to the primary election, we got through that because I put a whole bunch of people down there and a whole bunch of double-checking processes in place.”

DeJoy added that “the performance was good on election mail for Georgia” and that USPS would deliver Georgia’s mail-in ballots in the weeks ahead “just fine.”

The U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to approve a stopgap spending bill that will keep the federal government running through Dec. 20, though the divided Congress has a lot of negotiating to do if members want to pass the dozen full-year appropriations bills before their new deadline.

The short-term funding bill, sometimes referred to as a continuing resolution, will avoid a partial government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.

The CR is supposed to give lawmakers more time to hash out agreement on the appropriations bills. But Congress regularly uses it as a safety net to push off or entirely avoid making decisions about which departments should get more funding and whether to change policy about how federal tax dollars are spent.

House debate on the CR was broadly bipartisan with Democrats and Republicans voicing support ahead of the 341-82 vote.

The Senate is scheduled to vote later Wednesday evening to send the bill to President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign it.

‘Plenty of problems’ ahead

The stopgap bill was expected to be the last major legislation considered by Congress before Election Day. A lame-duck session is scheduled to begin Nov. 12.

“In a matter of days, funding for fiscal year 2024 will run out and it’s Congress’ responsibility to ensure that the government remains open and serving the American people,” House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said during floor debate. “We are here to avert harmful disruptions to our national security and vital programs our constituents rely on.”

Cole said he hopes Congress can approve the dozen full-year bills later this year.

“The next president and the next Congress should not be forced to do the work of this administration and this Congress,” Cole said. “They’re going to have plenty of problems … let’s not throw a potential government shutdown in front of them as well.”

Connecticut Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro, ranking member on the spending panel, said lawmakers must begin conference talks in the days ahead to reach a bipartisan agreement on the full-year spending bills.

“No matter who wins in November, we owe it to the next Congress and the next president to not saddle them with yesterday’s problems,” DeLauro said.

Noncitizen voting bill dropped

Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy spoke against the stopgap spending bill and expressed frustration that lawmakers were, once again, relying on a continuing resolution instead of having met the Oct. 1 deadline to pass the full-year spending bills.

“We should not be kicking the can down the road to Dec. 20, a mere five days before Christmas, which is what this town always does,” he said.

Roy also criticized House GOP leaders for not sticking with a six-month stopgap spending bill that carried with it a bill to require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

House leaders brought that bill to the floor last week, but didn’t garner the votes needed to send it to the Senate. Noncitizen voting in federal elections is already illegal.

Secret Service spending

The 49-page continuing resolution extends the funding levels and policies that Congress approved earlier this year as part of its last appropriations process.

Lawmakers included a provision that will let the Secret Service spend money at a faster rate than what would have otherwise been allowed “for protective operations, including for activities relating to National Special Security Events and the 2024 Presidential Campaign,” according to a summary of the bill.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency got a similar provision so it can spend more money that would have otherwise been permitted from its disaster relief fund. The Forest Service’s Wildland Fire

Management account was also granted a faster spend rate.

The stopgap spending bill extended authorization for the National Flood Insurance Program as well as several other federal programs that were on track to expire at the end of September.

November election

Whether Congress reaches agreement with the Biden administration on the dozen full-year government funding bills later this year will likely depend on the outcome of the November elections.

Voters choosing divided government for another two years will likely incentivize leaders to work out bipartisan, bicameral agreements during the five weeks Congress is in session during November and December.

Republicans or Democrats securing unified control of the House, Senate and White House could result in another stopgap spending bill pushing off decisions until after the next Congress and next president take their oaths of office in January.

A new president, a new budget ask

Regardless of when Congress completes work on the dozen full-year funding bills, the next president will likely submit their first budget request to lawmakers sometime next spring, starting the annual process all over again.

The president is supposed to release the budget request in early February, but that’s often delayed during the first year of a new administration.

The House and Senate Appropriations committees will then begin holding hearings with Cabinet secretaries and agency heads to ask about their individual requests and begin assessing whether lawmakers will boost their spending.

The Appropriations Committees in each chamber will likely release their separate slates of full-year appropriations bills next summer, possibly followed by floor debate.

This year the House Appropriations Committee reported all dozen of its bills to the floor, following party-line votes when Democrats objected to both spending levels and policy language.

House Republicans approved five of those bills on the floor.

Senate appropriators took broadly bipartisan votes to approve 11 of their bills in committee, save the Homeland Security measure. None of the bills has gone to the floor for amendment debate and a final vote.

That’s not entirely uncommon in the Senate, where floor time is often dedicated to approving judicial nominees and it can take weeks to approve one spending bill.

The House, by contrast, can approve bills in a matter of hours or days if leadership has secured the votes.

Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford speaks with reporters outside the U.S. Capitol about border policy negotiations on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats attempted to pass a resolution Tuesday addressing abortion access in emergency medical situations, but Republicans blocked it from moving forward.

The floor action followed months of unsuccessful attempts by congressional Democrats to approve legislation on various reproductive rights, including access to birth control and in vitro fertilization.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Tuesday she introduced the resolution to clarify what Congress’ objective was several decades ago when lawmakers approved the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, or EMTALA.

“We want to make it clear that Congress’s intent is that women can get life-saving care when they go to an emergency room anywhere in this country,” Murray said.

Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford blocked Murray’s unanimous consent request to approve the resolution, saying that doctors in emergency departments are able to act in cases of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy and life-threatening situations.

“This is a false claim that somehow what happened in the Dobbs decision and what’s happening in states is limiting that,” Lankford said. “It’s actually the political rhetoric that’s making people afraid.”

Lankford objected to another of Murray’s unanimous consent requests in March, blocking approval of legislation that would have expanded access to in vitro fertilization for military members and veterans.

No recorded vote

Unanimous consent is the fastest way to approve legislative items in the Senate. Under the process, any one senator can ask to approve a bill or resolution and any one senator can object. There is no recorded vote that puts all senators on the record.

Murray’s two-page resolution, which had the backing of 40 cosponsors, would have expressed “the sense of the Senate that every person has the basic right to emergency health care, including abortion care.”

The resolution also expressed that “State laws that purport to ban and restrict abortion in emergency circumstances force medical providers to decide between withholding necessary, stabilizing medical care from a patient experiencing a medical emergency or facing criminal prosecution, and put the lives, health, and futures of patients at risk.”

This resolution wouldn’t have actually changed the text of EMTALA.

The 1986 law states that hospital emergency departments must treat or transfer patients who have emergency medical conditions, regardless of their health insurance status or ability to pay.

It defines an emergency medical condition as something that could result in the health of the patient being in “serious jeopardy,” such as the patient “experiencing serious impairment to bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part.”

Dobbs decision

The federal law has been the center of political and legal debate since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion two years ago in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling.

The Biden administration issued a public letter shortly afterward saying EMTALA protected doctors and other qualified health care providers who ended a pregnancy to stabilize the patient if their life or health was at risk.

Republican attorneys general in several states challenged that view of the law and the U.S. Department of Justice later sued Idaho over its abortion law.

That case made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year, but the justices ultimately decided to send it back to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The high court said it should have waited to hear the case until after the lower court ruled.

At the center of the disagreement between Republican state attorneys general and the Biden administration is that the federal law applies when a pregnant patient’s life or health is at risk; many of the conservative state laws only allow abortions after a certain gestational age when a woman’s life is at risk.

Exactly when a woman’s life becomes at risk due to pregnancy complications has led to dozens of stories from women throughout the country, who say they had to wait for treatment until their health deteriorated further.

Analysis from the Associated Press released in August found that more than 100 women experiencing medical distress during pregnancy were turned away from hospitals or negligently treated during the last two years.

ProPublica recently obtained reports “that confirm that at least two women have already died after they couldn’t access legal abortions and timely medical care in their state.”

‘This cruelty is unforgivable and unacceptable’

The Senate resolution that Republicans rejected Tuesday is nearly identical to one House Democrats introduced earlier this month.

Murray said ahead of her UC request that women and their families will not forget about being denied medical care due to Republican state restrictions on abortion access.

“No woman is ever going to forget when she was sent off to miscarry alone after her doctor said, ‘Look, I know your life is in danger, but I’m not sure I’m allowed to save you right now,’” Murray said. “No husband is going to forget calling 911 in a panic after finding his wife bloody and unconscious. No child is going to forget, for a single day of their life, the mother that was taken from them by Republican abortion bans.

“This cruelty is unforgivable and unacceptable. Democrats will not let it become settled status quo.”

The Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks during an event at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on Sept. 20, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris is chiding GOP nominee Donald Trump for not agreeing to another presidential debate before voting ends Nov. 5, though he doesn’t appear inclined to change his mind.

“Let’s have another debate,” Harris, the Democratic candidate, said Sunday. “There’s more to talk about and the voters of America deserve to hear the conversations that I think we should be having on substance, on issues, on policies.”

Harris and Trump debated for the first time on Sept. 10, but so far the two campaigns haven’t reached agreement with another news organization to set up a second debate. Two days after their only debate so far, Trump declared he wouldn’t agree to another.

Harris-Walz Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon released a written statement this weekend announcing that Harris agreed to a CNN debate on Oct. 23 and pressing Trump to do so as well.

“Donald Trump should have no problem agreeing to this debate,” Dillon wrote. “It is the same format and setup as the CNN debate he attended and said he won in June, when he praised CNN’s moderators, rules, and ratings.”

Trump brushed that aside during a rally on Saturday in North Carolina, saying that “it’s just too late” since early and mail-in voting has already begun in some states.

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Trump and then-Democratic nominee Joe Biden held their final debate on Oct. 22.

Four years before that, when Trump and Hillary Clinton were vying for the Oval Office, they debated on Sept. 26, Oct. 9 and Oct. 19.

In an attempt to nudge Trump toward debating, the Democratic National Committee has paid for mobile billboards calling him a “chicken” and showing him dressed up in a yellow chicken costume. Those billboards, as well as a second one trying to link him to Project 2025, will be in Pennsylvania on Monday evening ahead of a campaign stop.

DNC Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman wrote in a statement about the chicken billboards that Trump had previously said he’d debate anytime, anyplace.

“The American people deserve another opportunity to hear Vice President Harris and Donald Trump lay out their starkly different visions for our country side-by-side before Election Day,” Rahman wrote. “Instead, Trump is busy hiding from the American people because he knows they’ll reject his Project 2025 agenda to hike taxes on the middle class, ban abortion nationwide, and use the federal government to assert virtually unchecked power over our daily lives.”

Harris and Trump, however, are both in talks with the CBS show “60 minutes” for detailed interviews that would air back-to-back on Oct. 7.

The vice presidential candidates are scheduled to debate on Oct. 1 in New York City, hosted by CBS. That will be the last debate of this cycle unless Trump changes his mind.

Trump, Harris, running mates in swing states

Campaign travel will continue to be a central focus for both Republicans and Democrats this week, with just over six weeks until voting wraps up.

Harris is expected to rally supporters in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Arizona on Friday and Nevada on Sunday.

Trump will be in Savannah, Georgia on Tuesday to talk about his tax plans before heading to Mint Hill, North Carolina on Wednesday. He then has two stops scheduled in Michigan on Friday; the first in Walker and the second in Warren.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz is expected to hold a campaign reception Tuesday in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, won’t be on Capitol Hill for the final in-session week before the election, but will be out on the campaign trail.

Vance is scheduled to be in Traverse City, Michigan on Wednesday before holding two stops in Georgia on Thursday and heading to Newton, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

The Dome of the U.S. Capitol Building is visible as protective fencing is erected around construction for the 2025 inauguration platform on the West Front on Capitol Hill on Sept. 17, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The country’s next president will need a friendly Congress to make their policy dreams a reality, but control of the two chambers remains deeply uncertain with just weeks until Election Day — and whether the outcome will be a party trifecta in the nation’s capital.

Recent projections tilt in favor of Republicans taking the U.S. Senate, an already closely divided chamber that is sure to be near evenly split again next Congress.

And though Vice President Kamala Harris injected a jolt of energy into the Democratic Party, prognosticators still say the prizewinner of the House is anybody’s guess.

“The House is highly close and competitive, and really could go either way.? And I say the same thing about the presidential race,” Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, told States Newsroom on Thursday.

A ‘district-by-district slug fest’?

Control of the 435-seat House remains a toss-up, with competitive races in both the seven swing states and in states that will almost certainly have no bearing on who wins the top of the ticket.

Sabato’s, an election prognosticator, currently ranks nine Republican seats of the roughly 30 competitive races as “toss-up” seats for the party — meaning the GOP incumbents are locked in competitive races.

The GOP has held a slim majority this Congress, and Democrats only need to net four seats to gain control.

“It really is right on the razor’s edge,” Kondik said. “It’s pretty crazy that, you know, we’ve had two straight elections with just 222-seat majorities. And it’s pretty rare historically for there to be, you know, majorities that small twice in a row — unprecedented.

“Usually you’d have one side or the other breaking out to a bigger advantage, and I think both sides are viewing this, really, as a district-by-district slug fest.”

Sabato’s adjusted its ratings on five races Thursday, including moving Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola of Alaska to the “toss-up” category from a safer “leans Democratic.” Kondik also nudged the race for Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York to “leans Republican” from “toss up.”

“The big ones are probably Peltola, and then Mike Lawler, who holds one of the bluest seats held by a Republican, but I moved him to ‘leans R.’ It seems pretty clear to me that he’s in a decent position,” Kondik said.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, the party’s fundraising arm for House races, announced in June nearly $1.2 million in ad buys in Alaska. The organization launched a new ad in the state this month that accuses Peltola of not supporting veterans.

It’s always about Pennsylvania

In addition to Peltola, Kondik ranks nine other Democratic incumbents — of the nearly 40 competitive races — as toss-ups.

Among the toss-ups is the seat currently held by Rep. Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania, a key swing state in the presidential race. Cartwright’s Republican challenger, Rob Bresnahan, runs an electrical contracting company in the northeastern Pennsylvania district that he took over from his grandfather.

Democrats are investing in the seat: Cartwright is running a new ad featuring union workers praising him, and just last week Harris hosted a rally in the district, which includes Scranton.

But the NRCC thinks they have a pretty good chance of flipping his seat.

Breshnahan’s company is “a union shop,” said NRCC head Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina. “So he can talk union talk. He’s a great candidate for us.”

“Matt Cartwright is in trouble,” Hudson said on the conservative “Ruthless Podcast” on Sept. 12.

“I think the way we’ve structured it, the type of candidates we recruited across the country, from Maine to Alaska, from Minnesota to Texas, regardless of top of the ticket, we’re going to pick up seats,” Hudson said.

Van Orden targeted in Wisconsin

But Sabato’s also nudged three seats toward the Democrats’ favor on Thursday.

Kondik moved Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin from the safety of “likely Republican” to the weaker “leans Republican” category.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, sees an “important opportunity” in Van Orden’s district. The GOP congressman, who represents central and western Wisconsin, became known for his profanity-laced outburst at young Senate pages for taking photos of the Capitol rotunda.

The Democrats are running challenger Rebecca Cooke, a small business owner, in the hopes of unseating him.

“We have an incredible candidate in Rebecca Cooke (against) one of the most extreme, which is saying a lot, Republicans in the House,” DelBene told reporters on a call Monday.

“We have put Rebecca Cooke on our Red-to-Blue list and are strongly supporting her campaign. She’s doing a great job, and this absolutely is a priority for us,” DelBene said, referring to the DCCC’s list of 30 candidates that receive extra fundraising support.

DelBene said she’s confident in the Democrats’ chances to flip the House, citing healthy coffers and revived interest.

“We have seen huge enthusiasm all across the country. We have seen people, more and more people turning out to volunteer, to knock on doors, to make phone calls,” she said.

Democrats’ cash ‘flooding,’ NRCC chief says

Erin Covey, a House analyst with The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, wrote on Sept. 5 that Democrats have a brighter outlook after Harris assumed the top of the ticket, though November remains a close call.

“Now, polling conducted by both parties largely shows Harris matching, or coming a few points short of, Biden’s 2020 margins across competitive House districts,” Covey wrote.

The NRCC has taken note. During his interview on the “Ruthless Podcast,” Hudson compared Harris becoming the Democrats’ new choice for president as a “bloodless coup,” and said the enthusiasm she’s sparked is a cause for concern for Republicans. Democratic delegates nominated Harris, in accordance with party rules, to run for the Oval Office after Biden dropped out in late July.

“A lot of people, even Democrats, you know, just weren’t comfortable voting for Joe Biden. With Kamala on the ticket, we saw a surge in Democrats coming home and having the enthusiasm,” Hudson said.

Hudson said he also worries about Democrats’ fundraising numbers.

“The one thing that keeps you awake at night is the Democrat money. It’s flooding,” Hudson said. “The second quarter this year I was able to raise the most money we’ve ever raised as a committee, and the Democrats raised $7 million more. I mean, it’s just, they just keep coming. It’s like the Terminator.”

“But we don’t have to match them dollar for dollar,” Hudson said. “We’ve just got to make sure we’ve got the resources we need. And so we’ve just got to keep our pace.”

The DCCC announced Friday it raised $22.3 million in August, bringing its total for this election cycle to $250.6 million.

Senate map tilts toward GOP

Republicans are inching closer and closer to flipping the Senate red during this year’s elections, thanks to a map that favors GOP incumbents and puts Democrats on the defensive in several states.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is widely expected to win his bid for the upper chamber, bringing Republicans up to 50 seats, as long as they hang on in Florida, Nebraska and Texas.

But Democrats will need to secure wins in several challenging states, including Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — and break the 50-50 tie through a Democratic presidency — if they want to remain the majority party.

That many Democratic wins seems increasingly unlikely, though not entirely out of the realm of possibility.

Montana, where Sen. Jon Tester is looking to secure reelection against GOP challenger Tim Sheehy, has been moved from a “toss-up” state to leaning toward Republicans by three respected analysis organizations in the last few weeks.

The Cook Political Report wrote in its ratings change earlier this month that several “public polls have shown Sheehy opening up a small, but consistent lead.”

“Democrats push back that their polling still shows Tester within the margin of error of the race, and that those are exactly the type of close races he’s won before,” their assessment said. “Tester, however, has never run on a presidential ballot in a polarized environment of this kind before — and even with his stumbles, Sheehy is still the strongest, best financed candidate he’s ever faced.”

Republicans winning Montana’s Senate seat could give them a firm, though narrow, 51-seat Senate majority.

Florida, Texas, Nebraska

That, however, would require the Republican incumbents in states like Florida and Texas — where it’s not clear if evolving trends against Republicans will continue — to secure their reelection wins.

And it would mean holding off a wild card independent candidate in the Cornhusker state.

The Cook Political Report says it’s “worth keeping an eye on a unique situation developing in Nebraska, where independent candidate Dan Osborn is challenging Republican Sen. Deb Fischer.”

CPR also noted in its analysis that Democrats’ best pick-up opportunities, which could rebalance the scales a bit, are Florida and Texas.

“Today, the Lone Star State looks like the better option because of the strengths and fundraising of Democrats’ challenger there, Rep. Colin Allred,” CPR wrote.

If Democrats do hold onto 50 seats, through whatever combination of wins and losses shakes out on election night, majority control would depend on whichever candidate wins the presidential contest.

Given the close nature of several Senate races, it is entirely possible control of that chamber isn’t known until after recounts take place in the swing states.

Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Gary Peters, D-Mich., said during a Christian Science Monitor breakfast this week that he’s known all along Democratic candidates will be in “very right races.”

“In a nutshell, I’m optimistic,” Peters said. “I believe we’re going to hold the majority. I feel good about where we are. We’re basically where I thought we would be after Labor Day in really tight races. None of this is a surprise to us. Now we just have to run our playbook, be focused, be disciplined.”

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, led this cycle by Montana Sen. Steve Daines, is confident the GOP will pick up the Senate majority following November’s elections.

The group highlighted a Washington Post poll this week showing a tie between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and GOP candidate Dave McCormick in the Pennsylvania Senate race.

NRSC Spokesman Philip Letsou sent out a written statement after the poll’s release that Casey is in the “race for his life…because Pennsylvania voters know Casey’s lockstep support for Kamala Harris and her inflationary, anti-fracking agenda will devastate their economy. Pennsylvanians have had enough of liberal, career politicians like Casey and Harris.”

No change in filibuster in sight

The GOP acquisition of a handful of seats would still require the next Republican leader to constantly broker deals with Democrats, since the chamber is widely expected to retain the legislative filibuster.

That rule requires at least 60 senators vote to advance legislation toward final passage and is the main reason the chamber rarely takes up partisan bills.

A Republican sweep of the House, Senate and White House for unified government would give them the chance to pass certain types of legislation through the fast-track budget reconciliation process they used to approve the 2017 tax law.

How wide their majorities are in each chamber will determine how much they can do within such a bill, given Republicans will still have centrist members, like Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and Maine’s Susan Collins, balancing the party against more far-right policy goals.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., walks back to his office following a vote in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 11, 2024 in Washington, D.C.(Photo by Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Congress has 12 days left to approve a short-term government funding bill before the shutdown deadline, though leaders in the Republican House and Democratic Senate haven’t felt the need to start negotiations just yet.

House GOP leaders, instead, attempted to pass a six-month continuing resolution Wednesday that carried with it a bill requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote, but were unsuccessful.

The 202-220 vote in the House, with two members voting present and 14 Republicans in opposition, came shortly after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump called on lawmakers to force a government shutdown as leverage to enact the voter ID law.

“If Republicans don’t get the SAVE Act, and every ounce of it, they should not agree to a Continuing Resolution in any way, shape, or form,” Trump wrote on social media, doubling down on a shutdown statement he made last week.

The unsuccessful House vote could provide space for Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, to negotiate with the Senate.

But, with just one week left in the session before Congress departs for a six-week election break, there’s not much time for leaders to find consensus, draft a bill, hold votes in both chambers and secure President Joe Biden’s signature.

Johnson, asked repeatedly by reporters Wednesday about the possibility of a shutdown, didn’t entirely rule out a funding lapse beginning on Oct. 1.

“We’ll see what happens with the bill,” Johnson said before the vote. “We’re on the field in the middle of the game, the quarterback is calling the play, we’re going to run the play.”

Blaming the Senate

Johnson criticized the Senate for not being further along in the annual appropriations process, seeking to place the blame for a stopgap spending bill and a possible shutdown on that chamber.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved 11 full-year government funding bills with broadly bipartisan votes this summer, but experienced challenges with the Homeland Security funding measure.

The House Appropriations Committee approved all dozen of its bills along party-line votes and was able to move five of those across the floor with GOP support, but not broad backing from Democrats.

House and Senate leaders haven’t allowed the two chambers to begin conferencing the bills that have either passed out of committee or off the floor, despite that being a regular occurrence in past years.

It’s highly unlikely leaders will bring any more of the full-year spending bills to the floor this fall, making the election results the biggest piece of the puzzle that will change between now and the end of the calendar year.

McConnell: Shutdown would be ‘politically, beyond stupid’

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has repeatedly called on his colleagues to avoid a shutdown, though he hasn’t jumped in to negotiate a stopgap bill and doesn’t seem inclined to do so.

“I think we first have to wait and see what the House sends us,” McConnell said during a Tuesday press conference. “My only observation about this whole discussion is the one thing you cannot have is a government shutdown. It would be, politically, beyond stupid for us to do that right before the election because, certainly, we’d get the blame.”

McConnell then referenced the saying that there’s no “education in the second kick of a mule” and noted funding the government for a few more months will “ultimately end up being a discussion between” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Johnson.

“I’m for whatever avoids a government shutdown,” McConnell added.

Election year drama

Leaning on a stopgap spending bill has been a regular part of Congress’ annual appropriations process for nearly three decades. During that time, lawmakers have consistently failed to approve all the full-year government funding bills before the Oct. 1 deadline.

The September struggle to approve a continuing resolution, which is intended to give lawmakers a bit more time to reach bicameral agreement on the full-year spending bills, has become increasingly dramatic with election-year politics ratcheting up the posturing this year.

In divided government, any legislation to fund the government must be bipartisan, or it all but guarantees a shutdown.

The House’s failed six-month continuing resolution also wasn’t supported by most Senate Republicans.

GOP senators argued it was too lengthy and could have hindered that chamber’s ability to confirm the next president’s Cabinet during the first few months of 2025.

Senate Republicans and defense hawks in the House also said that leaving the Department of Defense on autopilot for half of the next fiscal year was an abdication of Congress’ responsibility and a threat to national security.

December end date eyed

The final stopgap spending bill that Congress approves in the days ahead will likely last through Dec. 20, the final day this year that Congress is scheduled to be in session. It is also unlikely to include the voter registration ID component.

That final, bipartisan continuing resolution could also include a plus-up in spending for the Secret Service or a provision that allows the agency to spend its stopgap allocation at a faster rate to bolster Trump’s security following two apparent assassination attempts.

Florida Republican Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, chairman of the State-Foreign Operations spending panel, said Wednesday that if he was a betting man, he’d expect Congress to pass a stopgap spending bill through mid-December.

“The first thing is, we can’t have a shutdown,” Díaz-Balart said. “I think most people here understand that that would be catastrophic, particularly when half the world is in flames.”

During a government shutdown, some federal workers continue reporting to the office without pay while the rest are furloughed until Congress approves a new funding bill. All federal employees impacted by a shutdown receive back pay.

A shutdown this October would affect all the departments and agencies funded within the annual process, including the departments of Agriculture, Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and State.

Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson, chairman of the Interior-Environment appropriations subcommittee, said he was sure there would be no shutdown but didn’t detail how exactly Congress would broker a bipartisan agreement in the days ahead.

“I don’t think anybody wants to shut the government down,” Simpson said. “That’s not a viable option.”

Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth?speaks about access to in vitro fertilization on the steps of the Capitol building on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, along with other Senate Democrats holding photos of families who benefited from IVF.?At right, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., holds a photo of Duckworth’s family that includes Duckworth’s children, born with the help of IVF. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — The closely divided U.S. Senate gridlocked Tuesday over the best way to provide nationwide protections for in vitro fertilization, despite lawmakers from both political parties maintaining they want to do so.

Republicans voted against advancing a Democratic bill that could have prevented states from enacting “harmful or unwarranted limitations” on the procedure and bolstered access for military members and veterans. Two Republicans voted with Democrats — Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski.

That came just a short time after Senate Democrats — who narrowly control the chamber — in a procedural move blocked a GOP bill from Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Katie Britt of Alabama that would have barred Medicaid funding from going to any state that bans IVF.

The 51-44 vote that prevented Democrats’ legislation from moving toward a final vote followed numerous floor speeches and press conferences, including by the Harris-Walz presidential campaign, that sought to elevate the issue ahead of the November elections. Both Kentuckians in the Senate — Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul — voted no. The measure needed 60 votes to advance.

“This is a chance for my colleagues across the aisle to put their votes where their mouths have been,” said Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, the bill’s sponsor and a mom of two children born as a result of IVF. “They say they support IVF. Here you go — vote on this.”

Duckworth said the legislation would provide critical IVF services to U.S. military members and veterans, many of whom experience infertility or experience difficulty having children due to their service.

“It allows our military men and women, prior to a deployment into a combat zone, to preserve and freeze their genetic material; so that should they come home with injuries that result in them becoming infertile, they will have already preserved their genetic material so that they can, themselves, start those beautiful families they wanted,” Duckworth said.

Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris released a written statement following the vote rebuking GOP senators for blocking the bill.

“Every woman in every state must have reproductive freedom,” Harris wrote. “Yet, Republicans in Congress have once again made clear that they will not protect access to the fertility treatments many couples need to fulfill their dream of having a child.”

Republicans blocked Democrats’ bill earlier this year. But Senate leadership scheduled another vote after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump reignited the issue in August when he said his administration would mandate health insurance companies pay for IVF — a significant break with how the GOP has approached the issue.

“We are going to be, under the Trump administration, we are going to be paying for that treatment,” Trump said during an interview with NBC News. “We’re going to be mandating that the insurance company pay.”

Alabama ruling

Democrats began speaking at length about preserving access to IVF earlier this year after the Alabama state Supreme Court issued an opinion in February that frozen embryos constitute children under state law.

That ruling forced all the state’s IVF clinics to halt their work until the state legislature passed a bill providing criminal and civil protections for those clinics.

Democrats have since argued that legislating the belief life begins at conception, which is championed by most conservative Republicans, is at odds with access to IVF, which typically freezes more embryos than would be implanted.

Those frozen embryos can be preserved or discarded, depending on the patient’s wishes, the clinic’s policies and state law. Some conservatives believe that discarding shouldn’t be legal or are opposed to the process altogether.

The Southern Baptist Convention, for example, voted earlier this year to oppose IVF, writing in a resolution that couples should consider adoption and that the process “engages in dehumanizing methods for determining suitability for life.”

“We grieve alongside couples who have been diagnosed with infertility or are currently struggling to conceive, affirm their godly desire for children, and encourage them to consider the ethical implications of assisted reproductive technologies as they look to God for hope, grace, and wisdom amid suffering,” it stated.

Senate Democrats’ press for IVF protections has gone hand-in-hand with their efforts to bolster other reproductive rights, like access to birth control and abortion.

The issues could play a significant role in determining the outcome of the presidential election this November as well which political party controls the House and Senate.

Republican vice presidential nominee and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance missed Tuesday’s vote, but voted against advancing Democrats’ IVF bill when it was on the floor in June.

IVF bill from Cruz, Britt

Before the Senate held a vote on Democrats’ bill, Cruz asked for quick approval of an IVF bill he and Britt introduced earlier this year.

Washington state Democratic Sen. Patty Murray blocked his unanimous consent request.

During debate on that bill, Britt questioned why Democrats haven’t scheduled a recorded vote on her legislation, saying it could get the 60 votes needed to advance toward final passage.

“Today, we have an opportunity to act quickly and overwhelmingly to protect continued nationwide IVF access for loving American families,” Britt said. “Our bill is the only bill that protects IVF access while safeguarding religious liberty.”

The Britt-Cruz legislation has three co-sponsors, including Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall and Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker.

Murray said the Britt-Cruz bill didn’t address what would happen in states that legislate fetal personhood, which she called “the biggest threat to IVF.”

“It is silent on whether states can demand that an embryo be treated the same as a living, breathing person,” Murray said. “Or whether parents should be allowed to have clinics dispose of unused embryos, something that is a common, necessary part of the IVF process.”

Cruz tried to pass his legislation through the unanimous consent process, which allows any one senator to ask for approval. Any one senator can then block that request from moving forward — as Murray did. There is no recorded vote as part of the UC process.

Cruz previously asked for unanimous consent to pass the bill in June, but was blocked then as well.

Legal protections

Democrats’ 64-page bill would have provided legal protections for anyone seeking fertility treatment, including IVF, and for the health care professionals providing that type of care.

It would have barred state and federal governments from “enacting harmful or unwarranted limitations or requirements” on IVF access.

The legislation would have bolstered fertility treatment coverage for members of the military and veterans, as well as their spouses, partners, or gestational surrogates.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine supports Democrats’ legislation. Chief Advocacy and Policy Officer Sean Tipton wrote in a statement released this week that Democrats’ IVF bill would “protect the rights of Americans to seek the medical services they may need to have children and ensure no healthcare provider faces legal consequences for trying to help their patients as they seek to build their families.”

“This legislation also increases access to IVF treatments for all Americans by mandating that employer-sponsored insurance plans and other public insurance plans cover fertility treatment,” Tipton wrote. “Significantly, it would ensure the federal government does right by its own employees by providing coverage for active-duty military, veterans, and civilian staff.”

The South Portico of the White House is seen Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

WASHINGTON — The presidential campaigns are rushing ahead this week without missing a beat, despite numerous law enforcement agencies investigating a possible assassination attempt Sunday on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, was looking to pick up an endorsement from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters during a private sit-down interview with the organization on Monday before heading to several campaign stops later this week.

Trump, the GOP nominee, whose campaign is fundraising off a gunman putting an AK-47 through the fence at his Florida golf course before being confronted by the Secret Service, is expected to continue his regular schedule.

Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, will be on the campaign trail as well, after making headlines this weekend when he seemingly admitted making up a story about Haitian immigrants in Ohio before doubling down on the false claim.

“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” Vance said during a combative interview with Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Vance then insisted that he’s repeating concerns from his constituents, despite public officials and police officers in Ohio saying there’s no evidence of immigrants eating geese or cats.

“I say that we’re creating a story, meaning we’re creating the American media focusing on it,” Vance added.

Vance’s comments and repeated criticism of Harris came shortly after her campaign released a list of 17 Reagan administration officials endorsing her bid for the Oval Office.

“Our votes in this election are less about supporting the Democratic Party and more about our resounding support for democracy,” they wrote. “It’s our hope that this letter will signal to other Republicans and former Republicans that supporting the Democratic ticket this year is the only path forward toward an America that is strong and viable for our children and grandchildren for years to come.”

Ken Adelman, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and U.S. arms control director; Carol Adelman, USAID assistant administrator; Robert Thompson, senior staff economist at the Council of Economic Advisers; Gahl Burt, White House social secretary; B. Jay Cooper, deputy assistant to the president; Kathleen Shanahan, a staff assistant at the National Security Council; and Pete Souza, official White House photographer were among those from the Reagan administration to publicly voice their support for Harris.

NABJ chat, stops in swing states

Tuesday’s campaign schedule shows a packed day of public events for all the major campaign names.

• Harris is expected to attend a fireside chat with the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia, months after Trump’s on-stage panel interview with three NABJ journalists stirred up controversy within the organization and made headlines for Trump’s responses to their questions.

• Trump will host a town hall in Flint, Michigan moderated by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, his former press secretary, during the evening. Trump also abruptly announced an XSpaces event for Monday night at 8 p.m. Eastern on the social media platform.

• Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, running mate to Harris, is expected to attend events in Macon and Atlanta, Georgia. He’ll then head to Asheville, North Carolina to give a stump speech.

• Vance is expected to speak at a rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Also on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood will hear arguments on whether Robert F. Kennedy’s Jr.’s name should be removed from Michigan’s ballot.

“Before a court may issue a temporary restraining order, it should be assured that the movant has produced compelling evidence of irreparable and imminent injury and that the movant has exhausted reasonable efforts to give the adverse party notice,” Hood wrote.

Kennedy, who suspended his bid for the Oval Office last month, had requested an immediate ruling, which the judge denied.

Warehouse worker Robert Paschal stocks a cooler with fresh produce at the Food Distribution Program at Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, Nov. 6, 2018. (Photo by Preston Keres/U.S. Department of Agriculture)

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack apologized to tribal communities this week for delays in shipments and delivery of expired food during a tense congressional hearing that highlighted widespread failures within the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations.

Vilsack’s comments followed detailed testimony from leaders of the Chickasaw Nation, Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians and Spirit Lake Sioux Nation about the food shortages during a rare joint hearing of the House Appropriations and Agriculture committees.

“This is a dire issue that’s evoked a genuine bipartisan and bicameral concern in Congress,” said House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, who is a member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma.

The USDA, he said, had failed in its duty to provide “critical food assistance for tribal members and vulnerable senior citizens” for months, amounting to “gross negligence.”

“Missed and delayed deliveries, empty shelves and bare warehouses have become commonplace,” Cole said.

House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, said the food shortage was unacceptable.

“It must be among our government’s highest priorities that the most vulnerable communities among us do not suffer from hunger,” she said. “But this disruption to food deliveries has risked exactly that.”

The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations provides food to “income-eligible households living on Indian reservations, and to American Indian households residing in approved areas near reservations and in Oklahoma,” according to a USDA fact sheet.

The USDA buys and ships food selected from a pre-approved list to state agencies and Indian Tribal Organizations, which in turn store and distribute the food to eligible participants.

Tribal representatives speak out

The three tribal representatives detailed how those bare shelves have affected their communities and how the USDA told tribes — rather than consulting with them — about a major change in the program’s contract, leading to distrust and anger.

The three also pressed Congress for much more control over their food supply during the four-hour hearing.

Darrell G. Seki Sr., chairman of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians in Minnesota, said his community’s ability to feed people through the FDPIR program was “jeopardized” by failures that have persisted throughout the summer.

“We need more consultation with tribes,” Seki said. “We are the first Americans here. We should be the priority because of the treaties that were adopted under the U.S. Constitution.”

Seki called on lawmakers to “do the right thing” numerous times during the hearing.

Mary Greene-Trottier, president of the National Association of Food Distribution Programs on Indian Reservations and a member of the Spirit Lake Sioux Nation in North Dakota, said the program is essential for tribal communities that exist in food deserts.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, previously known as food stamps, doesn’t work in some tribal communities, making FDPIR a “critical stopgap,” she said.

“SNAP is an important tool in the feeding program toolbox, but is not meaningful if you lack access to a full-service grocery store or even a convenience store,” Greene-Trottier testified.

She told the committees the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations serves about 55,000 people in Native communities each month.

Greene-Trottier also said the problems that began this spring have led to a lack of trust in USDA throughout her community.

Self-determination project

Marty Wafford, under secretary of support and programs for the Chickasaw Nation Department of Health in Oklahoma, said there is an “urgent need for Congress to expand tribal self-governance.”

She testified that a self-determination demonstration pilot program Congress authorized in 2018, which allows some tribal communities to produce and supply more food, has been “highly successful.”

“This inventory and warehousing crisis is an example of how the locally procured food system works,” Wafford said. “We have not experienced ordering or delivery issues with foods secured with the self-determination project, in which we currently supply a variety of beef, pecans and dried hominy.”

For years, she said, tribal nations have been striving to reestablish food production, including growing crops, raising buffalo and cattle and establishing meat processing facilities and fish and shellfish hatcheries.

Tribal representatives testified that instead of consulting them on the change in contracting — that shifted from two suppliers to just one — USDA officials merely informed them in February and then didn’t take their concerns seriously.

Tribal communities were told they wouldn’t be allowed to order any food through the FDPIR program during the month of April, after which the delays, missing shipments and delivery of expired food began.

The USDA has put in place stopgap measures and short-term solutions, but tribal officials told members of Congress that those didn’t fully alleviate the situation, which they said continues to this day.

Tribal leaders called on Congress to make several changes to food procurement, including a regional sourcing model for food distribution.

They told lawmakers the FDPIR program needs a tracking system, so tribal members can see when their food orders have been shipped, instead of being forced to repeatedly call in and hope someone answers the phone.

Review of contracts required

Vilsack told lawmakers, and the tribal representatives who stayed in the room to hear his explanations for the food shortages, that USDA is “committed” to listening to tribal leaders more and keeping Congress better informed of problems with the food distribution program.

He explained that in 2022, USDA began the process of reviewing the contracts for the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, in part because under the federal procurement law, the department wasn’t allowed any additional extensions of the previous contracts.

Following months of meetings and requesting bids from contractors, the USDA received eight proposals in 2023. One wasn’t close to meeting the requirements, leaving a panel with seven to review between September and December.

That group ultimately determined only one application, from Paris Brothers in Kansas City, Mo., met the full list of requirements. That company had been one of the two that USDA contracted with to provide food under the FDPIR program for years.

Paris Brothers told the USDA at the time they had the capacity to handle the full contract, which Vilsack said later turned out not to be the case. The contract costs $35 million per year for the five-year term, totaling $175 million.

Once USDA realized there were mounting problems with the new single-supplier model, Vilsack said staff began working to implement fixes, both at Paris Brothers and for the tribal communities.

For example, the company increased work to seven days a week, boosted the number of shifts per day, hired more temporary and permanent workers and increased training.

The USDA has also signed a $25 million six-month contract with another company to help alleviate the shortage of food deliveries to tribal communities.

Given Paris Brothers’ long record, Vilsack said officials at USDA assumed the issues could be worked out.

But, he said, changes the USDA instituted in August should have taken place sooner and that lower-level staff at the department should have brought the problems to his attention months before he was informed in late July.

‘Make sure nothing like this ever happens again’

Members of Congress on the two committees said they still have concerns over Paris Brothers and the USDA’s management of the program.

“It’s critical that this crisis is resolved quickly and the changes are made in the contracting process to make sure nothing like this ever happens again,” Cole said.

House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Andy Harris, a Maryland Republican, said he expects the USDA to fire at least one person for not addressing the problems at Paris Brothers sooner and that the department needs to levy fines against the company.

“If somebody’s head doesn’t roll over this, the American taxpayer should be furious,” Harris said. “This is tens of millions of dollars, and I’m not even talking about what we did to our tribal nations — delivering outdated food, missing shipments.”

When the Appropriations panel next meets with USDA officials, Harris said, he expects witnesses to arrive with detailed information about what fines were levied against Paris Brothers and how much the federal government had to spend to ensure food delivery to tribal communities.

Harris expressed “no confidence” Paris Brothers would be able to reestablish on-time, unexpired food deliveries to tribal communities and questioned whether the company was fulfilling other contracts ahead of tribal communities.

“I suspect that they shorted the tribal nations while keeping other commercial contracts whole. And we should never tolerate that,” Harris said.

Georgia Rep. Sanford Bishop, Jr., the ranking member on the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, said it was a “shock” to hear of the problems within the FDPIR program after years of it being well run.

Bishop pressed for more funding for the Agricultural Marketing Service, the office within the USDA that handles contracting.

The last full-year government spending bill, which Congress approved earlier this year, provided 12% less in funding for the service than was requested, he said. That represented a $14.8 million cut to its enacted funding level.

“Congress cannot meet 21st-century needs and challenges with 20th-century budgets,” Bishop said.

Georgia Rep. David Scott, the top Democrat on the Agriculture Committee, said lawmakers must bring representatives from Paris Brothers in front of Congress to answer questions about the mismanagement.

Paris Brothers declined to comment in response to a request from States Newsroom, writing that “due to our ongoing work with USDA on this matter we are deferring all inquiries to the USDA communications team.”

Embryologist Ric Ross holds a dish with human embryos at the La Jolla IVF Clinic Feb. 28, 2007 in La Jolla, California. (Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate will vote for a second time next week on legislation from Democrats that would bolster support for in vitro fertilization, though it’s unlikely GOP lawmakers will reverse course from their previous opposition.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced the revote Thursday afternoon, saying he hopes that Republicans will join with Democrats to advance the measure toward final passage. The bill would ensure patients have access to in vitro fertilization.

“Republicans can’t claim to be pro-family on one hand, only to block pro-family policies like federal protections for IVF and the child tax credit,” Schumer said. “But that’s just what they did this summer and I hope we get a different outcome when we vote for a second time.”

The Senate last held a procedural vote on the bill in June, though it didn’t come close to the 60 senators needed to advance.

The 48-47 procedural vote was mostly along party lines with Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski breaking with Republicans to support moving forward with debate and a final passage vote.

Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy argued against advancing the bill during debate, saying the legislation wasn’t necessary since no state currently barred IVF.

“Today’s vote is disingenuous — pushing a bill haphazardly drafted and destined to fail does a disservice to all who may pursue IVF treatments,” Cassidy said at the time.

Washington state Democratic Sen. Patty Murray spoke in support of approving the legislation, saying in June it shouldn’t be “controversial, especially if Republicans are serious about” supporting access to IVF.

“As we saw in Alabama, the threat to IVF is not hypothetical, it is not overblown and it is not fearmongering,” Murray said.

Alabama state legislators earlier this year had to provide criminal and civil protection to IVF clinics after the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos constituted children under state law.

The opinion from Alabama’s justices temporarily led all IVF clinics within the state to close their doors to patients, wreaking havoc on couples hoping to start or grow their families through the complicated, emotionally draining and often expensive process.

The issue also has emerged in the presidential race, and was fought over in the Sept. 10 debate by the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, and the Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump.

A protester holds a Trump flag inside the U.S .Capitol Building near the Senate chamber on Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Capitol Police are welcoming a special security designation from the Department of Homeland Security for Jan. 6, 2025, when Congress will gather to certify the Electoral College vote count for the winner of the presidential election.

The last time Congress undertook the responsibility, a pro-Trump mob attacked the building, eventually breaking through police barricades, severely injuring officers and disrupting the process.

The rioters were spurred on by false claims from former president and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump that he won the 2020 election when he had in fact lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College.

Members of Congress and then-Vice President Mike Pence were evacuated or told to shelter in place in their offices as one of the most secure buildings in the country was overrun.

Federal prosecutors have since secured convictions or plea deals for hundreds of the people who attacked law enforcement and obstructed Congress’ responsibility to certify the vote that day.

United States Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger released a written statement Thursday saying the “National Special Security Event designation will further strengthen our work to protect the Members of Congress and the legislative process.”

“The United States Capitol Police has been preparing for the January 6 count, as well as the Inauguration, for several months,” Manger added. “We have made hundreds of changes and improvements over the past three years, and we are confident that the Capitol will be safe and secure.”

National Special Security Events, or NSSEs, are somewhat expected for major events, like State of the Union speeches, presidential inaugurations and the presidential nominating conventions that the Democrats and Republicans hold every four years.

This, however, will be the first time that one has been issued for Congress’ certification of the Electoral College vote.

The designation means the U.S. Secret Service will be the lead federal law enforcement agency planning security for the event, despite it being held in the U.S. Capitol, where USCP typically holds the top jurisdiction.

“National Special Security Events are events of the highest national significance,” Eric Ranaghan, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Dignitary Protective Division, said in a written statement released Wednesday. “The U.S. Secret Service, in collaboration with our federal, state, and local partners are committed to developing and implementing a comprehensive and integrated security plan to ensure the safety and security of this event and its participants.”

A Missouri case marked the 14th person to contract highly pathogenic avian influenza, or H5N1, this year amid ongoing outbreaks among poultry and dairy cattle. The Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Iowa State University tests samples from animals for viruses such as avian influenza. (Photo courtesy of Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory)

WASHINGTON — Public health officials are still trying to determine how a Missouri resident contracted bird flu without having any contact with infected animals, but said Thursday there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission taking place in small enclaves or in a more widespread manner.

The Missouri case marked the 14th person to contract highly pathogenic avian influenza, or H5N1, this year amid ongoing outbreaks among poultry and dairy cattle, though it marks the first time someone without contact to those animals was diagnosed with the virus.

Nirav Shah, principal deputy director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on a call with reporters the “evidence points to this being a one-off case, and those do happen with novel influenza.”

“Thus far, we have not seen any evidence of unusual levels of influenza activity in the area where this individual resides,” Shah said during the hour-long briefing. “There have been no increases in the volume of visits to emergency departments for influenza and no increase in laboratory detections of influenza cases in Missouri more broadly.”

The state’s public health laboratory, he said, is subtyping all positive cases of Influenza A, following the CDC recommending ongoing detailed surveillance this spring.

The practice is how doctors and public health officials confirmed this case and would likely be how they diagnose any uptick in cases in the future in the “overwhelming” number states that are taking the extra step of subtyping, he said.

There are several types of influenza virus that are classified by the letters A, B, C and D. The viruses within the influenza A category are further categorized or subtyped based on the proteins hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). There are at least 130 combinations of subtypes within Influenza A, according to the CDC.

“So here’s the bottom line, our influenza surveillance system is designed to find needles in haystacks,” Shah said. “And as this case and others show, it is working. And here, in this case, we found such a needle, but we don’t know how it got there.”

The Missouri patient, who has significant underlying medical conditions, was admitted to a hospital on Aug. 22 after presenting to health care providers with “acute symptoms of chest pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and weakness,” according to the CDC. The patient is not being identified out of privacy concerns.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced the diagnosis on Sept. 4, as did the CDC in a separate statement.

Missouri DHSS noted the patient had recovered and been sent home from the hospital, while the CDC pointed out that the state has reported cases of H5N1 in commercial and backyard poultry flocks this year.

The patient hadn’t been in contact with any livestock or poultry and didn’t indicate in a detailed questionnaire that they had consumed any food products, like raw milk, that could have potentially transmitted the virus.

Shah said on the call that public health officials are technically classifying this as a case of H5 and not H5N1 as they work to sequence the virus more fully, though that might not be possible.

The CDC has begun classifying the virus’ genetic sequence, but since the patient’s viral RNA levels were “extremely low” the agency may not be “able to generate a full flu genome, including the neuraminidase or the N part of the virus,” he said.

“We’re throwing everything we’ve got at this, but ultimately a full sequence may not be technically feasible because of the low concentration of viral RNA,” Shah said. “The data that we do have and that have been generated thus far show an H5 virus that is closely related to the (H5N1) virus circulating among dairy cows.”

The CDC, he said, is “continuing to look for evidence of genetic changes that would suggest, for example, an increased potential for spread.” None have yet been found.

Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at CDC, said the risk to the general public from bird flu remains low.

“We assess risk continuously with every case and with every sort of change, and we continue to look at it as low,” Daskalakis said. “If there are changes, we would reassess that risk in real time.”

While the CDC investigation is ongoing, Shah said the further out from the case public health officials get without seeing any new diagnosis, the less likely they become.

“We are beyond the typical 10-day window for transmission,” Shah said. “And so with each passing day, the likelihood of this being something that’s happening deep underwater goes down.”

U.S. House Democrats introduced a resolution Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, that would clarify when health care providers can use abortion as emergency medical care. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON —? U.S. House Democrats introduced a resolution Thursday that would clarify when health care providers can use abortion as emergency medical care amid a patchwork of state laws that have led to dozens of stories of women being turned away from emergency departments when experiencing complications or miscarriages.

The two-page resolution would express “the sense of the House of Representatives” that abortion is a form of stabilizing care under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, a law from the 1980s.

“Since the overturn of Roe v Wade, more than two years ago, we’ve heard horrifying stories of pregnant women being turned away from emergency rooms or unable to receive the life-saving care that they need due to cruel state abortion bans, even though the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, also known as EMTALA, requires emergency rooms to treat and stabilize pregnant patients,” Ohio Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes said during a press conference just outside the U.S. Capitol.

The resolution, Sykes said, would clarify that women have access to the full slate of reproductive health care “in a life or death situation.”

New Jersey’s Mikie Sherrill cited analysis from The Associated Press that more than 100 women have been turned away from emergency departments or negligently treated while experiencing pregnancy distress since 2022.

“It’s an outrage,” Sherrill said. “Lives are at risk. And despite clear federal law and additional guidance from the Biden administration, states across the country are refusing to treat pregnant women in emergencies.”

The resolution wouldn’t actually change the language of EMTALA or enact any new laws, but would express “the sense of the House of Representatives that every person has the basic right to emergency health care, including abortion care.”

The Biden administration issued a public letter two years ago, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, that EMTALA protected doctors and qualified health care professionals who perform abortions to preserve the health of a pregnant patient or save a patient’s life.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra wrote at the time that “no matter where you live, women have the right to emergency care — including abortion care.”

That interpretation of EMTALA was challenged by numerous Republican states, eventually reaching the U.S. Supreme Court this year.

The justices, however, decided in June to send the case back to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, writing that the high court took the case too early and should have waited until after the lower court had heard the case and issued its ruling.

The appeals court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case in early December.

House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark said during the press conference the resolution is necessary to ensure women in states with bans or significant restrictions on abortion can consider all their options with their doctor when their life or health is at risk.

“We’re here because emergency health care is a legal right and a moral obligation,” Clark said. “This is a straightforward resolution. For Democrats, it’s common sense.”

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks on his cell phone as walks back to his office in the U.S. Capitol building on Nov. 13, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson pulled a six-month stopgap spending bill from heading to the floor for a vote Wednesday, scuttling efforts by the GOP to show solidarity behind their plan, which included a provision requiring ID to register to vote in federal elections.

The spending bill, released by House Republicans last week in the heat of a presidential campaign in which immigration is a central focus, had no chance of becoming law amid opposition from Democrats, a cool response from many GOP senators and a veto threat from the Biden administration.

A number of House GOP lawmakers had also come out against the legislation.

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told reporters that lawmakers plan to work through the weekend to find a path forward on the stopgap spending bill and language that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote.

“No vote today because we are in the consensus-building business here in Congress; with a small majority, that’s what you do,” he said. “We’re having thoughtful conversations, family conversations within the Republican Conference and I believe we’ll get there.”

Johnson said Congress has “two primary obligations right now.”

One is funding the government ahead of the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1, thereby avoiding a shutdown.

And he said the other is addressing concerns about the possibility that people who are not citizens could vote in the November election, even though that is already illegal.

“We’re going to continue to work on this. The whip is going to do the hard work and build consensus. We’re going to work through the weekend on that,” Johnson told reporters. “And I want any member of Congress, in either party, to explain to the American people why we should not ensure that only U.S. citizens are voting in U.S. elections.”

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump posted on social media Tuesday that Republicans should not vote for any short-term spending measure without the sidecar voter ID bill attached.

Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, called for a bipartisan negotiation after news broke of Johnson pulling the vote.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La. speaks during a news conference following a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 10, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Congress is stumbling toward another government shutdown deadline at the end of the month with no clear plan in place to enact a bipartisan stopgap spending bill — and some new meddling by the Republican presidential nominee.

House Republicans have, so far, taken the go-at-it-alone approach by scheduling a vote Wednesday on a six-month continuing resolution, despite that legislation lacking the votes needed to pass both chambers.

President Joe Biden has also issued a veto threat of the bill, ensuring it has no path to becoming law.

Meanwhile, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump sought to stir the pot Tuesday by calling on his party to force a shutdown if Democrats don’t accept the GOP’s inclusion of a separate bill that would require an ID to register to vote.

“If Republicans in the House, and Senate, don’t get absolute assurances on Election Security, THEY SHOULD, IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, GO FORWARD WITH A CONTINUING RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET,” Trump wrote on social media.

House Republican leaders have included a bill that requires proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections in their stopgap spending bill. It is already illegal for people who are not citizens to vote in federal elections.

The original voting bill, H.R.8281, was first introduced by Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy, a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus. It passed 221-198 in July, with five Democrats voting with Republicans, but stalled in the Senate.

The White House rejected that sidecar in a Statement of Administration Policy released earlier this week, writing that the “unrelated cynical legislation… would do nothing to safeguard our elections, but would make it much harder for all eligible Americans to register to vote and increase the risk that eligible voters are purged from voter rolls.”

Congress must pass some sort of spending bill before the end of the month to avoid a partial government shutdown beginning just weeks before the November elections.

Senators react

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pressed for congressional leaders to get in a room and negotiate a bipartisan agreement during a press conference Tuesday.

“The bottom line is, we want a bipartisan negotiation,” Schumer said. “We will sit down and do a bipartisan negotiation, and that’s the only way to pass this.”

Schumer laid the responsibility for calling such a meeting at the feet of House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said during a separate press conference he’s reserving judgment on the House stopgap spending bill until he sees whether it will actually pass that chamber.

“I think we first have to see what the House sends us, and then, of course, how to handle that will be up to the majority leader,” the Kentucky Republican said. “But the first step ought to be what comes out of the House. And I think we don’t know right now.”

McConnell said there shouldn’t be a government shutdown under any circumstances, clearly rejecting Trump’s calls for one.

“A government shutdown is always a bad idea,” he said.

Thune cites predictability for military

Senate Republican Whip John Thune, of South Dakota, was critical of the House GOP’s six-month stopgap spending bill, which would likely push off negotiations on the dozen annual government funding bills until early next year.

That could have a detrimental effect on the Senate vetting, holding hearings and voting on the next president’s Cabinet nominees during the first few months of the new year.

“That is a very, I think, fair observation about what could happen next year, and is something I think everybody needs to factor in when we make a determination about how long the CR ought to be for,” Thune said.

The negative effects on the Defense Department and military readiness were also cited by Thune in connection with a longer stopgap spending bill.

“When we fund the government, we ought to do it in a way that provides predictability and certainty, especially to our military planners,” Thune said. “So I think that’s an argument for a shorter term and trying to resolve these issues before the new Congress comes in, in January.”

But, he said, GOP leaders in the Senate are planning to consider the stance of those who want the longer, six-month spending measure that House Republicans have put forward.

“There are those who believe that punting this in the next year is a good strategy,” Thune said. “We’ll hear everybody out on that in the next couple of days, and then, depending on what the House sends over, what Schumer decides to do with it, we’ll figure out how to respond from there.”

?Ariana Figueroa contributed to this report.?

Registered nurse Orlyn Grace, left, administers a COVID-19 booster vaccination to Jeanie Merriman, right, at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic on April 6, 2022 in San Rafael, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine intended to address severe symptoms of the virus ahead of the cold and flu season.

The new booster shots from Moderna and Pfizer follow a summer of increasing COVID-19 cases and are designed to better address the variants that are circulating now.

Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a written statement that vaccination “continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention.”

“These updated vaccines meet the agency’s rigorous, scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality,” Marks said. “Given waning immunity of the population from previous exposure to the virus and from prior vaccination, we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants.”

Wastewater surveillance has been steadily increasing since early May and could rise further now that children throughout the country are returning to school.

The number of emergency department visits began increasing in May as well. And while the death rate from COVID-19 steadily decreased during the first half of the year, it began ticking up slightly in June, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The FDA announcement said that three doses of the updated Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or two doses of the updated Moderna vaccine are approved for unvaccinated children between six months and 4 years old.

Children between six months and 4 years old who have already received their COVID-19 vaccine are eligible to receive one or two doses or either updated vaccine. The dosing will depend on the timing and number of doses of their previous vaccination.

Children between 5 and 11 years old can receive a single dose of the updated vaccine, regardless of whether they’ve been previously vaccinated or not. If a child in that age range has been vaccinated against COVID-19, they need to wait at least two months before getting the updated dose.

Anyone over the age of 12 is eligible for a single dose of the updated vaccine if they’ve been vaccinated previously. They also must wait at least two months after their last vaccination.

Pfizer wrote in a statement that its “vaccine will begin shipping immediately and be available in pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics across the U.S. beginning in the coming days.”

Moderna said it expects its updated vaccine “to be in pharmacies and care settings in the coming days.”

Rapper Lil Jon performs with the Georgia delegation during the Ceremonial Roll Call of States on the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 20, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Democratic National Convention held a ceremonial roll call of the states Tuesday, giving delegates on the floor of the United Center in Chicago a chance to show their support for Kamala Harris complete with corncob hats, DJ’d music, a surprise appearance from Atlanta rapper Lil Jon and enthusiastic cheers.

The tradition, which has long been part of presidential nominating conventions, was actually unnecessary this year. Democratic delegates voted virtually earlier this month to formally make Harris their nominee ahead of ballot deadlines in several states.

Harris was the only person to qualify for the ballot after President Joe Biden decided to end his reelection bid in late July, following a pressure campaign from Democrats that began after a concerning debate performance.

Tuesday’s lively in-person “celebratory” vote, accompanied by a live DJ who played a different song for every state and territory, began with delegates from Biden’s home state of Delaware before Democrats in the remaining states and territories voiced their support for the Harris-Walz ticket.

It ended with unofficial votes being cast by delegates from Minnesota, home of vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, and those from Harris’ home state of California.

In between, people within the arena and watching on television heard why delegates believe Harris and Walz represent the best path forward for the country.

Hans Storvick, who said Walz is his neighbor and former teacher, told delegates during Minnesota’s turn to speak that the vice presidential nominee “opened our eyes to the world.”

“He taught us how to talk about global issues with respect, curiosity and kindness; even and especially when we disagreed,” Storvick said. “But he wasn’t just a great teacher, he was also a great neighbor and friend. In fact, when he was in the midst of a budget battle as governor of our state, he still found time to attend my brother’s funeral.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who introduced himself as being from the “great state of Nancy Pelosi,” said residents there pride themselves “on our ability to live together and advance together and prosper together across every conceivable and imaginable difference.”

“But the thing we pride ourselves most on is that we believe the future happens in California first,” Newsom said as Kendrick Lamar played in the background. “And, Democrats, I’ve had the privilege for over 20 years to see that future taking shape with a star in an Alameda courtroom by the name of Kamala Harris.”

“I saw that star fighting for criminal justice, racial justice, economic justice, social justice,” he added. “I saw that star get even brighter as attorney general of California, as a United States senator and as Vice President of the United States of America.”

The Georgia delegation, though, might have upstaged all of their fellow Democrats by securing a mini performance from Lil Jon, who sang “turn out for what” to the music of his famous “Turn Down For What” song before the state cast its votes for Harris.

When the nearly 80 minutes of ceremonial voting wrapped up the DNC displayed a live video of Harris at a campaign rally at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the same venue where Republicans held their party convention just last month.

“We are so honored to be your nominees,” Harris said. “This is a people-powered campaign and together, we will chart a new way forward — a future for freedom, opportunity, of optimism and faith.”

In this year’s battle for control of Congress, Republicans aim to increase their slim majority in the House of Representatives and flip the Senate, while Democrats are hoping to hang onto their majority in the upper chamber and regain control of the House. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — The 2024 battle for control of Congress centers on just a handful of Senate races and about two dozen House seats, putting considerable pressure on those candidates to win over voters as party leaders and super PACs funnel millions of dollars into their campaigns.

The incumbents representing those states and congressional districts will spend nearly all of their time campaigning between now and Election Day, with Congress in session just three weeks ahead of Nov. 5. They’ll be fighting off challengers who will be on the home front the entire time.

Republicans aim to increase their slim majority in the House of Representatives and flip the Senate, while Democrats are hoping to hang onto their majority in the upper chamber and regain control of the House.

Experts interviewed by States Newsroom said the outcome will be determined by multiple factors, including turnout, ticket splitting and the trajectory of the presidential campaign, which underwent an abrupt change with the exit of President Joe Biden and the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate.

At stake is whether Harris or Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, faces a Congress friendly to their ambitions or another two years of a deeply divided government in the nation’s capital. Biden has struggled with a GOP House and a Senate narrowly controlled by Democrats during the past two years.

“There’s a lot of energy on both sides for these congressional races, because of just how close the margins are going to be in the House and Senate,” said Casey Burgat, assistant professor and legislative affairs program director at George Washington University.

Senate GOP control?

The Senate is trending toward a Republican majority, though that will be determined by voters in Michigan, Montana, Nevada and Ohio, all of which are considered toss-ups by the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, a respected non-partisan publication.

If the GOP picks up any one of those four seats, that would give Republicans at least a 51-seat majority in the chamber after winning the West Virginia seat that’s currently held by Joe Manchin III, thought to be nearly certain in the GOP-dominated state.

Democrats maintaining those four seats as well as three others classified as “lean Democrat” by the Cook Political Report would leave control of a 50-50 Senate to the results of the presidential election, since the vice president casts tie-breaking votes in that chamber.

The Senate map is highly favorable to Republicans, who are defending 11 seats in safely red states, while Democrats are trying to hold on to 23 seats, with seven of those in purple states.

While the entire 435-member House of Representatives is up for reelection every two years, senators are elected to six-year terms, leaving about one-third of the chamber up for reelection in evenly numbered years.

Eyes on Montana

Robert Saldin, professor of political science at the University of Montana, said during an interview that Democratic Sen. Jon Tester will need to get voters in the state who support Trump to split their tickets if Tester is going to secure reelection.

“One of the secrets to Tester’s success over the years is that he has been able to distinguish himself from stereotypes of the national Democratic Party,” Saldin said. “And that’s going to be really important again, obviously, because Trump is on the ticket, and is certainly going to carry the state by a very wide margin.”

Republican challenger Tim Sheehy could potentially have a bit of an easier time getting elected this November in the deeply Republican state, he said.

“All he has to do is get people who are voting for Trump to also vote for him. And in fact, he can probably lose some tens of thousands of voters and still be okay,” Saldin said.

Sheehy, however, is somewhat disadvantaged by not having run in a competitive GOP primary, leaving him to move directly into a high-stakes general election.

“He is a political novice,” Saldin said. “He didn’t have a practice run in the primary. And here he is fresh out of the gate in one of the most expensive, most watched, most hyped Senate elections in the country. And so he’s having to learn as he goes.”

One factor that could benefit Tester over Sheehy is a ballot question addressing abortion access in the state that is likely to go before voters in November, Saldin said.

“That should give at least a little nudge in the direction of the Democrats,” Saldin said.

A dozen other states have approved or could approve abortion ballot questions, including Arizona, Florida, Maryland and Nevada.

In Ohio, edging away from national politics

Paul A. Beck, academy professor of political science at The Ohio State University, said Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown has sought to separate himself from national political figures throughout this reelection bid.

“I think he really wants to make this a local contest, a statewide contest, not a national contest,” Beck said. “And so he’s going to do everything he can to not appear on the stage with the Democratic nominees for president, and everything he can to try to define himself as somebody who is above partisan politics.”

Brown was elected to the House in 1992 before winning election to the Senate in 2006. He secured reelection in 2012 and 2018, though Republican candidate Bernie Moreno is looking to end that streak this year.

Beck said a ballot question about redistricting could help boost turnout, potentially increasing Brown’s chances.

“It’s going to energize voters and is going to produce higher turnout on the left than it will on the right, and that could be a factor in 2024,” Beck said.

Incumbent clout

Sitting members of Congress have historically held an advantage that may help the party that holds more members seeking to return to Capitol Hill for the 119th Congress.

“Reelection rates in the House have never dropped below 85%, and have recently stretched to highs of 98% in 2004 and 97% in 2016,” according to analysis from Miro Hall-Jones at OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan organization that reports on the role of money in U.S. politics. “While the Senate is more susceptible to shifts in public opinion — reelection rates dropped as low as 50% in 1980 at the dawn of the Reagan Revolution — incumbent senators have retained their seats in 88% of races since 1990.”

Every single one of the 28 senators seeking reelection two years ago was able to convince voters in their home states to give them another term, marking the first time that has happened in American history, according to the analysis.

Michigan and Arizona Senate races could then present a bigger challenge for Democrats, since both those seats are open due to the upcoming retirements of Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Arizona independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

Michigan is currently rated as a toss-up by the Cook Political Report while Arizona is rated as “lean Democrat.”

In the House, the 11 seats held by Republicans and considered by the Cook Political Report to be toss-ups all are held by an incumbent seeking reelection, while two of the Democrats’ 11 toss-up seats are open.

House majority

The contest for who controls the House after November is “razor thin,” said Burgat from George Washington University. With Republicans holding on by a slim margin, Democrats only need a net gain of four seats to capture the majority.

“Whether it goes Democratic or Republican, it’s not going to be by much,” Burgat said.

While Democrats and Republicans will focus much of their attention on the 22 toss-up races, they’ll also be funneling resources toward the campaigns that are rated as only leaning in their direction, as opposed to being likely or solid seats.

The Cook Political Report has eight seats held by GOP lawmakers as leaning in Republicans’ favor while 14 races, all Democratic-held seats except one, are in districts that “lean Democrat.”

That makes a total of about 44 competitive House races, according to the Cook Political Report’s analysis.

Among the closely watched congressional districts:

• Both parties are eyeing open seats in California, Colorado, Michigan and Virginia.

• Michigan’s 7th and 8th districts, now held, respectively, by Democrats Elissa Slotkin, who is seeking the state’s open Senate seat, and the retiring Dan Kildee, are rated by the Cook Political Report as toss-ups.

• Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, being vacated by Democrat Abigail Spanberger, who will focus on a run for governor, is expected to lean blue.

• California Democratic Rep. Katie Porter’s district also leans towards Democrats. Porter decided to leave the seat for an unsuccessful Senate run.

• Colorado’s 3rd, abandoned by Republican Lauren Boebert, who shifted to a friendlier district, leans Republican, according to the Cook Political Report.

• One open seat each in Maryland and New Hampshire is rated as likely Democrat by the prognosticator.

DCCC ads

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is throwing big money where races are competitive, zeroing in on 15 media markets including those in Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The official campaign arm of House Democrats announced a $28 million initial ad buy in June, spending double on digital ads compared to 2022, according to the organization.

The DCCC maintains that House Democrats “have always had multiple paths to reclaim the majority in November — including our 27 Red to Blue candidates in districts across the country working to defeat extreme Republicans who are out-of-touch with their communities,” spokesperson Viet Shelton told States Newsroom in a written statement.

Shelton said voters are “fed up with these politicians who are more interested in obeying Trump, voting for abortion bans, and giving tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations, while ignoring the needs of the middle class.”

The DCCC sees pickup opportunities in the 16 districts Biden won in 2020 that are currently held by Republicans.

Among them are five seats in California, four in New York, two in Arizona, and one each in New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Nebraska also saw incumbent GOP Rep. Don Bacon’s district go to Biden.

The switch to Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket could boost challengers in heavily college-educated districts, according to the Cook Political Report’s latest analysis of the field.

Those include Arizona’s 1st Congressional District held by GOP Rep. David Schweikert, New Jersey’s 7th occupied by freshman Thomas Kean Jr., and New York’s 17th held by Mike Lawler, also in his first term. All are rated as Republican toss-ups by the Cook Political Report.

Frontline candidates

But the DCCC campaign has vulnerable Democratic incumbents to worry about as well. The organization has identified 31 as “frontline” members, meaning their purple districts are what campaigners describe as “in play.”

Among them is 40-year Democrat Marcy Kaptur, who has held Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, in the state’s northwest region, since 1983.

Other vulnerable Democrats include Reps. Yadira Caraveo in Colorado’s 8th, Jared Golden in Maine’s 2nd, Don Davis in North Carolina’s 1st, Gabe Vasquez in New Mexico’s 2nd, Emilia Sykes in Ohio’s 13th, Susan Wild and Matt Cartwright in Pennsylvania’s 7th and 8th districts, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in Washington’s 3rd.

The National Republican Congressional Committee did not respond to requests for comment, but the House GOP campaign arm announced in late June a $45.7 million initial ad buy across 29 media markets, with large chunks going to metro areas in Los Angeles; New York City; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Anchorage, Alaska; Denver, Colorado; Detroit, Michigan; Portland, Oregon; and Omaha, Nebraska.

The ad buy — an offensive “to grow our majority,” NRCC Chair Richard Hudson said in a press release — will specifically target 13 districts currently held by Democrats.

Dairy cows gather at a farm on July 5, 2022 in Visalia, California. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON —? The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to embark on a year-long study beginning next month that will test samples for evidence of highly pathogenic avian influenza from former dairy cattle moved into meat production.

Emilio Esteban, the under secretary for food safety at the USDA, told reporters on a call Tuesday the new testing program follows three studies undertaken during the spring and summer that all found beef in the nation’s food supply is safe to eat.

“However, we want to move forward with an additional step,” Esteban said. “And what this means is that when those carcasses are tested, they are held and are not going to go into commerce until we get the results back.”

The virus, also referred to as bird flu or H5N1, has been found in wild bird and domestic poultry flocks within the United States for years. But the ongoing outbreak in dairy cattle has forced animal and human health experts to establish testing for a new community of agriculture workers and livestock.

The news of additional testing for the country’s meat supply came alongside the results of a study from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that reinforced the safety of pasteurized dairy products.

Steve Grube, chief medical officer for the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said that the most recent round of dairy product testing included 167 foods that were processed in 27 states in June and July.

“None of the product samples contained viable H5N1, reaffirming that pasteurization is effective,” he said. “The second survey was intended to address geographic and product gaps from the initial sampling of the commercial milk and dairy product supply that the FDA conducted during April and May.”

Testing milk in bulk tanks

Federal officials have also launched a voluntary program for farmers to test the milk in bulk tanks for H5N1, a step that’s intended to make it easier for them to move their cows between states without having to individually test each one.

Eric Deeble, deputy under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs at USDA, said the department’s Farm Service Agency has approved 23 of the 35 applications it has received so far to help ease the financial burden on dairy farmers who take their herds out of production after testing positive.

The program — known as Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish — has approved more than $1 million in payments.

The price paid to farmers is based on a formula that includes the price of milk from the preceding month as well as the number of dairy cattle that contract H5N1.

Deeble said on the call with reporters that of the approved applications, a dozen are from Colorado, which has seen a sharp increase in the number of positive H5N1 tests within its dairy industry.

Deeble argued the uptick is due to certain factors within the state and cautioned people against assuming that if testing was increased in other areas of the country, the number of positive H5N1 tests for dairy cattle would spike.

“I don’t think that it is accurate necessarily to extrapolate from the situation in Weld County, Colorado,” Deeble said. “Weld County and Colorado dairy in particular is rather unique in the degree to which the dairies are all closely associated with one another; both spatially and the way in which there is a lot of movement between the facilities.”

“It is a tightly integrated dairy community that’s isolated from much of the rest of the state, and there is a lot of connectivity between the premises in the way in which they use vehicles, support services, milk trucks,” Deeble added.

During the last 30 days, five states have had dairy cattle test positive for H5N1, including Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota and Texas.

Colorado holds a disproportionate number of cases with 26 of the dairy herds to test positive, while the other four states combined hold a total of six herds.

Other mammals diagnosed with H5N1 during the last six weeks are overwhelmingly in Colorado, which has found the virus in house mice, deer mice, domestic cats, a desert cottontail and a prairie vole.

Effect on cats

Public health officials said during the call Tuesday they are beginning to look more closely at when and why cats are being affected by the spread of H5N1.

Barn cats as well as those that hunt outside, coming into regular contact with wild birds that hold a reservoir of H5N1, have tested positive for the virus before.

But a report from the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association earlier this month noted that two of the six cats diagnosed with H5N1 in that state this year “were indoor only cats with no direct exposures to the virus.”

Public health officials on the call were unable to answer a question about how indoor-only cats would have come into contact with H5N1.

Experts on the call cautioned that as fall approaches, wild birds will begin migrating and dairy farmers will likely ship their cattle at higher rates, both of which could lead to an uptick in the number of positive cases of H5N1 being reported in dairy cattle as well as other animals.

Lia Chien contributed to this report.?

Family members hold up images of deceased loved ones during the ceremony where U.S. President Joe Biden signed the PACT Act in the East Room of the White House on Aug. 10, 2022 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday celebrated the number of veterans enrolled in VA health care and benefits as part of a law he signed nearly two years ago, though he said more work must be done for troops who were stationed at a base in Uzbekistan in the early 2000s.

“Two years ago, I signed the bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins (PACT) Act enacting the most significant expansion of benefits and health care for toxic exposed veterans and their survivors in over thirty years,” Biden wrote in a statement.

The law, which spent years gaining the support it needed in Congress, expanded health care coverage and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances like Agent Orange and open-air burn pits.

To date, more than 1 million veterans and 10,000 survivors of veterans who died have begun to receive disability benefits stemming from the law, accounting for approximately $6.8 billion in earned benefits.

Biden said in his statement that his administration would continue studying veterans’ other illnesses for a “presumptive status,” which could ensure them access to health care and benefits without having to prove to the VA that their conditions are directly linked to their military service.

The VA is also planning to “close loopholes for certain veterans exposed to harmful toxins during their military service,” Biden wrote, without elaborating.

A White House fact sheet says the VA is looking into providing benefits for 16,000 veterans who served at Karshi-Khanabad in Uzbekistan, also known as K2, between 2001 and 2005, since there were “several contaminants…in either the air, water, soil, or soil gas.”

“VA plans to take steps to consider veterans who served in Uzbekistan as Persian Gulf Veterans so that any veteran who served at K2 and who experience undiagnosed illness and medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illnesses can get the benefits they deserve,” it states. “VA will also create new training materials for claims processors and examiners on the hazards identified at K2.”

Since the law — known as the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act or the PACT Act — took effect nearly two years ago, the VA says that 739,421 veterans have enrolled in its health care programs.

Of that total, 333,767 veterans are covered under the new law, including those who served in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and the wars that followed the Sept. 11 attacks.

The numbers released Friday are significantly higher than they were when Biden gave a speech on the law’s one-year anniversary. The VA said at the time, which was one year ago, that 408,581 veterans had filed their claims and that 348,469 of those had been approved.

But Friday’s announcement is somewhat similar to one Biden made in May when he cheered the VA granting 1 million claims under the law.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough said on a call with reporters at the time the law had led to “more than $5.7 billion in earned benefits for veterans.”

The exact number of veterans with approved PACT Act claims as of Friday stood at 1,005,341 while the number of survivors approved had reached 10,777.

A total of 1,251,720 veterans so far have completed filing Pact Act claims as have 21,416 survivors.

The VA has an interactive dashboard that provides veterans with information about how to apply for health care and benefits under the PACT Act as well as how many claims have been submitted.

The VA has a calendar of in-person events that can be found here. Veterans or their family members can also call the VA at 800-698-2411 to inquire about PACT Act benefits.

Tim Walz, center, then the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee, and then-Chairman Phil Roe, right, R-Tenn., pictured during a March 7, 2017, hearing about reforms at the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president, spent 12 years as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives before winning election to his home state’s highest office.

That tenure on Capitol Hill gives him insider knowledge about many of the lawmakers who will be instrumental in advancing or blocking Vice President Kamala Harris’ legislative agenda, should she become president.

Walz, who was elected in 2006 to represent Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District, was particularly active on issues before the House Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Committees. He also sat on the Armed Services and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees.

During his dozen years on Capitol Hill, Walz developed a reputation for working across the aisle while supporting his party’s priorities on health care and the Iraq war.

Walz, who represented a rural swing district, was rated as one of the more bipartisan and effective members of the House during his last term in the chamber.

The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University ranked Walz as the 88th most bipartisan out of the 436 members who served at one time or another in the House during the 115th Congress.

Walz earned an even higher score from The Center for Effective Lawmaking, a partnership between the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University that measures how successful members are at advancing their bills and other legislative proposals.

It rated Walz as the seventh most effective among the 203 Democrats in the House during his last term.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” this week following Harris’ selection of the Minnesota governor as her running mate that Walz was a “heartland-of-America Democrat” who was in the ideological center on policy decisions.

“It’s mystifying to me to see someone that I worked with, shall we say, right down the middle, characterized on the left in this regard,” Pelosi said, referring to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump calling Walz “liberal.”

Iraq concerns and ACA support

Walz joined Congress halfway through President George W. Bush’s second term, when there was divided control of government and significant frustration about the war in Iraq.

During Democrats’ weekly radio address in January 2007, Walz said that “as the highest ranking enlisted soldier to ever serve in Congress and a veteran who served in support of Operation Enduring Freedom” he shared many voters’ concerns about the war.

“Our military men and women know that it is their duty to execute their mission without question,” he said. “But so too is it our duty to question the mission on their behalf.”

Walz said the United States needed “diplomatic and political solutions in Iraq, not more American troops.”

Walz was a member of the Nebraska National Guard from 1981 to 1996 and a member of the Minnesota National Guard from 1996 until 2005, according to his congressional biography.

He was still relatively new to Capitol Hill when Barack Obama won the Oval Office and Democrats secured significant majorities in the House and Senate in November 2008.

One of the more difficult tasks in the years ahead was brokering agreement within the party on what would become the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare — sweeping legislation that changed how health insurance and health care worked throughout the country.

The law passed in two parts during March 2010 and each time Walz voted to approve the final version.

“Middle class families in southern Minnesota want to visit their doctor and get the care they need without insurance company or government control,” Walz said in a statement. “They want hassle free coverage they can count on and they want peace of mind knowing that if they get sick, they will not have to worry about insurance companies dropping them.”

Stocks ban bill

Walz was one of the lawmakers pushing to approve legislation in 2012 that explicitly barred members of Congress, staff and numerous other government employees from participating in insider trading.

The law, titled the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 or STOCK Act, also required lawmakers to file regular public reports on their individual stock trading.

During House floor debate on the bill that February, Walz said the final legislation represented six years of work by several lawmakers who wanted to restore some trust in Congress as an institution.

“The perception is that members of Congress are enriching themselves — that’s not only an affront to our neighbors that we’re not playing by the rules, it is a cancer that can destroy the democracy,” Walz said. “Each member of Congress has a responsibility to hold themselves not just equal to his neighbors but to a higher standard.”

In a rarity for public officials, Walz reported owning no securities or other major assets on a state financial disclosure form that was updated in January of this year.

Walz’s last financial disclosure filing as a member of Congress showed he hadn’t traded individual stocks and that he had assets in a Minnesota Education pension plan, a 529 education savings account and some rental income from a room in his primary home in Mankato.

Bucking his party

Walz hasn’t always voted in line with his party, including in June 2012 when he was one of just 17 Democrats to vote to hold former Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena.

Walz said in a statement released at the time the vote was consistent with one he made previously.

“Five years ago, when I voted to hold President Bush’s Administration Officials in contempt, I said we have to stay consistent in our oversight of executive branch officials,” Walz said. “After reviewing the facts carefully, I have come to the same conclusions as I did in 2007. There are just too many unanswered questions surrounding ‘Fast and Furious,’ and the American people deserve to know more.”

The “Fast and Furious” operation involved federal law enforcement agencies — including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — allowing illegal purchases of weapons in an attempt to track them.

Some of the more-than 2,000 firearms sold during the operation were used in crimes in the U.S. and Mexico, including in the shooting death of Customs and Border Protection Agent Brian Terry, according to a 2012 inspector general report.

VA waitlist?

Just two years later, in 2014, Walz found himself working across the aisle as one of the lawmakers looking into the Department of Veterans Affairs lengthy waitlists as a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee.

During a hearing with VA whistleblowers that July, Walz criticized the department for having a goal but no strategy to address its shortcomings.

“I would submit to all of us here, the watchdog on this and the outside agency to look at this is here, it’s us. We’re given the constitutional right to do it,” Walz said. “When I go home I’m asked about this and I should be held accountable.”

Walz co-sponsored several bipartisan bills addressing the structure of the VA in the months that followed and voted to approve legislation overhauling aspects of VA healthcare in July 2014 after being named to the conference committee that negotiated the final version of the bill.

“Make no mistake, this bill isn’t perfect. It will not solve all of VA’s problems, but it does allow us to take a step forward in reforming the VA to provide veterans and their families with real solutions,” Walz said in a statement released following the House’s vote to approve the measure.

Walz would go on to seek the top Democratic seat on the Veterans Affairs Committee a few years later, eventually securing the title of ranking member during his last term in Congress from January 2017 to January 2019.

Tennessee Republican Rep. Phil Roe, who was chairman of the panel at the time, released a written statement that he was “thrilled to hear that my good friend and fellow veteran” was selected by Democrats as their top member on the committee.

“Rep. Walz has been a tireless advocate for veterans, and I know he will continue that fight as Ranking Member,” Roe said. “I look forward to working alongside Rep. Walz as we strive on both sides of the aisle to improve the lives of our nation’s heroes.”

Farm bill frustrations

Walz maintained his tenure on the Agriculture Committee throughout his time in Congress, including when that panel debated the farm bill, sweeping legislation that’s written roughly every five years to address the needs of farmers as well as nutrition assistance for low-income families.

Walz was on the panel for the three separate farm bills. Toward the end of his tenure, he voiced frustration that the legislation had become another partisan battle.

In April 2018, during the committee’s markup of the bill, Walz noted that he grew up on a farm that remained in his family and that his district was one of the top food-producing regions in the country.

“I came to Congress to write farm bills, I came to get policy right, I came to work with you,” Walz said, before rebuking the GOP for excluding Democrats from writing the original version of the bill in that chamber.

“If we wonder why we rank between North Korea and headlights in popularity in Congress, this is why,” he said. “If it’s not us to fix this problem, who the hell is going to?”

Walz urged Republicans on the panel to work with Democrats to get a bill that could make it through Congress and become law.

“You are not going to get this bill through and signed into law with the way things are at, so why burn the House down and why sever friendships and why create mistrust in this, when you’re doing it simply to make a point?” Walz said.

He voted against the original bill when it came to the House floor in June 2018, writing in a statement that drafting, debating and approving the farm bill “used to be an example for how things are supposed to be done in Washington.”

“Today, Republicans chose to once again follow the lead of Speaker Ryan and steamroll the bipartisan process the Agriculture Committee once championed,” Walz wrote, referring to then-Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin. “This cannot continue to be how things are done in Washington.”

Later that year, Walz was placed on the conference committee that negotiated a final version of the farm bill, which went on to pass the Senate following an 87-13 vote and the House on a 369-47 vote. Walz, who’d been elected governor a month earlier, was marked as not voting on that final version.

In a statement released in September 2018, after being named to the bipartisan, bicameral conference committee, Walz said he hoped compromise could be found.

“No Farm Bill is perfect, but if we reject radical ideology and embrace bipartisanship, I am optimistic we can pass a meaningful Farm Bill that works for Minnesotans, beginning farmers, veterans hoping to start a career in agriculture, and our environment,” he wrote.

Opposing Trump

Walz was reelected to Congress several times and remained there for half of Donald Trump’s presidency, often voicing opposition to executive orders and GOP legislative goals.

Following Trump’s first address to a joint session of Congress in March 2017, Walz wrote in a statement that he did share some common ground with Trump, though he distanced himself from the more partisan rhetoric.

Walz said he agreed with the sections of the speech that called for bolstering care for veterans, helping military service members and lowering the cost of health insurance.

“But populism without a plan isn’t leadership, and unfortunately, the address lacked significant policy detail and specific plans on how to move forward,” Walz added. “That said, it is clear that we don’t agree on how to move forward with improving our health care system. The answer is not to tear it down without offering a sound plan to replace it. Instead, the answer is to build upon the gains of the Affordable Care Act by repairing the parts where folks are falling through the cracks.”

When Trump instituted a ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. military, Walz said in a statement that those troops are not a “burden” but “heroes.”

“After 24 years of service as an enlisted soldier, I know what it takes to build cohesive teams in our military,” Walz wrote. “This President, who hasn’t served a day of his life in uniform, does not.”

When the Trump administration began separating undocumented immigrant children from their families in the summer of 2018, Walz released a statement arguing the policy was unacceptable.

He then co-sponsored legislation to end the practice, calling it “barbaric and immoral.”

“I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing the Keep Families Together Act and want to thank Ranking Member (Jerry) Nadler for his leadership at this critical time,” Walz said in a statement in June 2018, referring to the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. “Ripping children out of their parents’ arms at the border is a human rights violation and we cannot tolerate such abuses as a nation.”

The same day, he urged Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to resign from her post in another statement.

Other positions

Walz weighed in on numerous issues outside the scope of House legislation throughout his 12 years on Capitol Hill.

When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2015 to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, Walz issued a statement supporting the decision.

“I’ve always believed in marriage equality and applaud the Supreme Court’s ruling,” he wrote. “Today’s decision makes clear that our LGBT brothers and sisters are entitled to the same rights as the rest of us; that the pursuit of happiness cannot be limited because of who you love. Yes, today is a landmark day in our nation’s history and I could not be more proud.”

Walz announced support for the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran in August 2015, writing that his decision followed “weeks of careful consideration and study, meetings with experts, and talking with Minnesotans with passionate views on both sides.”

“This deal is far from perfect, and I harbor no illusions that the hate and violence of the Iranian regime will fade after it goes into effect. I expect Iran will continue to be a destabilizing force in the region and a threat to America and our allies,” Walz wrote. “But, I believe this agreement is our best path forward. The economic sanctions have played a critical role in getting us to an agreement, but I do not believe they are a long term solution.”

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) listen during during remarks at a Capitol Menorah lighting ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 12, 2023. The leaders have presided over a Congress that has enacted just 78 laws since forming in January 2023. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Congress plans to spend just 35 days between now and the end of the year in the nation’s capital, a fitting end to one of the least productive sessions in decades.

The deeply divided 118th Congress so far has placed just 78 public laws on the books, a fraction of the hundreds enacted during prior sessions, regardless of whether one party held control or voters elected a divided government. While there’s time left to enact a handful of laws, the number is nearly certain to remain low.

Over the past several decades, lawmakers have become accustomed to bundling several bills together into sweeping legislative packages instead of voting on them individually, but that doesn’t entirely account for how unproductive this Congress has been.

Members have sought to approve bipartisan legislation on immigration policy and border security, railway safety, the farm bill, tax law and children’s online safety at various points during the last 19 months — but all those major initiatives failed to make it across the finish line.

Lawmakers have been able to reach consensus on must-pass items like the annual government funding bills, but did so six months behind schedule. They are on track to miss their deadline again this year, which will mean yet another stopgap spending bill.

What is the problem?

While election-year politics and a truncated amount of time on Capitol Hill hampered lawmakers’ productivity, there are numerous other factors dragging down this Congress.

Molly Reynolds, senior fellow in governance studies at the nonprofit Brookings Institution, said Democrats are working to flip control of the House away from Republicans’ narrow majority, while at the same time the GOP is projecting it will push Democrats out of power in the Senate.

Those ambitions add “an additional structural layer” to the typical disagreements within Congress, she said.

Infighting within each of the political parties, as well as Democrats and Republicans moving further away from each other on policy goals, has contributed to the intransigence, she said.

“Those divisions within the parties pale in comparison to the size of the difference between the parties,” Reynolds said. “And so, that does make it more challenging to find issues on which both sides are willing and interested to come to the table.”

A bipartisan trio of senators spent months negotiating a deal on immigration just to have the agreement disintegrate when Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump came out in opposition. That disappointing outcome makes members of Congress reluctant to tackle tough issues, she said.

“When members put in the hard work to try and reach a compromise and then don’t have the backing of their leadership, it doesn’t necessarily incentivize them to come back to the table and try to do that same thing again in the future,” Reynolds said.

Speaker drama set the tone?

The 118th Congress included more than its fair share of drama and bickering. The turmoil prevented the Republican House and Democratic Senate from agreeing on much of anything other than the bare minimum, with even must-pass legislation finalized months behind schedule.

House Republicans set the tone for their razor-thin majority in January 2023 when they trudged through 15 rounds of voting over several days and nights before California Rep. Kevin McCarthy secured the speaker’s gavel.

McCarthy made several backroom deals during the stalemate and elicited anger from members of the party’s right flank, who nearly came to blows on the floor as he sought to lock in the necessary support.

Less than nine months later, the House voted to oust McCarthy from the speaker’s office. The GOP then kept the chamber frozen for several weeks as members voted behind closed doors to put forward four nominees, before Louisiana’s Mike Johnson garnered the votes necessary on the floor to lead his party and the chamber.

McCarthy, who repeatedly swore he would never quit, then did just that in December.

Senate border deal goes to pieces

The Senate has spent much of its time confirming President Joe Biden’s nominees, rarely breaking from that pattern to negotiate necessary items like the annual defense policy bill, government funding measures and legislation that avoided a default on the national debt.

Senators appeared to be on the cusp of making bipartisan changes to the nation’s border security and immigration policy following painstaking negotiations between Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy and Arizona independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. It would have been the most sweeping immigration legislation in years.

But that fell apart in February after Trump signaled he didn’t want to lose the border and immigration as an election issue or see Biden claim a victory.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, had said the deal was necessary to move an emergency spending bill for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan through the chamber, though he later reversed course.

Congress finally approved $95 billion in military and humanitarian assistance in April after House Republicans added in a ban on the social media app TikTok that would kick in if ByteDance, the Chinese parent company, didn’t sell the platform — one of the most significant laws of the year as it turned out.

Congress has also failed to negotiate a new version of the five-year farm bill, following months of delays and differences of opinion on how much nutrition assistance for low-income Americans should be in the package.

Few laws passed

The 78 laws enacted this Congress pale in comparison to earlier sessions.

During the 116th Congress, when the GOP controlled the Senate and Democrats held the House, lawmakers reached agreement on 344 measures that went on to become law.

When Democrats held control of both chambers and the presidency during the 117th Congress, they approved more than 360 measures that would later become law, the vast majority of which required bipartisan support to move through the Senate.

Lawmakers have consistently enacted more than 280 public laws during their two-year sessions, going back to at least the 82nd Congress, which began in 1951 and ended the following year.

During that seven-decade span, the number of laws enacted per Congress fluctuated, reaching a low of 283 during the 112th Congress, which lasted from January 2011 through January 2013, and a high of 1,028 during the 84th Congress, which took place in 1955 and 1956. The number of laws enacted was consistently in the 400s or 500s, if not higher, during those years.

Reynolds pointed out during her interview with States Newsroom that not all laws are created equal — some simply rename post offices or are confined to one issue, while others bundle several major pieces of legislation together in one package and have a much greater impact than other public laws.

Congress, she noted, used to pass the annual government spending bills individually, but over time has settled into a pattern of approving just one or two omnibus spending packages, which roll together all dozen of the bills.

Other examples of this include the Democrats’ signature health care, tax and climate change package, approved in the summer of 2022, known as the Inflation Reduction Act. When the GOP had unified control of Congress during the first two years of the Trump administration, they passed an overhaul of the nation’s tax code in just one bill.

“If we look at the data on the number of public laws, and we look at the data on the number of pages of public laws, we do see that, on average, they have been getting longer,” Reynolds said. “Having said all of that, when we actually do dig into what the 118th Congress has been up to, it has not been an especially productive Congress.”

Lame-duck session on the way

Lawmakers are set to return from their summer recess for a three-week session in September, before breaking again until after Election Day.

Members are expected to draft and vote on a stopgap spending bill to avoid a partial government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1. But not much else is likely to move through as attention turns even more toward Nov. 5.

The House Appropriations Committee has approved all 12 of its spending bills for fiscal 2025 while the Senate committee has voted to send 11 to the floor. The two chambers, however, are working off very different spending levels and don’t seem inclined to conference their bills until after they learn who will control Congress next year.

The lame-duck session, which spans the time between the election and when the new Congress convenes, is scheduled to last five weeks spread through late November and December.

During that time, GOP leaders in the House and Democratic leaders in the Senate may seek to pass their overdue government funding bills and the annual defense policy bill.

There are several other bills that have passed one chamber or the other with bipartisan majorities or have strong bipartisan support through co-sponsors, which lawmakers could seek to move through to the president’s desk. But much of that will be determined by the outcome of the elections as well as whether there is any violence or unrest connected with the results.

How to explain it?

Members of Congress interviewed by States Newsroom had varying answers for what they tell constituents back home about this Congress’ accomplishments.

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, said that he speaks with voters about the laws enacted during the previous Congress, when Democrats had unified control of government, as well as this Congress.

“Well, first of all, I tend to talk about the sweep of accomplishments, right? Both this Congress but also the previous Congress where we were enormously productive, right?” Van Hollen said. “So usually I don’t limit it to that timeline.”

Van Hollen said he was optimistic that Congress would be able to complete its work on the dozen annual government funding bills later this year.

“Obviously, we’ve been able to adequately fund government agencies,” Van Hollen said. “So that may be a low bar, but in this divided Congress, it is something that I point to, because we’ve worked on the Appropriations Committee, at least in the Senate, to have bipartisan products.”

Kansas GOP Sen. Jerry Moran said he predominantly talks with constituents about his work as ranking member on the Veterans Affairs Committee as well as the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations subcommittee.

“I talk about my own particular accomplishments as compared to bragging about Congress in general,” Moran said.

Much of the work that members do while in Washington, D.C., he said, doesn’t resonate with constituents who are focused on their own lives and families.

“No, I don’t think so,” Moran said. “Most people are paying specific attention to things that matter to them.”

Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, who faces a challenging reelection bid this November, said he tends to put more emphasis on the accomplishments of the upper chamber when talking with constituents back home.

“I think the Senate’s been a lot more productive than the House, but we’ll let voters sort that out,” Casey said.

While the Senate holds the advice and consent power to confirm certain presidential nominees, legislation must pass through both chambers of Congress and avoid the president’s veto pen, if it’s to become law.

Casey said there are several occasions where the House and Senate agreed on major issues, listing off the appropriations bills for the last fiscal year, the emergency spending package for Ukraine and other U.S. allies, and a bill to address fentanyl abuse.

“I think it’s a pretty long list and there’s still more work to do in the fall,” Casey said.

More time at work?

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, criticized the number of days the chamber spends in session every week, saying the calendar has shortened during his decades in the chamber.

“When I came to the Senate 44 years ago, we used to start at 10 a.m. on Monday and go to 4 or 5 on Friday,” Grassley said.

The Senate typically comes into session around 3 p.m. on Monday, with its first vote at 5:30 p.m. The chamber usually holds its last vote of the week on Thursday around 1:45 p.m., with the vast majority of senators heading to cars to leave shortly afterward.

The House keeps to a similar four-day schedule, though its “fly-in day” is sometimes on Tuesday, pushing its “fly-out day” to Friday. That chamber takes its first vote of the week around 6:30 p.m. with its last vote before noon on the fourth day.

“There’s enough work for individual senators to do seven days a week if you want to work,” Grassley said. “But you can’t solve this country’s problems until you get 100 people together, and they’ve got to be together for more than two-and-a-half days a week.”

Vice President Kamala Harris departs Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport aboard Air Force Two, after speaking at a campaign rally inside West Allis Central High School on July 23, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee announced late Monday that Vice President Kamala Harris had secured the support of?99% of delegates to formally become the party’s presidential nominee, following the conclusion of a five-day virtual vote.

The results, which included a state-by-state breakdown, followed the DNC announcing Friday that Harris had surpassed the number of delegates needed to become the nominee as voting proceeded. She was the only candidate to qualify. The DNC said 4,567 delegates cast their votes for her.

The next steps will be the certification of the roll call by the convention secretary, Jason Rae, and the acceptance of the nomination by Harris and her running mate, who as of early Tuesday still had not been named.

There will also be a celebratory roll call at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago later this month.

“With the support of 99% of all participating delegates in the virtual roll call, Vice President Harris has historic momentum at her back as we embark on the final steps in officially certifying her as our Party’s nominee,” DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and DNCC Chair Minyon Moore said in a statement. “We thank the thousands of delegates from all across the country who took seriously their responsibility throughout this process to make their voices – and the voices of their communities – heard. As we prepare to certify the nomination alongside Convention Secretary Rae, we know that we are all a part of an important piece of history.”

On the way to Election Day

Harris and her vice presidential pick will have fewer than 100 days to campaign before Nov. 5.

She’s undertaking a swing-state tour that has the two holding rallies Tuesday in Pennsylvania, Wednesday in Wisconsin and Michigan, Thursday in North Carolina, Friday in Arizona, and Saturday in Nevada. The Associated Press reported a stop in Georgia was postponed due to Hurricane Debby and the North Carolina appearance could be affected.

Harris didn’t compete in a Democratic primary campaign this election cycle, which could potentially hamstring her, though she did introduce herself to voters during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary and has held public events throughout her time as vice president.

Debate over debates

As of Tuesday it did not appear that Harris and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump would debate ahead of Nov. 5, which would have given her an opportunity to showcase her policy goals and personality to a broader cross-section of voters.

Trump and the Biden campaign agreed to two debates — the first in June, which was hosted by CNN and led to a widespread lack of confidence in Biden’s cognition, and a second on Sept. 10, hosted by ABC News.

The Trump campaign had been noncommittal about debating Harris since Biden announced in July he would step aside as the presumptive nominee and endorsed Harris to take over at the top of the ticket.

Harris for President Co-chair Cedric Richmond said in a statement released Friday that Trump “needs to man up” and attend the previously agreed to debate on Sept. 10.

“He’s got no problem spreading lies and hateful garbage at his rallies or in interviews with right-wing commentators. But he’s apparently too scared to do it standing across the stage from the Vice President of the United States,” Richmond said. “Since he talks the talk, he should walk the walk and — as Vice President Harris said earlier this week — say it to her face on September 10. She’ll be there waiting to see if he’ll show up.”

Trump posted on social media over the weekend that he would only attend a Fox News debate on Sept. 4, though neither the Biden nor Harris campaigns ever agreed to attend a Fox debate.

“Kamala Harris doesn’t have the mental capacity to do a REAL Debate against me, scheduled for September 4th in Pennsylvania,” Trump posted. “I’ll see her on September 4th or, I won’t see her at all.”

Who is Kamala Harris?

Harris was born in Oakland, California, in October 1964. She graduated from Howard University, a historically Black institution of higher education, in 1986 before receiving her law degree from the University of California in 1989.

Harris worked as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California, from 1990 until 1998. Her career as a prosecutor continued when she moved to the San Francisco District Attorney’s office, where she worked as a managing attorney.

She spent time as the chief of the San Francisco City Attorney’s Division on Children and Families and as the district attorney of San Francisco before California voters elected her attorney general in 2010.

Residents in the Golden State then elected Harris to the U.S. Senate in 2016, where she stayed until she was sworn in as vice president in January 2021.

Harris sought the Democratic presidential nomination during the 2020 primary, but dropped out two months before voting began.

Roll call, keynote speech

Harris is scheduled to give the convention keynote speech on Aug. 22, the final night of the gathering in Chicago. She’ll likely be speaking to the largest audience she’ll have in person and watching on television until election night.

That will provide a major opportunity for her to speak directly to the centrist and undecided voters who will determine the outcome of the November elections, including control of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

Should Harris win the Electoral College vote, she will become the country’s first female president, the first president of South Asian descent and the second Black president when she’s inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2025.

On Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, the Democratic National Committee announced Vice President Kamala Harris received enough votes in a virtual roll call to be the party’s presidential nominee. In this photo, Harris delivers remarks during the Sigma Gamma Rho’s 60th International Biennial Boule at the George R. Brown Convention Center on July 31, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Enough Democratic delegates selected Kamala Harris to make her the party’s presidential nominee by Friday, during an ongoing virtual vote that began less than two weeks after President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign.

The vote, which will not officially close until Monday evening, was held in advance of the Democratic National Convention, scheduled to take place in Chicago later this month, to assuage concerns about state registration deadlines that begin in August.

The DNC began laying the groundwork for the virtual nomination months before Biden announced his decision to step aside.

Harris said on a call with supporters Friday that she was happy to have surpassed the threshold needed to win the nomination.

“Of course, I will officially accept your nomination next week once the virtual voting period has closed, but already I’m happy to know that we have enough delegates to secure the nomination,” Harris said.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison encouraged DNC delegates to keep sending in their ballots during the Zoom call, but said the support for Harris so far has been overwhelming.

“I am so proud to confirm that Vice President Harris has earned more than a majority of votes from all convention delegates and will be the nominee of the Democratic Party following the close of voting on Monday,” he said.

“The outpouring of support we have witnessed for the vice president has been unprecedented,” Harrison added. “We knew your ballots would come back quickly. But the fact that we can say today, just one day after we opened voting, that the vice president has crossed the majority threshold and will officially be our nominee next week — folks, that is simply outstanding.”

The virtual roll call vote began Thursday at 9 a.m. Eastern and will conclude Monday at 6 p.m. Eastern. Harris was the only candidate to qualify.

The DNC plans to announce the final results afterward, including a state-by-state breakdown.

One of Harris’ first official acts will be selecting a running mate from a list that holds several governors as well as at least one senator. Her decision will set the tone for the sprint to the ballot box.

Harris and her running mate are expected to hold rallies in swing states next week, including Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Wisconsin and Michigan on Wednesday, North Carolina on Thursday, Georgia and Arizona on Friday, and Nevada on Saturday.

President Joe Biden, joined by relatives of prisoners freed by Russia, delivers remarks in the State Dining Room at the White House on Aug. 1, 2024, on the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan from Russian captivity. The two, along with Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and Radio Free Europe journalist, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Washington Post columnist, and others were released in a prisoner exchange with Russia. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The United States and Russia completed a multi-country prisoner swap Thursday that brought home several Americans, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.

The exchange included a total of 16 people from several countries who were detained by Russia, including seven of its own citizens held as “political prisoners.” Western nations released a total of eight Russians as part of the deal.

President Joe Biden said in White House remarks the negotiations were a “feat of diplomacy” that wouldn’t have been attainable without cooperation from allied nations.

“This deal would not have been made possible without our allies: Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey,” Biden said. “They stood with us and they made bold and brave decisions — released prisoners being held in their countries, who were justifiably being held, and provided logistical support to get the Americans home.”

“So if anyone questions if allies matter, they do,” he added.

Biden was accompanied by family members of the three American hostages released Thursday while he gave his remarks. He said they spoke by phone with their loved ones earlier in the day and planned to meet them at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland when their plane landed.

Biden said he tasked staff during his transition into the presidency with determining where Americans were held abroad and working on plans to get them released.

“As of today, my administration has brought home over 70 Americans, who were wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad; many since before I took office,” Biden said. “Additionally, I issued an executive order in 2022, authorizing penalties, like sanctions and travel bans, on those who hold Americans against their will.”

Biden, who is not running for reelection, said he would continue working during his remaining months in office to bring home other Americans who are wrongfully detained.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during the White House press briefing that officials had completed “one of the largest, and certainly the most complex exchange in history.”

Journalists, dissidents freed

Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while reporting for the Wall Street Journal and sentenced to 16 years in prison last month during a secret trial. The Wall Street Journal and U.S. officials have vehemently denied the charges.

Whelan, of Michigan, was arrested in 2018 and convicted of espionage in 2020, on charges he and American officials have repeatedly denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in Russia’s prison system.

Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist who worked for Radio Free Europe, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who won a Pulitzer Prize for “passionate columns written under great personal risk from his prison cell” were among the prisoners freed in the swap.

Kurmasheva was sentenced to more than six years in prison in July on claims she spread “false information” about Russia’s military, a charge rejected by her family and officials.

Kara-Murza, who holds dual citizenship in Russia and the United Kingdom, is a long-time critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. Russian officials detained him in 2022 and sentenced him to 25 years in 2023.

Prior to his imprisonment, Kara-Murza accused Russian officials of poisoning him.

Biden noted in his remarks that Kara-Murza holds a green card and was a pallbearer with him at Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain’s funeral.

Cheers from Congress

Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, wrote in a statement that Thursday marked “a joyous and long overdue day for Paul, his family, and all who have been working tirelessly to get him back home to Michigan.”

“For the past several years, I have worked with Administration officials, my colleagues, and Paul’s family to press for his release, and I’m beyond relieved that today marks the end of this unimaginable nightmare for Paul and his loved ones,” Peters wrote. “Michigan welcomes him home with open arms.”

Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow released a written statement that Whelan’s freedom was “wonderful news.”

“After more than five years, Paul Whelan is coming home,” Stabenow wrote. “I know the past years have been excruciating for Paul and his family. I’m so glad they will be seeing Paul soon.”

Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, urged the Biden administration to secure the release of Marc Fogel from Russian prison.

“This prisoner swap is good news for Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and their families, but Marc Fogel is still sitting in a Russian prison,” Casey wrote in a statement.

“Marc Fogel is a teacher from Pittsburgh with chronic health issues whose health has declined significantly during his imprisonment,” Casey added. “His 95-year-old mother, Malphine, fears she will never see him again. As we celebrate the good news of today, we cannot forget about Marc and the Fogel family.”

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, said in a statement he was “thrilled” the hostages were returning home, but expressed concern “that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage taking by his regime.”

“We should also not forget those Americans who may still be held in Russia, like Marc Fogel and Ksenia Karelina, as well as those held in other countries, including Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and David Lin who are held in China, and Ryan Corbett who is held in Afghanistan,” McCaul said. “We must get all of them home to their families too.”

Sullivan said during the White House briefing that officials were “actively working” to secure the release of Fogel from Russia as well as Americans being held in Syria and Afghanistan.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin said in a statement the release of the Americans “marks a welcome end to a searing nightmare for them and their loved ones.”

“These Americans should never have endured the hardships imposed on them by the Kremlin, but thanks to the unrelenting efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration and their families, including Paul’s sister Elizabeth, Evan’s parents Ella and Mikhail, and Alsu’s husband Pavel, their ordeal has finally come to an end,” Cardin said.

The Maryland Democrat also urged “Americans considering travel to Russia, especially dual nationals, to learn from the experiences of these wrongfully detained Americans and avoid traveling to Russia.”

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage by U.S. Secret Service agents after being grazed by a bullet during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Monday announced the 13 lawmakers who will make up the bipartisan task force investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

“We have the utmost confidence in this bipartisan group of steady, highly qualified and capable Members of Congress to move quickly to find the facts, ensure accountability and help make certain such failures never happen again,” the two wrote in a joint statement.

Johnson said last week the panel will release its final report by Dec. 13, though he expected interim reports along the way. The House voted 416-0 on July 24 to establish the panel.

The task force is expected to dig deeper into the Secret Service’s plans to protect Trump ahead of his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and how exactly a gunman was able to open fire.

The panel will be chaired by Rep. Mike Kelly, who was at the rally and represents Pennsylvania’s 16th District, which includes the location of the shooting.

Kelly wrote in an op-ed published last week by Newsweek that he believes the task force is critical to “utilize the collective power of Congress as a tool to dig deeper and find the facts.”

“The shooting wounded Mr. Trump, took the life of Corey Comperatore, and injured two other Pennsylvanians,” Kelly wrote. “It’s important that we don’t jump to any conclusions as we begin these investigations. I look forward to working with my colleagues to get the American people the answers they deserve.”

Other Republicans on the task force include Texas Rep. Pat Fallon, Tennessee Rep. Mark Green, Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins, Ohio Rep. David Joyce and Florida Reps. Laurel Lee and Michael Waltz.

The top Democrat on the panel will be Colorado Rep. Jason Crow, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and a former Army Ranger.

Crow released a written statement Monday that he would “help lead this bipartisan task force with Chairman Kelly to investigate and fully examine the attempted assassination of former President Trump, and I will treat it like what it is: a solemn, urgent, and necessary responsibility.”

“Political violence has no place in our democracy. Period,” Crow wrote. “We must be united in the belief as Americans, not as Republicans or Democrats, that political disagreement is settled through rigorous discourse, not violence. I am committed to working with my colleagues to conduct a thorough bipartisan investigation to collect the facts and recommend corrective security measures.”

Democrats named to the task force include California Rep. Lou Correa, Pennsylvania Reps. Madeleine Dean and Chrissy Houlahan, Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey and Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz.

Probes ongoing in Congress

Congress has already begun looking into the shooting at the Trump rally, which killed one attendee and injured two others. The gunman was killed at the scene.

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on July 22, just one day before she resigned in the wake of the assassination attempt.

Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris testified before the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security the same day that Cheatle resigned.

The U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Judiciary Committee are scheduled to hold a joint hearing Tuesday on the shooting.

Acting Director of the U.S. Secret Service Ronald L. Rowe, Jr. and Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Paul Abbate are both expected to testify.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has launched its own investigation into the shooting.

President Joe Biden speaks from the Oval Office of the White House on July 24, 2024 in Washington, D.C. The president addressed reasons for abruptly ending his run for a second term after initially rejecting calls from some top Democrats to do so, and outlined what he hopes to accomplish in his remaining months in office. (Photo by Evan Vucci-Pool/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden explained his decision not to seek reelection during a prime-time address from the Oval Office on Wednesday, saying now is the time to turn over power to the next generation.

“I’ve made it clear that I believe America is at an inflection point — one of those rare moments in history when the decisions we make now will determine the fate of our nation and the world for decades to come,” Biden said. “America is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division.”

The 11-minute speech was the first time Biden spoke at length on camera since releasing a letter Sunday withdrawing as the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee. He will continue to serve out his term.

Biden has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who has received support from enough delegates to clinch the party’s official nomination during a virtual roll call vote slated for early August.

Biden called into a campaign rally earlier this week, but had only given off-camera or brief remarks since announcing his decision to step aside while sidelined with COVID-19.

Calls for Biden to bow out began after his performance during the first presidential debate on June 27 raised significant concerns among Democrats and others about his age and cognitive abilities.

‘Nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy’

Speaking directly to Americans in his address, Biden said he believed his record, leadership and vision for the country’s future “all merited a second term.”

“But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy and that includes personal ambition,” Biden said. “So I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That’s the best way to unite our nation.”

Biden said that while there is “a time and a place for long years of experience in public life,” there is also a time for “younger voices.”

“And that time and place is now,” Biden said.

During his remaining six months in office, Biden said he planned to continue pressing for gun control, reproductive rights, voting rights and an end to all forms of violence, including political.

Biden said he wanted to secure an end to the war in Gaza and bring home the hostages that Hamas took when it attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

He said he planned to press for changes to the Supreme Court, calling it essential for democracy.

Biden also recounted the numerous laws enacted since he became president as well as his efforts to hold the NATO alliance together following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He said he hoped Americans understood how “grateful” he was for his decades as an elected official.

“I ran for president four years ago because I believed, and I still do, that the soul of America was at stake, the very nature of who we are was at stake,” Biden said.

Harris, he said, has the experience, strength and capability to lead the country following the November elections.

“The great thing about America is here, kings and dictators do not rule — the people do,” Biden said. “History is in your hands, the power is in your hands, the idea of America lies in your hands. We just have to keep the faith and remember who we are.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, who has gained the support of enough delegates to win the Democratic presidential nomination, speaks to the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Grand Boule at the Indiana Convention Center on July 24, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Yesterday Harris spoke to potential voters during a stop in Wisconsin and tomorrow is scheduled to attend an event in Texas. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee will move forward with a virtual nomination vote for its presidential candidate as soon as Aug. 1, after its Rules Committee approved the process on Wednesday.

The DNC has been moving forward with plans to hold a virtual nomination roll call since well before President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place.

The pre-convention vote is necessary to avoid potential legal pitfalls that could arise if the DNC waits to formally nominate its candidate until during its convention in late August, since some states have deadlines to place candidates on their ballots before or during that week.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said at the beginning of the Rules Committee’s meeting the party is striving to “execute this nomination with transparency, with fairness and efficiency.”

“Many of you have probably seen the reporting that Vice President Harris has received the expressed support from the majority of pledged delegates and might wonder what that means for this process,” Harrison said.

“Delegates are free to support who they choose and we are glad that they are engaging in this important moment in history,” Harrison said. “As a party we have an obligation to design and implement a fair nomination process for delegates to officially express their preferences through a vote resulting in eventually an official nominee of the Democratic Party who will go on to the top ballot in November.”

Multi-step process

Under the process adopted during the panel’s meeting, Harris as well as other presidential hopefuls have from July 25 through July 27 at 6 p.m. Eastern to register their intent to seek the nomination with the DNC Convention secretary.

Candidates then have until July 30 at 6 p.m. to meet the requirements, including collecting at least 300 signatures from DNC delegates with a maximum of 50 of those people representing any one state.

DNC Rules Committee Co-Chair Leah D. Daughtry said during the live-streamed meeting that if only one presidential candidate qualifies, she expects the virtual roll call would take place on Aug. 1.

If more than one candidate qualifies, Daughtry anticipates the virtual roll call would take place on or around Aug. 3.

Democrats will still hold a ceremonial roll call of the states from the floor of the United Center in Chicago during their convention week, but have argued for months they must certify their nominee beforehand.

‘Consistent with our values’

Minyon Moore, chair of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, said the party has “the guideposts and the expertise in place to ensure that we will do this right and in a manner that is consistent with our values as Democrats.”

“We understand that this is an unprecedented situation but I’m confident that we will find a path forward together,” Moore said.

DNC outside counsel Pat Moore said the virtual roll call will provide an avenue for all 4,699 delegates to cast a vote for the presidential nominee.

The DNC waiting until the in-person convention to officially certify its presidential nominee, he said, would open the party up to lawsuits.

“Make no mistake, we have strong legal arguments in response to any such claims and we’re prepared to make them,” Pat Moore said. “But we also have opponents who are willing to make specious arguments and drag out the process in an effort to confuse voters and muddy the waters. And in some states, we will face an unfriendly judiciary.”

Pat Moore said that ensuring the DNC formally nominates its presidential and vice presidential candidates ahead of any state deadlines is about ensuring voters in every state have their ballots counted in November.

“Past is precedent: Trump and Republicans have already made it 100% clear that they will challenge the validity of the results if they lose on Election Day,” Pat Moore said.

“If we take chances with state processes and deadlines, Republican groups could make the same argument to challenge Democratic votes in the post-election setting, arguing that our nominee should never have been on the ballot in the first place,” Pat Moore added. “We should not and must not give them that opportunity.”

President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff view a Fourth of July fireworks display over the National Mall from the Blue Room Balcony, Thursday, July 4, 2024, at the White House. (Official White House Photo by Erin Scott)

WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee will move forward with the process to formally nominate a presidential candidate Wednesday when one of its committees meets in public amid ongoing efforts to set up a virtual roll call vote ahead of the convention, States Newsroom has been told.

The nomination process has been playing out for months as the DNC committees with jurisdiction have been meeting to iron out the details for a virtual roll call.

The need for a virtual roll call was triggered by deadlines in Ohio and some other states that required the political parties to have their nominee certified before or during the Democratic National Convention, scheduled to take place from Aug. 19 to Aug. 22.

Following President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, the co-chairs of the DNC Rules Committee announced that it will be the panel’s “responsibility to implement a framework to select a new nominee, which will be open, transparent, fair, and orderly,” according to an individual familiar with their statement.

The committee is scheduled to meet publicly on Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern. The meeting will be live-streamed on the DNC’s YouTube page.

DNC Rules Committee Co-Chairs Bishop Leah D. Daughtry and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the “process presented for consideration will be comprehensive, it will be fair, and it will be expeditious,” according to an individual close to the process who was not authorized to speak publicly.

The White House is seen on June 24, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The Democratic Party has just weeks before its delegates are scheduled to vote for a presidential candidate during a virtual roll call in early August, a process that got much more complex Sunday when President Joe Biden withdrew as the presumptive nominee.

The timeline, which was set in motion months ago, provides a small window for Democratic delegates throughout the 50 states to unify around any one candidate, an uphill battle, even with Biden endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.

Delegates’ votes for the presidential nominee were supposed to reflect the will of voters in their home states, a hallmark of the Democratic primary process that is no longer possible.

Party leaders have insisted for weeks that Democrats must formally nominate their presidential candidate ahead of the Democratic National Convention in late August to avoid any potential issue getting their candidate’s name on the Ohio ballot.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison released a written statement on Sunday after Biden announced he would step aside as the presumptive nominee following weeks of pressure from members of Congress and party loyalists concerned about the president’s cognitive abilities.

Harrison wrote that in “the coming days, the Party will undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November.”

“This process will be governed by established rules and procedures of the Party,” Harrison added. “Our delegates are prepared to take seriously their responsibility in swiftly delivering a candidate to the American people.”

Harrison’s statement did not mention Harris or a specific date for when the Democratic Party would formally nominate a presidential candidate.

Harris wrote in a statement of her own that it is her “intention is to earn and win this nomination.”

“Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election,” Harris wrote. “And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead.”

“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”

Deadlines and requirements

Co-Chairs of the Democratic National Convention Rules Committee Bishop Leah D. Daughtry and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz released a letter on Wednesday pledging the virtual roll call process would not be “rushed.”

The letter, obtained by States Newsroom, notes the various deadlines and requirements that states have for putting a presidential candidate’s name on the November ballot.

“Ballot access paperwork must be filed in the State of Washington on August 20, the second day of the in-person Convention. Deadlines in Montana and Oklahoma follow the next day, with California on August 22 and many states, including Virginia, on August 23,” Daughtry and Walz wrote.

“These filings involve notarized signatures from the candidates and party officials, and often must be filed in hard copy,” the two added. “We cannot and should not allow these timing complications to jeopardize whether the Democratic ticket appears on the ballot in must-win states.”

A public meeting about how the process will likely play out took place this weekend, with at least one more meeting expected this week, though likely with many more questions than before Biden withdrew.

Before the DNC can set the date for the virtual roll call, its Rules Committee needs to approve the rules for the convention, which will contain the format for the roll call vote. After that takes place, the DNC Chair and the DNCC Chair will announce the exact day of the roll call.

Former first lady Melania Trump joins Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump on stage after he officially accepted the nomination on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024 in Milwaukee. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

MILWAUKEE — Donald Trump in an unusual speech accepting the GOP presidential nomination Thursday at the fourth and final night of the Republican National Convention gave a detailed account about the attempt on his life last weekend when a gunman shot at him during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

“I will tell you exactly what happened. And you’ll never hear it from me a second time because it’s actually too painful to tell,” Trump said in his first public remarks about the shooting that killed one rally goer and injured two others. The gunman was killed by law enforcement at the scene.

Turning his head to look at a chart, which was later displayed on multiple screens inside the Fiserv Forum, is what saved his life, Trump said.

“I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear,” Trump recalled. “I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet.’ I moved my hand to my right ear, brought it down, and my hand was covered with blood.”

Trump said he knew immediately that he was “under attack” and praised the Secret Service agents for rushing on stage to shield him with their own bodies, calling them “great people” who took “great risk,” to applause from the crowd.

He thanked the supporters in attendance last weekend for not panicking and stampeding, which can cause injuries and deaths during a mass shooting.

Trump in his 90-minute remarks appeared to seriously reflect on how close he came to being killed at one point, commenting that he wasn’t sure he was meant to survive the attack.

“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump said, before the crowd began chanting, “Yes, you are!”

“I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God,” he added.

Republicans’ bestowal of the nomination on Trump at the finale of their convention is significant in that he becomes the first convicted felon to accept a major political party’s presidential nod. Trump still faces charges in multiple criminal cases after one of the cases was dropped earlier this week.

Divine intervention seen

Trump’s comments about being saved by God followed days of politicians from throughout the country claiming the bullet only grazing his ear was an act of divine intervention.

Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, from Detroit, said earlier in the night that people “can’t deny the power of God” in Trump’s life.

“You can’t deny that God protected him, you cannot deny that it was a millimeter miracle that was able to save this man’s life,” Sewell said. “Could it be that Jesus Christ preserved him for such a time as this?”

“Could it be that the King of Glory, the Lord God, strong and mighty, the God who is mighty in battle, protected Donald Trump, because he wants to use him for such a time as this?” Sewell added.

Tucker Carlson, former Fox News television personality and conservative pundit, said that “a lot of people” are wondering what’s going on following the shooting on Saturday.

“Something bigger is going on here. I think people who don’t even believe in God are starting to think, ‘Well, maybe there’s something to this,’” Carlson said. “And I’m starting to think it’s going to be okay, actually.”

Trump wore a white bandage on his right ear concealing the wound he received last Saturday before Secret Service agents rushed to shield him from bullets.

Trump spoke about Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief attending the rally with his family, who was killed in the shooting as well as the two people who were injured.

Trump called Comperatore a “highly respected” fire chief before walking over to his fire jacket and helmet, which had been placed on the stage, and kissing the helmet in a solemn moment.

Trump said he spoke with Comperatore’s wife as well as the two injured people earlier in the day, who were doing “very well” in recovering from their injuries. The convention then observed a moment of silence for Comperatore.

GOP seeks unity as Democrats debate Biden’s fate

The Republican National Convention and Trump’s acceptance speech provided a prime opportunity for the GOP to show unity as Democrats increasingly questioned whether President Joe Biden should formally become their nominee in the weeks ahead.

Trump repeatedly criticized Democrats’ policies and said they were a threat to the country’s future, though he only mentioned Biden once, saying the damage the current president could inflict on the country is “unthinkable.”

“If you took the 10 worst presidents in the history of the United States… and added them up, they will not have done the damage that Biden has done,” Trump said.

Voters, he said, must “rescue our nation from failed and even incompetent leadership” by voting for him and Republicans during November’s election.

“This will be the most important election in the history of our country,” Trump said.

‘The stakes have never been higher,’ Biden campaign says

Biden-Harris Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon released a written statement rebuking Trump’s speech, saying he “rambled on for well over an hour.”

“He failed to mention how he had inflicted pain and cruelty on the women of America by overturning Roe v Wade. He failed to mention his plan to take over the civil service and to pardon the January 6th insurrectionists,” Dillon wrote.

Biden, on the other hand, is “running for an America where we defend democracy, not diminish it,” she wrote.

“The stakes have never been higher,” Dillon wrote. “The choice has never been more clear. President Biden is more determined than ever to defeat Donald Trump and his Project 2025 agenda in November.”

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said in a written statement that in “Trump’s Republican Party, there’s only space for unquestioning loyalists who will put him above our democracy, above our freedoms, and above working families.”

“Over the past four days, we’ve seen speakers endorse a far-right, dangerous vision that would see Americans’ basic liberties stripped away and replace the rule of law with the rule of Trump,” Harrison wrote. “No amount of desperate spin can change how unpopular and out of touch their disastrous plans are for the American people.”

No stain left by Jan. 6

Trump’s speech solidified a significant turnaround for the former president, who earned rebukes from many of the party’s leaders following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The events of that day, which led to the deaths of police officers and ended the country’s centuries-long peaceful transition of power, would traditionally have been viewed as a black spot by the party that lauds itself as supporting “law and order” as well as the country’s founding principles.

Instead, Trump has succeeded in convincing his supporters that the people convicted for violent acts should be pardoned as “political prisoners” and the several court cases against him are about his politics and not his actions.

Top Trump campaign official Chris LaCivita refused to say earlier Thursday during an event near the RNC whether Trump would continue to campaign on the promise to pardon Jan. 6 defendants, or “hostages” as he has described them numerous times.

Trump said Thursday night that nothing would prevent him from becoming president following November’s election.

“Our resolve is unbroken and our purpose is unchanged — to deliver a government that serves the American people better than ever before,” Trump said.

“Nothing will stop me to this vision, because our vision is righteous and our cause is pure,” Trump added. “No matter what obstacle comes our way, we will not break, we will not bend, we will not back down and I will never stop fighting for you.”

Trump’s loss of the popular vote and the Electoral College four years ago led him to make false claims about election fraud, which never bore fruit. Judges threw out numerous court challenges.

Trump faces federal felony charges that he conspired to create false slates of electors in seven states and attempted to obstruct the certification of the 2020 presidential election results.

That, however, hasn’t stopped Trump from repeating the claim and making it a hallmark of his third run for the Oval Office.

Trump reiterated many of those incorrect claims during his speech to applause and cheers from the crowd gathered inside Fiserv Forum.

“They used COVID to cheat,” he said.

Trump: ‘We must not criminalize dissent’

Despite his incessant encouragement of rally chants during the 2016 campaign to lock up former Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, and a? willingness to explore jailing his rivals if he wins in November, Trump said “we must not criminalize dissent or demonize political disagreement.”

In addition to the federal 2020 election subversion charges, Trump faces racketeering charges in Georgia, sentencing over a guilty verdict in New York, and federal charges over allegedly stealing and hiding classified government documents after leaving the Oval Office.

Federal District Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday dropped the classified documents case on the grounds that the government illegally appointed a special counsel to prosecute it. The Department of Justice has since appealed.

The former president reminded the crowd of the “major ruling that was handed down from a highly respected federal judge.”

“If the Democrats want to unify our country, they should drop these partisan witch hunts,” Trump said.

‘Stop wars with a telephone call’

Trump said the “planet is teetering on the edge of World War Three” and he will “end every single international crisis that the current administration has created.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 “would have never happened if I was president,” he said, repeating the same claim about the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.

“I tell you this, we want our hostages back and they better be back,” Trump said later in the speech about Israeli-American hostages still in Hamas captivity.

Trump praised Victor Orbán — the Hungarian prime minister known for his authoritarian streak — which the crowd cheered. He also touted his friendship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

He said the press criticized him for his congeniality with Kim, but “it’s nice to get along with someone who has a lot of nuclear weapons,” Trump said.

“I could stop wars with a telephone call,” Trump said, but immediately followed with a promise to “build an Iron Dome missile defense system to ensure that no enemy can strike our homeland.”

Trump’s ‘only crime’ is ‘loving America’

Speakers rallying the crowd before Trump’s appearance on Thursday exalted his golf game and business management style, and defended the former president, who they say supports them through long-established ties.

“To me, he is my friend,” Trump’s attorney Alina Habba said tearfully.

“Sham indictments and baseless allegations will not deter us, because the only crime President Trump has committed is loving America,” she said.

Trump’s 2020 election subversion case has sat in a holding pattern for months while he appealed his claim of presidential immunity to the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices returned the case to the trial court after issuing a 6-3 majority opinion in early July that grants broad immunity for former presidents’ official acts.

Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in New York state court for falsifying business records related to a hush money payment by his personal lawyer to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.

However, the New York judge handling the case has delayed Trump’s sentencing while his lawyers challenge the case, arguing the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling opens questions about what evidence against a former sitting president can be admitted to court.

Pompeo says no Putin in Ukraine under Trump

Mike Pompeo, Trump’s former CIA director and secretary of State, blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and deaths of its civilians on “weakness” of the Biden administration.

“Last week, we saw what it meant — that Children’s Hospital bombed, innocents killed — it did not have to be,” Pompeo said, referring to the July 8 Russian strike on the medical facility in Kyiv.

World leaders from NATO etched a path for Ukraine to join the alliance at the July summit in Washington, D.C, and pledged more resources for the nation that Russia further invaded in February 2022.

Trump has long criticized NATO, dismissing the post-WWII alliance’s core tenet that an attack against one is an attack against all and threatening to withdraw over funding.

In February he told a rally crowd in South Carolina that he would “encourage (Russia) to do whatever the hell they want” to “delinquent” member countries that do not pay 2% of their GDP on defense.

All members agreed to a 2% commitment in 2014, and 23 are on track to meet the target this year, according to the alliance.

On Wednesday night at the RNC, Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, echoed Trump’s words and declared “no more free rides for nations that betray the generosity of the American taxpayer.”

Lia Chien contributed to this report.

Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, speaks on stage on the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

MILWAUKEE — J.D. Vance — the freshman Ohio senator who used to rebuke Donald Trump’s character and policies before becoming one of his most ardent supporters in Congress — formally accepted the nomination as Trump’s running mate Wednesday at the Republican National Convention.

Vance spoke directly to the swing-state voters who will determine the outcome of the presidential election as well as control of the Congress during his 38-minute prime time speech on the third night of the convention.

“This moment is not about me. It’s about all of us. It’s about who we’re fighting for,” Vance said, as Trump looked on from a special seating section inside Fiserv Forum.

“It’s about the autoworker in Michigan, wondering why out-of-touch politicians are destroying their jobs,” Vance said. “It’s about the factory worker in Wisconsin, who makes things with their hands and is proud of American craftsmanship.”

“It’s about the energy worker in Pennsylvania and Ohio, who doesn’t understand why Joe Biden is willing to buy energy from tinpot dictators across the world when he could buy it from his own citizens right here in our own country,” he added.

Biden-Harris 2024 communications director Michael Tyler released a statement after Vance’s acceptance speech concluded, arguing that working and middle class Americans would be harmed if Trump and Vance are elected later this year.

“J.D. Vance is unprepared, unqualified, and willing to do anything Donald Trump demands,” Tyler wrote.

Raised by grandmother

Vance spoke at length about his upbringing and his family during his speech, including his mother, who is close to reaching 10 years clean and sober, as well as his grandmother, who raised him while his mother was struggling with addiction.

He said that his mother should reach that benchmark in January 2025 and that they should celebrate in the White House.

Vance rolled in a story about his grandmother to emphasize the GOP’s support for gun rights, receiving loud cheers from the crowd.

He noted that in 2005, just before he deployed to Iraq as part of the Marine Corps, she died and while going through her home, he and his family found 19 loaded handguns.

“They were stashed all over her house; under her bed, in a closet and in the silverware drawer,” Vance said.

“We wondered what was going on. And it occurred to us that towards the end of her life (she) couldn’t get around so well,” Vance said. “And so this frail old woman made sure that no matter where she was, she was within arm’s length of whatever she needed to protect her family. That’s who we fight for. That’s the American spirit.”

Vance said that his version of the American dream wasn’t becoming a senator or starting a business, but having the type of family he wasn’t able to grow up in.

“My most important American dream was becoming a good husband and a good dad,” Vance said. “I wanted to give my kids the things that I didn’t have when I was growing up. And that’s the accomplishment that I’m proudest of.”

Vance emerges as favorite despite inexperience

Trump announced Monday that he had selected Vance to be his running mate after narrowing down a shortlist that included several other GOP senators with more experience in Congress.

The relationships that a vice president has with both Republicans and Democrats in the upper chamber are especially important given that bills must gain the support of at least 60 senators to advance toward final passage. It’s also the chamber responsible for approving judicial and executive branch nominees.

Additionally, the vice president is responsible for casting tie-breaking votes in the Senate, a job that could take up much of the vice president’s time if the election yields another two years with a 50-50 split.

Vance has been a member of Congress for less than two years and is best known as the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” a controversial book about rural poverty in Appalachia, that was later turned into a movie.

The delegates at the convention moved to formally nominate Vance as their vice presidential nominee the same day Trump announced him as his running mate. Vance’s speech on Wednesday night served as his official acceptance.

Foreign affairs?

Vance doesn’t have a lengthy record on domestic or foreign policy issues given his especially brief tenure as a lawmaker, but he has repeatedly opposed funding for Ukraine.

Speaking on the floor of the convention to an enthusiastic crowd, Vance said that “we will make sure our allies share in the burden of securing world peace.”

“No more free rides for nations that betray the generosity of the American taxpayer,” Vance said, seemingly referring to NATO countries that have yet to reach the benchmark of spending at least 2% of their GDP on defense.

NATO allied countries agreed to move toward that goal in 2014 after Russia invaded Crimea in Eastern Ukraine. Twenty-three of the 32 countries in the alliance are expected to meet that target this year.

Vance said if reelected, Trump “will send our kids to war only when we must.”

Vance also spoke about China and the Chinese Communist Party throughout his speech.

“We will protect the wages of American workers and stop the Chinese Communist Party from building their middle class on the backs of American citizens,” he said.

‘A meat and potatoes kind of guy’

Vance’s acceptance speech, which largely served as an introduction to GOP voters, followed a lengthy night of more speeches, including by his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, and Donald J. Trump, Jr., who pressed for his father to choose Vance as his running mate.

Chilukuri Vance said she wanted “to explain from the heart why I love and admire J.D. and stand here beside him today, and why he will make a great vice president of the United States.”

Telling the story of how they met at Yale Law School, Usha said Vance approached their differences with “curiosity” and that she learned he had “overcome childhood traumas that I could barely fathom.”

“My background is very different from J.D.’s. I grew up in San Diego, in a middle-class community with two loving parents, both immigrants from India and a wonderful sister,” Chilukuri Vance said. “That J.D. and I could meet at all, let alone fall in love and marry, is a testament to this great country.”

Chilukuri Vance spoke for just under five minutes and told the crowd that although her husband is a “meat and potatoes kind of guy,” he learned to cook Indian vegetarian food for her mother. She said he’s the same person now that she met when they were younger, “except the beard.”

“It’s safe to say that neither J.D. nor I expected to find ourselves in this position. But it’s hard to imagine a more powerful example of the American dream,” Chilukuri Vance said. “A boy from Middletown, Ohio, raised by his grandmother through tough times, chosen to help lead our country through some of its greatest challenges. I am grateful to all of you for the trust you placed in him and in our family.”

Ties between Vance and Donald Trump Jr.

Though he largely spoke about his father, Trump Jr. used his platform to spotlight the friendship between him and Vance. He used the differences in their upbringings as an invitation for voters to support his father in November.

“For everyone watching at home, no matter who you are, you can be a part of this movement to make America great again. Look at me and my friend J.D. Vance. A kid from Appalachia and a kid from Trump Tower in Manhattan. We grew up worlds apart,” Trump Jr. said. “Yet now we’re both fighting side by side to save the country we love. And by the way, J.D. Vance is going to make one hell of a vice president.”

Trump Jr. spoke for nearly 20 minutes prior to Vance taking the stage, focusing most of his speech on defending his father and taking sharp jabs at Biden.

He said he had “never been prouder” of his father than he was Saturday after the former president survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

He compared his father standing up and raising his fist after the shooting to how the “America we all grew up with” will return again.

“We’re like that man who stood on that platform and felt the bullet pierce his flesh just days ago in Pennsylvania. He may have moved to the ground, but he stood back up. And when he did, my father raised his fist into the air, he looked out at the crowd, and what did he say?”

“Fight, fight, fight,” the crowd at the RNC shouted back.

“And we will fight. We will fight with our voices. We will fight with our ideas. And then November 5, we will fight with our vote,” Trump Jr. said.

Prior to speaking, Trump Jr. called his oldest daughter Kai Madison Trump — the former president’s eldest granddaughter — to the stage briefly.

She accused the left of attacking her grandfather and told stories of him calling her to ask about her golf game and telling his friends that she made the high honor roll.

“The media makes my grandpa seem like a different person, but I know him for who he is. He’s very caring and loving,” Kai Madison said. “He truly wants the best for this country and he will fight every single day to make America great again.”

Bashing Biden

Dozens of other politicians spoke on the third night of the Republican National Convention, with the vast majority praising Trump while criticizing Biden.

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., said voters need to elect Trump to the White House in November to prevent Biden and Democrats from implementing their preferred policies.

“We have to remember that the greatest threat to American safety is not Biden’s brain,” Gingrich said. “The greatest threat is Biden’s policies, and the people he appoints.”

Gingrich added that Americans could “vote for weakness and war with Biden,” or they could “vote for strength and peace with President Trump.”

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who was on Trump’s shortlist for a running mate but wasn’t selected, said during a brief speech that Trump would be better for fossil fuel production than Biden.

“When President Trump unleashes American energy, we unleash American prosperity and we ensure our national security,” Burgum said.

The crowd inside Fiserv Forum chanted “drill baby drill” during part of his speech.

Kellyanne Conway, senior counselor to Trump during his first administration, told attendees at the RNC that the GOP ticket is the best path forward for the country.

“The answer to weakness is strength. The antidote to division is unity. And the alternative to failure and incompetence, to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, is to send them packing and send Donald Trump and J.D. Vance to the White House,” Conway said.

U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida told the GOP delegates and guests that Trump — who never served in the military and made up an injury to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War — “respects our military and understands the true cost of war.”

“President Trump knows what it means to put your life on the line,” Luna said. “Our service members and their families make immense sacrifices, and they deserve a president who respects that sacrifice and who will lay down his own life in defense of this great nation.”

Lia Chien contributed to this report.

U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., listens during the third hearing by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol in the Cannon House Office Building on June 16, 2022 in Washington, D.C. Schiff on Wednesday became the 20th congressional Democrat to call for President Joe Biden to withdraw from his reelection race. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The intraparty effort to convince President Joe Biden to end his reelection bid resurfaced Wednesday, when prominent U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff of California became the latest Democratic member of Congress to go public with his concerns.

Leading Democrats also set an early August window for a virtual roll call to officially name Biden as the party’s 2024 presidential nominee. Members opposed to Biden’s renomination have raised concerns a virtual roll call ahead of the party’s late August convention would ease the president’s path.

Biden’s disastrous debate performance in late June has now led 19 U.S. House Democrats and one senator to publicly call for him to drop his reelection bid, and several more have expressed serious concerns about his candidacy.

Still, Biden, 81, has refused to back down, saying, “I’m the best qualified to govern and I think I’m the best qualified to win.”

Democratic calls regarding Biden’s reelection bid had quieted since the assassination attempt against former President Donald J. Trump over the weekend, which killed one rally goer and left two others injured during a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Biden tested positive for COVID-19 after a campaign event in Nevada on Wednesday, according to a statement from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Biden cancelled a later Nevada event and planned to continue working in isolation at his Delaware home, Jean-Pierre said.

Virtual roll call

Also Wednesday, in a letter obtained by States Newsroom, the co-chairs of the Democratic National Convention Rules Committee wrote to committee members that no virtual roll call voting to determine the party’s nominee will take place prior to Aug. 1.

DNC officials, including Chair Jaime Harrison, said a virtual roll call ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which would typically be the site of an official nomination, was necessary because of an Ohio law requiring nominees to be named at least 90 days before Election Day, making the deadline Aug. 7.

Ohio lawmakers later moved that deadline to September, but Wednesday’s DNC? letter notes that law doesn’t take effect until September. To avoid any risk of lawsuits over ballots in the Buckeye State, the party is moving ahead with a virtual roll call to beat that deadline, the letter said.

The letter specified that the Rules Committee “will not be implementing a rushed virtual voting process, though we will begin our important consideration of how a virtual voting process would work.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has pressed for the DNC to delay the virtual roll call, an individual speaking on background told States Newsroom. Schumer’s push came after he spoke with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and both agreed on delaying the virtual roll call.

Prominent House member

Schiff, a former House Intelligence Committee chair and the lead impeachment manager in the first impeachment of Trump, is perhaps the most well-known nationally of those who have called for Biden to withdraw.

Schiff, who is favored to win a U.S. Senate seat in California after clinching the Democratic nomination in the blue state, called for Biden to step down in a statement Wednesday.

He noted that “while the choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch. And in doing so, secure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election.”

Schiff said Biden has “been one of the most consequential presidents in our nation’s history, and his lifetime of service as a Senator, a Vice President, and now as President has made our country better.”

Schiff vowed to do everything he can to help whoever the Democratic Party ends up nominating succeed.

“There is only one singular goal: defeating Donald Trump. The stakes are just too high,” he said.

Dems want Biden out

Meanwhile, polling continues to point unfavorably for Biden’s reelection bid.

Nearly two-thirds of Democrats say they want Biden to step down from the race and let the party select someone else, according to an AP-NORC poll published Wednesday.

Three-quarters of Democratic respondents between the ages of 18 and 44, and 57% of those 45 or older favored Biden stepping aside.

On the flip side, 73% of Republicans believe Trump — whom Republicans officially nominated at their convention this week — should continue his bid for the White House. Only a little over one-quarter of Republicans want him to withdraw.

Debate performance repercussions?

Since the shaky debate performance nearly three weeks ago, a slow but steady progression of congressional Democrats has urged Biden to withdraw from the race.

U.S. Sen. Peter Welch is the only senator within the Democratic Party who has called for the president to drop out, a stance he took in a Washington Post op-ed.

“For the good of the country, I’m calling on President Biden to withdraw from the race,” the Vermont Democrat wrote last week.

So far, the public calls have come from members of Congress who represent Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Vermont and Washington.

A spokesperson for the Biden-Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. In this photo, he holds a news conference at the 2024 NATO Summit on July 11, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, according to statements from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and the president’s doctor.

“Earlier today following his first event in Las Vegas, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19,” Jean-Pierre wrote in her statement. “He is vaccinated and boosted and he is experiencing mild symptoms.”

Biden will return to Delaware to isolate while continuing to work and the White House will provide “regular updates,” she said.

An accompanying statement from the president’s physician said that Biden began experiencing a runny nose, cough and “general malaise” on Wednesday afternoon.

“He felt okay for his first event of the day, but given that he was not feeling better, point of care testing for COVID-19 was conducted, and the results were positive for the COVID-19 virus,” the doctors statement said, later adding that a PCR confirmation test is pending.

“His symptoms remain mild, his respiratory rate is normal at 16, his temperature is normal at 97.8 and his pulse oximetry is normal at 97%,” the doctor said. “The President has received his first dose of Paxlovid. He will be self-isolating at his home in Rehoboth.”

Biden arrived at the Las Vegas, Nevada, airport around 3:20 p.m. local time to fly back to the East Coast, according to a White House pool report.

The president said he felt “good” before walking “cautiously up the stairs” to Air Force One, according to the report.

Biden previously tested positive for COVID-19 in July 2022 before being diagnosed with a rebound case later the same month.

lorida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to the Iowa Republican Party during a luncheon at the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, during the Republican National Convention. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

MILWAUKEE — Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis took his push to eventually become the party’s presidential nominee to the Iowa Republican Party on Wednesday during a speech on the terrace of an Italian-style villa overlooking Lake Michigan.

During his 10 minutes of remarks, DeSantis, who unsuccessfully challenged Donald Trump for the nomination this year, praised the policies that have been put forward by Iowa GOP lawmakers over the years and said he would be keeping an eye on the state for other ideas.

Iowa Republican delegates are especially important to any GOP politician who wants to win the Iowa caucuses, which remains the first-in-the-nation presidential contest for the party, although not for Democrats.

“You’ve had strong leadership in your state, starting with your governor,” DeSantis said, referring to Gov. Kim Reynolds. “But your legislature — they have done more during her tenure than most states do in decades.”

Iowa state lawmakers, he said, “should continue leading by example,” before adding that Florida Republicans are “not going to let you get ahead of us.”

“If you guys are doing good things that we haven’t done, I’m going to follow through and do it,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis bashes Biden

Speaking from the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the Republican National Convention, DeSantis said he hopes that Democrats don’t pull President Joe Biden as their presumptive nominee.

“I hope and pray that they don’t take that nomination away from him. We want him to be the Democratic nominee,” DeSantis said to cheers and applause. “And I’m going to be rooting for him. I know, the knives are out.”

Voters saw during the first presidential debate that Biden doesn’t have what it takes to be president, he said.

“If someone applied to be appointed to, like, a mosquito control board, and they had Biden’s faculty, and they came and sat in my office and said they wanted to be (on the) mosquito control board, I’d say, ‘No, you can’t do the job,’” DeSantis said. “So he clearly is not going to be able to do the job and so that’s good for us. That’s what we want.”

As DeSantis spoke, an individual speaking on background told States Newsroom that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, has pressed the Democratic National Committee to delay formally nominating Biden in a virtual roll call vote that is still expected to take place before the convention.

Schumer spoke with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and the two agreed on the delay, according to the individual.

Ernst doubts Biden will be nominee

Iowa U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst said during the event that she didn’t believe Biden would stay Democrats presumptive presidential nominee for much longer and that GOP voters planning to watch the DNC Convention in August should get their popcorn ready.

“For well over a year now when I’m meeting with national political figures, when I’m meeting with Iowans, I have been saying… I do not think that President Biden is going to be the nominee,” Ernst said. “Now that’s kind of coming to fruition.”

Ernst referenced a survey from The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released earlier in the day that showed about two-thirds of Democrats don’t want to see Biden become their formal nominee for president.

“Oh my gosh, folks, he is in a nosedive,” Ernst said. “And the sad thing is they’ve dug in so deep at this point, how on Earth do they get rid of him?”

Ernst praised Trump’s decision to select Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate, saying she believes “that he will appeal to a demographic of young voters out there that maybe we haven’t tapped as much into.”

“I do think we’re going to be able to peel little by little people out of the Democratic Party,” Ernst said. “Maybe they’re not going to become Republicans, but certainly we found a way that they can support our Trump-Vance ticket.”

Hinson talks goals

Iowa U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson said that as the mom of “a 13-year-old, who could end up fighting for our country in a few years,” she is especially interested in policies that focus on deterrence and protecting the United States.

“We have some work to do, but I think we’re fired up to do it because we know what’s at stake,” she said.

Hinson also spoke about her primary goals in Congress, including reducing government spending, promoting rural issues and safety and security.

The Iowa delegation to the RNC also held an event Tuesday at the Pabst Mansion that featured U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas and Vivek Ramaswamy, another unsuccessful presidential candidate.

Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita speaks with Katie Pointer Baney, managing director of Government Affairs for Delta Defense and the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, during an event the organization hosted at The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, July 16, 2024.(Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

MILWAUKEE — Republicans speaking at a concealed carry event on Tuesday, just days after a gunman attempted to kill their presidential nominee, insisted the party won’t change its stance on Second Amendment rights.

Attendees at the one-hour session, hosted by the U.S. Concealed Carry Association near the Republican National Convention, weren’t actually able to conceal carry any firearms, since it was held inside a Secret Service security checkpoint.

But those in attendance heard from Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita and three members of Congress about what the plans will be for gun rights should they sweep Congress and the White House during November’s elections.

“I think what we’ll see is a continuation of supporting and defending the Second Amendment and where that really comes into play is the judiciary, the appointment of judges,” LaCivita said. “And so that is clearly, you know, one of the largest impacts that President Trump had clearly during his first term was a remake of the judiciary.”

Florida U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack, speaking with reporters after the event, said that the GOP was “absolutely not” considering changing its support for Second Amendment rights. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Saturday was injured by a gunman at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. One person was killed and two others were injured. The shooter was killed at the scene.

“I stand 1,000% convicted in the fact that the Republican Party will always stand for the Constitution and the Second Amendment and our right to bear arms,” Cammack said. “One deranged individual, who clearly needed help, he is not going to change the United States Constitution and our right as Americans to bear arms. Absolutely not.”

Cammack said it is “shocking” and “inappropriate” for any lawmaker to call for changes to gun laws in the wake of “tragic events” like mass shootings. She criticized Democrats for not making similar comments following the Trump shooting.

“The thing that has been really shocking to me, is you see right after tragic events, many politicians and pundits come out and they say, ‘This is the time to have the discussion about gun control’ when clearly… that’s not appropriate,” she said.

“In this case, I have gone through and seen the messaging of some of my colleagues, and I don’t see those same calls for gun control in the aftermath of this incident,” Cammack added. “So it makes me think that there’s a bit of a disingenuous attitude on some of the remarks that they’ve been making.”

Hunters, gun owners

During the panel discussion, Cammack said Republicans need to talk to the 10 million hunters and gun owners throughout the country who are not registered to vote to ensure they change that and go to the polls in November.

“That is a missed opportunity for us as 2A advocates to make sure that we are actually doing the work to secure that victory, because we cannot turn the corner into January and start talking about how we’re going to do national reciprocity, if we don’t have the votes,” Cammack said.

A nationwide concealed carry reciprocity law would likely require a state with stricter concealed carry laws to recognize an out-of-state concealed carry permit.

USCCA writes on its website that “(r)eciprocity simply means a concealed carry permit or license is valid beyond the issuing state.”

“States may have full reciprocity, recognizing all out-of-state permits, or partial reciprocity, specifying agreements with select states,” the website states, referring to state-level laws. “The negotiation and recognition of these agreements depend on the willingness of states to cooperate. Whatever the agreement, carriers must follow the laws of the state in which they are carrying, and those may be different from the issuing state. “

Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald said during the panel that gun rights advocates must pay close attention to lawmakers at the state and federal level, since changes to gun ownership laws are generally incremental and not sweeping.

“I think that, you know, we have to be diligent as legislators that protect the Second Amendment to say, ‘No, wait a minute, you know, this is a constitutional guarantee right,’” Fitzgerald said. “So you can continue to pass bill after bill after bill with some cute type of name that would lead people to believe that it’s about security. But we have to be diligent.”

U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, and his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, celebrate as he is nominated for the office of Vice President alongside Ohio Delegate Bernie Moreno on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Delegates, politicians, and the Republican faithful are in Milwaukee for the annual convention, concluding with former President Donald Trump accepting his party’s presidential nomination. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

MILWAUKEE — Republicans on the floor of the Republican National Convention cheered Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance becoming their vice presidential nominee Monday, as Democrats slammed his opposition to abortion rights, and called him inexperienced and a “clone” of Donald Trump.

Reaction from all corners of American politics poured in as GOP delegates inside the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, formally nominated Vance just hours after Trump announced his pick earlier in the day.

President Joe Biden, the Democrats’ presumptive nominee, told reporters that there’s no daylight between Trump and Vance.

“A clone of Trump on the issues,” Biden said. “I don’t see any difference.”

Republicans and Trump’s family members had vastly different reactions.

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who formally nominated Vance from the RNC Convention, said the “vice presidency is an office of sacred trust.”

“The man who accepts this nomination accepts with it the awesome responsibility to give wise counsel to the president, to represent America abroad, to preside over the Senate and to be ready to lead our nation at a moment’s notice,” Husted said. “Such a man must have an America first attitude in his heart.”

Nomination moment

Vance stood on the floor of the arena with his wife, Usha Vance, by his side, as Husted gave the formal nominating speech.

Screens in the large arena showed photos of Vance throughout the speech.

Bernie Moreno, the GOP candidate seeking to unseat Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown this November, made the motion to nominate Vance, which was approved with a unanimous-sounding voice vote.

“To J.D. Vance, ‘America First’ is not just a slogan. It’s his North Star,” Moreno said. “He has followed it in every moment of his life and career. He knows what it’s like to live in poverty, forgotten by Washington politicians. He is dedicated to ensure that no American is ever forgotten again.”

Florida Rep. Kat Cammack said during a brief interview with States Newsroom on the floor of the RNC Convention that Vance brings “a lot of enthusiasm” to the ticket, in part, because “the base loves him.”

“We have the opportunity now to move forward and bring this home,” Cammack said.

Donald Trump Jr. talked with reporters on the floor of the Fiserv Forum to reject criticism that Vance doesn’t have enough legislative experience after less than two years in Congress.

“My father had zero political experience, he went on to peace deals in the Middle East, the greatest job economy in the world, incredible prosperity for everyone, with no experience,” Trump Jr. said. “If experience is a marker for Washington, D.C., politics, it’s a bad one.”

Montana Sen. Steve Daines, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, congratulated Vance in a statement, saying Trump made a “great choice” and that Vance “connects with the working class voters we need to win this election.”

Some of the Republicans who had been on Trump’s short list for the vice presidential pick reacted positively.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio posted “#TrumpVance2024!!!”, though others who weren’t chosen didn’t react immediately.

Biden campaign cites abortion stance

The Biden campaign organized a call with reporters Monday afternoon following Trump’s announcement that Vance will be his running mate.

Campaign officials, joined by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and abortion rights activists, decried Vance’s record and accused him of supporting abortion bans with no exceptions for rape or incest.

They also warned Vance would be instrumental to Trump’s administration in cheering on conservative policy ideas, like the roadmap in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 — a recent focus of the Biden campaign.

Jen O’Malley Dillon, chair of the Biden campaign, told reporters that “clearly Vance won Trump’s sweepstakes by passing his MAGA litmus test with flying colors.”

“You know, Trump picked J.D. Vance as his running mate because he will do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on January 6, bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and certainly no matter the harm to the American people,” O’Malley Dillon said, referring to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol that delayed the certification of the 2020 presidential election results.

“With Trump and Vance now entering the general election, they’re facing off against the Biden-Harris ticket and I will certainly take that matchup any day of the week and twice on Sunday,” O’Malley Dillon said, seemingly giving a nod to the campaign’s defense of Biden in recent weeks as high-profile donors and Democrats have called for Biden to exit the race after his weak debate performance.

The campaign said Harris has already accepted the CBS invitation for a vice presidential debate and is ready to face Vance.

“The VP will take it to J.D. Vance,” Warren said on the call. “She is strong, she knows what she’s talking about and she doesn’t give an inch.”

The Democratic National Committee issued a statement Monday afternoon that said November brings “the most consequential election of our lifetimes, and with Donald Trump’s decision today to add J.D. Vance to the Republican ticket, the stakes of this election just got even higher.”

“J.D. Vance embodies MAGA — with an out-of-touch extreme agenda and plans to help Trump force his Project 2025 agenda on the American people,” said DNC Committee Chair Jaime Harrison.

“Let’s be clear: A Trump-Vance ticket would undermine our democracy, our freedoms, and our future,” Harrison later continued in the statement.

The National Women’s Law Center Action Fund weighed in on Trump’s pick, calling Vance an “extremist.”

“Women and girls deserve to live in a country where they are free to make their own choices and live without fear,” Fatima Goss Graves, the action fund’s president, said in the statement. “That is why we must work to ensure that Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are not given the power to inflict a national abortion ban and force their radical MAGA agenda on the rest of us.”

U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, speaks to reporters in the spin room following the CNN Presidential Debate between U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump, at the McCamish Pavilion on the Georgia Institute of Technology campus on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Donald Trump announced Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate Monday during the first day of the Republican National Convention, capping off months of speculation about who would get the nod as his vice presidential pick.

Vance has not been a member of Congress long, having less than two years experience as a senator and having voted against major bipartisan bills throughout his tenure in the upper chamber.

Before becoming a U.S. lawmaker, Vance served in the Marine Corps during the Iraq war, worked as a venture capitalist and wrote a book about growing up in Appalachia. He holds a law degree from Yale.

“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump, who will be nominated as the 2024 Republican presidential candidate on Thursday night, posted on social media.

“J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond….,” Trump added.

Kevin Roberts, president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, received the news while he was speaking to reporters at the foundation’s all-day policy fest in downtown Milwaukee.

“You will see a broad smile on my face,” Roberts said, adding that he and Vance are “good friends” and that he “personifies” Heritage’s values.

“He listens. He’s thoughtful. He’s funny. He and I had a similar upbringing, challenging childhood, so we hit it off like that when we met. He’s obviously going to be his own man. He’s got to work with our conservative standard bearer,” Roberts said. “The second thing is in terms of policy, he understands the moment we’re in in this country, which is that we have a limited amount of time to implement great policy on behalf of forgotten Americans.”

Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence has distanced himself from Trump since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building — requiring Trump to find a different person to join him on the ticket this year.

Pence was in the Capitol that day, when a pro-Trump mob attacked police officers, broke into building and disrupted Congress’ certification of the electoral college votes for President Joe Biden.

Pence has been critical of how the Republican Party has changed under Trump’s leadership, including rejecting how the platform evolved on abortion this year.

The Biden-Harris campaign immediately slammed the selection of Vance.

“Donald Trump picked J.D. Vance as his running mate because Vance will do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on January 6: bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter the harm to the American people,” said Biden-Harris 2024 Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon.

“Over the next three and a half months, we will spend every single day making the case between the two starkly contrasting visions Americans will choose between at the ballot box this November: the Biden-Harris ticket who’s focused on uniting the country, creating opportunity for everyone, and lowering costs; or Trump-Vance – whose harmful agenda will take away Americans’ rights, hurt the middle class, and make life more expensive ?– all while benefiting the ultra-rich and greedy corporations.”

Vance background

Vance was born in Middletown, Ohio in August 1984. After graduating from high school in 2003 he enlisted in the Marine Corps, later deploying to the Iraq War.

He attended Ohio State University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy in 2009. Vance went on to attend Yale Law School, graduating in 2013 before working for the law firm Sidley Austin LLP.

Vance gained national attention with his 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” which tells the story of him growing up in poverty in the Rust Belt. However, the book faced backlash from many historians and journalists over his depictions of Appalachia and the people who live there.

The 39-year-old worked in San Francisco in the tech industry as a venture capitalist. He served as a principal at one of the firms of Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal.

Vance later moved back to Ohio and raised more than $90 million to co-found a venture capital firm in Cincinnati, Narya Capital, which received financial backing from Thiel.

Vance ran his first campaign for U.S. Senate in 2022, defeating Democratic candidate and former U.S. House Rep. Tim Ryan with 53% of the vote.

Since being sworn into office in January 2023, Vance has voted against several big-ticket legislative items, including the law that raised the debt limit, the national defense policy bill and two must-pass government funding packages.

Aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan

Vance also voted against legislation that held $95 billion in military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan as well as a ban on TikTok within the United States unless the social media app’s Chinese parent company sold it.

Vance was among the 18 senators who voted against that emergency spending bill heading to President Joe Biden’s desk. Another 79 senators voted to approve the legislation.

During floor debate on the supplemental spending package, Vance spoke out against sending more aid and arms to Ukraine, arguing that there were parallels between its fight to eject Russia from its borders and the U.S. war in Iraq.

“And the same exact arguments are being applied today, that you are a fan of Vladimir Putin if you don’t like our Ukraine policy, or you are a fan of some terrible tyrannical idea because you think maybe America should be more focused on the border of its own country than on someone else’s,” Vance said.

“This war fever, this inability for us to actually process what is going on in our world to make rational decisions is the scariest part of this entire debate,” he added.

Bipartisan efforts

Vance has also worked across the aisle on bipartisan legislation during his somewhat brief tenure in the U.S. Senate.

He sponsored a bill alongside Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, Pennsylvania Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman, all three of whom are Democrats, to address rail safety in the aftermath of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine.

Vance wrote in a statement released when the bill was unveiled in March 2023 that with the legislation “Congress has a real opportunity to ensure that what happened in East Palestine will never happen again.”

“We owe every American the peace of mind that their community is protected from a catastrophe of this kind,” Vance wrote. “Action to prevent future disasters is critical, but we must never lose sight of the needs of the Ohioans living in East Palestine and surrounding communities.”

The bipartisan legislation has yet to advance in the Senate to either a committee markup or a floor vote.

Ashley Murray contributed to this report.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Workers prepare the stage for the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 13, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The convention will be held in Milwaukee from July 15-18. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Thousands of Republicans will gather in Milwaukee beginning Monday for the party’s presidential nominating convention — a typically joyous occasion that will likely take on a different tone this year after a gunman shot at Donald Trump, injuring him, on Saturday.

Republican National Convention launches Monday amid some grumbling over abortion stance

Trump, who will be formally nominated as the GOP’s presidential nominee on Thursday, still plans to attend the convention and officials stress the four-day event will go on as normal.

The shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania is being investigated as an assassination attempt and the FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The U.S. Secret Service “neutralized the shooter, who is now deceased,” the Secret Service said.

Trump, who has been declared “safe” by the Secret Service, posted on social media Sunday morning that he was still looking “forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from Wisconsin.”

“Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening,” Trump wrote. “We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness. Our love goes out to the other victims and their families. We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded, and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed. In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win.”

Senior advisors to the Trump campaign Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita released a statement hours after the shooting on Saturday to say that the former president wasn’t changing his plans.

“President Trump looks forward to joining you all in Milwaukee as we proceed with our convention to nominate him to serve as the 47th President of the United States,” Wiles and LaCivita wrote in a joint statement. “As our party’s nominee, President Trump will continue to share his vision to Make America Great Again.”

Reince Priebus, chairman of the MKE 2024 Host Committee, said in a separate statement that he was “heartbroken that reports indicate that at least one innocent person has been killed and perhaps others have been injured. This horrific violence has no place in America.”

“Guests have already begun to arrive in Wisconsin, and we look forward to working with the Republican National Committee to welcome everyone to Milwaukee this week,” Priebus added.

Political party conventions are designated as National Special Security Events, or NSSEs, and come with extremely heightened security compared to a typical campaign rally.

The Secret Service will have at least two security perimeters around the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee and the city itself will be swarming with additional federal, state and local law enforcement officers.

The convention will still host speeches throughout the week and the dozens of side events hosted by state Republican Parties and conservative organizations were still expected to continue, though likely with a more somber mood than was planned before the shooting.

President Joe Biden gives brief remarks from Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Saturday, July 13, 2024, on the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania.??(Screenshot from White House livestream)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden denounced political violence during brief remarks Saturday night after a shooting abruptly ended a campaign rally that Donald Trump was holding in Pennsylvania and injured the former president.

Biden declined to say if the incident, which is under investigation by the Secret Service, was an assassination attempt.

“I have an opinion, but I don’t have any facts,” Biden said, speaking from the Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, police department, near his vacation home there. “So I want to make sure we have all the facts before I make some comment.”

Biden said he hadn’t spoken to Trump yet, but that he hoped to talk with him by phone soon.

“I have tried to get a hold of Donald. He’s with his doctors. Apparently he’s doing well,” Biden said. “I plan on talking to him shortly. I hope when I get back to the telephone.”

Trump on social media

Trump posted on social media after Biden’s remarks concluded that he wanted to offer “condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured.”

“It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country,” Trump wrote. “Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead.”

Trump added that he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.”

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” Trump wrote. “Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.”

‘We cannot condone this’

Biden said during his public comments the type of violence that took place during the rally was unacceptable and should never happen.

“There is no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick,” Biden said. “It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country. We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this.”

Trump, he said, should have been able to have the rally without any violence.

“The idea that there’s political violence or violence in America like this is just unheard of, it’s just not appropriate,” Biden said. “Everybody must condemn it.”

Vice President Kamala Harris also issued a statement saying she had been briefed on the incident.

“Doug and I are relieved that he is not seriously injured. We are praying for him, his family, and all those who have been injured and impacted by this senseless shooting,” she said of Trump.

“Violence such as this has no place in our nation,” Harris wrote. “We must all condemn this abhorrent act and do our part to ensure that it does not lead to more violence.”

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage by U.S. Secret Service agents after being grazed by an apparent bullet during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress rejected political violence Saturday after a shooting at Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Pennsylvania left at least one rallygoer dead and forced the Secret Service to rush the former president off stage.

Local authorities confirmed the shooter was killed, according to The Associated Press.

The shooting at a crowded outdoor rally in Butler, just an hour outside Pittsburgh, occurred less than 48 hours before the Republican National Convention is set to begin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Trump is expected to become the party’s official presidential nominee on Thursday.

Video footage of the rally shows Trump bringing his hand to the right side of his face and ducking down behind the podium just after several gunshots and screams were heard. U.S. Secret Service agents huddled around the former president and raced him off the stage as he reached out to pump his fist in the air toward the crowd.

Trump campaign spokesman Steve Cheung issued a statement shortly after that the former president is “fine” and that he thanked law enforcement.

‘Praying for President Trump’

Members of Congress from both political parties uniformly condemned violence in a wave of social media posts and official statements.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, posted on social media that he was “Praying for President Trump.”

“Kelly and I are praying for President Trump and all the attendees of the campaign rally today in Pennsylvania, and we send our gratitude to the law enforcement who responded at the scene,” Johnson wrote.

“I have been briefed by law enforcement and am continuing to monitor the developments,” Johnson added. “This horrific act of political violence at a peaceful campaign rally has no place in this country and should be unanimously and forcefully condemned.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, released a written statement saying that he was “horrified by what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe.”

“Political violence has no place in our country,” Schumer wrote.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, wrote on social media that “all Americans are grateful that President Trump appears to be fine after a despicable attack on a peaceful rally.”

“Violence has no place in our politics,” McConnell wrote. “We appreciate the swift work of the Secret Service and other law enforcement.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, wrote on social media that his “thoughts and prayers are with former President Trump.”

“I am thankful for the decisive law enforcement response,” Jeffries wrote. “America is a democracy. Political violence of any kind is never acceptable.”

Members of Congress react with horror

Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania issued a statement that he was monitoring the situation that unfolded in Western Pennsylvania.

“(A)nd I’ve reached out (to) the State Police to offer support. Political violence is never acceptable and I am hoping former president Trump & all attendees are safe. Everyone in Butler should listen to law enforcement,” Casey wrote on social media.

Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, whose wife Gabby Giffords, a former congresswoman, was shot in 2011 at an event, posted that they were both “horrified.”

“Gabby and I are horrified by the incident in Pennsylvania,” Kelly wrote. “No one should ever have to experience political violence — we know that firsthand. We’re keeping former President Trump, his family, and everyone involved in our thoughts.”

Giffords wrote on her own social media feed that “Political violence is terrifying. I know.”

“I’m holding former President Trump, and all those affected by today’s indefensible act of violence in my heart. Political violence is un-American and is never acceptable — never,” Giffords wrote.

Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, wrote on social media that “(p)olitical violence is despicable, and there is no place for it in America.”

“I’m grateful that former President Trump is safe, and to the law enforcement officials who risked their lives to take action” Peters wrote. “I will continue to closely monitor this developing situation.”

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins wrote on social media that she was “very relieved that President Trump appears to be OK; however, this violence is absolutely appalling.”

“Thank God for the Secret Service and first responders who hurried President Trump out of harm’s way,” Collins wrote.

Quick response

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, commended the quick response of Secret Service agents and other authorities on the scene.

“My thoughts and prayers are with former President Donald Trump and his family after hearing news of a shooting at his campaign rally today,” DeLauro of Connecticut posted on social media.

House Republican Mike Turner of Ohio, chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, issued a statement saying “As the situation unfolds in Butler, Pennsylvania, I urge everyone to join me in praying for President Trump and our country.”

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of New York wrote on social media that “AMERICA IS PRAYING! GOD BLESS PRESIDENT TRUMP! #SAVEAMERICA,”

“I’m praying for President Trump. I hope everyone will join me,” former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy wrote on X.

“Jacquie and I are praying for President Trump and all of the attendees at today’s rally. President Trump is a proven warrior who has overcome adversity time and time again. He will rise above this horrifying situation stronger than ever,” House Republican Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota posted.

Former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney, an outspoken critic of Trump and ranking member of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, said news of the shooting was “horrifying.”

“Violence of any kind has no place in American politics. We are grateful for the reaction of Secret Service and other law enforcement and pray for the former president and all those injured,” Cheney wrote on social media.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement on social media saying he was “shocked by the apparent attack on President Trump.”

“We pray for his safety and speedy recovery,” the leader of the U.S. ally said.

A worker helps prepare the Fiserv Forum for the start of the Republican National Convention on July 11, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Republican National Convention will be held in Milwaukee from July 15-18. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Thousands of Republicans will gather in Milwaukee, Wisconsin beginning Monday for the party’s presidential nominating convention — an opportunity for the GOP to showcase its candidates up and down the ballot and unify behind Donald Trump.

The RNC released its trimmed-down party platform the week prior to the convention, after foregoing one entirely in 2020. And while many Republicans in Congress said during interviews they either support it, or hadn’t read it, some were critical it adopts Trump’s position that abortion access be left up to states — one of the top issues in the presidential race.

The platform wraps in traditional party goals as well as others tied to Trump. But it also competes with attention drawn to the Heritage Foundation’s massive far-right Project 2025 policy agenda, which Trump has repeatedly disavowed.

Democrats and President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign have targeted the Project 2025 document spearheaded by former Trump administration officials — which says the president should work with Congress on abortion policy — as an example of an extreme GOP agenda.

The Heritage Foundation is scheduled to host an all-day “policy fest” on Monday at the RNC Convention, headlined by conservative media personality Tucker Carlson and former Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz, among others.

The RNC convention could also be the showcase for Trump announcing his running mate, after months of speculation about who would get the nod. As of Friday, Trump had not revealed his pick, though speculation centered around Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

There was also little information available ahead of the convention as to the lineup and schedule of speakers in official sessions throughout the week, which culminates with the nomination of Trump on Thursday and his speech.

Unhappiness over abortion stance

GOP members of Congress said in interviews they would have liked to have seen a national abortion ban in the platform.

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, the top Republican on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said he preferred the GOP’s last official platform, which called for a nationwide abortion ban after 20 weeks.

“I’m pro-life and I like the way it was previously,” Cassidy said.

Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said while she hadn’t read the full platform, she had read the section about abortion, as well as a few others.

“I am pro-life and I am always going to be adamantly pro-life,” Ernst said. “And I think what we’re going to have to do is work very hard to educate the American people on the value of life. So would I like to see more robust (language) in the platform? Certainly. But that’s not the way it’s going to be. So we’re just going to have to continue fighting for life.”

Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford said the platform places a “new emphasis on the states” to regulate abortion access, largely as a result of Trump pressing for that structure in an attempt to appeal to independent voters, though Lankford said it won’t bind Republicans in Congress.

“Obviously, this is a platform that’s wrapped around him, it’s a new model for presidential platforms to be wrapped around the candidate,” Lankford said.

Trump has shifted the GOP platform away from pressing for a nationwide law, in part, because he doesn’t believe the votes are there at the moment, Lankford said. But that doesn’t mean Republican lawmakers will stop talking about their beliefs or working to build support for a nationwide law.

“It’s a common ground statement,” Lankford said of the platform. “But for those of us that believe in the value of every single child — and we should do whatever we can to be able to protect the lives of children — we will continue to be able to speak out on those things.”

Mike Pence, former Indiana governor and vice president during Trump’s first term in office, released a statement saying the “RNC platform is a profound disappointment to the millions of pro-life Republicans that have always looked to the Republican Party to stand for life.”

“Unfortunately, this platform is part of a broader retreat in our party, trying to remain vague for political expedience,” he wrote.

Pence called on delegates attending the RNC convention to “restore language to our party’s platform recognizing the sanctity of human life and affirming that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed.”

Shorter, vaguer

The 16-page platform is much shorter than years past and is at times vague about the goals the Republican Party hopes to accomplish if voters give them unified control of the federal government during the next two years.

The official document was put together behind closed doors.

It says that after nearly 50 years, “because of us,” the ability to regulate abortion has “been given to the States and to a vote of the People.”

“We will oppose Late Term Abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments),” the new RNC platform states.

The 2016 Republican Party platform, by contrast, was 66 pages long and mentioned abortion more than 30 times, calling for Congress to pass legislation that banned abortion after 20-weeks gestation.

That previous platform also said that the RNC respected “the states’ authority and flexibility to exclude abortion providers from federal programs such as Medicaid and other healthcare and family planning programs so long as they continue to perform or refer for elective abortions or sell the body parts of aborted children.”

‘Nothing going to happen up here in the Senate’

Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas said that it’s extremely unlikely either political party gets the 60 votes needed to advance abortion legislation through the legislative filibuster in the Senate, making the states the more practical place to enact laws.

“There’s not 48 votes on this issue one way or the other up here, let alone 60,” Marshall said. “There’s nothing going to happen up here in the Senate in the near future, if forever.”

Marshall said that Republicans “won” in getting the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and that the issue is now left up to voters.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley said a full GOP platform shorter than in previous years is a good development, since people might actually read it.

“Nobody’s gonna read the Sears catalog, like previous ones,” Grassley said. “And I think if we can get people to read the Republican platform, it’ll be a great thing for the campaign. I think it’d be a great thing for government generally.”

Grassley said he couldn’t make a judgment about the new abortion language, since he didn’t remember the language from the 2016 platform.

Voters expect all of GOP on same page

Alabama Sen. Katie Britt said she hadn’t read through the platform, but that she was encouraged some anti-abortion groups expressed support for the new language.

“I’m proud to be pro-life and proud to support the party and President Trump,” Britt said.

Voters, she said, expect to hear from a unified Republican Party during convention week as well as from one that focuses on policy.

“I think people want a secure border, they want stable prices, they want a more secure world,” Britt said. “And I think we need to talk about those things — talk about not only where we are, but our vision for moving forward.”

Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, didn’t directly answer a question about whether he supports removing a nationwide abortion ban from the party’s platform.

“Look, I think they did good work on the platform,” Daines said. “We’re a party that believes in life, we’re a pro-life party. I think they did a good job.”

West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said that voters want to hear Republicans unified at the convention.

“I think they want to hear a unifying message for the future,” Capito said. “I think they want to hear how things will be different and better, especially on the economy and border and international. And I just think, you know, a united front is probably the most important.”

Arkansas Sen. John Boozman said the GOP should emphasize how it differs from Democrats during the RNC Convention.

“I think that they need to hear a message of unity and the contrast between what Republicans can accomplish on inflation and border,” Boozman said.

National treasures, women’s sports

The RNC’s new platform includes familiar GOP policy goals as well as some that came along after Trump became the party’s nominee eight years ago.

For example, it calls for Republicans to “promote beauty in Public Architecture and preserve our Natural Treasures. We will build cherished symbols of our Nation, and restore genuine Conservation efforts.”

It also calls on GOP lawmakers to “support the restoration of Classic Liberal Arts Education,” though it doesn’t detail that particular issue.

The rest of the platform is pretty standard for the types of initiatives and policy goals that Republicans have traditionally pursued.

For example, it calls on Republicans to slash “wasteful Government spending,” “restore every Border Policy of the Trump administration,” make provisions from the 2017 tax law permanent and “will keep men out of women’s sports.”

Trump running mate

The RNC convention could also include Trump announcing who will campaign with him at the top of the ticket.

His last running mate, Pence, began distancing himself from Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, which included calls from the mob to kill Pence, and the construction of a scaffold for public hangings on the National Mall.

Pence was in the Capitol building that day and was removed from danger by his security detail as the pro-Trump mob beat police officers, broke into the building and disrupted Congress’ certification of Biden as the country’s next president.

Trump, without revealing his vice presidential selection, wrote Thursday on social media that he is “looking very much forward to being in Milwaukee next week.”

“The great people of Wisconsin will reward us for choosing their State for the Republican National Convention. From there we go on to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! See you next week,” he posted on Truth Social, his online platform where he regularly publishes comments and statements.

The vice presidential candidate typically gives a speech on Wednesday night, so Trump is expected to make his announcement before then.

Project 2025

Conservative operatives striving to elect Trump to the White House have been circulating the 922-page Project 2025 plan for nearly 15 months.

Spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation, in conjunction with more than 100 organizations, the policy agenda titled “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise” presents a roadmap should Trump win in November.

The “goal is to assemble an army of aligned, vetted, trained, and prepared conservatives to go to work on Day One to deconstruct the Administrative State,” according to the organization’s description of the mandate.

The lengthy mandate sets forth core promises to “restore the family” and overhaul government agencies.

The document states that “(i)n particular, the next conservative President should work with Congress to enact the most robust protections for the unborn that Congress will support while deploying existing federal powers to protect innocent life and vigorously complying with statutory bans on the federal funding of abortion.”

The mandate is just one pillar under the multi-pronged “Project 2025: Presidential Transition Project” that also includes a presidential administration training academy and a 180-day “playbook” aimed “to bring quick relief to Americans suffering from the Left’s devastating policies.” The project is led by two former Trump administration officials.

The Biden-Harris campaign and Democrats have repeatedly criticized Project 2025 in comments and campaign emails.

“If implemented, Project 2025 would be the latest attempt in Donald Trump’s full on assault on reproductive freedom,” Vice President Kamala Harris said at a rally in North Carolina on Thursday.

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said during a press conference Thursday that the plan is “dangerous, it’s dastardly and it’s diabolical.”

“Project 2025, the Trump and extreme MAGA Republican agenda, will criminalize abortion care and impose a nationwide ban on reproductive freedom,” Jeffries said.

Trump and his campaign deny any connection to the project.

“I know nothing about Project 2025. I have not seen it, have no idea who is in charge of it, and, unlike our very well received Republican Platform, had nothing to do with it,” Trump wrote Thursday on his social media platform Truth Social.

“The Radical Left Democrats are having a field day, however, trying to hook me into whatever policies are stated or said. It is pure disinformation on their part,” he continued. “By now, after all of these years, everyone knows where I stand on EVERYTHING!”

Trump has delivered keynote speeches at Heritage Foundation events multiple times. An analysis by CNN showed 140 former Trump administration staffers were involved in the project. Kevin Roberts, Heritage Foundation president, told the New York Times in April 2023 that Trump had been briefed on the project.

Protesters gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, while justices hear oral arguments about whether federal law protects emergency abortion care. (Sofia Resnick/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate gridlocked over reproductive rights on Wednesday, when Republicans blocked Democrats from advancing a measure that would have expressed support for abortion access.

The failed 49-44 procedural vote was just one in a string of votes Senate Democrats are holding this summer to highlight the differences between the two political parties on contraception, in vitro fertilization and abortion ahead of the November elections.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski were the only Republicans to vote to move the bill toward final passage.

“This is a plain, up-or-down vote on whether you support women being able to make their own reproductive health care decisions,” Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray said during floor debate. “It doesn’t enforce anything. It doesn’t cost anything. It’s actually just a half-page bill, simply saying that women should have the basic freedom to make their own decisions about their health care.”

Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar said that women and their doctors, not politicians, should make decisions about abortion and other reproductive health choices.

“This is our current reality, but it doesn’t have to be our future,” Klobuchar said. “This is a pivotal moment for America: Are we going to move forward and protect freedom, which has long been a hallmark of our nation, or are we going to go further backwards in history — not just to the 1950s but to the 1850s.”

Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow urged support for the legislation, saying women should be able to make decisions about their own health care, lives and futures.

“That’s what this vote is about and we’re not going to give up until we have those freedoms fully protected,” Stabenow said.

No Republican senators spoke during debate on the bill ahead of the vote.

The two-page bill would not have actually changed or provided any nationwide protections for abortion access.

The legislation, if enacted, would have expressed a “sense of Congress” that abortion rights “should be supported” and that the nationwide, constitutional protections for abortion established by Roe v. Wade “should be restored and built upon, moving towards a future where there is reproductive freedom for all.”

The Biden administration released a Statement of Administration Policy earlier in the week, backing the bill.

“Today, more than 20 states have dangerous and extreme abortion bans in effect, some without exceptions for rape or incest,” the statement said. “Women are being denied essential medical care, including during an emergency, or forced to travel thousands of miles out of state for care that would have been available if Roe were still the law of the land. Doctors and nurses are being threatened with jail time.”

Trio of bills offered, blocked

The blocked procedural vote on Wednesday came just one day after Democrats went to the floor in an attempt to pass three other bills on reproductive rights through the fast-track unanimous consent process.

That involves one senator asking “unanimous consent” to pass legislation. Any one senator can then object, blocking passage of the bill. If no one objects, the bill is passed.

The maneuver is typically used to approve broadly bipartisan measures or for lawmakers to bring attention to legislation without moving it through the time-consuming cloture process that can take weeks in the Senate.

Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto on Tuesday tried unsuccessfully to pass her bill, which would have barred the government from preventing travel “to another state to receive or provide reproductive health care that is legal in that state.”

Forty Democratic or independent senators co-sponsored the legislation.

During brief floor debate, Cortez Masto said the bill “reaffirms that women have a fundamental right to interstate travel and makes it crystal clear that states cannot prosecute women — or anyone who helps them — for going to another state to get the critical reproductive care that they need.”

“Elected officials in states like Tennessee and Texas and Alabama are trying to punish women for leaving their state for reproductive care, as well as anyone who helps them, including their doctors or even their employers,” Cortez Masto said. “Why? Because for these anti-choice politicians, this is about controlling women.”

Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith objected to the unanimous consent request, saying that while members of the anti-abortion movement “most certainly do not oppose any individual’s freedom to travel across this great country,” they do have concerns the measure would hinder prosecution of crimes, like human trafficking.

Bill would ‘take us backward,” Budd says

Republicans blocked a second bill, sponsored by Murray, that would have blocked state governments from preventing, restricting, impeding, or disadvantaging health care providers from providing “reproductive health care services lawful in the state in which the services are to be provided.”

The bill was co-sponsored by 30 Democratic or independent senators.

“When I talk to abortion providers in Spokane, where they see a lot of patients fleeing restrictive abortion bans from states like Idaho, they are terrified that they could face a lawsuit that will threaten their practice and their livelihood, just for doing their jobs, just for providing care their patients need — care that is, once again, completely legal in my state,” Murray said. “We are talking about people who are following the law and simply want to provide care to their patients. This should be cut-and-dried.”

North Carolina GOP Sen. Ted Budd objected to the request, arguing the bill “would make it easier for unborn life to be ended.”

“The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision brought renewed hope to Americans who believe in the sanctity of each and every life, including life in the womb,” Budd said. “But this bill would take us backward.”

Following Budd’s objection to passing the bill, Murray said his actions “made clear” that GOP lawmakers “have no problem whatsoever with politicians targeting doctors in states like mine, where abortion is legal.”

“I think that pretty much gives the game away,” Murray added.

Grant program

Democrats also tried to pass legislation from Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin that would have established a federal grant program to bolster the number of health care providers who receive “comprehensive training in abortion care.”

That bill had seven Democratic or independent co-sponsors in the Senate.

“For our top-ranked medical schools, a post-Roe reality sowed chaos as students and their instructors wondered how future doctors in our state would have access to the full slate of training necessary to safely practice obstetrics and gynecology,” Baldwin said.

Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, an OB-GYN, blocked the request, saying that the federal government “should not be spending taxpayer dollars to encourage medical students and clinicians to take life when their principal duty, their sacred oath, is to protect life and to do no harm from conception to natural death.”

Repeated attempts throughout 2024

Democrats sought to advance legislation on access to contraception and in vitro fertilization despite the 60-vote legislative filibuster earlier this year, and failed to get the necessary Republican support each time.

In early June, Democrats tried to advance legislation that would have protected “an individual’s ability to access contraceptives” and “a health care provider’s ability to provide contraceptives, contraception, and information related to contraception.”

A week later, Democrats tried again, this time with legislation that would have provided a right for people to access IVF and for doctors to provide that health care without the state or federal government “enacting harmful or unwarranted limitations or requirements.”

Collins and Murkowski were the only Republicans to vote to move the bills toward a final passage vote.

Alabama GOP Sen. Katie Britt attempted to pass an IVF access bill through the unanimous consent process in mid-June, but was unsuccessful.

That measure, which she co-sponsored with Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, would have blocked a state from receiving Medicaid funding if it prevented IVF.

The legislation, which had three co-sponsors as of Wednesday, didn’t say what would happen to a state’s Medicaid funding if lawmakers or a state court defined life as starting at conception.

That’s what led IVF clinics in Alabama to temporarily shut down earlier this year after the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos at IVF clinics constitute children under state law.

The Alabama state legislature has since provided civil and criminal protections for IVF clinics.

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters as he leaves a meeting at the U.S. Capitol on July 08, 2024 in Washington, D.C. Jeffries reiterated his support for President Joe Biden, saying the party is backing Biden to defeat the Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats appeared to quell some inner tumult over supporting President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, after highly anticipated internal meetings Tuesday showed the president retained considerable support from the Congressional Black Caucus and other lawmakers in public statements.

Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Democrats from both chambers largely declined to detail their closed-door conversations. But they said they are lining up behind Biden, nearly two weeks after his debate performance set in motion prolonged speculation about his fitness for office. The party meetings among lawmakers were the first since the June 27 debate.

Biden issued a defiant letter to party members Monday saying that he will not exit the race, and Democrats interviewed by States Newsroom insisted they are uniting as the party heads toward his official nomination later this summer.

Lawmakers left open whether perfect harmony was achieved — a New Jersey Democrat at day’s end joined a handful of other Democrats urging Biden to drop out — but one message was clear: They do not want to see former President Donald Trump in the Oval Office again.

Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Steven Horsford of Nevada briskly exited the House chamber and said Democrats are focused on “beating Donald Trump and electing Democrats to the House majority.” The CBC met with Biden virtually Monday night.

When asked whether Biden’s unsteady debate performance and the anxiety it’s caused presents an obstacle for House colleagues running in tight races, Horsford answered, “The president is the nominee.”

Another defection

While a steady stream of Democrats said they would back Biden, New Jersey Democrat Mikie Sherrill became the seventh House Democrat urging Biden to drop out of the race.

“I know President Biden cares deeply about the future of our country. That’s why I am asking that he declare that he won’t run for reelection,” Sherrill posted on social media shortly before 5 p.m. Eastern.

Those who spoke out against Biden’s reelection bid in previous days included Angie Craig of Minnesota, Lloyd Doggett of Texas, Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Mike Quigley of Illinois and Adam Smith of Washington.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, of New York, who was among those calling for Biden to exit the race in a private call on Sunday, walked back his comments Tuesday when he told reporters “we have to support him.”

At the White House briefing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said expressions of support from members of the Congressional Black Caucus were key to solidifying Biden’s backing among Hill Democrats.

“We respect members of Congress,” Jean-Pierre said. “We respect their view. But I also want to say there’s also a long list of congressional members who have been very clear in support of this president.”

Jean-Pierre cited strong statements of support from CBC members Joyce Beatty of Ohio and Troy Carter of Louisiana following the caucus’ virtual meeting with Biden on Monday.

Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia said Tuesday members had an opportunity to “express themselves” during the closed-door House Democratic meeting.

“Leadership listened, and I think what needs to happen is we need to all come together to decide that we’re not going to be a circular firing squad with Joe Biden in the middle,” Johnson said. “We are going to abide by his decision, and if his decision, as he has previously stated, is to stay in, then he’s gonna be our nominee and we need to all get behind him.”

When asked by States Newsroom whether House Democrats in vulnerable seats now face more potholes on the road to November, potentially costing the party a chance to flip the House, Johnson replied, “No, I think (Biden’s) got a strong record to run on, and the opposition, Donald Trump, has to run against that strong record. So we need to start running on our record, and against the nominee of the other party. And the American people know the difference.”

‘We concluded that Joe Biden is old’

Democratic senators, leaving a nearly two-hour private lunch meeting later Tuesday, had similar comments to their House counterparts, reiterating the president is their nominee, though worries remained.

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman said that everyone knows about Biden’s age, but that alone won’t lead the party to bump him out as their nominee.

“We concluded that Joe Biden is old, and we found out, and the polling came back that he’s old,” Fetterman said. “But guess what? We also agreed that, you know, like, he’s our guy, and that’s where we’re at.”

Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a longtime friend and close ally of Biden, argued that Trump is a far worse choice than Biden.

“Donald Trump had a terrible debate,” Coons said. “Donald Trump said things on that debate stage over and over and over that were outright lies filled with vengeance, violated the basic standards of our democracy, and yet we are spending all of our time talking about one candidate’s performance and not the other. Donald Trump’s performance on that debate stage should be disqualifying.”

Coons said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke during the meeting, saying “broadly constructive things, just sort of setting the groundwork of our discussion.”

Coons said he was “not gonna get into the private conversation we just had in the caucus” when asked whether anyone at the meeting called for Biden to not be the nominee. But he added that “folks expressed a range of views in ways that I think were constructive and positive.”

Vice President Kamala Harris’ viability as a potential replacement for Biden didn’t come up during the meeting, Coons said.

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock underlined his support for Biden following the meeting, saying “what I think is most important right now is what the American people think.”

“We’re getting feedback on that. I think it’s important for the president in this moment, in any moment, to hear what the people are saying. That’s what democracy is all about,” Warnock said. “Donald Trump, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to believe much in democracy. He said he wants to be a dictator on day one, and with their ruling several days ago, the Supreme Court is setting the table for him to continue to be a dictator. That’s what’s at stake in this election: democracy itself.”

Asked whether Biden is the best person to defeat Trump, Warnock said Biden is “making that case as campaigns do” and “hearing back from the American people.”

Asked whether Biden can win Georgia, he said: “I can tell you that no one thought I could win Georgia but I did.”

Project 2025 fears

Rep. Becca Balint of Vermont told States Newsroom that House Democrats’ meeting led to some cohesion.

“The unity as it exists is that we’re all completely committed to making sure that Trump is not the next president,” Balint said. “That’s the unity, and the unity of wanting the president to be out campaigning vigorously on his record.”

Balint, holding in her hand a copy of the Stop the Comstock Act, said, tearing up, that she worries about a nationwide abortion ban and other priorities in the far-right Project 2025 publication.

The nearly 1,000-page policy roadmap is a product of the Heritage Foundation in anticipation of Republicans gaining control of the White House and Congress. Trump and his campaign have repeatedly distanced themselves from the document.

“Trump is a demagogue, I am the child of a man whose father was killed in the Holocaust. I’m really like ‘What can I do day in and day out to make sure we don’t lose the House?’ because we are the blue line,” Balint said.

The Comstock Act is an 1873 law that could provide an avenue for a future Republican presidential administration to ban the mailing of abortion medications. Democrats in the House and Senate have introduced companion bills to repeal the sections of the law that could hinder abortion access.

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told States Newsroom that Biden has “actively thrown weight behind the lawmaking and policy ideas of younger and progressive members,” and that she remains committed to supporting him.

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said after the Democratic senators’ meeting that he wasn’t “even gonna get into that,” when asked whether he wants Biden to remain the nominee.

“The fact is, the president has said he is running,” Wyden said. “So, that’s the lay of the land today.”

Swing state senators

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, who faces a challenging reelection bid this November, said he didn’t want to characterize what other senators said about Biden during the meeting.

Casey said it’s up to political pundits and analysts to determine how Biden remaining the presidential nominee might affect the Pennsylvania race as well as others.

“I’ve got to continue to do my work in the Senate and also to be a candidate, so I can’t sit around being an analyst,” Casey said.

When back home in the Keystone State, he said, voters tend to talk to him more about issues they’re concerned about, including reproductive rights and the cost of living.

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly declined to comment on Democrats’ meeting and referred to his prior statements about Biden.

Kelly on Monday evening told reporters that the differences between Biden and Trump “could not be clearer.”

Biden, he said, has “delivered to the American people over and over again,” on climate change, prescription drug prices, infrastructure, and semiconductor manufacturing.

“On the other hand, you have Donald Trump, a convicted felon and now a criminal who has no business running for president,” Kelly said.

“Joe Biden is our nominee. Millions of people voted for Joe Biden to be on the ballot,” Kelly said. “He’s on the ballot, and I truly believe he’s gonna win in November.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said when asked about Biden during a press conference that “as I’ve said before, I’m with Joe.”

Schumer declined to answer questions about Democrats potentially nominating a different presidential candidate and about Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray’s statement Monday night critical of Biden.

“As I’ve said before, I’m with Joe,” Schumer reiterated.

Murray’s statement said Biden “must seriously consider the best way to preserve his incredible legacy and secure it for the future.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, deferred a question about Biden’s debate performance to Democratic leadership.

Maryland, New Mexico senators comment

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen said he had to leave the lunch early for a previously scheduled meeting with the Dutch prime minister, but said he doesn’t have concerns Biden will make the right choice on whether to stay in the race.

“Look, as I’ve said, I trust the president’s judgment, he understands the stakes in this election and he’s in the best position to make this decision,” Van Hollen said.

New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján said Democrats discussed several issues during the closed-door meeting, but declined to talk about what was said, though he reiterated his support for Biden’s candidacy.

“I look forward to voting for President Joe Biden to be president of the United States,” Luján said.

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff said the meeting was “a constructive caucus discussion,” and that he supports Biden’s reelection campaign.

Delaware Sen. Tom Carper said he spoke during the meeting, but declined to specify what his comments were.

Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper said the lunch went “fine,” but declined to opine on where the party was moving on Biden’s nomination nor his own beliefs about the president’s ongoing candidacy.

Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed declined to answer any questions after the lunch.

House Republicans: ‘Democrats had misled us’

House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana on Tuesday accused the Democratic Party of covering up Biden’s “glaring problem.”

“The Democrats had misled us. They need to be held accountable for that,” he said, during the House GOP’s regularly scheduled press conference.

Johnson also said the 25th Amendment “is appropriate” in this situation. If Biden’s Cabinet declares he is unfit for office, Vice President Kamala Harris would take over presidential duties.

“The notion that the 25th Amendment would be appropriate here is something that most Republicans and frankly, most Americans would agree with,” he said.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota and Elise Stefanik of New York, chair of the House Republican Conference, echoed Johnson’s concerns.

Stefanik called Biden “unfit to be our commander in chief” and accused the Democratic Party of concealing Biden’s mental acuity. “The cover-up is over and accountability is here.”

Jacob Fischler contributed to this report.

Sen. Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat, departs the Capitol on July 8, 2024 in Washington, D.C. A handful of congressional Democrats have urged President Joe Biden to drop his reelection bid following a shaky debate performance on June 27. Tester is viewed as one of the chamber’s most vulnerable Democrats. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress called on President Joe Biden to prove to voters that he is up for another four years in the Oval Office, though many in interviews pledged to stick with him as the presumptive nominee as they returned to the Capitol on Monday following the Fourth of July recess.

Questions over Biden’s ability to continue with his reelection campaign dominated the nation’s capital throughout the day. Biden shipped a defiant letter to Hill Democrats and unexpectedly called in to a popular morning MSNBC show to make his case. At the White House, reporters engaged in a tense back-and-forth with Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre over the president’s mental fitness.

Most significantly, the comments about Biden’s future from more than 20 lawmakers came just ahead of crucial meetings Tuesday, when Senate and House Democrats will huddle separately to work out the path ahead for Biden’s reelection bid.

The decision about whether to back Biden is especially tough for vulnerable senators, who are seeking to hold the chamber against long odds, and House members from swing districts full of Republican voters.

Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a close confidant to Biden, defended the president when asked by States Newsroom whether Biden can steer the narrative back to policy issues and away from questions about his cognitive function, following his shaky debate performance on June 27.

“I’m really struck no one’s asked me a question about should Donald Trump drop out, should Donald Trump have a neurological exam, should Donald Trump be facing Republicans calling for him to step aside given his demonstrably immoral, unhinged conduct? He’s a convict,” Coons said, referring to the former president and presumptive GOP nominee. “In my view, Joe Biden has won our primaries, has won our confidence and deserves our support.”

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet said Democrats must be level-headed about whether to encourage Biden to withdraw as their presumptive nominee, arguing that it is now more of a moral question than a political one.

“I think it is really important for us, as Democrats, to have an open discussion and to have an open debate to ensure that we are on a path to winning the White House, to winning the Senate, to winning the House,” Bennet said. “And I think that’s an act, not of disloyalty, but an act of loyalty.”

This year’s election is especially critical for Democrats in swing districts and purple states, and party leaders need to ensure the top of the ticket can help those people, not hinder them, said Bennet, who is not up for reelection.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico said she wants House Democrats to unify at Tuesday morning’s party meeting.

“My hope is that Democrats come to a reasonable consensus about the path forward, which is that we have to defeat Donald Trump,” Stansbury said.

“And right now we’ve got to work like hell to make sure that people understand the consequences of reelecting Donald Trump. He is a convicted felon, he is a perpetrator in the January 6th (attack), he is all the things that we know he is. And so while I understand the media focus on the current moment, we really need to shift back to the real danger,” Stansbury said.

The unease among congressional Democrats came after a handful of senior House Democrats on Sunday said Biden should step down on a private phone call with Democratic leaders, according to media reports. Rep. Adam Smith of Washington publicly called on Biden to exit the race Monday.

The Biden defenders

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin said his confidence in Biden is “high,” but he understands “the reality of the challenges that he faces and we face since the debate.”

“It’s raised a national discussion about his competence and the ability to finish the campaign,” Durbin said.

The Illinois lawmaker said he has been discussing alternatives to Biden with colleagues, but so far hasn’t heard a name he’s willing to endorse publicly.

Durbin said he does worry that if Biden remains the nominee, the focus will stay on his health and not on the issues that Democrats want to be front and center in the campaign.

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said he told voters in his home state over the Fourth of July week that he respects Biden and “never had reason to question his ability to be a patriot, put the country first. And I’m sure he’ll make a decision that does that.”

“And that decision is going to be one that I support,” he said.

Kaine said that Biden often does better talking to smaller groups of voters and suggested his campaign get him in that setting more often, if they want to alleviate concerns.

“Okay, he had a bad debate performance. But when he interacts with everyday folks who are going through challenges, talking about their aspirations and how to achieve them, that’s his strong suit,” Kaine said. “And I’ve seen him do that again and again and again. And I hope the campaign will find ways for him to do that because he does it better than anybody.”

California Rep. Ami Bera said Biden has a pretty good chance to outrun his debate performance, especially considering all the bad headlines that came out during the 2016 Trump campaign.

“Donald Trump came back from ‘Access Hollywood,’ right?” Bera said. “So there’s a long time in this campaign cycle. It was always going to be a close race, but it’s going to be hard if we’re not on the same page.”

Bera called on Biden to meet with Democrats in Congress and for the party to be honest about polling and fundraising.

“I think that the debate was not a good debate. It was one that gave a lot of folks pause,” Bera said. “But the president has said he’s committed to running. At this juncture, having a divided house doesn’t make sense. That’s why my advice is, he ought to come to the Democrats or ought to invite us to meet with him somewhere else. And we all ought to get on the same page.”

Congressional Black Caucus chair supportive of Biden

Nevada Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford, who also chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, said he decided to support Biden’s ongoing candidacy after talking with voters in his district.

“I’m a frontline member in a battleground state. I have as tough of a district as anyone here in the House and I’ve been a frontliner for the last three cycles,” Horsford said. “What my constituents have said is they voted for President Joe Biden, and they expect their representative to honor their vote and the will of the people. And there’s a process and that process should not be overturned by a few select members in Congress.”

Sen. Alex Padilla of California said he remains steadfast in his support for Biden.

“I would encourage my colleagues to take all the time and energy that we’re spending on this topic and put it into voter outreach and organizing for November,” he said.

New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján said he continues to back Biden and is confident that he will win reelection in November.

“What I want to see is President Biden out and about, like we saw this weekend, talking to more people at rallies and areas and just being himself,” Luján said. “I think that he’s the best when he’s just himself and chatting with people.”

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Nanette Barragán said she supports Biden and isn’t focused on what the risk could be if voters don’t gain more confidence in his health.

“I think he can win. He has won. He has ideas. He’s got plans,” Barragán said. “When I talk to people, even people who’ve been undecided have said ‘The president has ideas and he has a track record. The other person is just going up there and telling lies.’”

Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said that she continues to back Biden because of his record while in the White House.

“He’s been there every step of the way supporting Nevadans as we came through the pandemic, as we fight for a woman’s right to choose, as we lower costs for families, and fighting for affordable housing,” Cortez Masto said. “He’s been on the picket lines with so many in my state. So at the end of the day, I know he’s good for Nevada, and so I stand with him.”

More defenders

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said Democrats have “a lot of work to do” to get Biden reelected in November, but said “that’s always the case.”

And while the debate was a “rough night,” he said, there will be many more of those if Trump is reelected president in November.

“You want a lot of rough nights? You’re gonna get four years of them if you elect Donald Trump,” Wyden said.

Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, who is also chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said he will continue to back Biden.

“I support Joe Biden. He is our nominee,” Peters said. “I’m confident he will win and we’re going to be able to hold the Senate as well.”

New Jersey Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman said Democrats need to unify “to protect this democracy” and brushed aside a question about whether Biden is being honest with himself about his health.

“I don’t believe that he’s ever done anything that suggests to me that he’s a liar, like his opponent,” Watson Coleman said.

‘Conversations are healthy’

New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said she has confidence in Biden to do the right thing, but didn’t say what exactly she believes that is.

“I think the conversations are healthy,” Shaheen said. “I expect him to do what’s in the best interest of the country.”

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said, “the most important thing right now is to beat Donald Trump. Talking to you all is not gonna necessarily help that.”

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who is up for reelection in Wisconsin, would not answer reporters directly when asked if she supports Biden.

“I support the Democratic ticket,” she said.

Rep. Jared Huffman of California said the Democratic Caucus meeting Tuesday, which will be private, will be “important” and that he wasn’t ready to comment further on Biden’s reelection bid.

“I support continuing this conversation and winning the election,” Huffman said.

Not answering questions

Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse refused to answer repeated questions from reporters on Capitol Hill, saying he wanted to wait to hear what his colleagues say during the Tuesday closed-door lunch.

Several senators, including Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine, quickly bypassed reporters or pointed them to written statements they’ve issued.

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland declined to comment “because we’re still in the middle of the whole thing.”

“We’re all working for the best solution,” he said.

Senators with tough races

Vulnerable U.S. senators, who have so far been quiet, issued statements Monday addressing Biden’s ability to remain in the presidential campaign.

Sen. Jon Tester of Montana said in a written statement Biden “has got to prove to the American people—including me—that he’s up to the job for another four years,” according to media reports.

“Meanwhile, I’ll continue to do what I’ve always done: Stand up to President Biden when he’s wrong and protect our Montana way of life,” Tester said in his statement.

Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio said on the campaign trail Monday that he’s heard concerns from voters regarding Biden moving forward in the race, according to an NBC News report.

“I’m not a pundit. I’ve talked to people across Ohio. They have legitimate questions about whether the president should continue his campaign, and I’ll keep listening to people,” Brown said.

Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the president pro tempore and chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, issued a written statement highly critical of Biden remaining the nominee.

“I have a deep appreciation and strong respect for Joe, who has led a historic first term as President,” Murray wrote.

“Still, we need to see a much more forceful and energetic candidate on the campaign trail in the very near future in order for him to convince voters he is up to the job,” she said. “At this critical time for our country, President Biden must seriously consider the best way to preserve his incredible legacy and secure it for the future.”

Parkinson’s disease specialist

Administration officials defended Biden on Monday during a 75-minute, and at times tense, press briefing where reporters largely questioned Biden’s capacity to continue his reelection bid.

Jean-Pierre told reporters the president has cleared detailed neurological exams during each of his three annual physicals, the last one being in February.

The exams “have been detailed, they have been extensive,” she said, refusing to confirm names of medical specialists, for security reasons in a lengthy back-and-forth with reporters.

Journalists pressed Jean-Pierre about a Monday report in the New York Times that a Parkinson’s disease specialist from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center visited the White House eight times from July 2023 to March. Parkinson’s is a “progressive disorder that affects the nervous system and the parts of the body controlled by the nerves,” according to the Mayo Clinic.

Jean-Pierre said “thousands” of military personnel come to the White House.

“Has the president been treated for Parkinson’s? No. Is he being treated for Parkinson’s? No, he’s not. Is he taking medication for Parkinson’s? No. So those are the things I can give you full-blown answers on, but I’m not going to confirm a specialist, or any specialist, that comes to the White House,” Jean-Pierre said.

Jean-Pierre repeatedly stated that Biden receives regular “verbal check-ins” with his doctor, usually while he is exercising.

The White House released a two-page memo much later Monday that Dr. Kevin Cannard “was the neurological specialist that examined President Biden for each of his annual physicals.”

“His findings have been made public each time that I have released the results of the President’s annual physical,” wrote Dr. Kevin O’Connor, physician to the president. “President Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his annual physical.”

Cannard has been the Neurology Consultant to the White House Medical Unit for 12 years and has held regular clinics for “active-duty members” at the White House, according to the letter.

The president is scheduled to spend most of the week with NATO leaders at the summit in Washington, D.C., and will give a solo press conference Thursday evening.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said during the press briefing “we’re not picking up any signs of (concerns) from our allies at all.”

Kirby dismissed questions that Biden’s debate performance could be illustrative of his communications with his international counterparts.

“What I saw in that debate is not reflective of the man and the leader and the commander-in-chief that I have spent many, many hours with over the last two-and-a-half years, in terms of the specificity of the way he probes, the questions he asks,” Kirby said. “Heck, just this morning he was asking me questions about a situation on the European continent that I couldn’t answer, and I told him I’d have to get back to him.”

Biden pushes back with letter, calls in to ‘Morning Joe’

In a letter to congressional Democrats, Biden wrote Monday that he is “firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump.”

He then called into MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” for a live phone interview during which he criticized Democrats urging him to exit the race as “elites.”

“I’m getting so frustrated by the elites — now I’m not talking about you guys — the elites in the party, ‘Oh, they know so much more.’ Any of these guys that don’t think I should run, run against me. Announce for president, challenge me at the convention,” he said to hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.

When asked by Brzezinski whether he can assure Americans that he won’t have another performance like the June 27 debate, Biden responded, “Look at my career, I’ve not had many of those nights.”

The live interview came one day after Biden held a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he was joined by U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, Rep. Madeleine Dean and Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis.

Biden began the weekend with a 22-minute interview Friday night with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos during which he attributed his debate performance to a “bad episode.”

The first sign of waning Democratic support appeared July 2 when Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first sitting congressional Democrat to call on Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race.

President Joe Biden sat down for an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” co-anchor and “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos in Wisconsin on the campaign trail on July 5, 2024. (Photo used with permission of ABC News)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday in his first televised interview since the presidential debate defended his reelection bid and rejected calls that he should step aside amid growing anxiety among some Democrats about his mental and physical state.

The 22-minute interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos came as some lawmakers and other prominent Democrats have said Biden should suspend his campaign and let someone else become the official nominee.

But Biden said that’s unnecessary, distilling his actions during the June 27 debate as simply a “bad night.”

“It was a bad episode, no indication of any serious condition,” Biden said. “I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and it was a bad night.”

Biden refused to answer a question about what he would do if allies and friends in Congress urged him to leave the presidential campaign.

“I’m not going to answer that question. It’s not going to happen,” Biden said.

Members of Congress and Democratic governors have expressed concern with Biden remaining the presumptive nominee ever since he struggled to answer questions and had moments where he appeared confused during the first presidential debate.

Biden brushed aside Virginia Sen. Mark Warner’s plans to convene Democratic senators on Monday to discuss the future of Biden’s bid, which multiple news organizations reported Friday. Both chambers of Congress will return to Washington next week.

“Mark is a good man,” Biden said, before incorrectly claiming Warner “tried to get the nomination” for president — Warner in 2006 said he would not make a bid. “Mark and I have a different perspective. I respect him.”

Biden won’t commit to cognitive exam

Stephanopoulos pressed Biden during the interview on whether he really has the mental and physical stamina to remain president for another four years, and whether Biden is being honest with himself about his age.

“I believe so,” Biden said. “I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t think I did. Look, I’m running again because I think I understand best what has to be done to take this nation to a completely new level.”

Biden repeatedly declined to commit to taking a cognitive exam, suggesting that his schedule and daily work load are evidence enough he’s up to the task of being president.

“I have a cognitive test every single day. Every day I have that test, everything I do,” Biden said. “You know, not only am I campaigning, I’m running the world.”

Biden added that there are 125 days left in the campaign and that people should watch him in the months ahead to determine if he’s suitable to be reelected to the highest position in the government.

In Wisconsin, Biden points to Trump flubs

The ABC News interview aired just hours after Biden held a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, where he repeatedly criticized the Republican presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump.

This November’s presidential election, Biden said, should be about character, honesty and decency.

“Let’s focus on what really matters: We’re running against the biggest liar and the biggest threat to our democracy in American history,” Biden said. “That’s not hyperbole.”

Biden sought to shift the attention from his performance at the debate to flubs Trump has made over the years, including in a Fourth of July speech in 2019 when the former president said securing the airports was essential during the Revolutionary War.

“He said George Washington’s army won the Revolution by taking control of the airports from the British,” Biden said before crossing himself somewhat jokingly. “Talk about me misspeaking — airports from the British in 1776? It’s true, he is a stable genius.”

Trump, at the time, criticized the teleprompter for the comment.

Biden during the rally listed off what he views as his accomplishments, including canceling some student loan debt, nominating Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, signing a same-sex marriage bill, approving gun safety policies and working with Congress on a sweeping climate change law.

“I’m not letting one, 90-minute debate wipe out three-and-a-half years of work,” Biden said.

During the next four years, Biden said, whoever holds the Oval Office will appoint at least two new justices to the Supreme Court.

Should that be Trump, a recent ruling from the justices on presidential immunity could lead to a challenging time for the country, Biden said.

“For over two centuries, America’s been a free, democratic nation,” Biden said. “And I’ll be damned if in the year 2024 — just two years before our 250th anniversary as a nation — I’ll let Donald Trump take this away.”

Illinois Dem congressman says Biden should quit

Biden briefly spoke with reporters in the White House pool after the rally, saying he was determined to stay in the race and brushing aside calls from some lawmakers for him to withdraw.

When asked by a reporter about Warner suggesting Biden let another person take over as the party’s presidential candidate, Biden said Warner “is the only one considering that.”

Later in the evening, Illinois Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley said on MSNBC that Biden should step aside.

“Mr. President, your legacy is set. We owe you the greatest debt of gratitude,” Quigley said. “The only thing that you can do now to cement that for all time and prevent utter catastrophe is to step down and let someone else do this.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has performed more than 17,000 tests for avian influenza on cattle, with 139 dairy herds throughout a dozen states. (Photo via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Public health officials have diagnosed a Colorado farm worker with the country’s fourth human case of highly pathogenic avian influenza, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state’s department of health reported Wednesday.

The Colorado case, the state’s first this year related to spread from dairy cattle to humans, was reported after an adult man working on a farm in the northeast region of the state experienced conjunctivitis or pink eye.

The unidentified man, who has since recovered, was being monitored by public health officials after dairy cattle on the farm he worked on tested positive for H5N1, or bird flu.

Dr. Rachel Herlihy, an epidemiologist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, wrote in a statement announcing the diagnosis that the “risk to most people remains low.”

“Avian flu viruses are currently spreading among animals, but they are not adapted to spread from person to person,” Herlihy wrote in the statement. “Right now, the most important thing to know is that people who have regular exposure to infected animals are at increased risk of infection and should take precautions when they have contact with sick animals.”

Nationwide, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported bird flu in 139 dairy herds throughout a dozen states, including Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.

In Colorado, there have been 27 dairy herds where at least one cow has tested positive for H5N1 since the outbreak began, according to data from the USDA.

The other three human cases reported this year include two dairy farm workers in Michigan and one in Texas. Two of the cases were pink eye, while one of the Michigan patients experienced mild respiratory symptoms.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment wrote in its announcement Wednesday that 2022 was the last time a person within the state was diagnosed with bird flu. That time it was the result of infected poultry.

Bird flu continues to spread in the country’s poultry flocks as well, though that industry has had much more time to adjust and get its workers used to wearing personal protective equipment than dairy farmers have.

More than 97 million poultry throughout 48 states have tested positive for H5N1 since this outbreak began in January 2022, according to reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Unlike dairy cows, which generally recover from bird flu, poultry flocks are culled after a diagnosis, making response and recovery to H5N1 vastly different.

The USDA began a voluntary pilot program for dairy farmers in late June that gives them the option to have their herd’s bulk milk tanks tested. The program is designed to make it easier for farmers to transport their cows across state lines.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday that it would direct $176 million to Moderna to develop a vaccine that would inoculate people against the virus.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden dropped by a Waffle House in Atlanta to pick up food shortly after midnight following his debate with Donald Trump on Thursday, June 27, 2024. He told reporters “I think we did well” when asked about his debate performance. (Photo by Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden touched on a flood of criticism of his debate performance during a rally on Friday, while Democrats interviewed on Capitol Hill said the party must figure out a way to reassure voters after what they described as a “terrible” showing and a “bad night.”

Biden, speaking from Raleigh, North Carolina, acknowledged some of the blunders that plagued him during the Thursday night debate on CNN, which included a raspy, low voice and answers that often began one way before veering into a completely separate topic.

“I know I’m not a young man, let’s state the obvious,” Biden said. “I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to, but … I know how to tell the truth.”

Biden, 81, told the crowd that despite the mishaps, he’s still up for four more years on the job and said that his rival, the 78-year-old presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald J. Trump, is a “genuine threat to this nation.”

“When you get knocked down, you get back up,” Biden said. “I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul I can do this job because, quite frankly, the stakes are too high.”

Outside the Beltway, Democrats continued to try to absorb what they saw on Thursday night. In Colorado, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis would not answer directly when asked about calls from some Democrats for Biden to step aside. In the swing state of Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro as well as other Democrats came to Biden’s defense on social media and on the airwaves.

Hoyer rejects idea of Biden quitting

Back in Washington, D.C., lawmakers had mixed reviews for how Biden performed during the debate, with some saying one bad night shouldn’t lead the party to change its nominee in the weeks ahead, while others said Biden should reassess his decision to run for reelection.

Maryland Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer said Biden “had a bad night,” but said the president still showed respect for “people, the truth and the Constitution.”

“The other candidate, who respects none of those, showed that last night,” he said of Trump.

Hoyer rejected a question about whether Democrats need a new presidential candidate, saying they already had one and it “is Joe Biden.”

“He’s got an extraordinary record of accomplishments,” Hoyer said.

Minnesota Democratic Rep. Angie Craig said it was a “terrible debate.”

“We all have to acknowledge that and Donald Trump lied every time he opened his mouth,” Craig said, adding that she wasn’t worried about November, but focused on flooding in her home state.

Mood on House floor

New York Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks said he didn’t expect that all of a sudden members of the party would “jump ship” from the Biden-Harris ticket, but said Biden has a lot of work to do before Election Day.

“I know Joe Biden. I’ve sat across the room from Joe Biden in some very important meetings,” Meeks said. “And I know that he’s all there and he has the ability to do that. He did not do that last night. But I do know that he has that ability.”

The mood on the House floor Friday morning, however, was less than ideal, he said.

“You can’t hide that, people are not pleased. Nobody’s in there jumping for joy, saying that, you know, ‘That was a great night last night,’” Meeks said. “Is there concern? Yeah, because we know how important it is to make sure that we win this election.”

Meeks declined to speculate about whether Biden will back out of the second debate in September, but said “it might be difficult, maybe, to get out of it.”

Biden, he said, needs to get in front of voters much more before the election through town halls and interviews to provide reassurance.

Meeks also sought to draw a difference between Biden and Trump, saying that the lies Trump told during the debate signal he hasn’t evolved.

“Nothing has changed with reference to Trump. He is still that pathological liar that Lindsey Graham called him. He’s still the con man that Marco Rubio called him,” Meeks said, referring to Republican senators from South Carolina and Florida. “And I definitely don’t want a pathological liar and a con man to be President of the United States of America. It would be bad for us and will be bad for our allies.”

House speaker sees ‘serious problem’

House Speaker Mike Johnson said that Cabinet members should “search their hearts” on what represented the best path forward for the country, about “this alarming situation.”

“I think they know they have a serious problem — but it’s not just political, it’s not just the Democratic Party, it’s the entire country,” Johnson said. “We have a serious problem here because we have a president, who, by all appearances, is not up to the task.”

“This is a very serious moment in American history and it needs to be regarded and handled as such,” Johnson added.

The Louisiana Republican didn’t rule out that the 25th Amendment, which deals with presidential disability and succession, might be appropriate. But he noted that’s up to the Cabinet, not the House.

Trump, during the debate, “showed the temperament, the stamina and the mental acuity that is necessary to do this really important job at this really important time,” Johnson said.

Biden, on the other hand, “showed last night that he was weak, sadly, that he is feeble,” Johnson added.

Democrats are moving forward with plans to nominate Biden as their official presidential candidate before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in late August.

The all-virtual roll call vote is supposed to take place before Aug. 7, the final date for candidates to get on Ohio’s ballot. The state requires candidates to be officially nominated at least 90 days before the November election.

That means any final decisions about Biden’s candidacy likely need to take place during the month of July.

No need to replace Biden

Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Richard Neal said he was taking the “long view” of the campaign and didn’t believe Democrats needed to replace Biden at the top of the ticket.

“I think that we are kind of caught up in a moment where personalities are a big deal in politics,” Neal said. “At the same time, I think that Joe Biden’s got a really good track record to run on … And I think we want to make sure that people see it in the fullness of his presidency.”

Neal said that Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president in 2016, won her first debate against Trump, even though Trump went on to win the election.

He also noted that Walter Mondale, the Democratic presidential nominee in 1984, was widely considered to have won his first debate against Republican Ronald Reagan, though Reagan went on to sweep him during the election.

Florida Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel said that “there was only one decent, honest man who reflected my values, and that was Joe Biden.”

Frankel said she wasn’t too concerned about calls for Biden to step down from the top of the ticket, though she said she hasn’t been involved in those talks.

Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright said Biden’s performance reminded him of a 2022 debate he had where his own performance was “lousy,”

“He had a tough night,” Cartwright said, adding that he believes Democrats shouldn’t “overreact.”

Cartwright said he didn’t believe Biden’s debate performance would affect how voters in his district, which covers sections of northeastern Pennsylvania, including Scranton, will vote for down-ballot races later this year.

“People split their tickets where I live,” Cartwright said. “They know who I am and they know I’m not the same guy as whoever’s in the White House.”

Republicans react

Arkansas Republican Rep. Steve Womack said Biden’s performance “validated” a lot of the concerns that lawmakers and others had about his “cognitive abilities” heading into the debate.

“But at the end of the day, you have to assume that they’re both still going to be head-to-head in November,” Womack said.

Republicans, he said, need to move “full steam ahead” to hold the House, flip the Senate and win back the White House in November, but that’s only the beginning of the hard work.

“If that happens, we’ve got a couple of years and we need to be able to demonstrate that we’re serious about leading America,” Womack said.

Iowa Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks said it’s up to “Democrats to determine whether or not they feel that their candidate is up to the task of running the country for the next four years.”

“From my perspective, what I saw last night emphasizes to me that he’s not and that I will be voting for President Trump,” Miller-Meeks said. “I thought President Trump’s answers and policies were well reasoned, show that he was very sharp, very in tune and very well-informed.”

Miller-Meeks said it will be challenging for the Biden campaign and Democrats to brush aside concerns about Biden’s mental functioning following the debate.

“I think what has been appearing to a lot of people is now very apparent and difficult to hide, given the performance that everyone saw last night,” Miller-Meeks said.

Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, one of the lawmakers on Trump’s short list for vice president, said that Trump “did what he was supposed to do — demonstrated leadership, demonstrated command talking about the issues that are plaguing this country.”

“As far as I’m concerned, whether it’s Joe Biden, Kamala Harris or anybody else, the Democrat agenda has been a failure. Period.”

Residents go through the damage after a tornado tore through town on May 22, 2024 in Greenfield, Iowa. Multiple deaths and injuries were reported from a series of tornadoes and powerful storms that hit several Midwestern states (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is asking Congress to approve billions in emergency funding for domestic priorities it says are essential, including border security, emergency preparedness and child care.

The $4 billion in new emergency spending requested Friday calls on lawmakers to approve more funding than was included in the dozen annual government funding bills passed earlier this year.

White House budget director Shalanda Young wrote in a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., that the supplemental request builds on a similar ask that the Biden administration sent to the Hill last October.

“I write today to reiterate the October request and submit revised estimates of an additional $4 billion for certain disaster needs, including funding to help respond to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the devastating fires on Maui last summer, and tornado survivors in Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and throughout the Midwest,” Young wrote.

“Particularly as we enter what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is describing as an ‘extraordinary’ hurricane season, the Administration urges prompt congressional action on this request, including for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), to ensure that we can uphold the Federal Government’s responsibility to both rebuild from past disasters and respond to future events,” Young added.

Problems ahead

The request is unlikely to gain full approval by the Republican-controlled House and may face headwinds in the Democratic-controlled Senate as well.

Leaders in both chambers of Congress are already working on the 12 annual funding bills for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1, and are increasingly focused on campaigning ahead of the November elections.

Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, released a statement saying she looked forward to working with the other leaders on the committee “in the coming weeks to ensure we deliver this much-needed relief.”

“Families who’ve lost homes, workers who’ve lost their livelihoods, and communities who are working to rebuild are counting on Congress to step up and provide the help they need — and it’s critical we do just that,” Murray wrote.

A senior administration official, speaking on background on a call with reporters, didn’t set a specific timeline for Congress to approve the supplemental request, but said the Biden administration hopes they do so “as swiftly as possible.”

“And we are going to work with the Hill and obviously many, I think, legislators on the Hill recognize that urgency to achieve that goal,” the official said.

Bridge rebuild, road repair

The updated spending request includes an additional $3.1 billion for the Department of Transportation to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, after a cargo ship barreled into the bridge earlier this year, destroying the structure and killing six construction workers.

The transportation funding would also go toward repairing “other Federal-aid highways and federally-owned roads across the Nation that have been seriously damaged by natural disasters or catastrophic failures from external causes,” according to a summary of the request.

The U.S. Coast Guard would receive $79.5 million to address costs related to the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, including the response and recovery efforts as well as its salvage operation.

The Army Corps of Engineers would receive $33 million, should Congress approve the request. That funding would go toward replenishing accounts that were used to remove parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and to help re-open the shipping channel.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development would get an additional $700 million for disaster relief and other recovery needs that stemmed from major disaster declarations in 2023 as well as this year.

An additional $25 million would go to the Labor Department for the Dislocated Worker National Reserve “to make awards for reconstruction and recovery needs caused by multiple large disasters, including typhoons, wildfires, and hurricanes, as well as cleanup and recovery efforts following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge,” according to a summary of the request.

Increase from earlier request

The original $56 billion domestic supplemental request, released in October, included $23.5 billion for disaster response needs for several federal departments and agencies, including the Small Business Administration and FEMA.

The October proposal, which was re-requested on Friday alongside the new spending proposals, included $16 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services for child care subsidies.

It included $6 billion for the Federal Communication Commission “to extend free and discounted high-speed internet through the Affordable Connectivity Program.”

An additional $1.55 billion would address fentanyl abuse through HHS’ opioid response grants, while slightly more than $1 billion would go toward the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food for Peace program.

Another $220 million was requested for the USDA and Department of Interior to avoid cuts to wildland firefighter salaries.

The October request for emergency assistance for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, which Congress did later act on, also included $13.6 billion for border security efforts.

U.S. President Joe Biden, right, and Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump, participate in the CNN Presidential Debate at the CNN Studios on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Biden and Trump are facing off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump pitched to undecided voters Thursday night during the first debate of the presidential campaign — trading insults over their policy differences, immigration and who represents a threat to democracy.

During the debate from CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta, the two men argued over who would be better for Americans during the next four years on a broad swath of issues, ranging from the economy to climate change to foreign policy. Each repeatedly accused the other of lying.

Biden early in the debate spoke softly at several points, coughed and gave somewhat confusing answers. At one point, Biden appeared to lose his train of thought and ended an answer with the statement that “we finally beat Medicare.”

His performance, filled with stumbles, prompted a torrent of questions after the debate about replacing him with another Democrat.

Reporters swamped high-profile Democrats on hand to help the Biden campaign promote a post-debate message with questions about whether they regretted having Biden as a candidate or whether he should be replaced.

One top-tier potential candidate, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, told reporters he would not consider it.

“I would never turn my back on President Biden,” Newsom said in the post-debate spin room. “I don’t know a Democrat in my party that would do so. And especially after tonight, we have his back. We run not the 90-yard dash. We’re all in. We’re going to double down in the next few months.”

Less than an hour into an uneven performance from Biden, media reports cited unnamed White House sources saying the president had a cold.

During an appearance at an Atlanta Waffle House following the debate, Biden was asked if he was sick and said he had “a sore throat.”

Abortion, Jan. 6, election results

Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, did not shake hands at the beginning, a break from past debates. They walked their separate ways after the 90-minute debate wrapped up, minutes after attacking each other’s mental acuity, golf game and weight.

Biden and Trump disagreed sharply over access to reproductive rights, including abortion, with Trump arguing Democrats’ position is “radical” and Biden saying that leaving decisions up to the states has been “terrible” for women.

Near the end of the debate, Trump said political violence was “totally unacceptable,” though he went on to downplay the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, defending the conduct of his mob of supporters.

Trump initially did not directly answer a question about whether he would accept the results of the election if he lost. When pressed by moderator Dana Bash, Trump conditioned his answer.

“If it’s a fair and legal and good election, absolutely,” Trump said. He then repeated the oft-debunked claims that election fraud was a major issue in his 2020 loss.

Jabs over personal conduct

Even with rules meant to minimize crosstalk, the debate — moderated by Bash, anchor and chief political correspondent, and Jake Tapper, anchor and chief Washington correspondent — saw many moments of acrimony.

While Trump had harsh words about Biden’s border policy and Biden blasted his predecessor for appointing some of the Supreme Court justices who overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, they saved their harshest criticism for the other’s personal conduct.

Referring to reports that, as president, Trump said veterans killed in action in France during World War II were “suckers and losers,” Biden, invoked his son, Beau, who was a National Guard veteran and later died of brain cancer.

“My son was not a loser and was not a sucker,” Biden told his predecessor, scowling. “You’re the sucker. You’re the loser.”

Trump denied he ever made the remark, first reported in The Atlantic and confirmed in other reports.

Biden at several times attacked Trump’s credibility and truthfulness, saying after one answer, “Every single thing he said is a lie.”

“I never heard so much malarkey in my whole life,” he said in response to another of Trump’s answers.

Trump brought up the conviction of Biden’s son, Hunter, on federal gun charges this year. And he said that Joe Biden could face prosecution for his performance on border security.

Trump and his legal team argued in front of the Supreme Court in April that presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution.

Trump’s conviction

Thursday’s event was the first presidential debate where one participant was a convicted felon.

A New York state jury in May found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts for falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels for an affair she testified they had that Trump didn’t want to harm his 2016 election prospects.

Trump has denied the affair and it hasn’t affected his support within the GOP, though his sentencing July 11 could impact his campaign strategy.

Trump rejected his criminal conviction during the debate and reiterated his stance that he didn’t have a sexual relationship with an adult film star.

“I didn’t have sex with a porn star,” Trump said, marking the first time such words, or anything near them, have been uttered during a presidential debate.

“I did nothing wrong. We have a system that was rigged and disgusting,” Trump said. “I did nothing wrong.”

Trump also responded to the question by referring to Hunter Biden.

“When he talks about a convicted felon, his son is a convicted felon,” Trump said.

Jan. 6 disagreement

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to release a ruling within days in another trial involving Trump, this time on whether presidents enjoy complete immunity from criminal prosecution for their actions while in office.

The justices’ decision will determine whether a federal trial against Trump for election interference stemming from his actions on Jan. 6, 2021 can proceed.

During the debate, Trump said that “on January 6 we were respected all over the world,” but that changed after Biden took office.

Trump seemed to imply that the people who stormed the Capitol building were “innocent” and “patriotic,” saying that “you ought to be ashamed of yourself” for those people being in prison.

Biden said that Trump encouraged the “folks” who attacked the U.S. Capitol building and U.S. Capitol Police officers.

“If they’re convicted, he says he wants to commute their sentences,” Biden said, criticizing Trump’s behavior that day. “These people should be in jail. They should be the ones held accountable.”

Biden rejected the idea that the people who attacked the police and disrupted the electoral certification were patriots.

Divide on abortion rights

Reproductive rights — including access to abortion — sharply divided Biden and Trump, who sparred over which political party’s stance is better.

Trump said that he agreed with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision earlier this month to leave access to mifepristone, one of two pharmaceuticals used in medication abortion, in place. And he said he wouldn’t seek to limit access if elected president in November.

“I agree with their decision to have done that, and I will not block it,” Trump said, adding that the Supreme Court’s earlier decision to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion was a good thing.

“We brought it back to the states and the country is now coming together on this issue,” Trump said. “It’s been a great thing.”

Trump said he supports exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the woman.

Biden rejected Trump’s classification that Democrats are “radical” on abortion policy and said he supports reinstating the protections that existed under Roe v. Wade.

“It’s been a terrible thing,” Biden said of leaving decisions about abortion access up to state lawmakers, comparing it to leaving civil rights decisions up to the states.

Trump said during an interview with Time magazine released in April that his campaign was on the brink of releasing a policy regarding mifepristone, one of two pharmaceuticals used in medication abortion. The campaign has yet to release that policy.

Trump suggested that he would be okay with states limiting or barring access to contraception during a May interview with a Pittsburgh TV news station. But he quickly walked back those comments in a social media post.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative-leaning think tank, has suggested that another Trump administration could block the mailing of mifepristone by enforcing the Comstock Act.

The group included the proposal along with dozens of others in Project 2025, its 920-page blueprint for a second Trump administration.

The 1873 anti-obscenity law hasn’t been enforced in decades and is referred to as a “zombie law” by reproductive rights organizations, but it is still technically a law.

A future Republican attorney general seeking to enforce the law to block the mailing of mifepristone would likely see the law challenged in court, likely working its way up to the Supreme Court.

Mifepristone is one of two pharmaceuticals used in medication abortions, which are approved for up to 10 weeks gestation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The two-drug regimen accounts for about 63% of all abortions within the United States, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

First of two debates

The two presidential debates this year are a departure from past years, with both candidates ditching the proposed schedule from the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.

Biden and Trump later agreed to two debates, the one held Thursday by CNN and another one on Sept. 10 that will be hosted by ABC News.

CNN opted to hold its debate at its studios in Atlanta, Georgia, without an audience. Thursday night’s debate was also earlier than any other presidential debates, which have traditionally begun in September or October.

The television news network created frustration ahead of the debate with the White House Correspondents Association when it decided to keep the pool, the group of journalists that travel everywhere with the president, out of the room.

Kelly O’Donnell, president of the WHCA, released a statement Thursday afternoon that the organization was “deeply concerned that CNN has rejected our repeated requests to include the White House travel pool inside the studio.”

“The pool is there for the ‘what ifs?’ in a world where the unexpected does happen,” wrote O’Donnell, who is also the senior White House correspondent for NBC News. “A pool reporter is present to provide context and insight by direct observation and not through the lens of the television production.”

CNN’s rules also said that neither Biden nor Trump was allowed to bring props or pre-written notes into the debate area.

Each stood behind “a uniform podium” and was not allowed to interact with campaign staff during the two commercial breaks.

Biden was scheduled to travel with first lady Jill Biden to Raleigh, North Carolina, immediately after the debate wrapped. They’re set to participate in campaign events on Friday morning before traveling to New York later in the day.

The Bidens are then expected to travel to Red Bank, New Jersey, on Saturday for more campaigning before heading back to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.

Trump will attend a campaign rally Friday afternoon in Chesapeake, Virginia. In a release announcing the event, Trump criticized Biden on inflation, crime and drug addiction, and immigration.

Reaction in the spin room

While Democrats were pelted with questions about Biden inside the spin room following the debate, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, focused on Trump.

“The American people got a chance tonight to be reminded about the character of Donald Trump, a man who stood there and lied for 90 minutes straight,” Warnock said. “But what I was also struck by was by what he did not say. Every time he was asked a question that had something to do with the lives of the ordinary working-class people that I represent here in the state of Georgia, did you notice he never answered the question?”

Trump allies declared victory for the former president.

“People who have not made up their mind, if you were watching this debate, you’re voting for Donald Trump,” South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican whom Trump is considering as his running mate, said. “It was one of the greatest contrasts between two politicians I’ve ever seen in my life. The dominance of Donald Trump is undeniable.”

Scott and fellow potential Trump vice presidential pick Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York declined to comment on the possibility they could be asked to join the Trump ticket.

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said he would “very seriously” consider an offer if Trump made it.

Ross Williams and Jill Nolin contributed to this report.?

This story has been updated.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill on June 26, 2024 in Washington, D.C. Republicans in the House are attempting to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in “inherent contempt” of Congress over the audio and video records of Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Republican Conference will file a lawsuit against the Department of Justice next week as it attempts to gain access to the audio tapes of special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Joe Biden.

House Speaker Mike Johnson made the announcement Wednesday during a press conference after being asked about Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s plans to hold an “inherent contempt” vote Friday for Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Luna and others aligned with her hope that vote could lead Garland to turn over the tapes, despite Biden exerting executive privilege.

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said during the press conference that House Republicans are united in getting access to the tapes “to confirm what’s on the written transcript.”

“In the meantime, there are a lot of different ideas and discussions that people are brainstorming on how might we acquire access to those tapes. We are looking at all avenues,” Johnson said. “I’ve talked to Anna Paulina Luna and other colleagues about various ideas, but I don’t think anything’s been settled on as of yet.”

Johnson said House Republicans plan “to be as aggressive as we can and use every tool in our arsenal to make sure” the audio tapes are released “because we have an obligation in the Constitution to do it.”

Vote on Friday

Luna and several of her colleagues held a press conference a couple of hours earlier to advocate for the inherent contempt vote of Garland, a rarely used process which could potentially lead to his detainment and a trial held in the House of Representatives.

That vote will be held Friday morning, she said.

“This is something that would enable the speaker of the House to order the sergeant at arms to take into custody the attorney general if he fails to comply with our request,” Luna said, later adding that she would hope Garland would turn himself in if the vote is successful.

The inherent contempt process would likely be faster than waiting for House Republicans’ lawsuit to work its way through the judicial system, she said.

“Under the inherent contempt power of the House, the recalcitrant witness may be arrested and brought to trial before the bar of the House, with

the offender facing possible incarceration,” according to “The House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House.”

The detailed 1,073-page document, written by two former House parliamentarians as well as the current parliamentarian, notes that during “the trial of the witness in the House, questions may be put to the witness by the Speaker…or by a committee.”

“In one instance, the matter was investigated by a committee, the respondent was then brought to the bar of the House, and a resolution was reported to the House for its vote,” it continues.

Hur’s report on Biden classified documents probe

Hur released the 388-page special counsel’s report in February, concluding that Biden “willfully retained” classified information following his term as vice president, though he declined to prosecute the sitting president.

Hur wrote in the report “that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

Biden and many of his allies vehemently rejected Hur’s characterizations of the president and his memory, while Republicans have sought to gain access to the audio tapes for a potentially more detailed accounting of the interview.

The characterizations of Biden’s memory have become part of the running Republican narrative that he isn’t suited to remain in the Oval Office as president for another four years.

The interview tapes could either reinforce or refute that narrative, though GOP lawmakers are adamant that Biden and Garland blocking their release means they could be damaging to his reelection bid.

The House voted 216-207 earlier this month to hold Garland in contempt of Congress for not turning over audio tapes of the Hur-Biden interview after the Oversight and Judiciary committees issued a subpoena.

Garland released a written statement afterward that it was “deeply disappointing that this House of Representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon.”

“Today’s vote disregards the constitutional separation of powers, the Justice Department’s need to protect its investigations, and the substantial amount of information we have provided to the Committees,” Garland wrote. “I will always stand up for this Department, its employees, and its vital mission to defend our democracy.”

Biden, Democrats’ presumptive nominee for president, will debate former President Donald Trump, Republicans’ presumptive nominee for president, on Thursday night in Atlanta, Georgia.

The two are expected to hold a second debate in September, well before voters head to the polls in November.

Holstein milking cows at an Idaho dairy on July 20, 2012. (Photo by Kirsten Strough/USDA)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that four states will launch voluntary pilot programs in the days ahead to test bulk milk tanks on dairy farms for bird flu — a move that’s aimed at making it easier for farmers to ship herds across state lines and for public health officials to track spread of the virus.

Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas will be in the first round of voluntary participation, with other states likely to follow, officials said on a call with reporters.

“This list of participating states is just the beginning,” said Eric Deeble, the acting senior advisor for H5N1 response at USDA.

“We are in close conversation with about a dozen other states who are very interested in participating as well,” Deeble said. “But it was important for us to get these four states going so that other states could watch how the program works and gain additional confidence.”

The launch of the pilot program, he said, is “an important step forward” for efforts to reduce the spread of bird flu, also known as H5N1, as well as for expanding understanding of the virus.

Farmers who voluntarily enter the program will be able to move their herds across state lines without additional testing after bulk milk tanks or similar representative samples test negative for H5N1 for three consecutive weeks.

“Producers must also comply with continued regular weekly monitoring and testing of their herd for H5N1, but that process can happen with very little effort on the part of the producer, using routine bulk milk samples,” Deeble said.

126 cases of bird flu confirmed

The announcement is part of the federal government’s ongoing response to the months-long outbreak within dairy cattle and years-long challenges faced by the country’s poultry industry.

The USDA has confirmed 126 cases of bird flu in dairy cattle herds in a dozen states as of June 21, including Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.

Idaho has the most dairy herds affected, with a total of 27. That’s followed by Michigan with 25 herds and Texas with 21 herds. Colorado has reported 18 affected herds, while each of the other states has fewer than 10 herds testing positive for bird flu, according to the USDA data.

Three dairy farmworkers have contracted avian flu this year, though all cases were mild.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reinforced during the call Tuesday that the risk to the general public remains low, though there is an increased risk of contracting the virus for workers, both on dairy farms and poultry farms.

FDA to do more testing

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also announced Tuesday it’s broadening its testing for H5N1 to include about 155 additional samples of dairy products, including aged raw milk cheese, cream cheese, butter and ice cream.

The FDA has repeatedly tested pasteurized milk from store shelves in the months since the first dairy cattle herd tested positive for H5N1 and has continuously emphasized the nation’s milk supply remains safe.

“This retail sampling effort is intended to address remaining geographic and product gaps from the initial sampling of the commercial milk supply that FDA conducted between April and May of this year,” said Don Prater, acting director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the FDA.

It will likely take several weeks before those results are completed and made public, he said.

That second round of expanded food safety testing will not include raw milk, since it is not approved for interstate commerce, he said.

But the FDA has sent a letter to its local, state and tribal partners, cautioning those that do allow the sale of raw milk to talk with consumers about the additional risks, given that H5N1 is spreading through dairy herds in several parts of the country.

Prater, speaking on the call Tuesday, noted the FDA continues to strongly advise against drinking raw milk.

“We also recommend that the industry does not manufacture or sell raw milk or raw milk products, including raw milk cheese made with milk from cows showing symptoms of illness, including those infected with the avian influenza viruses or exposed to those infected with avian influenza viruses.”

Former President Donald Trump shakes hands with Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, on June 13, 2024 in Washington, D.C., as Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, left, seen as a possible vice presidential pick, and other Republicans look on. Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, was visiting Capitol Hill to meet with Senate Republicans and participate in additional meetings. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Republican members of the U.S. Senate striving for a takeover of their chamber in the November elections have a wish list for what they’d like to see in Donald Trump’s running mate.

A “little calmer” than Trump. Confident. Conservative. Military experience. Good relationships with senators. Ready to take over as chief executive if needed, they told States Newsroom in interviews.

Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, has held off on revealing his pick. But he’s dropped tantalizing compliments about a few of the short-list candidates, producing non-stop headlines about the veepstakes in advance of the Republican National Convention next month.

So far, Trump hasn’t indicated a clear favorite, leading to incessant speculation about what characteristics he’s looking for in his second-in-command this time around, the person who will head up the GOP ticket with him in what’s likely to be a close election.

In 2016, Trump selected Indiana’s Mike Pence, in part to sway evangelical Christians who were skeptical about Trump’s moral character.

Trump is seeking a second term in office as a convicted felon found guilty on 34 counts in New York for falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to an adult film star ahead of the 2016 election. He’s also facing federal charges for seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election and has cast aside Pence after his former vice president refused to take part in the scheme.

That, however, hasn’t diminished the number of GOP lawmakers and former presidential hopefuls jostling to join his ticket.

Trump’s list of vice presidential candidates reportedly includes North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Arkansas U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, Florida U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, former South Carolina Gov. and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, former GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, New York U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik and Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance.

Republican senators, including some thought to be in the running to be tapped as the veep candidate, met with Trump on June 13 to map campaign strategy and portray unity.

Trump told NBC News on Saturday his pick “most likely” will be at Thursday night’s debate with President Joe Biden in Atlanta.

Confidence and a coalition

Several Republican senators interviewed by States Newsroom offered suggestions for what traits might be most helpful for Trump in a vice president during a potential second term.

West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said she’s hoping to see a vice presidential pick who can bring confidence and a wider GOP coalition to the table.

“I think you want somebody who has broad knowledge, not just national, but international, (you want) decisiveness, and somebody who’s got leadership that you could actually see taking the reins of the presidency, somebody who has conservative principles on the Republican side and is a proven leader,” Capito said.

“I would imagine for President Trump, it’s going to be somebody that brings a broader constituency to him,” Capito said, adding “and is probably a little calmer than he is.”

‘Good relationships across the spectrum’

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Trump would “benefit from somebody who, in the right setting, is providing a lot of good upward feedback, supporting the president’s agenda.”

The former and possibly future president would also gain from a pick who is “well studied on the issues,” and if it’s a senator, “a person with good relationships across the spectrum would help,” Tillis said.

“We’re probably going to have a tight margin, so if you think about maybe somebody who has past relationships with people in the House, good relationships with the Republican conference. I mean, we’re gonna have some tough votes,” Tillis said.

For example, Congress faces a massive tax code fight next year as several provisions in the 2017 Republican tax law are set to expire. Tillis recalled the internal GOP debate in 2017 “wasn’t a cakewalk.”

“We had to work to get Republican support,” Tillis said. “So having somebody that naturally has that chemistry, you know, whether or not you’ve worked on legislation, or you just have a good relationship going in. If I were in President Trump’s position, that’d be a key factor.”

Congress will also need to address the debt limit next year, a debate that carries significant economic consequences, both domestically and around the globe.

A stint in the military

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst — a top member of the Armed Services Committee and a retired lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard — said she “would love to see somebody that does have foreign relations or military policy experience.”

“I think that would be key, to have someone that’s young and enthusiastic and would be able to fill the role of our next president as well,” Ernst said.

Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran said that Trump might want to pick someone whom voters feel confident can follow him as the leader of the Republican Party.

“I’m not sure that vice presidential nominees have a lot of impact, influence on how people vote,” Moran said. “But I would say that this may be a year in which that matters — (given the) age of candidates. And so who might follow is probably of interest to people. And I would say that the best qualification is somebody who’d be a great president.”

Indiana Sen. Mike Braun, who is likely to become his home state’s next governor, said Trump needs someone who thinks like him politically, so the two don’t differ on policy issues, as well as someone ready to become president if required.

“I think someone’s going to have to be on the same wavelength politically, for sure,” Braun said. “I think I’ve heard him say that he wants somebody ready to step into the role if necessary. I think the loyalty factor is something he’s always stressed.”

Alabama Sen. Katie Britt said that no matter who Trump picks off his short list, Republicans will win back the Oval Office in November.

“Every senator on the list is outstanding,” Britt said. “And I’ll be excited about the good things that we’re going to be able to do with him back in office and us in control of the Senate.”

When asked his opinion of Trump’s VP short list, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said, “I haven’t seen anybody on the list that I would object to.”

Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said he wouldn’t comment on specific contenders, but added “all the names I’ve heard mentioned seem to be good people.”

“But what counts is what President Trump thinks, and I don’t have the slightest idea who he’s gonna pick,” Kennedy said.

A sitting senator

Republican senators who spoke to States Newsroom appeared mostly unfazed by the possibility that a vice presidential pick could be from among their ranks — even if that lowers what could be a very narrow majority in the Senate come January.

Capito said she thinks a Republican majority will likely remain safe even if Trump chooses one of her colleagues as his running mate.

“I think the ones he’s talking about are from pretty red states, but you know, you’re always concerned about that,” Capito said. “But I think it would be great to have a colleague who was in the Senate with me be our vice president.”

Braun said that Trump might want to consider the polling of several key races for the Senate before picking his nominee.

“I think that could be a consideration,” Braun said. “You take that risk off the table.”

When asked whether a VP pick from the Senate could weaken or upset a GOP majority, Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said, “I’m sure Trump will take that into consideration.”

Tillis said he is not concerned about Trump’s VP pick threatening a Republican Senate majority, and he speculated that Trump may even pull from the upper chamber when choosing his Cabinet, should he be elected.

“I think the replacement protocol doesn’t make it a significant issue,” Tillis said.

Grassley echoed Tillis. “Are we talking about Ohio, Florida, South Carolina? That’s it. I don’t think you’d worry about that,” he said.

Forty-five states require the governor to appoint someone to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat, and 37 of those states fill the vacancy with the chosen appointment until the next statewide election, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

The remaining states — Kentucky, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin — require vacant Senate seats to be filled by a special election.

All of Trump’s picks from the Senate are from states with Republican governors.

Abortion rights protesters at the U.S. Supreme Court. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Exactly two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, the battles rage among both advocates and lawmakers over the future of reproductive rights at the state and federal levels.

Anti-abortion groups that have achieved considerable success in deep-red parts of the country are working to sway voters away from approving ballot questions in more than a dozen states this November that could bolster protections for abortion. Several will be decided in states that will have an outsized role in determining control of Congress and the White House.

Abortion opponents are also preparing a game plan to implement if former President Donald Trump regains the Oval Office, a prospect that could lead to sweeping executive actions on abortion access as well as at least one more conservative Supreme Court justice.

Reproductive rights organizations are honing in on the numerous ballot questions as a crucial way to remove decisions from the hands of lawmakers, especially in purple or conservative-leaning states.

Abortion rights supporters are also trying to shore up support for Democrats in key races for the U.S. House and Senate as well as hoping to keep President Joe Biden in office for another four years.

$100 million to be spent by abortion rights advocates

Both sides plan to spend millions to win over voters.

The Center for Reproductive Rights, National Women’s Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union and several other organizations announced Monday they’re putting at least $100 million toward building “a long-term federal strategy to codify the right to abortion, including lobbying efforts, grassroots organizing, public education, and comprehensive communication strategies to mobilize support and enact change.”

“Anti-abortion lawmakers have already banned or severely restricted abortion in 21 states with devastating consequences, and they won’t stop until they can force a nationwide ban on abortion and push care out of reach entirely, even in states that have protected abortion access,” they wrote.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and PAC Women Speak Out announced they would dedicate $92 million to make contact with at least 10 million voters in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio.

SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser wrote in a statement released Monday that there “is still much work ahead to ensure that every mother and child is supported and protected.”

“Meanwhile we are just one election cycle away from having every gain for life ripped away,” Dannenfelser wrote. “Joe Biden and the Democrats are hell-bent on banning protections for unborn children, spreading fear and lies, and forcing all-trimester abortion any time for any reason — even when babies can feel pain — as national law.”

Democrats have tried repeatedly to enact protections for abortion access, contraception and in vitro fertilization in Congress — both when they had unified control of government following the fall of Roe in 2022 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and during divided government.

None of Democrats’ bills have garnered the support needed to move past the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster.

In addition to calling on Congress to restore the protections that existed under Roe, the Biden administration is attempting to defend abortion and other reproductive rights through executive actions as well as in front of the Supreme Court.

Abortion pill, emergency care

Earlier this year, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued two cases on abortion access.

The first case, brought by four anti-abortion medical organizations and four anti-abortion doctors, addressed access to mifepristone, one of two pharmaceuticals used in medication abortions.

The justices unanimously ruled earlier this month that the groups didn’t have standing to bring the case in the first place, though they didn’t address any other aspects of the case.

The second case, yet undecided, has to do with when doctors can provide abortions as emergency medical care under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act or EMTALA.

Assistant to the President and Director of the Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein said on a call with reporters Monday that there’s not much the Biden administration will be able to do if the justices side with Idaho in the case.

“If the court rejects our current interpretation, our options on emergency medical care are likely to be limited,” Klein said.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in July 2022, shortly after the Dobbs ruling came out, released a letter saying that EMTALA protected health care providers who use abortion as stabilizing care.

The letter stated that “if a physician believes that a pregnant patient presenting at an emergency department, including certain labor and delivery departments, is experiencing an emergency medical condition as defined by EMTALA, and that abortion is the stabilizing treatment necessary to resolve that condition, the physician must provide that treatment.”

“And when a state law prohibits abortion and does not include an exception for the life and health of the pregnant person — or draws the exception more narrowly than EMTALA’s emergency medical condition definition — that state law is preempted,” Becerra wrote.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently established a new portal that is supposed to make it easier for people to file complaints under EMTALA if they’re denied an emergency abortion.

Comstock Act repeal

Klein also said on the call the White House will likely support a bill introduced last week in Congress to repeal sections of the Comstock Act, an 1873 anti-obscenity law, that could be used to bar the mailing of medication abortion during a future GOP administration.

“We support all actions by Democrats in Congress to protect reproductive freedom, including this one,” Klein said, after noting the interagency process for determining whether the Biden administration will support the bill was still ongoing.

The legislation, however, is unlikely to pass in a Congress with a Republican-controlled House and a Democratic majority in the Senate. And divided government appears likely to continue during the next four years, regardless of which presidential candidate wins in November.

Ballot questions in states

Outside of court cases and executive actions, ballot referendums are shaping up to be the more fruitful battleground for those supportive of abortion access, though anti-abortion groups are hoping to make some headway this fall.

Advocates in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Pennsylvania and South Dakota have either secured questions for the November ballot or are in the process of doing so, according to the health news publication KFF.

Residents in California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Vermont and Ohio have all previously decided to bolster or add protection for abortion access in the two years since the Supreme Court ruling was released.

Polling from the Pew Research Center conducted earlier this year shows that 63% of Americans support abortion access being legal in all or most cases, while 36% say it should be illegal in most or all cases.

The polling shows that Democrats and Republicans hold views in both directions, with 41% of Republicans and 85% of Democrats saying it should be legal in most or all cases, while 57% of Republicans and 14% of Democrats say it should be illegal in most or all cases.

The issue, as well as Biden and Trump’s records on abortion, are likely to be a central part of the first presidential debate on Thursday, just three days after the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs ruling.

President Joe Biden speaks at an event marking the 12th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in the East Room at the White House on June 18, 2024, in Washington, D.C. At left is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee has taken a significant step toward formally designating Joe Biden as the party’s presidential nominee before the Democratic convention in August — a move that’s necessary to place him on the Ohio ballot for November’s election, States Newsroom has been told.

DNC members finalized their vote Thursday to move forward with an all-virtual roll call vote after 360 members voted in favor, two voted against and five abstained, according to a spokesperson.

In addition, the DNC will offer an online portal for Democrats to say what they want to see included in the national party platform as it is constructed ahead of the convention.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison wrote in a statement that during the first term of the Biden-Harris administration, “we’ve seen the incredible outcomes that can result when democratic ideas are put into action.”

“I’m excited to announce that this year, through our testimony portal, we’ll be able to hear from more Americans and receive more input than ever before as we chart the road to the 2024 Democratic National Convention,” Harrison wrote. “We’ll build a platform that is rooted in the collective experience of Americans and mobilize people to vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in November.”

Virtual roll call

In order to nominate Biden and Harris before the Ohio deadline, the DNC’s Credentials Committee and the Rules Committee will next need to adopt their reports to allow the virtual roll call, which will formally nominate Biden and Harris, to take place before the convention.

The DNC Convention is scheduled to begin in Chicago on Aug. 19, but the state of Ohio requires that presidential candidates are formally nominated at least 90 days before Election Day.

The DNC is also moving forward with plans to hold some version of the traditional roll call during the convention, though the party is looking to “build on the success” of the roll call vote held during the all-virtual 2020 presidential nominating convention, necessitated by the pandemic.

The DNC spokesperson told States Newsroom that the goal for this year’s convention-week nomination is to pull in more Americans beyond the delegates who are in Chicago at the United Center.

Democrats, the spokesperson said, are looking to revive elements of the 2020 roll call vote, which they called “Roll Call Across America.”

The all-virtual nomination during the 2020 convention featured Democratic delegates voting from historic and sometimes quirky locations.

Those included the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama, the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Railroad Station in Delaware, a cornfield in Iowa, an art studio and community center in Louisiana, a field of grazing cattle in Montana, Biden’s childhood home in Pennsylvania and a beach in Rhode Island where a chef held a plate of fried calamari.

Democratic platform?

In addition to working toward the nomination of Biden and Harris, the DNC is preparing to build the official Democratic platform in the weeks ahead.

The DNC planned to open the online portal Friday that will allow all Democrats to fill out a form detailing what they want to see in this year’s party platform, the spokesperson said.

There will be a version in English as well as one in Spanish.

The first Platform Committee meeting will be July 16, followed by the Rules Committee meeting on July 19 and the Credentials Committee’s first meeting on July 21.

Those meetings will be held the same week that Republicans gather in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to hold their convention and formally nominate Donald Trump as their presidential candidate.

All the DNC’s committee meetings will be virtual and streamed online for anyone to watch. Each committee includes about 200 people from the 57 states and territories.

The DNC on Friday also announced the 15 members of the platform drafting committee.

That list includes Chair Louisa Terrell, former director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs; former Labor Department Secretary Marty Walsh; Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison; Ted Kaufman, who worked in Biden’s U.S. Senate office before serving as the U.S. senator from Delaware; Jeremy Bash, who previously worked as the chief of staff at the CIA and the U.S. Department of Defense; Rebecca Brocato, who previously worked as a special assistant to Biden and as the National Security Council senior director for legislative affairs; Marla Blunt-Carter, who worked as the projects manager and director of constituent services in Biden’s Senate office as well as the senior advisor and political strategist for U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester; Joelle Gamble, former deputy director of the National Economic Council; Josh Hsu, former counsel and chief legal advisor for Vice President Harris; Angela Kelley, the chief advisor for policy and partnerships at the American Immigration Council and at the American Immigration Lawyers Association; former South Carolina state Sen, Marlon Kimpson; Rohini Kosoglu, former deputy assistant for Biden and domestic policy advisor for Harris; Lori Lodes, executive director at Climate Power, a political organization focused on addressing climate change; Jeff Peck, who worked for Biden on the Senate Judiciary Committee as general counsel and staff director in the late 1980s and early 1990s; Bharat Ramamurti, former deputy director for the National Economic Council; and Hilda Solis, secretary of labor during the Obama administration.

The drafting committee’s first meeting will be July 11. It will be held virtually and available for anyone to watch on the DNC’s YouTube page.

Democratic National Convention Committee Chair Minyon Moore wrote in a statement that during the “final sprint to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, we look forward to drawing upon our party’s rich diversity and hearing from Americans from all walks of life as we chart the course for the next four years under the leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris.”

“The Democratic Party’s strength is our diversity and, together, we will build a platform that reaffirms who we are as Democrats and sets us on the path to victory once again this November.”

Supporters of reproductive rights protested outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as justices heard oral arguments over access to mifepristone, one of two pharmaceuticals used in medication abortion. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Top Democratic campaign officials Thursday pressed their case for control of Congress and the White House by pointing toward the upcoming two-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the constitutional right to an abortion.

More than a dozen Democrats also introduced legislation in Congress to prevent a future Republican administration from using an 1873 law, known as the Comstock Act, to bar mailing abortion medication.

On a call with reporters, the three campaign leaders said voters must flip the House from red to blue, keep Democrats in control of the Senate against the long odds and ensure President Joe Biden stays in the Oval Office to prevent the GOP from potentially implementing nationwide restrictions on reproductive rights.

Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Vice Chair Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington repeatedly said that Democrats would restore nationwide protections for abortion access if given unified control of government.

They, however, didn’t provide a clear road map for what Democrats would do on reproductive rights, including access to contraception and in vitro fertilization, if divided control of government continues.

Instead, they pointed to what Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, might do in the event voters elect him president during November’s elections.

“We need to be clear that Trump and MAGA Republicans want to ban abortion and they have a plan to do it through executive action without any bill ever passing Congress; because they believe that politicians should have the power to make these decisions for women, whose lives and stories they will never know,” Smith said on the call.

Comstock Act fears

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has released “Project 2025,” a lengthy document that outlines what it believes Trump should do during a second term.

The Trump campaign hasn’t endorsed the document or said it would seek to implement it in full or in part, though a former Trump administration official led its development.

The proposal includes using the Comstock Act —? a law enacted more than 150 years ago to prevent the mailing of obscene materials, contraceptives and anything that could produce an abortion — to bar the shipment of medication abortion throughout the United States.

Smith on Thursday introduced a three-page bill that would eliminate that as a possibility, though the legislation may not advance in the Senate and is very unlikely to make it through the GOP-controlled House before November.

Medication abortion, which includes mifepristone and misoprostol, accounts for about 63% of abortions nationwide, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The two pharmaceuticals are also used for miscarriage care. Misoprostol has other medical uses, as well.

The Comstock Act, enacted in 1873, originally barred the mailing of materials considered lewd or obscene at the time, but is written so broadly that it has been used to bar boxing photographs, art and information about contraception.

The law explicitly prohibits mailing “every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use.” Smith’s bill would seek to eliminate those provisions.

Smith, when asked about the Comstock Act on the call Thursday, said the “zombie law” could be used to make medication abortion illegal without a vote in the Congress.

“It’s very clear what their plan is,” Smith said of Republicans. “And so this is another example of the very clear choice that American voters have.”

DelBene, who is leading Democrats’ campaign arm in the House, said on the call that Republicans are already trying to change when and how Americans have access to various reproductive rights by attaching amendments to the must-pass government funding bills.

“This election is fundamentally about our rights, our freedoms, our democracy and our future,” DelBene said. “House Republicans have made it clear they’re willing to do anything to take those away.”

A divided Congress predicted

The most likely outcome of November’s elections isn’t currently unified Democratic control in the eyes of some analysts however.

Three experts at Moody’s Analytics released an analysis this week, showing the most probable result is that Biden will remain president with a divided Congress.

That scenario had a 40% probability, while a Republican sweep had a probability of 35%. Trump winning the presidential election and gaining a divided Congress had a 15% probability. A Democratic sweep had a 10% probability, according to the report.

The most likely scenario of Biden remaining president with a split Congress suggests that the GOP would flip the Senate and the Democrats would regain the House of Representatives.

“With the retirement of West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, the deep-red state will almost surely elect a Republican senator, leaving the Senate evenly divided,” the report states. “But while recent polling shows that Senate races in Arizona, Maryland, Montana, Nevada and Ohio are close, Republicans need to take only one of these seats to regain the majority.”

“Each race has its own story, but helping the Republicans’ cause is angst over inflation and heightened concern over the immigrant crisis at the southern border,” the report adds.

The analysis goes on to say that “federal judicial decisions on redistricting efforts have also leaned in Democrats’ favor, boosting their chances” of regaining control of the House.

“Also, given that incumbents win reelection more than 90% of the time, the relatively high number of congressional retirements relative to previous cycles creates the potential for more change in the body,” the analysis states.

The report details the four outcomes of November’s election as well as the various economic scenarios that would play out under either a Biden or a Trump presidency for the next four years.

The report was written by Chief Economist Mark M. Zandi, Director/Senior Economist Brendan La Cerda and Economist Justin Begley.

A coronavirus drive-through testing site at the Theodore Roosevelt Nature Center on March 17, 2020 at Jones Beach State Park, New York. It was the first drive-through coronavirus testing site on Long Island. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Scientists debated the origins of COVID-19 on Tuesday, trading barbs over whether the bulk of evidence available points to a natural spillover event from a wild animal or a virus designed in a lab and then let loose through an inadvertent leak.

The hearing in front of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee was part of ongoing efforts in Congress to apply the lessons learned during the pandemic to prevent or blunt the next outbreak.

Gregory Koblentz, associate professor and director of the Biodefense Graduate Program at George Mason University in Virginia, said during the two-hour hearing that debate continues in the scientific community about the origins.

“The possibility that SARS-CoV-2 was deliberately developed as a biological weapon has been unanimously rejected by all U.S. intelligence agencies,” Koblentz testified. “While the intelligence community is divided on the origin of the pandemic, most of the agencies have determined that the virus was not genetically engineered.”

Residents in Wuhan, China, were first diagnosed with “an atypical pneumonia-like illness” in December 2019, according to a COVID-19 timeline from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Initial cases all appeared linked to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market at the time, though there has since been much speculation about the types of research taking place at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Koblentz said he believes the available evidence points to a spillover event from an animal, though he added a “research-related accident can’t be ruled out at this time.”

The lack of transparency and data from the Chinese government has significantly hindered scientists’ efforts to unify around the origin of COVID-19, he said.

Scientists battle over lab vs. spillover

Richard Ebright, board of governors professor of chemistry and chemical biology and laboratory director at the Waksman Institute of Microbiology at Rutgers University in New Jersey, testified he believes a “large preponderance of evidence indicates SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, entered humans through a research incident.”

Ebright also leveled criticism at fellow panelist Robert Garry, who, along with a handful of co-authors, published an opinion article in the journal nature medicine in March 2020, titled “The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2.”

In the commentary, Garry and the other scientists wrote, “we do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible.”

Ebright said during Tuesday’s hearing that the opinion article represented “scientific misconduct up to and including fraud,” a characterization that Garry rejected during the hearing.

“The authors were stating their opinion, but that opinion was not well-founded,” Ebright said. “In March of 2020, there was no basis to state that as a conclusion, as opposed to simply being a hypothesis.”

Garry, professor and associate dean of the School of Medicine at Tulane University in Louisiana, argued on behalf of the spillover event during the hearing, testifying that the virus likely didn’t move directly from a bat to humans, but went to an unidentified intermediary animal.

“The bat coronaviruses are viruses that are spread by the gastrointestinal route,” Garry said. “For a virus like this to become a respiratory virus — it’s just going to require too many mutations, too many changes for a bat virus to spill directly over to a human being. That could only really happen in nature with replication through an intermediate animal.”

Garry also defended gain-of-function research during the hearing, arguing that it has had some beneficial impact, though he noted that it does need “appropriate safeguards and restrictions.”

Lawmakers and pundits have used several, often evolving, definitions for gain-of-function research in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Society for Microbiology defines it as techniques “used in research to alter the function of an organism in such a way that it is able to do more than it used to do.”

When research is “responsibly performed” on highly transmissible and pathogenic viruses, it can lead to advances in public health and national security, Garry testified.

“Without gain-of-function research, we’d have no Tamiflu. Without gain-of-function research, we wouldn’t have a vaccine to prevent cancer caused by infection by the human papilloma virus,” Garry said. “And without gain-of-function research, we won’t be able to identify how novel viruses infect us. And if we don’t know how they infect us, we cannot develop appropriate treatments and cures for the next potential pandemic creating virus.”

Oversight of funding, research?

New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan raised several questions about whether there’s enough oversight of how the United States spends research dollars as well as what mechanisms are in place to monitor how private entities conduct certain types of research.

“While their research has the potential to cure diseases and boost our economy, unless they accept federal funding, there is very little federal oversight to ensure that private labs are engaged in safe and ethical research,” she said.

Koblentz from George Mason University said there is much less oversight of biosafety and biosecurity for private research facilities that don’t receive federal funding.

“In order to expand the scope of oversight to all privately funded research, (it) would require legislative action,” Koblentz said.

Congress, he said, should establish a national bio-risk management agency that would have authority over biosafety and biosecurity “regardless of the source of funding.”

“At the end of the day, it shouldn’t matter where the funding comes from in terms of making sure this research is being done safely, securely and responsibly,” Koblentz said.

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, ranking member on the committee, said the panel will hold an upcoming hearing specifically on gain-of-function research, including what steps Congress should take to ensure it doesn’t put the public at risk.

The next pandemic

Committee Chairman Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, said during the hearing that lawmakers “must learn from the challenges faced during this pandemic to ensure we can better protect Americans from future potential biological incidents.”

“Our government needs the flexibility to determine the origins of naturally occurring outbreaks, as well as potential outbreaks that could arise from mistakes or malicious intent,” Peters said.

Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, after listening to some of the debate, expressed exasperation that so much attention is going toward what caused the last pandemic and not on how to prepare for the next one.

“Given the fact that it could have been either, we know what action we ought to take to protect from either,” Romney said. “And so why there’s so much passion around that makes me think it’s more political than scientific, but maybe I’m wrong.”

The United States, he said, shouldn’t be funding gain-of-function research and should “insist” that anyone who receives federal funding follow the standards of the International Organization for Standardization.

U.S. Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic bill Thursday to bolster protections for in vitro fertilization. (Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats’ attempts to bolster reproductive rights failed again Thursday when Republicans blocked a bill guaranteeing access to in vitro fertilization from moving forward.

The 48-47 procedural vote came just one day after Republicans tried unsuccessfully to pass their own IVF access bill and one week after GOP senators prevented legislation from advancing that would have bolstered protections for access to contraception. Senate rules require 60 votes to proceed on most legislation.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, both Republicans, broke with their GOP colleagues to support the IVF measure moving toward a final vote. The two also voted for cloture on the contraception access bill last week.

During both debates, the vast majority of Senate Republicans said the bills went too far or were too broad, a characterization that Democrats vehemently rejected, calling the GOP stance on certain reproductive rights out of step with most Americans.

Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray said during floor debate the bill would ensure patients have a right to access IVF and that doctors have a right to provide that fertility treatment, as well as require more health insurance companies to cover IVF.

The package included additional provisions that would “help more veterans and service members, who have trouble conceiving, get the critical fertility services they need to start their families, including IVF,” Murray said.

“This is something I’ve long been pushing for, for years now, and it is long overdue,” Murray said. “All these men and women, who fought to protect our families, we owe it to them to make sure they have the support when they come home to grow theirs.”

Murray said advancing the bill should not be “controversial, especially if Republicans are serious about” supporting access to IVF.

“As we saw in Alabama, the threat to IVF is not hypothetical, it is not overblown and it is not fear mongering,” Murray said.

‘A show vote’

Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy spoke out against the bill during floor debate, saying it was not a serious effort at legislating and that no state currently bans access to IVF.

“I have been sitting here listening to this and I can’t help but notice my Democratic fellow senators have chosen to disrespect and deceive the American people as they politicize a deeply personal issue for short-term political gain,” he said.

Cassidy, ranking member on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said that had Democrats been serious about moving this bill, they would have put it up for debate in committee before bringing it to the floor.

He also criticized the legislation for requiring private insurance companies to provide unlimited fertility treatments, but setting a cap on how many treatments a veteran could receive from a Veterans Affairs clinic.

Republicans, Cassidy said, “are so open to working with Democrats on a sincere, bipartisan effort. But this is a show vote.”

“Today’s vote is disingenuous — pushing a bill haphazardly drafted and destined to fail does a disservice to all who may pursue IVF treatments,” Cassidy said.

GOP bill

The Senate vote came one day after Alabama Sen. Katie Britt and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, both Republicans, attempted to pass their IVF bill through a fast-track process called unanimous consent.

Their legislation would have blocked Medicaid funding from going to any state that bans IVF, though Democrats argued the measure wouldn’t actually have guarded against states classifying frozen embryos as children.

Britt said during debate on her bill Wednesday that she strongly supported nationwide access to IVF.

“Across America, about 2% of babies born are born because of IVF — that is about 200 babies per day,” Britt said. “So think about the magnitude of that number and the faces and the stories and the dreams it represents. In recent decades, millions of people have been born with the help of IVF.”

Murray blocked the Britt-Cruz bill from passing the Senate on Wednesday after Cruz asked unanimous consent to approve the measure. There was no recorded vote.

Protecting access

Senate Democrats’ IVF access bill was introduced by Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Murray and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker earlier this month.

The 64-page bill would have provided a right for people to access IVF and for doctors to provide that health care without the state or federal government “enacting harmful or unwarranted limitations or requirements.”

The measure included provisions that would have bolstered access to IVF for members of the military and veterans as well as spouses, partners, or gestational surrogates.

The legislation defines fertility treatment as “preserving human oocytes, sperm, or embryos for later reproductive use; artificial insemination; genetic testing of embryos; use of medications for fertility; and gamete donation.”

The bill defines assisted reproductive technology as “including in vitro fertilization and other treatments or procedures in which reproductive genetic material, such as oocytes, sperm, fertilized eggs, and embryos, are handled, when clinically appropriate.”

Duckworth tried to pass a similar bill through unanimous consent back in February. But Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith blocked approval through the fast-track unanimous consent process. There was no recorded vote at the time.

Personal experience

Duckworth has talked openly about her struggles to start a family and use of IVF throughout her time as a senator, including this year after the Alabama state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos constituted children under state law.

During floor debate Thursday, she spoke again about her own experiences with IVF, which she said is the reason she gets to put her 6-year-old’s drawings up on her Senate office wall and get tackled by her 9-year-old on Mother’s Day.

“I didn’t know it at the time back then, but infertility would become one of the most heartbreaking struggles of my life,” Duckworth said of her 23 years in the military that included a helicopter crash in which she lost her legs. “My miscarriage, more painful than any wound I ever earned on the battlefield.”

Duckworth said Republican opposition to the bill shows a lack of “common decency and common sense.”

“Excuse me if I find it a bit offensive when a bunch of politicians, who’ve never spent a day in med school, hint that those of us who’ve needed the help of IVF to become moms should be sitting behind bars rather than lulling our babies to sleep in rocking chairs.”

Packages of Mifepristone tablets are displayed at a family planning clinic on April 13, 2023 in Rockville, Maryland. (Photo illustration by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a much-anticipated decision Thursday that mifepristone, one of two pharmaceuticals used in medication abortion, can remain available under current prescribing guidelines.

The high court unanimously rejected attempts by anti-abortion groups to roll back access to what was in place more than eight years ago, writing that they lacked standing to bring the case.

Those limits would have made it more difficult for patients to get a prescription for mifepristone, which the Food and Drug Administration has approved for up to 10 weeks gestation and is used in about 63% of U.S. abortions.

Erin Morrow Hawley, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, who argued the case in front of the court on behalf of the legal organization, doesn’t believe this is the end of efforts to challenge access to mifepristone.

She said on a call shortly after the ruling was released the three states that intervened in a lower court — Idaho, Kansas and Missouri — could still advance their arguments against mifepristone and potentially hold standing, the legal right to bring a case.

“I would expect the litigation to continue with those three states,” Hawley said.

Kavanaugh writes opinion

Justice Brett Kavanaugh?wrote the opinion?in the united ruling from the Supreme Court, with Justice Clarence Thomas writing a concurring opinion.

“Plaintiffs are pro-life, oppose elective abortion, and have sincere legal, moral, ideological, and policy objections to mifepristone being prescribed and used by others,” Kavanaugh wrote.

The four anti-abortion medical organizations and four anti-abortion doctors who originally brought the lawsuit against mifepristone have protections in place to guard against being forced to participate in abortions against their moral objections, he noted.

“Not only as a matter of law but also as a matter of fact, the federal conscience laws have protected pro-life doctors ever since FDA approved mifepristone in 2000,” Kavanaugh wrote. “The plaintiffs have not identified any instances where a doctor was required, notwithstanding conscience objections, to perform an abortion or to provide other abortion-related treatment that violated the doctor’s conscience.”

“Nor is there any evidence in the record here of hospitals overriding or failing to accommodate doctors’ conscience objections,” he added.

Alliance Defending Freedom has not “identified any instances where a doctor was required, notwithstanding conscience objections, to perform an abortion or to provide other abortion-related treatment that violated the doctor’s conscience since mifepristone’s 2000 approval,” the opinion said.

Kavanaugh might have also included hints on how the court will rule later this session on?a separate abortion access case?that addresses the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act, known as EMTALA.

“EMTALA does not require doctors to perform abortions or provide abortion-related medical treatment over their conscience objections because EMTALA does not impose obligations on individual doctors,” Kavanaugh wrote.

Thomas agrees but questions who can sue

Thomas wrote a concurring opinion in the case, saying that he agreed with the court’s unanimous decision, which he did join, but brought up concerns with how a certain type of standing is used by the Court.

“Applying these precedents, the Court explains that the doctors cannot establish third-party standing to sue for violations of their patients’ rights without showing an injury of their own,” Thomas wrote.

“But, there is a far simpler reason to reject this theory: Our third-party standing doctrine is mistaken,” Thomas added. “As I have previously explained, a plaintiff cannot establish an Article III case or controversy by asserting another person’s rights.”

Reaction pours in

Politicians, anti-abortion groups and reproductive rights organizations all reacted to the ruling within hours of its release, often pointing to November’s elections as a potential next step.

President Joe Biden released a written statement saying the “decision does not change the fact that the fight for reproductive freedom continues.”

“It does not change the fact that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago, and women lost a fundamental freedom,” Biden added. “It does not change the fact that the right for a woman to get the treatment she needs is imperiled if not impossible in many states.”

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, was in meetings most of Thursday with U.S. House Republicans and then separately with Republican U.S. Senators.

Neither Trump nor his campaign released a statement by early Thursday afternoon addressing the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, ranking member on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, wrote in a statement that the justice didn’t actually address the merits of the case.

“The Court did not weigh in on the merits of the case, but the fact remains this is a high risk drug that ends the life of an unborn child,” Cassidy wrote. “I urge FDA to follow the law and reinstate important safeguards.”

President of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Stella Dantas related a statement saying the ruling “provides us with long-awaited relief.”

“We now know that patients and clinicians across the country will continue to have access to mifepristone for medication abortion and miscarriage management,” Dantas wrote. “Decades of clinical research have proven mifepristone to be safe and effective, and its strong track record of millions of patient uses confirms that data.”

Hawley from Alliance Defending Freedom wrote in a written statement the organization was “disappointed that the Supreme Court did not reach the merits of the FDA’s lawless removal of commonsense safety standards for abortion drugs.”

“While we’re disappointed with the court’s decision, we will continue to advocate for women and work to restore commonsense safeguards for abortion drugs—like an initial office visit to screen for ectopic pregnancies,” Hawley wrote. “And we are grateful that three states stand ready to hold the FDA accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of women and girls across this country.”

Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, wrote in a statement she had “both relief and anger about this decision.”

“Thank goodness the Supreme Court unanimously rejected this unwarranted attempt to curtail access to medication abortion, but the fact remains that this meritless case should never have gotten this far,” Northup wrote.

“The FDA’s rulings on medication abortion have been based on irrefutable science,” Northup wrote. “Unfortunately, the attacks on abortion pills will not stop here — the anti-abortion movement sees how critical abortion pills are in this post-Roe world, and they are hell bent on cutting off access.”

Scientific evidence argued

The Supreme Court heard?oral arguments?in the case in March, during which Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued the FDA’s guidelines for prescribing mifepristone were based on reputable scientific evidence and years of real-world use.

“Only an exceptionally small number of women suffer the kinds of serious complications that could trigger any need for emergency treatment,” Prelogar said. “It’s speculative that any of those women would seek care from the two specific doctors who asserted conscience injuries. And even if that happened, federal conscience protections would guard against the injury the doctors face.”

Hawley of ADF told the court that conscience protections in federal law didn’t do enough to protect anti-abortion doctors from having to possibly treat patients experiencing complications from medication abortion.

“These are emergency situations,” Hawley said. “Respondent doctors don’t necessarily know until they scrub into that operating room whether this may or may not be abortion drug harm — it could be a miscarriage, it could be an ectopic pregnancy, or it could be an elective abortion.”

The case reached the Supreme Court within two years of ADF originally filing the lawsuit in the District Court for the Northern District of Texas, where ADF wrote the FDA “exceeded its regulatory authority” when it originally approved mifepristone in 2000.

ADF filed the case on behalf of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Pediatricians and Christian Medical & Dental Associations, as well as four doctors from California, Indiana, Michigan and Texas.

Kacsmaryk ruling started journey to high court

Judge Matthew Joseph Kacsmaryk essentially agreed with the anti-abortion groups, in a?ruling?in April 2023, where he wrote he did “not second-guess FDA’s decision-making lightly.”

“But here, FDA acquiesced on its legitimate safety concerns — in violation of its statutory duty — based on plainly unsound reasoning and studies that did not support its conclusions,” Kacsmaryk wrote.

The U.S. Supreme Court?issued a stay?at the request of the Justice Department, which put the district court’s ruling on hold until the appeal process could work itself out.

The Justice Department also appealed the district court’s ruling to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana, where a three-judge panel?heard the case?in May 2023.

The panel — composed of Jennifer Walker Elrod, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, as well as James C. Ho and Cory T. Wilson, who were both appointed by former President Donald Trump —?issued its ruling?in August 2023.

The appeals court disagreed with the district court’s ruling that mifepristone’s original approval should be overturned, though it said that the FDA erred in making changes to prescribing guidelines in 2016 and 2021.

“It failed to consider the cumulative effect of removing several important safeguards at the same time. It failed to consider whether those ‘major’ and ‘interrelated’ changes might alter the risk profile, such that the agency should continue to mandate reporting of non-fatal adverse events,” the appeals judges wrote. “And it failed to gather evidence that affirmatively showed that mifepristone could be used safely without being prescribed and dispensed in person.”

That ruling didn’t take effect under the Supreme Court’s earlier stay.

The Department of Justice wrote to the high court weeks later in September,?urging the justices?to take up an appeal of the 5th Circuit’s decision.

“The loss of access to mifepristone would be damaging for women and healthcare providers around the Nation,” the DOJ wrote in the 42-page document. “For many patients, mifepristone is the best method to lawfully terminate their early pregnancies. They may choose mifepristone over surgical abortion because of medical necessity, a desire for privacy, or past trauma.”

Briefs filed with court

Dozens of abortion rights organizations and lawmakers filed so-called amicus curiae or friend of the court briefs to the Supreme Court?calling on the justices?to keep access to mifepristone in line with the FDA guidelines.

A group of more than 16 medical organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association, wrote that “restricting access to mifepristone will not only jeopardize health, but worsen racial and economic inequities and deprive women of the choices that are at the very core of individual autonomy and wellbeing.”

Anti-abortion groups and lawmakers opposed to mifepristone?wrote numerous briefs?as well.

Attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming sent in a 28-page brief.

They wrote that the availability of mifepristone undermined states’ rights, since some of their states had sought to restrict abortion below the 10 weeks approved for mifepristone use or had sought to bar access to medication abortion.

“The FDA’s actions undermine these laws, undercut States’ efforts to enforce them, and thus erode the federalism the Constitution deems vital,” the attorneys general wrote. “Given these harms to federalism, this Court should view the FDA’s actions with skepticism.”

During oral arguments in March, several Supreme Court justices brought up conscience protections that insulate health care workers from having to assist with or perform procedures they have a religious objection to, like abortion.

Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she was “worried that there is a significant mismatch in this case between the claimed injury and the remedy that’s being sought.”

“The obvious, common-sense remedy would be to provide them with an exemption that they don’t have to participate in this procedure,” Jackson said.

Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch said the case seemed “like a prime example of turning what could be a small lawsuit into a nationwide legislative assembly on an FDA rule, or any other federal government action.”

Lauren Miller, who was denied access to an abortion in Texas, listens during a hearing with a U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee on June 12, 2024. The subcommittee held the hearing to discuss abortion bans and interstate travel to access them after the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned the right to an abortion. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — When Lauren Miller flew from her home state of Texas to Colorado two years ago she felt a moment of relief when the plane took off — not because she had been delayed for hours or because she needed a vacation, but because she was about to meet with doctors who would be able to treat her complicated pregnancy with twins.

Miller, whose family has been in the Lone Star State for eight generations, testified Wednesday before a U.S. Senate panel about the struggles she faced after learning in 2022 one of the twins’ brains wasn’t developing correctly and was about half fluid.

“One of our twin sons was going to die. It was just a matter of how soon,” Miller testified. “And every day that he continued to grow, he put his twin and myself at greater and greater risk.”

The fear was complicated by Texas’ strict restrictions on abortion, which forced Miller to seek out treatment options without her doctors’ assistance.

Miller testified that, thankfully, she had a longtime friend she could trust who was an OB-GYN, who understood the landscape of abortion laws and knew doctors who could help address her diagnosis.

“She fortunately knew an OB-GYN in Colorado, in a safe state,” Miller testified. “And I’ll never forget getting on the phone with him and his first words were, ‘My feet are on the ground in Colorado, and I can answer anything you ask.’”

Miller said the best option for her and her family was to have a single fetal reduction, but that was technically an abortion and she couldn’t get it in Texas.

While discussing how to travel, she and her husband debated leaving their cell phones at home and only using cash out of fear of being tracked or facing prosecution for traveling for the procedure. But they ultimately took a flight instead of driving due to how sick she was at the time.

“We didn’t tell anybody what had happened,” Miller said Wednesday. “We didn’t tell anybody what we had done because we were so scared.”

Bill on interstate travel

The hearing on interstate travel was held by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights.

Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the panel’s chairman, said Congress should pass legislation from Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto that would reaffirm that people have a right to travel between states for reproductive health care.

Cortez Masto testified before the committee on Wednesday that her home state has seen a drastic increase in patients traveling for abortion care during the last two years and that the bill would protect those people and their doctors.

“Our legislation reaffirms that women have a fundamental right to interstate travel and makes it crystal clear states cannot prosecute women or anyone who helps them for going to another state to get the critical reproductive care they need,” Cortez Masto said. “The Freedom to Travel for Healthcare Act would also protect healthcare providers in pro-choice states like Nevada, who help these women traveling from out of state.”

The right to travel is already fundamental throughout the United States, but several GOP states have begun looking for ways to block their residents from traveling for abortions.

Right to travel

Jocelyn Frye, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families in Washington, D.C., testified during the hearing that attempting to bar travel is “highly problematic, inconsistent with long-standing constitutional protections and Supreme Court precedent, and would bring even more disruption to our healthcare system.”

Frye told senators that the right to travel between the states “is one of the bedrock” foundations of the United States that was included in the Articles of Confederation, which were approved before the Constitution, though the right is also found in that document.

“The efforts to really impede the right to travel, really go to the heart of our Constitution and our democracy.” Frye said. “And, you know, even in a world where people disagree on a lot of things, our ability to go from state to state of our own accord is a fundamental principle.”

Frye also referenced Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion in the case that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, where he affirmed that people seeking abortions have a right to travel between states.

Kavanaugh wrote: “For example, may a State bar a resident of that State from traveling to another State to obtain an abortion? In my view, the answer is no based on the constitutional right to interstate travel.”

Washington Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray speaks during a press conference on in vitro fertilization outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. Also pictured are supporters of Senate Democrats’ IVF access bill as well as New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker and Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Alabama Republican Sen. Katie Britt’s efforts to pass legislation that would block Medicaid funding from going to states that ban in vitro fertilization were unsuccessful Wednesday when Democrats blocked the bill from advancing.

Britt, who introduced the legislation earlier this year alongside Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, said during brief debate the bill would assuage concerns about couples losing access to IVF, though Democrats said the measure fell short of providing real protections.

Debate took place shortly after the Southern Baptist Convention, the United States’ largest Protestant religious organization and one with significant influence in conservative politics, voted to condemn IVF.

It also came one day before the entire U.S. Senate is set to vote on a bill from Democrats that would provide nationwide protections for IVF. That measure also lacks the bipartisan backing needed to advance to final passage.

“For the millions of Americans who face infertility every year, IVF provides the hope of a pathway to parenthood,” Britt said on the floor. “We all have loved ones — whether they’re family members or friends — who have become parents or grandparents through IVF.”

Britt said that ensuring access to IVF is “fundamentally pro-family” and that the legislation should provide couples with “certainty and peace of mind that IVF will remain legal and available in every single state.”

Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray said the Britt-Cruz bill would still allow states to “enact burdensome and unnecessary” regulations on IVF that could lead to the kind of “legal uncertainty and risk” that forced IVF clinics in Alabama to close temporarily earlier this year.

“Even though it is an inherent part of the IVF process that families will make more embryos than they need,” Murray said. “This bill does absolutely nothing — not a single thing — to ensure families who use IVF can have their clinics dispose of unused embryos without facing legal threats for a standard medical procedure.”

Murray said GOP senators were completely ignoring the issue of what happens to frozen embryos and using the bill as a “PR tool.”

“The stone-cold reality is that you cannot protect IVF and champion fetal personhood,” Murray said.

State access

The Britt-Cruz legislation would prevent a state from receiving Medicaid funding if it barred access to IVF, though the bill didn’t say anything about states that define life as beginning at fertilization.

The Alabama state Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that frozen embryos constituted children didn’t explicitly ban IVF, but all of the state’s clinics stopped operating until the legislature provided civil and criminal protections.

Cruz sought to pass the bill using the unanimous consent process, where any one senator can ask for approval and any one senator can block that legislation from moving forward. Murray blocked Cruz’s request.

Unanimous consent requests don’t include a recorded vote.

The legislation had three additional co-sponsors — Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Roger Marshall of Kansas.

Democrats’ bill

The Senate is set to take a procedural vote as soon as Thursday on legislation from Democrats that would bolster protections for IVF, though that bill isn’t expected to get the GOP support needed to move forward.

That bill is more detailed and broader than the Britt-Cruz bill, which has received criticism from Democrats as being insufficient.

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker said Wednesday during a press conference that access to IVF shouldn’t be turned into a political issue and called on GOP senators to back the bill.

“We can’t make this seem like a left-right issue. It’s absolutely not,” Booker said. “This is an issue that’s overwhelmingly supported in America by Republican families, Democratic families and independent families. And so trying to make this into some kind of typical political debate in Washington is just wrong.”

Booker said protecting access to IVF is, instead, “about protecting fundamental rights, expanding opportunity, taking care of our military families.”

Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, the bill’s lead co-sponsor who has been open about using IVF to have her two daughters, threw cool water on working with Republicans on a bipartisan bill when asked about the possibility during the press conference.

“Well, they’re welcome to join ours and make it bipartisan. We’ve got 47 co-sponsors thus far and it’s a very simple piece of legislation,” Duckworth said. “I can’t see why they wouldn’t join it.

“In contrast, 90% of Republicans have not signed on to Senator Britt’s bill,” Duckworth added.

Southern Baptists’ resolution

Senate debate on in vitro fertilization is taking place the same week the Southern Baptist Convention meets in Indiana for its annual convention.

During that two-day gathering more than 10,000 Baptists, called messengers, voted on official policies of the SBC, which included objecting to how IVF is practiced now.

The SBC wrote in its resolution that IVF “most often engages in the destruction of embryonic human life and increasingly engages in dehumanizing methods for determining suitability for life and genetic sorting, based on notions of genetic fitness and parental preferences.”

The resolution on IVF “resolved” that members of the SBC should “only utilize reproductive technologies consistent with that affirmation” as well as several other affirmations within the document.

The resolution was titled, “On the Ethical Realities of Reproductive Technologies and the Dignity of the Human Embryo.”

Kristen Ferguson, from 11th Street Baptist Church in Upland, California, who announced the resolution before the vote, opposed an amendment that would have made several changes to the text.

Ferguson said during a brief debate the committee that wrote the resolutions for the SBC to vote on wanted to make sure it addressed IVF “with the utmost sensitivity.”

She added that members of the resolutions committee did “not take this topic lightly and we want to make sure that we’re speaking carefully about it.”

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on Feb. 24, 2024, in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump said Monday that if reelected he plans to work “side by side” with a newly formed religious organization that says abortion is the “greatest atrocity facing” the United States and should be “eradicated entirely.”

During two-minute recorded remarks played at The Danbury Institute’s inaugural Life & Liberty Forum in Indianapolis, Trump avoided using the word “abortion,” but said he hopes to protect “innocent life” if reelected in November.

“We have to defend religious liberty, free speech, innocent life, and the heritage and tradition that built America into the greatest nation in the history of the world,” Trump said. “But now we are, as you know, a declining nation.”

Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, said that he hopes to work alongside the institute to defend those values.

“These are going to be your years because you’re going to make a comeback like just about no other group,” Trump said. “I know what’s happening. I know where you’re coming from and where you’re going. And I’ll be with you side by side.”

Trump also called on The Danbury Institute and church members to vote for him during the November presidential election, saying that President Joe Biden and Democrats are “against religion.”

Biden-Harris 2024 spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a written statement released before Trump’s message was played that a second term for him “is sure to bring more extreme abortion bans with no exceptions, women punished for seeking the care they need, and doctors criminalized for providing care.”

“Women can and will stop him by reelecting President Biden and Vice President Harris this November,” Chitika wrote.

Abortion position

The Danbury Institute writes on its website that it opposes abortion from “the moment of conception, meaning that each pre-born baby would be treated with the same protection under the law as born people.”

“The intentional, pre-meditated killing of a pre-born child should be addressed with laws already in place concerning homicide,” its website states. “We also support bolstering the foster care system and encouraging Christian adoption and are working with churches around the country to help them become equipped to care for children in need of loving families.”

Another section of the Danbury Institute’s website states the organization believes, “the greatest atrocity facing our generation today is the practice of abortion—child sacrifice on the altar of self.”

“Abortion must be ended,” the website states. “We will not rest until it is eradicated entirely.”

The website doesn’t mention if the organization supports exceptions in cases of rape, incest or the woman’s life, nor does it say if women who receive abortions should be protected from criminal prosecution. The institute did not return a request from States Newsroom seeking to clarify if it supports any or all of those three exceptions.

The institute writes on its website that it “does not endorse any candidate for public office nor participate in political campaign activities. Contributions to The Danbury Institute are not used for political campaigning and are conducted in accordance with IRS regulations for nonprofit organizations.”

Florida minister takes issue with abortion letter

Tom Ascol, president of Founders Ministries in Florida, spoke on a panel discussion about the “Sanctity of Life” at Monday’s event, during which he said “abortion is the greatest evil of this nation in our day.”

Ascol also appeared frustrated with a public letter released by dozens of anti-abortion organizations in May 2022, arguing that no laws should criminalize women who have abortions. He took particular exception to the acting president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission signing his name to the document.

“It grieves me that when there was legislation before the Louisiana legislature that had a real opportunity to be passed, because there were lawmakers that were willing to go forward … that 75 pro-life organizations penned an open letter, including the leader of our Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission Brent Leatherwood, who attached his name to that letter, saying, ‘We do not think that any legislature should criminalize abortion to the degree that those who offer their bodies up to be given over to abortion would be held liable,’” Ascol said during the conference.

That letter was released the same day in 2022 that state lawmakers in Louisiana were debating House Bill 813, which had been on track to criminalize women who receive abortions in addition to the doctors who provide them. Prosecutors would have been able to charge the women with murder.

Louisiana lawmakers instead opted to rework the language of the original bill to replace it with another anti-abortion measure that didn’t include criminal penalties for women who receive abortions.

Ascol said he believed the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission must say publicly if “the goal (is) the abolition of abortion. And if it is and they’re sincere, then okay, let’s work together.”

“If we can do that, I think we can have some opportunity for coalition building,” Ascol said. “If we get more of these open letters by so-called pro-life organizations helping to spike legitimate legislation, then I think we’re going to continue to see the fragmentation and understandably so.”

National Right to Life, Susan B. Anthony List and Americans United for Life were among the organizations that signed the May 2022 letter.

Trump and abortion, contraception

Trump’s comments to The Danbury Institute on Monday didn’t clear up the confusion stemming from his comments to news organizations during the past few months.

Trump said during an interview with TIME Magazine published in April that his campaign would be releasing a policy in the weeks that followed on access to medication abortion, a two-drug regimen approved for up to 10 weeks gestation.

“Well, I have an opinion on that, but I’m not going to explain,” Trump said, according to the transcript of the interview. “I’m not gonna say it yet. But I have pretty strong views on that. And I’ll be releasing it probably over the next week.”

That policy had not been released as of Monday.

Medication abortion, which include mifepristone and misoprostol, makes up about 63% of pregnancy terminations within the United States, according to data from the Guttmacher Institute.

U.S. Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments in a case about mifepristone’s use in late March and are expected to publish their ruling before the Fourth of July.

During an interview with a Pittsburgh TV news station in May, Trump hinted that he might be open to states limiting or banning access to contraception, though he walked back his remarks the same day in a social media post.

“We’re looking at that and I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly and I think it’s something that you’ll find interesting,” Trump said on KDKA after being asked if he could support any restrictions on a person’s right to contraception. “It’s another issue that’s very interesting. But you will find it very smart. I think it’s a smart decision, but we’ll be releasing it very soon.”

Trump later posted on social media that he never had and never would “ADVOCATE IMPOSING RESTRICTIONS ON BIRTH CONTROL, or other contraceptives.”

Trump’s campaign had not released a policy on contraception as of Monday.

U.S. Senate vote on IVF set this week

Access to reproductive health care, including contraception and IVF, has become a recurring issue in the U.S. Senate ahead of November’s elections, with Democrats seeking to put GOP members on the record.

The Senate tried to pass legislation last week that would have provided protections for access to contraception, but the vast majority of the chamber’s Republicans voted against advancing that bill.

Access to contraception is currently protected by two U.S. Supreme Court cases — Griswold v. Connecticut and Eisenstadt v. Baird — where the justices ruled that Americans’ privacy rights allow them to make those decisions for themselves.

Democrats and reproductive rights advocates are concerned that the justices could eventually overturn those two cases the same way the court overturned Roe v. Wade.

The Senate is set to vote this week on legislation guaranteeing access to in vitro fertilization, though GOP senators are expected to block that bill as well.

Virginia Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine speaks during a press conference on access to contraception on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in Washington D.C. Also pictured from left Virginia state Del. Marcia Price; Karen Stone, vice president for public policy and government relations at Planned Parenthood; Mini Timmaraju, president and chief executive officer of Reproductive Freedom for All; Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono; a supporter of Democrats’ contraception access bill; and Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey.?(Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — An attempt to reinforce Americans’ access to contraception failed Wednesday when U.S. Senate Republicans blocked a bill from advancing toward final passage.

The 51-39 procedural vote required at least 60 senators to move forward, but fell short after GOP lawmakers said the measure was too broad as well as unnecessary. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Maine Sen. Susan Collins, both Republicans, broke with their party and voted to advance the legislation.

Democrats argued during debate on the 12-page bill that it would provide a safety net should a future Supreme Court overturn two cases that ensure married and unmarried Americans have the right to make decisions about when and how to use contraception.

GOP senators contended the vote was mere politics and that if Democrats were serious about safeguarding access to contraception for future generations, they’d work with Republicans on a bipartisan bill.

Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen said the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion in the Dobbs decision two years ago showed women how quickly things can change.

“It demonstrated that a fundamental right, the right of women to make decisions over their own bodies, could be taken away in the blink of an eye,” Rosen said.

Women, she said, can’t rely solely on the Supreme Court to uphold the cases that have guaranteed Americans access to contraception for more than 50 years.

“Contraception has been safely used by millions of women for decades,” Rosen said. “It’s allowed women to take control over their own bodies — to decide when they want to start a family, how many kids they have, who they want to start a family with.”

“For these very same reasons, the right to contraception has been a target of anti-choice extremists for years,” Rosen added.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune, the South Dakota Republican seeking to become the chamber’s next GOP leader, said the bill was meant to “provide a talking point for Democratic candidates.”

“These votes have nothing to do with legislating and everything to do with boosting Democrats’ electoral chances, he hopes, in this fall’s election,” Thune said, referring to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The legislation was a non-starter with many Republicans, Thune said, because it didn’t carve out the conscience protections that exist under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The federal law, enacted in 1993 after being sponsored by Schumer, established “a heightened standard of review for government actions that substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion.”

Sales of contraceptives

Democrats’ bill would have protected “an individual’s ability to access contraceptives” and “a health care provider’s ability to provide contraceptives, contraception, and information related to contraception.”

The legislation would have barred state and federal governments from prohibiting the sale of any contraceptives or blocking “any individual from aiding another individual in voluntarily obtaining or using any contraceptives or contraceptive methods.”

The bill defined contraception as “an action taken to prevent pregnancy, including the use of contraceptives or fertility-awareness-based methods and sterilization procedures.”

House Democrats introduced an identical bill in that chamber on Tuesday, though it’s unlikely to get a vote while Republicans remain in control.

Following the vote, Schumer moved to schedule a procedural vote next week on legislation that would guarantee access to in vitro fertilization.

Schumer said during a press conference afterward that vote would give Americans an opportunity to “see where Republicans stand on the so very important issue” of reproductive rights.

Supreme Court opinion

Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas stirred up concerns about access to contraception two years ago when he wrote a concurring opinion in the Dobbs case.

Thomas wrote that the justices should “reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell.”

None of the other nine justices joined Thomas in writing that opinion, likely signaling they didn’t agree with some or all of it.

The 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut case was the first time the court recognized that married couples’ constitutional privacy rights extend to decisions about contraception. That ruling struck down a Connecticut state law that barred access to contraceptives.

The Supreme Court, in 1972, extended the right to make private decisions about contraception to unmarried people in the Eisenstadt v. Baird ruling.

Following the release of Thomas’ concurring opinion, Democrats and reproductive rights organizations immediately began pressing for federal laws that would reinforce current contraception access. Congress has not passed any so far.

Mini Timmaraju, president and chief executive officer of Reproductive Freedom for All, said during a press conference with Senate Democrats on Wednesday before the vote that women should talk with their mothers and grandmothers about when they were first able to obtain birth control.

“When we talk about the generations of women in this country who didn’t have access to birth control, we’re just talking about my mother’s generation — 1965,” Timmaraju said. “It was not that long ago and that should really be a wake-up call.”

White House, Biden campaign weigh in

The Biden administration signaled its support for Senate Democrats’ bill hours before the vote, writing in a Statement of Administration Policy the measure “would protect the fundamental right to access contraception and help ensure that women can make decisions about their health, lives, and families.”

“Women must have the freedom to make deeply personal health care decisions, including the right to decide if and when to start or grow their family,” the policy states. “Now is the time to safeguard the right to contraception once and for all.”

The Biden-Harris campaign held a press call on reproductive rights Wednesday morning to highlight the differences between the presidential candidates on reproductive rights, including access to abortion, contraception and in vitro fertilization.

Biden-Harris Campaign Manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said during the call that Donald Trump, Republicans’ presumptive nominee for president, couldn’t be further away from Biden on access.

Rodriguez said Trump’s comments during an interview with TIME magazine in April and his statements to a local Pennsylvania TV news station in May show he’s not supportive of women’s reproductive rights.

Decisions about contraception, abortion and in vitro fertilization belong to women and their doctors, “not politicians and the government,” Rodriguez said.

North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, a member of the Biden-Harris campaign’s advisory board, said on the call this year’s election will be a “defining moment” for the country.

Republican efforts to restrict access to reproductive health care, he said, mean they are trying to “control women.”

Ernst alternative proposal?

Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said during debate on the bill that Democrats’ legislation went too far and pressed for the Senate to take up a bill she introduced earlier this week.

The measure has since gained nine co-sponsors including Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Steve Daines of Montana, Todd Young of Indiana, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Ted Cruz of Texas, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, James E. Risch of Idaho and John Cornyn of Texas.

Iowa Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson plans to introduce the companion bill in the House, according to an announcement from Ernst’s office.

“With my bill, we’re ensuring women 18 and over can walk into any pharmacy, whether in Red Oak, Iowa, or Washington, D.C., and purchase a safe and effective birth control option,” Ernst said. “This Republican bill creates a priority review designation for over-the-counter birth control options to encourage the FDA to act quickly.”

Ernst said she was “encouraged” that one over-the-counter oral contraceptive has been approved and is available, but that should be “just a starting point.”

The four-page bill would encourage the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve additional over-the-counter oral contraceptives and “direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on federal funding of contraceptive methods.”

The legislation would require the secretary of the Health and Human Services Department to give priority review to a supplemental application for oral contraceptives “intended for routine use.” But it does not extend that to “any emergency contraceptive drug” or “any drug that is also approved for induced abortion.”

Access to over-the-counter oral birth control that receives FDA approval so that it no longer requires a prescription would be available for people over 18.

On Tuesday, June 4, 2024, U.S. Senate Democrats held a hearing on abortion access and House Democrats introduced legislation that would guarantee people throughout the country the right to contraception. Georgia Democratic U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams speaks about the legislation during the press conference in front of the Capitol.?(Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — The national debate over whether laws or patients should determine abortion access dominated a U.S. Senate committee hearing Tuesday, when a panel of six experts testified about the complicated nature of treating pregnancies and miscarriages.

The two-hour hearing in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was at times genuine and heartfelt. At other times it centered around talking points that Democrats and Republicans have repeated since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion two years ago.

The hearing was just one piece of Democrats’ increasing focus on reproductive rights, including access to abortion, contraception and in vitro fertilization, ahead of the November elections. On Wednesday, senators will vote whether to advance legislation dealing with the right to contraception.

Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray said during the hearing restrictions and bans on abortion access in some states have deprived women of the chance to make private choices about their medical care as well as their family’s size.

“With these policies, they have told women in no uncertain terms: ‘You don’t control your body, we do.’ That is horrifying,” Murray said.

“Think about what it means, what it really means, to be told someone else can decide you have to stay pregnant, no matter the circumstances,” Murray said. “Think about how little power that gives a woman over her own life and her own health.”

Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, ranking member on the committee, argued the hearing was about highlighting the differences between the GOP and Democrats during a presidential election year, and not about a genuine interest in the state of reproductive health care.

“So let’s table set: It’s an election year in which a Democratic incumbent president is running behind. So a decision has been made to raise abortion to a high profile, to change the setting, to invite a lot of folks to put us on TV,” he said. “It’s partisan politics being played out in a committee hearing.”

Doctors or politicians?

Dr. Nisha Verma, a fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health in Atlanta, testified that the complicated nature of pregnancies — including those that end in miscarriage, threaten the woman’s life or health, or come with a diagnosis of a fatal fetal abnormality — means they need to be treated by doctors, not politicians.

“I myself have struggled with infertility and I’ve experienced a first-trimester miscarriage that I found devastating, and so I am not at all saying that pregnancies don’t have value,” she testified.

“That value is different for different people. And the way that people connect with their pregnancies is different,” Verma said. “And each person is capable of making these really important, sometimes complex, sometimes difficult decisions about their health care and their life — even if that sometimes means ending a pregnancy.”

Verma sought to clear up misinformation about when and how abortions are performed within the United States, following comments from some in the hearing about abortions that are performed later in a pregnancy.

She noted that if a patient comes in at 40 weeks gestation, their only two options are a cesarean or a vaginal delivery, not an abortion.

“I also just want to highlight that 90% of abortions in this country occur in the first trimester and less than 1% are occurring after 20 weeks, when in most cases something has gone terribly wrong with the patient or the pregnancy,” Verma testified. “And that person really needs that care.”

When that happens, Verma said, patients need her support as their doctor, not to be told she cannot provide them with treatment options.

“I have some patients that choose to continue that pregnancy and deliver on term and other patients who say ‘That’s too traumatic, I can’t do that,’” she said.

“I think as doctors, we all recognize that providing life-saving care sometimes means ending a pregnancy,” Verma said. “And to call that care something besides an abortion is an issue of semantics and differing political agendas.”

Dr. Christina Francis, chief executive officer at the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists in Fort Wayne, Indiana, had a much different answer to when and how doctors should perform abortions.

“I think, certainly, beyond the point where a child can survive outside of his or her mother, there would never be a reason you would need to intentionally end that child’s life,” Francis said, referring to viability, which typically happens between 22 and 24 weeks into a pregnancy.

“You would simply deliver that baby,” Francis added. “You’d take care of mom and you’d take care of baby in an appropriate way. And I think that that’s something that I would hope that all of us at this table could agree upon.”

Francis didn’t clarify her beliefs on abortion before viability during the hearing.

Access to abortion in Alaska

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski reiterated her long-held position that decisions about abortion should be left up to women and their doctors, not the government.

“I also believe it’s reasonable not to require those who are firmly opposed to abortion to support it with their tax dollars and that providers, who do not wish to be involved in abortions, should not be forced to do so,” Murkowski said.

Women in Alaska, Murkowski said, continue to raise concerns with her about access to abortion, especially given how rural some areas of the state are.

“I continue to hear from so many in my state, women in Alaska, who are concerned about access to abortion, access to reproductive services; even while we are a state where we have included in our state’s constitution the right to privacy that protects that access to abortion,” Murkowski said. “But what we have seen from decisions across the country, in the lower 48, is a ripple effect that has come all the way up to the north.”

Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine rejected the idea that state legislatures are best positioned to decide access to abortion.

“Your rights shouldn’t depend on what ZIP code you live in, your rights shouldn’t depend on who your state legislature is,” Kaine said.

Dr. Allison Linton, chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, said that one issue with lawmakers implementing restrictions or bans on abortion access is the complicated range of issues that someone can face during a pregnancy.

Linton then detailed patient stories, rhetorically asking the committee whether those people should have had access to abortion.

“What about a patient with a newly diagnosed breast cancer at eight weeks of pregnancy, who cannot start chemotherapy or radiation while she is pregnant?” Linton said. “Is delaying her treatment until after delivery a risk to her life?”

“What about a patient with a blood clotting disorder, where pregnancy will further increase their risk of a pulmonary embolism or stroke?” Linton continued. “Is the risk of a blood clot enough, or do I have to wait until the actual stroke occurs?”

“What about a 13-year-old, who is the victim of incest?” Linton asked. “Is the psychological and physical trauma of carrying a child in her barely pubescent body enough to justify ending her pregnancy?”

Vote coming on contraception

Members of Congress are also focused on access to contraception this week.

Senators are scheduled to vote Wednesday on legislation that’s co-sponsored by 49 Democrats and independents. The 12-page bill is intended to ensure access to contraception, regardless of any future Supreme Court decisions.

A constitutional right to contraception is currently secured by two U.S. Supreme Court decisions — Griswold v. Connecticut, a 1965 case that said married couples had a right to privacy to make decisions about contraception, and the 1972 Eisenstadt v. Baird ruling, where the justices said that right extended to non-married people.

But Democrats and reproductive rights advocates are worried the Supreme Court could overturn those two cases in the same way it overturned Roe v. Wade.

Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst introduced her own four-page bill this week that’s intended to protect access to contraception, rejecting the proposal from her Democratic colleagues.

“In the face of Democrats’ radical abortion on demand, I am proud to provide women greater access to safe and effective birth control,” Ernst wrote in a statement. “My bill will increase over-the-counter contraception options while bringing much-needed transparency and accountability to ensure the government uses tax dollars to support families.”

Nearly two years ago, Ernst blocked Democrats from passing their contraception access bill through a fast-track process known as unanimous consent, which allows any one senator to object to passage. It doesn’t include a roll call vote.

House Democratic measure

House Democrats also introduced their version of Senate Democrats’ contraception access bill on Tuesday during a press conference.

North Carolina Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning urged House GOP leaders to put the bill on the floor for an up-or-down vote, a request that is very unlikely to be fulfilled.

“This bill ensures that individuals have the right to obtain contraceptive services and health care providers have the corresponding right to provide them,” Manning said. “It also protects a full range of contraceptive methods, devices and medications, including birth control pills, IUDs, emergency contraception and Plan B.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said during a press conference that in the coming weeks Democrats “will put reproductive freedoms and women’s rights front and center” in the Senate.

Part of that push, the New York Democrat said, will be holding a floor vote “very soon” on legislation that would shore up access to in vitro fertilization.

“Millions of Americans have relied on IVF to have children,” Schumer said. “But after a stunningly radical decision by the Alabama Supreme Court that jeopardized access to IVF, families are rightfully worried that this option could be stripped away.”

The USDA has performed more than 17,000 tests for avian influenza on cattle, with a total of 67 herds affected throughout nine states. (Photo via Getty Images)

Dairy farmers throughout the country are on guard and the federal government is mobilizing after an outbreak among cattle herds of highly pathogenic avian influenza — once thought to be confined to poultry flocks.

What’s more, the virus, also known as H5N1 or bird flu, was diagnosed in a third dairy farmworker last week, marking the first U.S. case with respiratory symptoms, said to be mild. The other two cases, also both mild, were diagnosed as pink eye.

The notable leap from cows and chickens to humans is not yet ringing alarm bells for public health officials or veterinarians, who believe the risk to the public remains low. However, they are closely monitoring poultry and dairy farms for any changes, despite a reluctance among some dairy farmers to test their herds.

“Avian influenza is something that public health scientists are worried about,” said Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. “It’s probably the potential infection or outbreak that causes the greatest amount of anxiety just because, if this did get into a place where it was easily transmissible among humans, everybody fears that could be a really, really bad scenario.”

The ongoing response has brought together a veritable alphabet soup of government agencies and agricultural organizations, highlighting the complicated nature of fighting bird flu. The mobilization is intended to stem the significant economic toll that farmers could face and curb the virus’ spread.

At the federal level, the Agriculture Department is responsible for the farm animals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for human health, the Food and Drug Administration has jurisdiction over the eggs and milk sold in grocery stores, and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response oversees its piece of the pie.

Then come the state agencies, interest groups, agribusiness and family farms.

As of last week, more than 40 people had been tested for H5N1 with more than 350 people enrolled in monitoring, about 220 of whom are in Michigan. Two of the human cases have been in Michigan while the other was diagnosed in Texas.

Michigan also has several dairy cattle herds diagnosed with H5N1.

The USDA has performed more than 17,000 PCR tests on cattle, with a total of 67 herds affected throughout nine states, including Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota and Texas.

This strain of bird flu has also cropped up in a wide variety of mammals, including domestic cats. That’s led experts to recommend that people limit their pets’ interactions with wild birds, which hold a reservoir of the virus, as well as all farm animals.

USDA begins expanded testing

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week that it’s launching a voluntary pilot program to expand testing for dairy farms to gain better insight into the virus and make it easier for farmers to ship dairy cows across state lines.

The department is also transferring $824 million from the Commodity Credit Corporation to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for the ongoing response.

“It’s important to note that as these additional testing measures take place, USDA anticipates that we may see an increase in the number of herds that are testing positive,” said Eric Deeble, acting senior adviser for highly pathogenic avian influenza and deputy assistant secretary for congressional relations.

The pilot program will test milk samples from bulk tanks for H5N1. Farms that consistently test negative will “be able to ship their cows at the time they prefer and without testing individual animals, knowing that their entire herd is free of the disease,” Deeble said.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, on a press call with reporters Monday, declined to say whether USDA has a full grasp of the extent of the virus’ spread in dairy cattle, but he said, “We have a pretty good understanding of the nature of this virus and essentially what’s causing its spread.”

“We’re trying to essentially corner this virus, so that over time it dissipates,” Vilsack said.

Dairy farmers can begin enrolling in the pilot program this week in participating states.

Dairy farms reluctant to test

Infected cows have tremendous amounts of the virus in their milk, so those that are lactating must test negative for the virus before they can be transported across state lines, the USDA has ordered.

In states such as Iowa, which has no detections of the virus in cattle, dairy farmers have been reluctant to test more than is required.

“There has not been a lot of testing to date,” said Rodger Main, director of the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, which first discovered bird flu was infecting cattle. “What’s being tested is the dairy cattle that are moving interstate.”

Scientists are sequencing the genetic code of an avian flu that was found in a flock of 4.2 million egg-laying hens last week in northwest Iowa to determine if it is the same variant that has been infecting cattle, said Don McDowell, a spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. If so, it might indicate that there are infected cattle in Iowa.

A similar detection happened more than a month ago at a turkey flock in Minnesota, another state with no known dairy cattle infections.

However, no coordinated testing was done of dairy farms near the infected turkey flock to determine whether they had infected cattle and might have been the source of the transmission, said Michael Crusan, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.

“The Board of Animal Health didn’t collect any samples from dairy farms surrounding HPAI positive poultry premises,” Crusan said. “We do not have authority to test those dairy farms without suspected or confirmed illness reported to us.”

There is reluctance among some dairy farmers to voluntarily test their cattle for fear of what might happen if those tests reveal their herds are infected, said Dr. Barb Petersen, a Texas veterinarian who helped discover that bird flu was infecting cattle.

They might be afraid that they’ll be barred from selling their cattle for an unknown amount of time or that animal movements to and from their farms will be otherwise restricted.

Petersen suspects that nearly all the dairies in her area near Amarillo were infected but that many were not tested.

Infected cows typically recover in 10 to 14 days. Infected herds suffer a drop in milk production that can last about a month.

The virus is much more severe for chicken and turkey flocks, where it often causes fatal illness. Entire flocks are destroyed to prevent the spread of the virus.

More testing and better biosecurity measures are important to help prevent the virus from spreading from infected cattle to the poultry flocks, said Phillip Jardon, the dairy extension veterinarian for Iowa State University.

He is aware of several dairy farms that installed noise-making systems to keep away wild birds, which are believed to be an initial source of the infections. It’s unclear how many other state-recommended precautions are being adopted.

“The risk to dairies is not as large as it is to poultry, but dairies should keep in mind that they have neighbors who are poultry producers where it can be devastating, and they don’t want to have a local source of the virus,” he said.

Vilsack said USDA needs to better educate dairy farmers about the risks to their neighboring farmers to get more voluntary help in tracking and containing the virus.

It spread from Texas to faraway states through the transportation of infected cattle, but it has likely spread locally via farmworkers, veterinarians and equipment moving farm to farm, Vilsack said.

PPE for farmworkers

Plescia from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials said during an interview with States Newsroom that while the risk to the public remains low, health officials are paying close attention to agricultural workers.

Ensuring farmworkers have access to personal protective equipment is essential, though it could be challenging to get all workers to use it during the hotter summer months, Plescia said.

The most recent case in a farmworker in Michigan, announced May 30, is more concerning to experts. “We’re much, much more worried about respiratory infections because it’s respiratory infections, where in the past with earlier versions of H5N1, we’ve seen that those infections can be very, very severe and the mortality can be very high,” Plescia said.

Public health officials need to work with farm owners and farmworkers to make sure that even people with mild symptoms get tested for avian flu to ensure that it isn’t circulating more widely than the documented cases, he said.

They need to ensure that undocumented workers or those on agricultural work visas who are concerned about interaction with the government are comfortable enough to get tested.

“When the state government starts showing up to do testing as far as they’re concerned, people are fearful of that and so they’ll stop coming to work,” Plescia said.

Plescia also cautioned that people shouldn’t drink raw milk for the foreseeable future.

Dr. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview with States Newsroom the agency is focusing its attention on farmworker safety through personal protective equipment, testing and additional resources.

The CDC is also working to build trust so that workers who might be in the U.S. on visas or who are undocumented feel comfortable getting tested for H5N1 or reporting an illness to public health officials.

“When H5 became a phenomenon in poultry farms, it took some time for poultry farm owners and poultry farmworkers to gain trust with the public health system,” Shah said. “The same thing, the same dynamic, is at play here.”

Shah, speaking during a separate press briefing on H5N1, said that even with the new respiratory case, there have been no signs, either genetically or epidemiologically, that this strain of avian influenza is adapting in a way that would lead to greater transmission.

“We are on the lookout for those changes, but the mere fact that this individual displayed some respiratory symptoms — again, we should be alert — but, in and of itself, is not a cause to change or suggest that we’re at an inflection point,” Shah said. “It is a cause and a reason to remain alert.”

Amira Roess, professor of global health and epidemiology at George Mason University, said in a written statement that public health officials must “provide incentives for individuals to report illness and to get tested, or at least we have to remove barriers.”

“Because we don’t have meaningful, high quality and accessible health care for the majority of our population, particularly those in rural areas where the virus has first spilled over, it will be challenging to get ahead of this,” Roess wrote in response to questions from States Newsroom about H5N1. “Many farmworkers are hourly workers and cannot afford to take time off for what they perceive as mild illness.”

Keep pets away from wild birds

Meghan Davis, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in an interview with States Newsroom this particular strain of avian flu has been spreading between mammals, including domestic pets, and will likely continue to do so.

“The fact that this particular clade has been able to infect so many different mammalian species, and has now caused at least two documented cases in people — although, thankfully, with relatively mild symptoms — is a concern,” she said, before the third case was announced.

Davis cautioned that because there have been cases among cats living on dairy farms that drank raw cow’s milk, people shouldn’t give raw milk to their pets.

Pet owners should also be cautious about letting their animals interact with wild birds, which are known to spread the virus.

Milk purchased in grocery stores is safe to drink since it’s been pasteurized and has been repeatedly tested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during the past few months to ensure there’s no active virus in the country’s food supply.

Other mammals diagnosed with avian flu this year include a mountain lion in Montana, red foxes in Michigan and Missouri, and a raccoon in Colorado. Domestic cats have been diagnosed in Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota and Texas, according to data from the CDC.

Davis said the surveillance system for H5N1 should be broadened to include “more systematic testing, which would require us to have somewhat better access to workers, to animals on farms, etc.” as well as antibody testing to determine if more people have contracted avian flu and recovered.

The additional information could help if the virus were to shift in the coming months or years.

“We don’t know exactly what this virus is going to do,” Davis said, noting the mild nature of the virus detected so far could mean that more people have contracted it and simply didn’t realize it.

Davis explained that public health officials and researchers need to closely monitor viruses like H5N1 since they can change in a way similar to how the flu changes, leading to the need for a different flu shot each year.

Roess, the epidemiology professor from George Mason University, noted that an uptick in human cases of avian influenza, could “be an indication of other types of transmission than what is currently believed.”

“Right now, the cases reported are a result of direct contact with infected food animals,” Roess said. “It is critical to ramp up surveillance of people working closely with possibly infected animals, other animals in the vicinity and other people who are not directly in contact with possibly infected animals in the community.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic at the Rayburn House Office Building on June 03, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci defended his decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday, testifying before Congress about his work on the virus as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during two presidencies.

House Republicans who called the hearing grilled Fauci during the contentious three-hour session about the origins of COVID-19, which killed more than 1 million Americans, as well as Fauci’s role in the response. It was the first time Fauci, 83, who also served as chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, had appeared before Congress since leaving government employment in 2022.

Fauci repeatedly said he didn’t conduct official business using personal email in response to allegations he did so to avoid oversight. He also said he has kept an open mind about the origins of the virus, and explained to members of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic why guidance shifted so much during the first several months of the pandemic.

“When you’re dealing with a new outbreak, things change,” Fauci said. “The scientific process collects the information that will allow you, at that time, to make a determination or recommendation or a guideline.”

“As things evolve and change and you get more information, it is important that you use the scientific process to gain that information and perhaps change the way you think of things, change your guidelines and change your recommendation,” Fauci added.

Republicans on the panel repeatedly asked Fauci about how the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China received grant funding from the U.S. government, as well as whether it, or another lab, could have created COVID-19. That theory is counter to another that the virus emerged from a “spillover event” at an outdoor food market.

Fauci testified that it was impossible the viruses being studied at the Wuhan Institute under an NIH subgrant could have led to COVID-19, but didn’t rule out it coming from elsewhere.

“I cannot account, nor can anyone account, for other things that might be going on in China, which is the reason why I have always said and will say now, I keep an open mind as to what the origin is,” Fauci said. “But the one thing I know for sure, is that the viruses that were funded by the NIH, phylogenetically could not be the precursor of SARS-CoV-2.”

Fauci added that the $120,000 grant that was sent to another organization before being sent to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, was a small piece of the budget.

“If they were going to do something on the side, they have plenty of other money to do it. They wouldn’t necessarily have to use a $120,000 NIH grant to do it,” Fauci said.

The NIH subaward to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, he testified, “funded research on the surveillance of and the possibility of emerging infections.”

“I would not characterize it as dangerous gain-of-function research,” Fauci said. “I’ve already testified to that effect, a couple of times.”

Politicians have used multiple, often shifting, definitions for gain-of-function research during the last few years. The American Society for Microbiology writes in a two-page explainer that it is “used in research to alter the function of an organism in such a way that it is able to do more than it used to do.”

Saving lives

Actions taken during the first several months of the pandemic were essential to saving lives, Fauci testified. Those steps included encouraging people to socially distance, to wear masks and to obtain the vaccine once it was approved.

Fauci said that had public health officials just let the virus work its way through the country without any precautions or safety measures, “there very likely would have been another million people (who) would have died.”

Information about the COVID-19 vaccine, he said, was communicated as it came in, including particulars about whether it would stop the spread of the virus entirely or whether it predominantly worked by limiting severe illness and hospitalizations.

The issue is particularly “complicated,” Fauci said, because at the very beginning of the vaccine rollout, data showed the shot did “prevent infection and subsequently, obviously, transmission.”

“However, it’s important to point out, something that we did not know early on that became evident as the months went by, is that the durability of protection against infection, and hence transmission was relatively limited — whereas the duration of protection against severe disease, hospitalization and deaths was more prolonged,” Fauci testified.

“We did not know that in the beginning,” he added. “In the beginning it was felt that, in fact, it did prevent infection and thus transmission. But that was proven, as time went by, to not be a durable effect.”

Republican members on the subcommittee, as well as those sitting in from other committees, repeatedly asked Fauci about allegations that he avoided using his government email address to circumvent requests for those communications under the Freedom of Information Act, FOIA.

Fauci vehemently denied the accusations, saying he “never conducted official business using” his personal email.

Death threats

Michigan Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell asked Fauci during the hearing about threats he and his family have faced during the last few years, especially as misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19 have spread.

“There have been credible death threats, leading to the arrests of two individuals. And credible death threats means someone who clearly was on their way to kill me,” Fauci testified.

Fauci and his wife and three daughters have received harassing emails, text messages and letters. Fauci said people targeting his family for his public health work makes him feel “terrible.”

“It’s required my having protective services, essentially all the time,” Fauci testified. “It is very troublesome to me.”

One of the most critical Republicans on the panel, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, caused the hearing to grind to a halt during her questioning, refusing to address Fauci as a medical doctor and instead calling him “Mr. Fauci.”

Greene also alleged that Fauci should be in jail, though she didn’t present any evidence of actual crimes, nor has any police department or law enforcement agency charged him with a crime.

Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, ranking member on the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, of which the subcommittee is a part, said repeated GOP-led investigations into Fauci’s conduct show “he is an honorable public servant, who has devoted his entire career to the public health in the public interest. And he is not a comic book super villain.”

Raskin later apologized to Fauci for several GOP lawmakers treating him like a “convicted felon,” before seemingly referencing that former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is a convicted felon.

“Actually, you probably wish they were treating you like a convicted felon. They treat convicted felons with love and admiration,” Raskin said. “Some of them blindly worship convicted felons.”

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on former President Donald Trump’s guilty verdict in his hush money trial before speaking on the Middle East at the White House on May 31, 2024 in Washington, D.C. Biden said Trump had a fair trial and an impartial jury found him guilty on all 34 counts and added it is dangerous for anyone to say the trial was rigged. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced a ceasefire proposal from Israel on Friday, saying the three-phase plan presented to Hamas represents the best chance to end the war.

Biden, speaking from the White House, urged people around the world who have been calling for an end to the war in the Middle East to pressure the Iran-backed terrorist organization to take the deal. If successful, it would begin with a six-week ceasefire and end with the reconstruction of Gaza.

“For months, people all over the world have called for a ceasefire,” Biden said. “Now it’s time to raise your voices and demand that Hamas come to the table, agree to this deal and end this war that they began.”

Biden also called on Israel’s leaders to be firm in their commitment to the ceasefire proposal, urging them to reject those within the country and its government who believe the war should continue no matter what.

“I know there are those in Israel who will not agree with this plan and will call for the war to continue indefinitely. Some — some — are even in the government coalition and they’ve made it clear they want to occupy Gaza, they want to keep fighting for years and the hostages are not a priority to them,” Biden said. “Well, I’ve urged the leadership in Israel to stand behind this deal, despite whatever pressure comes.”

Rejecting this proposal, or not working genuinely to move through its three phases, would be detrimental to Israel’s safety, Biden said.

“That will not bring hostages home. That will not bring an enduring defeat of Hamas. That will not bring Israel lasting security,” Biden said.

Months of war, thousands of deaths

The war began on Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostages. Ever since, Israel has been at war with the terrorist organization throughout Gaza.

The civilian death toll in the occupied territory has risen significantly during the eight-month war and has been exacerbated by a lack of clean water, food, shelter and medical care. The number of dead has risen to more than 35,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, who say the majority are women and children.

Biden has faced mounting pressure from within the United States to find an end to the war, with thousands of Democrats voting “uncommitted” in their state’s presidential primaries to voice their frustration with how he’s handled the conflict.

Protesters have also shown up at several of Biden’s official and campaign events to demand he do more to implement a permanent cease fire and increase the supply of humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

Six-week first phase

The first phase of the agreement would include a six-week ceasefire, during which time Israel’s military would withdraw from all populated areas of Gaza and civilians would be able to return to their homes, including in the north. Hamas would release women, elderly, the injured and American hostages. Israel would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Remains of hostages who have died would be returned to their families during phase one, “bringing some degree of closure to that terrible grief,” Biden said.

Humanitarian assistance to Gaza would increase significantly, Biden said, with at least 600 trucks entering the territory every day.

“With a ceasefire, that aid could be safely and effectively distributed to all who need it,” Biden said. “Hundreds of thousands of temporary shelters, including housing units would be delivered by the international community. All that and more would begin immediately.”

Negotiations for a permanent ceasefire

The second phase of the agreement would begin after Israel and Hamas successfully completed negotiations during the first phase to reach a permanent ceasefire, Biden said.

“Now I’ll be straight with you: There are a number of details to negotiate to move from phase one to phase two,” Biden said. “Israel will want to make sure its interests are protected. But the proposal says if the negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one, a ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue.”

Egypt, Qatar and the United States all hope to keep those negotiations going, he said.

During the second phase there would be an exchange of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers. Israel’s military would withdraw from Gaza.

“As long as Hamas lives up to its commitments, the temporary ceasefire will become — in the words of the Israeli proposal — a cessation of hostilities permanently,” Biden said.

Reconstructing Gaza

The third phase would include “a major reconstruction plan for Gaza” and any remains of deceased hostages not previously returned to their families would be sent back at that time.

Biden said his administration would work with allies “to rebuild homes, schools and hospitals in Gaza.”

“To help repair communities that were destroyed in the chaos of war,” he added.

Completing all three phases of the proposed ceasefire, Biden said, could lead to Israel and Saudi Arabia normalizing relations.

“Israel could be part of a regional security network to counter the threat posed by Iran,” Biden said. “All this progress would make Israel more secure, with Israeli families no longer living in the shadow of a terrorist attack. All this would create the conditions for a different future, a better future for the Palestinian people — one of self-determination, dignity, security and freedom.”

Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley speaks during a press conference on reproductive rights for people with disabilities outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, May 23, 2024.?(Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Three members of Congress introduced a resolution Thursday that’s intended to bring attention to the experiences and challenges people with disabilities face when it comes to reproductive rights.

Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley announced the resolution during a press conference with advocates just steps from the U.S. Capitol, saying that under a Supreme Court ruling still in effect, people with disabilities can be sterilized without their consent.

“Buck v. Bell is a decision of the United States Supreme Court in which the court ruled on May 2, 1927, affirming the constitutionality of Virginia’s law allowing state-enforced sterilization,” Pressley said.

Pressley said people outside of the disability rights community often aren’t aware of the ruling or the fact it has never been challenged.

“They’re in disbelief that this even happened and that this ruling authorizes involuntary sterilization of people with disabilities and has never been overturned,” Pressley said.

Unique barriers

The four-page resolution would designate one day in May as Disability Reproductive Equity Day.

The resolution says that “people with disabilities face unique barriers when accessing reproductive health care,” including harmful stereotypes, communication barriers and a lack of accessible health care facilities, among other obstacles.

It adds that Congress “pledges to advance the right of people with disabilities to reproductive and sexual health, autonomy, and freedom.”

Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray introduced the companion resolution in that chamber.

Murray wrote in a statement announcing the introduction that “Americans with disabilities have long had to jump through extra hoops and faced real discrimination when it comes to accessing the health care they need, including abortion care.”

“Access to reproductive health care has been in crisis since the Dobbs decision, making it even harder for people with disabilities to access high-quality care from providers who understand their health care needs,” Murray wrote. “It’s important that we recognize the barriers millions of women face in accessing reproductive health care, and this resolution is an important marker for us all to recommit to the fight for reproductive justice for all.”

Co-sponsors in the House include New Jersey Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Pennsylvania Rep. Madeleine Dean and Washington Rep. Adam Smith. All are Democrats.

Access to full slate of care

Rebecca Cokley, program officer for disability rights at the Ford Foundation, told a story during the press conference about how after having her middle child, the anesthesiologist told the OB-GYN to “tie her tubes,” adding that “people like her don’t need to have any more babies.”

Cokley said her OB-GYN could have “advocated for that and it would have been perfectly legal.”

“When we talk about reproductive justice, it’s about the idea that all women, all people have the right to have children, the right to not have children.” Cokley said. “The right to nurture the children we have in a safe and healthy environment.”

Jess Davidson, communications director at the American Association of People with Disabilities, discussed how access to the full slate of reproductive health care, including abortion, is crucial for people with disabilities.

Members of the community, she said, “have an 11 times greater risk of mortality from pregnancy.”

“I know all too well the fear that comes with living with that kind of risk,” Davidson said. “I felt deep in my bones as a young woman that I was made for motherhood.”

After being diagnosed with an illness in her mid-20s that significantly increased her chances of miscarriage or maternal mortality, Davidson said she spoke with her doctor about whether or not she should ever get pregnant.

“I was devastated when I first learned this, but my doctor assured me that if I was willing to get an abortion if it were necessary to save my life and work closely with a high-risk obstetrician, that I could try and see how it went,” Davidson said. “After all, every person and every pregnancy is different.”

That was all before the Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the constitutional right to an abortion that had stood for nearly 50 years under two prior rulings.

“Now when I think about attempting a high-risk pregnancy, I feel so fearful that it feels like I can’t breathe,” she said. “And I am someone who lives in Colorado and Washington, D.C., two places where my right to that life-saving care is still intact.”

Many people with disabilities who want to have children, Davidson said, now live in states that ban or significantly restrict abortion access, even if continuing a pregnancy threatens their life or health.

Forced sterilization in state laws

Ma’ayan Anafi, senior counsel for health equity and justice at the National Women’s Law Center, said that 31 states have laws in place that allow forced sterilization of people with disabilities.

“These laws give judges the power to disregard a disabled person’s wishes and make the decision for them, supposedly for their own good,” Anafi said.

“In doing so they echo many of the same harmful narratives that fueled forced sterilizations … that disabled people can’t or shouldn’t make decisions about their bodies and parenting,” Anafi added. “And that it’s justifiable to take those choices away to protect disabled people from themselves.”

Former President Donald Trump used his emergency powers to construct a border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. In this photo, construction continues on a new section of the barrier on Jan. 8, 2019, as seen from Tijuana, Mexico. (Photo by Mario Tama, Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Senators from both political parties at a Wednesday hearing appeared to be on the same page about limiting presidential emergency powers, striking a bipartisan agreement that Congress should take steps this year to rework a decades-old law.

The National Emergencies Act, approved during the 94th Congress, provides the president with powers they wouldn’t otherwise have and was intended to give lawmakers oversight of those emergencies.

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, said there are “common sense reforms that would strengthen Congress’ role in exercising oversight of these emergency powers.”

Peters said he looks forward to collaborating with Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, ranking member on the committee, as the panel works “diligently to make that happen in the coming months.”

“Reforming the National Emergencies Act is not about thwarting the policy goals of either party,” Peters said. “It’s about strengthening our democracy and ensuring Congress maintains the responsibility to oversee executive power.”

‘Dangerous imbalance’

Paul said the current structure of the 1976 law, which was affected by a Supreme Court ruling in the 1980s, creates a “dangerous imbalance of constitutional separations of powers.”

“Congress has been complicit and made itself a feckless branch of the federal government by granting the president so many emergency powers and refusing to regularly vote on termination of national emergencies as required by current law,” he said.

Paul said he hoped the hearing marked the beginning “of a serious and sustained effort to restore the Constitution, reclaim the authority of Congress and protect the liberties of the people by paring back the vast emergency powers delegated to the president.”

Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the liberal-leaning Brennan Center for Justice, testified there are 43 emergency declarations under the National Emergencies Act in place today, out of 79 total declarations.

That is especially concerning, Goitein said, because “an emergency declaration unlocks powers contained in more than 130 statutory provisions, and some of these carry enormous potential for abuse.”

One emergency power allows the president to take over or shut down wire or radio services, a process last used during World War II when that applied to telephones and telegrams that weren’t in many American homes, she said.

“Today, it could arguably be used to exert control over U.S.-based internet traffic,” Goitein said. “Other laws allow the president to freeze Americans’ assets without any judicial process, to control domestic transportation and even to suspend the prohibition on government testing of chemical and biological agents on unwitting human subjects.”

It would be “irresponsible” of Congress to continue hoping for “presidential self-restraint” to ensure that an executive doesn’t take their emergency powers too far, she testified.

Trump border wall emergency?

Former President Donald Trump, Goitein said, “opened the door to abusing statutory emergency powers when he declared a national emergency to secure funding for the border wall after Congress had refused to provide that funding.”

“President (Joe) Biden nudged the door open a little bit more when he relied on emergency powers to forgive student loan debt,” she added. “Again, after Congress had considered legislation to forgive debt and had not passed that legislation.”

There are several proposals that would require Congress to approve a president’s emergency declaration within 30 days, otherwise it would terminate. And even if a president received congressional approval, they would have to go back to lawmakers a year later to renew the emergency, Goitein said.

Gene Healy, senior vice president for policy at the libertarian Cato Institute, testified that it is “remarkable that we haven’t seen far greater abuses” of presidential emergency powers under the National Emergencies Act.

Congress should “reset” how emergency powers work by “sunsetting presidential emergency declarations after a matter of weeks and requiring actual authorization from Congress to extend them further,” Healy testified.

Lawmakers should review what emergency powers were granted to presidents under the nearly 50-year-old law and take away any that wouldn’t be necessary during a true emergency or that “are especially susceptible to abuse,” he said.

Satya Thallam, senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and a former senior staff member for the panel, said “the sweet spot for any reform is one that is on its face policy neutral and designed to service only the interests of Congress’ lawmaking role vis-à-vis the president, rather than any particular political agenda.”

The Foundation for American Innovation writes on its website that it was established in 2014 in Silicon Valley as Lincoln Labs. Its mission “is to develop technology, talent, and ideas that support a better, freer, and more abundant future.”

Disruption of peaceful transfer of power

In response to a question from Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff about how a president could disrupt a peaceful transition of power, Goitein reluctantly testified that she was concerned about the Insurrection Act, which exists outside of the National Emergencies Act.

“The Insurrection Act is a law that allows the president to deploy federal military troops to quell civil unrest or to execute the law in crisis,” she said. “It gives the president extremely broad and judicially unreviewable discretion to deploy troops in ways that could certainly be abused.”

Healy said it would be “prudent” for Congress to “tighten up” the authorities that a president holds under the Insurrection Act.

Paul said he was fully supportive of re-working the Insurrection Act to avoid potential abuses by presidents.

“The Insurrection Act is a thousand times more potent and has the potential for turning the place into, you know, military rule overnight,” Paul said, adding that he’s introduced a bill that would bar presidents from sending the military anywhere without the explicit approval of Congress.

“Our soldiers are great, but they’re not trained to obey the Fourth Amendment, our police are. And even that’s imperfect,” Paul said. “But our police know about the Fourth Amendment. They know they have to get warrants. Armies don’t get warrants.”

Paul said any changes to the Insurrection Act must be “more strict” than changes to the National Emergencies Act, “because you’re talking about putting troops in our cities.”

Paul also said the committee should look closely at the emergency power that could allow a president to essentially turn off the internet during a national emergency, referring to that as the internet kill switch.

“You could become dictator in a day, in a moment, in one executive order,” Paul said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Wednesday that the Senate will vote in June on legislation guaranteeing the right to access contraception. Shown is a packet of birth control pills. (Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators will go on record next month with whether they support legislation from Democrats that would guarantee access to contraception — a right currently upheld by two Supreme Court cases, but one that has been singled out by a conservative justice.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, announced Wednesday the chamber would vote on the bill in June, saying it would help to bolster women’s reproductive rights at a crucial time. Sixty votes will be needed for the bill to advance.

“Now, more than ever, contraception is a critical piece of protecting women’s reproductive freedoms,” Schumer said.

The move to hold a procedural vote on the legislation, which has 49 co-sponsors, came just one day after Donald Trump, the Republican presumptive nominee for president, said that his campaign would be releasing a policy on contraception in the next week.

Trump seemed to be open to state restrictions on contraception, though he later backtracked in social media comments.

“We’re looking at that and I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly and I think it’s something that you’ll find interesting,” Trump said on KDKA in Pittsburgh. “It’s another issue that’s very interesting. But you will find it very smart. I think it’s a smart decision, but we’ll be releasing it very soon.”

Trump had been asked if he supports “any restrictions on a person’s right to contraception.”

Trump later said that “things really do have a lot to do with the states. And some states are going to have different policies than others.” That comment came after Trump was asked if he “may want to support some restrictions, like the morning-after pill or something?”

In Congress

The House approved a bill similar to the Senate legislation in July 2022 that was sponsored by North Carolina Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning. The chamber at the time was controlled by Democrats.

That measure defined contraception as “an action taken to prevent pregnancy, including the use of contraceptives or fertility-awareness based methods, and sterilization procedures.”

Senate Democrats tried to pass their version of the so-called Right to Contraception Act the same month, but Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst blocked the unanimous consent request.

Unanimous consent is the fastest way to approve legislation in the Senate, but it allows any one lawmaker to block passage. There is no recorded vote during that process, but there will be next month when Schumer holds the procedural vote.

If the legislation gains 60 votes, it would move on to a simple majority vote.

Democrats were attempting to enact statutory protections for contraception two years ago following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling by the Supreme Court that ended the constitutional right to abortion. That right was established in the 1973 Roe v. Wade case and affirmed in the 1992 Casey v. Planned Parenthood ruling.

In a dissenting opinion in Dobbs, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the justices should “reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents” that relied on the same right to privacy legal thinking that justices had cited in Roe and Casey.

Thomas specifically mentioned the Griswold v. Connecticut, Obergefell v. Hodges and Lawrence v. Texas cases.

Griswold was the 1965 case where the Supreme Court struck down a Connecticut state law that had prevented married couples from using contraception.

The Supreme Court held that a “right to privacy can be inferred from several amendments in the Bill of Rights, and this right prevents states from making the use of contraception by married couples illegal.”

Those rights were extended to unmarried people in the 1972 Eisenstadt v. Baird ruling.

Polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation, released in March, shows that 45% of adults said they believe access to contraception is “a secure right likely to remain in place.”

An additional 21% responded that they believe it is “a threatened right likely to be overturned.” A total of 34% of respondents said they were not sure.

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday was asked if he supports “any restrictions on a person’s right to contraception.” (Photo of a package of birth control pills by Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president, suggested during a taped interview with a Pittsburgh TV news station Tuesday that he might be open to states restricting access to contraceptives, though he later appeared to backtrack.

“We’re looking at that and I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly and I think it’s something that you’ll find interesting,” Trump said on KDKA. “It’s another issue that’s very interesting. But you will find it very smart. I think it’s a smart decision, but we’ll be releasing it very soon.”

Trump had been asked if he supports “any restrictions on a person’s right to contraception.”

Trump later added that “things really do have a lot to do with the states. And some states are going to have different policies than others.” That comment came just after being asked if he “may want to support some restrictions, like the morning-after pill or something?”

The former president, who is currently on trial for allegedly facilitating hush money payments to an adult film actress during his 2016 campaign to cover up a prior affair, later posted on his social media platform that he wasn’t advocating for birth control restrictions.

“??I HAVE NEVER, AND WILL NEVER ADVOCATE IMPOSING RESTRICTIONS ON BIRTH CONTROL, or other contraceptives,” Trump wrote. “This is a Democrat fabricated lie MISINFORMATION/DISINFORMATION, because they have nothing else to run on except FAILURE, POVERTY, AND DEATH. I DO NOT SUPPORT A BAN ON BIRTH CONTROL, AND NEITHER WILL THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!”

Supreme Court rulings

The U.S. Supreme Court has twice ruled in favor of privacy rights for decisions about contraceptives, meaning that any state looking to restrict or ban access to birth control would quickly see that law challenged in federal court.

In the1965 Griswold v. Connecticut case, the justices struck down a Connecticut law that prevented married couples from using birth control, writing that the “right to privacy can be inferred from several amendments in the Bill of Rights, and this right prevents states from making the use of contraception by married couples illegal.”

The Supreme Court later ruled in the 1972 Eisenstadt v. Baird case that the same privacy rights that protected married couples’ decision-making about contraceptives also protected unmarried people.

In that case, the justices held that “unmarried couples have the right to use contraception, based on the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the more nebulous constitutional right to privacy.”

Biden-Harris spokesperson Sarafina Chitika released a written statement Tuesday that Trump’s comments show he “wants to rip away our freedom to access birth control.”

“Women across the country are already suffering from Donald Trump’s post-Roe nightmare, and if he wins a second term, it’s clear he wants to go even further by restricting access to birth control and emergency contraceptives,” Chitika wrote. “It’s not enough for Trump that women’s lives are being put at risk, doctors are being threatened with jail time, and extreme bans are being enacted with no exceptions for rape or incest.”

KDKA-TV Money & Politics Editor Jon Delano posted on social media that viewers interested in the Trump interview could tune in at “4, 5, and 6 to hear comments on the trial, abortion, contraceptives, the economy, energy, trade, and the fairness of PA’s election.”

The Biden campaign posted clips of the interview on their social media account, but it didn’t appear available anywhere else prior to KDKA’s airing.

Other policy hints from Trump

Trump has teased out providing clear policy plans before, telling Time magazine in an April interview that his campaign would put out details in the weeks ahead about his “strong views” on access to mifepristone. The campaign had not done so as of Tuesday afternoon.

The pharmaceutical is one of two drugs used in medication abortions and is currently in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

The justices heard oral arguments in the case in March and are expected to decide this summer whether to leave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s prescribing guidelines in place or revert to what was used before changes began taking effect in 2016.

Trump said during the Time magazine interview that he wasn’t going to explain his beliefs about access to mifepristone just then.

“Well, I have an opinion on that, but I’m not going to explain,” Trump said, according to the transcript of the interview. “I’m not gonna say it yet. But I have pretty strong views on that. And I’ll be releasing it probably over the next week.”

Washington state Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray speaks during a press conference on reproductive rights on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Also pictured from the left are Dr. Raegan McDonald Mosley, CEO of Power to Decide, and Karen Stone, vice president of Public Policy & Government Relations at Planned Parenthood. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Bans or severe restrictions on abortion access enacted by Republican state lawmakers have led to a downturn in medical students seeking to practice in those states, and a handful of Democratic U.S. senators said Tuesday those laws must be reversed.

During a press conference just steps from the U.S. Capitol, the lawmakers and reproductive rights advocates cited a study released in early May by the Association of American Medical Colleges Research and Action Institute.

The study “found that fewer new graduates of U.S. medical schools applied to residency programs in states that banned or restricted access to abortion than to residency programs in states where abortion remained legal.”

In Alabama, for example, the study found that applicants for OB-GYN residency programs in the state dropped 21.2% in 2023-24, the Alabama Reflector reported.

Medical residency programs begin after students graduate medical school and can last between three and seven years depending on what specialty the doctor is training in, according to AAMC.

The AAMC Institute’s website says it takes “a novel and nonpartisan approach to policy challenges, redefines complex problems, and offers feasible solutions to improve U.S. health care among policymakers and the public.”

Washington state Democratic Sen. Patty Murray said the downward trend could exacerbate physician shortages in those states, given that OB-GYNs are leaving them as well.

“It should not be surprising to anyone because after all, why go somewhere politicians and judges can overrule your medical degree and force you to put your patients in harm’s way?” Murray said. “Why practice in a state that threatens you with the loss of your license, heavy fines and even prison time if you dare to help the patient get the abortion care that they need?”

Congress, she said, must work to restore nationwide abortion protections that were in place for nearly 50 years until the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade case less than two years ago.

Wisconsin could lose critical care, Baldwin warns

Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin said during the press conference that fewer doctors are choosing her home state to start their careers.

“Universities in states with abortion bans have been forced to send students out of state to receive reproductive care training,” Baldwin said. “I’ve heard from doctors who are commuting across state lines, because they can no longer provide comprehensive care in their own communities.”

The decision by some medical students to seek out residency programs in states with protections for abortion access, could lead to states like Wisconsin “losing critical care for half our population,” Baldwin said.

“Fewer OB-GYNs means fewer doctors to deliver babies and perform prenatal and postnatal check-ups to ensure moms and babies get the healthy start that they deserve,” Baldwin said.

“It means fewer doctors performing routine productive reproductive care, like administering mammograms and connecting women with safe and reliable birth control,” Baldwin said. ‘It means more women in reproductive care deserts unable to find treatment in case of emergencies.”

Baldwin said it “makes sense” that medical residents were seeking to learn and practice in states with protections for abortion access.

“If you were a medical student or doctor, would you rather work in a state that limits the science-backed care that you can provide, or one that has taken politicians out of the doctor’s office?” Baldwin said.

Arizona ‘whiplashes between two abortion bans’

Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly said that doctors and patients in his state “are living with uncertainty and chaos as our state whiplashes between two abortion bans.”

“I’ve spoken to several doctors who are thinking of leaving the state and many who have already left,” Kelly said. “I’ve been on Zoom calls and seen the cardboard boxes piled up in the back. And it’s because they can’t practice under these current circumstances.”

Doctors applying to residency programs in Arizona “decreased by nearly 20% from 2023 to 2024. And for OB-GYNs, applications dropped by more than 25%,” Kelly said.

The only way to reverse the situation, Kelly said, “is by codifying abortion rights into law, once and for all.”

Dr. Raegan McDonald Mosley, CEO of Power to Decide and a practicing physician in Maryland, said during the last two years she’s treated “patients who’ve traveled hundreds and even thousands of miles to get care with me.”

The restrictions or bans on abortion access, she said, have led to longer wait times in states that have protected access, leading to complicated situations for doctors and patients.

The AAMC Institute’s study “shows that students graduating from U.S. medical schools are less likely to apply for residency positions in states with abortion bans and restrictions,” Mosley said.

“These consequences will only exacerbate health inequities across the country,” Mosley said. “As health care providers, we trust our patients to know what they need. We also know that abortion is health care. And yet too many of us are being prevented from providing that care and too many people are suffering as a result.”

Abortion pills sent to patients in states with bans

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said he “just heard last week about a young doctor, who left his home state of Oklahoma to come to New York to begin his OB-GYN residency at our state university system.”

New York, he said, has passed so-called “shield laws” that protect doctors within the state borders “to prescribe and send abortion pills to patients in states that have outlawed abortion.”

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide in the coming weeks whether access to medication abortion, a two-drug regimen approved for up to 10 weeks gestation, will remain as it is now or revert to the prescribing guidelines that were in place before changes began in 2016.

The case could significantly change when and how doctors can prescribe mifepristone and misoprostol for abortions as well as miscarriage care. The justices heard oral arguments in the case in March.

A majority of the nine justices deciding to roll back the prescribing guidelines to what was in place eight years ago would mean that doctors can no longer prescribe the two pharmaceuticals via telehealth and patients would no longer be able to receive them in the mail.

Schumer said during Tuesday’s press conference that restricting abortion access is “cruel” and has led to “chaos for patients and doctors.”

The PACT Act added 23 illnesses to the list of toxic-exposure-related ailments presumed to be connected to military service. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to announce in New Hampshire on Tuesday that 1 million claims have been granted for benefits under the toxic exposure law that Congress approved less than two years ago, following the military’s use of open air burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The law, approved with broad bipartisan support following years of advocacy by veterans, their families and service organizations, has also led to more than 145,000 people enrolling in health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough told reporters on a call ahead of the announcement that the law has made “tangible, life-changing differences for” veterans and their survivors.

“That has meant more than $5.7 billion in earned benefits for veterans as well as access to no-cost VA health care across all 50 states and the territories,” McDonough said.

White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden said during the call that the law, known as the PACT Act, “represents the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic-exposed veterans, including veterans exposed to burn pits and certain veterans exposed to radiation and Agent Orange.”

“This is truly personal for the president given his experiences as a military parent,” Tanden said. Biden’s son, Beau, died at 46 years old in 2015 from brain cancer.

The approval rate for benefits under the PACT Act is about 75%, according to a senior administration official.

Biden is set to make the announcement during a trip to Nashua, New Hampshire.

Burn pit exposure

Congress struggled for years before reaching a compromise on when and how to provide health care and benefits for veterans exposed to open air burn pits during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hazardous chemicals, medical waste, batteries and other toxic substances were disposed of in those burn pits, typically located on military bases. Service members had no choice but to live and work alongside the smoke, often breathing it in.

The law added 23 illnesses to the list of conditions that the VA presumes are connected to military service, eliminating the arduous and complicated process that many veterans had to undergo to try to get health care and benefits for those diagnoses.

Before the bill became law, veterans often had to prove to the VA that their illnesses were connected to their military service if they wanted to receive benefits or health care for those illnesses.

The U.S. Senate voted 84-14 in June 2022 to send the legislation to the House, where it was delayed for weeks over a dispute about incentivizing health care providers to move to rural or very rural areas.

The bill passed the House following a 342-88 vote in July, after that section was removed from the package. Senators voted 86-11 in August to send the bill to Biden’s desk.

The president signed the bill during a ceremony on Aug. 10.

“When they came home, many of the fittest and best warriors that we sent to war were not the same,” Biden said during the event. “Headaches, numbness, dizziness, cancer. My son Beau was one of them.”

The VA has an interactive dashboard that provides veterans with information about how to apply for health care and benefits under the PACT Act as well as how many claims have been submitted.
The VA has a calendar of in-person events that can be found here. Veterans or their family members can also call the VA at 800-698-2411 to inquire about PACT Act benefits.

U.S. Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama addresses a crowd at a breakfast hosted by the Chamber of Commerce in Montgomery on Nov. 3, 2023. (Alander Rocha/Alabama Reflector)

WASHINGTON — Two Republican U.S. senators have teamed up to try to prevent states from banning in vitro fertilization, months after the Alabama state Supreme Court upended access to the procedure by ruling fertilized embryos were children under state law.

Sens. Katie Britt of Alabama and Ted Cruz of Texas introduced a three-page bill on Monday that would cut off a state’s Medicaid funding if that state were to bar in vitro fertilization.

“As a mom, I know firsthand that there is no greater blessing than our children, and IVF helps families across our nation experience the joyous miracle of life, grow, and thrive,” Britt wrote in a statement. “This commonsense piece of legislation affirms both life and liberty — family and freedom, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact it into law.”

Cruz wrote that “IVF has given miraculous hope to millions of Americans, and it has given families across the country the gift of children.”

The bill comes months after the Alabama state Supreme Court ruled that fertilized embryos that were frozen or hadn’t been implanted constituted children under an 1872 law.

State lawmakers approved and Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation afterward to provide civil and criminal protections to the state’s IVF clinics so that they might resume their work. Questions, however, remain and at least one of the state’s IVF clinics has closed.

Democrats in Congress have introduced their own bills to provide nationwide protections for IVF, though two of those bills have been blocked from quickly passing the Senate by GOP lawmakers.

Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi in late February prevented Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth from receiving unanimous consent to pass a bill that would have protected IVF nationwide.

That bill would have blocked limitations on “assisted reproductive technology services” that are “more burdensome than limitations or requirements imposed on medically comparable procedures, do not significantly advance reproductive health or the safety of such services and unduly restrict access to such services.”

Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford in March blocked Washington state Democratic Sen. Patty Murray from quickly passing a bill that would have expanded access to in vitro fertilization for military service members and veterans.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 19, 2023. DelBene spoke to reporters Friday, May 17, 2024, about how abortion will affect U.S. House races in November. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene told reporters Friday that ballot questions on abortion access, which will go before voters in several states this November, can help vulnerable Democratic candidates in swing districts — potentially increasing the odds the U.S. House flips from red to blue.

“We’ve seen huge turnout as a result of that over and over in elections since November of 2022,” DelBene said during a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. “And I have no doubt we’re going to continue to see that all the way through.”

The Washington state Democrat, who was elected to Congress in 2012 and leads House Democrats’ campaign arm this election cycle, said that reproductive rights will also be a crucial issue for voters in swing districts that don’t have a ballot question on access.

“Folks support women’s reproductive rights across the country,” DelBene said. “And that’s going to be a huge issue. And for some people, it is the issue.”

Democrats in Congress have been unable to restore nationwide abortion protections that existed for nearly 50 years under the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade case and the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey ruling.

Conservative Supreme Court justices voted to overturn those two rulings in the Dobbs decision that was released in 2022, writing that “the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.”

The court is expected to rule this summer on two additional cases related to abortion access, just months before voters head to the polls.

One originally filed in Texas will determine whether access to mifepristone, one of two pharmaceuticals used in medication abortion, can remain available as it is now or revert to prescribing instructions in place before 2016. The court heard oral arguments in March.

The second case, out of Idaho, has to do with whether doctors who provide abortion as “stabilizing care” when the pregnant patient’s life or health is at risk are protected from prosecution under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.

Since the Supreme Court ended nationwide protections for abortion access, voters in several states — including Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio — have voted to keep or instill abortion access as a right.

Voters in numerous other states, including Arizona, Florida and Montana, are likely to have the issue directly on their ballots later this year, as well as candidates from president on down.

Federal legislation

DelBene said Friday that Democrats will bring legislation to the floor to restore nationwide protections for abortion, should they retake the House.

“That will be one of our top priorities, to make sure that we pass the Women’s Health Protection Act again,” DelBene said. “But I’m also hopeful that we will keep the Senate and be able to move forward.”

The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter projects that Republicans are on track to pick up between one and four seats in the Senate, likely moving that chamber of Congress from blue to red.

Should Democrats flip the House, that would mean a continuation of divided government, regardless of who wins the presidential contest.

The Cook Political Report forecasts 203 seats are at least leaning toward Democratic control while 210 are rated as solid, likely or lean Republican. That leaves 22 seats in the toss up category, with a total of 218 needed for one party to control the chamber.

Jessica Taylor, editor for U.S. Senate and governors at CPR, wrote in an update released Friday that the upper chamber “remains beyond precarious for Democrats.”

“There is no room for error — and if President Joe Biden loses reelection, they will have already lost the majority whether they run the table in all the competitive seats or not,” Taylor wrote.

Young voters

DelBene said during the breakfast at a hotel in Washington, D.C., that turnout will be “critical” and that Democrats will be especially focused on younger voters showing up at the polls.

“Traditionally, younger voters haven’t turned out as much,” she said. “So that absolutely is a top priority.”

DelBene took several questions about whether those younger voters would actually back Democratic candidates or Biden, given the increase in protests on college campuses and concern within the progressive wing about the increasing civilian death toll from the ongoing war in Gaza.

The top issues for younger voters, DelBene said, are “making sure that they are going to have economic opportunity going forward and that they’re going to be in a position where they can have the same opportunities that their parents said that they’re going to have, the same rights and freedoms that their parents did.”

Candidates in purple districts should speak “authentically” with voters when they’re asked about their stance on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, she said.

“My advice for candidates has always been, ‘It’s important for you to have an authentic voice and talk about what you would do, how you feel on issues.’ Because people can tell if someone’s scripted and not really talking about their feelings,” DelBene said. “And on such an important issue, I think, it’s really important that people talk authentically about their positions, what they think needs to happen.”

Dr. Brian Jeffrey Swann, who is on the board of directors for Remote Area Medical and practices dentistry in Tennessee, told a U.S. Senate committee about low-income people who drive from far distances to attend clinics where they can get their dental problems treated. (Screenshot from U.S. Senate webcast)

WASHINGTON — Dentists from throughout the country urged Congress to include dental coverage in Medicare during a hearing Thursday, saying that fewer than half of beneficiaries visit a dentist each year.

The panel of four dentists told the U.S. Senate Help, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that other changes are needed as well to reduce the gap in consistent dental care for all Americans, including removing the barrier between health care and dentistry as well as bolstering affordable treatment for underserved communities.

The dentists also told senators that better outreach and education are needed to ensure people understand how missing regular checkups can have negative repercussions on their physical health.

Dr. Lisa Simon, associate physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a member of the faculty at Harvard Medical School, testified that “fewer than half of Medicare beneficiaries see a dentist each year. When they do, they spend more than $1,000 out of pocket on their care.”

She also told senators during the hearing that the dental coverage offered by many Medicare Advantage plans is insufficient. Such plans offered by private companies roll together Part A and Part B coverage and often include drug coverage.

“Dental plans are often a draw for beneficiaries that choose Medicare Advantage,” Simon said. “But my research has found that beneficiaries with Medicare Advantage have rates of dental access that are just as low and out-of-pocket costs that are just as high as traditional Medicare beneficiaries. Medicare Advantage is not the solution here.”

Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan, president and CEO of CareQuest Institute for Oral Health in Boston, told the panel that traditional Medicare’s exclusion of dental benefits leaves about “half of Medicare enrollees, nearly 25 million older Americans and people with disabilities, without dental benefits.”

Politics, pay and too few dentists: Barriers to healing the pain in Kentuckians’ mouths

“There is currently no financial support for adults to purchase dental insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace,” Minter-Jordan said. “And adult dental coverage is optional under state Medicaid programs, which means that coverage varies widely from extensive benefits to none at all.”

Dr. Brian Jeffrey Swann, who is on the board of directors for Remote Area Medical and practices dentistry in Tennessee, told the committee the nonprofit organization provides pop-up dental and vision clinics for underinsured and uninsured people.

“The people that come to RAM for assistance often drive across two or three state lines, sleeping in their cars, wrapped in blankets to stay warm. Many people come days before the clinic just to ensure that they get a ticket,” Swann said.

“Patients suffer from cavities and gum disease,” he added. “And this is concerning due to the interplay of gum disease and diabetes.”

Swann, who is also co-chair of Global Oral Health at the National Dental Association, said that organization has been calling for dental coverage to be included in Medicare for decades.

Sanders, Cassidy split on Medicare changes

The dentists’ recommendations revealed a chasm between the two top lawmakers on the panel.

“The lack of affordable dental care in America is a problem all over our country,” said HELP Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont. “But it is especially acute for lower income Americans, pregnant women, people with disabilities, veterans, those who live in rural communities, and Black, Latino and Native Americans.”

Sanders said access to and affordability of dental care within the United States has “become so absurd” that Americans have begun traveling to “countries like Mexico, Costa Rica, India, Thailand and Hungary, where it is much less expensive to get the dental care they need.”

That is still out of reach for many people, leading to nearly 1 out of 5 senior citizens having lost their teeth, he said.

“And many of them cannot afford dentures, which can cost many thousands of dollars,” Sanders said, adding that “70% of older Americans have some sort of periodontal disease, which can lead to rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease.”

Sanders reiterated, as he has for years, that Medicare coverage should include dental and vision coverage.

Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, ranking member on the HELP Committee, said that about “88% of Americans have dental coverage,” though he noted the “pent-up demand for dental care is greater than the pent-up demand for medical care.”

Cassidy, a doctor, said that while traditional Medicare doesn’t cover dental procedures, about “98% of Medicare Advantage plans offer dental benefits and more than half of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in an MA plan.”

He appeared to reject the proposal to add dental coverage to Medicare in the immediate future, noting that the program is slated to hit a significant funding shortfall in about 10 years.

“With Medicare on track for insolvency in a little over a decade, we should also think about making that sustainable before adding programs to it,” he said.

Cassidy also criticized how Medicaid, a program that provides health insurance for low-income people, currently approaches dental care.

“The reimbursement rate under Medicaid is so lousy that frankly it’s the illusion of coverage without the power of access,” Cassidy said. “If you’re losing money on every patient you see who’s covered by Medicaid, you can’t make it up.”

Problems in rural America

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski raised the issue of access to dentists in rural areas, including her home state, during the hearing.

“I grew up in a part of the state where if you needed to go to the dentist, you got in an airplane or you got on a ferry and more often than not, you went to Seattle,” she said. “And that was not a cheap trip, but that was how we got our health care.”

“We have improved dramatically since then, but we still have far too many communities where access is an issue,” Murkowski added.

There are still many examples where “overall health outcomes have been impacted negatively, because it began with poor oral health care,” she said.

Dr. Gordon Roswell Isbell III, past trustee of the Academy of General Dentistry from Alabama, said that ensuring there are enough dentists and dental hygienists in rural areas is a challenge. He suggested developing programs that get dentists into rural areas.

“I know in our state that’s something we’ve worked hard at and we’re having some success,” Isbell said, adding that rural citizens “deserve” good dental care.

Swann testified that dental schools need more role models who can demonstrate to students the best ways to live and work in rural areas. He also suggested providing incentives and “innovative business models.”

Minter-Jordan said that one-third of rural residents do not have dental insurance and that 4 in 10 adults in rural areas haven’t seen a dentist in more than a year.

New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan said during the hearing that while her home state expanded Medicaid coverage last year to include dental care, she’s hearing from a lot of people that it’s extremely challenging to find a dentist in rural areas who is accepting new patients and takes Medicaid.

Simon said that recruiting dentistry students from rural areas “can make a small dent in making these communities better served.”

A bill passed Thursday, May 16, 2024 by the U.S. House says military assistance withheld from Israel “shall be delivered to Israel not later than 15 days after” the bill becomes law and requires the secretaries of Defense and State to obligate all funding for Israel within 30 days of the bill becoming law. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

The 224-187 vote approved a bill released over the weekend by a handful of Republicans that, in part, “calls on the Biden Administration to allow all previously approved arms transfers to Israel to proceed quickly to ensure that Israel can defend itself and defeat threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.”

Kentucky’s Rep. Thomas Massie was one of only three Republicans voting against the bill. The other two were Reps. Majorie Taylor Green of Georgia and Warren Davidson of Ohio.

The measure says withheld military assistance “shall be delivered to Israel not later than 15 days after” the bill becomes law and requires the secretaries of Defense and State to obligate all funding for Israel within 30 days of the bill becoming law.

The legislation now goes to the Senate, but it’s unlikely that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, will bring it up for a vote. The White House issued a veto threat for the bill.

“The president has already said he’d veto it, so it’s not going anywhere,” Schumer said Wednesday.

At a Thursday morning press conference outside the U.S. Capitol, House Speaker Mike Johnson accused Biden of emboldening Iran and “using his authority to defend himself politically.”

“Israel needs to finish the job and America needs to help Israel extinguish the flame of terror that is wrought by Hamas. It wasn’t that long ago when President Biden called for the elimination of Hamas. But he’s not doing that anymore. And now it’s clear that Biden and Schumer have turned their back on Israel. They’re carrying water for Iran and its proxies,” Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said.

House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, of Oklahoma; Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert, of California; State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mario Díaz-Balart, of Florida; and Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman David Joyce, of Ohio, released the nine-page bill this weekend.

Quiet pause

The legislation comes weeks after the Biden administration quietly paused one shipment of heavy bombs to Israel over concerns that more civilians in Gaza could be killed by U.S.-supplied weapons.

The death toll has reached more than 35,000 in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Biden is facing severe opposition from progressives, including high-profile protests on college campuses, over Israel’s continued offensive following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

The previously scheduled single shipment that was paused in late April contained 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, according to a Pentagon update on May 9.

Pentagon spokesman Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on May 9 that the administration has “not made a final determination on how to proceed with this shipment.”

“And as you know, we’ve provided billions of dollars in security assistance to Israel. We’ve supported their efforts to defend themselves, most recently (during) Iran’s unprecedented attack. So there should be no question that we will continue to stand by Israel when it comes to their defense,” Ryder said during a press conference.

The U.S. and allies shot down dozens of drones and missiles launched by Iran at Israel in mid-April, according to the Pentagon.

Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of financial support from the U.S. since World War II, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

Some House Democrats, including Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, expressed concern over the administration’s paused shipment, though she voted against the bill Thursday.

“President Biden has been ironclad in his commitment to Israel over the last seven months. His Administration must stay the course and avoid any impression that our support is wavering,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement Friday.

“Targeting remaining Hamas fighters while minimizing harm to civilians will require the best of our combined efforts. I share the President’s concern for Palestinian civilians used as human shields and understand the risks posed by a full-scale invasion of Rafah. However, we must remember that Hamas is eager to sacrifice as many Palestinian lives as possible and wants to maximize the civilian toll of this operation as part of their cowardly PR campaign,” she continued.

Numerous media reports are citing congressional aides who say the White House is poised to sign off on a $1 billion arms transfer to Israel.

When asked by reporters Thursday about the reported deal, Johnson criticized it as “window dressing” to provide Biden with “political cover.”

White House ‘strongly’ opposes bill

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday during the press briefing that the administration didn’t support the legislation.

“We strongly, strongly oppose attempts to constrain the president’s ability to deploy U.S. security assistance consistent with U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives,” she said.

Jean-Pierre added the Biden administration plans “to spend every last cent appropriated, consistent with legal obligations.”

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during the same press briefing the administration had “paused a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs because we do not believe they should be dropped in densely populated cities.”

“We still believe it would be a mistake to launch a major military operation into the heart of Rafah that would put huge numbers of civilians at risk without a clear strategic gain,” Sullivan said. “The president was clear that he would not supply certain offensive weapons for such an operation, were it to occur.”

Sullivan said the Biden administration was working with the Israeli government “on a better way to ensure the defeat of Hamas everywhere in Gaza, including in Rafah.” He also noted that the U.S. is “continuing to send military assistance” to Israel.

The White House released a statement of administration policy on Tuesday further criticizing the legislation and issuing a veto threat.

“The bill is a misguided reaction to a deliberate distortion of the Administration’s approach to Israel,” it states. “The President has been clear: we will always ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself.”