Politics

Latino voters are souring on the GOP, fueled by frustration over rising costs and the Trump administration's aggressive approach to immigration enforcement.

The $293 million spent by California billionaires to oppose Proposition 40 is about 0.07% of their estimated wealth.

Michigan's Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, Abdul El-Sayed, is many things to many people.

“Almost all of the worst ideas in the United States have been intentionally exported to Brazil as a way to make Brazil a worse country that’s more in line with U.S. interests.” The post The Stakes of Brazil’s Presidential Election  appeared first on The Intercept .

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) are living out their midterm nightmares — with nominees they didn't want and former colleagues they no longer control. Why it matters: Together, Schumer and Thune are stuck with five Senate races in which their party establishments thought they had a better chance of winning with someone else. 🤠 Texas: Thune's efforts to stop Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from winning the party's Senate nomination failed. Now Republicans are spending more than $329 million to defeat state Rep. James Talarico— and it's still a nail-biter. 🍑 Georgia: GOP leaders couldn't convince Gov. Brian Kemp to run. The eventual nominee, Rep. Mike Collins, has struggled to keep pace with fundraising juggernaut Sen. Jon Ossoff (D). GOP money is in retreat. 🦞 Maine: Schumer endorsed Gov. Janet Mills, but Graham Platner's implosion left Democrats with backup Troy Jackson against Sen. Susan Collins. ⛴️ Michigan: Abdul El-Sayed defeated Rep. Haley Stevens and made a name for himself nationally. But he won by just one point even though primary polls showed him up by double digits. He's now polling within the margin of error against the GOP nominee, former Rep. Mike Rogers. 🏈 Minnesota: Peggy Flanagan ran as a progressive, said she would not support Schumer as leader and bested establishment-backed Rep. Angie Craig. But Cook Political Report moved her race against former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya toward Republicans even as it shifted other races toward Democrats. To make matters worse, Thune's and Schumer's former colleagues are creating fresh headaches by boosting candidates across the aisle. Former Sen. Joe Manchin, who flipped to independent in 2024 after being elected as a Senate Democrat, is campaigning for Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), as Semafor reported. Former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema , who also flipped from Democrat to independent before leaving office, is boosting Republican Jay Feely in her hom

The Defense Department’s long-term supply agreement with Lockheed Martin needs tens of billions of dollars from Congress.

An unprecedented election war is playing out between the Trump administration and California in federal court, with a slate of cases proceeding at breakneck speed ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

Means’s views on the COVID vaccine, raw milk and fluoride have all been criticized by health care professionals

A federal judge restricted Department of Homeland Security investigations into suspected noncitizen voting in nine states, citing concerns that the agency's tactics could intimidate eligible voters. Why it matters: With the midterms less than two weeks away, the ruling curtails a central part of the Trump administration's efforts to investigate suspected noncitizen voting. Driving the news: The ruling, issued late Wednesday, blocks election-related field operations and interviews under the government's Unlawful Voter Initiative that involve or are likely to involve U.S. citizens. California-based U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín also blocked the administration from conducting operations against likely citizens in states relying on records generated by its voter-matching policy. Zoom in: Martínez-Olguín wrote in her order that the groups that sued provided "substantial evidence" that the government's "intimidating conduct" was "directly interfering with their members' right to encourage voters to participate in the 2026 midterm elections." Her order stated that DHS had compiled a "target list" of individuals from a variety of sources, including state voter rolls and commercial data. But Martínez-Olguín cast doubt on the accuracy of the administration's data, warning of a "high likelihood of error in review because there is no federal database containing citizenship status of U.S. residents." Court filings indicated that officers were ordered to prioritize probes in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin. Catch up quick: Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and Alex Padilla (Calif.) released a whistleblower report last month alleging that officials had diverted fraud and national security personnel to the Unlawful Voter Initiative using "highly questionable data" and methods. The whistleblower disclosure alleged that officers were directed, in violation of state law, to access sensitive voter in

A federal judge on Thursday ordered President Trump to sit for a deposition by Dec. 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC over an edit of one of his speeches that the president's lawyers say was misleading. Why it matters: The order will likely force Trump to answer questions under oath in a legal battle he started. Driving the news: Judge Enjoliqué Lett ordered Trump to appear by Dec. 11, after lawyers for the BBC argued that Trump is improperly delaying his appearance. In a filing published Wednesday, Trump's counsel said the president could appear between Jan. 11 and Jan. 22, 2027, and argued that his presidential duties prevent him from sitting for the deposition before then. They also allege the BBC is "wrong to claim that President Trump is avoiding his deposition in this action." The president was originally scheduled to appear for the deposition on Oct. 16. However, his lawyers said, that appearance was canceled because Trump had to attend to "matters that have significantly impacted the United States' national security and economy," including the wars in Iran and Ukraine and the White House Accord on Super Intelligence. The other side: BBC attorneys say the president was campaigning in Georgia on Oct. 16, as reflected in a White House press pool report that includes his travel plans. The BBC argues the president chose political activity over appearing for the original deposition date. According to Trump's daily schedule, he attended an intelligence briefing and had executive time before departing for a rally in Georgia and then attended an RNC event in Palm Beach, Florida, that evening. The White House referred Axios to Trump's personal counsel. A spokesperson for Trump's legal team told Axios in an emailed statement that the BBC "defamed President Trump by intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 Presidential Election." The BBC's legal team did not immediately respond t

Calley Means , the health entrepreneur who became the Trump administration's most vocal advocate of the MAHA agenda, resigned from his senior adviser post on Thursday. Why it matters: Means' departure two weeks before the midterm elections underscores the MAHA base's discontent with the pace of change on food policy and the administration's stances on issues like pesticide use . Driving the news: Means expressed "tremendous respect" for President Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a statement on X , praising their efforts to take on "entrenched, dark forces in DC" and advance the MAHA agenda. He cited the administration's work to overhaul dietary guidelines , advance psychedelic therapies , ban the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for sugary drinks, and get food companies to voluntarily remove artificial dyes and other additives from products. The Department of Health and Human Services didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Between the lines: Tensions between the MAHA faithful and the administration peaked in February, after Trump issued an executive order to increase domestic production of glyphosate, a common weed killer. Kennedy and others close to the movement had argued pesticides are making Americans sick. But agriculture interests said restricting their use would raise food prices and cost farmers billions. Trump had tapped Means' sister, Casey , a nutrition influencer, for surgeon general last year but withdrew the nomination in April after her confirmation process stalled in the Senate.

The New York City mayor has said he doesn’t want to “normalize” ICE. But the NYPD, led by Jessica Tisch, has other plans. The post Mamdani’s High-Wire Balancing Act Between ICE and NYPD Can’t Last appeared first on The Intercept .

The global affairs analyst says she is departing for "an opportunity I can't pass up."

President Trump’s decision not to invite international election observers for the midterms could send a troubling message in the U.S. and abroad, experts say.

The U.S. Embassy in Canada accused Canadian leaders of "openly" describing plans to "influence American politics," doubling down on Ambassador Pete Hoekstra's claims of potential election interference. Why it matters: The accusation further deteriorates Washington's relationship with its northern neighbor under President Trump's costly trade war that's put political pressure on Republicans. Canada targeted its retaliatory tariffs on politically salient states and products ahead of the U.S. midterms. Driving the news: The embassy cited Canada's targeted tariffs as part of the influence accusations laid out in a Wednesday fact sheet . It cited remarks from Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, including an August press conference where she said Canada was "targeting products that will target states in the U.S." She added, "we're being wise and strategic to put political pressure." Joly has echoed that message throughout the trade tensions. The fact sheet also cited Joly's meeting with Democrats. She recently huddled with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. What they're saying: Asked about the accusations during a news conference, Prime Minister Mark Carney said "all of our actions are in the interest of Canadian workers, Canadian families and the future of this economy." Zoom out: The fact sheet also singled out conservative Ontario Premier Doug Ford over a 2025 anti-tariff ad campaign featuring excerpts from a Ronald Reagan speech . It also cited Liberal MP Anthony Housefather's campaigning for Florida Democrat Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The memo read, "The Canadian government brushes off concerns about potential interference in U.S. elections, even as its ministers and premiers openly describe plans to influence American politics in official documents and public appearances." Catch up quick: Hoekstra said in a recent podcast interview that American officials were "closely watching" Canada for potential election interference. Joly said last week it was "absolutely not" fair to

Data: Harvard Youth Poll, Fall 2026; Chart: Emily Peck/Axios Nearly two in three U.S. adults younger than 30 who plan to vote in next month's congressional midterm elections say their main motivation is to oppose President Trump and his policies, according to a newly released Harvard Youth Poll . The big picture: Seventy-seven percent of respondents disapprove of the president's handling of the economy, including about half of young Republicans. And just 9% say the U.S. is headed in the right direction — the lowest in the survey's history. Why it matters: Economic populism is driving emotions, along with concerns about war, AI, billionaires, deportation tactics, social policies and corruption. Majorities of respondents support Medicare for All, a wealth tax and bans on congressional stock trading. What we're watching: Just one in three Americans ages 18-29 say they'll definitely vote — a substantial drop from 40% who said so in 2022. Notably, most of that drop is driven by Republicans. Only 34% of Republican respondents said they'll definitely vote, down from 46%; 50% of young Democrats say they'll definitely vote, essentially unchanged. Just 22% of independents they'll definitely vote, down from 26%. Data: Harvard Youth Poll; Chart: Emily Peck/Axios Zoom in: Topping the list of what young people consider serious threats to their long-term financial security: rising prices and the cost of living (79%), followed by the power of large corporations (68%) and trade wars (68%). Nearly half said their household is struggling to make ends meet or getting by with limited financial security. By the numbers: 63% say their votes for U.S. House or Senate will be cast in opposition to Trump, while 14% say they're motivated by support of the president and 17% say he's not a factor. Two-thirds disapprove of the job Democrats are doing in Congress; 74% disapprove of congressional Republicans' performance. Stunning stats: For the first time in the poll's history, the share of young

What's disgusting about federal claims regarding illegal voters is that the portrait of this country's biggest election scofflaw hangs in every federal courthouse.

The softly-spoken former defence secretary is gearing up for the biggest moment of his long political career.

Vice President Vance 's call for fellow Republicans to "stop whining" about Vivek Ramaswamy's controversial attack ad in Ohio's race for governor showed a key part of his political mindset ahead of his expected run for president in 2028: Never back down. Why it matters: Channeling President Trump, Vance has shown contempt for what he sees as the old-guard GOP's reflex to cave under pressure from Democrats and the media. He thinks too many Republicans sacrifice allies to make controversies go away, and that giving critics a political scalp only encourages them to demand another, according to people familiar with his thinking. It's an approach with some risk — namely whether Vance, entering a critical period in his political career, has the political muscle to get away with Trump's no-apologies approach. Driving the news: Vance on Wednesday defended Ramaswamy amid bipartisan outrage over an ad featuring the estranged mother of Ramaswamy's Democratic opponent, Amy Acton . In the deeply personal ad, Acton's mother calls her daughter a liar, and says Ohioans shouldn't vote for her for governor. Not mentioned in the ad: Acton and her brother were removed from the mother's care as children after Acton accused her stepfather of sexual abuse. Her mother sided with the stepfather, leading to an estrangement that has lasted nearly 50 years. Appearing at a campaign stop for Ramaswamy in Ohio, Vance showed little concern about the criticism over the ad. Vance said he was "disgusted" by fellow Republicans criticizing it, telling them to "stop whining." Asked whether the ad was appropriate, Vance said it was "not really my concern," and that politics is tough. The other side: The backlash has included Republicans and Democrats who believe the ad crossed a moral line by exploiting Acton's traumatic childhood. "I would not have run that ad," Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, who appeared alongside Vance and Ramaswamy at a campaign rally Wednesday, told the AP . Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley

The post Sexual Assaults on Campus No Longer Scrutinized as Closely Under Trump’s Education Department appeared first on ProPublica .