Dems pick challenger for GOP congressman who vanished from public view amid health mystery
Democrat Rebecca Bennett will face embattled Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in November's general election for a battleground New Jersey congressional seat in 2026.

Political analysts and observers were horrified on Tuesday after a Republican congressman shut down questions from a Democratic colleague about Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's handling of the Epstein files during a committee hearing. Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) told Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) three times that her time to question Blanche had expired during an Appropriations Committee hearing. Dean claimed that Rogers was ending her time early because of her line of questioning, at one point imploring him to restore her time. The first time Rogers shut down Dean's questioning was when she told Blanche she wanted to ask him about the release of the files. He said her time had expired and banged his gavel. "I beg your pardon!" Dean shot back. "How do I get cut off two minutes into this?"But Rogers didn't budge. Political analysts and commentators reacted online. "Wow. Watch the fascism of the Epstein class work," liberal political outlet The Tennessee Holler posted on X. "It’s the most egregious cover-up in American history," Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) posted on X. Wow, Republicans try to end Rep. Dean’s time 3 minutes early while she is asking Blanche about Epstein. pic.twitter.com/gJDXt60cmZ— Acyn (@Acyn) June 2, 2026
Democrat Rebecca Bennett will face embattled Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in November's general election for a battleground New Jersey congressional seat in 2026.
The disgraced former congressman allegedly bet on whether he would appear at the State of the Union address, prompting federal investigations.
Former US Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett was projected to win the Democratic primary for a key suburban New Jersey House seat, according to Decision Desk HQ, setting up a November showdown against a Republican congressman whose prolonged absence from public view has reshaped one of the most competitive midterm races.
A high school principal in North Carolina set a good example for educators by putting the school's valedictorian in her place after she hijacked her commencement speech. The post THIS IS THE WAY: High School Principal Springs into Action to SHUT DOWN Woke Muslim Valedictorian’s Disgusting Anti-ICE, Pro-Palestine Commencement Speech (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Former GOP operative Tim Miller took a moment on MS NOW's "Deadline: White House" to lay into President Donald Trump's move to replace outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard with his controversial housing finance administrator Bill Pulte — a man often called Trump's "attack dog," and, Miller pointed out, has absolutely no qualifications to coordinate national intelligence."I'm going to start with you because there's nothing for an intelligence person to say about this person," said anchor Nicolle Wallace. "This is a political hack ... what happens next?"Miller agreed, saying that he is likely the most unqualified Cabinet-level nominee in the history of the United States, even including Pete Hegseth, who at least served in the military before being tapped for Secretary of Defense. "Bill Pulte has no experience by this at all. Calling him a political hack is even, you know, kind of too kind to him.""It's mean to us political hacks!" chimed in Wallace, to general laughter around the panel.Worse, Miller continued, "he was a corrupt grifter" whose main experience before Trump appointed him to head up housing finance was pushing "meme stocks" and "crypto rug pulls."Then, he said, at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, "The main thing he did was use his access to mortgage documents. He also made himself the head of Freddie and Fannie to go after Trump's political foes. I mean, that's like the extent of his political work actually, going after political foes with dubious attacks based on the way that they filed their mortgage documents." That, he said, is the extent of his experience in government operations.And that's probably by design, Miller added."I don't think that he's in this job to actually do the job of the Director of National Intelligence," said Miller, speculating that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other high-ranking officials will do that job for him. Rather, "I think he's in there to do the dirty work, to do the sole job of now using his expanded access to the information about Americans to try to go after Donald Trump's political foes. I think that will be basically his only duty there." - YouTube www.youtube.com
President Donald Trump received immediate backlash Tuesday over his pick to replace outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard – and just hours later, the nominee may already be in trouble after a GOP senator ousted by Trump last week voiced concerns, according to one Senate reporter.Trump’s nominee was Bill Pulte, currently the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Pulte has no prior intelligence or national security experience, and his nomination was immediately scrutinized by liberal and conservative critics alike.Pulte will need to be confirmed as National Intelligence director by the Senate, but according to NOTUS Senate reporter Igor Bobic, one GOP senator – Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who lost his primary election last week to his Trump-backed opponent — is already skeptical.“YOLO watch,” Bobic wrote in a social media post on X, referencing the abbreviation for the slang term “you only live once.” “Cornyn says he doesn’t believe Bill Pulte is qualified to serve [as National Intelligence director]. And he says he has ‘serious concerns’ with the reconciliation bill.”Cornyn is just one of several outgoing GOP lawmakers who, after either resigning or losing their re-election bid due in part to Trump’s interference or threats of interference, may feel less compelled to go along with the president’s agenda.YOLO watchCornyn says he doesn’t believe Bill Pulte is qualified to serve at DNIAnd he says he has “serious concerns” with the reconciliation bill— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) June 2, 2026
The decision could end congressional gridlock over a $70 billion funding package for ICE and Border Patrol.
Dr. Mehmet Oz sidestepped questions on Tuesday about President Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte, the homebuilder and director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), to serve as acting head of the nation’s intelligence services, saying he trusted the president’s judgement. Oz, who serves as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, received multiple…