JD Vance Isn’t Handling Republicans’ Defeat in Los Angeles Very Well

Decisive defeat finally shows Trump House GOP might not be on his side

WASHINGTON — Cracks in President Donald Trump’s stranglehold on the GOP — and the 119th Congress — went on full display at the U.S. Capitol this month as the House of Representatives sent the White House a defiant message.Last week, 18 Republicans voted to approve a Ukraine aid package opposed by the White House. It came after four Republicans supported a measure calling for the removal of U.S. troops from Iran unless Congress votes to authorize that war. The rare presidential rebukes revealed tension in the GOP, with Republicans now openly attacking other Republicans.“To lessen the president's hand, I think, was inappropriate,” Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) told Raw Story at the Capitol. “I don't think they were thinking.” Still, Democrats aren’t doing any end zone dances just yet.Now that Israel and America have been at war with Iran for longer than 60 days, Trump and his allies are re-packaging it.“Really, at this point, it’s a blockade, and more than anything, we are ensuring safe transit and making sure that there’s freedom of navigation,” Zinke, who served as Interior Secretary in Trump’s first term, told Raw Story.Zinke shares the president’s frustration with the 226-195 vote reasserting congressional control of the conflict."It's tragic,” Zinke said. “Do you think those Republicans who crossed over were looking at November?” Raw Story asked. “I don't think they were thinking,” Zinke said of his GOP colleagues who crossed the aisle. While Zinke says he agreed with the premise of the Iran measure — that Congress has the ultimate say on matters of war and peace — he says now isn’t the time for Congress to be tying the president’s hand."I agree with the underlying premise, but I also agree that Iran can't have a nuclear weapon," Zinke said. "They can't have an arsenal of destruction. They can't have nuclear material. So I'm giving the president a little latitude on this one." Since Trump re-entered the White House last January, Republicans on Capitol Hill have given his administration broad leeway on everything from tearing down the White House's historic East Wing to letting Elon Musk and DOGE — Department of Government Efficiency — rescind billions of dollars Congress itself had approved. While the Iran measure is largely symbolic, it did reveal growing unrest with the conflict. “I guess, maybe, it’s just a little bit of frustration,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) told Raw Story just off the House floor. “We had really good combat operations, but now we've had two months of, I don't know, it seems like a little bit of indecision being made.”Bacon’s retiring at the end of this term and tends to be more moderate on many issues, but he actually voted with the president on Iran — though he’s not judging his GOP colleagues who bucked Trump. “I think we grapple with this. I want to see us win. Iran's terrible. I would hate to tie the president's hands right now,” Bacon said. “But I understand the other side of the position, too.”Ukraine’s a different story, though.On Thursday last week, 18 Republicans — including Bacon — voted with Democrats to authorize $8 billion in loans to Ukraine and America’s NATO allies. “It’s Congress saying, ‘hey, we’ve got a different opinion,’” Bacon said. “And, by the way, 70 percent of the American people want more support for Ukraine. I think it's important for him to hear that.”The measure’s future is in doubt now that it’s been sent to the GOP-controlled Senate, but Trump’s growing number of congressional critics say this week was important because, if nothing else, it showed a restive American public that Congress is more than a rubber stamp, at least in theory. “Do you think that raises awareness to the public?” Raw Story asked Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI). “Some,” Dingell told Raw Story while walking to the Capitol this week. “Yeah.”“They should be worried going into the election,” Dingell said. “People are unhappy right now with energy costs. Gasoline prices have risen dramatically.”That’s why Democrats are glad Congress finally stood up to Trump. “It's important for Congress to insert itself,” Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA) told Raw Story. Still, with Trump’s success in recent GOP primary contests, Democrats aren’t expecting the president’s grip on congressional Republicans to let up ahead of this year’s midterms. “He can ignore it. He can do whatever he wants,” Bera said. “A lot of my colleagues will echo what the president's saying.”

JD Vance moves to potentially jail blue state governor: 'Must face justice'

Vice President JD Vance announced Monday night that he had forwarded a criminal referral to the Justice Department (DOJ) regarding allegations of fraud against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Keith Ellison, the state’s attorney general.“I’ve referred these allegations to DOJ’s new Fraud Division for criminal investigation,” Vance said in a statement released on social media. “Minnesota state officials are not above the law, and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and [intimidated] whistleblowers, they must face justice.”Vance was tapped by President Donald Trump to become his “fraud czar,” and the announcement represents Vance’s first major referral for criminal investigation.Addressing alleged fraud has become a key priority in the second Trump administration, a priority that gained renewed attention in the wake of the controversial fraud investigation by influencer Nick Shirley into Somali daycares in Minnesota.I’ve referred these allegations to DOJ’s new Fraud Division for criminal investigation. Minnesota state officials are not above the law, and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and intimated whistleblowers, they must face justice. https://t.co/EatSBh9Gh6 pic.twitter.com/7JeFcgkTV0— JD Vance (@JDVance) June 9, 2026

California gubernatorial race: A Republican and a Democrat appear headed for runoff election

The race for the next California governor began with 61 official candidates looking to replace Democrat Gavin Newsom, with no clear early frontrunner. The top two candidates, regardless of party affiliation, proceed to the general election in November.Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra (D) and former Fox News host and small-business owner Steve Hilton (R) received the most votes in Tuesday’s primary election and will advance to the general election, according to Decision Desk HQ and RealClearPolitics. As of Tuesday morning, other election aggregators, including the Associated Press and NBC News, have confirmed Becerra’s spot in November’s runoff election, but not yet Hilton’s.'Enough with this disastrous system — universal mail-in chaos is killing election integrity and transparency.'With 83% of the votes counted, Becerra received 2,177,556, Hilton received 1,975,062, and Democratic candidate Tom Steyer received 1,759,328. Hilton held a 2.7-point lead over Steyer as of Tuesday morning.With many Democrats in the race and the party failing to coalesce behind one candidate, there was early speculation that two Republicans, Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, might be the two candidates to advance to the general election.However, in the final days leading up to the primary, Becerra began to pull ahead in the polls. An Emerson College poll, which surveyed registered voters from May 27 to 28, reported Becerra with a stronger lead, securing 28% of the vote, followed by Steyer with 22%, Hilton with 21%, and Bianco with 12%.RELATED: California Democrats’ search for a front-runner: Polls show 26% of voters undecided in fast-approaching gubernatorial race Xavier Becerra. ETIENNE LAURENT/AFPGetty Images.Steyer has criticized Becerra, labeling him a “corporate Democrat.”“For too long, we’ve had a system where corporations buy off politicians to protect their profits,” Steyer said during a campaign rally. “If that sounds familiar, it’s because that’s the story of Xavier Becerra’s campaign.”RELATED: Democrats narrow field in California’s crowded gubernatorial race to avoid primary disaster Steve Hilton. Mario Tama/Getty Images.Hilton’s campaign criticized California for its vote-counting delay, calling it an “ABSOLUTE DISGRACE.”“California’s election machine is a slow-motion disaster deliberately dragging out vote counts for 35 DAYS while the rest of the world tallies hundreds of millions in hours,” his campaign wrote. “Enough with this disastrous system — universal mail-in chaos is killing election integrity and transparency.”Hilton stated that he will wait for the AP to call the race before declaring a victory. “Thank you so much for all your congratulations! We always said we would wait for@AP_RaceCalls before declaring victory so we're not popping the champagne just yet ... but it's definitely time for a beer!” Hilton said.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Vance refers Walz and Minn. attorney general to DOJ for fraud investigation

Vice President JD Vance has decided to refer Democrat Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for a criminal fraud investigation after the House Oversight Committee published its findings from an investigation.

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Vance refers Tim Walz and Keith Ellison to DOJ over fraud whistleblower complaint

Vice President JD Vance said Monday that he had referred allegations involving Minnesota state officials to the Department of Justice’s new Fraud Division for a possible criminal investigation into fraud and misconduct within the state’s taxpayer-funded healthcare and social service programs. The announcement came after the Republican-led House oversight committee released a 205-page report alleging […]

One demand could sink House Republicans' immigration bill at the last minute

House Republican leaders were uncertain Monday whether they had enough votes to pass a Senate-approved immigration enforcement bill, as the GOP simultaneously began laying groundwork for another budget reconciliation measure ahead of the 2026 midterms.GOP leaders could not confirm they had secured the votes needed to advance the immigration bill, which requires a procedural vote before reaching the House floor, but some Republicans remain undecided and want more enduring changes baked into the bill, a demand that could tank everything, reported Politico."We're literally bending over backwards just to get back to the status quo and to remove people that are just going to come back in four years under the next administration, because we're not codifying anything," said one of the holdouts, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) also indicated he would oppose the bill, saying he would not support it without enacted reforms. Leadership's whip operation kept other members on a watchlist as well, with attendance an added concern due to primary elections Tuesday in four states.Despite the uncertainty, House Republicans moved forward with preliminary planning for what some members are calling "Reconciliation 3.0." The Republican Study Committee held a Monday evening briefing with nonpartisan legislative scoring officials to examine the fiscal parameters of assembling another party-line bill.RSC Chair Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) described the session as an early effort to get ahead of the process and ensure accurate data.In a separate meeting in Speaker Mike Johnson's office, Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), who chairs the House Freedom Caucus, floated incorporating partisan elements of the regular appropriations process into the bill — a suggestion that drew concern from some Republican appropriators.Johnson acknowledged the idea had come up but said he was not committing to anything. Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) struck a similar note, saying the party remained "far from agreement on 3.0."

'Oh my god!' CNN panel detonates as Trump-loving Republican called 'liar' to his face

A Trump megadonor got demolished on live television Monday night after demanding the country trust his voter fraud claims — then refusing to cite a single source to back them up.Hal Lambert, a Republican megadonor and regular on CNN's "NewsNight," clashed with CNN commentator Charles Blow and anchor Abby Phillip over President Donald Trump's long-debunked claims that the 2020 election was stolen.Lambert insisted there were "problems" in Georgia and Arizona. As he fumbled for specifics, Blow had heard enough."Oh my god!" Blow exclaimed."What were they, Hal? It's been six years," Phillip pressed.Lambert never answered. He pivoted to fraud in Medicare, Medicaid, and H-1B visas instead. Blow wasn't buying it."The more that you lie, the more we're going to push back on the fact that you are lying," Blow fired back. "You don't have a single source in your whole body."Blow then wielded the conservative Heritage Foundation's own Election Fraud Database against Lambert. A Brookings Institution analysis of Heritage's data found that in Pennsylvania, the group had to reach back 30 years — spanning 32 elections and more than 100 million ballots — to scrape together just 39 fraud cases. None changed the outcome."In 30 years, they've tracked 32 elections, 100 million votes. They have found 39 total cases of voter fraud," Blow said. "So you think the Heritage Foundation is absurd?"Lambert's response: "That's absurd! That's absurd! That's absurd!"The Brennan Center for Justice has found the Heritage cases represent a "molecular fraction" of total votes cast nationwide. Just 10 cases of in-person voter impersonation appear across the entire database.Phillip finally called it."To be honest, Hal, you're not saying anything of substance," she said.Lambert's exit line: "We'll see what the viewers think."