Mamdani-backed democratic socialist candidates defeat mainstream Democrats in New York primaries, doubling DSA-aligned members in the next Congress.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declines to rule out a Senate run after far-left candidates won New York primary elections, saying she feels inspired.
The party's new crop of Mamdani-backed socialists are just the latest sign of a long slide into economic radicalism.
JD Vance looks tired, but he's feeling upbeat. I'm sitting with the vice president in his office aboard Air Force Two, somewhere over Western Europe, heading home after marathon peace talks with the Iranians in Switzerland. He's exchanged his suit and tie for a sweater and jeans. His wife, Usha, lies on the nearby bed, heavily pregnant, now reading, now tuning into the conversation, now dozing off.
House Democrats are launching a discharge petition to force a vote on permanently blocking the Trump administration's nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund.Why it matters: The petition tests whether Republicans' complaints about the fund will turn into votes to kill it and whether Democrats can keep using discharge petitions to drag sensitive Trump fights onto the House floor over GOP leaders' objections.A staggering eight discharge petitions have garnered the necessary 218 signatures to force a House vote this congressional session, meaning the tactic cannot be dismissed as a hopeless long-shot.The Justice Department scrapped the fund earlier this month after intense backlash from lawmakers in both parties.But Democrats and other critics — including a federal judge — have expressed skepticism that it is truly gone, fueling the push to outlaw it for good.Driving the news: House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) announced Thursday he is launching the discharge petition on his bill, the NO CARTE BLANCHE Act.The legislation would prohibit the use of taxpayer funds to compensate anyone covered under President Trump's settlement with the IRS in May.It would also block a sweeping legal immunity deal for Trump, his family and their businesses reportedly arranged by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as part of the settlement.What we're hearing: Raskin announced the discharge petition plan in House Democrats' whip meeting Thursday morning.The petition is set to go live Friday.What they're saying: "Although Todd Blanche initially said the $1.8 billion slush fund would not move forward, his own Justice Department emphatically refuses to commit that promise to writing," Raskin said in a statement.He continued: "The NO CARTE BLANCHE Act blocks this and any future taxpayer-funded slush fund, voids this unprecedented attempt to grant immunity, and permanently blocks any future abuse of the Judgment Fund.""I am filing a discharge petition to put this legislation on the floor, and I urge all my colleagues opposed to this radical assault on the rule of law to join me in signing it."Between the lines: While GOP lawmakers have joined in the criticism of the anti-weaponization fund, signing onto this discharge petition may be a step too far for some of them.Trump has retaliated brutally against Republicans who break with him, most notably his successful effort to oust Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a leader on the discharge petition that pried the Epstein files loose.
President Donald Trump is backing down on his holdout on signing a popular, bipartisan housing bill that he's held hostage for the last 24 hours after a "lengthy" meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), according to a new report. Johnson went to the White House on Thursday to talk to Trump about his abrupt decision to cancel the signing ceremony for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a bill that passed through Congress with enough support to override a presidential veto, if Trump chooses to go that route. The bill seeks to address one of the main concerns on Americans' minds as the midterm elections approach -- the cost of housing. Chad Pergram, the chief congressional correspondent for Fox News, spoke with Johnson after the meeting, which Johnson described as "productive." Johnson also told Pergram that the president just wanted to ensure Republicans "stop any blockade in the House.""Congress has work to do, and that's what we're going to do. And so we'll be moving forward on all of that. We're transmitting the housing bill to the White House," Johnson said, according to the report. Trump's decision to back down came as MAGA Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) was disrupting proceedings in the House of Representatives. Luna and her allies have threatened to vote down any measures this week until the Senate passes Trump's SAVE America Act, a deeply unpopular bill that would fundamentally rewrite the way elections are conducted, Politico reported. In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump called on Luna and other Republican holdouts to drop their blockage. "House Republicans should unify, and stop voting down 'Rules' or, threatening to do so," Trump wrote. "Giving power to the Radical Left Dumocrats in the House to control what goes up for a Vote will make our outcomes worse, not better. No more grandstanding, please! They are the Dumocrats, and we can’t let them WIN!"Johnson seemed optimistic that Trump would sign the ROAD Act early next week. "We got to be able to move forward on legislation and continue the America First agenda," Johnson said, according to Pergram's report. "And so we're happy to do that. It's another day at the office, you know, this is a process in an era with small margins, but we'll get the job done."
A ship was hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, just hours after several freighters turned around while attempting to cross the vital waterway, developments that may undermine what had been a rapid reopening of the energy chokepoint.
After a string of primary successes this month in deep-blue corners of the country, democratic socialists will face a major test of whether their appeal can translate to a battleground state later this summer.
In today’s edition, Adam Edelman explains why Wisconsin is set to serve as a major test of the extent of democratic socialists’ newfound clout.