Lawmakers warn appointment of presidential loyalist will scuttle bipartisan agreement to renew Fisa surveillance law

Donald Trump is pushing ahead with his controversial plan to install political loyalist Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, a move that has sparked bipartisan congressional backlash and imperiled the reauthorization of a powerful surveillance law set to expire at the end of this week.

Trump’s Tuesday evening announcement came after he met earlier in the day with the House speaker, Mike Johnson, to discuss Pulte’s elevation to the role, which has prompted widespread concern over his complete lack of national security experience and the prospect that he could use the office’s spying powers to continue his campaign of targeting Trump’s perceived political enemies.

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© Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

© Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

© Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Microsoft co-founder to appear in closed-door session as part of lawmakers’ investigation into convicted sex offender

Bill Gates is set to testify in front of the House committee on oversight and reform on Wednesday as part of the panel’s investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Microsoft co-founder will appear in a closed-door session, where lawmakers are expected to question him about his past relationship with Epstein. A transcript of the interview is expected to be released at a later date.

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© Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters

© Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters

© Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters

Graham Platner won the Democratic primary for Senate in Maine and quickly turned his populist message against Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent.

© Sophie Park for The New York Times

Randy Villegas will face the incumbent, David Valadao, a Republican who has survived numerous challenges in a competitive district.

© Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images For Connor Treacy

Nancy Lacore would face a tough fall election in a district drawn in 2021 to be more Republican. She is seeking to replace Representative Nancy Mace, who ran unsuccessfully for governor instead of running for re-election.

© Shawn Thew/EPA, via Shutterstock

Twenty G.O.P lawmakers broke with Speaker Mike Johnson and joined Democrats in backing a bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

The vote gave final passage to Republicans’ megabill to fund immigration enforcement through the remainder of President Trump’s term, clearing it for his signature.

© Ashley Wu/The New York Times

Secure America Act passes largely along party lines in 214-212 vote, ending months-long standoff with Democrats

House Republicans on Tuesday approved a $70bn bill funding through the duration of his term the agencies leading Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants, ending a months-long standoff with Democrats that at one point forced the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to shutter.

The Secure America Act passed in a 214-212 vote that was largely along party lines, with Kevin Kiley, an independent who aligns with the Republicans, joining all Democrats in voting no. The Senate approved the measure last week, which allocates $38bn to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), $26bn to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and $5bn more to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through September 2029. The legislation now awaits Trump’s signature.

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© Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

© Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

© Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

Groff tells lawmakers ‘I am not a conspirator’ and that she had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes while working for him

Lesley Groff, Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime executive assistant, testified Tuesday before the House oversight and reform committee, telling lawmakers that she had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes while working for him.

“I believe that my testimony will dispel the false notion that because of my employment with Epstein, I must have knowingly enabled or conspired with him to commit his evil acts,” Groff told lawmakers in her prepared opening remarks, obtained by the Guardian. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

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© Photograph: Patrick McMullan/Getty Images

© Photograph: Patrick McMullan/Getty Images

© Photograph: Patrick McMullan/Getty Images

American Bridge is hoping that Republicans are vulnerable in parts of the country that had been exceedingly tough terrain for Democrats in recent elections.

© Michael A. McCoy for The New York Times

Any indication of tepid support for Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine, will be seen as a warning sign about his chances against Senator Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent.

© Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Iran now believes it is winning and will outla.st the United States

Iran now believes it is winning and will outla.st the United States

Representative Adriano Espaillat and his progressive challenger, Darializa Avila Chevalier, have zeroed in on Harlem, traditionally hostile turf for the Democratic incumbent.

© Madison Swart for The New York Times

Eighteen G.O.P. lawmakers broke with their party and joined Democrats to deliver yet another blow to the president’s foreign policy agenda.

© Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

The president is claiming without evidence that the lengthy counting process in California, which could help determine control of Congress, means Democrats are stealing the election.

© Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Americans should think big about shaking up how we vote.

Like it or not, AI is producing volumes of increasingly complex legislation. Legislators are apparently happy that it saves their brains for more important things. Meanwhile, the lobbying industry is going hog wild with AI to crank out complex legalese to hand to legislators. Do we want our “rule of law” taken over by AI? – Commentary by Patrick Wood, Editor of Technocracy News by Nathan Sanders & Bruce Schneier | Lawfare Media Artificial intelligence (AI) is writing law today. This has required no changes in legislative procedure or the rules of legislative bodies—all it takes is one legislator, or […]