The House is expected to vote to day on a Senate-passed bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol.
A man fills out his ballot during early voting in Maine, which is holding primary elections today along with three other states. Robert F. Bukaty / AP file
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., called on Democrats to agree to reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act despite concerns over Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence.
Section 702, which allows the warrantless surveillance of foreign targets outside the United States, will expire on Friday without action from Congress.
On the Senate floor this morning, Thune said Section 702 is a necessary intelligence-gathering tool for the U.S. intelligence community. He said the surveillance authority had helped thwart a planned terrorist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Austria, disrupt ransomware attempts from North Korea, and capture an Al Qaeda leader.
The majority leader said Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee agree that Section 702 is important, but are holding it up because of their opposition to Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte as the acting U.S. intelligence director. Pulte, who was a top Trump administration housing official before his latest appointment, had pursued investigations into several of the president’s perceived political enemies while in his former role.
“I hope my Democrat colleagues will rethink their decision to hold the 702 program hostage before we all have cause to regret the consequences,” Thune said.
The House Oversight Committee is holding a closed-door, transcribed interview with former Jeffery Epstein assistant Lesley Groff as part of its investigation into the late convicted sex offender and his associates.
“Really important for us to talk to someone that did Epstein’s schedule, that was really focused on making sure that he knew where he was going,” said the committee’s ranking member, Robert Garcia, D-Calif.
Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told reporters ahead of the interview that “we believe she possesses information that is very valuable to our investigation.”
Earlier this year, the Justice Department released the names of several people whom the FBI once called Epstein’s co-conspirators. Groff was among them.
Groff, who was Epstein’s assistant for almost 20 years, has denied knowing about his criminal activities. Her attorney, Michael Bachner, said in a statement that Groff had never seen the FBI document and “was unaware of it.”
“In fact, neither Lesley nor her counsel were ever notified by law enforcement that she was considered an Epstein co-conspirator,” the statement continued. “On the contrary, after Lesley voluntarily spoke with prosecutors, and answered each and every question asked of her, she was told that she was not being prosecuted.”
United Democracy Project, a super PAC tied to the pro-Israel lobbying group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), launched a new ad this morning boosting Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens in the contested Michigan Senate primary.
The 30-second spot casts Stevens as “a proven fighter for Michigan, and features footage of former President Barack Obama praising Stevens, saying she “was a critical part of my team that helped the American auto industry.” Stevens served as the chief of staff on the U.S. Auto Rescue Task Force.
So far, the United Democracy Project has spent $2.3 million on ads in the race, according to AdImpact.
Stevens, who was first elected in 2018, is locked in a competitive primary against state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former Wayne County health director Abdul El-Sayed to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.
Support for Israel has emerged as a dividing line in the race. Stevens described herself as a “proud pro-Israel Democrat” as she earned an endorsement from the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC. In a recent debate, Stevens was asked about AIPAC’s support and “what it buys,” and Stevens responded by calling for broader campaign finance overhauls.
“You’re also just not answering the question,” El-Sayed, a vocal critic of Israel, shot back. “At the end of the day, it also buys $3.5 million being sent to a foreign military that could be used here.”
McMorrow, who, like El-Sayed, has accused Israel of perpetrating a genocide in its war against Hamas, noted in the debate that she has “not taken a dime” of AIPAC contributions in this race.
The House is planning to vote today on the Senate-passed reconciliation bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol, according to the vote schedule sent to members.
The Rules Committee met last night to approve the measure for floor action. The House first will have to adopt a procedural rule for consideration of the bill during a series of votes starting at 1:30 p.m.
If that rule is adopted, final passage of the ICE and Border Patrol funding would take place at a 4:30 p.m. vote series.
The Senate passed the $70 billion legislation Friday in a 52-47 vote. After being held up for weeks, the bill was nearly derailed during last week’s votes by bipartisan opposition to the Trump administration’s proposed “anti-weaponization” fund, which would make payments to people who claim they were targeted by federal agencies for political reasons.
All eyes are on a key U.S. Senate race in Maine, where Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner, who has faced a series of scandals, is likely to win a chance to unseat longtime Maine Sen. Susan Collins in the general election. NBC’s Ryan Nobles reports for “TODAY.”
Trump insisted again today that a deal to end the war with Iran could be just days away.
Hours after the president’s latest optimistic assessment, Israel renewed its military assault in Lebanon, striking the southern city of Tyre and issuing an evacuation warning that for the first time included the port’s Christian quarter.
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Vice President JD Vance announced yesterday that he is referring Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison — both Democrats — to the Justice Department for a criminal fraud investigation involving social services programs.
“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,” Vance wrote on X, adding that his referral was prompted by a letter and a report from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee.
Read the full story here.
Two crew members from a U.S. military helicopter that went down near the coast of Oman were rescued by American forces, U.S. Central Command said today.
The soldiers “were safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in stable condition,” CENTCOM said in a statement on X. It said their U.S. Army AH-64 Apache was patrolling regional waters and that the cause of the incident was under investigation.
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President Donald Trump attended Madison Square Garden for Game 3 of the NBA Finals yesterday to cheer on his hometown team — but many of his fellow fans didn’t appear thrilled to have him there.
As Trump was shown on the jumbotron during the national anthem, the crowd erupted in loud booing. Trump smiled as he saluted through the song.
Read the full story here.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass will face City Council member Nithya Raman in a runoff election for Bass’ job in November, NBC News projects, teeing up a one-on-one matchup between two Democrats.
Bass and Raman, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, emerged from a crowded all-party primary field that included former reality TV star Spencer Pratt, a registered Republican who ran an insurgent campaign focused on criticizing Bass for her response to the Los Angeles wildfires last year.
Read the full story here.
Two free-for-all primaries for governor in Maine and South Carolina are the most competitive races on the ballot in today’s primaries, while Maine’s Senate race has captured national attention as voters head to the polls in those states, Nevada and North Dakota.
Maine Democrat Graham Platner isn’t facing much of a challenge on the Senate ballot, but how he weathers a slew of controversies looms over one of the most competitive races in the battle for the Senate. While Democratic Gov. Janet Mills is still on the ballot, she suspended her bid weeks ago after she struggled to gain traction and ran out of money, and Platner is expected to prevail.
Meanwhile, open races for governor are on tap in South Carolina and Maine, and both parties will choose nominees in a handful of key battleground House districts and safe seats where today’s contests will cement the winners in the fall.
Read the full story here.
NBC News