{"id":210175,"date":"2026-05-08T23:28:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T23:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trump-administration-live-updates-virginia-supreme-court-blocks-democratic-drawn-congressional-map-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T23:28:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T23:28:55","slug":"trump-administration-live-updates-virginia-supreme-court-blocks-democratic-drawn-congressional-map-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trump-administration-live-updates-virginia-supreme-court-blocks-democratic-drawn-congressional-map-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump administration live updates: Virginia Supreme Court blocks Democratic-drawn congressional map – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation that would put in place new primary elections this year if courts let state Republicans make changes to their maps before the midterms.
President Donald Trump is considering firing Dr. Marty Makary after simmering frustration with his performance as Food and Drug Administration commissioner, though he has not made a final decision, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Makary\u2019s tenure as FDA chief has been marked by months of upheaval at the agency, including unexpected drug rejections, staff departures and mounting pressure on the agency to act on abortion pills.
The president could always change his mind, the source cautioned.
\u201cPresident Trump has assembled the most experienced and talented administration in history, an administration that continues to focus on delivering more historic victories for the American people,\u201d said White House spokesman Kush Desai.
Read the full story here.<\/a>
Back-to-back redistricting victories in court have Republicans gaining confidence in their midterm chances. But President Donald Trump\u2019s lagging approval ratings and other political indicators continue to threaten the GOP\u2019s grip on Congress six months out from the midterm elections.
The Virginia Supreme Court\u2019s Friday\u00a0decision blocking a gerrymandered map<\/a>, which could have net Democrats up to four House seats, comes less than two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s limited the use of race in redistricting, which has Republican-led states moving to\u00a0draw out majority-Black, Democratic-held districts<\/a>\u00a0in the South in the coming weeks.
But as one structural piece of the midterms, the battleground map, gets better for Republicans, the overall national mood remains sour for the party. Poll after poll shows Trump\u2019s approval below 40% and Americans deeply frustrated with his handling of the economy. A handful of reputable polls show Democrats erasing the GOP\u2019s long-held edge on the economy.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
ABC this week accused the Trump administration of violating its free speech rights with a regulatory action focused on the talk show \u201cThe View,\u201d according to a filing submitted to the Federal Communications Commission.
In the filing, the Disney-owned network blasted the federal government for creating a \u201cchilling effect\u201d on First Amendment freedoms with an investigation of whether \u201cThe View\u201d broke a requirement that broadcast stations give equal time to political candidates for the same office.
The filing is Disney\u2019s most pointed legal salvo against the Trump administration since the president returned to the White House last year and began sharply criticizing American broadcast networks over their on-air content.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey\u00a0signed legislation<\/a>\u00a0today that would set up new primary elections if the courts allow Republicans in the state to change their congressional and state Senate maps ahead of the November midterms.
Alabama\u2019s primaries are set to take place under its current maps on May 19. But the legislation the Republican-controlled Legislature approved today gives Ivey the ability to schedule separate special primary elections for affected districts if redrawn maps are put into place.
Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
Trump this afternoon announced a three-day ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war that will include a prisoner swap.
The ceasefire, which starts Saturday, comes as Russia plans to host its Victory Day parade <\/a>over the weekend to celebrate the role of the Soviet Union in the defeat of Nazi Germany, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.<\/a>
“The Celebration in Russia is for Victory Day but, likewise, in Ukraine, because they were also a big part and factor of World War II,” Trump wrote.
“Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War. Talks are continuing on ending this Major Conflict, the biggest since World War II, and we are getting closer and closer every day,” he added.
An aide to President Vladimir Putin confirmed in an audio message obtained by NBC News that Russia had accepted the ceasefire proposal from Trump, and that U.S. representatives had facilitated the deal between Russia and Ukraine. The aide said the “key point” of the agreement was the prisoner swap.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy\u00a0confirmed the agreement in a post on X<\/a>, also noting the importance of the prisoner deal. He said the release of 1,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war was “one of the key humanitarian issues of this war.”
“Ukraine is consistently working to bring its people home from Russian captivity,” Zelenskyy wrote. “I thank the President of the United States and his team for their productive diplomatic involvement. We expect the United States to ensure that the Russian side fulfills these agreements.”
Rep. Ro Khanna<\/a>, D-Calif., is on a three-state swing this week to promote his \u201cnew economic patriotism agenda\u201d \u2014 a series of policy ideas aimed at reviving U.S. manufacturing while staying true to his progressive identity.
Khanna, who is seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender<\/a> who could carry on Sen. Bernie Sanders\u2019 grassroots movement, is in Ohio today. After visiting an electric vehicle battery factory in the Youngstown area, Khanna met with Port of Cleveland officials. He was introduced by Rep. Shontel Brown, a Cleveland-area Democrat who serves with Khanna on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
\u201cChina makes about 1,700 ships a year,\u201d Khanna said as he chatted with port officials. \u201cWe make five. We have a shipbuilding act to get more money into shipyards. It hasn\u2019t passed yet. But one of the reasons I came is to understand what do you need to do to build the ships here?\u201d
Khanna\u2019s tour, which began Thursday in Pennsylvania and continues Saturday in Michigan, marks the unveiling of his policy agenda, which he has been talking about for more than a year<\/a> in speeches across the country. His proposals, according to his staff, include developing 1,000 new trade schools and a $1 billion private fund for small businesses and community projects. Khanna\u2019s push also calls for Medicare for all, free public college and capping childcare costs at $10 a day.
In an interview with NBC News after touring the port, Khanna deflected when asked if the agenda is something he could see himself selling as a White House hopeful.
\u201cFirst of all, I\u2019m hoping I can sell some of these ideas into the current administration,\u201d Khanna said. \u201cThe shipbuilding act \u2014 I\u2019m fine if Vance wants to take the win on it, if Trump wants to take a win on it. I\u2019m telling you right now, as a China committee ranking member, I will support that.\u201d
Khanna said he won\u2019t decide on a presidential run until after this year\u2019s midterms.
\u201cAnd that,\u201d Khanna said, \u201cwill largely be based on ‘do I believe my economic vision is the right vision for the country? and is it the right vision for our party?’\u201d
A trial date has been set for former FBI Director James Comey, in the \u201c8647\u201d seashells photo case.\u00a0
Comey will be arraigned, and will enter a plea, in the morning on June 30 in federal court in New Bern, North Carolina.\u00a0
The trial is currently scheduled to get underway July 15, before U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan.\u00a0
Comey\u2019s team indicated they will be putting forward several motions, including a selective\/vindictive prosecution motion, which may delay that date. But for now, the trial is slated to start July 15.\u00a0\u00a0
The former FBI director was indicted last month<\/a> over allegations that he threatened the president after he posted a photo of seashells in a formation reading, “86 47,” which prosecutors say is a threat against the president’s life.
Earlier this week, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the Justice Department’s case against Comey goes beyond the seashell photo<\/a>.
Following a series of strikes on boats<\/a> in the Caribbean that the Trump administration has alleged were carrying drugs into the U.S., the president today said, “Now we’ve started land.”
“The sea was more difficult,” Trump said, “And now we’ve started land.”
“And you’ll see it coming down, too. It’s come down a lot, but you’ll see it coming down,” the president told attendees of a Mother’s Day luncheon at the White House, referencing the influx of fentanyl into the U.S.
“They come through Mexico for the most part,” he added, saying, “We have a problem, because the cartels rule Mexico.”
“We lose 200,000 people a year through this poison that pours into our country. So we have the sea done, meaning the ocean waterways pretty much done, 97%, and we’re going to have the land done very soon,” Trump said.
In a statement, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger denounced the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision to block new congressional maps.
\u201cMore than three million Virginians cast their ballots in Virginia\u2019s redistricting referendum, and the majority of Virginia voters voted to push back against a President who said he is \u2018entitled\u2019 to more Republican seats in Congress with a temporary and responsive referendum. They made their voices heard,” Spanberger said, referencing an April referendum<\/a> on the new maps.
The governor added, \u201cI am disappointed by the Supreme Court of Virginia\u2019s ruling, but my focus as Governor will be on ensuring that all voters have the information necessary to make their voices heard this November in the midterm elections because in those elections we \u2014 the voters \u2014 will have the final say.\u201d\u00a0
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the Virginia Supreme Court\u2019s blocking of the new congressional maps \u201cis an unprecedented and undemocratic action that cannot stand.\u201d
He said Democrats \u201care exploring all options to overturn this shocking decision.\u201d\u00a0
“Our fight is not over. We are just getting started,” he added.
Trump and the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee celebrated the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision today striking down the new congressional map that was in Democrats’ favor.
\u201cHuge win for the Republican Party, and America, in Virginia. The Virginia Supreme Court has just struck down the Democrats\u2019 horrible gerrymander. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social<\/a>.
NRCC Chair Richard Hudson, who leads the effort to elect Republicans to the House, said in a statement: \u201cThe NRCC was proud to lead and fund this fight to uphold the Virginia Constitution and protect fair representation, and this win is yet another sign Republicans have the momentum heading into November. We\u2019re on offense, and we\u2019re going to win.\u201d\u00a0
The\u00a0Virginia Supreme Court<\/a>\u00a0blocked a new Democratic-drawn congressional map from taking effect, delivering a major boost for Republicans as they defend their narrow House majority in the midterm elections.
Weeks after voters narrowly approved the plan in a statewide referendum, the court ruled that Democratic lawmakers did not meet the procedural requirements to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot, which was written to pave the way for the redrawn district lines. Democrats were seeking a map designed to give the party up to four new House seats.
Nationally, the ruling means Republicans will emerge from the mid-decade redistricting battle with an edge heading into the 2026 midterms.
The Virginia court concluded that the state legislature began its constitutional amendment process too late to be lawful.
\u201cThis violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void,\u201d the court wrote in its order.
Read the full story here. <\/em><\/strong><\/a>
The U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs in April, a sign that the labor market retained its resiliency even in the face of a global energy shock triggered by the U.S. war with Iran. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3%.
Economists were expecting 55,000 jobs to be added and projected that the unemployment rate would remain steady at 4.3%, according to a survey from Dow Jones.
The report also showed significant revisions to prior months. Employment in February was revised down by 23,000 to negative 156,000, but March was revised up by 7,000 to an addition of 178,000 roles.
The report from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics also arrives as oil prices remain higher by more than 50% since the start of the year and average retail gas prices hover above $4.55 per gallon, up 50% since the war with Iran started in late February.
After the consumer price index showed inflation rising to 3.3% in March as a result of the Iran war fallout, today\u2019s report showed that average hourly wages continued a strong 3.6% pace from the same time a year ago.
Read the full story here. <\/em><\/strong><\/a>
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. is expecting a response from Iran today on a proposal to end the war.
Speaking to reporters at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Rubio said: “We should know something today. I mean, we\u2019re expecting a response from them. We\u2019ll see what the response entails.”
“The hope is it\u2019s something that it can put us into a serious process of negotiation,” said Rubio, adding that the U.S. has seen reporting overnight that Iran is trying to establish some control of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
“That would actually be unacceptable,” he continued. “And the world has to start asking itself, what is it willing to do if Iran tries to normalize a control of an international waterway? I think that\u2019s unacceptable, so, but we\u2019re expecting a response from them today at some point. We have not received that yet.”
The NAACP yesterday sued Tennessee over the state’s move to divide the only majority<\/a>–<\/a>Black <\/a>c<\/a>ongressional <\/a>d<\/a>istrict<\/a>.
The lawsuit<\/a> warned that unless the state is stopped, “NAACP\u2019s members will be subjected to an unlawful redistricting scheme, affecting their voting rights going forward.” The NAACP requested that the court issue an injunction.
“We\u2019re outraged that the State, rather than seeking a more just and fair system, is seeking to roll Tennessee back to a time when many of us didn\u2019t have equal rights. We will fight this map, tooth and nail,” NAACP general counsel Kristen Clarke said in a statement.
The civil rights organization said it has already sued Texas and Missouri over redistricting.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, signed the new congressional map into law yesterday, which positions the GOP to gain a House seat in the midterm elections this November. The new map carves up a Memphis-based seat held by longtime Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., into three districts.
The state made the changes in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling last week that weakened the Voting Rights Act<\/a>.
Facing a tough election challenge is a cost of doing business for members of Congress. But when that challenge comes from a colleague, things can get personal quickly.
That\u2019s what\u2019s happening right now in Southern California, where tensions between Republican Reps. Ken Calvert and Young Kim are boiling over after Democratic redistricting forced them into a fight for their political lives ahead of June\u2019s primary.
Kim is panning her colleague, a 30-year veteran of Congress, as a creature of Washington. Calvert is calling her insufficiently conservative on issues like immigration. And Calvert even accused Kim, after the recent attempt to assassinate President Donald Trump, of contributing to \u201cthe heated environment and violence we\u2019ve seen\u201d because she has criticized Trump in the past, leading Kim to retort that Calvert is running a \u201cdesperate\u201d campaign.
The messy intraparty fight is a result of state Democrats\u2019 aggressive redistricting efforts last year, which carved up Republican-held seats in Southern California to create more blue-leaning districts. Along the way, they crammed into one red district a powerful member of the House Appropriations Committee, Calvert, and a battle-tested incumbent who has won tough races in recent years, Kim.
\u201cLove and war have rules,\u201d said Rep. Darrell Issa, a retiring Republican also from Southern California. \u201cPolitics doesn\u2019t.\u201d
Read the full story here. <\/em><\/strong><\/a>
NBC News<\/p>\n

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In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation that would put in place new primary elections this year if courts let state Republicans make changes to their maps before the midterms.President Donald Trump is considering firing Dr. Marty Makary after simmering frustration with his performance as Food and Drug Administration commissioner, though he has not made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":210176,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-210175","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}