From The Hill
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for Senate in the Lone Star State, is trailing Democrat James Talarico by two points in new polling of the closely watched race. A survey from the Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center at Texas Southern University found Talarico leading with 47 percent to Paxton’s…
Warning that the United States already has the “ingredients” of a “strongman state,” a Democratic senator is rolling out a sweeping legislative package designed to curb what he calls authoritarian abuses of power — with President Donald Trump squarely in mind.
The 10-part, 417-page proposal from Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. — shared first with MS NOW — touches on everything from immigration enforcement to whether a sitting president’s likeness can appear on U.S. currency.
“Authoritarianism isn’t down the street or around the corner — it is here right now,” Merkley said in a statement, blaming the combination of a “rubber-stamp” Congress, a “deferential” Supreme Court and a “power-hungry President behaving like a king.”
“The For Our Republic Act lays out a clear roadmap of the actions Congress can take to fight back against Trump’s authoritarian takeover and reassert our authority,” Merkley said.
Taken together, it’s the most expansive effort yet from Democrats to rewrite the rules of presidential power in response to Trump’s second term.
Of course, with Republicans in control of Congress and Trump in the Oval Office, the proposal faces long odds of becoming law during this Congress — or even over the next two years with Trump retaining his veto powers.
The proposal does, however, provide Democrats with a fresh collection of ideas and legislative ambitions to campaign on ahead of this fall’s midterms.
Democratic Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut are original cosponsors of the bill.
The package bundles together existing Democratic bills with new proposals, all aimed at actions taken by the Trump administration over the past year. For instance, Merkley’s bill would:
Another section of the package would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from revoking broadcast licenses based on the viewpoints a company chooses to put on air.
The FCC, under Trump-nominated chairman Brendan Carr, is currently targeting the licenses of ABC stations amid complaints about the political leaning of the broadcaster’s programming. Disney-owned ABC has accused the FCC of intimidation.
The legislation also would require congressional approval before a president could shutter or change the purpose of a federal agency. In the past 18 months, Trump has dismantled USAID, and his White House is currently proposing to shutter the Department of Education.
And the measure would restrict the use of a sitting president or vice president’s name or image on federal buildings, passports or currency.
In the last year, the Trump administration has draped banners featuring the president’s portrait outside the Departments of Labor and Justice in Washington. The Treasury Department, meanwhile, unveiled designs last month for commemorative $1 coins featuring Trump’s image.
Merkley also envisions new financial disclosure requirements for individuals representing the U.S. government in overseas negotiations.
The inclusion of that section of the package comes as questions continue to swirl around Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who has taken on the role of peace envoy for negotiations between Israel and Hamas and the U.S. and Iran — even as his investment firm receives funding from Middle East nations. (Kushner has denied wrongdoing.)
The bill also would bar the president, vice president and other top administration officials — as well as congressional leaders — from making money by issuing, endorsing or sponsoring cryptocurrencies, including meme coins.
In his annual financial disclosure released in June, the president reported more than $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency-related income — including roughly $635 million in income tied to sales of his $TRUMP meme coin.
Merkley has been warning about creeping “authoritarianism” in the Trump administration for some time. Last October, the Oregonian held control of the Senate floor for more than 22 hours straight, warning that the U.S. was facing the “most perilous moment” since the Civil War.
Democrats are making government ethics and alleged corruption within the White House a centerpiece of their midterm message, alongside the cost of living.
Those Democratic efforts have accelerated as the midterm elections approach.
Just last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced a plan to create a new anti-corruption agency within the federal government to investigate malfeasance by the president and his team.
The post Democrats unveil sweeping proposal to combat Trump authoritarianism appeared first on MS NOW.
From MS Now.
The Democratic Socialists of America have spent the summer knocking off more moderate House Democrats, one primary at a time. On Tuesday, the group tries to extend its streak in Michigan and Missouri, where two DSA-backed challengers — and a third progressive running alongside them — aim to unseat more establishment-friendly rivals.
In Michigan, state Rep. Donavan McKinney looks to unseat Rep. Shri Thanedar in the 13th Congressional District, which includes much of Detroit. In the 17th Congressional District, progressive activist and Sunrise Movement co-founder Will Lawrence is running against two more moderate Democrats for the chance to challenge Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in November.
Meanwhile, in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, which encompasses all of St. Louis, former Rep. Cori Bush is trying to reclaim a seat she held for four years, challenging Rep. Wesley Bell, who ousted her in a primary in 2024.
Follow MS NOW’s midterm elections live blog for the latest updates and analysis on today’s biggest races across Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Virginia and Washington.
The pattern has been growing all summer. In June, DSA-backed challengers ousted two sitting House Democrats in a single primary night, besting Rep. Diana DeGette, a 30-year incumbent in Colorado, and Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, in New York. In another primary that same day, DSA-endorsed Assemblywoman Claire Valdez won the nomination in New York’s Brooklyn-Queens 7th House District.
Taken together, it is the left’s most sustained run at the Washington establishment since 2018, when a wave of progressives — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez among them — first proved that entrenched Democrats could be beaten in their own primaries. No longer simply a protest vote, the group’s candidates increasingly run as a bloc that expects to be reckoned with — and to make demands of the leaders who would depend on their votes.
Even before Tuesday’s votes are counted, two of the challengers are signaling they will not hand House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries their support unconditionally. Bush and McKinney both told MS NOW they would need to speak to Jeffries before they back him for speaker.
“Are we going to do enough for our working folks, or are we going to continue to serve two masters?” McKinney said of the “assurances” he would want from the New York Democrat.
Bush said she wants to know “how [Jeffries] plans to work with” the newest DSA-backed candidates, including Darializa Avila Chevalier of New York and Melat Kiros of Colorado — both of whom are heavily favored to win their general election matchups.
Lawrence told MS NOW that he would support Jeffries for speaker, breaking with other progressive candidates across the country, a stance that may help him in a district far less blue than those where other progressives have found success this year.
He pointed to Rep. Chris Deluzio, a Pennsylvania Democrat from a purple district and a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus who has highlighted his legislative work with Jeffries. Deluzio, Lawrence noted, “won a tough district, purple district,” then expanded his margins there “while being a real fighter for the working class” and championing higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
This cycle’s progressives are betting they can translate their electoral gains into influence on Capitol Hill — even in a slim Democratic majority, where a single fracture could ultimately sink a bill.
“This is a national movement,” said McKinney. “People are excited about us because we’re talking about issues that not only they care about but they’re going through every single day.”
Bush warned against sidelining the newest progressive members. “A problem that we have within our party is this idea that only certain people are the ones … pushed up front by the party, especially within the House Democratic Caucus,” she said.
When she first won her seat, Bush said, progressives across the country did not run as a coordinated bloc. “Was there a slate running together? Yes,” she said. “But we were still trying to figure out … how to really make an impact with that, and then how to support one another.”
That has changed. Bush and other progressives now trade notes in group chats, talking regularly as they try to steer the party’s direction.
“What I hear all the time is, ‘I’m struggling to get by every single day,’ and so, for me, tapping into what’s happening nationally, I think people are just excited about candidates that are unapologetically and authentically themselves,” McKinney said. “But also unapologetically and authentically about working people.”
The post ‘This is a national movement’: Progressives steamroll into primaries in Michigan and Missouri appeared first on MS NOW.
From MS Now.
UFC owners lose $30m (£22m) staging the Freedom 250 event, which was attended by President Donald Trump, at the White House in June.
Source: BBC.
UFC owners lose $30m (£22m) staging the Freedom 250 event, which was attended by US President Donald Trump, at the White House in June.
Source: BBC.
The longtime Trump nemesis hit back at the president, who attacked her on social media last month.
Source: HuffPost.
This post was originally published on Politico.
Cori Bush’s 2024 primary loss to Wesley Bell was heralded as a major defeat for the insurgent progressive movement.
Now, their rematch for Missouri’s 1st District two years later comes at a time when Bush and her allies seem to be winning the battle for the future of the Democratic Party.
The dueling factions in St. Louis highlight the growing tension over not just the domestic ideological divide in the Democratic Party, but the party’s — and country’s — stance on the U.S.’s longrunning relationship with Israel.
The former representative was among the first sitting members of Congress to call
This post was originally published on Politico.
Pete Buttigieg shares his theory for how Democrats can win over cherry ice cream
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Mainstream social platforms have become too commercial for culture to flourish. As creativity migrates to smaller platforms built on participation rather than performance, brands must rethink not just how they show up, but whether they even should.
Source: Vogue
Dorit Kemsley’s estranged husband PK wrote an emotional email about their alleged financial situation months after their breakup … begging her to work with him to cut down expenses … but she claims he has more than enough money to continue…
From TMZ.
Life’s a beach and this sexy actress is just playin’ in the sand! Turn up your Tuesday and see if you know the unknown celeb! She played CeCe Jones on “Shake It Up” alongside Zendaya. This ain’t her first time rockin’ a sequin bikini, and we’re…
From TMZ.
Facilities in St Petersburg and Tver were also hit, while at least one was killed in Russian strikes on Ukraine.
Source: BBC.
