Jeffries praises Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen as he ends re-election bid after gerrymander – US politics live | Trump administration
Lone Tennessee House Democrat says he will finish re-election bid after state gerrymander
Steve Cohen, the lone House Democrat from Tennessee, introduced that he wouldn’t search re-election after his district was redrawn within the state’s new congressional map.
“This is by far the most difficult moment I’ve had as an elected official,” Cohen, who has served within the US House since 2007, informed reporters on Capitol Hill on Friday. “I don’t want to quit. I’m not a quitter. But these districts were drawn to beat me.”
The new map, handed by Tennessee’s GOP-dominated legislature final week, splits up the ninth district and funnels Black voters within the Memphis space into three totally different constituencies.
Now, all of Tennessee’s congressional districts are Republican-leaning. The state’s gerrymander got here every week after the US supreme court successfully gutted a significant part of the Voting Rights Act.
Key occasions
Trump pushes endorsement for Letlow in Louisiana Senate main
Ahead of Louisiana’s US Senate main tomorrow, the president posted on Truth Social on his method again from China to repeat his help for Republican congresswoman Julia Letlow.
“She is a TOTAL WINNER!” Trump wrote on social media. “She has my Complete and Total Endorsement, and will never let you down!”
The president introduced his backing for the consultant earlier this yr as a hardline challenger to Senator Bill Cassidy, the incumbent who’s considered one of three sitting Republicans who voted to convict Trump throughout his second impeachment trial.
Cassidy, who additionally chairs the Senate well being committee, has drawn the ire of the president, and has been essential of the administration’s Make America Healthy Again (Maha) agenda. Although Cassidy forged a deciding vote to substantiate Robert F Kennedy Jr as Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, he has since questioned lots of his coverage choices.
Letlow can also be going through one other identified entity within the Louisiana main – the state’s treasurer John Fleming.
While the Senate main will nonetheless happen on Saturday, after Louisiana lawmakers voted to cross a brand new congressional map that may get rid of one of many state’s two majority-Black House districts this week, the down poll race will probably be an open main on 3 November. Now, all US House candidates, no matter social gathering affiliation, can be on the poll in Louisiana for voters of their district.
Dharna Noor
Supreme courtroom Justice Samuel Alito is resisting local weather advocates’ requires him to sit down out a significant case that might profit the fossil gas business.
In an announcement to NBC information, a spokesperson for the excessive courtroom mentioned that “his recusal is not required”.
“Justice Alito does not have a financial interest in any party” concerned within the case in query, the spokesperson informed the outlet.
The pushback got here in the future after a coalition of environmental advocacy organizations and progressive watchdog teams called on the Senate judiciary committee to investigate Alito’s financial ties to oil companies, noting that the justice’s most up-to-date monetary disclosure confirmed he had holdings in ConocoPhillips, Phillips66 and 5 different oil and power corporations, and in addition has sums invested in a Vanguard fund wherein Exxon is the third-largest holding.
“His irregular recusal practice in oil and gas industry-related cases is undermining public confidence in the impartiality of the Court,” reads the letter, whose signatories included the Center for Biological Diversity, the Revolving Door Project and scores of different progressive teams.
Alito didn’t recuse himself from a case slated to be determined within the courtroom’s subsequent time period. It focuses on a bid by power corporations ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy to search out that federal legislation prevents subnational governments from submitting lawsuits in opposition to oil and fuel corporations for the climate-warming results of their merchandise.
The supreme courtroom in February agreed to take up the case introduced by the oil majors Suncor Energy and Exxon. Alito weighed in on the choice.
But two years earlier, had recused himself from contemplating a petition introduced by the identical corporations in the identical lawsuit. The courtroom rejected the businesses’ request to weigh in on that petition. The courtroom didn’t reply to the Guardian’s request for remark.
Hakeem Jeffries says ‘Congress and the nation’ are higher for Cohen’s tenure in workplace
After Steve Cohen introduced that he wouldn’t search re-election to Congress, Hakeem Jeffries praised his colleague’s time in workplace.
“The city of Memphis, the Congress and the nation are better because of Steve’s commitment to making a difference,” the highest House Democrat mentioned of Cohen.
Jeffries additionally pointed to Cohen’s accomplishment as the primary Jewish individual elected to signify Tennessee within the Congress, and his work as a champion for civil rights. Steve has been a strong champion for civil rights, and social justice points.
Meanwhile, in Columbia, South Carolina lawmakers are on the state legislature forward of holding a particular session to settle the proposed change to the state’s congressional districts.
“Time is of the essence and its important that we act sooner than later,” mentioned Jay Jordan, a Republican state consultant, in response to a query about whether or not the redistricting may be achieved in time with none authorized hurdles, for the upcoming elections.
Lone Tennessee House Democrat says he will finish re-election bid after state gerrymander
Steve Cohen, the lone House Democrat from Tennessee, introduced that he wouldn’t search re-election after his district was redrawn within the state’s new congressional map.
“This is by far the most difficult moment I’ve had as an elected official,” Cohen, who has served within the US House since 2007, informed reporters on Capitol Hill on Friday. “I don’t want to quit. I’m not a quitter. But these districts were drawn to beat me.”
The new map, handed by Tennessee’s GOP-dominated legislature final week, splits up the ninth district and funnels Black voters within the Memphis space into three totally different constituencies.
Now, all of Tennessee’s congressional districts are Republican-leaning. The state’s gerrymander got here every week after the US supreme court successfully gutted a significant part of the Voting Rights Act.
Earlier, I introduced you the information that hundreds of US inventory trades surfaced in Donald Trump’s current ethics filings.
A spokesperson for the Trump Organization informed the Guardian that the president, his household and the Trump Organization don’t play a job in choosing, directing or approving particular investments made in his title.
They should not requested for inputs concerning the funding resolution, the spokesperson added in response to questions on portfolio administration raised after Trump’s ethics filings revealed hundreds of trades tried to US shares.
“President Trump’s investment holdings are maintained exclusively through fully discretionary accounts independently managed by third-party financial institutions,” the spokesperson mentioned.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will go to the US this fall, on the invitation of President Trump, Wang Yi, a high Chinese diplomat mentioned, as reported by Xinhua, Chinese state media.
“The man I am walking with is President Xi, of China, one of the World’s Great Leaders!” posted Trump on Truth Social together with a photograph on Friday morning after departing from China.
Trump additionally introduced up the broadly mentioned White House ballroom within the put up. “China has a Ballroom, and so should the U.S.A.! It’s under construction, ahead of schedule, and will be the finest facility of its kind anywhere in the U.S.A.,” he mentioned, including that the opening can be round September 2028.
Lisa O’Carroll
Kurt Campbell, regarded as the architect of Barack Obama’s China coverage, who attended 15 China summits, mentioned Xi’s reference to the Thucydides entice, would haven’t have gone down properly with Trump, portraying the US as a falling nation.
“It is rare in a summit like that, that a relatively obscure academic concept captures some of the moment, but President Xi bringing up Thucydides’ Trap, and the concept of a rising and falling nation, and how hegemonic transitions take place, really got under the president’s skin,” he mentioned.
Thousands of US inventory trades surfaced in Donald Trump’s ethics submitting on Thursday afternoon. Trump disclosed no less than $220m in monetary dealings within the securities of dominant American corporations this yr, together with Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Oracle, Broadcom, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs, as first reported by Reuters.
The worth of the transactions have been reported in ranges and could possibly be as excessive as roughly $750m, in keeping with two financial disclosure forms shared by the US Office of Government Ethics.
Some massive purchases, valued underneath $5m, included an S&P 500 Index fund, Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc, whereas massive gross sales, valued at greater than $5m, included Microsoft, Amazon and Meta.
The White House press workplace referred questions on who positioned the trades to the Trump Organization. Other particulars, such as the forms of securities traded, have been additionally unclear within the filings.
South Carolina governor orders particular redistricting session
Henry McMaster, South Carolina’s Republican governor, signed an government order on Thursday ordering a particular redistricting session forward of the midterm elections.
This comes after state senators in South Carolina bucked Donald Trump’s calls for earlier this week to approve plans to redraw the state’s congressional map after the supreme courtroom gutted a key part of the Voting Rights Act.
The president had urged them to again the redistricting proposal on Monday night. The US president can be “watching closely”, he wrote on social media, including: “GET IT DONE!”
“We appreciate Governor McMaster’s leadership in ensuring South Carolina addresses congressional redistricting,” mentioned Drew McKissick, the state’s Republican social gathering chair. “Thanks to the Supreme Court ruling, Republicans have an opportunity to get this done, and we should maximize it. Now is the time for lawmakers to stand with President Trump, defend the Constitution, and finish the job.”
The Friday session will concentrate on whether or not to redraw the state’s map to primarily eliminate the majority-minority district that Democrat at present James Clyburn represents. However, a variety of South Carolina Republicans concern that mid-decade redistricting would really weaken GOP voting energy in newly-drawn districts.
Here’s a recap of the day thus far
Donald Trump has departed Beijing after a two-day summit with Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Trump mentioned that in the course of the go to he and Xi mentioned a wide selection of subjects, with the battle with Iran some of the urgent. He claims that the US and China agreed that Iran mustn’t have be capable to produce nuclear weapons and that the strait of Hormuz have to be opened as quickly as doable, whereas additionally stating that he would think about ending sanctions on Chinese corporations that purchased Iranian oil.
He additionally informed reporters that he can be “OK” with Iran suspending their nuclear programme for 20 years, however provided that they accomplish that with “a real commitment”, whereas claiming that Iran’s missile capabilities had been decreased by 80% and described stories on the contrary as “treasonous”.
Despite not agreeing on numerous offers, Trump claims that China have agreed to purchase 200 Boeing jets from the US, with an extra 550 jets additionally probably being purchased at a later date, and mentioned that that they had additionally agreed to buy “billions of dollars” of soybeans in a deal that he described as an enormous win for American farmers.
Discussions additionally came about round China releasing 30 pastors who have been arrested in late 2025 for being members of the Protestant Beijing Zion church. Despite this, Trump didn’t say that steps had been made to launch Jimmy Lai, a political prisoner from Hong Kong who was sentenced to twenty years in jail for collusion and sedition.
The concern of Taiwan was additionally mentioned “a lot” in keeping with Trump, however the president declined to elaborate on the small print of those discussions or the place his authorities would take. Taiwan, which is engaged with a protracted battle with China as every nation claims sovereign over the opposite, has traditionally obtained unofficial help from the US, and is considered one of its largest buying and selling companions.