Democrats look for reinvention and a new playbook against Trump in key committee race
WASHINGTON — House Democrats are quietly engaged in a behind-the-scenes race for a key committee position, the second time in as many months that the party has had to fill one of the most prized positions in Congress.
Four Democrats are running to be the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, an investigative panel with public clout, subpoena power and an expansive portfolio. The position is open due to the death last month of Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia.
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Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump administration blocked from deploying National Guard to LA
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's deployment of California's National Guard to Los Angeles and called the move illegal. The judge's order to return control of the troops to California Governor Gavin Newsom will not go into effect immediately and the administration has filed an appeal. The state sued President Donald Trump on Monday over his order to deploy the troops without Newsom's consent. Trump said he was sending the troops - who are typically under the governor's authority - to stop LA from "burning down" in protests against his immigration crackdown. Local authorities have argued they have the situation in hand and do not need troops. US District Judge Charles Breyer said the question presented by California's request was whether Trump followed the law set by Congress on the deployment of a state's National Guard. "He did not," the judge wrote in his decision. "His actions were illegal... He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith." But the judge stayed the order until Friday afternoon to give the Trump administration time to appeal against it. The administration did so almost immediately after the order was issued. Newsom posted on social media on Thursday afternoon that "the court just confirmed what we all know — the military belongs on the battlefield, not on our city streets". The Trump administration has said it took over California's National Guard to restore order and to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as they swept up people in Los Angeles who were believed to be in the country illegally. Despite Newsom's objections, Trump ordered a total of 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to help quell the unrest. Some of the Guard troops are now authorised to detain people until police can arrest them. A president last deployed the National Guard without a governor's consent more than 50 years ago - during the civil rights era. It is more common for a governor to activate troops to deal with natural disasters and other emergencies, and then ask for federal assistance. Before a packed courtroom on Thursday, a justice department attorney told Judge Breyer that Newsom did not need to be consulted when Trump issued his order. "Governor Newsom was fully aware of this order…he objected to it," Attorney Brett Shumate said. "There is one commander-in-chief of the US armed forces." "No," Judge Breyer, the younger brother of former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, responded. "The president isn't the commander -in-chief of the National Guard," he said but added there were times and situations where the president could become the head of the troops. Breyer, who had donned a light blue bowtie, invoked the Constitution multiple times during the hearing, holding up a booklet copy of the document at one point. "We're talking about the president exercising his authority. And the president is, of course, limited in his authority," he said. "That's the difference between a constitutional government and King George.". The Trump administration used a law that allows the president to call the National Guard into federal service when a "rebellion" is happening. But California said in its lawsuit that the protests that have spanned nearly a week in LA - and included more than 300 arrests and the shutting down of a major freeway - did not rise to that level. "At no point in the past three days has there been a rebellion or an insurrection. Nor have these protests risen to the level of protests or riots that Los Angeles and other major cities have seen at points in the past, including in recent years," the lawsuit read. Additional reporting by Ana Faguy in Washington, DC Trump has long called for using the military to quash protests. Los Angeles gave him an opening Newsom v Trump holds promise and peril for California governor Downtown LA under curfew for second night after days of protests
Politico
28 minutes ago
- Politico
Cuomo and Mamdani trade fire in the final New York City mayoral debate
NEW YORK — New York's former governor, who carries heavy baggage, and his surprise top rival — a 33-year-old democratic socialist with few accomplishments — faced a flood of attacks during the second and final New York City mayoral debate Thursday night, a faceoff that captured the tumultuous end of what had been a stagnant campaign. Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani traded barbs and faced attacks from lower-polling opponents during the two-hour debate, as one rival — city Comptroller Brad Lander — made a final push to break into what polls show is a two-person race. Lander delivered withering criticisms of Cuomo over the scandals that drove him out of office four years ago — his handling of nursing home policy during Covid and sexual harassment allegations from female staffers. 'Everyone here knows you sexually harassed women, that you created a toxic work environment,' Lander said as a stone-faced Cuomo stood next to him. 'Those are just bold-faced lies,' the former governor shot back. It was one of several pitched exchanges as five candidates aimed to improve their standings and the two frontrunners desperately sought to weaken the other just two days before early voting begins in the June 24 Democratic primary. Surging in recent polls but generally still in second place, Mamdani was subject to the frontrunner treatment as his opponents knocked his paltry record in the state Legislature, far-left views and criticism of Israel. 'Experience matters and I think inexperience is dangerous in this case,' Cuomo said. 'Mr. Mamdani has a staff of five people. You're now going to run a staff of 300,000 employees.' Mamdani, in turn, sought to portray the 67-year-old Cuomo as part of a political establishment many voters have grown tired of. 'I've never had to resign in disgrace,' Mamdani said, referring to Cuomo's 2021 resignation from the scandals encapsulated in state attorney general reports. He denies all wrongdoing. 'I've never cut Medicaid. I've never stolen money from the MTA. I've never hounded the 13 women who credibly accused me of sexual harassment.' Cuomo, Mamdani, Lander, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, former city Comptroller Scott Stringer, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie and businessperson Whitney Tillson — squared off in the debate, sponsored by NY1, WNYC and THE CITY. In a shift from last week's debate, some of the candidates opted not to aim their fire at Cuomo when given the chance to ask another candidate a question of their choosing. The differences between the leading men could hardly be more stark. Cuomo would be the oldest mayor elected in modern history and is running on his lengthy record; Mamdani is hoping to bypass concerns about his inexperience by inspiring Democrats looking for a change from the status quo. Cuomo has pledged to tackle subway crime and bring his aggressive leadership brand — which critics call bullying — to City Hall. Mamdani wants to fund free bus services and create government-run grocery stores by increasing taxes on wealthy New Yorkers. His priorities will need approval from state officials in Albany, and Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has already said she opposes tax hikes. Similar to the first debate, Cuomo was often on the defensive, particularly as he traded heated exchanges with Lander. Lander, who has struggled in the race, had one of his best days yet Thursday: After getting the backing of a panel convened by the New York Times in lieu of a traditional newspaper endorsement, he found his footing on the debate stage. He trained his attacks on Cuomo again and again, including on the former governor's management of the MTA and COVID. An investigation by state Attorney General Letitia James' office determined Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women; the then-governor resigned weeks after a report detailed the findings of the probe. Cuomo — who initially apologized to some of the women — has since insisted he's done nothing wrong and said Thursday night the findings were 'all political.' The city comptroller even laid a trap of sorts. He directed Cuomo's attention to the audience where Peter Arbeeny, whose father was one of thousands of nursing home deaths during the pandemic, was waiting. Arbeeny blames Cuomo for directing nursing homes to admit COVID patients. 'Andrew, this is Peter Arbeeny,' Lander said. 'Will you finally apologize to Peter and other grieving New Yorkers? Or will you just keep gaslighting them?' Cuomo responded he was 'very sorry' that Arbeeny's father died, but insisted the state was following federal guidelines when his administration required nursing homes to receive Covid-positive patients. The ex-governor is making his comeback bid by leaning heavily on his record — including his televised Covid briefings that turned him into a national star. But he is now reportedly under investigation for lying to Congress after he initially told a House subcommittee that he did not review or edit a state Department of Health report on nursing home deaths. He said in subsequent testimony he did not 'recall' seeing it. In last week's debate, Cuomo declined to say if he edited or saw the report before its release. In an interview with PIX 11 this week, he acknowledged he reviewed it and if he had read it, he likely made edits. He's denied lying to Congress. Lander and the others used sledgehammers to go after the former governor's record — and the sexual harassment allegations that pushed him from office — and scalpels to spotlight other missteps, including his mispronunciation of Mamdani's name. While Cuomo was expected to attack Mamdani's resume, surprising pokes came from Lander — who not-so-subtly suggested Mamdani's social media savvy would not translate into managing a government of roughly 330,000 people. Adams, a reserved legislative leader, questioned the state assemblymember's qualifications. Adams, who ran through a list of her governmental accomplishments and would be the first Black woman to lead City Hall, let a hammer drop: 'In a recent New York Times article, you said you were the most qualified person to lead the city. Given what I've laid out, do you think you're more qualified than me to lead the city?' Mamdani responded — sheepishly — that all the candidates likely believe they're the most qualified. 'The objective is to beat Andrew Cuomo. Let's keep that clear. He is not fit to be mayor,' Adams told reporters after the debate. 'My question to the assemblymember was basically just to get my experience out there on the table so everybody can hear it.' Just as telling: the attacks that didn't happen. At one point in the two-hour ordeal, Adams jabbed Cuomo for his description of New York as a city so dangerous residents are scared to leave their houses at night. 'I don't know how long you've been out of it, Mr. Cuomo, but it's been a while,' she said. 'So I just want to make sure that we are clear here tonight, old slogans and scare tactics aren't going to make anybody in New York City safer, okay?' The former governor — whose coalition is highly dependent on leading with the same Black voters Adams represents in the Council — notably did not offer a rejoinder. Cuomo was hit with fresh criticism, meanwhile, when he referred to 'illegal immigrants' when sparring with Lander over contracted workers cleaning the city subways. Tilson, a little-known hedge fund executive, repeatedly knocked Mamdani's criticism of Israel — a touchstone issue for a city with the world's second-largest Jewish population. 'He has a double standard, because if you search his Twitter feed — 15,000 tweets — Sudan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia don't appear,' Tilson said. 'Yet the word 'Israel' appears more 50 times, the word 'genocide' appears more than 26 times, so that tells you where his heart is.' Mamdani called the criticism 'a smear' and said attacks on him are part of a 'dehumanization' in the city. Since last week's forum, Cuomo has won politically disparate endorsements from people he has feuded with — centrist former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and primary foe Jessica Ramos, an acerbic left-flank critic. Ramos did not qualify for Thursday's debate. But two recent polls show Mamdani — who has the recent endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — gaining ground. Hundreds of supporters of the campaigns lined the street outside John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan to cheer the candidates as they entered the building. Mamdani's crowd included a brass band, dubbed Horns for Zohran. When Cuomo arrived in his black Dodge Charger muscle car, union workers cheered as Mamdani's musicians played 'The Imperial March' from Star Wars — Darth Vader's theme. The clash of candidates earned attention online, including from former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who gleefully live-tweeted along with the attacks on his political foe Cuomo. 'Wow, @andrewcuomo is REALLY scared of @ZohranKMamdani! He's not even faking it…' de Blasio wrote. 'And Andrew is REALLY disrespecting all the New Yorkers who support Zohran.' Top Cuomo adviser Melissa DeRosa said his debate commentary was 'a sad fall from grace for the former mayor.' She listened to the other candidates speak with reporters in the spin room after the debate. Cuomo was the only candidate who declined to appear. Asked after the debate if he would accept an endorsement from de Blasio, Mamdani answered in the affirmative, labeling de Blasio ' the architect of universal pre-K, which is one of the most effective examples of what city government can do to alleviate an affordability crisis.' Emily Ngo, Joe Anuta and Michael Gartland contributed to this report.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Networks Go To Special Reports As Israel Conducts Strikes On Iran
Broadcast and cable networks went to special reports Thursday for Israel's attack on Iran, with reports that nuclear sites were targeted. The Israel defense minister said in a statement that the strikes were 'preemptive,' news outlets reported tonight. More from Deadline On Capitol Hill, Democrats Express Outrage Over Federal Agents' Forcible Removal Of Alex Padilla From Kristi Noem's L.A. Press Conference "Manhandling" Of California Sen. Alex Padilla By Federal Agents In L.A. Puts Trump Team In Spin Mode - Update House Votes To Rescind PBS, NPR And Public Broadcasting Station Funding On ABC News, anchor Linsey Davis went to Marcus Moore in Tel Aviv, where he was in a shelter. 'The tension has already been high across the region,' Moore said, adding that air raid sirens went off, given the expectation that Iran would launch retaliatory strikes. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, 'Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.' CBS News also had a special report with John Dickerson anchoring, with a feed of Press Tv showing explosions in Tehran. NBC News provided a crawl on the broadcast network but later went to a special report with Gadi Schwartz anchoring and going to Richard Engel. There was continuous coverage on cable news networks and on the broadcasters' streaming channels. Earlier on Thursday, amid speculation that tensions in the region were escalating, President Donald Trump posted on X, 'We remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue! My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran. They could be a Great Country, but they first must completely give up hopes of obtaining a Nuclear Weapon. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' Best of Deadline Use The Schwartz!: 'Spaceballs' Movie Photos & Posters 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More 'Stick' Release Guide: When Do New Episodes Come Out?
