A look at Republicans' political playbook on Medicaid
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In today's edition … MAGA and progressives come together on drug prices … Republicans hit another roadblock in their colossal budget bill … but first …
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Wall Street Journal
26 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Harvard's China Ties Become New Front in Battle With Trump
In his war with Harvard, President Trump has sought to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding from the school and strip its tax exemptions, measures the White House initially tied to perceived antisemitism at the school amid Israel's war in Gaza. In recent weeks, long-simmering Republican anger over Harvard's links to China has increasingly gained traction. In escalating calls to punish the school, a training event two years ago in the Chinese city of Kunming has emerged as Exhibit A.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Democrats fend off GOP in San Antonio mayor runoff election
Former Biden administration official Gina Ortiz Jones has won a runoff election in San Antonio's mayoral race, fending off a Republican opponent that the GOP hoped could pull off an upset, Decision Desk HQ projects. Jones defeated former Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos in an officially nonpartisan election that still in practice played out as a partisan election as Jones is a registered Democrat and Pablos is a registered Republican. The two candidates had advanced from the first round of the election in which many competed on the same ballot. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote in that round last month, the top two performing candidates advanced to face each other in the runoff. The city of San Antonio hasn't elected a Republican mayor in more than 20 years, and the past two elections for outgoing Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who has served since 2017, haven't been close. Nirenberg is term-limited from running again after serving four two-year terms. But Republicans had hope that they could notch a win with Pablos, who served as secretary of state for about two years under Gov. Greg Abbott (R). The GOP made some gains in the city in November after three presidential races in a row in which the city swung toward Democrats, though former Vice President Harris still comfortably won the area. Pablos also had a significant fundraising advantage, outraising Jones by a margin of 1.5 to 1, while outside spending from PACs contributed more than triple the amount in favor of Pablos compared to Jones, according to DDHQ. That includes a PAC with ties to Abbott and San Antonio's police union, The Texas Tribune reported. Pablos also picked up an endorsement from the editorial board of the San Antonio Express-News, uncommon for a Republican. But Jones was still the favorite in the Democratic-leaning city, even despite the gains that President Trump and the GOP has made with Hispanic voters recently. She finished first in the first round of voting in May, receiving 27.2 percent of the vote in a crowded field to Pablos's 16.6 percent. Jones previously served as undersecretary of the Air Force during the Biden administration from 2021 to 2023. Before that, she was the Democratic nominee for the House seat in Texas's 23rd Congressional District in 2018 and 2020, losing narrowly both times. She will be San Antonio's third female mayor and the first person to serve a four-year term after voters in the city approved a measure in November extending the mayor's term from two years to four. She will also be the city's first openly lesbian mayor.
The Hill
4 hours ago
- The Hill
Andrew Yang reaches out to Musk to collaborate on new political party
Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang said he's reached out to Elon Musk in hopes of collaborating on the creation of a new political party, according to a Saturday interview with Politico Magazine. Yang, along with mutual friends, believes the Tesla CEO has what it takes to form a new faction that propels America's strongest leaders. When asked if Musk has responded to his inquiry, Yang told the outlet 'Not yet, but I assume he's been very busy.' 'We have been of the opinion that America needed a new political party for a number of years, and so waiting another 24 hours is nothing,' he added. Musk's push for a new political caucus emerged from his public feud with President Trump over the 'big, beautiful bill.' The tech giant strongly opposed the national debt increase after months of working with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut federal spending. Yang, the founder of 'The Forward Party,' said it's political outsiders like Musk who consider non-traditional approaches to the country's problems. 'I want to work with people that recognize that America's political system has gone from dysfunctional to polarizing to even worse. And at this point, the fastest growing political movement in the United States is independents,' Yang said. 'They feel like neither party represents them, and the two-party system is not delivering what they want to see,' he continued. Many people have recently left the Democratic party, including former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who announced she became an independent after seeing political polarization throughout the campaign trail. 'If you look at Musk's politics over the last number of years, he waited in line to meet Barack Obama, he endorsed me in a Democratic cycle, and even earlier in this cycle — 2024 — he was looking for an alternative to Trump,' Yang said. 'There are a number of things that I think Elon shares in common with a lot of other folks I talk to who want to see some kind of middle ground or balance. The problem is: In our two-party system, you get whipsawed either one direction or the other,' he continued. Last year, Musk was a major donor for Republicans but has supported a wide array of candidates like Yang in the past. Now that he's severed ties with the GOP, political hopefuls have been looking to capitalize on the billionaire's powerful funding reserve for future campaigns.
