Latest in Politics
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Democrat Sean McCann, a state Senator, announces campaign for Michigan's 4th District
Michigan State Sen. Sean McCann, a Democrat from Kalamazoo, announced July 14 he would seek the party's nomination next year in the state's 4th Congressional District, a seat currently held by longtime Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Holland Township. McCann has been in the state Senate since 2018, and previously was elected as a state representative from 2011 to 2015. In a release announcing his campaign, he said special interest groups (without specifying which ones) and billionaires currently receive more attention in Washington, where Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House, than working class families. 'Families in southwest Michigan know what hard work looks like. But right now, that work isn't paying off like it should, thanks to politicians in Washington who have left us behind to give tax breaks to special interests and billionaires,' McCann said in a statement. 'Our families deserve a representative who works as hard as they do and who focuses on what matters to them, and that's why I'm running for Congress.' His campaign listed protecting Medicaid, reducing costs, not raising the national deficit, boosting small business growth and giving women autonomy over their health care decisions as McCann's other policy priorities. As a lawmaker, McCann chairs the Senate Committee on Energy and Environment in Lansing. He was also the committee's chair in 2023 when it advanced legislation setting one of the most ambitious clean energy standards in the U.S. for Michigan, establishing a goal of using 100% clean energy sources for power generation by 2040. Thanks to Michigan's term limit laws, McCann cannot seek another four-year term in the state Senate. Before being elected to the Legislature, McCann was a Kalamazoo County commissioner and graduated from Western Michigan University, according to his campaign. McCann is not the first Democrat to enter the race for the district — Jessica Schwartz, a Kalamazoo attorney who ran for the seat in 2024 and lost to Huizenga in the general election that year by 12 percentage points, is seeking the Democratic nomination for the seat again. Diop Harris, a Battle Creek Democrat who previously worked in the U.S. Senate, according to his LinkedIn, has also filed to run for the seat. The 4th District, which covers southwest Michigan, includes all of Allegan and Van Buren counties along with portions of Berrien, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, and Ottawa counties. The cities of Holland, Battle Creek, Benton Harbor and Kalamazoo all fall in the 4th District. It's a part of Michigan that has been represented by Republicans in Congress for decades. Huizenga has held the seat since 2022. Before district boundaries were redrawn, much of southwest Michigan was represented by longtime former U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, who was first elected to Congress in 1987. Huizenga has been in Congress since 2011, when he first took office representing Michigan's old 2nd Congressional District, which covered much of west Michigan north of Holland. Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan political analysis website, currently views the 4th District as "likely Republican," meaning the GOP is expected to carry the district again in next year's election. But with Huizenga eying a potential run for U.S. Senate next year, it's not clear Republicans will have the incumbency advantage in the 4th, if Huizenga ends up seeking Michigan's open Senate seat. Democrats are targeting the seat as a potential pickup opportunity, and if Huizenga were to run for Senate the 4th District could be a competitive race. Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Democrat Sean McCann announces congressional run in Michigan
Local Sweden
28 minutes ago
- Business
- Local Sweden
EU still seeking trade deal after new Trump tariff threat
The EU still hopes to strike a deal with the United States despite President Donald Trump's ramped-up threat of 30-percent tariffs, the bloc's trade chief said Monday, with pressure on Brussels to toughen its stance. Advertisement The US leader threw months of painstaking talks into disarray on Saturday by announcing he would hammer the bloc with the sweeping tariffs if no agreement is reached by August 1st. Heading into Brussels talks with EU trade ministers, the bloc's trade chief Maros Sefcovic said despite Trump's latest threat he "felt" Washington was ready to continue negotiating – and he planned to speak with his US counterparts later in the day. Sefcovic, who is leading talks on behalf of the EU's 27 states, said reaching a deal remained the priority – while acknowledging calls from countries including key power France for the bloc to flex its muscles in negotiations. "The current uncertainty caused by unjustified tariffs cannot persist indefinitely," Sefcovic told reporters, adding the EU was preparing for "all outcomes", including "well-considered, proportionate countermeasures". European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday delayed a package of retaliatory measures over US tariffs on steel and aluminium – a day before they were set to kick in – as a sign of goodwill. But diplomats said an additional package of reprisal measures will be presented to trade ministers Monday that could be rolled out if Trump imposes the 30-percent tariffs. The EU threatened in May to target a much bigger swathe of US goods including cars and planes if talks fail. Diplomats said the finalised list was expected to be worth 72 billion euros. 'Prepare for war' France's trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin said retaliation plans should be drawn up with "no taboos" adding the weekend's setback called for a rethink of the bloc's tactics. "If you hold anything back, you are not strengthening your hand in negotiations," he said at the Brussels talks. "Obviously, the situation since Saturday requires us to change our strategy." Advertisement Denmark's foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, said Brussels needed to show its strength. "We don't want any kind of trade war with the US... we don't want to escalate things," he said. "We want a deal but there's an old saying: 'if you want peace, you have to prepare for war'," he said ahead of the talks. EU nations – some of which export far more to the United States than others – have sought to stay on the same page over how strong a line to take with Washington in order to get a deal. French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday urged von der Leyen's commission to "resolutely defend European interests" and said the EU should step up preparation for countermeasures. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz agreed and said he had spoken to Macron, Trump and von der Leyen in the past few days and would "engage intensively" to try to find a solution. Advertisement Deals and duties Brussels had readied duties on US goods worth around 21 billion euros in response to the levies Trump slapped on metal imports earlier this year. But it held off on those measures to give space to find a broader trade agreement -- and has now suspended them again until early August. Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has unleashed sweeping stop-start tariffs on allies and competitors alike, roiling financial markets and raising fears of a global economic downturn. But his administration faces pressure to secure deals with trading partners after promising a flurry of agreements. So far, US officials have only unveiled two pacts, with Britain and Vietnam, alongside temporarily lower tit-for-tat duties with China. Advertisement The EU, alongside dozens of other economies, had been set to see its US tariff level increase from a baseline of 10 percent last Wednesday, but Trump pushed back the deadline to August 1st. The EU tariff is markedly steeper than the 20 percent levy Trump unveiled in April – but paused initially until mid-July. Thomas Byrne, the minister for Ireland whose pharmaceutical industry puts it on the front line of Trump's trade war along with industrial powerhouse Germany, called for Europe to "work our hardest" for a deal before August 1st. "That gives us certainty, it protects investments, it protects jobs," he said.
The Hill
28 minutes ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Democrat demands House vote on ‘FULL Epstein files' release
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) is calling on House Republicans to hold a vote demanding the Trump administration release the 'FULL Epstein files.' 'Why are the Epstein files still hidden? Who are the rich & powerful being protected?' Khanna said in a post on the social platform X over the weekend. 'On Tuesday, I'm introducing an amendment to force a vote demanding the FULL Epstein files be released to the public,' he continued. 'The Speaker must call a vote & put every Congress member on record.' The Justice Department last week released a memo concluding there was no evidence suggesting the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender kept a 'client list' to blackmail high-profile individuals. The memo also found no evidence to suggest foul play in Epstein's death, which had previously been ruled a suicide. The memo spurred fierce backlash from many Trump supporters, who had long called on the government to release material on Epstein that they argue would expose wrongdoing at the highest level of elite circles. Some Democrats have sought to capitalize on the growing strife in President Trump's base and have similarly criticized administration officials for talking about the so-called 'Epstein files' at length before entering government but apparently failing to produce results when in office. Much of the frustration from MAGA allies has been directed at Attorney General Pam Bondi, who said earlier this year that files were on her desk but then seemed to suggest they did not exist by releasing the memo last week. Bondi argued she was referring to the case file on Epstein, not a specific 'client list.' Trump has remained adamant in his position and has fiercely defended Bondi against the onslaught of backlash. The attorney general appeared in the president's box at the FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey over the weekend and Trump called into a conservative radio show to defend his AG after lauding her on Truth Social. 'What's going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?' They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We're on one Team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and 'selfish people' are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein,' Trump said in the social media post on Saturday.
The Hill
29 minutes ago
- Business
- The Hill
Cornyn raises $4M in second quarter, surpassing Texas Senate rival Paxton
Sen. John Cornyn's (R-Texas) reelection campaign announced on Monday he raised over $3.9 million in the second quarter of the year, surpassing the sum raised by his top primary rival. The haul includes money raised from Cornyn's campaign and associated Cornyn Victory Fund. Cornyn enters the third quarter of the year with $8.9 million cash on hand. Cornyn's announced fundraising haul comes days after his primary challenger Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his campaign raised $2.9 million during the same period. 'We are confident that we are on track to have the necessary resources to communicate to Texas GOP primary voters about Senator Cornyn's conservative record and provide facts about Ken Paxton's repeated mismanagement of his office, ethical failures and funding of radical left wing groups with taxpayer grants,' said Cornyn's campaign manager Andy Hemming. The incumbent senator is facing arguably the toughest fight of his political fight as most polls show Paxton leading Cornyn in the state's Republican Senate primary, which is slated for early March. However, the prospect of the current attorney general as the nominee has made many Republicans anxious and Democrats hopeful, with polls showing a narrow general election with Paxton as the hypothetical nominee. A source told The Hill last week that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-N.D.), who is supporting Cornyn, met with President Trump on Wednesday evening to discuss upcoming Senate races, including the Lone Star State's. It's unclear whether Trump, who is an ally of both Cornyn and Paxton, will endorse in the race.
Toronto Star
29 minutes ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Trump envoy meets with Ukraine's Zelenskyy as US weighs next steps on Russia's invasion
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Monday, as anticipation grew over a possible shift in the Trump administration's policy on the three-year war. Trump last week said he would make a 'major statement' on Russia on Monday. He was due to meet with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Washington. Rutte also planned to hold talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as members of Congress.
