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Tag: midterms-2026 ✕

Sep 7, 2026· Updated

Ten Days After Renaming Lake Ontario, Trump Posts a Map With "Mexico" Crossed Out and Calls New Mexico "One of the Great Vote Cheating States of All Time" — the State's Entire Democratic Delegation, Its Governor and Both Nominees to Succeed Her Answer "Oh Hell No," and a Republican Senator Says the New Name Is "Kind of Catchy"

On Sunday, September 6, 2026 — in the middle of a Labor Day weekend posting spree that also included an image of the Moon captioned "THE MOON IS OURS" and a string of AI-generated pictures — President Trump posted a map of New Mexico on Truth Social with the word "Mexico" crossed out in red and "America" written beneath it. The official White House account reposted the image on X. In a follow-up post, Trump wrote that "many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico, one of the great vote cheating states of all time, to NEW AMERICA," calling the name "so much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State. Wow, I Love It!!!" The post followed a debunked online hoax claiming Trump had already signed an executive order renaming the state, and came ten days after he did sign an order renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America" during the tariff fight with Canada, and days after he floated and then withdrew renaming the Strait of Hormuz "Trump Strait." A president cannot rename a state by executive action; the White House announced no formal effort to do so. The reaction from New Mexico was immediate and unanimous across the ballot. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the name "isn't up for debate — it's been ours since before the United States existed" and that "while the White House wastes time coloring on maps, Nuevo México is busy doing the work." Sen. Martin Heinrich listed "three things I will always call by their actual names: The Gulf of Mexico. Lake Ontario. New Mexico." Sen. Ben Ray Luján said "it's New Mexico, always has been and always will be." Rep. Melanie Stansbury opened her post with "Oh hell no!" and Rep. Gabe Vasquez told the president "you don't get to erase New Mexico." Both nominees to succeed Lujan Grisham rejected it: Democrat Deb Haaland ("You can't be serious") and Republican Gregg Hull, the mayor of Rio Rancho, who said the state's identity "is not up for negotiation." Outside the state, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah was the lone elected Republican to weigh in, posting: "New America? Kind of catchy."

“This is truly unhinged behavior from the President of the United States. I don't want to hear 'oh, it's just Trump being Trump' or that he's 'trolling.' Enough. None of this is normal or okay. Republicans cannot keep shrugging this off.”
Gavin Newsom (D-CA) · Sep 7, 2026

An Armed Man Shoves Through the Crowd Toward Ohio's Democratic Nominee for Governor at the Canfield Fair — Two Handguns, Brass Knuckles and a Taser on Him, Several People Knocked to the Ground — and the Republican Governor, Senator and Nominee All Condemn It Within Hours

At about 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 6, 2026, Dr. Amy Acton — the Democratic nominee for governor of Ohio and the state's former health director — was speaking in the Mahoning County Democratic Party's tent at the Canfield Fair, outside Youngstown, when a 38-year-old Canfield man holding up a cellphone began shoving his way through the crowd toward her. Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers and security stopped him; several people were knocked to the ground and injured. Acton, a physician, was not hurt and stayed to treat one of the injured. The Mahoning County Sheriff's Office identified the man as Patrick Havas and said deputies recovered two handguns, a set of brass knuckles and a Taser, none of which were drawn. He was booked on disorderly conduct and two counts of assault. Havas shares an address with Andrew Havas, a Jon Husted campaign volunteer who resigned in July after NBC News reported his 2009 misdemeanor conviction stemming from sexual-misconduct accusations involving a 15-year-old; investigators have not described a political motive. Condemnations came quickly and across party lines. Gov. Mike DeWine, who said he had spoken with Acton and that she asked him to tell Ohioans she was okay, called violence or its threat at political events "always unacceptable." Sen. Jon Husted said he and his wife were "disturbed" and that the behavior "must never be tolerated." Attorney General Andy Wilson said "political violence of any kind has no place in Ohio or our nation." The campaign of Acton's Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, said candidates "should be able to meet with voters without having to worry about threats or violence," and Sherrod Brown, the Democratic Senate nominee, thanked law enforcement for a "quick and professional response." The incident came four days before the first anniversary of Charlie Kirk's assassination in Utah and in a race recent polling has shown to be competitive.

“The attempted violence directed at Dr. Acton is unacceptable — political violence of any kind has no place in Ohio or our nation.”
Andy Wilson (R-OH) · Sep 6, 2026

The House Ethics Committee Lets Its Deadline Pass Without a Word on Max Miller, the NRCC Puts $450,000 Behind Him, and the House GOP Conference Chair Says "I Support Anybody With an R Behind Their Name" — While Six Republican Senators, Including Both of Ohio's, Have Told Him to Go

Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) has been under a House Ethics Committee investigation since early August 2026, opened at his own request after his ex-wife, Emily Moreno — the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) — alleged in a July 30 restraining-order filing that he threw scalding water at her, held a gun to her head and fractured their two-year-old daughter's collarbone. Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, an ex-girlfriend, has also accused him of abuse. Miller denies everything, has sued Moreno for defamation, and is running for a third term in Ohio's 7th District. Friday, September 4 was the committee's 60-day mark to release findings or recommend punishment before the election. It did neither, effectively pushing any action past November. The same week, the National Republican Congressional Committee announced roughly $450,000 in coordinated television advertising for Miller starting September 7, and Rep. Michael Rulli (R-Ohio) said a censure vote was probably "not going to be on the table" after reports surfaced of Democratic challenger Brian Poindexter's 1998 and 2013 arrests. On September 6, House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), the highest-ranking Republican woman in Congress, was asked on CBS's "Face the Nation" whether she still supported Miller's reelection. "Listen, divorces are ugly," she said. "I support anybody with an R behind their name." Pressed on the six Republican senators who had called for Miller to resign — Katie Britt, Jim Banks, Jon Husted, Roger Marshall, Shelley Moore Capito and Tim Sheehy, who called Miller "clearly a degenerate sociopath" — McClain said "they've tried that avenue, and he's chosen to stay in the race," and "at the end of the day, he's our nominee right now." Her comments matched Speaker Mike Johnson's, who said on August 31 that Miller "has been a great member of Congress" with "some issues in his personal life he's working through." President Trump, who called the dispute "a very sad thing" in public, privately told Miller in early August that "things aren't looking good." The DCCC added Poindexter to its "Red to Blue" list on August 11, and Cook Political Report rates the seat a toss-up.

“I think they've tried that avenue, and he's chosen to stay in the race. So, like I said earlier, divorces are really ugly. I hope this comes out that he's okay, but at the end of the day, he's our nominee right now.”
Lisa McClain (R-MI) · Sep 6, 2026

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Sep 6, 2026

Trump Tells the Fed to Cut Rates or He Will "Stop Trading" With Every Country the U.S. Runs a Deficit With — Ten Days Before a Meeting His Own Fed Chair Is Signaling Will Raise Them

On Friday, September 4, 2026, hours after a jobs report showed employers added 162,000 jobs in August, President Trump posted a Truth Social ultimatum telling the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates or he would cut off trade with every country that runs a surplus with the United States: "LOWER THE RATE OR I'LL STOP TRADING WITH COUNTRIES WITH WHICH WE HAVE A DEFICIT." He told the Fed Board it "must get smart — BE PATRIOTS for a change." The threat capped an unusually broad week-long pressure campaign: Vice President JD Vance told a White House briefing on September 3 that it was "proper and responsible" for the Fed to lower rates; National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said on September 4 that the administration "respect[s] their independence" but that the case for holding steady was "pretty strong"; and senior economic counselor Peter Navarro, in a Friday interview with Steve Bannon, called members of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee "clowns" and said a hike would be "careless." The target of the campaign is Trump's own hand-picked Fed chair. Kevin Warsh, confirmed in May 2026 in the closest vote in modern history, used his Jackson Hole speech in late August to say the Fed's focus needed to be squarely on inflation, and markets put the odds of a quarter-point hike at the September 15-16 meeting at roughly 60 percent. The meeting falls eight weeks before midterm elections in which polling shows widespread voter anger over prices — a frustration Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) described on "Meet the Press" on September 6 as inflation "gutting people like a fish," while conceding his own party was unlikely to do anything about it before November.

“That inflation is a big if. And it’s gutting people like a fish.”
John Kennedy (R-LA) · Sep 6, 2026

Trump Waives Tariffs on 300,000 Metric Tons of Foreign Ground Beef to Cut Grocery Prices — and Nearly Every Republican From Cattle Country Turns on Him, With One Calling It "Worse Than Socialism"

On Friday, August 21, 2026, President Trump announced that for the next 90 days the United States will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of lean beef trimmings for ground beef to be imported with no out-of-quota tariff. He said foreign exporters had committed that "this beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices," and framed it as relief for grocery bills eleven weeks before the midterms: "This deal will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again." An executive order was expected within two weeks. The USDA touted the move as proof of Trump's commitment to "lowering the cost of everyday goods for the American people." The backlash came the same afternoon, and it came almost entirely from his own party. Both Nebraska senators, all three Nebraska House Republicans, Montana's Republican senator, Iowa's senior Republican senator and two of the House GOP's most vocal backbenchers went on the record against it within hours. Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) said he had privately advised Trump against the policy "for a year" and warned that the ranchers it would hurt are "most of whom are MAGA Republicans." Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) called it "Worse than socialism!" Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) said she was "extremely disappointed by this decision from the White House." The substantive objection was consistent across party lines: the U.S. cattle herd is at historically low levels, and ranchers argue that suppressing prices with imported product removes the incentive to rebuild it. National Cattlemen's Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall said the move "sacrifices long-term stability for short term messaging." Democrats attacked from a different angle — Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) tied it to the administration's earlier expansion of the Argentine beef quota. Trump, asked about the rancher complaints, said: "I love the ranchers; they've done a fantastic job. But they admit that we need a little help, and, in order to get the prices down, so that's what we're doing."

“For the first time ever, we’re going to give farmers and ranchers the right to process their own food. They’ll have inspectors. They’ll have everything, just like these big plants. I would be willing to say that our ranches will be more sanitary than those plants.”
Donald Trump (R-FL) · Sep 4, 2026

Two Democrats Cross the Aisle to Save a Republican Rule After Five Republicans Kill It — the Rule Passes 210-208, and Their Own Leadership Calls It "a Significant Breach of Trust" and Sends It to the Caucus Rules Committee

On Tuesday, September 1, 2026, the House adopted a Republican rule — the procedural resolution setting the terms of floor debate — by 210-208. It only got there because two Democrats voted yes. Five Republicans had defected: Reps. Andy Harris (MD), Clay Higgins (LA), Ralph Norman (SC), Chip Roy (TX) and Pete Sessions (TX), several of them angry that the rule handled the Senate's continuing resolution the way it did. That left the rule short. Reps. Jared Golden (D-ME) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), both Blue Dogs, supplied the votes that saved it. By long-standing House custom the minority votes against rules as a bloc, regardless of what they think of the underlying bills. The rule Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez rescued teed up a batch of Republican bills — including the resolution condemning socialism "in all its forms" bolted to the SAVE America Act — as well as Golden's own Northeast Lobstermen Protection Act. Democratic leaders said they got no advance notice. Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar issued a joint statement the same day calling it "a significant breach of trust" and referred the matter to the Committee on Caucus Rules, which met the next day. Members floated stripping committee assignments — a live threat for Gluesenkamp Perez, who sits on Appropriations and is among the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents on the map. Golden is retiring at the end of the term. Gluesenkamp Perez told reporters on Wednesday that she was undeterred.

“I really wasn’t interested and paying attention. To be honest with you, I didn’t even get the courtesy of even a heads up that she was going to vote [for] the rule. ... I want people to have each other’s back in the Democratic Caucus.”
Jim McGovern (D-MA) · Sep 2, 2026

An 80-Year-Old Senator Beats the 47-Year-Old Congressman Who Ran on Generational Change by Roughly Two to One — Ed Markey Says "Tonight Is a Testament to the Power of the Progressive Movement," and Seth Moulton Says the Conversation Still Needed Having

On September 1, 2026, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) beat Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) in the Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary, taking roughly two-thirds of the vote. It was the most direct test yet of the generational-change argument that has been running through Democratic primaries all cycle — and the incumbent won it going away. Moulton, 47, built his challenge on the proposition that Markey, 80, is too old for another six-year term, invoking Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Dianne Feinstein and Joe Biden as cautionary tales. Markey answered by consolidating the left: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez all endorsed him, and he campaigned on the same young-progressive coalition that saved him from Joe Kennedy III in 2020. In his victory speech in downtown Boston he called the win a "testament to the power of the progressive movement of our nation," told the crowd "there is a big blue wave coming to drown out all those red MAGA hats," and answered the age question directly — "I'm always the youngest guy in the room when it comes to new ideas." Moulton conceded the night of the primary, said he had called Markey to congratulate him, and pledged his full support for the general election while refusing to retract the argument he had run on. His House seat in the 6th District is now open. Markey advances to the November 3 general election against Republican John Deaton, in a state he carried with 66 percent in 2020. Elsewhere on the ballot, incumbents held: Rep. Richard Neal survived his primary in the 1st District, and Mike Minogue won the Republican gubernatorial primary to face Gov. Maura Healey.

“Tonight is a testament to the power of the progressive movement of our nation.”
Ed Markey (D-MA) · Sep 1, 2026

The House Votes 220-192 to Condemn Socialism "in All Its Forms" — and Bolts the SAVE America Act Onto It, Splitting Democrats and Sending Eight Across the Aisle

On September 1, 2026, the House adopted H.Res. 1490 by a vote of 220-192, with two members voting present. The four-page resolution, introduced August 27 by Rep. Jeff Crank (R-CO), "condemns and denounces socialism in all its forms, including the Democratic Socialists of America," and also calls for enactment of the SAVE America Act — the voter-ID and proof-of-citizenship bill that Senate Democrats blocked in August. That second half is what made the vote a trap. Eight Democrats — Jared Golden (ME), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA), Don Davis (NC), Vicente Gonzalez (TX), Henry Cuellar (TX), Kathy Castor (FL), Darren Soto (FL) and Gabe Vasquez (NM) — voted yes anyway. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries voted no, calling the measure "toxic voter suppression legislation" dressed up as an anti-socialism vote. Reps. Maggie Goodlander (NH) and Chrissy Houlahan (PA) voted present. Four centrist Democrats — Josh Gottheimer (NJ), Hillary Scholten (MI), Jared Moskowitz (FL) and Tom Suozzi (NY) — tried to head the vote off with an amendment that condemned socialism and the DSA in stronger terms but stripped the SAVE America Act language. The Rules Committee declined to make it in order on August 31, in a markup where members traded accusations over government-run grocery stores and "silly season." Crank was explicit that the point was to put Democrats on the record against the DSA ahead of November. Majority Leader Steve Scalise tied the two halves together directly. Democrats called it a messaging exercise substituting for action on cost of living.

“House Republicans continue to desperately push toxic voter suppression legislation instead of working to make life more affordable for everyday Americans in the midst of a searing cost-of-living crisis.”
Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) · Sep 1, 2026

A Trump Adviser Calls Five Black Women in Public Life "Ghetto, Entitled, Race-Obsessed" — and the First Republican to Denounce Her Is the One Trump Wants Primaried

On Friday, August 28, 2026, Laura Loomer — the far-right activist and longtime Trump ally whose recommendations have repeatedly preceded firings inside the administration — posted on X that Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon, Reps. Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley, former Rep. Cori Bush and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson are "all ghetto, entitled, race-obsessed, destructive black BITCHES who are completely unfit for the power they hold." Nixon, who won Florida's Democratic Senate primary in August, answered directly. Loomer doubled down on Monday, August 31, calling Nixon "a ghetto, black, communist" and telling her "you speak Ebonics though, so maybe I need to bark at you and tug your leash." The condemnation ran across party lines, but not in the usual direction. The first Republican voice was former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — herself the target of a Trump-backed primary threat — who on Sunday, August 30, said she "1000% denounce[s]" Loomer and put the blame on the party that keeps her close. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries followed on Monday, calling Loomer "a stone-cold racist, pathological liar and nutjob" and demanding every Republican end their relationship with her. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Rep. Rashida Tlaib also weighed in. The White House did not respond to Reuters' request for comment on Loomer's remarks. No sitting Republican member of Congress publicly denounced her in the first four days.

“Laura Loomer is a stone-cold racist, pathological liar and nutjob. We stand with Angie Nixon, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Rep. Pressley and those public servants she attacked.”
Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) · Aug 31, 2026

Trump Adds Nine More Drugmakers to His Most-Favored-Nation Pricing Deals and Asks Congress to Write Them Into Law — and His Health Secretary Says the President Called Him and Dr. Oz "Every Hour of the Day" and Made Clear Their Jobs Depended on It

On Monday, August 31, 2026, President Trump announced from the White House that nine more pharmaceutical manufacturers — Alcon, Astellas Pharma, BeOne Medicines, BridgeBio, CSL, Kyowa Kirin, Sun Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals and UCB — had agreed to "most-favored-nation" pricing, under which state Medicaid programs pay the lowest price the manufacturer charges in a comparable wealthy country. That brings the running total to 26 companies, which the White House says covers roughly 89 to 90 percent of the branded drug market, and which the administration projects will save Americans more than $600 billion over a decade. The announcement was staged nine weeks before the midterms, into an affordability argument Democrats have been running against Republicans all year. Trump used it to press Congress: he said the company-by-company deals should be codified in statute so a future president cannot simply let them lapse. The most revealing moment came from inside his own cabinet. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., standing beside him, described how the deals got done — Trump calling him and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz "every hour of the day" and making clear their jobs depended on delivering. Trump's answer, from the same event, was that he had not wanted to follow through: "I didn't want to fire a Kennedy. I wasn't going to do that." Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick tied the agreements to onshoring pharmaceutical production. The persistent criticism of the program is that the terms are not public. Democrats on the Finance, Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committees have spent 2026 demanding the texts of the deals — Sen. Ron Wyden and 18 Senate Democrats introduced a Drug Deal Disclosure Act in April — and a Public Citizen analysis found that all 16 companies from the program's earlier rounds raised list prices on 272 products in the first months of 2026. No congressional reaction specific to the August 31 announcement had been recorded as of September 1; the Senate stood adjourned until September 14.

“I didn’t want to fire a Kennedy. I wasn’t going to do that.”
Donald Trump (R-FL) · Aug 31, 2026

Ten Weeks Before the Midterms, House Democratic Leaders Hand the Middle East Subcommittee to One of the Chamber’s Most Pro-Israel Members — and Rashida Tlaib Says They Are "Ignoring the Base of Our Party"

On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-NY) announced that Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) would become the top Democrat on the committee's Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, with Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) succeeding Moskowitz as ranking member on the Oversight and Intelligence Subcommittee. Meeks also welcomed three new Democrats to the full committee: Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Wesley Bell (D-MO). The MENA assignment is the one that lit the fuse. Moskowitz is among the most consistently pro-Israel Democrats in the House; Wasserman Schultz has taken roughly $1.5 million from pro-Israel PACs over her career, and Bell won his seat by beating a Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidate. The slate landed two days after The New York Times reported that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who signed off on the assignments alongside Meeks, had met privately with Jared Kushner. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the only Palestinian American in Congress, said leadership was elevating "a genocide denier" and ignoring a party base that wants U.S. funding for the war in Gaza to end. Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Palestinian American Democrat running for governor, tied the pick directly to the Kushner meeting. The committee Moskowitz will help steer also seats members moving the other way: Pocan recently backed a failed amendment to cut $3.3 billion in U.S. military assistance to Israel, and Jackson has sponsored legislation restricting arms transfers. The fight is a proxy for the larger question facing House Democrats before November — whether a caucus whose voters have moved sharply on Israel will move with them.

“A supermajority of Democratic voters have made it clear they want to end U.S. support for Israel's genocide in Gaza and Trump's assault on Iran. By elevating a genocide denier who has said he is 'to the right' of JD Vance on the war on Iran, Democratic leadership is once again ignoring the base of our party who want the funding of the genocide to end.”
Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) · Aug 27, 2026

A Maryland Judge Throws the Democrats' Mid-Decade Gerrymander Off the November Ballot — Ruling the General Assembly Broke Its Own Deadline and Wrote "Intentionally Misleading" Ballot Language

On August 26, 2026, Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Robert J. Thompson blocked a Democratic-backed constitutional amendment from appearing on Maryland's November general election ballot. The amendment was the vehicle Maryland Democrats had built during an August special session to let the General Assembly redraw the state's congressional map before 2028 — a map that would almost certainly have eliminated the Eastern Shore seat held by Rep. Andy Harris, the state's lone Republican in Congress and chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. Thompson found three separate defects. Lawmakers missed the statutory deadline they themselves had enacted in April for placing measures on the ballot; the ballot question's claim that it merely "clarifies" the Constitution's compactness standards was intentionally misleading; and the measure violated the single-subject rule by also handing the Maryland Supreme Court original jurisdiction over congressional redistricting suits. "Because the legislature did not follow the very laws it enacted," Thompson wrote, "the court finds the enactment of HB2100 to be legally deficient." Thompson stayed his own order pending appeal, and the state noted an appeal to the Maryland Supreme Court within hours. Gov. Wes Moore and the General Assembly's two presiding officers said they expect to be vindicated; Harris and Annapolis Republicans treated the ruling as proof that the majority had tried to rewrite the state constitution without following it. The case is the Democratic counterpart to the mid-decade redistricting fights the site has tracked in Texas, Indiana, Florida, Virginia and South Carolina, and its outcome determines whether Maryland can answer those maps before the 2028 cycle.

“I expect this case to receive prompt review, and I look forward to a clear ruling that affirms the General Assembly's constitutional authority.”
Bill Ferguson (D-MD) · Aug 26, 2026

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