Trump reveals when US military will leave Iraq after 23-year mission

July 14, 2026 1:46pm EDT / Fox News

Iraqi PM al-Zaidi declared armed factions would have ‘no justification’ once the coalition mission ends

By Morgan Phillips Fox News

Published July 14, 2026 1:46pm EDT | Updated July 14, 2026 2:28pm EDT

Trump says US no longer needs troops in Iraq

President Donald Trump says Iraq is ready to stand on its own without U.S. troops, while Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi says armed groups outside state control will have “no justification” after the coalition mission ends.

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President Donald Trump said Tuesday the United States no longer believes it needs a military presence in Iraq, arguing Iran has been weakened enough for Baghdad to stand on its own as the U.S.-led coalition mission approaches its planned Sept. 30 conclusion.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi echoed that vision, declaring that armed factions operating outside state control would have “no justification” once the coalition mission concludes and insisting Iraq’s security forces would be capable of protecting the country on their own. Al-Zaidi said limiting weapons to the state was “a decision, not an option.”

Trump said the U.S. partnership with Iraq would shift away from military cooperation toward investment and energy development, while al-Zaidi said: “The 30th of September, the U.S. forces would be out of Iraq. While U.S. companies will be inside Iraq.”

TRUMP ADMIN WARNS IRAQ OVER IRAN TERROR PROXIES AS US REPORTEDLY BLOCKS CASH PAYMENTS

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures toward Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi as they participate in a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, July 14, 2026.(Evan Vucci/Reuters)

“We don’t think we need the military there anymore,” Trump said. “We’re there to help them. We’re there to protect them if need be. But we don’t think that’s going to be necessary.”

He argued Iraq’s security environment had fundamentally changed because Iran had been “very much destabilized” and its military was now “just a tiny fraction” of what it had been four months ago.

The remarks underscore a remarkable shift for a country once synonymous with roadside bombs, sectarian violence and the fight against ISIS. More than two decades after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Trump administration is publicly arguing the security environment has improved enough to replace a military partnership with an economic one, pointing to billions of dollars in planned U.S. energy investments as evidence American companies are now willing to do business where American troops once fought.

Iran has long exercised influence in Iraq through political parties and powerful militias within the Popular Mobilization Forces, many of which have operated alongside — but outside — the Iraqi security apparatus. Washington has for years pressed Baghdad to bring those groups fully under state control.

HOW IRAN ATTACKS ARE FORCING THE PENTAGON TO RETHINK ITS DECADES-OLD MIDDLE EAST BASE STRATEGY

Under a 2024 agreement, the U.S. and Iraq agreed to end the American-led coalition’s military mission in Iraq starting in September 2025. While U.S. forces drew down from several bases, American troops have remained in the country in an advisory role and to support counter-ISIS operations tied to neighboring Syria.

U.S soldiers rest at their base on March 5, 2009 in Baghdad, Iraq.(Wathiq Khuzaie/Getty Images)

Iraqi riot police close a bridge leading to the heavily guarded Green Zone during a demonstration of supporters of Iraq’s influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr against corruption in Tahrir Square in Baghdad, Iraq.(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

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About 2,500 U.S. troops remained in Iraq prior to the beginning of the drawdown in September 2025, down from a peak of about 170,000 during 2007 at the height of the Iraq war. Nearly all U.S. forces departed in 2011 before about 5,000 returned in 2014 to fight ISIS.

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Al-Zaidi, a businessman and political newcomer, took office this year after emerging as a consensus candidate following months of political deadlock. Trump publicly backed his candidacy and opposed the return of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whom the administration viewed as too closely aligned with Iran.

During Tuesday’s Oval Office meeting, Trump repeatedly praised al-Zaidi, calling him “a great leader” and predicting his influence would extend “all throughout the Middle East.” Trump also claimed he had “played a role” in al-Zaidi’s rise to power and said his endorsement helped propel the Iraqi leader to victory.

Blanche set to face harsh questioning at Senate confirmation hearing for attorney general

2026-07-14T12:53:00-0400 / CBS News

Washington— Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will appear Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing to take over the role on a permanent basis, where he is set to face tough questions about hot-button issues he has been involved in during his time at the Justice Department.

Democrats are expected to grill him over what they believe are politicized prosecutions, the department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and his prior advocacy for a nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund.

President Trump nominated Blanche, his former personal defense attorney, to lead the Justice Department last month following the ouster of Pam Bondi in early April. He has been acting in a temporary capacity since Bondi’s firing.

While Republicans hold the majority of seats on the Judiciary panel, the party’s margin narrowed with the unexpected death of Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina late Saturday. Graham was one of the most senior Republicans on the Judiciary Committee and a staunch defender of Blanche.

Most observers believe Blanche is likely to be narrowly confirmed by the GOP-led Senate. Still, he may face skeptical questions from some Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, namely Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

“Anti-weaponization” fund and IRS deal

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on July 1, 2026. Graeme Sloan / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Cornyn, Tillis and other Republicans criticized a settlement between the IRS and Mr. Trump that resolved a civil lawsuit over the leak of the president’s tax returns by a former government contractor.

That deal called for the creation of the new fund at the Justice Department to pay victims of so-called government “weaponization” and granted immunity to Mr. Trump, his two oldest sons, his company and related companies from future tax claims.

Amid bipartisan backlash, Blanche testified to a House committee last month that the department was scrapping the payout plan. His assertions, though, have done little to quell the fallout from the anti-weaponization program and broader settlement.

On Monday, a federal judge in Miami rebuked the Justice Department and sanctioned an attorney for Mr. Trump in the IRS case, finding the president pursued the lawsuit “for an improper purpose.”

The ruling raised questions about whether Blanche and Stanley Woodward, the No. 3 official at the Justice Department, violated ethical rules. It barred them from citing the provisions of the deal as evidence of a settlement in any formal court or government proceeding.

In a separate case, which challenges the legality of the Justice Department’s fund, the Trump administration last month declined to submit to a court a sworn declaration from Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that reiterated the claim that the fund is defunct, calling the demand “unnecessary.”

A hearing in the case is set to take place Wednesday in federal court in Virginia, while Blanche’s confirmation hearing is unfolding.

Blanche reiterated to reporters last month that “the answer remains the same, that the anti-weaponization fund is dead, it’s not coming back to life, it’s not on life support, it never was really started.”

A Justice Department spokesperson dismissed the Miami judge’s ruling, saying it was incorrect.

“There was no collusion in this case, and the partisan judge who speculated otherwise has disregarded decades of precedent,” the spokesperson said.

“This case was brought by President Trump in his personal capacity, as well as by several members of his family, who were all victims of admitted violations of law. There was a live dispute because the plaintiffs sought relief that the government had not provided. The plaintiffs did not receive any money and were barred from receiving any from the now-defunct Anti-Weaponization Fund.”

Blanche’s handling of Trump’s political priorities

Blanche served as deputy attorney general before Bondi’s departure. During his time in that role, he oversaw the controversial indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who are frequent targets of Mr. Trump’s ire. Both of the cases were dismissed after a federal judge determined the indictments were secured by an unlawfully appointed interim U.S. attorney. The Justice Department is appealing that decision.

Comey faces a separate legal battle after he was indicted in April for allegedly making threats against the president. He briefly shared an image on Instagram last year that showed seashells arranged on a beach to form the numbers “86 47,” which Mr. Trump said on Truth Social is a “mob term for ‘kill him.’”

Legal experts and former federal prosecutors who spoke with CBS News in the wake of the indictment, however, were skeptical that the Justice Department can show Comey’s speech is not covered by the First Amendment. Comey deleted the image from his social media account soon after it was posted and said he did not realize some associate the numbers with violence.

He has denied any wrongdoing and is set to appear in court for an arraignment in September. On Tuesday, his lawyers indicated in court filings they intend to challenge the prosecution as being both selective and vindictive.

In the criminal case brought against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador last year and brought back to face human smuggling charges, a federal judge in Tennessee dismissed the indictment after concluding the prosecution was vindictive. The judge wrote that public comments from Blanche, as well as other factors, tainted the investigation into Abrego Garcia “with a vindictive motive.”

A Justice Department spokesperson dismissed the judge as an “activist,” saying the decision “was a wrong and dangerous attempt to place politics above public safety.”

Blanche also made numerous misstatements about the ongoing criminal prosecution against the Southern Poverty Law Center in Alabama, including falsely claiming the case started during President Joe Biden’s tenure. The investigation, however, was opened during Mr. Trump’s first term, when Jeff Sessions was serving as attorney general. Blanche also incorrectly asserted that the nonprofit never shared intelligence about hate groups with law enforcement.

And his decision to personally interview Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s accomplice who is serving a 20-year prison sentence, sparked shock among former prosecutors who viewed his actions as improper and unethical.

Blanche met with Maxwell while an appeal of her criminal conviction on sex-trafficking charges was pending before the Supreme Court. Soon after the two met, Maxwell was transferred from a low-security federal correctional institute in Tallahassee, Florida, to a minimum security prison camp in Texas.

A Bureau of Prisons spokesperson previously said that Maxwell was transferred for security reasons and received no preferential treatment.

Blanche’s career

Blanche has had a somewhat unusual career trajectory compared with others who have reached the top ranks of the Justice Department. He started working at the department as a paralegal while he attended night school at Brooklyn Law to earn his degree. He then worked his way up the ladder in New York’s Southern District, one of the most high-profile U.S. attorney’s offices in the country.

Those who knew Blanche from his time as a federal prosecutor in New York had largely positive interactions, telling CBS News he never discussed politics in the office and was considered a solid prosecutor. They described him as a “bro” who people in the office enjoyed getting a beer with after work.

After many years in New York’s Southern District, he left to join the law firm WilmerHale. In a somewhat unusual move given his experience as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan, he never worked as a partner. Blanche later shifted to the firm formerly known as Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, where he became an equity partner after about two years, according to a person with direct knowledge.

In 2023, Blanche left to lead Mr. Trump’s defense against 34 felony charges in New York related to a “hush money” payment made in the closing days of the 2016 election. Blanche often stood side-by-side with Mr. Trump in the hallways of a Manhattan courthouse as lead counsel during the 2024 trial, which ended in felony convictions on all counts.

When Mr. Trump returned to the White House, he nominated Blanche to serve as deputy attorney general. The Senate confirmed him by a vote of 52 to 46.

At that time, many DOJ employees reserved judgment, assuming his years as a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York meant he respected long-standing Justice Department norms and would not cross a red line.

But several of those who adopted a wait-and-see approach told CBS News their hopes have been dashed.

“There is absolutely no wall between the Justice Department and the White House,” said Gene Rossi, a former federal prosecutor who is now in private practice. “Blanche literally does what Trump wants him to do.”

Some of those who know Blanche well said they observed a change after he began representing Mr. Trump in federal and state criminal cases.

Mimi Rocah, a former federal prosecutor who worked closely with Blanche in New York and once considered him a friend, said she believes he has fundamentally changed, and has allowed his views about the Justice Department’s prosecutions of Mr. Trump to cloud his judgment in his leadership roles at the department. Rocah successfully ran as a Democrat for district attorney of Westchester County, New York.

“I think his viewpoint became transformed by this experience of representing Trump,” she said. “I do think he genuinely believes that Trump was persecuted.”

“The problem is carrying it over into this position, and he seems to have rationalized that in his mind. And that to me is the really troubling part,” Rocah added.

The Justice Department has lost roughly 16,000 employees through firings, resignations and early retirements under the second Trump administration. As a result of the departures, Blanche is also facing hostility from current and former Justice Department employees who believe his leadership has been detrimental to the career workforce.

“Blanche has fired or overseen the firings of hundreds of these employees — usually without notice, and for improper, unlawful reasons,” wrote the advocacy group Justice Connection, in a letter signed by about 1,200 former Justice Department employees.

“Some were terminated for having worked on cases the President didn’t like; for being relatives of the President’s foes; for adjudicating immigration cases in accordance with due process; for declining to initiate vindictive prosecutions; or for refusing to lie in court,” they said. “These terminations violate the very civil service statutes designed to prevent corruption and political purges.”

Abhi Kambli, a former deputy associate attorney general who worked with Blanche at the department, said any ethical concerns about him are “overstated.”

“Todd Blanche is very careful and very ethical in my experience, and he’s very mindful,” he told CBS News.

Some inside the Justice Department initially saw him as a more moderating force against the White House’s worst impulses, several told CBS News.

Since then, between the new Comey prosecution, the indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center and the proposal of the anti-weaponization fund, some said they think he has fully embraced the MAGA movement — likely in an effort to secure the attorney general nomination.

But Brian Nieves, Blanche’s former chief of staff, recently wrote a letter to the Wall Street Journal praising his leadership, and urging the Senate to swiftly confirm him.

“I saw what leadership looked like when the cameras were off,” he wrote. “I sat in meetings where the facts were contested, the legal questions were difficult and every available course carried consequences. Mr. Blanche listened, pressed for candor, challenged assumptions and demanded that recommendations be rooted in law and fact.”

Melissa Quinn contributed to this report.

Trump’s helicopter flights to resume from Ellipse, breaking South Lawn tradition

July 14, 2026 at 1:50 p.m. EDT / The Washington Post

The park south of the White House will become a temporary landing zone for the president’s Marine One flights, which have been on hold for two months because of construction.

Preparations have begun for installing a landing zone in the Ellipse. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

By Dan Diamond, Jake Spring and Dan Lamothe

President Donald Trump is set to resume his helicopter departures from Washington as soon as Wednesday — but by using the Ellipse, a park south of the projects that have rendered the White House lawn unusable, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration plans.

US Russia sanctions bill eases threat of tariffs on China and India

2026-07-14T19:07:36.824Z / Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with journalists to comment on new U.S. sanctions targeting two major Russia’s oil producers, as well as other international issues, in Moscow, Russia, October 23, 2025. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• Revised bill caps potential tariffs at 100%, only for top five buyers of Russian oil and gas
• Bill would let Trump waive sanctions if he deems it in the US national interest
• Trump said Iran and Hezbollah-related provisions could be added

WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) – U.S. senators on Tuesday unveiled an updated version of the Russia sanctions bill, championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, which ‌eases the original proposal’s tariff threat on China, India and other importers of Russian oil and gas.

The bill, backed by both Republican and Democratic senators, seeks to impose sanctions on Russian officials and to use tariffs to pressure China and India to reduce their dependence on Russia as an energy supplier.

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Graham, who died suddenly on Saturday, had announced during a trip to ​Ukraine just a day earlier that he had reached an agreement with Republican President Donald Trump to move forward with the bill, more than ​a year after it was introduced.

Senate aides said there were 26 co-sponsors for the bill, and they expected more within ⁠several hours, expressing optimism about its chances of passage. “We’re pretty confident on its path,” one aide said.

The bill is changed from the original version introduced by ​Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, and Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, in April 2025.

The new version of the measure eases tariffs that could be placed on ​third-party buyers of Russian oil and natural gas to a maximum of 100% on the top five purchasers, from the previous proposal’s blanket 500%.

It also allows an exception for countries which import less than 15% of Russia’s natural gas exports and which are taking significant steps to reduce those imports, which could exempt Japan, France, Hungary and Belgium.

The top five purchasers ​of Russian crude are China, India, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan, and the top importers of Russian natural gas are China, France, Japan, Hungary and Belgium, the ​aides said.

The measure also imposes sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet of tankers that do not depend on Western maritime services, on Russian financial institutions including the Central Bank of the ‌Russian Federation, ⁠and on Russia’s largest state-owned energy projects, including Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 1, 2 and 3.

In addition, the new version includes a provision that allows Trump to waive the sanctions if he deems it in the U.S. national interest to do so.

BUY IN FROM EVERYBODY

Asked about the softening of some of the provisions from the original bill, one of the Senate aides noted the months of negotiations that had gone into getting a deal with Trump.

“This is the only product ​that currently has buy-in from everybody and ​is likely the only product that ⁠is going to move forward and put pressure on Russia the way we would all like to get,” the aide said. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because discussions surrounding the bill were confidential.

Trump told reporters at the White ​House earlier on Tuesday that sanctions on Iran and Hezbollah might be added to the bill, saying it would ​be a “very big thing” ⁠if those measures were added.

Blumenthal expressed caution, however, about adding new targets in the bill. “With all due respect to the president, he has approved this bill, and we should move forward with this bill rather than opening it, in my view, to other potential targets,” Blumenthal told reporters.

Asked about Trump’s comment, a second Senate aide said the ⁠bill exposes ​countries such as Iran that work with the Russian defense industrial base to sanctions and tariffs.

Trump ​also expressed optimism that the bill would pass and become law.

“This is in honor of Lindsey. This was his thing. He wanted this more than anything. You know how he felt, and there’s ​a good chance that it gets done,” Trump said.

Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Timothy Gardner; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and David Ljunggren; Editing by Edmund Klamann

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Fired Election Assistance Commissioner on what the dismissal of the agency’s leadership means for November midterms

3:57 PM EDT, Tue July 14, 2026 / By Margaret Given, CNN

Fired Election Assistance Commissioner on what the dismissal of the agency’s leadership means for November midterms

CNN’s Brianna Keilar talks to Thomas Hicks, one of the leaders of the Election Assistance Commission fired by Trump last week. Hicks details the implications of the dismissal of the agency’s leadership for voters and the midterm elections. Hicks warns, “if this had happened in Russia, Cuba, there would be an alarm being set, but it’s happening in America and there should be more people outraged.”

5:46 • Source: CNN

US judge blocks Trump administration’s visa limits for social media researchers

July 14, 2026 7:16 PM UTC Updated 43 mins ago / Reuters

Jul 4, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of an American flag waved by a fan before a game between the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Colin Hubbard-Imagn Images Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

July 14 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Tuesday ​blocked U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration from enforcing a policy ​that targets foreign ​nationals who study disinformation ⁠and hate ​speech on social media ​for visa denials and deportation.

Chief U.S. District ​Judge James Boasberg ​in Washington sided with ‌the ⁠Coalition for Independent Technology Research in finding that the ​administration’s ​policy ⁠likely unlawfully burdens the speech ​of non-citizen ​researchers ⁠in the United States in violation ⁠of ​the U.S. ​Constitution’s First Amendment.

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Reporting by ​Nate Raymond in Boston

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Trump’s tax immunity could be on shaky ground

July 14, 2026 at 2:11 p.m. EDT / The Washington Post

A judge accused the president of abusing the court system to get it.

President Donald Trump sued the IRS and received immunity from tax audits, and now a judge is questioning the whole process that led to such a controversial deal. (Susan Walsh/AP)

Analysis by Amber Phillips

Did President Donald Trump sue the IRS earlier this year specifically to get tax immunity for himself and his family?

A federal judge raised that possibility this week. Trump yanked his lawsuit against the IRS from her court this spring and made his own agreement with the government he runs in exchange for dropping the lawsuit. Under the terms of the agreement, the IRS would not audit Trump or his family for past tax returns. This is the same deal that created a nearly $1.8 billion fund for alleged victims of politicized prosecutions that drew interest from Capitol rioters.

After Lindsey Graham’s death, sister joins long list of relatives who replaced late family members in Congress

July 14, 2026 2:12pm EDT / Fox News

Graham’s sister joins Julia Letlow, Adelita Grijalva and others in a long tradition of family congressional succession

By Robert McGreevy, Fox News

Trey Gowdy emotionally shares his thoughts on Darlene Graham Nordone, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, being sworn in as interim senator.

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Following the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Graham’s younger sister, Darline Graham, to fill his seat for the remainder of his term, continuing a legacy of family members stepping in to take the reins of power from their kin.

When Darline is sworn in Tuesday afternoon, she will become the latest example of a U.S. lawmaker sliding into a seat vacated by a deceased family member.

Rep. Julia Letlow

Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., is a favorite of President Donald Trump and has his backing in her ongoing campaign to represent Louisiana in the U.S. Senate.

“DID YOU CALL 911?” TUBERVILLE RECOUNTS GRAHAM’S FRANTIC FINAL PHONE CALL

Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., attended a news conference with Republican lawmakers in the Capitol Visitor Center on Jan. 20, 2022, in Washington, D.C.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Her political career began years ago when Julia’s husband, Luke Letlow, died from COVID-19 complications in December 2020, just over a month after residents of Louisiana’s 5th district had voted him in as their congressman.

Though Luke Letlow was never sworn into office, his widow picked up the torch, running in and winning the 2021 special election to fill the House seat.

GRAHAM ALLY RIPS ‘THIRSTY’ REPUBLICANS JOCKEYING TO REPLACE LATE SENATOR

Rep. Adelita Grijalva

On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., was also thrust into the halls of Congress after tragedy struck her loved one.

Grijalva’s father, former Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., died of lung cancer in March 2025. Raúl had already announced that he would not be seeking re-election after a 22-year stint in Congress.

U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., speaks before the signing of a moratorium on mining in the area of the Grand Canyon in Washington, D.C., Jan. 9, 2012.(Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Six months later, Adelita Grijalva won a special election for her father’s seat, defeating Republican candidate Daniel Butierez Sr. by more than 40,000 votes, according to results published by the Arizona secretary of state.

TRUMP REVEALS WHO HE’S EYEING TO REPLACE LINDSEY GRAHAM

Though Democrats cried foul when House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., initially delayed her swearing in, she officially became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 12, 2025.

Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., poses for a photo with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., during a ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol Building on Nov. 12, 2025, in Washington, D.C.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Erica Lee Carter

Former Rep. Erica Lee Carter, D-Texas, also ascended into Congress as the result of a parent’s death.

Carter’s mother, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, was a progressive stalwart as the representative from Texas’ 18th Congressional District, which includes parts of Houston, from 1995 until her 2024 death.

President Joe Biden takes a selfie with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, after delivering the State of the Union address on Feb. 7, 2023, in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.(Jacquelyn Martin-Pool/Getty Images)

Though Jackson Lee won the Democratic primary for the 2024 election in March 2024, she died of pancreatic cancer just four months later.

The Democratic Party, including Erica Lee Carter, initially rallied around former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to replace Jackson Lee in a November special election. But shortly after endorsing Turner, Lee Carter changed her mind and decided to run to complete her mother’s term. Turner dropped out, and Lee Carter won the election by nearly 100,000 votes, according to results published by the Texas secretary of state.

Rep. Erica Lee Carter talks about her mother during the dedication of 1111 Fannin in honor of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee in Houston, May 15, 2025.(Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Lee Carter chose not to run for re-election, finishing her mother’s term in January 2025 and choosing to cede the party’s nomination for the seat to Turner.

Though Turner won the seat and was sworn in Jan. 3, 2025, he served for two months, dying of bone cancer in March.

Mary Bono

Arguably the most famous example of a spouse stepping in for a deceased partner is the tale of Sonny Bono, who for years toured the U.S. with his then-wife, pop icon Cher, as one half of the iconic musical duo Sonny and Cher.

Sonny Bono (1935-1998), an American singer-songwriter, producer, actor and politician and his wife at the time, Cher, an American singer, actress and television personality, were an American rock duo in the 1960s and 1970s.(Jeff Hochberg/Getty Images)

Bono and Cher would eventually divorce and, after marrying and divorcing a third wife, Bono wed his fourth and final spouse, Mary Whitaker, in 1986.

Sonny ran for U.S. Congress as a Republican in 1994, winning a seat as the representative for California’s 44th district.

But when Bono died in a skiing accident in 1998, his wife, then known as Mary Bono, ran in a special election to fill his seat. Mary Bono ended up serving 15 years in Congress, losing her seat to Democratic challenger Raul Ruiz in 2013 after her district was redrawn.

Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., co-founder of the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse, prepares to testify before a Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control hearing in Dirksen July 18, 2012.(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)

Donald Payne Jr.

In New Jersey, former Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J., replaced his father, former Rep. Donald Payne Sr., D-N.J., in Congress.

Payne Sr. had represented New Jersey’s 10th district for 23 years, a tenure that was cut short when he succumbed to a fight with colon cancer in March 2012.

Donald Payne Jr. ran in the special election to replace his father and won.

Darline Graham

McMaster’s decision to tap Darline Graham to replace her brother will make her the first female U.S. senator in South Carolina history.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., hugs sister Darline Graham on stage as he announces his candidacy for U.S. president during an outdoor event for supporters on June 1, 2015, in Central, S.C.(Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

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When their parents died in 1976 and 1977, Lindsey became his sister’s legal guardian. Accepting McMaster’s nomination for her to replace her brother, Darline vowed to return the favor of his lifetime of taking care of her.

“Lindsey has always been there for me. And, now, I will be there for him,” she told a crowd at South Carolina’s statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina, Monday.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6401120130112

Daylight Saving Time could be year-round if new bill passes

2026-07-14T18:40:43.511Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/14/politics/house-vote-daylight-savings-time

The US House will vote Tuesday on a measure to enact year-round Daylight Saving Time across the country, springing Congress forward into an issue that has long stumped lawmakers and spurred impassioned pleas by parents, farmers and others with sharply divergent views.

If the measure passes, it will head to the Senate for approval before going to the president for his signature — though its chances in the upper chamber remain unclear. Proponents argue it would spare Americans from having to change their clocks, disrupting young children’s sleep schedules and arguably causing more seasonal depression. But detractors say it could have economic consequences, particularly for farmers who would have to wrestle with later sunrises.

President Donald Trump has long decried the semiannual ritual of Americans changing their clocks, though his position on whether the country should default to standard or saving time has evolved.

He cheered Tuesday’s bill, the Sunshine Protection Act, when it advanced out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in May. “Hundreds of Millions of Dollars are spent every year by people, Cities, and States, being forced to change their Clocks,” he said in a Truth Social post.

“It’s time that people can stop worrying about the ‘Clock,’ not to mention all of the work and money that is spent on this ridiculous, twice-yearly production. It will also be a very nice WIN for the Republican Party. Take it!” the post said.

Many states are ready to embrace the shift. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 19 states have enacted legislation to switch to year-round Daylight Saving Time if Congress allows it. But the bill also allows states to opt out if they act before it takes effect, which could affect residents in Hawaii, much of Arizona, and various US territories who observe standard time.

Like Trump, congressional lawmakers have long taken an interest in passing laws to “ditch the switch” and make Daylight Saving Time permanent. The issue has generated zealous lobbying and strong advocacy from interest groups including the golf industry, filmmakers, farmers and educators. Support and opposition do not fall on clean party lines.

Proponents of Tuesday’s measure argue dropping the clock change would come with a raft of benefits, including sparing Americans from losing an hour of sleep in the spring and other inconveniences. They argue more work hours in sunlight means less seasonal depression, more recreational and economic activity, and less crime in the evenings.

“There’s a lot of science on this, and really the question is, why do we still change our clocks? That’s a question many of us ask every time we have to do it, and it’s getting harder and harder to justify,” Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone said at a House committee hearing Monday.

But detractors of the change make the same arguments — pointing to economic benefits and the health of Americans. Lawmakers hailing from agricultural districts warn farmers could be devastated by long winter mornings that see the sun rise later, especially in districts where some won’t see sunlight until after 9 a.m. And some advocates argue it could endanger the lives of students who would commute to school in the dark.

And there are some lawmakers who may favor abandoning the clock change but say adopting permanent standard time makes more sense than year-round Daylight Saving Time.

“If we’re going to make a permanent change that affects every American, we should follow the science and prioritize Americans’ health, particularly that of the children,” Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon said, speaking in favor of switching to permanent standard time at a committee hearing Monday.

Lawmakers’ mixed feelings about the issue largely mirror those of the American public. Polling has showed Americans don’t like changing their clocks but can’t agree on a solution.

“I’m a little undecided as to where I go on this bill, but we’ve heard loud and clear that people don’t want to change the clocks,” Republican Rep. Nick Langworthy, who represents parts of Buffalo, New York, said at Monday’s committee hearing,

Congress has previously tried to move to permanent Daylight Saving Time, adopting a measure in 1974 as the US was experiencing an energy crisis. But lawmakers quickly reversed course amid deep unpopularity — a fact that opponents of Tuesday’s bill regularly reference.

The episode hasn’t deterred lawmakers from toying with the idea again.

In 2022, the Senate passed a version of a daylight savings bill, but it did not get a floor vote in the House. A bipartisan group of senators in 2025 sought unanimous consent to pass a similar measure, but were thwarted by Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas.

Trump plans prime-time speech on 2020 election allegations

2026-07-14T16:58:36.590Z / The Washington Post

President Donald Trump is planning a prime-time address Thursday that will use findings from reexamined government files to argue that the country’s election infrastructure has vulnerabilities, according to two people briefed on the plan.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday that the speech would concern voting machines but declined to elaborate. “It will concern that subject, and we’ll have a couple of other things to say, also,” he said. “But I’d rather save it. But it’s really big news.”

The president could use the address to press his long-standing allegations of foreign interference in the 2020 election, the results of which he has never accepted. The speech, in part, will highlight claims that China accessed U.S. voter data, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a plan that has not been made public. Trump is also expected to discuss findings related to Venezuela, they said.

It was not clear Tuesday whether the major broadcast networks would provide airtime for the speech. As of late morning Tuesday, the White House had not made a request for air time.

The plans are fluid and could change. “Anonymous sources are speculating about what President Trump will say during his speech on Thursday evening,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “The truth is, nobody knows yet what President Trump will ultimately say, which is why everyone should tune in.”

The plan came after a confidential White House briefing on Monday to review findings from the Trump administration’s broad reexamination of old FBI records,including from the 2020 election,one of the people said. Trump then announced the speech on social media, without specifying the subject.

In recent weeks, FBI Director Kash Patel has dispatched hundreds of agents to help the bureau’s Atlanta field office review 700 files by July 17, according to an internal FBI obtained by The Washington Post. Trump has long argued that he unfairly lost the 2020 presidential election in Fulton County, Georgia, which includes Atlanta, and, despite a lack of evidence, the FBI field office has been investigating those claims.

Trump is making the prime-time announcement at the urging of advisers including Bill Pulte, the acting director of national intelligence, and John Solomon, a former conservative journalist who temporarily joined the White House to help review government records for release. Solomon has long questioned investigations surrounding Trump and has pushed for the release of FBI investigatory files related to alleged election interference.

Since Trump returned to office, multiple federal agencies have pursued allegations of tampering with the 2020 vote that had previously been investigated and rejected.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in March 2021 that there was no foreign interference that altered votes or manipulated machines in the presidential election. The agencies said Russian and Iranian spies did try to influence Americans. They also said China considered but did not go through with efforts to try to affect the outcome of the election, a finding that was the subject of internal dispute at the time.

In Trump’s second term, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, under Tulsi Gabbard until last month, has taken steps including examining voting machines used in Puerto Rico looking for cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

In September, the contract firm Mojave Research completed a report for the national intelligence director’s office based on forensic analysis of digital voting software obtained from Puerto Rico. The report concluded that software vulnerabilities made the machines highly vulnerable to hacking, according to two people familiar with the report, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss findings that have not been made public. The Mojave analysts found no evidence that exploitation took place, they said.

The report’s release had been delayed by the White House, the people said, but it could come this week.

In January, the FBI and Justice Department seized 2020 ballots that were preserved by a court order in Fulton County. Investigators also obtained records including ballot images from the Republican-led Arizona Senate’s review of the 2020 results in that state’s largest county. And the FBI in recent months interviewed current and former election officials about the 2020 election in Milwaukee.

Trump lost all three of those swing states in 2020. Recounts and court reviews have upheld those results, even as Trump has spent years falsely claiming the election was rigged.

The Arizona and Georgia investigations came at the instigation of Kurt Olsen, a lawyer who worked on Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 results at the time and advised him in the White House in 2025.

Trump has taken a series of actions in recent months aimed at influencing how elections are carried out. Most have been blocked in court or otherwise stymied.

Last week, Trump disbanded a bipartisan commission that helps states and localities administer elections. He also recently signed executive orders designed to limit mail ballots and to require states to verify voters’ citizenship with federal data. Those orders have been halted in court. Judges noted the Constitution gives the power to run elections to the states and Congress, not the president.

The Justice Department has sued to get copies of state voter rolls but so far has lost those cases. And the administration’s efforts to allow states to check voter eligibility in a massive federal database has been severely hampered in a separate case.

Trump has demanded that Congress pass a law to require proof of citizenship and ID to vote in this year’s midterms, but Senate Republicans say they lack enough votes. To escalate the pressure, Trump refused to sign a bipartisan bill aimed at making housing more affordable, allowing the legislation to become law without his signature.

Election officials and voting rights advocates have been bracing for months for the administration to release information that purports to cast doubt on how elections are conducted.

“Few things can be more predictable than this coming,” said Lawrence Norden, vice president of elections and government at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, a voting rights organization that has sued the administration over some of its election policies.

Any electronic system has vulnerabilities, but states are vigilant about making sure their outcomes are correct using “layered defenses,” Norden said. States conduct audits and recounts to ensure accuracy, and 98 percent of votes in the midterm elections will be on paper ballots that can be reviewed, he said.

“Unless you have that context of the security that’s already in place, I think some of the kind of things that they’re throwing against the wall can be very confusing to the public,” he said.

Some Trump White House officials in 2020 believed China favored Joe Biden in that year’s election and doubted the intelligence assessment that the country would not seek to interfere and had no preference, according to a former official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.

That view was shared by then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, who is currently serving as CIA director.

Ratcliffe “disagreed with the established analytic line on China, insisting ‘we are missing China’s influence in the US and that Chinese actions ARE intended to affect the election.,’” according to a January 2021 report to Congress from an analytic ombudsman for the intelligence community.

Warren Strobel and Scott Nover contributed to this report.