Hakeem Jeffries vows ‘serious response’ after two House Democrats vote with Republicans – US politics live | US Congress
The day so far
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House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries has vowed a “serious response” after two Democrats voted with Republicans to advance a procedural vote yesterday. Moderates Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Jared Golden voted to advance a resolution condemning socialism, which also contained support for the enactment of Trump’s SAVE America Act, that eight Democrats supported. Jeffries said the decision “represents a significant breach of trust”. More here.
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Meanwhile, Donald Trump – claiming that the US has control over the strait of Hormuz despite escalating conflict with Iran and extensive evidence to the contrary – has floated the idea of naming the critical waterway “TRUMP STRAIT”. A reminder that he has no authority to do so, and that this comes after his efforts to rename the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario to the Gulf of America and Lake America, respectively. Major US tech firms have complied with his re-naming decrees for US users of their maps apps.
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Trump picked acting navy secretary Hung Cao to take on the job permanently amid concerns that some sailors have been stretched to the limit during his war against Iran. Cao’s nomination comes as some, including Democrats in Congress, believe Trump has been overtaxing the navy. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier’s nine-month deployment to support the Iran war included a record-setting uninterrupted 270 days at sea. Here’s Natasha May’s report as the ship finally docked in Thailand.
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Eighty-nine percent of recently surveyed US adults think government corruption is “widespread,” a Gallup poll released today said. Gallup, polling 1000 people this May and June per the Washington Post, said that this sentiment is at its “highest level in 20 years.” More here.
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The powerful Teamsters union is backing Republican candidates in the 2026 election cycle even after members have voted to support their Democrat opponents. The 1.3 million-strong union’s president, Sean O’Brien, angered many members and union leaders in 2024 when he became the first union president to speak at the Republican national convention. The latest moves by the union’s leadership are further stoking tensions within the union. Michael Sainato has the story.
Key events
The Trump administration rejected New York’s request for help related to a major snowstorm that caused $168m in damage, governor Kathy Hochul said.
“Another day, another denial of critical federal assistance for New York by the Trump Administration,” Hochul said in a statement Wednesday. “Just one day after calling out President Trump and Secretary Mullin for continuing to withhold $87 million in counterterrorism funding, my Administration was informed today that FEMA has officially denied our appeal for a Major Disaster Declaration following the February blizzard that caused more than $168 million in damages and placed a serious financial burden on communities across New York City, Long Island and the Mid-Hudson.”
“This storm met every FEMA threshold for federal assistance, yet the Trump Administration continues to play political games and betray every New Yorker who believes that the federal government is there to protect and support them,” Hochul also said. “By refusing to intervene and grant our request, President Trump has told every New Yorker who weathered this major storm and the first responders, utility crews and emergency management staff who worked tirelessly to keep our communities safe that you do not matter to him.”
“But let’s be clear, Republican members of Congress across New York are also enabling this neglect,” Hochul also said. “Their continued silence and refusal to break with the President is a direct betrayal of the communities they were elected to serve.”
“It is past time these members of congress demand that the President grant this disaster declaration and deliver every dollar of relief their constituents are owed.”
The Guardian has reached out to The White House and FEMA for comment.
Trump: ‘happy about’ Harry and Meghan returning to UK, says he ‘was not a fan’
President Trump has weighed in on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s move to Britain, saying at a press conference that: “I’m happy about it”.
“I was not a fan,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s query, during a question-and-answer session following a press conference with travel executives. “I had a very good relationship with the Queen, really good. I got to know her very well. A really good relationship with King Charles – I knew him as Prince Charles and King Charles. I’ve known him for a long time.”
Trump, describing Charles as a “great, great guy,” said he thought Prince Harry and Meghan Markle “treated the royal family with great disrespect.”
“I didn’t like it,” he also said, adding, “ If I were the royal family, I would not have taken them back.”
The couple’s move back to England comes six years after they left for the US. The King is reportedly looking forward to spending more time with them in a personal capacity, but Harry and Meghan will remain private individuals as they previously gave up their official royal duties.
Trump: ‘Canada has been ripping off the United States for many, many years’
The resumption of US-Canada trade talks does not seem to be on the horizon. During a press conference with US travel executives, Trump was asked if negotiations would resume.
“Canada has been ripping off the United States for many, many years, for decades, many decades,” Trump said, adding shortly thereafter, “I’s a very unfair deal. They charge tremendous tariffs to our farmers. They take advantage of our farmers. They take advantage of our tourists. They take advantage of airlines.”
The collapse of discussions resulted in Trump imposing 50% tariffs on $20bn in Canadian goods and Canada threatening retaliatory tariffs starting 8 September.
New Jersey is asking the US supreme court to consider whether states can regulate sports betting that takes place on prediction markets such as Kalshi.
According to Reuters, New Jersey asked the court to overturn a lower court’s ruling that the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission(CFTC) has sole jurisdiction over sports-related contract trading on Kalshi.
Kalshi and other prediction market concerns let users make trades, and profit, from predictions on developments such as elections and sports. States such as New Jersey contend that these businesses are allowing gaming without proper licenses, per Reuters.
“These companies have no right to offer their sports bets without following state law, which is why dozens of states across the ideological spectrum have opposed them,” New Jersey’s attorney general Jennifer Davenport reportedly said.
Donald Trump’s CFTC maintains these companies’ position on regulation–that the CFTC has sole jurisdiction over these platform, Reuters notes.
President Trump’s suggested renaming of the strait of Hormuz has prompted criticism from Democratic leadership.
“No need for more renaming bodies of water here. Americans already call this entire fiasco TRUMP’S WAR,” Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said on X. “Trump cares more about feeding his ego than helping the American people who are crying out for help. They want lower health care costs, lower gas prices and grocery bills, and for our troops to come home.”
Schumer’s post included a link to Trump’s Truth Social missive earlier today where he said: “Now that we have it under U.S.A. control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???”
Trump also said: “Like America itself, it would be ‘hotter’ than ever before!”
Trump administration: ‘we trust Anthropic’
Donald Trump and AI giant Anthropic might be back on good terms following a spat over safety guardrails and national security.
Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Axios: “We trust Anthropic.”
“They’ve done what we asked. They’re back on the right side. So the answer is: Yes,” Lutnick reportedly said in a Tuesday interview.
According to Axios, Lutnick’s positive comments are amid Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown’s increasing role in the firm’s engagement with the White House. Brown had a “headlining spot” during the G20’s Innovation Ministerial, Axios noted.
Brown voiced support of Trump’s pro-data center social media post.
“I really love Trump’s post from earlier this week… where he was pointing out that the data centers are just an enormous source of prosperity,” Axios quoted Brown as saying. “They produce a ton of jobs. They produce taxes. Now the way that we design them, we actually bring on more power to the grid.”
Donald Trump has invited a group of Republican legislators for dinner Wednesday at the White House amid GOP hopes that he will distribute some of his $400m war chest before the midterms, Politico reported.
GOP candidates are both contending with newly competitive races and political blowback from the war in Iran and worsening affordability crisis. Republican incumbents are seeking money to fund their campaigns as Democrats continue to hammer them on these issues.
Trump’s “political operation” MAGA Inc., however, “has used little of its $400 million war chest to support GOP lawmakers,” Politico said. One notable exception is Darlene Graham, with MAGA Inc. doling out more than $800,000 for campaign texts and calls.
The planned dinner will be held in the Rose Garden, Politico also said.
And Kentucky representative James Comer, the GOP chair of the House oversight committee, has given Fox News his take:
Hakeem Jeffries has declared himself the leader, and he doesn’t want anyone having differing opinions. That’s what happens when you have socialism and communism … that’s the difference in the Democrats and Republicans. Republicans are open-minded, free will … the Democrats … want to rule with an iron fist.
Here’s the clip.
Regarding the two Democrats who voted with Republicans to advance a resolution condemning socialism yesterday, House speaker Mike Johnson has told Punchbowl News:
I didn’t know how many Democrats would vote, but I knew we’d get the votes on the rule one way or the other, as we always do, and we were gonna have to work it hard on our side.
Leader Jeffries has a serious problem, a serious problem, in his caucus. He is being overwhelmed by communists and Marxists on one side, and on other members on the other. I have no idea about getting out of that thicket.
Asked whether the Republicans who voted against the rule be punished, Johnson replied: “We don’t do that.”
The day so far
-
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries has vowed a “serious response” after two Democrats voted with Republicans to advance a procedural vote yesterday. Moderates Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Jared Golden voted to advance a resolution condemning socialism, which also contained support for the enactment of Trump’s SAVE America Act, that eight Democrats supported. Jeffries said the decision “represents a significant breach of trust”. More here.
-
Meanwhile, Donald Trump – claiming that the US has control over the strait of Hormuz despite escalating conflict with Iran and extensive evidence to the contrary – has floated the idea of naming the critical waterway “TRUMP STRAIT”. A reminder that he has no authority to do so, and that this comes after his efforts to rename the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario to the Gulf of America and Lake America, respectively. Major US tech firms have complied with his re-naming decrees for US users of their maps apps.
-
Trump picked acting navy secretary Hung Cao to take on the job permanently amid concerns that some sailors have been stretched to the limit during his war against Iran. Cao’s nomination comes as some, including Democrats in Congress, believe Trump has been overtaxing the navy. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier’s nine-month deployment to support the Iran war included a record-setting uninterrupted 270 days at sea. Here’s Natasha May’s report as the ship finally docked in Thailand.
-
Eighty-nine percent of recently surveyed US adults think government corruption is “widespread,” a Gallup poll released today said. Gallup, polling 1000 people this May and June per the Washington Post, said that this sentiment is at its “highest level in 20 years.” More here.
-
The powerful Teamsters union is backing Republican candidates in the 2026 election cycle even after members have voted to support their Democrat opponents. The 1.3 million-strong union’s president, Sean O’Brien, angered many members and union leaders in 2024 when he became the first union president to speak at the Republican national convention. The latest moves by the union’s leadership are further stoking tensions within the union. Michael Sainato has the story.
Civil rights groups to send observers to voting locations amid fear of Trump intimidation – report
Civil rights advocates are reportedly poised to send “hundreds” of observers to voting precincts during fall elections in response to fears of voter intimidation amid Trump administration attacks on election access.
According to The Washington Post, the National Action Network, American Federation of Teachers, and Save America Movement have teamed up to start the Vote Safe project. This non-partisan effort reportedly plans to focus on Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio.
The initiative comes as Trump has doubled down on unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud and even called for the GOP to nationalize elections.
Concerns about voting access have been heightened still more by a whistleblower report alleging that the US Postal Service’s planned screening system for mail-in ballots was so glitchy that entire batches of ballots could be rejected in error.
Trump suggests strait of Hormuz could be renamed ‘Trump strait’
Donald Trump – now claiming that the US has control over the strait of Hormuz despite escalating conflict with Iran and extensive evidence to the contrary – is pitching yet another geographical re-naming.
“Now that we have it under U.S.A. control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???” the president said in a Truth Social post that came shortly after touting his ballroom project. “Like America itself, it would be ‘hotter’ than ever before!”
“Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Trump’s potential renaming pitch does not exist in a vacuum.
Trump announced the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario to the Gulf of America and Lake America, respectively. The latter re-naming comes amid Trump’s trade war with America’s second-largest trading partner.
Major US tech firms have complied with Trump’s re-naming decrees for US users of their maps apps.
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