PLAYING HARDBALL: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) is leaning into his lame duck status to stand up to his party on a couple of high-profile issues in his final weeks in the Senate.
Tillis took to the Senate floor Thursday to rail against the president’s voter ID legislation — which House Republicans are seeking to pass through a budget reconciliation package — saying he would stall legislative activity if House Republicans sent over another version of the bill.
“If I see a reconciliation bill come from the House with another failed attempt to confuse this election, I will use every device I have available to slow down the wheels of government until people cop a clue and do the math,” Tillis said, nearly shouting on the Senate floor.
Tillis said every version of the legislation is “fundamentally flawed and impossible to implement by this election,” which he warned could cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral process.
“Let’s stop the charade. Let’s stop the distraction,” he said. “Let’s get the government funded, let’s use reconciliation if we need to, but let’s not clog it up with another piece of policy airdropped by a member of this Senate or the White House that will undermine this bill, undermine what we need to get done before the election.”
Tillis also leveraged his spot on the Senate Judiciary Committee to compel acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who is seeking confirmation to remain in the post permanently, to meet with survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Blanche met with victims Thursday afternoon, hours after Tillis said that whether Blanche holds the meeting “is a very important part of getting to yes” on his nomination.
CBS News reported that after the meeting took place, Blanche told reporters he encouraged those he met with to come forward with any information that could help the FBI in its investigation.
But at least a couple victims said the meeting went poorly. Epstein accuser Annie Farmer said in a statement following the meeting that she feels "even more confident in urging senators to vote against his confirmation as the United States' Attorney General."
▪ The Hill: Tillis shouts at Russell Vought over ‘DOGE s---.’
▪ The Washington Post: 5 things we learned during Blanche’s confirmation hearing.
WHO’S NEXT: The candidates seeking to replace Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine took to the debate stage Thursday for the first time but struggled to stand out.
Eight out of the 12 declared candidates participated in the debate, split into two parts. The four candidates considered top contenders faced off in the first hour, while the remaining candidates participated in the second session.
The Hill’s Julia Mueller reports the candidates mostly avoided clashing with each other or even slamming Platner over his controversies as they seek to court his base.
Those on stage said in response to a question that they want to emulate Platner’s progressive ideals that energized many Democratic voters in the primary. But the debate itself marked a contrast from the energy that seemed to drive Platner’s candidacy.
Days after a federal immigration officer shot and killed a man in Maine, most Democrats on the debate stage called to abolish ICE as they blasted Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) for voting to fund the agency.
▪ NBC News: Candidates race to build early delegate advantage.
▪ The Hill: Election handicapper shifts House seat ratings.
LEAVITT RETURNS: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt took her place behind the podium Thursday for her first press briefing since returning from maternity leave.
Her return marked the end of the rotation of administrative officials who would brief the press in her absence. In the briefing, she urged media companies to air Trump’s primetime address on elections, addressed the conflict with Iran and said the White House is monitoring the cyclosporiasis outbreak.
NBC and ABC ultimately decided against airing the speech, a decision that Trump said should cost them their broadcast licenses.
▪ The Hill: Leavitt previews Trump speech.
INSIDE SCROLLER: A teleprompter operator for the president who has been accused of placing bets on Trump’s speeches has been placed on administrative leave.
ABC News first reported that Gabriel Perez, who has served as a technical assistant for Trump since 2016, is in talks with regulators from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to settle allegations that he made more than $100,000 using inside knowledge about Trump’s speeches.
Kalshi, the platform that Perez allegedly used, said it flagged suspicious trades to authorities and is working with the CFTC.
Leavitt told reporters that Trump was made aware of the situation and a different teleprompter operator would be used for his address to the country Thursday.
“He believes it is deeply unfortunate and, frankly, a disgrace,” she said.
▪ CNBC: Who will be the watchdog for prediction markets?
▪ The Guardian: Kalshi to offer betting on drug trial results.
CASTING DOUBT: A local district attorney disputed an FBI assessment that the Mexican migrant killed by federal immigration officers in Houston had illegal drugs in his van when the incident happened.
The warrant application that the FBI filed said it had cause to believe there were drugs in the van that 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was driving before a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and killed him in Houston. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare (D) told CNN that his office doesn’t agree.
“Based on the information we have regarding who Mr. Salgado was, and just eyeballing the evidence as it was collected yesterday, we don’t believe that they are drugs,” Teare said Thursday.
He said he believes the FBI will test the substances found in the vehicle “either today or in the next few days.” But even if the substances test positive, Teare said it won’t impact his office’s investigation into whether the shooting was justified.
▪ NBC News: Family attorney says substance in van was salt.
▪ The Texas Tribune: Likely law enforcement violations during shooting.
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