‘Never been easier to steal secrets': U.S. allies reconsider intelligence sharing after Signal-gate
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Los Angeles Times
15 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Nebraska Republican is shouted down by hostile crowd at a town hall on Trump's tax cuts
LINCOLN, Neb. — Rep. Mike Flood has gotten an earful during a public meeting in Lincoln aimed at discussing his support for the massive tax breaks and spending cuts bill that passed Congress and was signed into law by President Trump. Flood, a second-term Republican who represents the GOP-leaning district that includes the University of Nebraska, on Monday braved the ire of a college town audience dominated by hundreds of people intent on expressing their displeasure chiefly with cuts to Medicaid benefits and tax reductions tilted toward the wealthy. He described the law as less than perfect but stood firm on its Medicaid and tax provisions, fueling a 90-minute barrage of jeers and chants in a scenario House Republican leaders have specifically advised GOP members to avoid. 'More than anything I truly believe this bill protects Medicaid for the future,' Flood said, setting off a shower of boos from the audience of roughly 700 in the University of Nebraska's Kimball Recital Hall. 'We protected Medicaid.' How voters receive the law, passed with no Democratic support in the narrowly GOP-controlled House and Senate, could go a long way to determine whether Republicans keep power in next year's midterm elections. Flood was resolute on his position but engaged with the audience at times. During his repeated discussions of Medicaid, he asked if people in the audience thought able-bodied Americans should be required to work. When many shouted their opposition, he replied, 'I don't think a majority of Nebraskans agree with that.' Dozens formed a line to the microphone to speak to Flood, most asking pointed questions about the law, but many others questioning moves by the Trump administration on immigration enforcement, education spending and layoffs within the federal bureaucracy. Some came prepared to confront him. 'You said in Seward you were not a fascist,' one man stood in line to say. 'Your complicity suggests otherwise.' Flood shot back, 'Fascists don't hold town halls with open question-and-answer sessions.' Asked if he would block the release of files related to the sex trafficking case involving the late Jeffrey Epstein, Flood said he supports their release as a co-sponsor of a nonbinding resolution calling for their publication. Flood also said he supports requiring a deposition from Epstein's convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, who argues she was wrongfully prosecuted. Flood's audience was gathering more than an hour before the doors opened. And as people lined up in the warm August air, he sauntered by, introducing himself, shaking hands and thanking people, including retired Lincoln teacher and school administrator Mary Ells, for attending. 'I believe Congressman Flood listened in a socially appropriate way,' Ells said after expressing concerns to Flood about her grandchildren's future. 'I do not believe he listens in a responsive, action-oriented way for citizens in Nebraska that do not agree with the national playbook written elsewhere but being implemented here.' Inside the hall, much of that decorum vanished. During Flood's discussion of his support of the law's tax provisions, which he argued would benefit the middle class, the audience exploded in a deafening chant of 'Tax the rich.' Other refrains included 'Vote him out!' and 'Free Palestine!' Hecklers often drowned out Flood, creating a rolling cacophony with only occasional pauses. Republican lawmakers' town halls have been few and far between since the bill passed early last month, in part because their leaders have advised them against it. Trump and others say the law will give the economy a jolt, but Democrats feel they've connected with criticism of many of its provisions, especially its cuts to Medicaid and tax cuts tilted toward the wealthy. Flood later downplayed the confrontation as 'spirited' but 'part of the process' during an impromptu press conference. 'It doesn't mean you can make everybody happy,' he said. 'But, you know, if you feel strongly about what you're doing in Congress, stand in the town square, tell them why you voted that way, listen to their questions, treat them with respect and invite them to continue to communicate.' Unlike dozens of other Republicans in competitive districts, Flood hardly has to worry, as Republicans brace for a challenge to their razor-thin majority in the House next year. Elected in 2022, Flood was reelected to the seat last year by winning 60% of the vote in a district that includes Lincoln in Democratic-leaning Lancaster County but also vast Republican-heavy rural tracts in 11 counties that ring the Omaha metropolitan area. Beaumont writes for the Associated Press.
Newsweek
17 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Republican Congressmen Make Moves to Block Trump-Backed Redistricting
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. GOP Representatives Kevin Kiley of California and Mike Lawler of New York have come out against efforts to draw new congressional maps before the 2026 midterm, which was started after President Donald Trump urged Texas to redistrict. Both Republicans represent swing districts and said they'll offer bills to curtail gerrymandering, framing their efforts as a bid to block Democratic-led states redistricting in response to the Republican effort. "Gavin Newsom is trying to subvert the will of voters and do lasting damage to democracy in California," Kiley said in a Monday statement, according to NBC News. "Fortunately, Congress has the ability to protect California voters using its authority under the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution. This will also stop a damaging redistricting war from breaking out across the country." This is a developing story and will be updated with additional information.
American Press
an hour ago
- American Press
25 states file legal brief defending Trump ban on youth sex change procedures
On Monday, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill joined 24 other Republican attorneys general in backing President Donald Trump's executive order aimed at halting federal funding for sex change procedures on minors, marking the state's latest push in a broader legal fight over transgender care. Three days earlier, Massachusetts filed a brief joined by 19 states challenging the same executive order. The states argue the order is unconstitutional, discriminatory, and violates the Spending Clause by tying federal health funds to ideological conditions. The Massachusetts-led brief contends that the order jeopardizes care for transgender youth, strips states of medical decision-making authority, and undermines long-standing Medicaid protections. The suit seeks a declaratory judgment and permanent injunction against implementation. The attorneys general defending the Trump order, led by Alabama's Steve Marshall, filed amicus briefs in the 4th and 9th U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, supporting Trump's order and urging the courts to overturn preliminary injunctions issued earlier this year in lawsuits out of Washington and Maryland. The Alabama-led briefs argue that continuing to fund such procedures violates both medical ethics and constitutional principles. 'Even though President Trump is in office, common sense and constitutional principles are under constant assault by radical leftist groups like the ACLU,' said Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who is leading the coalition. Marshall accused the ACLU of pushing courts to 'force taxpayers to fund sex-change procedures on children.' Murrill, who has been an outspoken critic of so-called 'gender-affirming' care for minors, did not release a separate public statement, but her participation in the brief underscores Louisiana's alignment with a growing number of Republican-led states that seek to limit access to such treatments. In recent years, Louisiana's Legislature has passed bans on puberty blockers and hormone treatments for minors. According to the coalition's legal filings, the brief draws on findings from Alabama's discovery in a now-dismissed challenge to its own ban on 'gender-affirming' care, where Marshall's office claimed to uncover a coordinated effort to remove age restrictions from national medical guidelines — a move he described as politically motivated rather than science-based. The Alabama-led team argues that federal funding for 'gender-affirming' care is based on 'discredited standards' and that such medical interventions for minors have irreversible consequences. 'The evidence says otherwise,' Marshall said. 'These harmful interventions have lasting consequences for vulnerable children.' The Alabama-led brief was filed in both the 9th Circuit and 4th Circuit federal courts of appeal. Louisiana was joined by attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming in addition to Louisiana. The filings are part of a broader conservative legal strategy seeking to bolster state laws banning so-called 'gender-affirming' care while reinforcing Trump-era federal policy that frames such care as medically unnecessary and ideologically driven.
