Closing summary
House Democrats released a report that found Donald Trump’s businesses received $7.8m from foreign governments during his presidency. Jamie Raskin, the ranking member on the oversight committee that spearheaded the investigation, said the findings proved unconstitutional conduct by Trump, and also vowed to introduce legislation to stop future presidents from accepting such payments. Of particular note for Trump’s detractors is the fact that the biggest spender at his properties by far is China – the US’s communist rival that Trump and his fellow Republicans campaign on countering.
Here’s what else went on today:
Democratic congressmen criticized Trump after his businesses were found to have accepted payments from foreign governments during his presidency.
Joe Biden is set to accuse Trump of being an existential threat to American democracy in a speech on Friday in Pennsylvania. His campaign today released its first television ad of the year, which feature images of the January 6 attack and the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Trump released his own campaign ad that dings both Republican rival Nikki Haley and Biden, accusing them of jeopardizing national security.
Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio issued a rare veto by a Republican of a bill restricting youth transgender medical care and participation in sports, but the state legislature is now moving to override it.
Elise Stefanik, a top House Republican, withdrew her endorsement of a promising Republican candidate for Congress running in a swing district after he criticized Trump.
Updated
Speaking of flipping control of chambers, Jon Tester is out with a new campaign ad that criticizes the Biden administration, as the Democratic senator from deep-red Montana fights for a fourth term in office.
The ad tries to separate the senator from Joe Biden’s gun policies, and features a hunting educator talking about how Tester fought to continue federal funding for gun safety classes:
Tester’s contest is seen as crucial to deciding control of the Senate, which Democrats currently hold with a one-seat majority. The party is not expected to gain any seats this year, and in order to maintain control, will have to see Biden re-elected along with Tester, the Ohio senator Sherrod Brown, and Democratic lawmakers in the swing states Nevada and Pennsylvania.
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