Here's a recap of the day
That is it for today’s politics blog. Here’s a rundown of what’s happened so far:
The Tennessee Senate passed the new congressional maps that gut the state’s lone Democratic, majority-Black district.
Tennessee Democrats have criticized the state’s new congressional map, which eliminates the state’s only Democratic and majority-Black district. US representative Steve Cohen called the map a “racial gerrymander” and placed blame on Donald Trump.
Donald Trump spoke on US strikes launched against Iran, saying that the US “knocked the hell out of them” during remarks to pool reporters while visiting the Reflecting Pool near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. On a potential deal with Iran, Trump said that it “might not happen, but it could happen any day. I believe they want the deal more than I do.”
The NAACP chapter in Tennessee filed an emergency petition in court to block the state’s new congressional map, alleging the latest redrawing is illegal.
Republican state senator Brent Taylor announced that he would run for Congress in the re-drawn ninth district, launching a challenge against the incumbent Democrat, Steve Cohen, who has represented the district since 2007.
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Former US vice president Kamala Harris blasted Donald Trump over the “irresponsible” ongoing US-Israel war with Iran at a Thursday event alongside Nevada Democratic leaders.
“The American people are suffering and for what?” she asked, referencing a spike in gas prices nationwide.
Harris also voiced concern that the Trump administration has frayed America’s relationships with foreign allies.
“We have become unreliable as a friend,” she said. “We have also therefore lost our influence… whatever influence that we may have had to talk about issues such as human rights, democracy.”
“He talked about obliterating, and then he said ‘Oh he didn’t,” Harris continued, appearing to allude to Trump threatening Iran’s power plants, if the Strait of Hormuz, a major waterway, was not re-opened.
“It’s all just – bullshit,” Harris said.
The audience erupted into cheers.
