Democrats will stop Donald Trump from trying to steal this year’s midterm elections, Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the US House of Representatives said on Sunday.
Jeffries’ comments come amid widespread concern after Trump said Republicans should “take over the voting”. The US constitution gives states the power to set election rules and says Congress can pass laws to set requirements for federal elections. The constitution gives the president no authority over how elections are run.
“What Donald Trump wants to do is try and nationalize the election – translation: steal it. And we’re not going to let it happen,” Jeffries said during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union. He added that Democrats so far had successfully blocked Trump’s efforts to federalize the national guard countered a nationwide push by Republicans to redraw congressional district boundaries to their advantage.
“This is going to be a free and fair election,” Jeffries said. It “is going to be conducted like every other election where states and localities have the ability to administer the laws”.
Top House Democrat says president’s suggestion for Republicans to ‘take over’ elections really means ‘steal it’
The Trump administration for months has been sowing doubt about the integrity of this year’s midterm elections by filing lawsuits against states suggesting they are improperly maintaining their voter rolls. The FBI also undertook an unprecedented raid of the election office in Fulton county, Georgia, last month, seizing ballots and other voter information related to the 2020 election. Allegations of fraud have been debunked repeatedly in Fulton county, yet Trump has continued to repeat false claims about the county.
Later in his interview on CNN, Jeffries condemned Trump’s refusal to apologize for a racist post on his Truth Social account depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. The White House deleted the post on Friday amid widespread outcry and said a staffer was responsible for posting it.
Trump calls Hunter Hess ‘a real loser’ for skier’s ambivalence about representing US
Donald Trump responded to Hunter Hess on Truth Social on Sunday, calling the Olympian a “real loser” and criticizing comments the US freestyle skier made in a press conference days earlier.
From New York to New Mexico: new Epstein files shed light on his sprawling ranch outside Santa Fe
For years, Jeffrey Epstein took respite at a sprawling ranch in the desert scrub outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. Epstein’s nearly 10,000-acre (4,000-hectare) property – known as Zorro ranch – was dotted with cholla cactus and Angus cattle, and came to include a 26,700 sq ft mansion, as well as a private runway and hangar.
For years, Epstein abused teenage girls and young women on this ranch with impunity, according to testimony from several women. In court proceedings, survivors detailed horror after horror they say unfolded on this isolated expanse of land.
What else happened today:
Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, has quit his role as the UK prime minister’s closest aide amid anger over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.
It snowed two weeks ago in New York. Since then, the temperature has barely risen above freezing – a temperature science naturally dictates is necessary to melt snow and ice. But science isn’t enough for some US political critics, however, who have instead blamed Zohran Mamdani, New York’s new socialist mayor, for the snow not having melted and still clogging up some of the city’s streets.
As climate disasters drive up the price of home insurance, three US states are considering empowering their state prosecutors to sue major polluters for their role in those rising costs.
Catching up? Here’s what happened Saturday 7 February.
