First Muslim woman and Afghan American elected to California legislature held lead throughout race over main opponent Melissa Hernandez
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19m agoVoting rights experts skeptical over Trump pledge of 1,000 election monitors
42m agoDemocrats rally behind progressive Aisha Wahab after her win in California special election
The Guardian’s Rachel Leingang and Sam Levine report that former officials and voting rights experts are expressing skepticism over a pledge by the Trump administration to dispatch 1,000 monitors across the country to scrutinize November’s US midterm elections.
“I’m skeptical they’ll actually get to 1,000. Even if they did, that wouldn’t be so different from the number in prior years; that’s a national number suitable for observing but not nearly enough to disrupt; and local election officials can, and will, toss anyone who makes trouble,” said Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who has worked on voting rights issues at the justice department and White House.
“As in the primaries, the most anyone should expect from this group is a handful of suits standing quietly in the back of the room.”
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Following a bitter intra-party battle, progressive Aisha Wahab has been elected to Congress in a special election to fill the seat formerly held by Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April after facing sexual misconduct allegations (he has denied the allegations).
Though Wahab, the first Muslim woman and Afghan American elected to the California legislature, held a major lead throughout the race over over her main opponent, Melissa Hernandez, Hernandez’s campaign received a significant boost as Super Pacs connected to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) poured money into the race.
Some congressional Democrats were quick to congratulate their new colleague.
“House Democrats look forward to welcoming you to the 119th Congress as we fight for an Affordable America,” Hakeem Jeffries, House minority leader, posted on X.
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal posted that she couldn’t wait to work with Wahab on Medicare and “to fight back against ICE’s cruelty, and to end forever wars”.
“Her grassroots, people-powered campaign fought millions from Aipac and dark money groups afraid of her courage and leadership. That’s exactly why my Medicare For All Pac invested $225,000 to help her cross the finish line. She is an amazing advocate for kids, working people, and for the glorious diversity that is our country. She can’t be bought and she’ll fight back even when it’s tough,” Jayapal said.
Noticeably missing in the aftermath of Wahab’s victory is congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, chair of California’s Democratic delegation, who released a video ahead of the election on Tuesday accusing Wahab of acting in her own self-interest when she opposed the Democratic House delegation’s plan to elect a caretaker to the vacant seat.
Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, who turned on the president in 2019, when he compared him to a mobster during congressional testimony, executed another 180-degree turn, showering the president with praise during a friendly conversation between the two men on Cohen’s New York City radio show.
The White House faced fresh questions over whether Donald Trump’s closest aide, Natalie Harp, had access to US government secrets without security clearance.
At a Rose Garden event to promote Melania Trump’s advocacy for foster children, the first lady opened with a joked about her lack of recent public appearances, as her husband looked on with something less than rapt attention.
One week after Trump ordered his navy secretary to redesign a new aircraft carrier, the USS Doris Miller - to scrap the modern electromagnetic system used to launch fighter jets, and install old-fashioned steam-powered catapults instead - CNN reports that the navy is considering another change to the same ship: removing the name of Miller, a Black sailor known for his heroism during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, and naming it instead the USS Donald Trump.
The non-partisan Cook Political Report updated its midterm election forecast to rate the US Senate races in both Texas and Iowa, which had leaned in favor of Republicans, as toss ups that could break for Democrats.
