What to know today
- Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, deleted some of his social media posts about Saturday's deadly shooting of a Minnesota lawmaker following blowback from some of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate.
- President Donald Trump said he had no plans to call Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in the wake of the shootings even though presidents have historically called politicians on both sides of the aisle to lend their support in the aftermaths of violent tragedies.
- Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., called Trump a "tyrant" in remarks on the Senate floor this afternoon in which he recounted his forcible removal from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference in Los Angeles last week.
- New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running for mayor, was arrested after an incident at an immigration court in the city. He was released this afternoon and denied the Department of Homeland Security's allegations that he assaulted federal law enforcement agents.
Judge finds Florida attorney general in contempt for defying court order in major immigration case
A federal judge found Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in civil contempt today after he snubbed a court order in a high-profile immigration case and then boasted about it in interviews.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams wrote that Uthmeier offered “a series of implausible interpretations of the language he used” to argue he was complying with the order and that those interpretations were not believable.
“Litigants cannot change the plain meaning of words as it suits them, especially when conveying a court’s clear and unambiguous order,” Williams wrote, ordering Uthmeier to file biweekly reports showing he’s complying with her order or risk further court actions.
Democratic divisions emerge as Congress tackles crypto regulation
Reporting from Washington
Democrats are wrestling with their strategy on cryptocurrency, a once-underground industry that has become a powerful player on Capitol Hill — and closely associated with Trump.
Cryptocurrency groups scored a major win in Washington today, with the Senate passing a landmark bill to regulate some digital assets. It was a bipartisan vote, with 18 Democrats joining nearly every Republican to support the bill after an intense lobbying and advocacy effort.
But the battle over the legislation has exposed deep Democratic divisions over how to handle the broader issue of crypto in a GOP-controlled Washington. While some Democrats have pushed for the party to be leading the charge on developing policy for the quickly emerging industry, others have been wary of embracing a tool that they say has created conflicts of interest for Trump. Newly released financial disclosure forms show Trump made one of his largest fortunes last year, $57.3 million, on his family’s cryptocurrency company, World Liberty Financial.
Trump set to grant another extension to avoid TikTok disruption
Trump will extend a deadline for the owner of social media platform TikTok to find a U.S. buyer so it can continue to operate in the country, the White House said today.
Trump plans to sign an executive order this week that will keep the platform, which has about 170 million U.S. users, running despite a bipartisan law banning it over national security concerns.
The law requires the app’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell it to a non-Chinese buyer or face a nationwide prohibition. In April, Trump extended an earlier deadline by 75 days to avoid disruption for the app.
“As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement today.
Senate passes landmark crypto regulation bill on a bipartisan vote, sending it to the House
Reporting from Washington
After weeks of stops and starts, Senate Republicans teamed up with a bloc of Democrats today to pass a landmark cryptocurrency bill that would establish the first regulatory framework for issuers of stablecoins.
The vote on the GENIUS Act was 68-30. It was the first time that the Senate has passed major legislation to regulate digital assets.
“With this bill, the United States is one step closer to becoming the global leader in crypto,” Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., the author of the GENIUS Act, said in a floor speech. “This bill will cement U.S. dollar dominance, it will protect customers, it will drive demand for U.S. treasuries.”
“Today will be remembered as an inflection point for innovation in the United States of America,” Hagerty said.
Kristi Noem taken to hospital after allergic reaction, DHS says
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was taken to a hospital today after she suffered an allergic reaction, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said.
“Secretary Noem had an allergic reaction today. She was transported to the hospital out of an abundance of caution. She is alert and recovering,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
Noem was at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington when she had the allergic reaction, a DHS official told NBC News.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander spoke to reporters after he was released hours after he was arrested at a federal courthouse. The Department of Homeland Security said Lander, a mayoral candidate, had been arrested and accused of "assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer."
A ‘wake-up call’: State lawmakers are fearful after Minnesota shootings expose lack of security
State lawmakers across the country say they are deeply concerned about the lack of security they receive in the wake of the targeted shooting of two Minnesota legislators, even as local officials attempt to ramp up some safety measures.
Outside of their state capitol complexes, state legislators have little to no security protection. No state offers proactive security to members of its legislature, though law enforcement will typically step in if there are credible threats.
And despite the renewed attention to the issue, lawmakers fear little will ultimately be done that can make a meaningful difference, given that in many states, such positions are effectively part-time jobs with small budgets.
Democratic Minnesota state Rep. Emma Greenman, who was a close colleague of this weekend’s shooting victims, said the attack in her state would almost certainly have to serve as a “wake-up call” around the lack of safety measures for state lawmakers, but that solutions remained sparse.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released hours after his arrest at an immigration court
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was released today hours after he was arrested in connection with an episode at a federal courthouse in the city, where he and his wife said they were serving as advocates for defendants in immigration court.
The Department of Homeland Security said Lander, a mayoral candidate, had been arrested and accused of “assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer.” In a brief statement on social media, DHS said: “It is wrong that politicians seeking higher office undermine law enforcement safety to get a viral moment. No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences.”
Lander denied assaulting law enforcement. “I will not characterize the events, but I certainly did not assault an officer,” he told reporters.
Lander is running in next week’s Democratic primary for mayor of New York.
Judges appear skeptical of California's arguments in National Guard case
A panel of three federal appeals court judges seemed highly skeptical of California's stance that Trump did not have the authority to federalize thousands of members of the state's National Guard against Gov. Gavin Newsom's wishes.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges — two Trump appointees and one Biden appointee — grilled an attorney for the state who was arguing that Trump should have explored "more measured alternatives" before he took control of some of the state's troops.
Where "is the president, with significant deference at least, required to have judicial review of whether he considered lesser measures? Where does that spring from?" asked one of the Trump appointees, Judge Mark Bennett.
The state lawyer, Samuel Harbourt, sidestepped the question.
California is asking the appeals court to allow a lower court's order returning control of the troops to the governor to take effect while the appeal proceeds.
The two Trump-appointed judges also repeatedly questioned the Justice Department's position that the courts have no authority to even review Trump's order. The Justice Department attorney, Brett Shumate, maintained that they should "defer to the president's judgment" and that "there's no role for the court to play."
Lawmakers send bipartisan letter asking Pam Bondi for more resources to investigate threats against members of Congress
The top Republican and Democrat on the House Administration Committee sent a letter today to Attorney General Pam Bondi asking the Justice Department to provide more resources to help U.S. Capitol Police investigate and prosecute threats against members of Congress.
Committee Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wis., and Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., asked Bondi to assign an assistant U.S. attorney or special assistant U.S. attorney in all 94 federal districts to investigate and prosecute such threats.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department confirmed receipt of the letter but declined to comment further.
“We are concerned that the current lack of prosecutorial capacity will allow threat behavior to persist unabated because the risk of consequential action is small, in part due to the perceived anonymity of modern communications. We believe that additional resources and increased attention to this issue will help deter future threats,” Steil and Morelle wrote.
Other members of Congress have requested more funding for Capitol Police to investigate threats and expressed concern over their safety since the Minnesota shootings.
Political violence thrusts 2028 candidates onto the national stage
The pace of political violence has so quickly accelerated in the United States that the country is poised to field a widening group of 2028 contenders who have experienced it in some form.
At least a half-dozen public officials who may run for president in 2028 have either personally faced political violence, lost friends in such plots or had to manage political unrest in their states.
Foisted onto the national stage by such incidents, those politicians have given the public a glimpse of how they conduct themselves in crises, including their ability to combat false messaging that often proliferates over social media and whether they have the capability to lead without being dragged into petty political skirmishes.
The assassination over the weekend of Melissa Hortman, the Democratic leader of the Minnesota state House, and her husband was the latest episode of violence that captured national attention. Another Democratic state legislator and his wife were also shot multiple times and are recovering.
The Trump administration rolled back a brief reprieve in arresting immigrants working in hotels, restaurants and agricultural businesses after initially having said there would be some allowances for “good, longtime workers.” NBC News’ Zinhle Essamuah spoke with business owners who say the wave of arrests has taken an emotional toll.
Sen. Mike Lee deletes social media posts about the Minnesota shooting after facing criticism
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, removed posts on his personal X account about Saturday’s fatal attack on a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband after he faced fierce backlash from Democrats about the posts.
Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., who was friends with the slain lawmaker, told reporters yesterday that she confronted Lee about his post. “I needed him to hear from me directly what impact I think his cruel statement had on me, his colleague,” she said.
Lee had written in one post about the assassination of Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, on Saturday that “this is what happens When Marxists don’t get their way.” In another, he posted a photo of the suspect and captioned it “Nightmare on Waltz Street,” an apparent reference to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.
Several Democrats had called on Lee to take down the posts, which he’d posted on Saturday and Sunday. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said at a news conference today that he asked Lee to remove them and that “he wouldn’t listen to me.”
Ketanji Brown Jackson’s $2 million book payment among Supreme Court’s new financial disclosures
Reporting from Washington
Supreme Court justices today issued their financial disclosure reports for 2024, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson revealing she made more than $2 million from the publisher of her bestselling memoir, “Lovely One.”
Jackson, who received the book advance from Penguin Random House, is one of several justices with side gigs as authors.
Justice Neil Gorsuch reported a $250,000 advance from HarperCollins, which published a book he co-wrote called “Over Ruled,” and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who has written several books, received a new $60,000 advance from Penguin Random House.
Sotomayor has earned close to $4 million in total from her books, according to the ethics watchdog Fix the Court. Jackson received a total of almost $3 million from her publisher for “Lovely One,” including a $900,000 payment in 2023.
Sen. Alex Padilla calls Trump a 'tyrant' as he recounts his forcible removal from DHS news conference
In remarks on the Senate floor this afternoon, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., recounted his forcible removal from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference last week in Los Angeles about immigration raids.
Padilla called Trump a "tyrant" over his efforts to deploy the National Guard and federal law enforcement personnel to Los Angeles, accusing him of doing everything to "test the boundaries of his power" and surrounding himself with "yes men."
Padilla said that he was in Los Angeles to conduct congressional oversight of the administration's immigration operations and that he was in the same building as Noem to receive a briefing. He said he heard that she was holding a news conference down the hall and decided to enter the room to listen in.
Padilla said that after Noem said federal law enforcement and military personnel were in Los Angeles to liberate it from the governor and the mayor, he had to respond to such an "un-American mission statement."
"That is not a mission focused on public safety," he said. "That simply is not the mission of federal law enforcement and the U.S. military."
In emotional remarks, Padilla described being aggressively escorted out of the news conference. "I was forced to the ground, first on my knees and then flat on my chest, and I was handcuffed and marched down a hallway, repeatedly asking, 'Why am I being detained?'" he said. "Not once did they tell me why."
Padilla said he wondered what would happen if there were no cameras around in such situations. He accused Trump of wanting such a "spectacle" to justify his "power grabs."
When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement: “Alex ‘Pay Attention to Me’ Padilla is bouncing from one desperate ploy for attention to the next. If storming a press conference, lunging toward Secretary Noem, and ignoring police guidance wasn’t enough, now he’s spewing the same tired Democrat talking points on the Senate floor."
"Whether or not Democrats like it, the American people support President Trump’s agenda to deport illegal aliens. And that won’t change, no matter how many temper tantrums Padilla throws,” Jackson added.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Padilla’s remarks.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander arrested at an immigration court
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander has been arrested on charges of “assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer,” the Department of Homeland Security said today — the latest in a series of high-profile clashes between immigration officials and Democratic politicians.
The charges stem from an episode at a federal courthouse in the city, where Lander and his wife were serving as advocates for defendants in immigration court, they said.
Companies ask Supreme Court to quickly hear Trump tariffs challenge
Two educational toy companies asked the Supreme Court to quickly take up their challenge to Trump's tariffs.
The companies, Learning Resources and hand2mind, filed a joint appeal today arguing that Trump had no power to impose the tariffs on goods from China under a law called the International Economic Powers Act. They asked the court to leapfrog a federal appeals court, which has yet to rule on the case.
Trump yanks brief reprieve for immigrants he had said are ‘good, longtime workers’
The Trump administration has reopened arrests of immigrant workers at hotels, restaurants and agricultural businesses, backtracking on the brief reprieve they got after Trump had said they were necessary, good, longtime workers whose jobs were almost “impossible” to replace.
Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that “there will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE’s efforts.”
NYC mayoral hopeful Lander's campaign says he was 'detained by ICE' after incident at immigration court
ICE officers detained New York City Comptroller Brad Lander after an incident at an immigration court in the city, according to his campaign.
Kat Capossela, Lander's press secretary, said in an email that "Brad was taken by masked agents and detained by ICE" after "escorting a defendant out of immigration court."
It was unclear whether Lander was still in custody.
Sen. Alex Padilla to speak about Trump's response to L.A. protests after being removed from news conference last week
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said that he would speak on the Senate floor shortly about his experience being detained by law enforcement last week.
"I’m on my way to the Senate floor to talk about the militarization of Los Angeles — my hometown — and my experience of being thrown to the ground and handcuffed when attempting to get answers from the administration," he posted on X.
Democrats expressed outrage last week when Padilla was forcibly removed from a room where Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was speaking to reporters.
Senators express concerns about safety and rhetoric after security briefing on Minnesota shootings
After emerging today from a closed-door briefing about the Minnesota shootings, several senators highlighted threats to public officials in general, calling for increased security and the tamping down of political rhetoric.
"Some of the rhetoric we see from the White House is adding fuel to the fire," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told reporters on Capitol Hill. "We need to look beyond our own personal security to the need for greater protection against extremist political violence in this country, it is a scourge and a virus that is metastasizing."
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said, "The degree to which colleagues are getting targeted in all kinds of ways is very disturbing."
"Colleagues mentioned this happens to me, this is happening me, here’s something to happen the last couple of days," Kaine said about other lawmakers sharing similar experiences.
Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., said she didn't want to comment on the briefing because it's "important for members’ safety that we don’t talk a lot about what is being done to keep us safe."
Schumer calls for increased funding to U.S. Capitol Police following Minnesota shootings
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called today for an increase in funding for U.S. Capitol Police in the wake of the shootings of two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses Saturday.
"The Capitol Police have been silent heroes behind the scenes, keeping members safe," Schumer told reporters at an unrelated press event.
Schumer said there has been a "dramatic increase in threats" to public officials, saying that they are attacks not just on individuals, but also on democracy that are meant to "intimidate people not to do their jobs, not to run for office."
"We must take immediate steps to ensure the safety of members," he said.
Schumer also called on Trump to call on Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, to take down several posts he shared on X mocking the shootings in Minnesota.
"He should demand that Mike Lee take down his disgusting tweet on X," Schumer said. "I asked him to do it yesterday. Well, he wouldn't listen to me, but he'll listen to President Trump."
Senators call on DNC to bar super PACs from primaries
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and seven Democratic senators issued a letter today calling on the national Democratic Party to reject super PAC spending in the party's primaries.
"Before our party can claim to be in favor of campaign finance reform, we need to take action to stop billionaire-funded super PACs from controlling Democratic primaries," the senators wrote in the letter, which was addressed to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin. The letter was first reported by The Washington Post and obtained by NBC News.
The senators noted that outside groups "have defeated a number of excellent members in the House and Senate." While they did not name names, two House Democrats, New York's Jamaal Bowman and Missouri's Cori Bush, lost primaries last year after facing millions of dollars of attacks from groups tied to the pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
The signers included Sanders and Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Peter Welch of Vermont, Tina Smith of Minnesota, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.
How Minnesota shooting conspiracy theories took over social media feeds
In the hours after the weekend shooting spree targeting Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota, information was still just trickling out. Most Americans were beginning to learn about the assassination of one lawmaker and the attempted assassination of another Saturday morning.
With the information vacuum online, conspiracy theories were already beginning to flood in.
Former Sen. Bob Menendez reports to prison for 11-year sentence in gold bar bribery case
Former Sen. Bob Menendez turned himself in today at a federal prison in Pennsylvania to begin serving an 11-year sentence on bribery charges.
An attorney for Menendez, 71, has called the punishment a “life and death sentence” given his age, and the senator has tried unsuccessfully to get a pardon or commutation from then-President Joe Biden and Trump.
Here are the Virginia candidates in key downballot races
While the November matchup for the Virginia governor's race appears secure, there are numerous downballot races today.
The contest for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor has a wide array of candidates, including state Sens. Ghazala Hashmi and Aaron Rouse. Hashmi is a former professor who became the first Muslim woman elected to the Virginia state Senate in 2019, while Rouse is a onetime NFL player who served several years on the Virginia Beach City Council before flipping a Republican-held state Senate seat in a 2023 special election.
Former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, Prince William County School Board Chair Babur Lateef, former federal prosecutor Victor Salgado and union official Alex Bastani are also hoping to clinch the Democratic nomination.
Meanwhile, GOP incumbent Jason Miyares, who in 2021 became the first Latino person elected as the state's top prosecutor, is running unopposed in the primary as he seeks re-election.
On the Democratic side, Jay Jones and Shannon Taylor are each hoping to unseat Miyares in the fall. Jones is a former member of the House of Delegates and Taylor has served in the state attorney general's office for Henrico County for more than a decade after first being elected in 2011.
Bernie Sanders backs progressive Zohran Mamdani in NYC mayoral race
Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders is backing state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in his bid to become New York City's next mayor, a move that further consolidates progressives behind Mamdani's candidacy.
Like Sanders, Mamdani identifies as a Democratic socialist and has moved to mobilize the left around his candidacy. (Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke at a recent Mamdani rally and announced she'd rank him first on her ballot.)
His top opponent, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has pushed for a similar consolidation among more moderate candidates, recently winning the nod of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who pitched in $5 million to a pro-Cuomo super PAC.
Primary day is a week from today.
Trump says he won’t call Gov. Tim Walz after Minnesota shootings: 'He's a mess'
Days after a Minnesota state lawmaker was killed and another injured in a “politically motivated assassination,” Trump said today that he would not call the state’s governor, eschewing a traditional presidential response to tragedies.
“Why would I call him? I could call and say, ‘Hi, how you doing?’ The guy doesn’t have a clue,” Trump said, referring to Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., who was the vice presidential contender facing off against Trump’s ticket in 2024. “He’s a mess. So I could be nice and call, but why waste time?”
Virginia’s trailblazing candidates for governor prepare to battle over the economy, abortion and Trump
Today is primary day in Virginia — but the general election matchup for the commonwealth’s highest office is already set.
Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former U.S. representative, and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, the state’s lieutenant governor, have known for months that they would face off against each other in the race to succeed Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, since they were the only major-party candidates to qualify for the ballot.
Trump says he’s looking at 'a real end' to Israel-Iran conflict
Trump arrived back in Washington just before 5 a.m. ET after departing early from the Group of Seven summit in Canada to focus on the Israel-Iran conflict.
Speaking to reporters during the flight from Calgary, Alberta, Trump again disputed the assertion by French President Emmanuel Macron that he had left the G7 summit to work on a truce between the warring nations.
“We’re looking at better than a ceasefire,” said Trump, who has asked that the National Security Council be ready in the Situation Room, a U.S. official told NBC News.
Asked what would be better than a ceasefire, Trump said, “A real end. Not a ceasefire, an end.”
He said there was no threat behind his earlier call for Tehran’s 10 million people to evacuate the Iranian capital, and that “I just want people to be safe.”
But Iran “just can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, repeating earlier comments that it might have avoided the Israeli attack if it had agreed on a deal to limit its nuclear ambitions.
Shortly after landing, Trump made similar comments in a post on Truth Social, saying he had not reached out to Iran for peace talks “in any way, shape, or form.”
“If they want to talk, they know how to reach me,” he said. “They should have taken the deal that was on the table — Would have saved a lot of lives!!!”
Trump to leave G7 summit early to focus on conflict in Middle East, White House says
Trump is cutting short his attendance at the Group of Seven summit in Canada, the White House said last night, citing the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“Much was accomplished, but because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X.
Repeat Democratic challenger launches run in key GOP-held Iowa House seat
Iowa Democrat Christina Bohannan announced today that she is running for the House again in 2026 after she lost a close race to GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks last year.
The 1st District race is expected to be very competitive. It was one of the closest in the country in 2024, when Bohannan lost to Miller-Meeks by less than half a percentage point, even as Trump carried the district in southeast Iowa by 8 points in the presidential race.
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter rates the race as a toss-up.
“From cutting Medicaid, to siding with DOGE’s devastating cuts to Social Security, to enabling unelected, unaccountable billionaires like Elon Musk — Miller-Meeks has forgotten about us. It’s time someone put Iowa first,” Bohannan, a former state legislator, said in a statement announcing her campaign.