Good Thursday evening. In this edition: Trump to deliver primetime election speech as Democrats accuse him of sowing distrust.
Plus, reconciliation 3.0, teleprompter bets, Labor secretary and floor trouble.
The President's Speech
President Trump is set to deliver a primetime address tonight focused election integrity, as Democrats accuse him of trying to undermine confidence in the November midterms.
"What the president will be speaking about tonight will show you that perhaps that is not the case, and we need to make some adjustments moving forward."
Ms. Leavitt said the president will present "findings" that will show U.S. elections are not as secure as many Americans believe, as she reiterated his call to pass the SAVE America Act — a GOP elections bill that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, photo ID to cast a ballot and significantly restrict mail-in voting.
"I think that everyone should tune in tonight, including the people in this room, and you should report on the president's speech and the findings that he is going to reveal in the speech with a little bit of honesty and a little bit of integrity because … it will shock you if you have an honest eye listening to the president tonight," she said.
Democratic leaders dismissed the speech as a rehash of the president's debunked claims about the 2020 election and said it would serve as a pretext to change election laws ahead of the November midterms.
"Trump's primetime speech tonight isn't simply about relitigating his overwhelming defeat in the 2020 election," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said. "It's about undermining the 2026 election before a single vote has been cast."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) accused Republicans of trying to "steal" the midterms and said Democrats would mount "the largest voter-protection effort in the history of the country."
"Something's really wrong with this guy. I think he actually needs to be checked out. Why does he continue to focus on a conspiracy theory related to a 2020 presidential election that every rational person in the United States of America knows he lost?" he said.
"We're committed to making sure there's a free and fair election," he added. "Donald Trump and Republicans know they cannot win this election fairly, and we're not going to let them steal it."
President Trump has long fixated on claims of voter fraud and frequently casts elections won by the opposing party as fraudulent.
He has also repeatedly pressured the Senate to approve the SAVE Act, but the measure lacks the votes to overcome a Democratic filibuster. Republicans also lack the support needed to change the chamber's rules and pass it on a party-line vote.
To that point, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) delivered a floor speech this afternoon railing against efforts to enact the SAVE Act before the election, arguing it would be impossible to implement in time and would only undermine confidence in American elections.
"If I see a reconciliation bill come from the House with another failed attempt to confuse this election, I will use every device I have available to slow down the wheels of government until people cop a clue and do the math," he said, calling the measure "fundamentally flawed."
It's unclear how many networks will air the president's remarks live amid concerns that he could make unsubstantiated allegations of election rigging.
ABC and NBC are not planning to preempt their regularly scheduled programming, while Fox News, CBS, CNN and MS NOW did not respond to inquiries from the New York Times.
Also catch C-SPAN's preview program of the address at 8pm ET and the president's address at 9pm ET on C-SPAN.
In other news…
The House Budget Committeevoted20–14, along party lines, to advance a framework for Republicans' third reconciliation bill this Congress. The $95 billion budget resolution directs committees to draft a filibuster-proof package providing up to $73 billion for defense, $12 billion for farm assistance and $10 billion for election security, including grants to states to encourage voter ID laws. The resolution does not require the spending to be offset, a key concern for fiscal conservatives whose votes will likely determine whether the measure passes on the House floor. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) said he's not "one that wants to swallow lack of offsets," while Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) predicted the proposal would be "DOA" in the House. Republican senators have also reacted coolly to the plan.
Gabriel Perez, President Trump's longtime teleprompter operator, has been placed on administrative leave amid a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) investigation into whether he used insider information to place bets tied to the president's speeches. "He believes it's deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said of the president. Kalshi, the prediction market platform, flagged Mr. Perez's trades as suspicious, froze the funds in his account and referred the matter to the CFTC. Ms. Leavitt said the administration was unaware of the bets and noted that White House employees are subject to strict ethics rules. "There are very strict ethical requirements required by all staffers and officials here at the White House," she said. "And if they are violated, people will pay consequences for that, as you're seeing with this case."
Keith Sonderlinghighlighted his experience in labor law across the private and public sectors as he testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on his nomination to become the nation's next Labor secretary. "American workers are the best in the world, and they deserve a Labor Department that is effective, accountable and responsive to their needs," he told senators. Mr. Sonderling, who has served as acting Labor secretary since April following Lori Chavez-DeRemer's departure, pointed to his experience in private practice, government, academia and senior leadership at the Labor Department. "These experiences have prepared me to lead this department with a deep understanding of its mission, its people, and mostly important, the Americans we serve," he said.
House Republicanspulled a military benefits package from the floor after four Republicans took the unusual step of voting with Democrats on a procedural motion that would have sent the bill back to committee. The legislation would have expanded compensation for veterans by limiting some future disability claims. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) held the procedural vote open in an attempt to flip the holdouts but persuaded only one, Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN), to change her vote. "I'm not going to cut veteran's benefits," Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), one of the holdouts, said. Republicans ultimately defeated the Democratic motion but then canceled the planned vote on the VA bill.
For your radar…
President Trump addresses the nation Thursday night on election integrity. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN at 9pm ET.
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