Élő frissítések: Putyin és Trump megbízott találkoznak; A Kék Állami Demokraták mérlegelnek az új kongresszusi térképekhez vezető utakra

5 months ago

Josh Shapiro is getting presidential buzz, but a battleground re-election campaign beckons first

Doug Mastriano is teasing another bid for governor in Pennsylvania. After his double-digit defeat last time, Democrats there are plotting to run against him regardless of whether he gets into the race.

The will-he-won’t-he intrigue around Mastriano, who lost to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in the 2022 contest by 15 points, has intensified recently. Last week, he published a refreshed version of his Doug4Gov.com campaign website and hit back on a Politico report detailing concerns Trump’s political team felt about him entering the contest.

And in an interview with conservative commentator John Fredericks, he implored state party leaders not to put a thumb on the scale for state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is widely expected to launch her own gubernatorial campaign. Mastriano has also promoted polling that shows he would enter a race up big on Garrity.

Read the full story here.

Gov. Abbot asks Texas Supreme Court to fire Democratic leader

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has asked the Texas Supreme Court to remove the state’s House Democratic Leader Gene Wu from of office. It comes as Trump is hinting the FBI may get involved in the effort to return them to their state capitol after they fled the state in an effort to stall the push to create five more republican districts in Texas. NBC’s Ryan Chandler reports for TODAY.

Trump administration considering releasing transcript of DOJ’s interview with Ghislaine Maxwell

Peter Alexander and Raquel Coronell Uribe

The Trump administration is considering publicly releasing the transcript of a Justice Department official’s two-day interview with Ghislaine Maxwell last month, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News yesterday.

“We’re leaning toward transparency,” the source said.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirator and confidant, for nine hours of interviews over two days in July. Former prosecutors told NBC News last month that it was highly unusual for the Justice Department’s second-in-command to personally interview a witness.

Read the full story here.

Democrats draw up plans to retaliate if Republicans gerrymander Texas — but they face legal hurdles

Sahil Kapur and Adam Edelman

Democrats in America’s two biggest blue states are hatching plans to respond in kind to a mid-decade move by Texas to draw a friendlier House map for Republicans.

Retaliation threats have come from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who lead states where Democrats control large legislative majorities. Two can play at this game, they say, vowing to similarly eliminate GOP-held seats in their states.

But that’s easier said than done.

Read the full story here.