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This section covers the people, institutions and decisions that shape government and public life. Expect coverage of national leadership, legislation, elections, courts and policy debates, along with the officials and agencies carrying them out.

Stories here track how power is used and challenged, from budgets and regulations to campaigns and appointments, offering context on what these developments mean for citizens and communities.

Politics· Verified

US midterm election results timeline depends on varied state counting rules

Everything you need to know about how winners are called, how states count ballots and Trump’s election denialism There’s no simple answer as to when US voters will know the results of the midterms. Elections are managed locally throughout the US, and it’s different in each state. Sometimes, if a race isn’t close, there’s a near-instantaneous sense of who won. In more contested races, it can take many hours, days or even weeks. Continue reading...

Politics· Developing

US midterm elections put control of Congress on the line for Trump

US voters will decide whether Republicans will retain control of Congress or whether Democrats will rise up to stymie Trump’s agenda Donald Trump will still be US president on the morning of 4 November. But he could be facing a very different political landscape, depending on the results of the US midterm elections held the previous day. As the name implies, midterm elections fall nearly halfway through a president’s term. They are often a telling referendum on the sitting president’s performance, something Trump is actively encouraging by telling voters “pretend I’m on the ballot”. In this case, voters will decide whether Trump’s Republican party can retain its grip on Congress. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives. Republicans are defending a narrow majority, with Democrats needing a net gain of four seats to take control. 35 seats in the Senate. Thirty-three seats are up in regular elections, along with two special elections in Florida and Ohio to fill the remainder of terms that were vacated early. Republicans currently hold 53 seats, against 47 held by Democrats and independents who caucus with them. Democrats need to gain four seats to secure a majority. 39 governorships. Voters will choose governors in 36 states and three US territories. Thousands of state legislative seats, as well as local offices, judicial contests and ballot measures on issues including taxes, abortion rights and voting rules. Continue reading...

Politics· Developing

California voter rolls targeted as federal prosecutors charge six green card holders

Latest arrests come after DoJ unsuccessfully fought to force state election officials to set aside about 20,000 ballots US midterms – live updates The US Department of Justice (DoJ) in California has charged six more people with alleged voter fraud crimes, an escalation of the Trump administration’s campaign against the state’s election processes on the eve of the midterms. Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles and a close ally of the president, announced on Monday that his office was prosecuting six lawful permanent residents accused of unlawfully registering to vote and casting fraudulent ballots. The DoJ filed similar charges against 28 people across California last month and arranged for a dramatic on-camera arrest of one 72-year-old defendant, editing the footage into a DoJ promotional video. Sam Levine contributed reporting Continue reading...

Politics· Verified

FBI officials cleared as judge throws out Hunter Biden laptop perjury case

The two FBI agents were charged with making false statements to Congress while testifying about the bureau’s role in investigating Biden’s laptop A federal judge dismissed criminal charges against two former FBI officials who were accused of lying about their involvement in the investigation into Hunter Biden, the son of former president Joe Biden, on Monday. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said prosecutors failed to show probable cause that the two former officials, Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, had knowingly made false statements. Continue reading...

Politics· Verified

Donald Trump rallies Republicans at Reflecting Pool ahead of US midterm elections

Donald Trump chose Washington’s Reflecting Pool — an iconic landmark where botched repairs came to symbolise the 80-year-old’s chaotic presidency — for a final speech on Monday to rally Republicans against a predicted tide of Democratic victories in midterm elections. Polls show Democrats poised to seize the House of Representatives and within reach of the Senate in Tuesday’s vote — a shift that would impose tight political constraints on the president. A White House official told AFP the speech would highlight “this administration’s achievements to make the country safer and wealthier” while contrasting “the Republicans’ commonsense America First agenda” with “the Democrats’ radical, America Last agenda”. The site is one of the US capital’s historic stages. Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, overlooking the pool. Trump said on Sunday he picked the site “just to show how beautiful it is”. But the roughly $15 million renovation left the pool’s lining peeling and its water green with algae. He pointed at vandalism, but federal prosecutors blamed faulty work. Under Trump, it has also become part of a sweeping drive to remake Washington, which has included tearing down part of the White House and threatening to demolish the city’s premier arts centre. Trump has predicted victory in the midterms for his Republicans, but he acknowledged the alternative in an interview released on Monday by the New York Post’s Pod Force One podcast. “I think we’re going to do great — but if we didn’t win, I veto everything,” he said. “I’ll be vetoing, vetoing. And then they’ll come along and we’ll probably make some deals along the way.” Winning just the House would give Democrats voting power over the federal budget and control of committees able to investigate alleged corruption under Trump, the Epstein files and other explosive issues. A Democratic Senate could also block Trump’s lifetime appointments to the courts, including the Supreme Court. ‘Ransack, rape and plunder’ Trump warned Republican lawmakers in January that losing the midterms would lead to his impeachment. The loss of total Republican control would push him toward lame-duck status, with high inflation at home and the war against Iran still weighing on his presidency. Democrats, meanwhile, prepared final rallies in battleground states, including in Texas with James Talarico and in Kansas with Adam Hamilton — two star Senate candidates seeking major upsets. Kansas has not elected a Democratic senator in nearly a century. But a decade into the Trump era, Democrats remain wary of predicting victory. Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock told CNN that the mood was “nauseously optimistic”. Republicans have run a scorched-earth campaign, painting Democrats as communists and branding Abdul El-Sayed, the Muslim Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan, a terrorist. Addressing a crowd in Iowa on Sunday, Trump said Democrats are “extreme and dangerous radicals” who will “steal your wealth” and let in migrants to “ransack, rape and plunder”. Democrats have faced late divisions of their own, with left-wing candidates at times clashing with the party establishment. On Sunday, Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens endorsed El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, in Michigan’s pivotal Senate race. Stevens lost a bruising primary to El-Sayed in August despite establishment backing. Senate in play While the House appears highly likely to turn Democratic, the battle for the Senate is far closer. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take control. Only a third of the 100 seats are being contested, and few of those races initially looked favorable to the party. To win, Democrats must flip seats in states that Trump carried by double digits two years ago. Forecaster Decision Desk HQ has Democrats winning the Senate 52-48 and the House by a comfortable 241-194. The final New York Times/Siena poll, released Sunday evening, showed Democrats leading in all seven of the most competitive Senate races, though five were within the margin of error. Tuesday is election day, but a record 54 million people have already cast ballots. The midterms have also drawn about $11bn in advertising, with large chunks coming from individual mega-donors. Elon Musk, the Trump ally who led the so-called DOGE drive to slash the federal government, has given nearly half a billion dollars to help elect Republicans.

Politics· Developing

New Hampshire Senate battle tightens as Pappas and Sununu clash over Trump

Republican John Sununu tries to distance himself from unpopular president in race against Chris Pappas that has gone from ‘toss-up to ‘lean Democrat’ Chris Pappas is stopping himself from getting too excited ahead of Tuesday’s midterm election. “I take nothing for granted,” said the four-term US representative and Democratic nominee for New Hampshire’s open Senate seat. “This is a very purple, competitive state. Elections are never in the bag here.” Continue reading...

Politics· Developing

US midterm campaign spending heads toward record 12 billion dollars

Major changes in US law and industry have shifted the sources of large contributions to political campaigns – and how much they spend The upcoming midterm elections will be the most expensive elections ever conducted in the US. And more of the money is “dark” than ever before, meaning it’s impossible to get a full picture of who is spending gargantuan sums to influence races that could provide a critical check on Donald Trump’s second term. The elections have also shown how money in politics is being reshaped, with the increasingly powerful role played by big donors from the tech industry as well as the growing concentration of spending among a few powerful individuals and corporations. Continue reading...

Politics· Developing

Barack Obama hits midterm campaign trail to rally Democrats against Trump

Former president has given series of blistering speeches to help candidates in key races – and deployment has proved a hit with party’s progressive wing That could have been awkward. Barack Obama, campaigning for Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, acknowledged that his fellow Democrat has criticised some aspects of the Obama presidency. “Yeah, Abdul didn’t agree with some things we wanted to do – that our administration was doing – when I was president,” he told a rally in Detroit. “You know who else doesn’t agree with everything I do? Michelle Obama.” The crowd erupted in laughter. “I’d say about five times a day, she says, ‘You knucklehead. Why you do that?’” Continue reading...

Politics· Developing

US midterm elections set to decide control of Congress and 36 governorships

Voters in this year's elections will choose all 435 members of the House of Representatives, a third of our Senators, and 36 races for governor. Correspondent David Pogue looks at what midterm election results typically represent, and why – with inflation a key topic on voters' minds, and a historically unpopular president – this year's midterms may upend expectations.

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