Democratic divisions have deepened in Michigan just days before the US congressional elections. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate, is facing criticism from Haley Stevens, who narrowly lost the party’s August primary to him.
Stevens appeared on Sunday at a Detroit church alongside Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers. She had previously been excluded from a joint event with El-Sayed and has criticised his comments on Israel. Her fiancé said he would vote for Rogers, arguing that El-Sayed had not done enough to address concerns within the Jewish community.
Stevens also urged El-Sayed to condemn campaign advertising by an independent left-wing group that linked high food prices to US support for Israel. El-Sayed said the advertisement was not produced by his campaign and that he did not agree with its content.
Elsewhere, a US federal judge in Miami dismissed President Donald Trump’s lawsuit seeking ten billion dollars from The Wall Street Journal and businessman Rupert Murdoch over a report about Trump’s connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The judge found that Trump had not shown the newspaper or Murdoch had acted with malicious intent.
Washington, D.C., and Virginia have filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the construction of a proposed large triumphal arch in the US capital. According to court documents, they argue that the project has not yet been approved by Congress.
The US Justice Department is also asking an Alaska court to preserve certain ballots separately following a contested Senate election. The request concerns votes for Dan J. Sullivan, whom Republicans regard as a Democratic front. The department says separate storage would allow an investigation, if necessary, into whether voters were confused by two candidates sharing the same name.
Trump has cancelled planned personal campaign appearances in Iowa and Kansas and was instead expected to campaign by telephone for Republican candidates. The Republican National Committee said the telephone events could reach voters across nearly 20 states. Republicans risk losing control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives in Tuesday’s elections, with close races expected in Iowa and Kansas.
Trump had previously said he would hold more than 30 campaign rallies before the elections and had completed 25 by Thursday. After appearing hoarse at an event in Mississippi, he rejected suggestions that health concerns had caused the cancellations, saying he felt great.
Media reports also said Trump had met with Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper to discuss the war in Iran and military options. The Wall Street Journal and Axios, citing US officials, reported that the briefing focused in part on the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas, as well as developments around the Strait of Hormuz. General Staff chief Dan Caine, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and other cabinet members reportedly attended the meeting.
The administration is additionally facing legal and political disputes over election procedures and pressure on states before the midterms. One court challenge concerns an alleged attempt to restrict state authority over elections, which opponents described as unprecedented in US history. States have primary responsibility for conducting elections in the United States.
Trump has also described imports of robots and industrial machinery as a security risk. The Federal Communications Commission had already barred the import of certain new Chinese robots and inverters, while the Commerce Department said the United States relies on imports for most types of robotics and industrial machinery.
Sources: Handelsblatt.