Trump administration live updates: Virginia Supreme Court blocks Democratic congressional district map – NBC News

In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation that would put in place new primary elections this year if courts let state Republicans make changes to their maps before the midterms.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris sharply criticized the Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling today to block a newly drawn congressional map voters approved last month.
“Last month in Virginia, the people made their voices heard at the ballot box and voted for new Congressional maps,” Harris wrote in a post on X. “Today, the Virginia Supreme Court ignored the will of the people and overturned those democratically chosen maps.”
The map would have given Democrats a chance to earn up to four new seats in the midterm elections.
“This ruling gives a boost to Donald Trump’s effort to rig the 2026 elections and the Republicans’ long game to attack voting rights,” Harris wrote. “We are rightfully outraged, but we will not give up. We must continue our fight to restore the power of the people.”
Virginia’s Supreme Court ruled that the state legislature had began its constitutional amendment process too late, invaliding the new map for November’s races.
The ruling comes as a slew of Republican-led state legislatures have brought forward new maps, especially after the Supreme Court’s ruling last week to overturn racial gerrymandering regulations established in the Voting Rights Act.
Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, in a lengthy thread on X, is denying allegations that he physically abused his ex-wife as reported in a recent Daily Mail article.
NBC News has not independently verified the allegations, which the Daily Mail cited as coming from three sources who provided details. Miller’s ex-wife is Emily Moreno, daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio.
In his posts on X, Miller, who has not been charged with any crimes, called the article “nothing but lies.” He included screenshots of text messages with his ex-wife, an audio recording of a conversation with her and doorbell camera footage which he said demonstrate amicable interactions during the time the alleged abuse took place.
Sen. Moreno’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Miller’s posts. NBC News also reached out to Emily Moreno’s attorney but did not immediately receive a response.
President Donald Trump is considering firing Dr. Marty Makary after simmering frustration with his performance as Food and Drug Administration commissioner, though he has not made a final decision, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Makary’s tenure as FDA chief has been marked by months of upheaval at the agency, including unexpected drug rejections, staff departures and mounting pressure on the agency to act on abortion pills.
The president could always change his mind, the source cautioned.
“President Trump has assembled the most experienced and talented administration in history, an administration that continues to focus on delivering more historic victories for the American people,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai.
Read the full story here.
Back-to-back redistricting victories in court have Republicans gaining confidence in their midterm chances. But President Donald Trump’s lagging approval ratings and other political indicators continue to threaten the GOP’s grip on Congress six months out from the midterm elections.
The Virginia Supreme Court’s Friday decision blocking a gerrymandered map, which could have net Democrats up to four House seats, comes less than two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court’s limited the use of race in redistricting, which has Republican-led states moving to draw out majority-Black, Democratic-held districts in the South in the coming weeks.
But as one structural piece of the midterms, the battleground map, gets better for Republicans, the overall national mood remains sour for the party. Poll after poll shows Trump’s approval below 40% and Americans deeply frustrated with his handling of the economy. A handful of reputable polls show Democrats erasing the GOP’s long-held edge on the economy.
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ABC this week accused the Trump administration of violating its free speech rights with a regulatory action focused on the talk show “The View,” according to a filing submitted to the Federal Communications Commission.
In the filing, the Disney-owned network blasted the federal government for creating a “chilling effect” on First Amendment freedoms with an investigation of whether “The View” broke a requirement that broadcast stations give equal time to political candidates for the same office.
The filing is Disney’s most pointed legal salvo against the Trump administration since the president returned to the White House last year and began sharply criticizing American broadcast networks over their on-air content.
Read the full story here.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation today that would set up new primary elections if the courts allow Republicans in the state to change their congressional and state Senate maps ahead of the November midterms.
Alabama’s primaries are set to take place under its current maps on May 19. But the legislation the Republican-controlled Legislature approved today gives Ivey the ability to schedule separate special primary elections for affected districts if redrawn maps are put into place.
Read the full story here.
Trump this afternoon announced a three-day ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war that will include a prisoner swap.
The ceasefire, which starts Saturday, comes as Russia plans to host its Victory Day parade over the weekend to celebrate the role of the Soviet Union in the defeat of Nazi Germany, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“The Celebration in Russia is for Victory Day but, likewise, in Ukraine, because they were also a big part and factor of World War II,” Trump wrote.
“Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War. Talks are continuing on ending this Major Conflict, the biggest since World War II, and we are getting closer and closer every day,” he added.
An aide to President Vladimir Putin confirmed in an audio message obtained by NBC News that Russia had accepted the ceasefire proposal from Trump, and that U.S. representatives had facilitated the deal between Russia and Ukraine. The aide said the “key point” of the agreement was the prisoner swap.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the agreement in a post on X, also noting the importance of the prisoner deal. He said the release of 1,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war was “one of the key humanitarian issues of this war.”
“Ukraine is consistently working to bring its people home from Russian captivity,” Zelenskyy wrote. “I thank the President of the United States and his team for their productive diplomatic involvement. We expect the United States to ensure that the Russian side fulfills these agreements.”
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is on a three-state swing this week to promote his “new economic patriotism agenda” — a series of policy ideas aimed at reviving U.S. manufacturing while staying true to his progressive identity.
Khanna, who is seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender who could carry on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ grassroots movement, is in Ohio today. After visiting an electric vehicle battery factory in the Youngstown area, Khanna met with Port of Cleveland officials. He was introduced by Rep. Shontel Brown, a Cleveland-area Democrat who serves with Khanna on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
“China makes about 1,700 ships a year,” Khanna said as he chatted with port officials. “We make five. We have a shipbuilding act to get more money into shipyards. It hasn’t passed yet. But one of the reasons I came is to understand what do you need to do to build the ships here?”
Khanna’s tour, which began Thursday in Pennsylvania and continues Saturday in Michigan, marks the unveiling of his policy agenda, which he has been talking about for more than a year in speeches across the country. His proposals, according to his staff, include developing 1,000 new trade schools and a $1 billion private fund for small businesses and community projects. Khanna’s push also calls for Medicare for all, free public college and capping childcare costs at $10 a day.
In an interview with NBC News after touring the port, Khanna deflected when asked if the agenda is something he could see himself selling as a White House hopeful.
“First of all, I’m hoping I can sell some of these ideas into the current administration,” Khanna said. “The shipbuilding act — I’m fine if Vance wants to take the win on it, if Trump wants to take a win on it. I’m telling you right now, as a China committee ranking member, I will support that.”
Khanna said he won’t decide on a presidential run until after this year’s midterms.
“And that,” Khanna said, “will largely be based on ‘do I believe my economic vision is the right vision for the country? and is it the right vision for our party?’”
A trial date has been set for former FBI Director James Comey, in the “8647” seashells photo case. 
Comey will be arraigned, and will enter a plea, in the morning on June 30 in federal court in New Bern, North Carolina. 
The trial is currently scheduled to get underway July 15, before U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan. 
Comey’s team indicated they will be putting forward several motions, including a selective/vindictive prosecution motion, which may delay that date. But for now, the trial is slated to start July 15.  
The former FBI director was indicted last month over allegations that he threatened the president after he posted a photo of seashells in a formation reading, “86 47,” which prosecutors say is a threat against the president’s life.
Earlier this week, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the Justice Department’s case against Comey goes beyond the seashell photo.
Following a series of strikes on boats in the Caribbean that the Trump administration has alleged were carrying drugs into the U.S., the president today said, “Now we’ve started land.”
“The sea was more difficult,” Trump said, “And now we’ve started land.”
“And you’ll see it coming down, too. It’s come down a lot, but you’ll see it coming down,” the president told attendees of a Mother’s Day luncheon at the White House, referencing the influx of fentanyl into the U.S.
“They come through Mexico for the most part,” he added, saying, “We have a problem, because the cartels rule Mexico.”
“We lose 200,000 people a year through this poison that pours into our country. So we have the sea done, meaning the ocean waterways pretty much done, 97%, and we’re going to have the land done very soon,” Trump said.
In a statement, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger denounced the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision to block new congressional maps.
“More than three million Virginians cast their ballots in Virginia’s redistricting referendum, and the majority of Virginia voters voted to push back against a President who said he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress with a temporary and responsive referendum. They made their voices heard,” Spanberger said, referencing an April referendum on the new maps.
The governor added, “I am disappointed by the Supreme Court of Virginia’s ruling, but my focus as Governor will be on ensuring that all voters have the information necessary to make their voices heard this November in the midterm elections because in those elections we — the voters — will have the final say.” 
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the Virginia Supreme Court’s blocking of the new congressional maps “is an unprecedented and undemocratic action that cannot stand.”
He said Democrats “are exploring all options to overturn this shocking decision.” 
“Our fight is not over. We are just getting started,” he added.
Trump and the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee celebrated the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision today striking down the new congressional map that was in Democrats’ favor.
“Huge win for the Republican Party, and America, in Virginia. The Virginia Supreme Court has just struck down the Democrats’ horrible gerrymander. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
NRCC Chair Richard Hudson, who leads the effort to elect Republicans to the House, said in a statement: “The NRCC was proud to lead and fund this fight to uphold the Virginia Constitution and protect fair representation, and this win is yet another sign Republicans have the momentum heading into November. We’re on offense, and we’re going to win.” 
The Virginia Supreme Court blocked a new Democratic-drawn congressional map from taking effect, delivering a major boost for Republicans as they defend their narrow House majority in the midterm elections.
Weeks after voters narrowly approved the plan in a statewide referendum, the court ruled that Democratic lawmakers did not meet the procedural requirements to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot, which was written to pave the way for the redrawn district lines. Democrats were seeking a map designed to give the party up to four new House seats.
Nationally, the ruling means Republicans will emerge from the mid-decade redistricting battle with an edge heading into the 2026 midterms.
The Virginia court concluded that the state legislature began its constitutional amendment process too late to be lawful.
“This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void,” the court wrote in its order.
Read the full story here.
The U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs in April, a sign that the labor market retained its resiliency even in the face of a global energy shock triggered by the U.S. war with Iran. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3%.
Economists were expecting 55,000 jobs to be added and projected that the unemployment rate would remain steady at 4.3%, according to a survey from Dow Jones.
The report also showed significant revisions to prior months. Employment in February was revised down by 23,000 to negative 156,000, but March was revised up by 7,000 to an addition of 178,000 roles.
The report from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics also arrives as oil prices remain higher by more than 50% since the start of the year and average retail gas prices hover above $4.55 per gallon, up 50% since the war with Iran started in late February.
After the consumer price index showed inflation rising to 3.3% in March as a result of the Iran war fallout, today’s report showed that average hourly wages continued a strong 3.6% pace from the same time a year ago.
Read the full story here.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. is expecting a response from Iran today on a proposal to end the war.
Speaking to reporters at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Rubio said: “We should know something today. I mean, we’re expecting a response from them. We’ll see what the response entails.”
“The hope is it’s something that it can put us into a serious process of negotiation,” said Rubio, adding that the U.S. has seen reporting overnight that Iran is trying to establish some control of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
“That would actually be unacceptable,” he continued. “And the world has to start asking itself, what is it willing to do if Iran tries to normalize a control of an international waterway? I think that’s unacceptable, so, but we’re expecting a response from them today at some point. We have not received that yet.”
The NAACP yesterday sued Tennessee over the state’s move to divide the only majority–Black congressional district.
The lawsuit warned that unless the state is stopped, “NAACP’s members will be subjected to an unlawful redistricting scheme, affecting their voting rights going forward.” The NAACP requested that the court issue an injunction.
“We’re outraged that the State, rather than seeking a more just and fair system, is seeking to roll Tennessee back to a time when many of us didn’t have equal rights. We will fight this map, tooth and nail,” NAACP general counsel Kristen Clarke said in a statement.
The civil rights organization said it has already sued Texas and Missouri over redistricting.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, signed the new congressional map into law yesterday, which positions the GOP to gain a House seat in the midterm elections this November. The new map carves up a Memphis-based seat held by longtime Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., into three districts.
The state made the changes in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling last week that weakened the Voting Rights Act.
Facing a tough election challenge is a cost of doing business for members of Congress. But when that challenge comes from a colleague, things can get personal quickly.
That’s what’s happening right now in Southern California, where tensions between Republican Reps. Ken Calvert and Young Kim are boiling over after Democratic redistricting forced them into a fight for their political lives ahead of June’s primary.
Kim is panning her colleague, a 30-year veteran of Congress, as a creature of Washington. Calvert is calling her insufficiently conservative on issues like immigration. And Calvert even accused Kim, after the recent attempt to assassinate President Donald Trump, of contributing to “the heated environment and violence we’ve seen” because she has criticized Trump in the past, leading Kim to retort that Calvert is running a “desperate” campaign.
The messy intraparty fight is a result of state Democrats’ aggressive redistricting efforts last year, which carved up Republican-held seats in Southern California to create more blue-leaning districts. Along the way, they crammed into one red district a powerful member of the House Appropriations Committee, Calvert, and a battle-tested incumbent who has won tough races in recent years, Kim.
“Love and war have rules,” said Rep. Darrell Issa, a retiring Republican also from Southern California. “Politics doesn’t.”
Read the full story here.
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