Republicans are entering the final month of the midterm campaign increasingly anxious that the $1 billion at their disposal may not be enough to fend off sweeping losses as the party reckons with President Donald Trump's unpopularity, persistent cost concerns and the fallout from the war in Iran.
Plus, Gold Star families at the White House and Trump administration plans for migrant children. |
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President Donald Trump dances at a campaign rally at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Grand Island, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) |
Can $1 billion buy victory in the midterm elections? Some Republicans fear the answer is no — By Steven Sloan and Thomas Beaumont
The cash advantage, spread out across a half-dozen groups, is driven largely by the Trump-aligned MAGA Inc., which had nearly $416 million in cash on hand at the end of August and began stepping up its spending on critical races in September.
But that money may have come too late, forcing the president's group to pay much higher rates because of the shrinking availability of air time. Four Republican Senate campaign officials said groups that reserved advertising time last spring paid much lower rates than MAGA Inc. and its affiliated groups. Instead, by waiting until September, Trump-connected organizations are sometimes paying more than five times what they would have spent if they acted earlier.
A representative of MAGA Inc. familiar with the group's strategy said its spending has allowed Republicans to keep races more competitive than they would have been otherwise. In some cases, the group has been the only one on the air criticizing Democratic candidates.
The MAGA Inc. representative and the Republican Senate campaign officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy.
Read more from Sloan and Beaumont on Republicans' cash quandary. |
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Vice President JD Vance speaks at a campaign rally at Fairbanks International Airport in Fairbanks, Alaska, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool) |
Washington-based photo journalist Jacquelyn Martin traveled this week to Alaska, where Vice President JD Vance stumped for Sen. Dan Sullivan. Here's Washington deputy bureau chief Pablo Martínez Monsiváis on why this photo works:
"Jacquelyn's campaign photograph captures the scale and significance of the event in one frame. The vice president appears small beneath Air Force Two, which dominates the background in its new paint job, echoing Trump’s gifted 747 rather than the traditional light blue design.
The American and Alaska flags, crowd and 'DEFEND OUR FUTURE' signage create a layered image of the vice presidency and the campaign stop, while Alaska carries added political weight as the administration campaigns in a normally Republican state to help protect a competitive Senate seat."
Explore more of Martin's work covering Washington and politics. |
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Families of troops killed in Iran strike in Kuwait divided on Trump event |
Gold Star families watch as President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth walk before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner) |
Families of some US troops killed in the Iran war's deadliest strike absent from White House event — By Russ Bynum and Jack Brook
Relatives of some soldiers killed in the Iran war joined dozens of Gold Star families from prior U.S. conflicts Tuesday at the White House, where Trump offered words of comfort and candles were lit for the fallen service members, according to one of the widows who attended.
Not all families of the six soldiers killed March 1 in the deadliest attack of the Iran war opted to attend. Troops who survived the attack have raised questions about why they were stationed at a site that didn’t have sufficient air protection and was viewed as a likely target.
Michelle Tietjens and other relatives have said they are angry the Army still hasn’t answered questions over whether enough was done to protect their loved ones. But Tietjens and her teenage son traveled from Bellevue, Nebraska, to attend the event to honor her husband, Master Sgt. Noah Tietjens, who was killed along with five other Army Reserve soldiers by an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait. “I decided to go originally because my son wanted to go,” Tietjens said. “But then I wanted to see what it was about as well. I wanted to also go to support my husband's memory.”
The Iran war, launched Feb. 28, has claimed the lives of 19 U.S. troops and wounded more than 800 others. Gold Star families have expressed frustration over the lack of information from the Pentagon about the strike in Kuwait.
Read more from Bynum and Brook on the White House event. |
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Critics decry Trump administration's move to assign government lawyers to migrant kids' cases |
An unaccompanied minor looks up as he waits to answer questions from a U.S. Border Patrol agent at an intake site after he was smuggled on an inflatable raft across the Rio Grande River, March 24, 2021, in Roma, Texas. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills) |
Trump administration to assign government lawyers to migrant kids’ cases, worrying advocates — By Gisela Salomon
The Trump administration is creating a team of attorneys to represent children who traveled alone to the United States in immigration proceedings, which critics say would deprive them of having lawyers who aren't employed by the government and could put them at greater risk of deportation.
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department lawyers will “provide direct legal advice and counsel” to unaccompanied migrant children, according to an announcement in the Federal Register signed by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The decision, announced last week without fanfare, offered no details beyond that broad mandate. The agency says that its Unaccompanied Alien Children Legal Representation Division will work under its general counsel's direction toward “safely reuniting these children with their families and ensuring they have the legal support they need.”
The move appears to lay the groundwork for one of the biggest changes since guaranteed free legal representation for unaccompanied migrant children was introduced in 2008.
Read more from Salomon about the administration's plans. |
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