NYC sees ‘historic’ drop in crime, police commissioner says

NYC sees ‘historic’ drop in crime, police commissioner says
NYC sees ‘historic’ drop in crime, police commissioner says
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch/Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — New York City saw fewer shootings in the first three months of the year than in any previous quarter since the NYPD began keeping statistics, the police commissioner announced Thursday.

“Crime and violence reductions are historic,” NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a press briefing.

Shootings dropped 23% citywide in the first quarter, she said.

“This is lives saved,” Tisch said.

The first quarter of the year also saw the second-fewest murders of any quarter in recorded history in the city, Tisch said.

All crimes except rape went down in the first quarter of 2025, the commissioner said. Rape increased by 21% in the first quarter, Tisch said, while noting the increase was due in part to changes to the law last year that “rightfully redefined and broadened what constitutes rape in New York state.”

There was a slight uptick in grand larceny auto in March, due to a rash of car thefts specifically targeting Hondas, Tisch said. Nearly a third of all cars stolen in the city are Hondas because the thieves are able to easily clone Honda key fobs, police said.

“We continue to urge Honda, for their customers’ sake, to fix this vulnerability now,” Tisch said.

Subway crime dropped to levels not seen since before the pandemic, when transit crime spiked. Major crime in the subways decreased more than 18% in the first three months of the year, Tisch said.

The commissioner credited enforcement of rules like taking up more than one seat.

“They will correct the condition,” Tisch said. “This is about restoring safety and order.”

The latest statistics come as the Trump administration has claimed crime in the subway system is “rampant.”

In response to the state’s request for more federal funds for the transit system last month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the administration would “hold NYC leaders accountable for not keeping commuters safe.”

Duffy has also threatened to pull federal funding from the city’s transit system if it doesn’t address crime.

“The trend of violent crime, homelessness, and other threats to public safety on one of our nation’s most prominent metro systems is unacceptable. After years of soft-on-crime policies, our Department is stepping in to restore order,” Duffy said in a statement on March 18 — two months after Gov. Kathy Hochul had already announced a plan to increase of police officers in the transit system.

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‘Trust in President Trump,’ White House says, defending his tariffs amid backlash

‘Trust in President Trump,’ White House says, defending his tariffs amid backlash
‘Trust in President Trump,’ White House says, defending his tariffs amid backlash
Isaac Wasserman/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — The White House on Thursday was standing firmly behind President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff rollout despite markets nosediving, businesses recoiling and foreign leaders threatening retaliation.

While Trump had no public events on his schedule a day after his dramatic Rose Garden announcement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Vice President JD Vance were deployed to deal with the fallout on the morning news shows before the market selloff began.

Vance acknowledged that Trump’s massive new tariffs, which will impact virtually all U.S. trading partners, will mean a “big change” for Americans, who Trump earlier had said would feel some short-term pain.

“President Trump is taking this economy in a different direction. He ran on that. He promised it. And now he’s delivering. And yes, this is a big change. I’m not going to shy away from it, but we needed a big change,” Vance told “Fox & Friends.”

Leavitt, too, defended the policy as Trump “delivering on his promise to implement reciprocal tariffs” during an appearance on CNN.

“To anyone on Wall Street this morning, I would say trust in President Trump. This is a president who is doubling down on his proven economic formula from his first term,” she said.

Neither Vance nor Leavitt, though, directly addressed the increased costs economists say U.S. consumers are all but certain to face or how they would help Americans in the short term.

“What I’d ask folks to appreciate here is that we’re not going to fix things overnight,” Vance said. “We’re fighting as quickly as we can to fix what was left to us, but it’s not going to happen immediately.”

U.S. stocks plunged in early trading on Thursday hours after Trump’s announcement of a minimum 10% tariff on all countries and more targeted “kind reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of nations he accused of treating the U.S. unfairly in trade relations.

Asked about negative business reaction, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later told CNN, “they’re not counting the factories” that he claimed would be built in the U.S. as a result.

Meanwhile, world leaders are weighing their response to Trump’s historic levies, some of which go into effect on April 5 and others on April 9.

China, which is going to be hit with a whopping 54% tariff rate, urged the U.S. to “immediately cancel its unilateral tariff measures and properly resolve differences with its trading partners through equal dialogue.”

The White House, though, says the tariffs aren’t up for debate.

“The president made it clear yesterday, this is not a negotiation. This is a national emergency. He’s always willing to pick up the phone to answer calls, but he laid out the case yesterday for why we are doing it this and these countries around the world have had 70 years to do the right thing by the American people, and they have chosen not to,” Leavitt said on CNN.

“They have ripped off American workers. They have taken our jobs overseas. The president is putting an end to that,” Leavitt continued.

“He is not backing off,” Lutnick said.

President Trump on Wednesday, as he spoke in the White House Rose Garden, had a message for targets of the plan.

“If they complain, if you want your tariff rate to be zero, then you build your product right here in America because there is no tariff if you build your plant, your product in America,” Trump said.

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Florida deputy killed in shootout at a Dollar General

Florida deputy killed in shootout at a Dollar General
Florida deputy killed in shootout at a Dollar General
Walton County Sheriff’s Office

(MOSSY HEAD, Fla.) — A Florida deputy has been killed in a shootout at a Dollar General store, according to Walton County Sheriff Mike Adkinson.

At approximately 2 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, deputies received a call from a Dollar General store in Mossy Head, Florida, stating there was an individual “causing a disturbance and needed to be trespassed from the scene,” Adkinson said during a press conference on Wednesday evening.

Deputy William May, 38, responded to that call. It was his last stop during his shift and he was planning on heading home afterward, Adkinson said. May was not even supposed to be working that day, but he “came in to volunteer to provide overtime and assistance,” Adkinson said.

Upon arriving on the scene, May made contact with the suspect and proceeded to have a “brief conversation” with the individual, Adkinson said.

“Within 10 seconds of the suspect walking out of the store with Deputy May behind him, that suspect drew a firearm and fired multiple rounds, striking Deputy Will May,” Adkinson said.

May, to his “great personal credit and courage,” was able to draw his firearm and return fire, Adkinson said.

“This short, but violent gun fight resulted in at least 18 rounds being fired, with both individuals being killed,” Adkinson said.

The suspect died on the scene and May was taken to the local hospital for his life-threatening injuries, according to Adkinson.

Paramedics attempted to airlift May from the scene, but “area conditions would not allow that to work,” the sheriff said.

At 7:10 p.m. on Wednesday, May succumbed to his injuries, Adkinson said.

“Will fought the entire time, from returning fire on the scene to fighting for his own life,” Adkinson said.

May was wearing a ballistic vest during the shootout, which stopped multiple rounds from injuring him, but one “went underneath the vest, which ultimately caused his death,” Adkinson said.

The name of the suspect has not been released.

Adkinson said that this was an “interaction deputy sheriffs have every day in this county” and that there was “no indication whatsoever that this would have ended in that kind of violence.”

“It is just unfathomable to me that Will is not here,” Adkinson said. “It’s unfathomable that this happened. But there’s absolutely nothing that he could have done differently.”

Officials are investigating whether the suspect’s gun was legally purchased, but Adkinson said the individual did have a concealed weapons permit and additional weapons in his residence.

Police said the suspect had been living in the area for the past several years and authorities had dealings with him previously, but only for minor issues like welfare checks, Adkinson said.

May had been a member of the Walton County Sheriff’s Office since 2014, starting as a communication officer, and was promoted to deputy sheriff in 2019, Adkinson said. Walton County is located on the Florida Peninsula, northeast of Pensacola.

May leaves behind a wife and two children.

According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, there was a 25% increase in the amount of line-of-duty deaths in 2024 with 147 officers killed, the report said.

ABC News’ Thomas Pierre contributed to this report.

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Johnson says he won’t concede on parents proxy voting battle as impasse continues

Johnson says he won’t concede on parents proxy voting battle as impasse continues
Johnson says he won’t concede on parents proxy voting battle as impasse continues
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — With the House of Representatives at a standstill, Speaker Mike Johnson is refusing to fold on his strong opposition to allowing new parents in Congress to vote remotely.

“I don’t concede on something that I believe to be unconstitutional. I can’t. I took an oath to uphold the Constitution. So, we’re going to find a path through this. We’re working on that,” Johnson said Wednesday. “I talked to everybody who voted against the rule, and we’ll work it out. So, we got time to do it, and those conversations continue.”

Earlier this week, nine Republicans sided with Democrats to torpedo a procedural rule that included language to kill Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s bipartisan discharge petition on proxy voting for new lawmaker parents.

The vote has thrown the House into disarray and paralyzed the chamber, leaving Johnson to find a way to break the impasse. The vote also called into question Johnson’s ability to control Republicans’ razor-thin majority.

House Republican leaders, including Johnson, had said they would take the unprecedented step to block Luna’s petition on proxy voting, which gives both mothers and fathers the ability to vote remotely up to 12 weeks after the birth of a child.

After the vote, Johnson said because it failed, “we can’t have any further action on the floor this week.” The rule that lawmakers voted on included language to block proxy voting — as well as other pieces of legislation.

“The reason that I said that the agenda was taken out for the week is because it was, it was all in one rule. We could have run the SAVE Act, but the rest of it would have to have been done in a different rule. And I had a big group of House Republicans who did not want to support a rule until we took care of the proxy voting situation,” he claimed.

Johnson said he is “actively working” to accommodate young mothers serving in Congress.

“While I understand the pure motivations of the few Republican proxy vote advocates, I simply cannot support the change they seek,” Johnson wrote in a post on X on Wednesday. “The procedural vote yesterday was our effort to advance President Trump’s important legislative agenda while disabling a discharge petition that would force proxy voting and open a dangerous Pandora’s box for the institution.”

“To allow proxy voting for one category of Members would open the door for many others, and ultimately result in remote voting that would harm the operation of our deliberative body and diminish the critical role of the legislative branch,” he added.

Johnson said that he wants a room for mothers to nurse right off the House floor even though there is currently one in the basement of the Capitol. He said leaders are also looking at allowing the use of government money for members to fly their infant babies to D.C. with their mothers and fathers.

“We want to accommodate mothers who want to serve in Congress, and we’re the pro-family party, so we’ll do that, but we can’t do something that violates the Constitution or destroys the institution you serve,” he said.

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Trump’s targets for ‘reciprocal’ tariffs include uninhabited islands but exclude Russia and Iran

Trump’s targets for ‘reciprocal’ tariffs include uninhabited islands but exclude Russia and Iran
Trump’s targets for ‘reciprocal’ tariffs include uninhabited islands but exclude Russia and Iran
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump’s sweeping new set of tariffs impact friend and foe alike, but also on the list are uninhabited islands while some glaring omissions include Russia and Iran.

Trump on Wednesday unveiled “kind reciprocal” tariff rates on certain nations that the administration’s deemed the worst offenders in trade with the U.S., in addition to a minimum 10% baseline tariff on all U.S. trading partners.

“If they complain, if you want your tariff rate to be zero, then you build your product right here in America because there is no tariff if you build your plant, your product in America,” Trump said as he announced the policy at the White House.

“Likewise, to all of the foreign presidents, prime ministers, kings, queens, ambassadors and everyone else who will soon be calling to ask for exemptions from these tariffs, I say terminate your own tariffs, drop your barriers, don’t manipulate your currencies,” Trump added.

At the top of the list is China, which will be hit with a whopping 54% tariff rate once the additional levies are put into effect. High levies are also being placed on the European Union, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, India and more.

Israel is also a target of “reciprocal” tariffs, despite moving ahead of Trump’s announcement to cancel all remaining tariffs on American imports (which there were very few of thanks to the Israel-United Staes Free Trade agreement that has been in place since the 1980s).

Israel, though, still got hit with a 17% rate. The Israeli government is already pushing back on the Trump administration’s calculation that Israel somehow charged a 33% tariff to the U.S., with one official calling it “puzzling.”

What else is on Trump’s list

British Indian Ocean Territory — The only inhabitants of the United Kingdom territory located in the Indian Ocean are American and British military personnel and contractors stationed at a joint defense facility.

Heard and McDonald Islands — Australian external territory of mostly barren Antarctic islands; uninhabited with no imports or exports.

Norfolk Island — This is another Australian external territory, but for some reason the Trump administration has set the reciprocal tariff rate at 29%. That is far above the 10% for Australia and other external territories. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has already expressed confusion over the area’s inclusion, as there is very little trade between the U.S. and the tiny island, which has a population around 2,000.

Svalbard and Jan Mayen — These are remote territories of Norway in the Arctic Ocean. The new tariff rate is just 5% less than it is for greater Norway, though an Mayen also has no permanent population.

Réunion — The island is considered to be an overseas department and region of France, has similar status to its counterparts in metropolitan France and doesn’t have its own bilateral trade agreements. It is generally treated by the U.S. as a part of France but the administration is setting the tariff rate for the island at 37% instead of the European Unions’s 20 % rate.

What is notably not included on Trump’s list

Russia — Moscow was omitted from the list and the White House has been claiming this is because sanctions preclude any meaningful trade. This is false. Trade has fallen dramatically between the U.S. and Russia since the onset of the war in Ukraine but last year the U.S. imported around $3 billion in goods from Russia (many times the dollar amount between the U.S. and many of the small island territories that did make the list).

Belarus, Cuba and North Korea — The White House made the same argument as it did for Russia for why they are not on the list, but in these countries’ cases, there is much less trade with the U.S. Although it is still on par or surpasses trade with some of the island territories.

Iran — There’s not a whole lot of trade between the U.S. and Iran because of the many sanctions against the country, but amid the Trump administration’s effort to impose “maximum pressure” against the regime, it’s notable that Tehran is only getting hit with the baseline 10% tariff.

ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.

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US stocks sink in 1st trading after Trump’s tariffs announcement

US stocks sink in 1st trading after Trump’s tariffs announcement
US stocks sink in 1st trading after Trump’s tariffs announcement
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — U.S. stocks plunged in early trading on Thursday, just hours after President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs announcement touched off threats of countermeasures from foreign leaders.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 1,100 points, or 2.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 4.3%.

The S&P 500 tumbled 3.3%, setting it on pace for its worst trading day in more than two years.

The selloff hammered shares of some major multinational corporations with supply chains abroad.

Nike plummeted 11%, while Apple fell nearly 8%. E-commerce giant Amazon slid 6%.

Shares fell for each of the other so-called “Magnificent Seven,” a group of large tech firms that helped drive stock market gains in recent years.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, dropped 7%. Chipmaker Nvidia slid 4.5%.

Tesla, the electric carmaker led by Trump-advisor Elon Musk, declined 4%.

Shares of U.S. retailers that depend largely on imported products also tumbled, with Dollar Tree down 11% and Five Below seeing 25% losses.

While Trump said the tariffs would free the U.S. from dependence on foreign goods, fears of a deepened international trade war appeared to influence the stock market reaction.

During the event at the White House on Wednesday, Trump unveiled a sweeping set of baseline tariffs on all trading partners and what he described as “kind reciprocal” tariffs on nations he claimed were the worst offenders in trade relations with the U.S.

“My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day,” Trump said from the Rose Garden. “April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed and the day that we began to make America wealthy again,” he said.

The president announced the measures would include a minimum baseline tariff of 10% on all trading partners and, further, more targeted punitive levies on certain countries, including China, the European Union and Taiwan.

Trump held up a chart with a list of nations and what the new U.S. tariffs against them will be.

At the top was China, which Trump said was set to be hit with a 34% tariff rate as he claimed it charged the United States 67%.

The 34% reciprocal rate for China is in addition to a previous 20% tariff Trump slapped on the nation — bringing the effective tariff rate on one of the U.S.’s biggest trading partners to 54% total.

While the longstanding effects of Trump’s newly minted tariffs stand to be seen, some experts told ABC News ahead of Wednesday that the measures could threaten economic growth and employment since duties slapped on imports risk increasing costs for businesses that rely on raw materials from abroad.

“If both businesses and consumers start to worry and pull back their spending, that is what can tip the U.S. over into a recession,” Kara Reynolds, an economist at American University, previously told ABC News.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, described the tariffs as “the fodder for an economic downturn.”

ABC News’ Max Zahn contributed to this report.

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Once-in-a-generation storm turns deadly: Where to expect tornadoes, dangerous flooding

Once-in-a-generation storm turns deadly: Where to expect tornadoes, dangerous flooding
Once-in-a-generation storm turns deadly: Where to expect tornadoes, dangerous flooding
ABC News

(NEW YORK) — A four-day, once-in-a-generation weather event turned deadly on day 1 on Wednesday — and the risk for destructive storms and tornadoes will continue on Thursday, and the threat of flooding will increase.

Here’s what you need to know:

Wednesday

The rare weather event began Wednesday with a tornado outbreak that led to at least 20 reported tornadoes from Arkansas to Indiana.

At least four weather-related fatalities have been confirmed in Tennessee, according to state officials.

The governors of Tennessee and Kentucky have declared states of emergency.

“We are facing one of the most serious weather events we’ve had forecast,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear warned on social media. “Please stay alert, take all precautions, and be prepared.”

Thursday

On Thursday, the severe weather risk is a level 3 out of 5, bringing the chance for a few strong tornadoes from Little Rock, Arkansas, to Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Tennessee.

The flooding threat ramps up on Thursday as the system begins to stall and dump heavy rain over the same areas.

Overall, more than 38 million people are under a general flood watch until Sunday morning, spanning 11 states from Arkansas to Ohio including the cities of Louisville, Kentucky; Indianapolis; and Cleveland.

Public schools in Nashville, Tennessee, are closed on Thursday.

A particularly dangerous situation, or PDS, flood watch is in effect until Sunday morning for about 4 million people in parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. Cities in the PDS flood watch include Memphis; Little Rock; Jonesboro, Arkansas; Union City, Tennessee; Paducah, Kentucky; and Evansville, Indiana.

On Thursday, a rare high risk (level 4 of 4) warning for excessive rainfall is in effect in northeast Arkansas, northwest Tennessee, as well as Memphis, and western Kentucky.

Friday

Friday’s severe weather threat is a level 3 of 5 for nearly all of Arkansas, with strong tornadoes possible.

A moderate risk (level 3 of 4) for excessive rainfall is in place for Friday from just east of Dallas to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Springfield, Missouri, to St. Louis.

Saturday

Saturday’s severe weather threat is a level 3 of 5 for Arkansas, Louisiana, western Mississippi and eastern Texas, with strong tornadoes possible.

For flooding, a rare high risk threat is in effect on Saturday from Memphis to Jonesboro to Evansville.

Rain totals

The four-day event will dump 10 to 15 inches of rain or more over the area from Jonesboro to Paducah.

Seven to 10 inches of rain is possible from Little Rock to Memphis to Louisville to Cincinnati.

The system will finally move east Sunday afternoon, bringing rain to the Southeast on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

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Amazon joins bidding war for TikTok as deadline for sale approaches: Sources

Amazon joins bidding war for TikTok as deadline for sale approaches: Sources
Amazon joins bidding war for TikTok as deadline for sale approaches: Sources
(Karl Tapales/Getty Imag)

(NEW YORK) — With the clock ticking on TikTok’s deadline to sell or face a ban in the U.S., the battle to buy the app has intensified.

Amazon has now sent a letter to the Trump administration to join the bidding war for TikTok, sources told ABC News.

President Donald Trump said over the weekend there are lots of potential buyers and said he’d like to keep the app alive. The administration has set an April 5 deadline for the app to be banned if it is not sold by it’s Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance.

On Wednesday, Trump and senior administration officials considered multiple proposals. It’s unclear if a decision has been made on how to move forward.

The mobile tech company AppLovin and a group including tech giant Oracle have also made bids to buy the app. Even if Trump approves a deal, China will still need to sign off on it.

Trump has said publicly that if an agreement isn’t reached by the deadline, he will just extend it.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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Two meteor showers will happen simultaneously in April, astronomers say

Two meteor showers will happen simultaneously in April, astronomers say
Two meteor showers will happen simultaneously in April, astronomers say
(Jiojio/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — April may be known for its rain showers — but when the clouds part, nighttime skygazers can enjoy meteor showers and other dazzling displays all month long, according to astronomers.

Viewers in the Northern Hemisphere will be treated to simultaneous meteor showers this month. Fireballs from the Lyrids and the Eta Aquarids will be streaking through the sky at the same time from April 20 to 26, according to NASA.

The Lyrids originate from the Comet Thatcher and peak during late April, when they release about 18 meteors per hour, according to NASA.

Viewers should look for the Lyrids during the darkest hours, after moonset and before predawn, astronomers say. Lyrids appear to radiate near the star Vega.

The Eta Aquarids originate from the Comet Halley and typically peak during early May every year, releasing about 50 meteors per hour at their peak, according to NASA. They are also known for their speed, traveling nearly 41 miles per second through the atmosphere.

Astronomers recommend viewing the Eta Aquarids during the predawn hours. Look toward Aquarius, where the radiance of the Eta Aquarids appears to originate from. The Eta Aquarids will be active from April 20 to May 21.

Early April is also a good time to attempt the “Messier Marathon,” a challenge in which observers attempt to view as many of the 110 Messier objects as possible — including nebulae, star clusters and galaxies, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

Other notable events will take place in early April.

On Wednesday, the Pleiades star cluster appears near the Moon, according to EarthSky. On Thursday, the moon will align with Jupiter.

Several celestial objects will form a line in April. On Saturday — as well as from April 11 to 12 — the moon and Mars will come together and be joined by twin stars Castor and Pollux, according to EarthSky.

In addition, the sun’s magnetic field is still in its solar maximum, making northern lights events more frequent. Peak solar activity is expected until March 2026.

The events will be visible from the Northern Hemisphere by both telescope and the naked eye, according to astronomers.

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Musk still plans a major role in midterm elections despite loss in Wisconsin: Sources

Musk still plans a major role in midterm elections despite loss in Wisconsin: Sources
Musk still plans a major role in midterm elections despite loss in Wisconsin: Sources
(adamkaz/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — Despite billionaire Elon Musk’s repeated warnings that “Western Civilization” was at stake if the conservative candidate in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race lost, the Tesla CEO and senior adviser to President Donald Trump downplayed Tuesday’s major election defeat, writing in an overnight post that he “expected to lose.”

The billionaire, who has dominated headlines since joining Trump’s administration as the aggressive head of the Department of Government Efficiency, had gone all-in on the race.

His political groups spent more than $20 million in an effort to push conservative candidate Brad Schimel across the finish line — flooding the airwaves with television ads and saturating Google and Facebook with digital spots. He deployed a ground team across the state to turn out voters, and personally handed out two $1 million checks at a rally where he appeared onstage wearing a cheesehead hat.

But it wasn’t enough.

Schimel lost by what could be a double-digit margin, handing the world’s richest man a significant political setback and prompting questions about how eager Republicans will be to embrace Musk’s involvement in future races, including the midterms.

But despite Tuesday’s result, Musk remains undeterred in his political ambitions. According to people familiar with his operation, he still plans to play a major role in helping Republicans retain control of the House in future races, including the 2026 midterms.

Sources said Musk and his team entered the Wisconsin race knowing it would be an uphill battle. Part of the calculation, according to people close to the effort, was that Democrats in Wisconsin would likely make Musk the face of their attacks regardless, so it was better to confront them directly and make the case to voters rather than let those attacks go unanswered.

Musk’s political team had seen warning signs in the final stretch. A memo from one of his groups obtained by ABC News showed that Schimel had been trailing liberal candidate Susan Crawford by double digits earlier in the race and his numbers improved after a wave of negative advertising. But in the days leading up to Tuesday, Musk’s team saw Schimel’s numbers tank, prompting the billionaire to go on a media blitz that included multiple livestream events and an interview on Fox News.

Now, Democrats are working quickly to capitalize on Crawford’s victory and portray Musk as a liability for Trump and the Republican Party.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Schimel’s loss was a referendum on Musk.

“Wisconsin voters sent a decisive message to Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and DOGE by rejecting an extreme Republican for their Supreme Court: our Democracy is not for sale,” Schumer wrote on X.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a billionaire himself who donated more than $1 million to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin ahead of the race, wrote on X late Tuesday night, “Elon Musk is not good at this.”

Patrick Guarasci, a Wisconsin-based political operative who served as the chief strategist for Susan Crawford’s campaign, echoed that view. He said one of the key takeaways for Democrats nationally is the importance of confronting Musk’s political efforts directly.

“We didn’t back down from a fight when Elon Musk got into this race. We didn’t go looking for that fight, but we didn’t back down from it. And I think that’s probably one of the lessons learned,” Guarasci told ABC News in an interview on Wednesday.

Still, Musk’s supporters note that the billionaire also played a central role in Trump’s 2024 presidential win, particularly focusing on Pennsylvania with similar tactics.

“[Musk] journeyed to Pennsylvania where he spent a month and a half campaigning for me … and he’s a popular guy,” Trump said at a rally after his election win. “He knows those computers better than anybody. All those computers, those vote-counting computers, and we ended up winning Pennsylvania like in a landslide. So, it was pretty good, it was pretty good. So, thank you to Elon.”

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