Politics

(WASHINGTON) — Despite President Donald Trump saying that the United States and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire, congressional Democrats are pushing forward to hold the president accountable.

“The president has promised to commit war crimes. He’s promised to eradicate an entire civilization we have never ever seen that in the history of this country. That’s why I and many other people have been talking for the last 24 hours about the 25th amendment,” Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy said on CNN Tuesday of the potential vehicle for removing the president from office.

Murphy said Trump has “lost touch with reality” — mentioning the president’s Tuesday morning social media post in which he threatened that a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”

However, hours before an 8 p.m. ET self-imposed deadline for Iran to make a deal to fully reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz or face broad strikes on its critical infrastructure, Trump said he had agreed to suspend planned bombing for two weeks if Iran agreed to reopen the strait.

“We just can’t accept a president who is literally promising to destroy an entire civilization, to murder hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings. That alone should be grounds for the removal of this President,” said Murphy, who was one of several lawmakers who mentioned the 25th Amendment after Trump’s latest threats.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that Senate Democrats will once again force a vote on an Iran war powers resolution when they return from recess next week. The resolution would call on the president to terminate the use of U.S. armed forces in hostilities against Iran or any part of the Iranian government or military unless a declaration of war or authorization to use military force is enacted.

“Republicans will once again have the opportunity to join Democrats and end this reckless war of choice. The public must demand that Republicans join with us to approve a war powers act,” Schumer said at a New York press conference.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House’s top Democrat, said that “as soon as it becomes available to us to do so,” Democrats will present a war powers resolution on the House floor.

“A two-week ceasefire is insufficient. We need a permanent end to Donald Trump’s reckless war of choice, which is why House Democrats have demanded that Speaker Mike Johnson immediately reconvene the House back into session so we can move a War Powers Resolution that will end this conflict permanently,” Jeffries said on CNN Tuesday night.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson have not yet commented on the matter.

In a statement on Tuesday, Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar said he would support the House’s war powers resolution when it comes up for a vote – a change after Cueller was one of four Democrats who voted against it last month.

Cueller, in a post on X, said the war powers resolution is “a reaffirmation of Congress’ constitutional role and our shared responsibility to the American people.”

The Senate and the House have both failed several times to advance war powers resolutions.

Republican Sen. John Curtis said last week that he won’t support military operations in Iran beyond the 60-day window without congressional approval. He had previously voted with Republicans, aside from Sen. Rand Paul, to block the Iran war powers resolution from advancing, arguing Trump was within his legal authority to act.

In an April 1 op-ed for Deseret News, Curtis wrote that 60 days is a “sufficient window” for Trump to take emergency measures to combat the threat Iran poses, but that a declaration of war should be authorized by Congress for operations to continue.

There are no indications that other Republicans would change their votes on the war power resolution.

Democratic Rep. John Larson on Tuesday filed articles of impeachment to remove Trump from office – however, without Republican support, his effort is not likely to move forward and serves more as a signal of Democratic aspirations if they win back the majority in the midterm elections this fall.

A number of Senate Democrats have continued their calls for Congress to return early from their recess to “vote to end this war.”

Democratic Sen. Andy Kim posted a video on Tuesday night from inside a train he was taking back to Washington — imploring his fellow members of Congress to return as well.

“We need to have answers immediately for the American people. What Trump said earlier is unacceptable, it’s dangerous, it is absolutely unhinged and we should all be concerned about him helming this war, this illegal unconstitutional war. We need Congress back in session immediately,” Kim said in the video. “I call on all my colleagues to get back so we can have a vote to end this war and stop this insanity before it goes any further.”

Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell echoed calls for congressional action.

“A return to diplomatic regional discussions will save lives and dollars and protect America’s long-term interests, while President Trump’s irresponsible words and actions undermine them Congress must impose constraints on this President’s wrongheaded use of force,” Cantwell said in a post on X.

For some Republicans, Trump’s announcement on the ceasefire seemed to be met with cautious optimism.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a top Trump ally, said he is hopeful the “reign of terror” can be ended through diplomacy but that he is “extremely cautious regarding what is fact vs fiction.”

“As I stated before, I prefer diplomacy if it leads to the right outcome regarding the Iranian terrorist regime. I appreciate the hard work of all involved in trying to find a diplomatic solution,” Graham posted on X. “At this early stage, I am extremely cautious regarding what is fact vs. fiction or misrepresentation. That’s why a congressional review process like the one the Senate followed to test the Obama Iranian deal is a sound way forward. Fair and challenging questions with a full opportunity to explain, and a healthy dose of sunlight is generally the right formula to understand any matter. Simply put, kick the tires.”

ABC News’ John Parkinson and Lauren Peller contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is not expected to sit for a closed-door deposition next week, after the Department of Justice informed the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday that its subpoena is essentially moot because it sought Bondi’s testimony in an “official capacity as Attorney General” — and President Donald Trump removed her from office last week.

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

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(NEW YORK) — What is expected to be the biggest gathering of possible Democratic 2028 presidential hopefuls is set to happen at the convention for the National Action Network, an organization dedicated to fighting for civil rights and equality. In New York City this week, the potential candidates will gather to look to engage with Black civil rights leaders and voters.

The event, hosted by Rev. Al Sharpton, has become a hub for those considering a presidential run and will offer a preview of what the jostling for the Black vote in the 2028 election will look like.

“Two years out, we’ll see some of the people that have been thinking of running, and they’ll see us,” Sharpton told POLITICO in an interview about the gathering.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Mark Kelly and Rep. Ro Khanna are among the potential 2028 Democratic candidates who will attend the convention, according to the National Action Network website.

Nearly all of the lawmakers have either expressed interest or have not shut down the idea about running for president. All of them are set to take part in a conversation with Sharpton. 

The four-day-long National Action Network’s 35th anniversary convention is an opportunity for potential 2028 presidential candidates to connect with Black voters and test out their messaging ahead of the 2028 cycle.

Harris has not closed the door on running for president again, saying in a February podcast interview that she has not yet decided whether she would run again, adding that she might.

Sharpton told POLITICO not to count Harris out, calling her a strong force in the Black community.

“I wouldn’t ignore the fact that she’s absolutely a potent force in the Black community,” Sharpton told POLITICO. “I do not have any idea whether she’s going to try to go again, but I think she’s due all the respect for what she did, and the fact that she got more votes than any presidential candidate in American history, other than Trump. I think she has been ignored, and we’re going to raise that at our convention.”

The 2024 election showed President Donald Trump — who made an appearance at the convention in 2002, 14 years before he was first elected president — made gains with Black voters, a group that has been critical to the Democratic Party for decades.

According to the Pew Research Center, Trump nearly doubled his support among Black voters between 2020 and 2024, with 8% voting for him in 2020 compared to 15% in 2024. Still, 83% of Black voters backed Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

Janiyah Thomas, who served as Trump’s Black media director during the 2024 election, told ABC News in a phone interview that Trump’s gains with Black voters stemmed from his focus on issues that matter most to American households.

“Overall, the president made gains with Black voters because I think we cut out all the noise and just spoke to the kitchen table issues that really matter to all people, no matter what race, and I think people really love the president’s authenticity,” Thomas said.

And while Democrats are looking to win back Black voters who supported Trump, the convention will also give potential Democratic presidential candidates a chance to connect with the Black community, including those who previously struggled to garner support from Black voters.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a potential 2028 presidential candidate who struggled to garner support from Black voters during the 2020 presidential election, has increased his engagement with Black candidates by campaigning with Shawn Harris in his congressional election in Georgia and Chedrick Greene in his state Senate election in Michigan.

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(WASHINGTON) — An 11th hour plea from the prime minister of Pakistan appears to have swayed both President Donald Trump and the Iranian regime to agree to a two-week ceasefire deal in exchange for temporarily opening the Strait of Hormuz, at least temporarily staving off Trump’s promise to bomb Iran back to the “stone ages.”

With just hours to go until Trump’s 8 p.m. ET Tuesday deadline, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif — one of the key mediators attempting to the end the conflict — issued a public call to Trump, urging him to allow more time for negotiations.

“Diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in near future,” Sharif said. “To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks.”

Sharif also implored Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz as a “goodwill gesture.”

Just after 6:30 p.m. ET, Trump posted on his social media platform that he would suspend military attacks.

“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two week,” he wrote.

“We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate,” Trump continued, referring to an Iranian counterproposal transmitted to negotiators after rejecting plans for a longer ceasefire on Monday. “Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two-week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated.”

Within the hour, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council claimed that the U.S. agreed to its plan which includes numerous concessions.

In a lengthy statement on Iranian state media, the council said the U.S. “committed in principle to non-aggression, continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of enrichment, lifting of all primary and secondary sanctions.”

Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, meanwhile, said Iran would agree to a ceasefire if attacks against it are halted. He also said passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be allowed during the two-week period if coordinated with Iran’s armed forces.

The White House did not respond to specific questions Tuesday evening on whether the U.S. agreed to Iran’s 10-point plan — which includes lifting all primary and secondary sanctions and withdrawing combat troops from the region — or what it made of Iran saying the Strait of Hormuz would open with coordination from Iran’s military.

In response, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement:

“President Trump’s words speak for themselves: this is a workable basis to negotiate, and those negotiations will continue. The truth is that President Trump and our powerful military got Iran to agree to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and negotiations will continue.”

Despite Trump calling Iran’s counterproposal a “workable basis” for negotiations, it contains many terms the U.S. and the president himself have long rejected and was previously described by administration officials as “maximalist.”

After the two-week ceasefire was announced, mediators began making arrangements to hold the first round of talks following the implementation of the ceasefire on Friday in Islamabad, but the White House said late Tuesday that it had not yet committed to any plans.

Before Sharif’s proposal was made public, two U.S. officials cautioned that although talks showed signs of progress, the Trump administration and Iranian regime still appeared to be far apart on core issues, expressing doubt that a broad deal could be reached on such a tight timeline.

One U.S. official also said the dynamic proposed by Sharif mirrored confidence-building measures under discussion behind closed doors, but up until the president and Iranian authorities accepted the terms, it was unclear whether both sides could be brought on board.

Fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz is a top priority for U.S. officials, who indicated that any agreement with Iran would have to lead to near-immediate progress on that front.

Asked about the state of negotiations with Iran on Tuesday morning, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hoped “to have more news” later in the day and called Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz “a big problem for the world.”

“The whole world’s been impacted unfortunately because Iran is violating every law known by striking commercial vessels in the Straits of Hormuz,” he said. “I mean this is a regime that doesn’t believe in laws, rules or anything like that — it’s a State Sponsor of Terrorism, so it’s not surprising that they’re now conducting terrorist activity against commercial vessels.”

Iran sees the strait as equally important and has signaled publicly and in private negotiations that it is highly reluctant to agree to any terms that would see it losing leverage over the waterway.

Iran’s counterproposal issued Monday stipulated that the country would fully open the Strait of Hormuz but set the rules for passage through the waterway and extract a toll of $2 million per vessel, a situation the Trump administration has repeatedly said would be untenable.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has set several deadlines for launching massive attacks on critical Iranian infrastructure if Tehran doesn’t make a peace deal includes reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz since U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran began in February.

Here is a timeline of Trump’s deadlines so far:

March 2

Two days after the U.S. and Israel began attacking Iran, Trump told reporters at the White House, “We projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that.”

March 21

Trump gave a 48-hour ultimatum in a social media post calling on Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, which is a trading route off the country’s southern coast that facilitates the transport of a huge amount of the world’s petroleum supply.

“the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” he wrote.

March 23

Trump posted another message on social media, in all caps, announcing a five-day extension “SUBJECT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE ONGOING MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS.”

March 26

Trump said in a social media post that he was “pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M. Eastern Time.”

“Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well,” he wrote.

The president later said he was inclined to provide a 10-day extension because Iran had allowed some oil-carrying ships to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian officials did not comment publicly on the president’s threat. The next day, an Iranian missile struck Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

April 4

The president went on social media around 10 a.m., claiming “time was running out.”

“48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them,” he wrote.

April 5

Trump made several statements to the press and on social media on Easter Sunday that the U.S. was setting a deadline of Tuesday, April 7 at 8 p.m. ET, which would be Wednesday, April 8, at 3:30 a.m. in Tehran.

He also posted profanity laden statement on the holiest day in the Christian calendar on social media, demanding that Iran open the strait or “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran.”

Trump told ABC News’ Rachel Scott that, if there was no deal in the next 48 hours, “We’re blowing up the whole country.”

April 6

The president held a news conference where he repeatedly made his threats against Iran’s leadership if they don’t come to an agreement with the U.S.

“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” he said.

April 7

The president made another threat on social media, indicating he could attack Iran in the night.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never be brought back again. I don’t want it to happen, but it probably will,” he wrote.

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(WASHINGTON) — As his self-imposed Tuesday night deadline for Iran to make a deal or face massive U.S. attacks draws closer, President Donald Trump’s threatening rhetoric is becoming increasingly ominous, with a seemingly apocalyptic warning that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Tehran doesn’t agree to his demands.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.

At the same time, continuing a series of mixed messages, Trump said “maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen” now that the U.S. is dealing with “different, smarter, and less radicalized” leaders in Iran.

“We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World,” the president wrote.

Trump’s issued an ultimatum to Iran to make a peace deal that includes reopening the critical Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. ET, or face bombardment of its critical infrastructure — including all its bridges, power plants and desalination facilities.

Trump first threatened to target Iran’s civilian infrastructure on March 21, saying the sites would be hit in 48 hours if no deal was made. He’s backed away and extended the deadline several times, citing what he described as successful talks.

But the past few days, he’s ratcheted up his threats. On Sunday, he told ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott that “we’re blowing up the entire country” if no agreement was reached.

On Monday, he told reporters in the White House briefing room that “the entire country could be taken out in one night” and the U.S. had plans that could wipe out Iran’s power plants and bridges, sending it back to the “stone ages,” within four hours.

In the background, negotiations were taking place between the U.S. and Iran via mediators like Pakistan.

According to a U.S. official and another person close to the ongoing talks, mediators are attempting broker a 45-day ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran ahead of Trump’s Tuesday deadline. Iran signaled it would not accept the mediators’ proposal on Monday, responding instead with its own 10-point plan, which a U.S. official described as maximalist. 

“We are dealing with them. I think it’s going well,” Trump said on Monday, adding that Vice President JD Vance and White House special envoy Steve Witkoff was involved in the negotiations.

“I think it’s going fine but we’ll have to see,” the president said.

Oscillating between threats of major attacks and talks of diplomacy, Trump was asked on Monday if the war was winding down or escalating.

“I don’t know. I can’t tell you,” he told reporters. “It depends what they do. This is a critical period.”

The New York Times and others reported on Tuesday that Iran told Pakistan it was no longer engaging in ceasefire talks. ABC News has not confirmed the report.

The White House, responding to the reports, told ABC News that the “only the president knows where things stand.” 

“The Iranian regime has until 8 p.m. Eastern Time to meet the moment and make a deal with the United States. Only the President knows where things stand and what he will do,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. 

Tehran has vowed a “regret-inducing” response should the U.S. wipe out its energy infrastructure. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Tuesday told neighboring Gulf countries it will no longer show “restraint” in selecting regional targets for retaliation.

Iran’s deputy minister of sports and youth, Alireza Rahimi, invited people to form human chains around the country’s electricity power plants in a video message published on Monday, according to the government’s Telegram channel.

In the U.S., Trump’s increasingly grave threats have prompted some rare Republican pushback.

Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, said he hopes Trump’s latest comments are “bluster.”

“I do not want to see us start blowing up civilian infrastructure … We are not at war with the Iranian people. We are trying to liberate them,” Johnson said on the “John Solomon Reports” podcast.

Some experts have warned that possible attacks on civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime and violate international law.

“I’m not worried about it,” Trump said on Monday. “You know what’s a war crime? Having a nuclear weapon. Allowing a sick country with demented leadership have a nuclear weapon, that’s a war crime.”

ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian, Shannon Kingston and Justin Gomez contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — Republican Sen. Ron Johnson broke with President Donald Trump on his threats to bomb civilian infrastructure in Iran, saying in a podcast, “I hope and pray” he is “using this as bluster.”

“I do not want to see us start blowing up civilian infrastructure … We are not at war with the Iranian people. We are trying to liberate them,” Johnson, a Trump ally who rarely breaks with the president, said on the “John Solomon Reports” podcast out on Monday.

Johnson’s comments came after Trump has threatened to bomb bridges and power plants, which would be devastating for Iranian civilians. Some experts have warned that such actions could violate international law; many Democrats are saying it amounts to war crimes.

Trump has said that he will target those bridges and power plants in Iran if they don’t open up the critical Strait of Hormuz — giving Iran a deadline of 8 p.m. ET Tuesday to act.

Other lawmakers reacted to Trump’s social media post on Tuesday, hours ahead of his self-imposed deadline, in which he threatened that a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” although he said “I don’t want that to happen.”

This comes on the heels of an Easter Sunday social media post where Trump threatened “Hell” if the Strait of Hormuz weren’t opened up.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat, called President Trump an “extremely sick person” for threatening that a “whole civilization will die tonight.”

“Each Republican who refuses to join us in voting against this wanton war of choice owns every consequence of whatever the hell this is,” Schumer said in a post on X.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also called on Republicans to act.

“Congress must immediately end this reckless war of choice in Iran before Donald Trump plunges us into World War III. It’s time for every single Republican to put patriotic duty over party and stop the madness. Enough,” Jeffries said in a statement posted on X.

ABC News has reached out to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson for comment.

Several House Democrats are calling on Congress to act as the war — now in its sixth week — continues.

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, of Washington, called Trump’s threat “outrageous, dangerous, and unhinged.”

“Trump’s illegal war in Iran has already led to enormous death and destruction, including a school bombing that killed over 100 children. Congress must immediately act to rein him in before more people die,” Jayapal wrote in a post on X.

Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley, of Illinois, said in a statement on X that Trump’s threat amounts to “mass murder” and that he is “urging every Cabinet Member and Republican leadership to call the President IMMEDIATELY.”

“The Iranian people do not deserve this,” Quigley wrote.

Democratic Rep. Mike Levin, of California, slammed Trump’s rhetoric, saying, “Threatening the annihilation of an entire civilization is dangerous beyond words, and hearing it from the person commanding our military should alarm every American.”

“This language is completely unacceptable from any president, let alone one who started this war without authorization from Congress and has no plan for what comes next,” Levin wrote.

Other conservative voices are breaking with Trump over his Iran threats.

Conservative broadcaster Tucker Carlson offered scathing criticism of the president, blasting his recent threats toward Iran and specifically Trump’s profanity-laden threat to Iran on Easter Sunday.

“It is really the most real thing this president has ever done, and also the most revealing on every level. It is vile on every level,” Carlson said of Trump’s Sunday post during “The Tucker Carlson Show” on Monday. 

Carlson scolded the president directly, saying, “how dare you speak that way,” adding that Trump’s post was a “mockery of Christianity.”

Trump fired back at Carlson in a social media post on Tuesday morning, calling him a “low IQ person that has absolutely no idea what’s going on.”

ABC News’ Allison Pecorin, Lauren Peller, Nicholas Kerr and Will Steakin contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — Vice President JD Vance is in Hungary on Tuesday, meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an ally of President Donald Trump, ahead of the country’s April 12 election which could threaten Orbán’s long hold on power.

Although Vance has downplayed the idea that he traveled to Hungary to shore up support for Orbán, the upcoming election in the country was the centerpiece of Vance’s remarks during his joint press conference in Budapest on Tuesday, where he praised the authoritarian leader.

“And of course, I want to help as much as I possibly can, the prime minister as he faces this election season, which I believe is happening in just about a week, the election to elect the next Prime Minister of Hungary,” Vance said.

Orbán, who is seeking his fifth term, faces criticism over the decline of democracy in the country as he and his allies have destroyed checks and balances and taken control of the country’s media.

He faces a strong challenge from opposition leader Peter Magyar, who was once part of the prime minister’s party, but launched his own in 2024 and began attacking Orbán’s Fidesz party over alleged corruption.

The authoritarian leader has long been a close ally of Trump and was among the first European leaders to endorse him in the 2016 presidential election. Orbán’s nationalist party has become a model for MAGA populists, particularly for its aggressive stance on immigration.

Orban met with Trump three times in 2024, one of those visits coming after Trump won the 2024 election. Orbán has spoken several times at the Conservative Political Action Conference, known as CPAC.

Most recently, Orbán, also an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, visited Trump at the White House in November, where he received a special exemption from sanctions imposed on Russian oil because of its invasion of Ukraine. Hungary is a major importer of Russian energy and the sanctions would have impacted the country’s already weakening economy.

Vance on Tuesday said that Orbán, along with Trump, has done the most to try to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

​”The war would have never started … if President Trump had been president four years ago, but now that it has started, probably the two leaders who have done the most to actually end that destructive conflict have been Donald J. Trump and Viktor Orban in Hungary,” Vance said.

While Hungary is a member of the European Union, Orbán has repeatedly attacked it and clashed with his European counterparts on several issues, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, using his veto power to try to block the EU’s efforts to support Ukraine.

Trump has already endorsed Orbán in his reelection bid and has praised him, calling him “strong and powerful.”

​During his remarks, Orbán thanked Trump and Vance for standing by Hungary over the past few years.

​”We owe gratitude to President Trump and Vice President Vance for standing by Hungary during the past years, the United States of America is the strongest country in the world, and I am happy to say that they are our allies today, the peace and the security of Hungary, therefore, is guaranteed,” Orbán said.

Vance’s trip to Hungary follows Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit in February, during which he reinforced the Trump administration’s support of the embattled Orbán.

In early 2025, Vance delivered blistering remarks at the Munich Security Conference, where he made the argument to European lawmakers to pay attention to the interests of conservative voters, take stronger actions on immigration and that Europe was moving towards censorship and away from Democracy.

Vance’s remarks were not well received by many European allies, with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius saying at the time that it appeared that Vance was comparing parts of Europe to “authoritarian regimes,” calling it “unacceptable.”

ABC’s Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.

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(MADISON, Wis) — Wisconsinites will vote for a new state Supreme Court justice on Tuesday in a race that could maintain or widen the court’s liberal majority for years.

In a state home to some of the country’s tightest races, Democrats have won four of the last five Supreme Court elections by large margins. President Donald Trump carried Wisconsin by less than a percentage point in 2024.  

Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judges Chris Taylor and Maria Lazar are competing for an open seat to replace retiring conservative-aligned Justice Rebecca Bradley. Unlike last year’s race, the ideological balance of the court is not in play. Yet the seven-member body has resolved disputes between the GOP-controlled state legislature and the Democratic governor.

In 2020, the court narrowly rejected a Trump lawsuit that would have tossed out more than 220,000 absentee ballots. And with the governor’s seat and control of the statehouse up for grabs, this year could prove no different. Justices are elected to 10-year terms and could potentially hear election or redistricting-related litigation in the future.

Taylor is a former Dane County Circuit Court judge and former Democratic lawmaker representing deep-blue Madison in the state assembly. Lazar is a former Waukesha County Circuit Court judge and assistant attorney general during former Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s tenure.

Though the race is nominally nonpartisan, the candidates have received endorsements from political figures. Former President Barack Obama endorsed Taylor, while Republican congressmen, including GOP gubernatorial candidate Rep. Tom Tiffany, endorsed Lazar.

In 2023, liberals flipped the majority to 4-3 for the first time in 15 years. In 2025, another liberal victory preserved their control of the court until at least 2028.

Lazar is a self-described constitutional conservative who has focused her messaging on restoring impartiality to the court. She called Taylor “a radical, extreme legislator” while her opponent labeled Lazar as an extremist with a “right-wing political agenda” in a debate aired Thursday by ABC affiliate WISN.

The shadow of Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban, struck down by the court in 2025, also loomed large this year.

Asked how she would have ruled on that case, Lazar declined to answer. But she reiterated that she will honor the ruling, which reinstated what she called the “20-week compromise” in place before the reversal of Roe v. Wade.

Though this race is attracting less national attention than in years prior, Taylor campaigned on similar issues that have worked in Democrats’ favor. A former policy director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, her messaging has focused on protecting abortion and democracy.

She also hasn’t shied away from addressing bread-and-butter issues. In one ad, she warned of rising costs and “extremists” stripping Wisconsinites of food assistance.

Taylor entered the race in May 2025. She significantly outraised and outspent Lazar, who launched her campaign five months later. Taylor raised nearly $2.1 million between Feb. 3 and March 23, while Lazar raised about $474,000 in the same period.

Compared to the record-setting levels of spending in the 2025 race, it’s a drop in the bucket. That race saw total spending surpass $100 million, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk barnstormed Wisconsin that year, handing out controversial million-dollar checks and warning “Western civilization” was at stake.

There are roughly 3.6 million active registered voters in the state as of this month, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The latest tally shows that 324,396 people voted early.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. The new term will take effect on Aug. 1.

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(WASHINGTON) — In Georgia runoff election to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene, 2 veterans pitch opposing views on Iran war

In the special election runoff in Georgia’s deep-red 14th Congressional District, the two military veterans who are running to replace former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene find themselves with differing views on the ongoing Iran war.

The two candidates, Democrat Shawn Harris and Republican Clay Fuller, will go head-to-head at the ballot box on Tuesday, in a special election runoff that will serve as one of the fist glimpses into the role the war in Iran  — something Greene and other members of the Make America Great Again movement have criticized — might play in this year’s midterms.

Harris, a retired Army brigadier general, told moderators at an Atlanta Press Club debate last month that the Iran war is “not a war we should be in.”

“I spent 40 years in the military. The reality of it is, this war that we’re in right now is a war of choice,” Harris said.

Harris’ Trump-backed opponent holds a different view on the war.

Fuller, who served overseas with the Air National Guard, said on the debate stage that “our country is safer because of what President Trump has done regarding Iran.”

Greene has been outspoken about her opposition to the war, saying as recently as Sunday in a statement on X that Trump “has gone insane.”

“This NOT what we promised the American people when they overwhelmingly voted in 2024,” Greene wrote.

In an interview with ABC News, Harris slammed the Trump administration for failing to communicate their reasoning for military action to the public, and for the oil high prices caused by the war.

“The United States is suffering right now from these high oil prices, from these higher fuel prices, and this very high diesel. And because I live in a rural area, we are also suffering from the high inflation on fertilizer,” Harris, who runs a cattle farm, told ABC News.

“I 100% support our military. They are doing an outstanding job,” Harris added. “We will win this war militarily. However, we can lose this war politically.”

Fuller, the district attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit, declined to be interviewed by ABC News for this story.

Carl Cavalli, a political science professor at the University of North Georgia, told ABC News that dissatisfaction with the war in Iran among Republicans might serve in Harris’ favor.

A recent CNN poll found that 28% of Republicans disapprove of the Iran war.

“I don’t know whether it’s nearly enough to overcome the heavy Republican majority in the district, but as the war drags on, it could become more of an issue in the general election in November,” said Cavalli.

Greene’s surprise resignation from the House earlier this year led to a jam-packed March 10 special election where no one candidate won 50% of the vote. Harris and Fuller finished in the top two, advancing to Tuesday’s runoff.

But the runoff is only to fill the remainder of Greene’s term, meaning whoever wins will have to run again in a separate election for a full two-year term that begins with next month’s party primaries, meaning Georgians could see a Fuller-Harris rematch come November.

In a district Trump won by 39 points in 2024, Fuller remains the strong favorite to win on Tuesday.

“The 14th District is united behind President Trump and his candidate Clay Fuller because they understand we can’t afford to give any ground to the radical left or their candidates,” Fuller campaign spokesperson Will Hampson told ABC News in a statement.

But the coalition of Democrats, independents and Republicans that Harris has built has caught the attention of moderate national Democrats such as Pete Buttigieg, another military veteran, who traveled to the northwest Georgia district to stump for Harris last month.

Harris drew comparisons between himself and the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, telling ABC News that both politicians are “stand-alone leaders.”

“I’m a Democrat, but I am not tied to the party. And that simply means I don’t care if you’re Democrat, independent or Republican. If you live in Northwest Georgia … I work directly for you, nobody else,” Harris said. 

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