Michael Reynolds/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE
(WASHINGTON) — White House communications director Kate Bedingfield plans to depart in late July, according to administration officials.
Bedingfield is a longtime top aide to President Joe Biden: She was his communications director when he served as vice president under Barack Obama and became his deputy campaign manager for communications during his winning bid for president in 2020.
She has been one of Biden’s most trusted advisers and played a major role during his third campaign, both behind and in front of the camera.
She started as White House communications director when Biden took office in January 2021 and has been a regular presence on TV and in the press advocating for or defending the administration.
White House aides say Bedingfield, who has also worked in corporate public relations, is leaving to spend more time with her husband and two young children, but she is expected to continue to support the administration from the outside.
“Without Kate Bedingfield’s talent and tenacity, Donald Trump might still be in the White House, the Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Law might still be unrealized goals, and Ketanji Brown Jackson might not be sitting on the Supreme Court,” Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, said in a statement.
“She has played a huge role in everything the President has achieved – from his second term as Vice President, through the campaign, and since coming to the White House,” Klain said. “Her strategic acumen, intense devotion to the President’s agenda, and fierce work on his behalf are unmatched. She will continue to remain a critical player in moving the Biden agenda forward from the outside.”
Bedingfield’s departure comes as the administration is struggling with a slew of challenges — from the economy and inflation to gun violence, abortion access in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s overturning and poor polling for the president, whose approval ratings have continued to decline.
Her exit also comes in the lead up to the November midterm elections and she follows other senior members of the administration out the door, including former White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
(NEW YORK) — Real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield is being held in contempt of court for refusing to comply with subpoenas for information related to its business relationship with the Trump Organization, a judge in New York has ruled.
The subpoenas were issued by the New York Attorney General’s office as part of its civil investigation into how former President Donald Trump and his family business valued their holdings.
Judge Arthur Engoron imposed a $10,000 daily fine starting Thursday for every day that the real estate giant does not comply with the subpoenas.
“Cushman & Wakefield’s work for Donald Trump and the Trump Organization is clearly relevant to our investigation, and we’re pleased that the court has recognized that and taken action to force Cushman to comply with our subpoenas,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “No person or company, no matter how powerful, is above the law.”
A Cushman & Wakefield spokesperson said the company will appeal the decision.
“The ruling to hold Cushman & Wakefield in contempt demonstrates a failure to understand the extreme lengths Cushman has gone to comply with the Court’s order,” the company spokesperson said. “We have gone to great expense and effort to quickly identify, collect, review and produce the massive set of documents requested by the OAG, and we have now produced over hundreds of thousands of pages of documents and over 650 appraisals since the last subpoena was issued in February 2022.”
“Cushman disagrees with any suggestion that the firm has not exercised diligence and good faith in complying with the Court’s order, and we will be appealing this decision,” the spokesperson said.
The attorney general’s office filed a motion to compel the company to comply with subpoenas in early April, and the motion was granted the same month.
Cushman & Wakefield provided real estate services for Trump Organization properties for many years, including appraisals and brokerage services for properties that have been subject of the AG’s probe.
The company has refused to comply with subpoenas for information related to its appraisals of three Trump-owned properties — 40 Wall Street in Manhattan, Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles, and the Seven Springs estate in Westchester, New York — as well as information about Cushman’s larger business relationship with the Trump Organization, according to court documents.
(WASHINGTON) — Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone has reached a deal with the Jan. 6 committee to testify in a transcribed interview Friday, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The deal comes after the committee issued a subpoena to Cipollone last week after talks to have him testify publicly were not successful.
Cipollone was one of the few aides with former President Donald Trump the day of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and has significant insight into events before, leading up to and after that day.
The committee has frequently referenced Cipollone during public hearings, saying he was one of the advisers around Trump constantly telling the former president he was concerned that his actions could put him in legal jeopardy.
Cipollone was not expected to fight the subpoena, as discussions between he and the committee investigators was cordial.
Following the subpoena last week, a lawyer familiar with Cipollone’s deliberations told ABC News, “Of course a subpoena was necessary before the former White House counsel could even consider transcribed testimony before the committee. Pat Cipollone has previously provided an informal interview at the committee’s request. Now that a subpoena has been issued, it’ll be evaluated as to matters of privilege that might be appropriate.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.) — Vice President Kamala Harris made a previously unscheduled trip on Tuesday night to Highland Park, Illinois — the site of a deadly mass shooting during a Fourth of July parade the previous day.
There, she expressed her grief at what the community had just endured and reiterated the federal government’s support, not long after she again urged for more widespread government action to address gun violence.
Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff spent about 30 minutes in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park after she spoke earlier Tuesday at the National Education Association’s annual meeting.
Addressing teachers in Chicago, she elicited loud cheers when she said: “We need to end this horror. We need to stop this violence. And we must protect our communities from the terror of gun violence. You know I’ve said it before, enough is enough.”
Reflecting on the “19 babies and their two teachers” killed in an elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May, Harris told the NEA educators that the shooting was “the most recent reminder” of “the risks that our children and our educators face every day.”
“Teachers should not have to practice barricading a classroom,” she said. “Teachers should not have to know how to treat a gunshot wound. And teachers should not be told that lives would have been saved if only you had a gun.”
She called on federal lawmakers to ban assault-style rifles, saying, “Congress needs to have the courage to act and renew the assault weapons ban.”
“An assault weapon is designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly,” Harris said. “There is no reason that we have weapons of war on the streets of America.”
Nonetheless, there is little prospect of legislators taking up such restrictions: Congress just passed a modest, bipartisan package intended to reduce gun violence, and Republicans say more laws violate the Second Amendment.
In Highland Park later Tuesday, Harris met with local politicians and law enforcement near the scene of the shooting that killed seven and injured dozens more. (A suspect has since been taken into custody and charged with seven counts of first-degree murder on Tuesday.)
The vice president embraced Mayor Nancy Rotering and told her, “I’m sorry,” upon arriving in Highland Park. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Illinois, and state Sen. Julie Morrison joined Harris. Her office said she was invited to Highland Park on Tuesday during a morning call with Rotering.
Harris took some time to shake hands and meet with individual law enforcement members, including Highland Park police officers.
She visited the town near the scene of Monday’s mass shooting. According to the press pool, bikes, strollers, toys and lawn chairs were still visible in the area — detritus from those who fled the attack.
In brief remarks, Harris offered the country’s condolences and resources on behalf of the administration, saying, “We’ll continue to put all the resources that the mayor and the chief and others need in terms of the federal assistance, so the FBI, the [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] are here.”
“From President Joe Biden and our country, we are so sorry for what you have all experienced … This should never have happened. We talked about it being ‘senseless.’ It is. It is absolutely senseless,” Harris said. “I want for you that you hold each other tight as a community, that you know that you have a whole nation who cares deeply about you and stands with you.”
As the vice president spoke, about 100 local residents had gathered nearby, according to the press pool.
“This is an incredibly tight community. I know that,” she said, “and this person will be brought to justice. But it’s not going to undo what happened.”
Harris also said the administration’s focus had not strayed from guns. The White House will “deal with what we need to deal with” in terms of who has access to assault weapons.
But her attention was on the local community.
“We’ve got to take this stuff seriously — as seriously as you are, because you have been forced to have to take it seriously,” she said. “The whole nation should understand and have a level of empathy, to understand that this can happen anywhere, in any peace-loving community. And we should stand together and speak out about why it’s got to stop.”
ABC News’ Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.
Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE
(TRENTON, N.J.) — New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy signed new gun legislation into law on Tuesday, making it harder for residents in the state to get a handgun license and high-capacity rifles.
The new laws come a day after a gunman opened fire at a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois, that left seven people dead and over 30 injured.
“In the wake of horrific mass shootings in Highland Park, Illinois, Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, it is necessary that we take action in order to protect our communities. I am proud to sign these bills today and thank my legislative partners for sending them to my desk,” Murphy said at the signing.
The guns safety package has seven bills that include requiring gun owners who move to New Jersey from out of state to register their firearms within 60 days with local law enforcement; lets the state’s attorney general bring a “cause of action for certain public nuisance violations arising from sale or marketing of firearms;” bans .50 caliber rifles and places restrictions on ghost guns.
The law also now requires those looking to become gun owners to pass a safety course to get a firearms purchaser’s ID and the state now has the power to track all ammunition sales in the state through a registry.
The new laws go into effect nearly two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a New York law that restricted the concealed carrying of handguns in public to people who have “proper cause.”
Murphy criticized the court’s decision, calling it “deeply flawed,” according to ABC News Philadelphia station WPVI.
The Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs Executive President Scott Bach condemned the new laws, saying it ignored “criminals and those with dangerous behavioral issues,” according to ABC News New York station WABC.
Gun control organization Brady praised the governor for signing the bills and urged other states to “pass sensible legislation.”
“Gov. Murphy has strongly and consistently called for common-sense gun violence prevention reforms. Today, the legislature has delivered these needed policies and they will become law,” Brady said in a statement.
(WASHINGTON) — Democrats are working to ensure their incumbents and midterm candidates maintain message discipline around a simple pitch to the public on abortion while the party looks to use the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade to help persuade and motivate voters come November.
Lawmakers and contenders across the country have thus far echoed the same stance: The choice to have an abortion should be made between a person and a doctor. In doing so, Democrats have avoided taking the bait on Republican attacks accusing them of supporting abortions in the second and third trimesters — procedures that are rare but that polls show voters approve of significantly less than abortions earlier on in pregnancies, when access is broadly supported.
“I think we’re certainly going to see the other side try to lead us in that direction, and so I think it has the potential where it can certainly create a lot of gray area. And right now, we’re in a position where I think the people of Arizona are seeing this in pretty black-and-white terms, and they’re more in favor with us than they are with them,” Arizona state Sen. Martin Quezada, who is running for treasurer in a state where all abortions could soon be banned, told ABC News.
Despite that discipline, Democrats are still grappling with various debates on the best strategy around ensuring abortion access — and President Joe Biden has faced calls from others in the party to be more vocal and more detailed with his own plan.
But so long as Democrats stay away from debates over abortions in the second and third trimesters, party strategists who spoke with ABC News argued, the issue will remain politically advantageous in a cycle still largely characterized by voters’ concerns over high inflation, which have helped sharply weaken Biden’s approval ratings.
For their part, Republicans and their conservative allies have repeatedly tried to knock Democrats into more treacherous rhetorical territory — something that Quezada, in Arizona, acknowledged. “I certainly expect they will start to try to dilute that messaging and try to get us lost in that gray area. That potential to lose some support is there,” he said.
Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee in Georgia’s gubernatorial race, was pressed repeatedly on Fox News Sunday last month over whether she supported abortions up to nine months. Republican Senate candidates have also cast their opponents as radicals on abortion. And the Republican National Committee has been looking to frame all Democrats as dodgy on the restrictions they would support.
“What’s radical and out of touch is Joe Biden and Democrat politicians refusing to name a single limit they would seek on abortion,” said RNC spokesperson Nathan Brand.
Still, Democrats have not budged.
During her Fox News interview, Abrams said that abortion was “a medical decision … that should be a choice made between a doctor and a woman and in consultation with her family.” She later told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she would support legislation enshrining the right to an abortion “until a physician determines the fetus is viable outside of the body.”
And in the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has been pushing for passage of legislation that would enshrine Roe, the 1973 Supreme Court decision first protecting abortion access, into law — while staying away from language about trimesters.
The need for that caution is borne out in polling.
According to a 2021 survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 61 percent of adults said abortion in the first trimester should be legal in all or most cases. But in the second trimester, 65 percent said abortions should be illegal in all or most cases; and 80 percent said the procedure should be illegal in all or most cases in the final trimester.
Such discipline, strategists said, allows Democrats to instead highlight unpopular stances from Republicans like foregoing exceptions in abortion bans for rape and incest.
On top of that, the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have each briefed campaigns on messaging to highlight Republican stances on abortion, according to aides.
“I think it’s paramount that Democrats are disciplined here. I think that this is an incredibly powerful issue and incredibly powerful contrast with Republicans,” said Molly Murphy, a Democratic pollster advising several midterm campaigns. “Voters are deeply troubled when they learn that Republicans support making abortion illegal without exceptions for things like rape and incest and the life of a woman.”
To be sure, Democrats still face internal divisions over precisely how to tackle abortion rights.
Party members are debating backing allowances for abortions on federal lands, pushing an expansion of the Supreme Court and enacting a legislative filibuster carveout for abortion to eliminate the Senate’s 60-vote threshold on the issue.
The White House has said it is currently not considering allowing abortion clinics to operate on federal lands over legal liabilities for workers, sparking frustration among progressives. And while Biden on Thursday said he supports a filibuster carveout for abortion — new ground for the president — there are currently not enough Democratic votes in the 50-50 Senate to change the upper chamber’s rules.
Yet some pollsters said the minutiae of legislating on abortion will not resonate with voters as much as the overall issue.
“Ultimately the filibuster is process and not message. Democrats can talk about Republicans prioritizing making abortion illegal without exception and stay away from process, not because the filibuster carveout is bad … but because voters don’t care about process,” Murphy said.
And for Democrats running in conservative districts and states, operatives say they must be allowed to buck the overall party messaging and, if it aligns with their local voters, have the freedom to vocalize opposition to second- and third-trimester abortions.
“How they frame that I think should be reflected upon, one, their personal experience, but also the makeup of the district. We don’t win races in a collection. We win them race by race, individual by individual,” said Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright. “And I think with every messaging point, it has to be done that way. Anything to the contrary could be a threat to the majority we do have”
On the flip side, Republicans have already dealt with some high-profile lapses in their discipline on the issue.
Yesli Vega, the GOP nominee in a swing House district in Virginia, sparked controversy last month when she agreed with an assessment that it was harder to get pregnant as a result of rape “because it’s not something that’s happening organically.”
Vega later said, “As a mother of two children, yes I’m fully aware of how women get pregnant.”
And when asked late last month if a 12-year-old girl who was raped by a family member should carry a pregnancy to term, Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn replied “that is my belief. I believe life begins at conception.”
Such comments harken back to past campaign controversies like Missouri Republican Todd Akin, who lost a winnable Senate race in 2012 after he said victims of what he dubbed “legitimate rape” rarely got pregnant. Akin went on to apologize, saying in a video at the time, “Rape is an evil act. I used the wrong words in the wrong way.”
Now, some conservatives acknowledge history could repeat.
“If we see two or three other candidates or incumbents, especially, using that kind of rhetoric, it’s going to cause headaches for Republicans. No doubt about it,” said Doug Heye, a former top RNC official.
Operatives from both parties said that issues like inflation and wages will likely steer the midterm cycle, with a polling memo from the Republican State Leadership Committee showing that just 8 percent of voters think abortion is a top issue, versus 37 percent who answered with the high cost of living.
But in such a contested cycle, in which the Senate could be decided by any one race, campaign stumbles on an issue where the electorate’s views do not match their base have Republicans concerned.
When asked if a serious misstep on abortion could ultimately cost future control of the Senate, Heye replied, “Potentially so.”
(WASHINGTON) — As WNBA star Brittney Griner appeals to Joe Biden for help in getting released from Russian custody, her case is a “top priority” for the president, according to the White House.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during a briefing on Tuesday that Biden read Griner’s handwritten letter, which was sent to the White House on Monday, and her note was “very personal” to him.
“I’m not going to share any personal interaction that I had with the president,” Jean-Pierre told ABC News when asked about Biden’s reaction.
“I just wanted to confirm that he did read the letter. And I will say again, this is very personal to him. Especially when someone writes a letter in such a personal way … we have made this a priority,” she added.
Jean-Pierre wouldn’t say whether Biden was going to respond to Griner’s letter.
Griner personally reached out to Biden, urging him to help get her out of Russia — where she has been held for some five months for allegedly possessing hashish oil — according to her representatives.
In the handwritten letter from Griner, portions of which were made public, she expressed fears she will be held in Russia “forever.”
“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner wrote to the president.
The athlete was visiting Russia to play basketball in the off-season when she was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport on Feb. 17 after being accused of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in the country.
Griner’s detention was extended repeatedly, most recently through Dec. 20, which is the expected length of her trial. If convicted, Griner, 31, faces up to 10 years in prison.
“It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate [the Fourth of July] because freedom means something completely different to me this year,” Griner wrote in her letter to Biden.
Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, previously told “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts in May that she would like to speak with the president.
“I just keep hearing that, you know, he has the power. She’s a political pawn,” Cherelle Griner said. “So if they’re holding her because they want you to do something, then I want you to do it.”
At Tuesday’s briefing, Jean-Pierre wouldn’t say whether the White House was considering a meeting with Brittney Griner’s family, but she said that both Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan have spoken to Cherelle Griner and the administration will keep “open communication and have very honest conversations with them.”
“I just don’t have anything to share on what communication the president’s going to have with Mrs. Griner and her family,” Jean-Pierre told ABC News when asked about a potential meeting. “All I can confirm is that he’s read the letter, and he’s making this a priority.”
Last Friday marked the first day of Griner’s trial in Russia.
The Phoenix Mercury star appeared in person at a courtroom in Khimki, a suburb of Moscow, ABC News reported.
The U.S. government classified Griner’s case on May 3 as “wrongfully detained,” meaning the U.S. will more aggressively work to negotiate her release even as the legal case against her plays out, the State Department has said.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began one week after Griner was detained. Some officials are concerned that Americans jailed in Russia could be used as leverage in the ongoing conflict.
Griner’s family and friends gathered at a vigil outside the Russian consulate in New York City ahead of her trial last week, calling on the U.S. to bring her home. Her next court appearance is on Thursday.
Leaders and players in both the WNBA and the NBA have also called for Griner’s release and raised awareness about her case, as have advocates.
The WNBA, which kicked off its 2022 season on May 6, is honoring Griner with a floor decal bearing her initials and jersey number (42) on the sidelines of all 12 WNBA teams.
The 6-foot-9 center won an NCAA title at Baylor in 2012; a WNBA title with Phoenix, her current team, in 2014; and gold medals with the U.S. women’s team at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton said he wants Biden and Blinken to arrange a trip for faith leaders to see Griner in prison as part of a prayer visit.
“After speaking with her wife last week, I am deeply concerned for Brittney Griner’s physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing,” Sharpton said in a statement on Tuesday.
“She deserves to see the United States is doing something for her, so she can find the strength as this show trial goes on,” he said.
The public campaign to free Griner escalated following the release of U.S. Marine veteran Trevor Reed in April, who was freed from a Russian prison as part of a prisoner exchange. Former Marine Paul Whelan has also been detained in Russia since 2019.
Jean-Pierre on Tuesday said that the Biden administration was working on both Griner and Whelan’s cases just as hard as it done to secure Reed’s freedom.
“We are going to make this happen,” she said.
An international prisoner swap potentially involving Griner, Whelan and convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout has been discussed, according to Russian media reports, but it’s unclear if there has been any substantial movement on the issue. Russian officials have also indicated that they want Griner to stand trial.
Asked about a potential swap, Jean-Pierre said she “cannot speak to any discussions” regarding the process of securing the release of any American detained abroad.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that secrecy is crucial to ensure that efforts to secure the release of Griner and others detained abroad are not jeopardized.
“While we update families — and certainly in broad strokes — on our efforts, it’s not something that we are in a position to speak to publicly in any detail,” Price told reporters on Tuesday.
“We do not want to do anything, we do not want to say anything, that would potentially jeopardize the chances of seeing an American released or that would delay by a single day, a single hour or a single minute the safe return of an American to her his family and loved ones back here,” Price added.
ABC News’ Shannon Crawford, Ben Gittleson, Molly Nagle and Tanya Stukalova contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — House’s Jan. 6 committee announces next hearing date; expected to focus on who was in Capitol mob
Tal Axelrod and Adam Carlson, ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee investigating Jan. 6 on Tuesday announced its next hearing: July 12 beginning at 10 a.m. ET.
The panel has been holding a series of public hearings since last month related to its year-long inquiry into the events before, during and after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol by pro-Trump rioters.
It has not yet been announced who will be testifying on July 12. The past hearings have stretched for several hours.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a member of the panel, indicated over the weekend that the next hearing would focus on the formation of the mob that ultimately descended on the Capitol last year, including the participation of several far-right groups.
“Who was participating, who was financing it, how it was organized, including the participation of these white nationalist groups like the Proud Boys, the Three Percenters, and others,” Schiff said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who served as the lead impeachment manager for the House proceedings against then-President Donald Trump after the insurrection, is anticipated to play a large role.
The last hearing featured lengthy testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump’s last White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
Hutchinson’s appearance sparked days of criticism of Trump — including from other conservatives — after she testified that the former president was aware that attendees of his speech at the Ellipse earlier on Jan. 6 were armed before he asked for security measures to be reduced and ultimately urged them to march to the Capitol. Hutchinson also testified that when the Secret Service would not take Trump to the Capitol after his speech, he lunged for the steering wheel of his SUV and then at the neck of a Secret Service agent.
Trump adamantly denied her account. The Secret Service said it would cooperate fully with the panel, “including by responding on the record,” if investigators had any follow up questions over the alleged incident.
Other hearings the committee has held have focused on the Capitol insurrection itself; on Trump allies’ awareness that his voter fraud claims were false; and on the pressure campaign by Trump and those in his orbit to push states to not certify now-President Joe Biden’s win.
In her testimony last week, Hutchinson said she had heard chatter about the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers — two prominent far-right groups — in the days leading up to Trump’s speech at the Ellipse. She said that Rudy Giuliani, who was then Trump’s personal lawyer, was frequently seen around the White House at the same time.
Leaders of both the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers have been charged with seditious conspiracy over the groups’ roles in last year’s riot.
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department has filed suit against Arizona challenging its recently enacted voting law that requires proof of citizenship in order to vote in presidential elections.
The lawsuit contends that certain restrictions in Arizona’s House Bill 2492 directly violate Section 6 of the National Voter Registration Act and Section 101 of the Civil Rights Act.
The Supreme Court previously rejected an effort by Arizona in 2013 to require its residents to provide proof of citizenship in order to participate in federal elections, though after President Joe Biden’s victory against Donald Trump in 2020 the state quickly sought to implement a similar mandate in passing House Bill 2492.
“Arizona has passed a law that turns the clock back on progress by imposing unlawful and unnecessary requirements that would block eligible voters from the registration rolls for certain federal elections,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement Tuesday announcing the lawsuit.
Gov. Doug Ducey signed the bill into law on March 30.
“Election integrity means counting every lawful vote and prohibiting any attempt to illegally cast a vote,” Ducey wrote in a letter at the time he signed the bill. “H.B. 2492 is a balanced approach that honors Arizona’s history of making voting accessible without sacrificing security in our elections.”
Republicans have a slight majority in both the state Senate and House of Representatives.
The Justice Department’s lawsuit asks for a federal judge to prohibit several provisions of HB 2492 from being enforced.
In a press release, the Justice Department notes the new law with violate the Civil Rights Act “by requiring election officials to reject voter registration forms based on errors or omissions that are not material to establishing a voter’s eligibility to cast a ballot.”
Arizona requires voters to prove they are a U.S. citizen when they register to vote — the only state to do so — by providing a government-issued identification, like a driver’s license, tribal ID or passport. The 2013 Supreme Court ruling allowed the requirement for state elections, but Arizona cannot require proof of citizenship for federal elections, like president.
Arizona is one of the states where Trump has falsely contended he won in 2020. Biden defeated Trump by about 10,000 votes. A GOP-led review of the vote tally in Maricopa County, the state’s largest, reaffirmed Biden’s victory, and even increased his lead by a slight amount.
ABC News’ Mark Osborne contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee investigating Jan. 6 on Tuesday announced its next hearing: July 12 beginning at 10 a.m. ET.
The panel has been holding a series of public hearings since last month related to its year-long inquiry into the events before, during and after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
The most recent hearing featured lengthy testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump’s last White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
