Politics

(WASHINGTON) — GOP Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer said Sunday that Minnesota laws should have prevented the suspect from purchasing a gun that allowed them to kill two children and wound more than a dozen other people in a shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Emmer’s home state.

“Look, this young man was seriously mentally disabled, deranged. Somebody had to know,” Emmer told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz, adding “clearly this young man was crying out for help. Why was no one hearing him?”

Emmer said the shooter “never should have had access or been able to possess a firearm based on what little we already know,” adding that somebody who knew the shooter had to have known about Minnesota’s so-called “red flag” law.

“What that’s all about is, it’s usually used by a parent or, a law enforcement officer to go to the court and get an order that this individual, because of their emotional state, the mental, challenges that they have, the mental illness, cannot, should not, possess a firearm because they be a danger to themselves and or others,” Emmer said.

Investigators found the shooter’s notebooks, written in a combination of English, Cyrillic and other languages and showing thoughts of violence and grievances. According to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, the notebooks filled with the shooter’s thoughts possessed “lot of hate towards a wide variety of people and groups of people.” The acting U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota said the only group of people the shooter admired were “mass murderers.”

Emmer also cited mental health as an issue and lack of resources in school as contributing to gun violence in the U.S. However, Emmer notably voted against the 2022 Bipartisan School Safety Act that Congress passed after 21 people, including 19 children, were killed by a mass shooter at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

The bill was considered the most significant action the legislature had taken to tackle gun violence in decades. It allocated hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds for school districts to enhance safety and mental health resources.

When asked why he voted against the legislation, Emmer said, “I don’t remember the reasons that I didn’t vote for that bill.” Emmer added that the “root cause” cause of violence must be identified to stop violence.

Here are more highlights from Emmer’s Interview:

On the victims of the church shooting
Emmer: As you know, there were 20 that were injured. Eighteen of them are still being treated, 15 children and three adults in, according to the folks in Minneapolis, all are expected to survive. I think Chief O’Hara, the Minneapolis police chief, told us yesterday that all the victims are expected to survive. But, Martha, just because they survive, the trauma that all of these kids, the families that lost their two children, all the kids and the adults that were injured, and every one of them that was at that Mass and, frankly, in the community, is going to be dealing with this for a long time.

On law enforcement in churches and schools
Raddatz: And Congressman, in the short term, or maybe the long term, should law enforcement increase its presence in schools and places of worship? I know the governor has deployed them now.

Emmer: Yes, well, thanks a lot, Governor. He — yes, the answer is, yes. The Catholic community, along with other faith-based schools in this area, just a couple of years ago, when Tim Walz and the legislature were blowing through an $18 billion surplus, they asked for some of those resources, Martha, to — for improving security in their schools. It was after the — the very sad incident in Kentucky. What did Tim Walz do? Absolutely nothing. So, it — it’s — yes, it’s going to be very important that these schools have the resources.

The other thing that you have to look at, Minneapolis, because of these crazy policies that the governor, the young mayor, the progressive, if that’s what you want to call her, county attorney, the Minneapolis school board, back in 2020, said — they voted out having a Minneapolis policeman as a resource officer on the school property. I think we’ve got to go back and rethink these things. What works? What doesn’t work? And we’ve got to start improving our game.

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(WASHINGTON) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Friday that he has signed the bill redrawing Texas’ congressional map into law, a milestone for the Republican-driven mid-decade redistricting in the Lone Star state that comes as other states also prepare to consider redrawing their congressional map.

Abbott, who signed the bill around a week after the state Senate passed it, shared a video on social media Friday showing the Republican putting his signature on the legislation.

He added right afterwards, “Texas is now more red in the United States Congress.”

States usually draw their congressional map once a decade, after the census, but President Donald Trump and the White House had pushed the state to redraw its map in order to help Republicans bolster their slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026’s midterm elections.

Experts have said the new congressional map could allow Republicans to flip up to five seats; Republicans have said the new district borders were drawn based on political performance and other considerations allowed by law.

Democrats have said the maps unfairly target and marginalize voters of color.

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

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump revoked Secret Service protection for former Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by ABC News.

The executive memorandum was issued Thursday afternoon by Trump, who sent it to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, according to a senior official.

“You are hereby authorized to discontinue any security-related procedures previously authorized by Executive Memorandum, beyond those required by law, for the following individual effective September 1, 2025: Former Vice President Kamala D. Harris,” the White House memorandum to the Secretary of Homeland Security states.

Before leaving office, former President Joe Biden extended Harris’ protective detail an additional year — on top of the six months she is required by law to have a Secret Service detail as the former vice president, according to multiple officials.

A senior White House official confirmed to ABC News that Trump revoked Secret Service protection for Harris via the letter.

The official highlighted that vice presidents “typically only have a detail for six months.”

This is just the latest protection detail the president has canceled early. In March, he canceled former Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas’ detail, along with the details of the Biden children, John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

“The Vice President is grateful to the United States Secret Service for their professionalism, dedication, and unwavering commitment to safety,” Kristen Allen, a senior advisor to Harris, said in a statement to ABC News.

ABC News’ Isabella Murray contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — House Speaker Mike Johnson, on “Good Morning America” on Friday, weighed in on turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Minneapolis school shooting and what’s next for Congress on the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Johnson defended Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after a mass exodus at the CDC spurred by the administration’s termination of the agency’s director, Susan Monarez.

The speaker was also pressed on whether he would allow a floor vote to compel the Justice Department to release the Epstein files, and whether the House would take action on gun violence in the wake of the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School.

Congress returns next week from its monthlong August recess. Here are highlights from Johnson’s interview.

Johnson says CDC shakeup ‘needed’

“Well, I think overall, Secretary Kennedy is doing a great job,” Johnson said when asked about the tumult at the CDC.

“There’s been a shakeup that’s been needed there, and I think we’ve got to trust the secretary to do his job,” the speaker added. “They’ve had some great results there. We’re getting America healthy again — that’s well received across the country, and long overdue, in my view, so we’re going to let the Cabinet do their job, and I’m going to stay in my lane and do mine.”

Asked about vaccine availability for Americans and overall trust in the CDC following this week’s showdown, Johnson said “let’s see how all that sorts out.”

“The CDC plays an important role in the government and in our society, and we want it to be strong, and we want it to be restored to its original intent,” Johnson said. “The secretary’s made a good point that the existing leadership was not — not doing that.”

Johnson on whether House will vote on Epstein files

When lawmakers return to Washington, so will a renewed push for the complete release of the Epstein files from Justice Department.

Johnson will be faced with a bipartisan effort, led by Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, to force a floor vote on their discharge petition.

“If it’s necessary, we will,” Johnson said of having a vote on the discharge petition on the floor, despite previously calling their bill “reckless” and ending the legislative session early in July over the Epstein controversy.

But Johnson said he believed it wouldn’t be needed after the Justice Department handed over thousands of Epstein documents to the House Oversight Committee last week.

“I think what’s happened over August, over the last few weeks, has probably mooted that — the necessity of legislation,” Johnson said.

Khanna has criticized the Justice Department’s release to the committee, saying much of it was information that was already public and that lawmakers still need to pass his bill.

Johnson addresses Minneapolis shooting

Following the deadly school shooting in Minnesota, which left two children dead and 18 people injured, Johnson did not point to any new legislation that would address gun violence or mental health that could be brought up in Congress, but said he is “always open for that” discussion.

“Listen, it’s important that politicians on either side of the aisle do not politicize a moment like this,” Johnson said. “There are many commonsense measures that can and should be taken to protect children at schools and churches that do not involve taking away the constitutional rights of law-abiding American citizens.”

“At the end of the day, the problems in these situations is not the guns, it’s the human heart, and we can put more resources towards treatment of mental health,” Johnson said.

The speaker said that he is open to “any bipartisan solution that can address these kinds of issues that actually go to the heart of the matter.”

Johnson talks ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

Many Republican lawmakers spent August recess hearing from constituents after the passage of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill, with some town halls turning heated over the matter.

This week, Trump suggested the legislation needed a rebranding, saying the phrase “big beautiful bill” was “not good for explaining to people what it’s all about.”

A Pew Research Center poll released earlier this month found just three in 10 Americans approve of Trump’s signature tax and budget bill.

Johnson, on “Good Morning America,” pushed back against the poll numbers and claimed individual provisions in the bill are more popular than surveys show once they are explained to the public.

“What we did over the August district work period is all the Republican members of Congress, Senate and House, went out, fanned out across the country in their districts, and talked with the American people about the extraordinary provisions that are in this bill,” the speaker said.

“It is aptly named. It is big and it is beautiful, and every single American is going to benefit from it,” Johnson said.

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(WASHINGTON) — A rare political standoff continued between the leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Trump administration continued on Thursday, leaving CDC Director Susan Monarez’s termination in limbo as high-level CDC officials resigned in protest.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters President Donald Trump had fired Monarez, saying Monarez “was not aligned with the president’s mission to make America healthy again.”

“It was President Trump who was overwhelmingly reelected on November 5,” Leavitt said. “This woman has never received a vote in her life, and the president has the authority to fire those who are not aligned with his mission.”

Leavitt said her replacement will be announced “very soon” either by Trump or by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

But immediately after the White House press briefing, Monarez’s attorneys pushed back that she still hasn’t heard directly from the president and thus hasn’t been officially terminated from her job — her stance since Wednesday.

“[White House press secretary] can say whatever she wants because thankfully free speech still exists in this country. But it doesn’t make her comments factually true, even when from a White House podium,” attorney Mark Zaid wrote on X.

Monarez’s attorneys maintain that she will respect the decision of the president himself, but said they have not had any further communication with the White House since Wednesday night, when a White House staffer notified her that she’d been fired. They don’t consider the notification substantial enough because she is a Senate-confirmed, presidential appointee.

Further legal routes, if they don’t hear from the president, are “under consideration,” Zaid told ABC News. In the meantime, Monarez does not have access to her work office or email, he said.

Meanwhile, President Trump has yet to publicly weigh in on the dispute.

Kennedy, at a news conference about rural health in Texas on Thursday, said Monarez was “let go.”

“There’s a lot of trouble at CDC, and it can require getting rid of some people over the long term in order for us to change the institutional culture and bring back pride and self esteem and make that agency the stellar agency that it’s always been,” Kennedy said.

Monarez’s attorneys say the administration is attempting to oust her for “protecting the public” over serving “a political agenda.” The dispute began as a disagreement over demands from Kennedy and his top staff for Monarez to support changes to COVID vaccine policy and the firings of high-level staff, which Monarez would not commit to, a source familiar with the conversations told ABC News.

After HHS said on Wednesday that Monarez was no longer director of the agency, four other senior career officials at the CDC also resigned, according to emails obtained by ABC News.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a deciding vote on Kennedy’s confirmation to lead HHS as chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, wrote on X that the “high profile departures will require oversight by the HELP Committee.”

Cassidy also called for the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a committee that reviews vaccine data and determines nationwide recommendations, to be indefinitely postponed following the CDC staff shakeups. The next meeting of the agency’s vaccine panel is scheduled for September 18 and 19.

“Serious allegations have been made about the meeting agenda, membership, and lack of scientific process being followed for the now announced September ACIP meeting. These decisions directly impact children’s health and the meeting should not occur until significant oversight has been conducted,” Cassidy said in a statement on Thursday.

The White House on Thursday was asked about Trump’s stance on COVID vaccines, specifically whether he believes they should be available and covered by insurance for all Americans, regardless of age and pre-existing conditions.

The question came after the FDA on Wednesday approved updated COVID-19 vaccines for only high-risk Americans, a narrower scope than in the past.

The new, more limited FDA approval for the vaccines questions about accessibility — whether people will still be able to get the vaccines easily in pharmacies, rather than doctors offices — and insurance coverage, which is often determined by the CDC advisory committee’s recommendations. The list price, without coverage, for certain COVID vaccines is over $100.

“The reason for the revocation of that emergency youth authorization is because, obviously, the COVID pandemic and the public health emergency is over,” Leavitt said. “But just to correct the record, because there’s been a lot of misinformation on this, the FDA decision does not affect the availability of COVID vaccines for Americans who want them.”

“We believe in individual choice. That’s a promise both the president and the secretary have made. It’s a promise they have now delivered on,” Leavitt said.

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(SAN ANTONIO) — Former Major League Baseball player Mark Teixeira has announced a run for Congress in Texas in a red district that includes areas around San Antonio and Austin.

“As a lifelong conservative who loves this country, I’m ready to fight for the principles that make Texas strong and America exceptional. It takes teamwork to win, and I’m ready to help defend President Trump’s America First agenda, Texas families, and individual liberty,” he says in a statement on his new campaign website.

The former first baseman is running to fill the seat of Republican Rep. Chip Roy, who is running for Texas attorney general and has clashed with the Trump administration at times.

This will be Teixeira’s first run for political office after his 14 seasons in the MLB — during which he earned three All-Star selections, five Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers. He retired in 2016, having played for several teams, including for the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees.

Teixeira was on the World Series-winning Yankees team in 2009.

“Playing for the Texas Rangers and raising my family in the Lone Star State has been one of the greatest blessings of my life,” Teixeira said in a statement. “Now I’m ready to answer the call to serve my country, my state, and the conservative principles that made Texas the envy of the nation.”

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is once again vowing to protect Social Security if congressional Republicans seek another reconciliation bill.

Asked earlier this week what he would prioritize should Republicans in Congress seek a reconciliation bill, a cost-cutting tactic that would bypass the usual Senate filibuster, Trump said he would focus efforts on cutting unnecessary things, and “save” others, such as Social Security.

“One thing I said and I gave my word — we’re not going to hurt anybody on Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security,” Trump said Monday in the Oval Office. Congress is prohibited from touching Social Security’s benefit structure or revenue mechanisms in a reconciliation bill.

Trump went on to say “we’re doing great on Social Security” and that “we’re going to protect it.”

Protecting Social Security is a common refrain for Trump, who promised to protect the federal program on the campaign trail and has reiterated that message through his second term as president — even as his administration has sought cuts for other federal programs and agencies.

Trump has touted “no tax” on Social Security with the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act last month. While the bill doesn’t end Social Security taxes, it will provide many older Americans who qualify for the program with a tax break, according to a Politifact report.

Trump’s megabill gives an additional tax deduction of up to $6,000 for Americans 65 and older. The tax deduction is temporary and is in effect until 2028.

While the move that could mean more income for seniors, some critics say it will have little effect on the social insurance.

Laurence Kotlikof, a professor of economics at Boston University, said changes to the tax deductibles “make it look like Trump had made good on his promise, but there’s no connection of this at all to the taxation of Social Security benefits.” Kotlikof explained that if a person is low income and their tax rate is low to begin with, they will not get much of a tax break from the deductible.

Democrats have criticized the GOP-passed megabill as benefiting the rich while hurting low-income people.

The Trump administration celebrated the program’s 90th anniversary earlier this month with the Social Security Administration’s leader saying he is looking for ways to help the program evolve to help future generations, too.

Frank Bisignano, the administrator of the Social Security Administration, earlier this month shared plans to help Social Security become a “digital-first agency.” Bisignano said the administration had a “bold goal” for 200 million Americans to have a digital SSA account by the end of next year — making the program predominantly digital.

While Trump has expressed confidence in the future of the program, projections state that the program’s trust fund will run out in less than a decade.

The Social Security trust fund, which pays retirement and survivor benefits, is set to run out in 2033, resulting in a 23% reduction in payable benefits at that time, according to the 2025 Trustees Report — a Social Security Administration report that describes the projected fiscal outlook for both Medicaid and Social Security programs and their trust funds. The OASI trust fund will be able to pay 100% of total benefits until 2033. At that time, the reserves will be depleted and will be sufficient to only pay 77% of total benefits, according to the 2025 Trustee Report.

The combined trust funds that Social Security uses to pay retirees, survivors and those with disabilities are set to run out by 2034 — a year earlier than what was last projected in the 2024 report, according to the Trustees Report. Once the combined funds are depleted, the funds would only be able to pay 81% of benefits, according to the report.

The OASI trust fund that is projected to run out in 2033 was valued at $2.538 trillion at the end of 2024, according to the 2025 OASDI Trustees Report. The combined trust funds that fund social security are worth in total $2.7 trillion as of the end of 2024, according to trust fund data on the Social Security Administration website.

In a written statement to ABC News, the Social Security Administration touted the “historic” tax relief to seniors due to the passing of the Trump’s megabill and maintained that it will continue to work with Congress to “protect and strengthen” the program.

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(NEW YORK) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams is saying he’s sorry for the controversy that has surrounded his administration over the past year amid allegations of corruption against the mayor and his associates.

Adams’ tenure has been marked by some measurable achievements that he continues to tout, including a post-COVID recovery and declining crime rates; however, he’s had to deal with the fallout of a federal investigation into him and several separate probes surrounding his top officials over the years.

While the mayor has continued to maintain his innocence after the corruption case against him was dismissed, Adams told ABC News Tuesday that he understands the controversy that has defined his last year in office has been a distraction for New Yorkers.

“To those New Yorkers who have to pick up their paper and read this headline, all I can say is I’m sorry, and I’m committed to this city,” Adams said.

Adams was indicted last September on five counts in an alleged long-standing conspiracy connected to what prosecutors said were improper benefits, illegal campaign contributions and an attempted cover-up.

The charges against the mayor — including counts of wire fraud, conspiracy, bribery and solicitation of a contribution from a foreign entity — were dropped against him in April by the U.S. Justice Department in what his critics claim was a quid pro quo with the Trump administration.

Adams and the Justice Department denied there was a quid pro quo involved in the dropping of the charges.

At least ten of his aides, associates, and appointees have been charged with crimes, and a string of top officials – including four deputy mayors, his school’s chancellor, and police commissioner – resigned ahead of Adams’ indictment last year.

Last week, his former chief adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin was indicted for allegedly profiting from her position in government. She has pleaded not guilty.

Adams, meanwhile, has sought to distance himself from the criminal cases that continue to follow some of his allies and aides.

“You know, we made mistakes. There are people that we brought in government that was probably not ready to go into government, but we must forge ahead,” Adams told ABC News when asked about the scandals involving his inner circle.

The latest controversy to hit the Adams administration came last week when Winnie Greco, a former aide and campaign volunteer, allegedly handed a reporter a bag of potato chips stuffed with cash. Greco resigned from her position in the Adams administration last year after the FBI searched her home.

She has not been charged and the FBI has not commented on the search at her home. Greco and her attorney said the incident with the chip bag was a misunderstanding.

When asked about the incident, Adams said Greco’s actions were “wrong.”

“I don’t know what happened there. It is not something that I believe one should do. It gives a false image. It’s the wrong thing that should be done,” Adams said, adding that Greco is no longer working as a campaign volunteer.

While legal issues continue to follow some of his aides, the criminal case against Adams himself was dismissed earlier this year following orders from top Department of Justice officials.

The decision to dismiss the case was made without considering the strength of the case against Adams, but rather because the charges ” unduly restricted Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime,” the Justice Department argued.

Adams dismissed concerns that if re-elected, he would be more beholden to the Trump administration because it didn’t pursue the indictment.

“The case was dropped with prejudice. That means to New York, to New Yorkers, that it won’t come back again,” Adams said, referencing how prosecutors are barred from bringing the same case against him if the Trump administration changes its position.

Adams continued to argue that the case against him was politically motivated.

“I didn’t spend all my life in law enforcement to break the law. I’ve never broke the law. I never did anything to violate the trust of the people of the city,” he said.

The mayor faces strong competition in the November election.

Progressive upstart Zohran Mamdani handily won the Democratic mayoral primary, and the 33-year-old Democratic socialist maintains his lead over both Adams and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as a third-party candidate, in early polling.

Adams, who is running as an independent candidate, said he believes he remains a Democrat and said he offers a version of politics that appeals to a broader swath of voters than Mamdani.

“I’m a pragmatic moderate Democrat that believes in family, public safety, employment, pro-business, those things that make cities healthy,” Adams said.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Transportation announced new high-speed Acela trains during a Wednesday news conference, which included details about how the agency is “reclaiming the management” of Union Station in Washington, D.C., in an effort to restore it and bolster financial opportunities in it.

Joined by Amtrak leaders, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy helped announce the launch of the NextGen Acela, which Amtrak is calling a high-speed rail service. The NextGen Acela had its inaugural ride from Washington to New York City’s Penn Station Wednesday morning following the announcement.

Duffy said that high-speed trains should be available in the United States — not just abroad. He said these high-speed trains will carry more people, which will lead to better pricing and an overall “better traveling experience for the American public.”

Amtrak President Roger Harris described the new trains as “premium, convenient and comfortable.” The trains are being marketed as the future of high-speed rail with Harris saying they will travel 160 miles per hour. Harris also noted that 95% of the trains are made in the United States and the investment in the new Acela trains helped generate 15,000 new jobs across the country.

While Amtrak is promoting that the trains are high speed, its schedules show the new train is slower than existing ones on the route — by 3-7 minutes per trip between Washington and New York City.

“Trip time improvements will continue to be determined based on infrastructure improvements we will also make along the Corridor. This includes updating and modernizing the tracks and overhead wires,” an Amtrak spokesperson said in response.

Duffy also announced that Union Station is “back under DOT control” in an effort to better restore and monetize it. Though the Union Station has previously been owned by the Department of Transportation, it has been under various agreements and leases.

“Not a power play — we’ve always had it, but we think we can manage the property better,” Duffy said of control of Union Station. “Bring in more tenants, bring in more revenue and that revenue is going to allow us to make investments in this beautiful building.”

Duffy said the effort aligns with President Donald Trump’s plan to reduce crime and homelessness in Washington and beautify Union Station. He added that Trump “wants Union Station to be beautiful again, he wants transit to be safe again, and he wants our nation’s capital to be great again. And today is part of that.”

“We are going to make the investments to make sure that this station isn’t dirty, that we don’t have homelessness in Union Station,” Duffy said. “We want a place where businesses want to obtain leases and set up shop and serve the community of D.C. and also the people who travel into D.C. via train. But also … if you want to go to a great meal and you want to go shopping, you want to come to Union Station because it’s gorgeous, it’s beautiful, it’s safe.”

Last week, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited Union Station to thank National Guard members stationed there. During the visit, Vance spoke to reporters about Union Station and crime there.

“You have vagrants, you have drug addicts, you have the chronically homeless. You have the mentally ill who harass, who threaten violence, who attack families, and they’ve done it for far too long. This should be a monument to American greatness. There should be a place where you can come and share a meal or go shopping with your family. It should not be a place where parents of small children are afraid to bring them,” Vance said.

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(WASHINGTON) — National Democrats are celebrating the results of a special election for the Iowa State Senate, after Democrat Catelin Drey won in a district President Donald Trump carried by 11 points in 2024 to break a Republican supermajority of the chamber.

Republicans argue the low turnout race won’t reflect the voters who come out to support the party in the midterms, and that the results are influenced by the Democratic National Committee’s efforts to inject national money and volunteers into the race.

But the results are a potential warning sign for Republicans and suggest Democratic voters may be more engaged heading into next year’s elections, where control of Congress is at stake.

Drey won with 55% of the vote, with Republican Christopher Prosch garnering 44%, according to preliminary results from the Woodbury County Auditor’s Office.

“For the fourth special election in a row, Iowa voted for change,” Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said after Drey’s victory.

“Our state is ready for a new direction and Iowa Democrats will keep putting forward candidates who can deliver better representation for Iowans,” Hart added.

Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said on Wednesday the party mobilized more than 30,000 volunteers to aid Drey and Iowa Democrats.

Martin, in a statement touting Drey’s victory, said Iowans are “putting Republicans on notice and making it crystal clear: any Republican pushing Trump’s unpopular, extreme agenda has no place governing on behalf of Iowa families.”

“That’s why all year long, Iowans have been electing Democrats ready to fight for working Iowans. Make no mistake: when Democrats organize everywhere, we win everywhere, and today is no exception,” Martin said.

This is the second time this year that Democrats have won a special election in Iowa. In January, they flipped another Iowa State Senate seat in a GOP area that President Trump won by 21 points last November.

The result of Tuesday’s special election also has practical implications for the state. Without a supermajority, Republicans can no longer confirm the governor’s appointees without Democratic support.

Iowa Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufman, on social media, downplayed the win for Democrats.

“National Democrats were so desperate for a win that they activated 30,000 volunteers and a flood of national money to win a state senate special election by a few hundred votes,” Kaufman wrote on X. “If @DNC thinks things are suddenly so great again for them in Iowa, they will bring back the caucuses.”

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