Texas Democrats who fled state can ‘stay out long enough to stop this deal’, Beto O’Rourke says – live updates | Texas
Texas Democrats who fled state can ‘stay out long enough to stop this deal’, says O’Rourke
Former Democratic congressman Beto O’Rourke, who has emerged as a top funder covering the costs of Texas lawmakers’ exodus, told CNN earlier that he believes they can “stay out long enough to stop this deal in Texas”.
Donald Trump, Texas governor Greg Abbott, and Texas attorney general Ken Paxton are, O’Rourke said, “trying to steal these five seats in Texas because without them Trump’s going to lose a majority in the House of Representatives”.
Without that majority, there’s a check on his lawlessness, accountability for his crimes and corruption, and the possibility of free and fair elections going forward.
The 56 Texas Democrats who fled the state are, O’Rourke said, “all that stand between that future and where we are right now”.
I think what they’re doing is the highest form of public service. They’re trying to stop the consolidation of authoritarian power in America.
They are the champions for this democracy, for America, for the rule of law and for our constitution.
Paxton has called their leaving a “dereliction of the duty as elected officials” and said he would pursue a court ruling to declare the seats of “any rogue lawmakers” vacant if they do not return to work at the statehouse by Friday.
“This matters more than any other priority,” said O’Rourke. “We have to stop their power grab.” He added:
The election of 2026 is going to be decided in the summer of 2025, so we have to fight now and every day going forward.
Key events
Top Trump officials to discuss unified response to Epstein ordeal over dinner hosted by JD Vance tonight – report
JD Vance will reportedly host top administration officials at his residence tonight, where they will discuss a strategy to address the fallout of the government’s mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and come up with a “unified response”, CNN reports.
Among the attendees will reportedly be, attorney Pam Bondi, her deputy Todd Blanche, FBI director Kash Patel and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
It comes as the administration weighs whether to release the contents of Blanche’s interviews, including over 10 hours of audio and a transcript, with Epstein accomplice and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. Two officials told CNN that the materials could be made public as early as this week.
One official told CNN that some of the conversation within the White House has focused on whether making the details from the interview public would bring the Epstein controversy back to the surface, at a time when many officials close to Trump believe the story has finally died down.
Texas Democrats who fled state can ‘stay out long enough to stop this deal’, says O’Rourke
Former Democratic congressman Beto O’Rourke, who has emerged as a top funder covering the costs of Texas lawmakers’ exodus, told CNN earlier that he believes they can “stay out long enough to stop this deal in Texas”.
Donald Trump, Texas governor Greg Abbott, and Texas attorney general Ken Paxton are, O’Rourke said, “trying to steal these five seats in Texas because without them Trump’s going to lose a majority in the House of Representatives”.
Without that majority, there’s a check on his lawlessness, accountability for his crimes and corruption, and the possibility of free and fair elections going forward.
The 56 Texas Democrats who fled the state are, O’Rourke said, “all that stand between that future and where we are right now”.
I think what they’re doing is the highest form of public service. They’re trying to stop the consolidation of authoritarian power in America.
They are the champions for this democracy, for America, for the rule of law and for our constitution.
Paxton has called their leaving a “dereliction of the duty as elected officials” and said he would pursue a court ruling to declare the seats of “any rogue lawmakers” vacant if they do not return to work at the statehouse by Friday.
“This matters more than any other priority,” said O’Rourke. “We have to stop their power grab.” He added:
The election of 2026 is going to be decided in the summer of 2025, so we have to fight now and every day going forward.
Putin-Witkoff meeting ‘went well’, but sanctions still expected on Friday, says White House official
US envoy Steve Witkoff’s meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday went well, a White House official has told Reuters, adding that Washington still planned to proceed with secondary sanctions on Friday.
The Russians are eager to continue engaging with the United States. The secondary sanctions are still expected to be implemented on Friday.
My colleague Jakub Krupa is covering this in greater detail over on our Europe live blog:
It follows a Reuters report that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump spoke on the phone earlier today, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Hours earlier, US special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. There haven’t been any immediate indication from either side as to how the talks went.
We’re seeing lines on Reuters quoting a White House official that secondary US sanctions on Russia are expected to be implemented on Friday, the deadline Trump gave Putin to reach a peace deal to end its war in Ukraine.
Up until this point Trump had been unusually reticent to punish the Russian president, my colleague Patrick Wintour wrote in a piece published this morning, so “what Trump – who some had claimed was a Russian asset – does next to punish Putin could define his presidency.”
I’ll bring you more on this as we get it.
California lawmakers will have just days to decide on special election
If state legislators in California move ahead with governor Gavin Newsom’s plan to hold a special election – and begin the process of redrawing the state’s congressional maps in response to Texas’s plans – they’ll have just five days to announce their decision.
The California legislature returns from its recess on 18 August, and it will have to declare a special election by 22 August, according to KCRA News.
“They’re doing a midterm rejection of objectivity and independence, an act that we could criticise from the sideline, or an act that we can respond to in kind – fight fire with fire,” Newsom said in a press conference last week, referring to Texas Republicans’ plans to pass a new congressional map.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with Donald Trump on the phone today, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
This comes after US special envoy Steve Witkoff wrapped up a three-hour meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin earlier today.
My colleagues are tracking the latest here.
A DC federal takeover would likely face an uphill battle in Congress
Joseph Gedeon
In a post on his Truth Social platform, the president said he would “federalize” the city if local authorities failed to address crime, specifically calling for minors as young as 14 to be prosecuted as adults.
Trump’s threat could theoretically take several forms. The constitution grants Congress broad authority over the federal district, though completely suspending local governance would likely require congressional legislation. Trump could also deploy federal law enforcement or national guard troops under executive authority, as he did during 2020 protests when federal forces cleared Lafayette Square outside the White House over local officials’ objections.
But fully stripping the city’s home rule would likely face fierce Democratic opposition in Congress. Any such move would require congressional legislation that Democrats could block or attempt to challenge in federal courts.
Washington DC, with a population of about 700,000, has actually seen violent crime decline in the first half of 2025 compared with the previous year, and 2024 marked a 30-year low, according to a pre-Trump January report by the Department of Justice. The Democratic-controlled city has frequently clashed with Trump over federal interventions and has long sought statehood, which would grant it full self-governance and congressional representation – which Republican lawmakers have opposed.
The office of the DC mayor, Muriel Bowser, declined a request for comment.
On Truth Social today, the president labelled Democratic lawmakers in Congress as “extortionists”. Referring to last week’s failed negotiations between Senate Republicans and Democrats to quickly appoint several of Trump’s nominees.
The president added:
Politically embattled Senator, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, wants the Republicans to pay, as EXTORTION, TWO BILLION DOLLARS in order for the Radical Left Democrats to approve the hundreds of Trump Appointments who have been waiting for months, and are raring’ to go. This has never happened before. There has never, in U.S. history, been such a delay.
Patrick Wintour
After taking six months to conclude that Vladimir Putin may not be a kindred transactional authoritarian leader but an ideological nationalist seeking the return of what “belongs to Russia”, the deadline Donald Trump set for the Russian president to agree a Ukraine ceasefire or face US sanctions on oil exports arrives on Friday.
What Trump – who some had claimed was a Russian asset – does next to punish Putin could define his presidency.
It is a remarkable turnaround and one that seasoned Trump watchers such as Michael McFaul, the former US ambassador to Russia, said they had never expected. Only months ago the debate was about what further inducements Trump would offer Putin to end the fighting. The Trump administration has not executed a new rollout of Russia sanctions in six months, a drop to zero from a minimum of 16 sets of actions in every preceding six-month period, a report by senior Democrats submitted to the Senate banking committee found this week.
Read more here
Trump order imposes additional 25% tariff on India for importing Russian oil
Donald Trump has issued an executive order today imposing an additional 25% tariff on goods from India, saying the country directly or indirectly imported Russian oil, adding to 25% tariffs already announced.
Last week Trump had said the White House would impose a 25% tariff “plus a penalty” of an unspecified amount.
The additional tariffs, which would come into effect after 21 days, mean India will face the highest levy along with Brazil, putting it at a significant disadvantage against regional competitors such as Vietnam and Bangladesh. There is thus mounting pressure on the Indian government to reach a deal.
The move threatens to further complicate US-Indian relations and comes shortly after a Indian government source told Reuters Indian prime minister Narendra Modi would visit China for the first time in over seven years later this month.
US-India ties are facing their most serious crisis in years after talks with India failed to produce a trade agreement.
The White House move, first signalled by Trump on Monday, follows meetings by Trump’s top diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow aimed at pushing Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine.
Trump has threatened higher tariffs on Russia and secondary sanctions on its allies, if Vladimir Putin does not soon move to end the war in Ukraine.
FBI report disproves Trump’s claim of a Biden-era out-of-control crime wave
Richard Luscombe
When Donald Trump fought for and won the 2024 presidential election, his victory was built partly on the false assertion that Democrats were responsible for an out-of-control crime wave in the US, with murders and rapes at record highs.
Figures released by the FBI on Tuesday, however, confirm that the nation was as safe as it ever had been during the final full year of the Biden administration. Every category of crime decreased in frequency, and violent crime in particular dropped to levels not seen since the 1960s, per the report.
The bureau’s annual Reported Crimes in the Nation Statistics report reflects a 4.5% year-on-year decrease in all violent crime nationally in 2024, with murder and non-negligent manslaughter falling 14.5% from the 2023 figure.
Reported rapes were down 5.2% from the year before, while aggravated assaults and robberies declined 3% and 8.9% respectively.
The figures belie Trump’s oft-repeated fear-mongering during the election campaign that “soft-on-crime” Democrats had fueled surging crime rates, particularly in major cities under their control.
In May 2024, for example, Trump told reporters attending his hush-money trial in Manhattan that New York prosecutors were fixated on his prosecution while “people are being mugged and killed outside … [I’ve] never seen anything like it in my life”.
Texas redistricting battle: where things stand
Another story we’re keeping tabs on throughout the day is the ongoing redistricting battle in Texas. It’s one that has grown by the day, so here’s where things stand at the moment.
State Democratic lawmakers broke quorum for two consecutive days – forestalling the Texas legislature’s special session. Democrats fled the state over the weekend to protest a new GOP-drawn congressional map that could see Republicans pick up five extra House seats in the 2026 midterms if it passes.
While the legislators camp out in blue states like Illinois, New York and Massachusetts for “as long as it takes”, they’ve also set the stage for a showdown between the Texas governor and nationwide Democrats. The Texas Tribune reports that former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke has been a top funder covering the costs of the lawmakers’ exodus. A reminder, fleeing Democrats are also facing a $500-a-day fine for leaving the special session without permission. It’s a fee that representatives the Guardian has spoken to are paying out of their own pocket.
Meanwhile, senator John Cornyn of Texas has asked the FBI to aid Texas law enforcement in locating and arresting Democrats who left the state. For his part, the state’s Republican attorney general Ken Paxton said he would pursue a court ruling to declare the seats of “any rogue lawmakers” vacant if they do not return to work at the statehouse by Friday.
Beyond Texas’s borders, a redistricting “arms race” – as state representative Gina Hinojosa described to the Guardian – has ensued. California governor Gavin Newsom is pushing for a special election to ask voters to override the state’s redistricting commission, and approve new maps that would favor California Democrats if Texas moved forward with its gerrymandering plan.
A White House official confirms to the Guardian that Donald Trump will make an announcement today that Apple plans to spend another $100bn on domestic manufacturing.
Apple CEO, Tim Cook, is expected to attend. In February, Apple pledged to invest $500bn in the US over the next four years.
Marsha Blackburn launches Tennessee governor bid
Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee announced today that she plans to run for governor of the state. The Republican lawmaker is now serving her second senate term. Outgoing governor Bill Lee, also a Republican, is term-limited.
In a video announcement posted on social media, Blackburn said she is “ready to deliver the kind of conservative leadership that will ensure our state is America’s conservative leader for this generation and the next”.
Blackburn is a staunch Trump ally, and aligned on many of his agenda items: from immigration to school choice.
Currently, her main contender is Tennessee congressman John Rose, who announced his candidacy for governor back in March.
The president is at the White House today. His public schedule is quiet for most of the day, but we can expect to see Trump at 4.30pm EDT today for an “announcement” in the Oval Office.
It’s not immediately clear what the announcement will focus on.
Trump threatens to take ‘federal control’ of DC after Doge staffer attack
Hello, and welcome to the day’s live US politics coverage. I’m Shrai Popat and I’ll be bringing you the latest.
Donald Trump has threatened a federal takeover of Washington DC, after an attempted carjacking of a former “department of government efficiency” (Doge) employee.
On Truth Social, the president shared a picture of Edward Coristine – a 19-year-old former Doge staffer – who appeared bloodied after the assault.
Trump wrote that DC is “totally out of control”, and if the city doesn’t “get it’s act together” he will have “no choice but to take Federal control”.
At the beginning of his second term, Trump said he supports a federal takeover of the nation’s capital. As of now, the DC Home Rule Act of 1973 means that DC residents elect their local politicians who run the daily functioning of the city.
