Congress

Don Davis eyes open North Carolina Senate seat

Published

12 months ago

July 7, 2025

Democratic Rep. Don Davis is exploring a run for the North Carolina Senate seat being vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, according to a spokesperson.

Davis is “looking at all options and not ruling anything out,” said the spokesperson, Hannah Spengler. But running for the Senate seat would mean giving up a competitive House seat in a district won by President Donald Trump last year. Davis narrowly won reelection last year, and Republicans have signaled they’ll try to flip the seat again this cycle.

Former Rep. Wiley Nickel is already running on the Democratic side, and former Gov. Roy Cooper, who remains popular in North Carolina, also looms large over the race. He’s expected to make a decision this summer.

Among Republicans, Lara Trump — the president’s daughter-in-law and a Wilmington native — is looking at the race, as are RNC Chair Michael Whatley and Rep. Pat Harrigan.

Speaking to reporters Monday, North Carolina’s other Republican senator — Ted Budd — said the GOP has a “great bench” and said Lara Trump would be a “very viable” candidate given her ties to the state: “If she wants it we would of course be supportive,” he said.

“When you look at those outside the political realm that possibly want to run, you look at those that are in the U.S. House, you got a lot of good candidates there, so who knows how this will shake out?” Budd added.

Congress

Senate votes to halt Iran war despite Trump’s push for peace deal

Published

2 hours ago

June 23, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The Senate on Tuesday voted to cut off the U.S. military campaign against Iran, handing a fresh loss to President Donald Trump despite his attempts to convince lawmakers and the public that a deal to end the war is at hand.

Four Republicans broke ranks to help approve a resolution to block further military action unless it is green-lighted by Congress.

The war powers measure is largely symbolic — the resolution cleared Tuesday doesn’t go to the president to sign or veto. But the bipartisan 50-48 vote is a damaging milestone for the Trump administration: Both the Senate and House have now weighed in against the Middle East conflict that’s stretched on for more than 100 days. The same measure passed the House in early June after months of close calls.

Congress

Housing bill threatened in GOP elections-bill spat

Published

2 hours ago

June 23, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The long-anticipated bipartisan housing bill is under threat from a Florida Republican who threatened to “shut the floor down” if House GOP leaders move forward with passing it Tuesday.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said Republicans instead need to prioritize passage of the SAVE America Act, the GOP elections bill that has been stuck in the Senate for months. Speaker Mike Johnson has scheduled a Tuesday evening vote on the housing bill in hopes of sending it to President Donald Trump for a planned Wednesday signing at the White House.

Luna posted her threat on social media Tuesday afternoon and later specified in an interview that she would oppose procedural measures teeing up GOP-backed legislation going forward if party leaders didn’t abandon their plans to hold the housing bill vote via special fast-track procedures that would effectively sideline Republican hard-liners.

Luna cannot single-handedly block those procedural votes, but she said there is “a group” of lawmakers who would join her. She separately called on Trump to veto the housing bill in a bid to force the SAVE America Act to be added to it.

Johnson plans for now to proceed with the Tuesday evening vote on the housing bill, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations. If Luna and her unnamed allies follow through with their threats, they could derail a pair of appropriations bills set for House consideration this week and potentially freeze the floor indefinitely given the GOP’s razor-thin majority.

“I have been telling them,” Luna said of her complaints to GOP leaders.

Congress

Top tech executives expected to testify at July 28 Senate hearing

Published

4 hours ago

June 23, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The Senate Judiciary Committee is tentatively planning to have top tech executives testify at a July 28 hearing, according to five people with knowledge of the committee’s plans granted anonymity to discuss private negotiations.

Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) had previously summoned the CEOs of Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Google to a hearing, originally scheduled for Tuesday, to discuss their online child safety practices, AI safety and other topics.

“Chairman Grassley looks forward to a productive hearing as he continues his bipartisan efforts to get lifesaving child safety legislation signed into law,” a spokesperson for Grassley told Blue Light News.

The hearing, which remains provisional, comes at a pivotal moment for the tech sector. Congress is actively debating legislation aimed at protecting children online, while courts and state attorneys general are intensifying pressure on social media companies over allegations that their platforms harm young users.

The list of tech executives the committee is eyeing to testify remains in flux but currently includes head of Instagram Adam Mosseri and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, according to the five people. Three of the people said Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel and CEO of TikTok’s U.S.-based joint venture company Adam Presser may also be called to attend.

The four companies did not immediately comment on the proposed hearing.