Republicans will now race to replace Graham on the November ballot in a special primary election in mid-August, according to state law.
In an interview with NBCâs âMeet the Pressâ on Sunday morning, President Donald Trump said he was already considering who he might back in the race.
Danielle Pletka, a distinguished senior fellow in foreign and defense policy at the American Enterprise Institute, said Trump has a military plan on his desk that U.S. commanders believe could force Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without making any major concessions to its theocratic regime.
âThe president has had on his desk for months now a 10- to 14-day plan that would do what was necessary to finish out the mission of the war on Iran. It would take out the remaining missile sites we saw them work on, the remaining parts of their defense-industrial complex, the remaining nuclear [program] and some of the critical [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps] emplacements, and do that in a way that Centcom feels would mean we could walk away, not have a deal, and stop worrying about Iran for a little while,â she said.
âWill it take 10 to 14 days? Who knows? Is the president going to follow that plan? Who knows?â she said.
Kiros, a 29-year-old former lawyer, was fired from her job after refusing to remove a post that criticised law firms for their stance on Israel and Palestine and has called Israelâs actions in Gaza genocide.
Kiros is âthe latest democratic socialist to oust an incumbent Democrat this summer.
The push to put a billionaire tax to a popular vote in blue California has exposed deep divides on the left, even as Democratic politicians across the country rally around calls for the wealthy to pay more. The issue is pitting the populist mood of the public against many Democratsâ fears that the measure will push the ultrawealthy to join a broader exodus from the state and take their tax dollars with them.
(June 25, 2026)
SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West President Dave Regan refused to back down on the billionaire tax.
Our solution: The California Billionaire Tax Act
Weâre calling on Californiaâs billionaires to step up and pay a one-time, emergency 5% tax to prevent the collapse of California healthcare and help fund California public K-14 education and state food assistance programs. This would protect healthcare jobs and ensure working people and families can get the care they need. The tax would be paid only by Californians worth more than $1 billion â which is about 200 people who hold a combined wealth of $2 trillion.
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U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who leads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and is in his fifth term, was defeated by Mamdaniâs most polarizing pick, Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist who once helped organize pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.
U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, a two-term incumbent, was beaten by the Mamdani-backed former city Comptroller Brad Lander, a fixture among New York progressives who has often shown sympathy to the democratic socialist movement. And another Mamdani ally, democratic socialist state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, defeated the handpicked successor of retiring U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez.
Two Senate Republicans who supported a previous resolution calling for an end to the US war on Iran changed their votes late Wednesday after President Donald Trump publicly and privately berated GOP lawmakers, calling them âlosersâ who provided âaid and comfort to the enemy.â
In Wednesdayâs procedural vote, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.)âwho reportedly got into a shouting match with Trump over the Iran war during a closed-door lunch hours earlierâsided with virtually every other Republican in opposing the war powers resolution, just a day after he supported a separate, symbolic resolution calling for the removal of US forces from the conflict. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) also switched, changing his vote to âpresentâ at the urging of the president.
Updated on: June 24, 2026 / 11:37 PM EDT / CBS News
Later in the day, however, signs emerged that some of the Senate Republicans who had previously voted to constrain Mr. Trump‘s war powers were reconsidering.
Cassidy was briefed on Iran at the White House by Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff, the senator confirmed on X, writing that the conversation „address[ed] many of my concerns.“ Cassidy voted against advancing the resolution Wednesday night.
And Paul voted present on Wednesday, despite voting in favor of the last several Iran war powers resolutions. He said on X his goal was to „give the President more space and leverage to negotiate a lasting peace.“
Updated on: June 25, 2026 / 12:07 AM EDT / CBS News
President Trump‘s meeting with Republican senators on Wednesday turned testy, and at one point, he sternly told Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy to sit down, after questions arose about the War Powers Resolution, according to sources directly familiar with the meeting.
Jun 24, 2026 11:30 AM CET)
Trump claims that his war on Iran doesnât need congressional approval because a cease-fire that took effect on April 8 effectively ended it. His Administration also argues that the 1973 law is âunconstitutionalâ and that the Administration only complies with parts of it to maintain good relations with the legislative branch.
Others, however, argue that Congressâ authority over declarations of war allows for the method. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D, N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who sponsored the House war powers resolution, said in a statement that he will make sure that the Administration adheres to it: âRegardless of what President Trump says, this measure is binding under the War Powers Resolution, and I will explore all legal avenues to ensure the Executive complies with the will of Congress.â
Washington, DC — Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today issued a statement following the Senateâs approval of his War Powers Resolution which passed the House of Representatives earlier this month. The Senate passed the Resolution 50-48.
Having passed both chambers as a Concurrent Resolution, this measure does not go to the presidentâs desk for signature. Under the War Powers Resolution, however, it is binding on the president and directs him to cease hostilities against Iran.
âWith the Senate passage of my Iran War Powers Resolution, both chambers have now made clear that the president cannot continue this war of choice and must cease all hostilities against Iran. Regardless of what President Trump says, this measure is binding under the War Powers Resolution, and I will explore all legal avenues to ensure the Executive complies with the will of Congress.
GOP Sens. Rand Paul, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Bill Cassidy joined Democrats in voting for the resolution, while Democratic Sen. John Fetterman voted against it. The final tally was 50-48. The absences of GOP Sens. Mitch McConnell and Dave McCormick, who have previously voted against advancing war powers resolutions, contributed to the measureâs adoption.
A number of Democratic strongholds are hosting competitive congressional primaries, with establishment incumbents and candidates trying to fend off left-wing challengers.
State of play: In the state‘s 10th district, Jeffries is supporting Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) while Mamdani is backing NYC comptroller Brad Lander.
In the 13th district, Jeffries-backed Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) faces a spirited challenge from Mamdani-endorsed democratic socialist Darializa Avila-Chevalier.
Mamdani is also supporting democratic socialist State Assembly member Claire Valdez in the 7th district over Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, though Jeffries hasn‘t endorsed in that race.
(june 19, 2026)
Not long ago, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was demonized by leaders of both political parties. On Thursday night, the 34-year-old democratic socialist was celebrated as a political force, the face of the regionâs sports renaissance, even the leader of âMamdanistan.â
In a rally with Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., that drew thousands to a Brooklyn theater, the emboldened mayor delivered a fiery message to Democratic leaders in Washington â and even those considering 2028 presidential bids â as he worked to elevate a slate of likeminded candidates in Tuesdayâs New York primaries.
The White House is expected to formally request a supplemental spending bill in the coming days
The task now is not to reward Trump politically, nor to excuse the recklessness that produced this war. It is to prevent the war from returning. Democrats can condemn the decision to start it without sabotaging the agreement that ends it. They can hold Trump accountable without helping Netanyahu drag the United States back into conflict. The choice before them is not between opposing Trump and supporting peace. It is between learning from Americaâs endless wars and repeating them.
If the Senate were to secure those 60 votes and pass the war powers resolution, the chambers would have to work out differences in the text of the bill between the two chambers, which might require additional votes.
If both chambers pass identical versions of a war powers resolution, the measure would still require the president‘s signature to take effect â something that seems unlikely based on Trump‘s commitment to the war so far.
If Trump vetoes it, the House and Senate could override the veto only with two-thirds votes in each chamber, which is well above the support demonstrated so far. No war powers resolution has ever overcome a veto.
When Congress returns to work in June, both the House and Senate are expected to vote on resolutions that would force Trump to stop military strikes against Iran, whatâs known as a âwar powersâ resolution.
House GOP leaders postponed a vote on that before Memorial Day â worried that Republicans would lose that vote for a first time.
The two candidates who receive the most votes, regardless of party affiliation, will progress to the general election in November.
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James is an eighth-generation Texan, former middle school teacher, and Presbyterian seminarian. As a state representative, heâs led the fight against the billionaire mega-donors and puppet politicians who have taken over Texas.
Now, heâs running for U.S. Senate to take his fight against corruption to Washington and win power back for working people.
âI said what I said.â
That was Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffer Paulina Mangubatâs statement Thursday evening after her response to White House adviser Stephen Millerâs smear against Democratic US Senate candidate James Talarico of Texas went viral earlier this week.
After Miller posted a picture on Wednesday of Talarico with the comment that Democrats in Texas had nominated âtheir first transgender Senate candidate,â Mangubat, who serves as the DNCâs content and creative director and is behind many of the committeeâs social media posts, had a concise response.
Israel is pressing the US to restart heavy airstrikes on Iran that would involve the targeted killing of Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, one of Tehranâs lead negotiators, and attacks on the countryâs oil infrastructure, Capital & Empire reported on Thursday.
The report, which cited US sources familiar with a classified report circulating within the US intelligence community, said Israel is aggressively pushing for the US to abandon talks with Iran and insisting that destroying oil infrastructure in the country could bring about regime change while also downplaying the impact the renewed full-scale war will have on the global economy.
But US Vice President JD Vance said Trump â who was notably silent throughout the day â had yet to sign on the dotted line. There was no immediate reaction from Iran.