Democrats hope Tim Walz brings boost in battleground congressional races
CBSN
Nine days before Vice President Kamala Harris selected him to be her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz received a text message from a fellow Minnesota Democrat.
"I've never lost with you on top of the ballot," Rep. Angie Craig wrote. In describing the text to CBS News, she added "LOL," saying she'd teased him at the time about his status as a top contender for the job.
Craig, who represents the far southern suburbs of Minneapolis in one of the most competitive and moderate House districts in America, took an early stand against the leader of her own party. Soon after President Biden's dismal debate performance, she called on him to drop out of the race.
More than 2 million federal employees face a looming deadline: By midnight on Thursday, they must decide whether to accept a "deferred resignation" offer from the Trump administration. If workers accept, according to a White House plan, they would continue getting paid through September but would be excused from reporting for duty. But if they opt to keep their jobs, they could get fired.
More employees of the Environmental Protection Agency were informed Wednesday that their jobs appear in doubt. Senior leadership at the EPA held an all-staff meeting to tell individuals that President Trump's executive order, "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing," which was responsible for the closure of the agency's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office, will likely lead to the shuttering of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights as well.
In her first hours as attorney general, Pam Bondi issued a broad slate of directives that included a Justice Department review of the prosecutions of President Trump, a reorientation of department work to focus on harsher punishments, actions punishing so-called "sanctuary" cities and an end to diversity initiatives at the department.