Both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris hit the campaign trail after their debate, and Attorney General Merrick Garland condemns attacks on Justice Department officials.
Both candidates make case after debate at campaign events
Former President Donald Trump's campaign announced that he will hold a rally next week at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, located in a competitive district in the Long Island suburbs.
Uniondale is located in New York's 4th congressional district, which Joe Biden won in 2020, and is currently the most Democratic-leaning district held by a Republican in the country after Anthony D'Esposito's victory in 2022.
The district is a major target for Democrats in November's election, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee listing it on their "red to blue" list of seats they hope to flip to regain their majority.
Former Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen, who unsuccessfully challenged D'Esposito for the open seat in 2022, is running against the incumbent Republican in November.
Vice President Kamala Harris plans to capitalize on what her campaign called a "commanding debate performance" against former President Donald Trump, her rival for the White House in November’s election, per sources familiar with the campaign’s plans.
The hectic weekend of campaigning, to be followed by local media spots in battleground states and a discussion with journalists from the National Association of Black Journalists, is part of what appears to be a more aggressive phase on the trail for the vice president.
Harris will headline her "New Way Forward Tour" of battleground states with a blitz of rallies in Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday, followed by events in Johnston and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on Friday.
Meanwhile, vice presidential running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will hold a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Thursday, with two more events in the Great Lakes State on Friday. That same day, he’ll head to Wisconsin to meet with volunteers before holding a rally event at the University of Wisconsin, Superior campus.
'You deserve better': Garland condemns attacks on Justice Department officials, stresses law is applied without bias
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday condemned attacks fueled by conspiracy theories and disinformation against Justice Department employees.
Facing persistent, baseless claims that his department has been weaponized against Republicans, he stressed the DOJ is guided by policies, principles and norms aimed at ensuring the law is applied without bias.
Garland delivered the remarks during the annual U.S. attorneys conference at Justice Department headquarters in Washington.
“Over the past 3½ years, there has been an escalation of attacks on the Justice Department's career lawyers, agents and other personnel that go far beyond scrutiny, criticism and legitimate and necessary oversight of our work,” Garland said. “These attacks have come in the form of conspiracy theories, dangerous falsehoods, efforts to bully and intimidate career public servants by repeatedly and publicly singling them out, and threats of actual violence.”
Garland said it was “dangerous” for people to target Justice Department officials and “outrageous” that they face unfounded attacks for doing their job of upholding the law.
“You deserve better,” Garland told the U.S. attorneys.
Most notably, former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have routinely attacked Garland’s DOJ for charging Trump in Florida with taking and retaining classified documents after he left the White House and in Washington for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump has pleaded guilty in both cases. A judge dismissed the Florida case, but the Justice Department is appealing the ruling.
Trump and his allies have claimed, without evidence, those prosecutions are politically motivated and also accused Garland, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of orchestrating state prosecutions against Trump in New York and Georgia. Garland and the White House have denied those allegations.
Garland, who did not mention Trump during his speech, noted that 45 years ago he worked on the first edition of the Justice Department’s Principles of Federal Prosecution, which provides guidance to prosecutors about investigations, charges, plea agreements and sentencing recommendations.
But “the core” of the document, Garland said, is about factors prosecutors may not consider: race, religion, gender, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, and political affiliation or activities.
And with 54 days until the presidential election, Garland said prosecutors and agents may never make decisions about investigations or prosecutions to help or hurt a candidate or political party.
Johnson pulls vote on bill to avoid government shutdown amid opposition from his own party
House Speaker Mike Johnson pulled a vote Wednesday on a temporary spending bill that would keep federal agencies and programs funded for six months when the new budget year begins on Oct. 1.
The move comes as it was becoming clear the measure lacked the votes to pass. The legislation includes a measure that would require people registering to vote to provide proof of citizenship. Johnson, R-La., signaled that he was not backing off linking the two main pillars of the bill.
"We're going to continue to work on this," Johnson insisted to reporters. "The Whip is going to do the hard work and build consensus. We're going to work through the weekend on that."
"No vote today because we're in the consensus building business here in Congress. With small majorities, that's what you do," Johnson added. "We're having thoughtful conversations, family conversations within the Republican conference and I believe we'll get there."
Congress needs to pass a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1 to avoid a partial government shutdown just weeks before voters take to the polls for November's election. The measure had been teed up for a vote on Wednesday afternoon, but Democrats are overwhelmingly opposed and enough Republicans had voiced opposition to raise serious doubts about whether the measure would pass.
The stopgap bill would generally continue existing funding through March 28. The GOP opponents of the bill argue that it continues spending at levels they consider excessive. And some Republicans simply won’t vote for any continuing resolution, arguing that Congress must return to passing its 12 annual spending bills separately rather than the one or two catchall bills that have become the norm in recent decades.