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Trump-backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated four-term GOP Sen. John Cornyn yesterday to become the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat. Paxton, 63, outpolled 74-year-old Cornyn by a margin of nearly two to one. Both candidates made it to Tuesday's runoff election after failing to secure a majority in Texas' primary in March. Republicans spent $100 million for the primary race, making it the most expensive primary in Senate history.
Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton speaks to supporters at a watch party on March 3 in Dallas. Paxton beat incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a runoff for the nomination, setting up a tough fight in November against Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico. Sergio Flores/Getty Images hide caption
South Carolina lawmakers yesterday blocked Trump's effort to alter voting maps ahead of the midterm elections. A new map could have flipped the only Democratic-held House seat in the state, which is currently held by Rep. James Clyburn. It would have made all seven congressional districts in the state lean Republican, further extending the GOP's advantage in the national redistricting process, which has already potentially netted them around nine more U.S. House seats.
The Department of Homeland Security is expanding its iris scanning capacity as part of its mass deportation efforts. Privacy experts have raised concerns that the agency is collecting biometric data from detained individuals. Last week, DHS awarded a $25 million no-bid contract to BI2 Technologies, a company that specializes in iris scanning. This new contract is more than five times the amount of BI2's previous contract with DHS, awarded last fall. As part of its proposal to B12, DHS requested over 1,500 iris scanners and sought access to BI2's mobile app.
The Trump administration has mass-deleted information regarding prosecutions related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including cases involving defendants who assaulted police officers. This move marks the latest attempt by Trump to alter the narrative surrounding the violent riot. Last week, Justice Department news releases that detailed guilty pleas, jury verdicts and prison sentences disappeared from government websites. An NPR review found that the deletions included information about some of the most serious assaults on law enforcement that happened that day.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner prays during a Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Feb. 26, 2025, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also bow their heads. Pool photo/AP hide caption
This week at NPR, we're going to explore the increased intermixing of God and government in a new series we're calling Church and State. It's an idea that has been gaining momentum through the first and second Trump administrations, not only within U.S. politics but also throughout American culture, in songs and paintings, schoolbooks and worship events infused with faith and politics.
In January, the Department of Homeland Security released a video as the massive immigration enforcement was underway in Minnesota. The phrase "Blessed are the peacemakers" from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew appears on screen, followed by imagery of military-style immigration enforcement. As the scene unfolds, the rest of the biblical passage emerges: "For they shall be called the sons of God." Presidents have long turned to scripture as a rhetorical tool, invoking the Bible to frame moments of national crisis or purpose. But the Trump administration applies biblical references in a very different way, using specific passages to connect its policies and actions to God's will.
Dyron Daughrity, a minister in the evangelical Church of Christ, says the imagery in the DHS video is striking but not unprecedented. Yet, some view this approach as more intentional and troubling. To some scholars of Christianity, such framing undermines some of Jesus' core ethical teachings. Explore both perspectives on how the administration uses the Bible to justify military invasions and immigration raids.
UFC president and CEO Dana White speaks to Steve Inskeep for NPR's Newsmakers at Newark's Prudential Center. hide caption
Workers have begun assembling a temporary outdoor stadium on the White House South Lawn. It includes seating for several thousand people expected to watch mixed martial arts fighting cage matches as part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 14.
Steve Inskeep spoke recently with UFC chief Dana White on video for the NPR's Newsmakers.
We met Dana White just before a UFC event in a New Jersey arena, sitting near the fenced octagon like the one the UFC is building on the White House lawn.
He has doubts about what he was asked to do. "I hate stadiums, and… fighting outside," he said, citing the chance of "rain and lightning" as well as "bugs." White still agreed to build a temporary outdoor stadium, marking the nation's 250th anniversary. "There possibly couldn't be a greater honor," he said.
White is a friend of Trump, whose casinos once provided venues for the UFC. In a divided country, that may be all some people think they need to know about White — but our Newsmakers video interview showed otherwise.
The fighters in White's UFC include refugees and immigrants. UFC competitors fight their way up from the bottom, and White is frank about the physical risks.
In the most surprising part of the interview, White told me that he was urged to frame the June 14 event as the USA against the world, with Americans paired against foreign fighters. White felt that narrative would miss the point of the United States as well as the UFC. He says he intends, instead, to showcase the diversity of America.
Players of the United States pose for a team photo on stage during the U.S. Soccer World Cup roster reveal on Tuesday in New York City. Adam Hunger/Getty Images hide caption
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
Source: NPR - Politics
