The Latest: Supreme Court lets Trump administration use revamped federal voter eligibility database
The Supreme Court lifted restrictions on a controversial federal voter database before November’s elections Friday, granting President Donald Trump a temporary win in his aggressive campaign against noncitizen voting.
Meanwhile Trump took Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the National Archives, showing off the sacred texts of U.S. democracy to the leader of the world’s most powerful communist country to cap off a three-day state visit criticized for being heavy on pomp and light on substance.
Here's the latest:
Chief Deputy Attorney General Greg Ott sent a letter this week to the Department of Homeland Security saying 185 people it identified as noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls were, in fact, U.S. citizens.
It followed a call last month in which DHS officials said they made the identifications through “voter case numbers.”
Ott’s letter said multiple people can have the same voter registration number because of the recent transition to a new statewide registration system. He said the state’s own records review found that all 185 were citizens.
In a statement, Democratic Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar said DHS has not provided any evidence to alter the state’s assessment.
“Repeating unsupported claims does not make them true,” he said.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin wrote letters to Nevada and three other states in July claiming, without providing evidence, that up to 250,000 noncitizens registered to vote there.
The high court turned away an attempt to use a new map backed by the president, potentially putting an end to a long-running legal dispute as absentee voting is underway in the midterm elections.
The justices halted a federal appeals court ruling that would have revived the Republican-friendly map for the November elections, which will determine control of Congress.
The Supreme Court instead let stand a decision by the Missouri Supreme Court, which ruled earlier this month that a citizen petition prevents the new map from being used unless first approved by voters in a November referendum. The decision means Missouri residents will vote under the same congressional districts used in the 2024 and 2022 elections.
Republicans had hoped the new House map — which already was used in the August primaries — could help them win an additional seat as part of a nationwide redistricting battle pushed by Trump to gain an edge in the midterms.
The president vowed to campaign in 35 of the most competitive battleground districts in the final sprint to November’s midterm elections. Instead he will begin October by stumping in Alabama and Oklahoma, two of the most Republican states in the nation.
His events are sure to draw enthusiastic crowds of fans, but his choice of destinations is a reminder of his deep unpopularity in much of the country during a campaign season he’s sought to make all about himself.
While organizers insist the rallies are in locations with media markets that span state lines and they will help bolster broader turnout, Trump’s itinerary is yet another sign of the uphill fight that his party faces.
Republicans have already been pouring money into red states once considered safe as they try to shore up candidates facing an unhappy electorate that has soured on Trump and his policies.
The administration appeared to ramp up its use of government-funded political advertisements promoting the president Friday, airing its second TV ad in three days while expanding spending on the first to at least $443,000.
The White House maintains the ads are “public service announcements” like those used by past presidents, but multiple lawmakers of both parties have criticized the first one, questioning its legality and appropriateness given its political nature, proximity to November’s midterms and the use of taxpayer funds.
The new, minute-long ad features scenic videos of Mount Rushmore at night with quotes and clips from Trump’s Fourth of July weekend speech there honoring the country’s 250th anniversary.
“We know that this is not an ending,” Trump says. “This is only the beginning of the golden age of America.”
At the end, text appears: “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
The ad’s costs weren’t immediately clear but it was airing on Newsmax with a spot on at least two programs, according to AdImpact.
Abbas Araghchi said Iran also would resume talks on its nuclear program if the U.S. meets the conditions it has laid out.
Talking to reporters at the U.N., Araghchi said the plan was delivered to Washington through Qatari mediators on the sidelines of the General Assembly.
“If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened and normal maritime passage restored within seven days,” he said. “The choice now rests with the United States.” The seven-day clock will begin when the U.S. accepts the plan, Araghchi added.
The White House said earlier Friday that U.S. officials are having positive and constructive conversations with mediators on the Iran war.
Secretary of State Phil McGrane, a Republican, said Friday all 1 million-plus Idaho voter registrations have been checked against a controversial federal database that the U.S. Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to use ahead of November’s election.
Idaho began checks in 2024, even before Trump’s second term began. Officials there ultimately referred 15 cases of potential noncitizen registrations or voting to federal prosecutors, McGrane said.
He said there are additional checks before officials move to cancel registrations, and voters have 20 days to prove their citizenship first.
“It being known publicly that we’re doing this work also has a deterrent effect,” he said.
A bipartisan group of 14 senators is urging Trump to rescind the invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the G20 summit to be held in Florida in December.
“President Putin bears sole responsibility for launching Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. Allowing him to participate in a G20 Summit in the United States raises serious concerns about legitimizing and normalizing a government that continues to attack Ukrainian civilian targets every day,” the senators wrote in a letter.
Among those who signed the letter are Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Chris Coons, D-Del.
The reason is they are the world’s two largest economies, the Russian president told reporters in St. Petersburg.
“Depending on what they agree on regarding contentious issues, regarding those problematic issues that arise from the illegitimate sanctions imposed by the U.S., depending on how and what agreements are reached, this will affect the entire global economy, and our economy as well,” Putin said.
He noted that Russia’s ties and trade with the U.S. “are down to zero” but that Moscow’s trade with China amounts to $240 billion, with opportunities for further development.
“We welcome any positive agreements between China and the United States,” Putin said on the sidelines of a culture forum.
Asked if he would attend the APEC summit in China in November, Putin said he was “determined to take part” but noted that it “will depend on the situation in Russia.”
In a post on X, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused the Supreme Court of bending to “Trump’s election-rigging agenda” with its Friday ruling on a revamped federal voter eligibility database.
“Elon Musk’s DOGE-overhauled SAVE database is ridden with errors,” Schumer wrote. “With this decision, thousands of American voters could be wrongly stripped from voter rolls and prevented from voting this election season.”
Former election officials and other experts reacting to the Supreme Court’s SAVE ruling said the federal database is useful for election administrators — as long as it’s not abused.
Critics have pointed out the tool can wrongly flag eligible voters as potential noncitizens. But Stephen Richer, the Republican former top election official in Arizona’s largest county, said it can be a “win for the nation’s voter rolls if used responsibly.”
The SAVE program is the only “widely-encompassing nationwide tool” for election officials to confirm voter citizenship, he said on social media, adding that because it’s imperfect, administrators should “only use it as a starting point.”
David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, agreed, noting the tool is voluntary.
“States may find this to be a useful tool used along with other tools to keep their lists up-to-date,” he said.
Anthony Nels, of Denton, said Friday that a controversial federal voter database “harms people’s constitutional right to vote.” The Supreme Court said the Trump administration could use the database ahead of the November election.
When Texas ran its voter rolls through the database last year, Nels was flagged as a potential noncitizen, even though the South Africa became a citizen more than a decade ago. His registration was temporarily canceled while he replaced an expired passport.
“This just seems like another illegitimate way to affect upcoming and future elections,” he said in a text to The Associated Press.
David Perdue, the U.S. ambassador to China, said “nothing has changed” when it comes to the U.S. policy on Taiwan.
“Of course, China has tried to coerce change in that regard,” Perdue said when speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Friday. “We’re not changing the language; we’re not changing our position.”
“We want peace across the strait. We don’t want coercion,” he said. “We don’t support independence.”
Chinese leader Xi Jinping in private talks with President Donald Trump on Thursday urged the U.S. side to take one step further and “oppose” Taiwan independence, according to a Chinese official statement.
Taiwan is a self-governed island that Beijing considers as its own territory.
A PAC founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is pumping $700,000 in ads into a central California U.S. House battleground where Democrats hope to oust Republican Rep. David Valadao.
The dairyman Valadao has frustrated Democrats for years, beating back challengers in his farm belt district despite its heavy Democratic tilt in voter registration. Democrats see an opening this year as the party looks to retake control of the chamber, with President Donald Trump’s popularity sagging and voters vexed by high gas and grocery prices.
Giffords PAC says it’s making the investment as part of its national push to elect gun safety advocates. Valadao is facing progressive Democrat Randy Villegas, who is backed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The race is among the mostly costly House contests in the nation in terms of advertising. According to data from AdImpact, Republicans have spent or booked more than $15 million of airtime and digital messaging through Election Day, while Democrats are at about $13 million.
“The meeting was one of Friendship, Strength, and Success, for both China and the U.S.A.,” Trump offered on social media shortly after Xi departed Washington.
Trump also confirmed he’ll meet two more times this year with Xi.
The two are slated to meet during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, in November and again in December at the Group of 20 summit in Florida.
U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue says Trump asked Xi during their visit to avoid providing help to Iran as the war stretches to nearly seven months.
“We made it very clear to them weeks ago that, you know, any help that they would give Iran — whether it be direct or indirect, whether it be intelligence or parts or military equipment — was totally unacceptable,” Perdue told CNBC on Friday. “President Trump made that very clear again yesterday.”
Perdue was asked whether China has helped Iran constrain traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway for global energy shipments.
“There’s been indirect support we think, but there’s no direct evidence,” Perdue said. “We’re very concerned about this indirect work, and we’ve made that very clear.”
Trump administration officials have played down the impact of any assistance that China may be providing to Iran.
The White House said Friday that U.S. officials are having positive and constructive conversations with mediators on the Iran war.
But the Trump administration does not feel like it faces a rush to resolve the war. The White House said in response to questions from The Associated Press that America is in a very strong position with control of the Strait of Hormuz, saying that nearly 40 million barrels of oil have gone through the waterway in the last 48 hours.
“I can’t recall a U.S.-China summit that produced fewer deliverables,’’ said Scott Lincicome of the Cato Institute. “Normally, there’s Boeing purchases and soybean targets ... So far, it seems much lighter than that. A lot of pomp and circumstance or sound and fury but signifying nothing. There’s just not a lot there.’’
Trump’s tariffs drew retaliation from China, forcing the world’s two biggest economies into an uneasy truce. “It’s pretty clear at this point that China has fought the U.S. to a draw, that U.S. tariffs have not been successful in slowing China’s export machine and reversing Chinese industrial policy,’’ Lincicome said.
“Another summit without tangible results merely allows China to run out the clock on Trump’s second term without significant concessions,” said Jeff Moon, a former U.S. trade official and diplomat who runs the China Moon Strategies consultancy.
People carrying signs opposing China’s ruling Communist Party and Chinese President Xi Jinping protested at a plaza next to the National Archives.
Inside, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump showed the U.S. Constitution to Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, during their state visit to Washington.
Two men tore a Chinese national flag, and one of them sat down and used part of it to wipe his shoe.
The protesters held signs calling on Xi and the Chinese Communist Party to step down. They also displayed black-and-white photographs of Xi with large red Xs over his face.
The Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association and Kansas Livestock Association say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations have delayed shipment of thousands of cattle, resulting in millions of dollars in lost revenue.
The industry groups say ICE operations have disrupted operations at feedyards, dairy processors, feed and grain companies, and transportation hubs. They say they are frustrated that business is likely to be affected for weeks.
Their joint statement says operations have had “a massive chilling effect on the legal, documented, skilled workers that put beef on the table and keep the cattle supply chain moving.” They anticipate higher beef prices will result.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping looked at a copy of the U.S. Constitution at the National Archives and discussed how old their nations are.
“We’re just comparing,” Trump told reporters. “Ours goes 250 years, which is great, and we’re proud of it. But theirs goes 6,000 years.”
By Trump’s math, China is 24 times older than the U.S.
“There’s a little difference between 6,000 and 250, but we’re very proud of our 250,” Trump said.
The White House meeting set for Tuesday is something the House speaker has encouraged the president to do, suggesting the leaders should go behind closed doors to hash out a strategy as voices sound alarms about AI technology.
Johnson has dismissed concerns about AI as overhyped but the political leaders are under growing pressure from constituents and the tech executives themselves to chart a path forward. The meeting was first reported by Axios.
He expressed his thanks for the treatment he and his wife, Peng Liyuan, have received so far.
Xi thanked Trump and the first lady for “everything” they did for him and his wife.
“The highest courtesies, the most meticulous arrangements,” Xi said in Chinese. “This visit is very successful, and we also feel very satisfied.”
The Supreme Court on Friday lifted restrictions on a controversial federal voter database before November’s elections, granting President Trump a temporary win in his aggressive campaign against noncitizen voting.
The emergency order allows states, for now, to use the Department of Homeland Security program, called Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, in their efforts to verify the eligibility of voters on their rolls. But because existing law blocks most states from systematically purging voters from their rolls within 90 days of an election, the immediate impact on the upcoming midterms is likely limited.
States’ use of the SAVE program is voluntary.
The court’s order puts on hold a federal judge’s June ruling that had deemed the Republican administration’s recently revamped version of SAVE illegal.
Speaking to reporters alongside Xi on Friday, Trump made a point of thanking the press.
“Thank you very much and we appreciate the fair coverage,” Trump told reporters. “It’s been very fair. We appreciate it.”
It was a hard turn from other comments Trump made throughout the week, attacking the U.S. press for what he sees as unfair coverage and attempting to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping said he expects to meet President Trump two more times this year as he wrapped up his state visit to Washington on Friday.
Xi extended an invite for Trump and his wife, Melania, to come to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, in November. He noted that they could meet again a month later at the G20 summit at the Trump National Doral Miami golf club in Florida.
“I do welcome Mr. President and the first lady to visit China,” Xi said.
Trump responded, “We will, and we’ll be speaking a lot.”
The U.S. network video pool for the White House appeared to be back in operation Friday, although the situation “remains fluid,” according to the media analyst for CNN, one of three outlets that were banned for three days.
A judge temporarily struck down the ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico on Thursday, but his ruling didn’t directly address the pool, which consists of five major U.S. broadcast outlets that take turns shooting and sharing video. In a show of solidarity, the other four had declined to participate in the video pool until CNN was reinstated.
CNN wasn’t commenting directly, referring instead to its editorial coverage. But Brian Stelter, the network’s media analyst, posted on X that the major networks plan to resume TV pool coverage of Trump events on Friday.
The U.S. president ignored a series of questions from reporters as Chinese leader Xi Jinping came to the White House.
Trump was asked if he’d told Xi to stop buying Iranian oil. He was asked why he had chosen to try to ban some news outlets from the White House and if U.S. taxpayers should be paying for pro-Trump ads.
“Thank you very much,” was all Trump said.
Xi arrived with his wife, Peng Liyuan, and was met by Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, before entering the White House.
Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume talks on its nuclear program in seven days if the United States lifts its naval blockade, waives sanctions on Iranian oil sales and observes a ceasefire that would include Lebanon.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi detailed the proposal in a private gathering Thursday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, according to one attendee.
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute think tank, who attended, said Araghchi suggested that a speedy agreement would help President Trump ahead of November’s midterm elections.
There was no immediate comment from Iran’s U.N. mission or other Iranian officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters Friday he hasn’t yet received feedback from the White House about Trump’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping but expects to learn the outcome.
Zelenskyy, who’s keen to muster more international support for Ukraine’s defense, was in the United States this week on a trip coinciding with the U.N. General Assembly. He met with Trump on Tuesday.
NATO countries have called China a “decisive enabler” of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
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