Trump and Vance hit the campaign trail in deep-red areas where GOP candidates seek a boost
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance will both hit the campaign trail on Thursday, but they will be heading to heavily Republican areas to shore up lagging enthusiasm in their party ahead of next month’s midterm elections.
Trump’s travel on Thursday to Texas and Oklahoma kicks off what the president said will be a 32-day campaign blitz leading up to Nov. 3.
His visit comes as Vance at the same time will be stumping in Florida, putting the Republican Party’s highest-ranking officials in areas where GOP candidates once expected to have glide paths to victory but are now facing tougher races.
Republicans have expressed growing pessimism about their chances in the election, which will determine control of Congress, as the president has repeatedly dismissed concerns about high costs and gas prices and his unpopular war in Iran drags on.
According to Trump, his party’s headwinds are merely a matter of poor public relations about a job he says is well done.
“We’re not getting the word out,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “I mean, we’re just not getting it.”
That’s why, he said, he will be traveling all over and trying to persuade GOP voters to pretend his name is on the ballot.
“I’m going out because nobody’s selling it,” Trump said.
Democrats say Trump, Republicans are desperate
Delanie Bomar, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, said in a statement that “the president is barnstorming the country, energizing our base, and supercharging Republican candidates in battleground districts and beyond. We have the resources to spend, and Republicans are full steam ahead to protect and expand our majorities.”
The Democratic National Committee said, “Trump and Vance are desperately trying to rally their base as the midterm elections approach and Republicans face defeat.”
“Donald Trump and JD Vance started a deadly and costly war with Iran that sent the economy spiraling and pushed prices even higher, and now — in the final stretch to the midterms — they’re desperately pleading with voters to ’give (them) another chance,’” said DNC Deputy Communications Director Kendall Witmer.
In Oklahoma, Trump will campaign with Republican Mike Mazzei, who is running against Democratic state House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson in the race for governor.
Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Kevin Donohoe said Trump’s campaign rally shows that Republicans “are in full-on panic mode.”
“This race continues to get more competitive — and national Republicans are right to be worried about Mazzei,” he said.
The event will be held on the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, putting him in the company of just a handful of U.S. presidents who have visited tribal nations while in office.
Before his evening Oklahoma stop, Trump will tour a truck manufacturing facility in Texas, where Republicans are spending heavily to try to bolster state Attorney General Ken Paxton in a Senate race. Paxton faces a very competitive challenge from Democratic state Rep. James Talarico.
Paxton was planning to be with Trump at the official White House event Thursday in Denton, two campaign officials familiar with Paxton’s plans said on condition of anonymity to discuss the candidate’s schedule before it was made public.
Vance is also stumping for GOP candidates
Trump will be campaigning in more politically competitive areas in the days and weeks ahead as he embarks on his travel blitz, but Republican officials will not send him to places where they think his presence could drag down their candidates, according to a person familiar with the party’s strategy who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Trump’s Oklahoma visit, and likewise one on Friday to Alabama, are aimed at hitting two targets with one stop, the person said.
Republican officials have noted that Durant is close to the Dallas and Fort Worth media market, meaning Trump’s message will also be carried to Texas voters, and he’s expected to talk about Paxton even while addressing voters in the neighboring state.
His Friday stop in Mobile, Alabama, is aimed at boosting not only Sen. Tommy Tuberville as he runs for Alabama governor, but shoring up support in Florida’s adjacent panhandle for Republican Rep. Byron Donalds. Donalds is running for Florida governor against David Jolly, the Republican-turned-independent who is now running as a Democrat.
Donalds’ campaign in heavily-GOP Florida comes as Republicans there have faced some turbulence and voter concerns about affordability and data centers have become central issues.
While Trump is in Oklahoma and Texas, Vance will stump with Donalds in central Florida on Thursday.
Vance’s visit to Lakeland comes a day after the vice president campaigned in Texas. He rallied with Republican candidate Eric Flores, who is in a tight U.S. House race in south Texas.
Vance, speaking in Harlingen, Texas on Wednesday, acknowledged broader discontentment over the high prices in the U.S., but shifted the blame away from Trump and Republicans.
“I know that there are people out there who are frustrated by the pace of progress,” he said, but ”we have spent every single day fighting for you, diggin’ ourselves out of the hole that Joe Biden left us in.”
Trump will also campaign on Saturday in Vandalia, Ohio; and Monday in Grand Island, Nebraska.
Trump expected to campaign for GOP almost daily
In a meeting on Capitol Hill this week, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles described privately to GOP senators that Trump will have a near-daily sprint of campaigning ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms.
Wiles showed Republicans the president’s upcoming travel schedule, which attendees described as extensive and almost every day, all across the country.
West Virginia Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said White House officials are “acknowledging the headwinds” but that “they have a strategy, and we have a strategy,” including money that the president’s operation will continue to deploy.
Capito also defended the White House’s plan to send Trump to traditionally conservative territory, arguing that he can motivate the Republican base not just in where he travels but elsewhere in the country because Trump has such a broad reach.
“He can get more of his voters out — that are going to be our voters — than anybody else,” Capito said.
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Associated Press reporters Seung Min Kim in Washington, Jesse Bedayn in Austin, Texas, and Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.
"🔥 POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE! — THE 218-213 VOTE FORCES AOC INTO AN UNTHINKABLE POSITION!"
The Load Forecasting Enhancement Act cleared the House this week as lawmakers approved a broader package of 14 bills dealing with energy reliability, public health, drug enforcement, critical minerals, tourism, and AM radio.
H.R. 9332, sponsored by Republican Rep. Troy Balderson of Ohio and Democratic Rep. Rob Menendez of New Jersey, passed under suspension of the rules by voice vote.
The legislation would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to create regional joint boards with state public utility commissions to study electric load forecasting and identify practices intended to improve reliability and affordability.
Those boards would examine how utilities predict future electricity demand and develop recommendations aimed at improving the accuracy, oversight, and transparency of those forecasts.
The bill also requires FERC to report the boards’ recommendations to Congress and directs state regulatory authorities to consider incorporating those recommendations into their own forecasting practices.
Supporters argue that more accurate projections could help utilities avoid unnecessary infrastructure spending while preparing the electric grid for growing demand from data centers, manufacturing and other large electricity users.
House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders have increasingly focused on load growth as artificial intelligence infrastructure and other power-intensive industries place new demands on the nation’s electric system.
Energy Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta said during earlier consideration of the bill that more accurate demand projections could lead to more cost-effective infrastructure development.
The Load Forecasting Enhancement Act was only one component of a much broader legislative push by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie said the collection of bills was intended to address illicit drugs, grid reliability, domestic supply chains, tourism and access to AM radio.
Among the other measures approved was the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, which would direct the Department of Transportation to require automakers to include easily accessible AM radio in new vehicles without charging drivers an additional fee.
The House also approved the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, which would place xylazine into Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act while preserving legitimate veterinary uses.
Another measure, Tyler’s Law, would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to examine whether hospital emergency departments should routinely test overdose patients for fentanyl.
Lawmakers also passed the Stop Pills That Kill Act, aimed at strengthening Drug Enforcement Administration oversight of pill presses and components that can be used to manufacture counterfeit controlled substances.
On energy infrastructure, the High-Capacity Grid Act would require FERC to establish standards for advanced transmission conductors used on certain new or upgraded transmission lines.
The Affordable Innovation for the Grid Act would require the Department of Energy to study how artificial intelligence and high-performance computing could improve the capacity, reliability and efficiency of the bulk power system.
Other legislation focused on recovering critical minerals from contaminated sites and discarded materials as policymakers seek to strengthen domestic supply chains.
The House also approved legislation extending the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act grant program through 2029, with that measure passing in a recorded 343-79 vote.
The American Music Tourism Act would direct federal tourism officials to promote travel to music venues, concerts, sporting attractions and other entertainment destinations across the country.
Another bill would reauthorize federal programs aimed at combating tick-borne and other vector-borne diseases through fiscal year 2030.
Several of the measures passed under the House’s suspension procedure, which is generally used for legislation expected to receive broad support and limits debate while requiring a two-thirds vote when a recorded vote is taken.
H.R. 9332 itself had already demonstrated bipartisan support during committee consideration, advancing from the Energy and Commerce Committee earlier this year without opposition in a 47-0 vote, The House Committee on Energy and Commerce said in a press release.
The House passage moves the Load Forecasting Enhancement Act another step forward as Congress considers how to prepare the electric grid for rapidly changing demand and new technology.
Ilhan Omar Ethics Case Dropped Despite $30M Filing Error
A congressional ethics watchdog recommended dismissing allegations against Rep. Ilhan Omar over financial disclosures that dramatically overstated her household wealth.
The Office of Congressional Conduct voted 5-1 to recommend ending the case, according to a confidential report reviewed Wednesday.
The Minnesota Democrat’s original 2024 disclosure listed household assets ranging between $6 million and $30 million.
That filing drew scrutiny because Omar’s previous disclosures showed dramatically smaller holdings connected mainly to her husband’s businesses.
Omar later amended the report, cutting the couple’s disclosed assets to between $18,004 and $95,000.
Despite that multimillion-dollar discrepancy, OCC investigators found insufficient evidence supporting allegations that Omar filed false or incomplete information.
The report said there was not “substantial reason to believe” Omar violated applicable financial-disclosure requirements.
Omar’s office immediately celebrated the watchdog recommendation as vindication after months of Republican criticism.
“From day one, we have been clear: the Congresswoman is not a millionaire,” her office said.
“This vote clearly underscores that the Congresswoman did nothing wrong,” the statement continued.
Her office also accused “the far right” of trying to “manufacture controversy” surrounding the disclosure mistake.
The disputed valuations centered largely on businesses controlled by Omar’s husband, former political consultant Tim Mynett.
Omar’s 2023 disclosure valued Mynett’s Rose Lake Capital stake between $1 and $1,000.
Her 2024 filing then placed that same Washington-based venture-capital management business between $5 million and $25 million.
The earlier disclosure valued Mynett’s California winery, eStCru LLC, between $15,001 and $50,000.
House Oversight Chairman James Comer demanded financial records from Mynett in February as Republicans intensified scrutiny.
Comer’s committee noted both businesses rose from at most $51,000 to potentially $30 million within one year.
The Kentucky Republican questioned whether undisclosed investors might use Mynett’s companies to seek influence involving a sitting congresswoman.
Comer demanded documents explaining the firms’ finances, investors, ownership interests and dramatic reported valuation increases.
“It’s not possible. It’s not. I’m a money guy. It’s not possible,” Comer said about the increase.
Omar’s office maintained the original valuations resulted from accounting mistakes rather than hidden wealth or misconduct.
Her representatives said the filing used incomplete information and listed business assets without properly accounting for liabilities.
After liabilities were considered, both Mynett companies were listed with no net value on Omar’s amended filing.
The amended disclosure nevertheless reported between $102,502 and $1,005,000 in income from those businesses during 2024.
The winery generated another $2,501 to $5,000, according to the corrected disclosure.
Omar’s lawyer told investigators lawmakers frequently rely on accountants and other professionals when preparing financial disclosures.
The attorney maintained “there is nothing untoward, and nothing illegal has occurred” regarding the mistake.
Omar previously rejected claims she was wealthy, saying she “barely have thousands let alone millions.”
Her newest 2025 disclosure again portrays a dramatically smaller financial picture than the original multimillion-dollar filing suggested.
That report lists household assets between roughly $20,000 and $125,000, alongside student-loan and credit-card debts.
Omar lists between $15,001 and $50,000 in student debt, while Mynett reports similarly ranged credit-card liabilities.
Republicans argue those swings justify continued scrutiny despite the congressional conduct office recommending dismissal of this specific allegation.
It does not erase the original filing, which Omar amended after acknowledging the reported valuations were incorrect.
Nor does the OCC decision resolve separate questions raised by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee.
The Office of Congressional Conduct independently reviews misconduct allegations before potentially referring matters to the House Ethics Committee.
Its board’s 5-1 recommendation asks the House Ethics Committee to dismiss this particular financial-disclosure allegation.
For Omar, the decision provides political ammunition to argue Republican accusations about her finances were exaggerated.
For conservatives, the enormous difference between $30 million and under $100,000 remains difficult to dismiss as insignificant.
Oversight’s inquiry arose amid broader Minnesota social-services fraud investigations, but its letter did not establish Omar’s involvement in fraud.
The watchdog decision represents an important victory for Omar, but it does not make the disclosure discrepancy disappear.
Republicans counter that lawmakers remain responsible for financial forms they certify and that enormous discrepancies deserve transparency.
For now, Omar can claim an ethics victory while Republicans continue demanding answers about the numbers that sparked scrutiny.
