(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge who blocked the most controversial aspect of President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at restricting mail-in ballots — namely, employing the Postal Service as the primary enforcer of mail-voter eligibility — has now lifted that decision following the Supreme Court’s ruling Monday that legal challenges are premature.

The move means there are no longer legal holds on any aspect of Trump’s March 2026 mail-in ballot executive order and that the administration is free to move forward, for now, with its implementation without caveats.

Trump’s executive order directs the Department of Homeland Security to build a federal citizenship list and give it to the states; the Department of Justice to target state officials who give ballots to noncitizens; and the USPS to direct states to abide by certain mail-ballot design and tracking requirements.

Most critically, the order would require states to provide a list of registered eligible voters to USPS for verification and mandate that postal workers only deliver ballots to persons on the list.  

Dozens of Democratic state attorney’s general sued the Trump administration over the USPS directive in April, arguing it is unconstitutional since states — not the federal government — have primary authority for administering elections. 

A separate lawsuit by voting rights advocates challenged the proposed USPS ballot verification scheme.

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the states lacked standing to challenge Trump’s order at this stage since nothing had formally impacted how they will administer elections.  

The conservative majority made clear, however, that the decision “does not mean that any measure taken by the government to implement the order will necessarily be lawful. On that score, time will tell.”

The Postal Service this week published its finalized plan with respect to the November election, focusing largely on state ballot design and barcode tracking requirements. Notably, it leaves out or waters down the most controversial aspects envisioned by Trump’s order.

At this time, states are not being asked to provide detailed voter eligibility lists to USPS that include personal identifiable information, including citizenship. The USPS also says outright it “will not play any role in determining voter eligibility, maintaining voter rolls, or counting ballots.”

The Postal Service, however, will soon proceed with directing states to ensure their mail ballots comport with certain design standards — including a barcode — and to provide voter address information to verify delivery. 

Twenty-five states filed a new legal challenge against the Postal Service on Wednesday, alleging it is illegal. 

“It displaces state laws adopted pursuant to each State’s constitutional authority to administer elections, erects new USPS functions and ballot mail constraints that are inconsistent with USPS’s governing statutes, flouts USPS’s procedural requirements, violates the Privacy Act, and cannot be reconciled with federal voting rights law,” they wrote in a lawsuit filed in a Massachusetts District Court. 

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump maintained his firm stance amid the ongoing U.S.-Canada trade war on Wednesday, repeating his claims that Canada is one of “the worst countries” in the world to deal with and that they have taken “advantage” of the U.S. during a radio interview with conservative host Glenn Beck.

“Look, I don’t know how you feel about Canada. They are one of the worst countries in the world to deal with,” Trump said, remarking on negotiating with the Canadians.

Negotiations between Canada and the U.S. broke down over the weekend and a fresh round of 50% U.S. tariffs on some Canadian goods took effect on Saturday, leading Canada to retaliate with a set of its own levies.

“They take advantage of us as though they were a state, and they’re not a state,” Trump added.

The president then mentioned the “good deal” with Canada last week, which fell apart just before the deadline.

“I had a deal that was a pretty good deal, you know, quite good, because they’re afraid that I won’t do any business. In other words, we won’t trade. They don’t have anything that we have to have. OK, we can get by,” Trump said. “I mean, there are a couple of things that would make it a little inconvenient, but we can get them elsewhere. And it’s time to teach Canada you can’t do this anymore.”

On Tuesday, Trump said in a call with CNN that Canada’s claim that the U.S. added more conditions to their agreement in the final hours of negotiations “sounds like” him, seeming to confirm the Canadian position. He later added, according to CNN, that he doesn’t “deny anything” when pressed on whether he denies the Canadians’ claims.

Those comments from Trump contradict what some in his own administration, including Vice President JD Vance, have said about the collapse of the talks. Vance has insisted that it was Canada who was at fault for the talks falling apart, pinning the blame on Canada during a campaign stop in Maine earlier this week, saying they were making “unreasonable last-minute demands.”

During his radio interview on Wednesday, the president also brought up his call this week to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America.” He added that maybe he “wasn’t” joking about it, pointing to the fact that he renamed the Gulf of Mexico as “Gulf of America” last year.

“You saw the Lake Ontario — you know, people thought I was kidding. Maybe I wasn’t because the last one you saw was the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of America,” Trump said.

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(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Darline Graham — a political newcomer appointed to the seat held by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham — will win a special GOP primary runoff to replace her brother on the South Carolina ballot, The Associated Press projected Tuesday.

Graham, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, defeated Rep. Ralph Norman, a staunch conservative and member of the hard line Freedom Caucus, who had also advanced to the runoff following South Carolina’s special Senate primary earlier this month.

Graham will face Democratic candidate Annie Andrews in November.

Speaking to a crowd of triumphant supporters Tuesday night in Columbia, South Carolina, Graham struck a reflective tone at times.

“The past few weeks have been an unbelievably challenging time for our family, but you know what? We did it,” she said, while adding that she was feeling “mixed emotions” given her grief over her brother.

As she thanked God, her key supporters and her family, Graham also effusively thanked Trump for his support and endorsement, describing the “bond” between her brother and the president and telling the crowd, to raucous cheers, “South Carolina is truly Trump country.”

Graham framed her outsider status as an asset, while pointing to Trump’s support as one of the key reasons conservatives should support her bid for a full term. Trump threw more than just a social media endorsement behind her: he flew to Myrtle Beach for a rally on Friday, in one of his first major campaign stops during the 2026 midterms.

“Now, the critics say I shouldn’t run for the Senate. They say I’m not a politician. You know what I say? Guilty as charged,” Graham said during the rally to cheers. “And by the way, President Trump had never served in an elected office before, and I think he’s done a damn good job.”

Trump, later on, effusively praised Graham, saying “she only knows how to put America first.”

Norman, meanwhile, said that his experience is his “resume” and that conservatives in the Palmetto State could trust him more than a relative unknown like Graham.

“The establishment has already picked their candidate. Same old playbook, same old insiders. I’m not their choice. And this election is not for sale,” he said in a campaign ad.

He also questioned why Trump has gotten involved in the race in GOP-favoring South Carolina instead of focusing on ones where the GOP faces an uphill battle against Democrats. The White House, asked about some of Norman’s comments about Trump, pointed to Trump’s previous social media posts where he endorsed Graham.

Graham, on her end, faced scrutiny from many fellow Republicans over her lack of political experience and occasional missteps on the trail.

During a one-on-one debate she had with Norman last Tuesday, she was asked if Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security issues for the United States. She answered, “I’m not that informed on national security. But I do support the military … I’m not a polished politician up here. National security is not my thing, not my area of expertise, but I do support the military.”

The comment, which contrasted with her brother’s major focus on national security, sparked criticism from Norman’s allies, including former Gov. Nikki Haley.

“Lindsey Graham was well informed on the United States’ national security. Darline Graham admits she’s not. This is not something you inherit. And it’s critical in the U.S. Senate,” Haley wrote on X last week.

Norman, in an interview with local outlet WHNS posted on Thursday, called Graham’s answer “surprising” and hammered her for her lack of experience. “There’s no more important issue than national security … there’s no time for training on the job,” he said.

But Graham, while admitting she feels she got the answer wrong — telling Fox News she “tripped up on one question” — told voters at an event last week, “To me, as I’ve walked around this room and I’ve asked people, ‘Are y’all concerned about Taiwan?’ You know what they said? No, they’re concerned about the price of groceries, the price of gas, rising healthcare costs.”

She also said she believes national security is important and she will become more informed about it. “Everybody has a first day on the job. President Trump — was he a politician [when he was first elected]? Has he done a good job? Yes, he has,” she told attendees.

Heading into the runoff, David Woodard, a political scientist who also managed some of Lindsey Graham’s early congressional campaigns, but did not work on this Senate race, told ABC News that he expected relatively low turnout and that those showing up to vote in such an off-cycle election are likely among the most opinionated, plugged-in Republicans.

“I think on the first round, people I was talking to had sympathy for Darline, thought it was great she’d serve out Lindsey’s term,” he said, adding that some of them “think that Ralph Norman has credibility on issues that Darline lacks.”

But heading into Tuesday some voters said they find Trump’s endorsement of her, as well as her focus on the economy, a strong selling point.

Mike Funderburk, a contractor from Neeses, South Carolina, who voted early for Graham, said the economy is his top issue.

“I think she’s probably going to have a steep learning curve,” he said. “But I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.”

ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department suggested in a court filing Tuesday that the Kennedy Center could face demolition in the event a federal judge issues an order permanently blocking President Donald Trump’s push to renovate the facility with additions intended to recognize Trump personally.

In an extraordinary filing that at times reads like a post from Trump’s social media platform, Brantley Mayers — a top official in DOJ’s Civil Division — argues the “decrepit” Kennedy Center faces an imminent “death spiral” without Trump’s intervention.

“Without those efforts, the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down, with a determination to follow on what to build on the site, such as a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River that has been proposed, by some, for many years,” the filing said. “Such a replacement will fail to adequately honor President John F. Kennedy, but would be simpler and more economical to build, operate, and maintain.”

Mayers uses the filing to repeatedly attack Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, a member of the Kennedy Center’s board who filed suit last year to have Trump’s name removed from the building. Beatty’s lawsuit argued the board’s vote to rename the building was illegal because an act of Congress is required for such an action.

Permitting Beatty’s legal efforts to continue, Mayers warns the federal judge overseeing the lawsuit, “almost guarantees the continued decline and eventual demise of the Kennedy Center, probably leading to the construction of a new, but very different kind, of venue.”

The department describes the initiatives approved by the Kennedy Center’s board that intend to honor Trump personally for his effort — including adding the inscription “Renovated and Restored by President Donald J. Trump” on the front of the building and renaming the site that contains the Center the “President Donald J. Trump Plaza” — as “crucial” to ensure payments from donors who have already pledged to help fund the renovation effort. 

“An order blocking the Board from appropriately recognizing President Trump will cause donors to flee, financial contributions to dry up, and structural rehabilitation to stop,” the department argues. “There will simply not be the expertise or funding necessary to rebuild and renovate this decimated structure.  The Trump Administration is ready to go but, without it, the Kennedy Center cannot be saved.” 

This is a developing story. 

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump announced Tuesday morning that he is giving “serious consideration” to renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” — mirroring his move to rename the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America early in his second term.

Trump later posted on his social media platform an altered map of the lake and surrounding area. 

The map posted by Trump depicts the great lake with the official “Lake Ontario” label crossed out. In its place is a “Lake America” label in a larger, gold-colored font and a graphic of an American flag.

Just like the Gulf of Mexico, Lake Ontario is a shared international waterway and multiple international, federal and regional agencies oversee it.  

Split along the U.S.-Canada border, New York state and Ontario each govern their own portion of the lakebed and shoreline. The U.S. and Canada jointly manage it through the International Joint Commission and Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

And just like the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico, Trump can unilaterally change a geographic name for official U.S. federal government use, like his action via executive order in that case — but he doesn’t have the authority to dictate what other countries or international bodies call it.

Trump on Tuesday also rejected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s claims that the U.S. was making threats on Canada’s use of the French language, as opposed to English, as part of the ongoing trade war. Trump said on social media that he would “never interfere with Canadians speaking French.”

“I have never even thought of doing such a stupid thing. This lie was made up by a weak and ineffective Prime Minister in an attempt to gain political support, which he has totally lost, from the people of Quebec. I love French Canadians!” Trump posted on his social media platform. 

During a press conference on Saturday, Carney claimed that one of the reasons the trade talks with the U.S. collapsed is because the Trump administration wanted Canada to make changes to their use of the French language. 

“This was not our choice. We were ready and close to having a comprehensive agreement that would be fair to both countries. But they made changes, including threats on the French language and Quebec culture and Canadian culture. That is not acceptable. That would never be acceptable,” Carney said. 

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(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Friday struck down the Trump administration’s policy suspending immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries, setting aside refusals based solely on the policy and requiring those cases to be reconsidered by consular officers under the normal immigration laws.

U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas said the policy, announced by the State Department in January, “is contrary to law and was issued in excess of Secretary Rubio’s statutory authority.”

The directive instructed U.S. embassies and consulates to suspend immigrant visa adjudications while the State Department reassessed its vetting procedures under existing immigration law.

The State Department said in January the pause was intended to “prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits.”

Vargas said Friday the policy conflicts with federal immigration law, which gives consular officers “exclusive authority and discretion” to determine whether an immigrant is eligible for a visa.

“The Policy, which categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant, represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme,” Vargas wrote.

The judge’s order also vacates visa denials that were based solely on the policy. 

“The suspension of lawful visa processing across 75 countries separated spouses, parents, and children who were simply following the legal immigration process,” said Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., the group that filed the lawsuit challenging the policy.

“Catholic social teaching calls us to uphold the dignity of every person and recognize the family as the foundation of society,” Gallagher added. “Today’s decision affirms both those values and the rule of law, allowing families to once again move forward toward reunification.”

The State Department did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment, nor has it indicated it is going to appeal the decision.

“The Trump administration is bringing an end to the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people,” a State Department spokesman said in a statement when the policy was announced. “The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people.”

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