Nrcc dinner live: Trump attacks mail-in voting as he addresses House Republicans
nrcc took center stage as President Donald Trump began remarks at the House Republicans’ campaign arm’s annual fundraising dinner at Union Station in Washington. Trump used the moment to sharply criticize voting by mail-in ballot, calling it “a way of cheating, ” while acknowledging he has also won with mail-in ballots. The speech unfolded as officials and lawmakers separately flagged other major developments in Washington on the same day.
Trump opens NRCC remarks with mail-in ballot attack
Trump criticized voting by mail-in ballots, saying, “I happen to be a fan of no mail-in ballots, even though I won Florida, which is mail-in ballots. ” He continued: “I hate mail-in ballots. I’ve won with mail-in ballots but I hate mail-in ballots, because basically it’s a way of cheating. ”
Trump voted by mail-in ballot this week for a Florida special election in which a Democrat flipped a Republican-held seat in a state district that includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Trump had started his remarks to the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of House Republicans, as it held its annual fundraising dinner at Union Station in Washington.
DHS partial shutdown ripple effects raised in congressional testimony
In separate congressional testimony earlier in the day, Trump administration a partial shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security is creating ripple effects beyond long Transportation Security Administration lines.
Officials described impacts extending beyond delays seen by travelers, pointing to broader consequences tied to the partial shutdown.
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez roll out data center proposal amid White House AI framework
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N. Y., announced new legislation aimed at pausing the construction of new data centers. Sanders warned about dangers of AI affecting the economy and children’s exposure, telling reporters “there is literally an existential threat to the existence of the human race. ”
Sanders added, “I don’t think the Democratic Party leadership is taking this issue anywhere near as serious seriously as it should. We need to develop a sense of urgency here. ” Ocasio-Cortez said AI and data centers are hurting everyday people by driving up energy bills while Americans are battling rising housing costs.
The proposal came after the White House released a framework for national legislation on AI last week. That framework includes protections for children, while also calling for regulations that favor developers, outlining sharp limits on developers’ legal liability and aiming to target state laws that would slow AI’s development.
Kennedy Center name-change lawsuit intensifies with new motion
Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board, filed a motion in her lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking to block the Kennedy Center’s name change. In the motion for partial summary judgment, attorneys Norm Eisen and Nathaniel Zelinsky wrote: “Can the Board of the Kennedy Center—in direct contradiction of the governing statutes—rename this sacred memorial to John F. Kennedy after President Donald J. Trump? The answer is, unequivocally, ‘no. ‘”
Eisen and Zelinsky called the issue a “pure question of law, ” and argued, “There is no clearer or more significant breach of fiduciary duty than the Board flouting the central purpose of the institution it is charged with protecting and which Congress enshrined into law: to maintain the Center as a memorial to John F. Kennedy—and to no one else. ” They also argued that if the Trump administration claims removing the name from the building and website would be costly and disruptive, “any such costs are the direct consequence of their own unlawful decision to install the signage in the first place. ”
The filing notes that on Dec. 19, workers installed “The Donald J. Trump And” signage on top of the existing “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” on the exterior of the building, one day after the president’s hand-picked board voted to change the arts institution’s name.
What to watch next from nrcc night and beyond
As the nrcc dinner continues at Union Station, attention remains on Trump’s message to House Republicans and how his mail-in voting remarks land in the room. Separately, the next developments to watch are the trajectory of the DHS shutdown impacts discussed in congressional testimony, movement on the Sanders–Ocasio-Cortez data center proposal alongside the White House AI framework, and how the federal court responds to Beatty’s bid to block the Kennedy Center name change.
