The Trump administration is seeking to use a specialized federal court for the first time since Congress created it three decades ago in an effort to deport an Afghan woman accused of aiding an Islamic State-inspired terror plot in the U.S., according to court records made public on Wednesday.Nazira Haji Zada, of Fort Worth, Texas, is the first person facing deportation through the Alien Terrorist Removal Court after her arrest earlier this week.

Two prominent Democratic figures with deep ties to the Clinton and Obama administrations publicly criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani this week, with former Clinton adviser Mark Penn attacking the mayor’s proposed property tax plan while former Obama White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel recounted what he described as a private conversation in which he challenged Mamdani’s rhetoric on Israel.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s chances of confirmation were derailed Wednesday, less than 24 hours before a pivotal vote in the Senate.It’s another chapter in the troubled saga that has followed Blanche since he was tapped to replace former Attorney General Pam Bondi and one that boils down to issues among Blanche, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and two key Republicans who control his fate in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is calling for Anthony Fauci to be held in contempt, prosecuted for perjury and sent to jail after the former White House COVID-19 advisor pleaded his Fifth Amendment right more than 100 times during a Senate hearing Wednesday.”Years from now, they’ll look back and say, ‘What collective madness overtook this country?’” Cruz told Fox News Digital.

Moments ahead of a primary debate Monday night, Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed released a new financial disclosure, revealing new details about he and his wife’s assets worth up to $2.1 million.The disclosures, which come a week ahead of a heated primary election between El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., shed new light on El-Sayed’s finances, but questions still remain about the specifics of his wealth.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, is demanding that Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., prove he is fit to continue serving in Congress after a lengthy hospital stay or resign from office.In a letter to McConnell, the governor urged the 84-year-old senator to directly address the people of Kentucky about his ability to serve.

A new law in Maine will limit state and local law enforcement agencies’ cooperation with federal immigration officials.The law is set to take effect on Wednesday, along with other measures that seek to restrict the state’s cooperation with civil immigration enforcement.The “ICE Out of Policing” law restricts state and local law enforcement agencies, including jails, from assisting federal authorities with civil immigration enforcement.

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden fended off a primary challenge from businessman and Bitcoin evangelist Toby Doeden on Tuesday, winning the first gubernatorial primary runoff in state history and advancing to the November general election.The Associated Press called the race for Rhoden within minutes of final polls closing. He had received 70.5% of the vote compared with Doeden’s 29.5% at the time it was called, with approximately 25% of the expected vote counted.

Marcye Scott, the daughter of late Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., and former Gwinnett County school board chair Everton Blair advanced Tuesday to an Aug. 25 runoff in the special election to serve the remainder of the late Congressman Scott’s term before the winner of November’s regular election takes office for a full-term beginning in January.

The Senate took its first major step in fulfilling one of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s biggest desires: levying bone-crushing sanctions against Russia.A bipartisan swell carried the sanctions package through its first hurdle on an 86-12 vote, which has gone through several iterations in the time since it was first formulated by Graham and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.