The U.S. Senate on Wednesday officially approved efforts by Sweden and Finland to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, in a rebuke to Russia amid its war on Ukraine.  The resolution passed 95-1 with Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., as the only dissenting vote and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voting “present.” The Senate needed two-thirds of the body to vote in favor of ratification, and it will now head to President Biden to submit to NATO.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle shared their condolences after the tragic deaths of Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., her district director, and her communications director. Walorski, 58, and her staffers, communications director Emma Thompson, 28, and district director Zachary Potts, 27, were all killed in a Wednesday head-on collision in Elkhart County, Indiana.

The new executive director of a liberal dark money education group intent on combating conservative-led school reforms ahead of the midterms has repeatedly called for defunding the police. Heather Harding celebrated her new role as executive director at Campaign for Our Shared Future on Monday, tweeting, “It’s an incredible opportunity to be leading this organization that’s been on the frontlines of the fight for equity and inclusion in public education.

Nashville council members on Tuesday night voted down a draft agreement to host the 2024 Republican National Convention, effectively taking Tennessee’s capital city out of the running in its battle with Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to host the GOP’s next presidential nominating convention. Republican Gov.

Two New York Democrats declined to say whether they would support President Biden for president in 2024 Tuesday, adding to the list of Democrats who are soft on the idea of a Biden re-election campaign. When asked during a debate if Biden should seek re-election, Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-NY, said it’s “Too early to say. Doesn’t serve the purpose of the Democratic Party to deal with that until after the midterms.” Rep.

Residents of Kansas have voted against an amendment to the state’s constitution that would have given lawmakers in the state the ability to regulate abortion, the Associated Press projects. With Tuesday’s vote, Kansas became the first state in the nation to vote on an abortion-related issue since the Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn federal protections for abortion granted under the 1973 landmark case Roe v. Wade.

The Associated Press projects that Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has won Missouri’s Republican Senate primary in the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Roy Blunt. “We did it. Now let’s go save America!” Schmitt tweeted. Schmitt was one of the front-runners in the race, along with former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and Rep. Vicky Hartzler, who represents Missouri’s 4th Congressional District in the predominantly rural west-central part of the state.