Millions vote in high-stakes US primaries including California governor, LA mayor and Iowa Senate – live

Senators Tim Kaine and Rand Paul grilled Marco Rubio over the criteria used for the Trump administration’s repeated strikes on small boats in international waters that have killed at least 201people in strikes that have destroyed 63vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, according to a recent CNN tally.

The military and Trump administration have always claimed those boats were trafficking drugs – but they have never provided evidence for those claims.

Kaine, a Democrat, said that classified briefings made him aware that “evidence of narcotics on the boat” is not part of the criteria used to decide to strike boats.

Asked for an explanation, Rubio said he couldn’t get into the specifics of targeting criteria.

But I can tell you the one thing that is obvious is that the targeting criteria is not single source. In essence, there are multiple checks.

Some strike targets have been abandoned when they did not meet the criteria or when officials had “doubts” about the targets, Rubio added. “I can tell you, they do walk away from strikes,” he said.

Separately, Paul, a Republican, also criticized the attacks, telling Rubio: “I think it’s interesting that the three secret criteria we’re using to blow up the boats doesn’t include whether they have drugs on board.”

Coast Guard statistics show that historically about one in four suspected drug boats do not ultimately have drugs on board, Paul added.

“We make mistakes. We see something suspicious about the boat, we stop them, and they don’t have drugs on board,” he said.

Donald Trump has signed an executive order to create a voluntary framework for the federal government to vet powerful new AI models before they are released.

The highly anticipated order represents an attempt by the president to tighten his grip on cybersecurity and national security threats posed by AI, tacking against his earlier deregulatory stance.

Under the new rules, tech companies would be asked to share their AI models with the government for a voluntary review, up to 30 days before a public release. The Trump administration says doing so will allow them to improve national security, particularly with regards to cybersecurity.

The executive order stops short of imposing mandatory review requirements on tech companies building AI models, a rumored feature of earlier versions of the executive order. Some of Trump’s more hardline Maga supporters had been pushing him for a stricter process, while tech industry supporters advocated for keeping the reins loose.

Still, the executive order is yet another sign that Trump is moving away from his initial low-regulation approach to AI. One of his first actions as president was to revoke a Biden-era executive order that established standards for safely developing AI.

As we reported earlier, Donald Trump has tapped close ally Bill Pulte to serve as the country’s top intelligence official, days after Tulsi Gabbard announced her exit from the role.

Pulte – who has no national security experience – will serve as acting director of national intelligence.

He is currently the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), and the heir to a home construction company fortune. He has used his role at the powerful housing agency, which oversees regulations of the federal housing lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to publicly level of a string of extraordinary allegations at Trump’s political opponents and enemies.

Pulte, a major GOP donor, was appointed by Trump to head the FHFA. He has accused targets of Trump including US Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook of committing mortgage fraud. Cook has denied wrongdoing.

“William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America,” Trump said on his Truth Social Platform. Pulte will remain director of the FHFA, Trump said.

Pulte has faced growing questions over his referrals of alleged fraud since taking over the FHFA. One former high-ranking official described his handling of the Cook case as “very bizarre” last year.

Democratic senator Mark Warner, who is vice-chairman of the US Senate select committee on intelligence, said:

This appointment speaks volumes about what this president expects from the nation’s top intelligence official. Rather than selecting a respected national security professional capable of delivering independent judgments, the president has chosen an official who has demonstrated not just willingness but eagerness to use the authorities of government to pursue political retribution.

Americans have already seen Mr Pulte use the powers of his office at the Federal Housing Finance Agency to pursue the president’s grievances and lend credibility to dubious prosecutions of President Trump’s perceived political opponents.

Trump is “not looking for an intelligence leader who will follow the facts or speak truth to power”, Warner argued, “but rather someone who will be willing to shape intelligence around the president’s wishes, regardless of the cost to the American people”.

Millions of voters across the country are heading to the polls today in crucial primaries in a slew of key gubernatorial, Senate and House races. Here’s a quick rundown of what we’re watching:

California
Voters are casting ballots on who should lead the nation’s most populous state (and the world’s fourth largest economy), where there is no clear leader among candidates vying to advance in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic governor Gavin Newsom. The race for Los Angeles mayor is also on the ballot, along with a series of high-stakes US House contests in the state’s newly redrawn congressional districts – which are set to play an outsized and potentially decisive role in the battle for power in Washington in November’s midterm elections. My colleague Lauren Gambino has more:

Iowa
Per my colleague Chris Stein, with Trump’s approval ratings deep underwater, gas prices high and historical political trends favoring the party out of power, Democrats this year are considering a comeback in Iowa, putting the state at the center of their campaigns to win back control of both the US House and the Senate. That effort for a “once-in-a-generation” breakthrough in the GOP-dominated state is being led by pro-hunting Democrat Rob Sand, who is running for governor. Chris wrote about him below. Democrats also believe they have a shot at winning three of the state’s US House seats and a competitive chance at securing a US Senate seat, where the GOP frontrunner recently called Trump’s war on Iran a “political liability”.

New Jersey
One of this year’s most closely watched House midterms will take place in the battleground district currently represented by now-infamous Republican Tom Kean Jr, who has drawn public scrutiny and concern after missing more than 100 House votes due to an undisclosed illness. Voters are deciding which Democrat will run against him in November – and the seat is a must-win for the party. The frontrunner, veteran army trauma surgeon and political newcomer Adam Hamawy, has secured endorsements from the likes of Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. My colleague Joseph Gedeon has more:

New Mexico
Contests in the state include primaries for congressional seats, a US Senate seat and a long list of statewide offices, but the governor’s race is the main event. Deb Haaland, who was Joe Biden’s interior secretary, is running for the Democratic nomination, which could put her on a historic path for Native American leaders.

Montana
In Montana, a five-way Democratic fight is under way for the retiring Republican senator’s seat. Independent Seth Bodnar, former president of the University of Montana, is outraising them all at the moment but they’re refusing to step aside, Politico reports this morning.

South Dakota
The race is on for state governor, Sioux Falls mayor, a US Senate and House seat, and a Republican primary for local lawmakers. The incumbent GOP governor Larry Rhoden faces three primary challengers in his first run for a full term. He stepped up into the role from the lieutenant governorship when the former governor, the since-ousted Kristi Noem, left to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

Back at Marco Rubio’s hearing, the secretary of state told lawmakers that Iran had agreed to negotiate aspects of its nuclear program that it previously refused to discuss.

However, he said that was not a guarantee that talks will lead to a deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Rubio told senators Iran had intended to build up its conventional weapons capabilities as a “shield” for its nuclear program.

“What they tried to do is they were going to try to build a conventional shield and hide behind that conventional shield,” he said, explaining why Donald Trump felt it was imperative to launch the war.

As my colleagues on our Middle East live blog reported earlier, the fourth round of negotiations between Israeli and Lebanese officials have begun at the US state department headquarters in Washington.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to pull back any troops preparing to attack Beirut yesterday after a call from Donald Trump, but said that Israel would continue military operations in southern Lebanon, which it invaded in March.

While his ground forces push toward the Zahrani River, their deepest incursion into Lebanon in 25 years, Lebanon is seeking to expand the ceasefire in these talks in Washington.

I’ll bring you more as we get it. Here’s an early image of the ambassadors of both countries.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the foreign relations committee, criticized Rubio in her opening remarks.

She said Rubio’s office has refused to provide information requested about the Trump administration’s changing troop posture in Europe as well as US operations in Iran and US support for Ukraine.

“When you do notify Congress, it’s to inform us of decisions you have already made,” she said.

She also pointed out the US military’s declining stockpile of advanced weapons that have been used in the Iran war.

On another front, former first lady Jill Biden said she was surprised to learn that Kamala Harris wrote in her own memo that Joe Biden’s ego and ambition damaged Democrats’ chances in the 2024 presidential election, the AP reports.

“I was a little surprised she wrote that,” Jill Biden said on MSNOW’s “Morning Joe,” adding that “Joe and Kamala, me, Doug (Emhoff), I thought we were a great team.”

She added that “when Joe got out, he handed over the reins to Kamala” and “had full confidence in her.”

The interview comes as part of Jill Biden’s media tour touting her new memoir of the Bidens’ White House years. The former first lady said her husband and Harris remain on good terms and that Harris “just called two days ago” to check on how he’s doing.

A small number of protesters who were lined up outside a Senate briefing room where secretary of state Marco Rubio is set to testify before Congress have been arrested, the Associated Press reports.

The group chanted “Rubio lies. People with AIDS die” as well as “One child dies every 30 mins.”

Rubio faced chants from protesters who urged him to “stop killing Cubans” when he entered a Senate briefing room.

The protesters were quickly pulled from the room. Their chants also included “Let Cuba live!” as well as, “Repent Marco Rubio. God will forgive you for your sins. Stop killing Cubans.”

A US delegation will attend the St Petersburg Economic Forum this week for the first time in since 2017-2018 and hold talks with Russian government officials, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

The delegation would be led by Rodney Cook, chairman of the US Commission of Fine Arts, a Kremlin aide told reporters.

Homeland security secretary Markwayne Mullin is set to appear in the Senate to answer questions about the agency’s budget at a time of intense scrutiny about how the Trump administration is carrying out immigration enforcement and preparing for the World Cup, the Associated Press reports.

Mullin’s appearance at the appropriations subcommittee on homeland security comes as the Senate is weighing legislation that would fund immigration enforcement agencies through the end of president Donald Trump’s term in a maneuver that would bypass the need for support from Democrats, who have demanded restraints before agreeing to fund the agencies.

But, the attempt to fund those two agencies for the long term has been stalled over separate Republican opposition to a $1.776 billion settlement fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they have been politically prosecuted.

Mullin, who was tapped by Trump to lead homeland security after his predecessor Kristi Noem was fired, is appearing in the Senate Tuesday for the first time since his confirmation hearing in March.

With Trump’s approval ratings deep underwater, gas prices high and historical political trends favoring the party out of power, Democrats this year are considering a comeback in Iowa, putting the state at the center of their campaigns to win back control of both the US House of Representatives and the Senate. On Tuesday, voters are casting ballots in primary elections that set the stage for months of what is likely to be fevered campaigning by candidates of both parties.

Democrats in Iowa have little to lose, and much to gain. The state played a pivotal role in elevating Barack Obama to the presidency in 2008, but since then, Republicans have become the dominant party, controlling the governor’s mansion since 2011, both US Senate seats since 2015 and all of its US House seats since 2023.

This year, Democrats believe they have a shot at winning three of the state’s US House seats, gains that could prove pivotal in putting them back into the majority in the Congress’s lower chamber. They are also expected to be competitive in the race to succeed Joni Ernst, the Republican who is retiring as Iowa’s junior senator.

Rob Sand, the auditor who is the last Democrat holding statewide-elected office in Iowa, is considered a strong contender to replace the state’s retiring Republican governor, Kim Reynolds.

Donald Trump selected federal housing finance director Bill Pulte to be acting director of national intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned last month after revealing her husband’s cancer diagnosis.

Trump made the surprise Truth Social announcement on Tuesday regarding Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chair of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The US president says Pulte “has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago.”

Pulte will keep his other roles as he fills in for Gabbard.