Supreme Court gives candidates more room to challenge election rules
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(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday significantly expanded the ability of candidates for political office to challenge rules governing an election, rolling back lower court decisions that had said a candidate needed to show concrete harm in order to bring a suit.
The 7-2 decision handed a victory to Republicans in Illinois who are contesting a state policy of counting timely cast but late-arriving mail ballots up to two weeks after Election Day.
It also promises to increase litigation nationwide ahead of the midterm election.
“Candidates have a concrete and particularized interest in the rules that govern the counting of votes in their elections, regardless whether those rules harm their electoral prospects or increase the cost of their campaigns,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in the court’s opinion.
Roberts concluded that candidates — by virtue of running for office alone — should have the ability to bring legal challenges over rules governing how campaigns are conducted and votes are cast and counted.
Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan concurred with the court’s judgment in the case but on different grounds, saying candidates should need to show a “pocketbook injury” or other “actual or imminent injury” before being allowed to sue.
In dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, accused the majority of breaking from settled law and “unnecessarily thrusting the judiciary into the political arena.”
“By carving out a bespoke rule for candidate-plaintiffs — granting them standing to challenge the rules that govern the counting of votes, simply and solely because they are candidates for office — the Court now complicates and destabilizes both our standing law and America’s electoral process,” Jackson wrote.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said he will “permanently pause migration” from some countries following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., earlier this week.
In a post on his social media platform late Thursday, Trump did not specify which countries the pause would affect, saying it would apply to “Third World Countries.”
In June, Trump issued a proclamation banning travel to the U.S. from 12 countries, mostly in Africa and the Middle East, and imposing travel restrictions on several others.
In the post on Thursday, Trump also listed a number of actions he said the U.S. would take, though it’s not yet clear how the Trump administration plans to accomplish them.
He said the U.S. would “terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s Autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country, end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of our Country, denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
The suspect in Wednesday’s shooting, which claimed the life of one National Guard member and left the other in critical condition, is 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
Officials say Lakanwal came to the U.S. in 2021 during the Biden administration. He was granted asylum in April 2025 under Trump, according to multiple law enforcement sources.
In Afghanistan, the suspect was involved with the Zero Unit, working closely with the CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command, according to sources familiar with the investigation. The suspect was a trusted member of that team, which went after U.S. counterterrorism targets, according to sources.
Trump has vowed an immigration crackdown following the shooting, saying Wednesday the attack “underscores the greatest national security threat facing our nation.”
In the past, Democrats and immigration advocates have pushed back against the president’s immigration restrictions, including on asylum seekers, contending that he has exaggerated national security concerns and turned away millions of families in need.
Trump ordered National Guard troops to Washington this summer. He has also ordered members of the National Guard to other Democrat-led cities such as Chicago and Portland, Oregon.
xPresident Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attend a signing ceremony at the Saudi Royal Court, May 13, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Win Mcnamee/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Tuesday marks the first time His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia, steps foot in the U.S. since 2018, following the death of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul, which caused global outrage.
The crown prince denied ordering the operation but ultimately acknowledged responsibility as the kingdom’s de facto ruler.
Now more than seven years later, the Saudi leader has business on his mind as he seeks to deepen ties with the U.S. through cooperation on oil and security, while also expanding the regime’s global outreach in finance, artificial intelligence and technology. Saudi Arabia notably boasts the world’s largest economy and maintains its lead as the world’s top oil producer.
The crown prince will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House and he’ll be invited in with pomp and circumstance. Saudi flags were seen draped in front of the White House, next to American flags, ahead of his visit.
Trump is also hosting a dinner for the Saudi leader on Tuesday night.
A focus on defense and business
The prince’s trip to the U.S. is being billed as an “official working visit,” and is designed to follow up and advance on Trump’s May appearance in Riyadh — the first official visit of Trump’s second term in office.
“A lot of the financial and economic and artificial intelligence deals that they announced that were very ambiguous six months ago, I think we might start to see some teeth from them this time around and hopefully get a little bit more clarity on what those deals actually are,” said Elizabeth Dent, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former director for the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula in the office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon.
During that May visit, Trump announced a $142 billion arms package with the Saudis, which according to a White House fact sheet was the “the largest defense cooperation agreement” Washington has ever done.
The agreement covers deals with more than a dozen U.S. defense companies in areas including air and missile defense, air force and space advancement, maritime security and communications, the fact sheet said.
The kingdom in turn announced a $600 billion investment in the U.S. spanning multiple sectors, including energy security, defense, technology, global infrastructure and critical minerals.
Some of the other notable deals announced under the $600 billion pledge included investments in: U.S.-based artificial intelligence data centers and energy infrastructure; advanced technologies; Saudi infrastructure projects; U.S. energy equipment and commercial aircraft; the U.S. health care supply chain; and U.S. sports industries.
Trump confirmed on Monday during an event in the Oval Office that he plans to sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia as part of a weapons deal, which experts say would mark the first time those jets have been sold to an Arab military.
“There’s a whole host of issues that encompass this. Part of it is that Israel has to be able to maintain their congressionally-mandated qualitative military edge, which Congress does determine that,” Dent said. “And so, if the deal goes forward, I think we just have to see how they’re going to figure out the best way to ensure Israel can maintain that, as the only country in the Middle East that currently has F-35s.”
“I think the Israelis are probably pretty uncomfortable with these rumors swirling around without normalization in sight,” Dent added.
Saudis insist on ‘credible pathway’ to Palestinian statehood
The Saudi leader is seeking security guarantees from the U.S. amid turbulence in the Middle East. The security agreement with the U.S. has been in a development stage and has not yet been formalized, but the kingdom is seeking to deepen military and security ties between the two countries.
The security guarantees are viewed by some as part of a larger regional “megadeal” involving normalization with Israel, something Trump will surely push for, even as the Saudi kingdom has refused to do so under the current Israeli leadership.
Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Friday that he would discuss the issue with the crown prince.
“I hope that Saudi Arabia will be going into the Abraham Accords fairly shortly,” he said.
Earlier this year, Trump signed an unprecedented defense pact with Qatar via executive order that recognizes the “enduring alliance” between the U.S. and Qatar and provides Qatar an explicit security guarantee in the event of “external attack.”
Many analysts have said they believe the Saudis are looking for a similar defense pact with the U.S.
“I think it’ll be kind of similar to Qatar’s, where it basically just says it will consider any sort of threat or attack on Saudi Arabia to be an attack on the United States, and then the United States will respond appropriately, which could range from political to military options. So, I think that the administration will make sure to give themselves that decision space,” Dent said. “There’s a lot to work through here. Obviously, I think a lot of it will be about expectation management.”
The kingdom is notably invested in implementing the president’s 20-point Gaza peace plan. The kingdom has previously stated it wants to see the emergence of a credible path toward an independent and a free Palestine as a condition for supporting the demilitarization of Hamas and reconstruction of Gaza.
But Israel has put up a roadblock to Palestinian statehood, which will undoubtedly cause angst among Arab regional partners who are pushing for sustained peace in Gaza.
“Our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory has not changed,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday during his weekly cabinet meeting. “Gaza will be demilitarized and Hamas will be disarmed, the easy way or the hard way.”
Netanyahu has long opposed a Palestinian state, saying in recent months that its creation would only reward Hamas and endanger Israel’s security.
ABC News’ Christopher Boccia contributed to this report.
Farmer Scott Thomsen, pictured here with ABC’s Matt Rivers, is preparing for the fall soybean harvest in eastern Nebraska. Ben Siegel & Matt Rivers/ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump’s $20 billion bailout of Argentina’s economy has raised red flags in the U.S., especially among American farmers desperate for help dealing with a crop crisis triggered by his trade war with China.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei met with Trump and top U.S. officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Tuesday at the White House.
The meeting came nearly a week after Bessent announced a $20 billion financial lifeline that included a currency swap framework with Argentina’s central bank aimed at propping up the Argentine peso.
“We just want to see Argentina do well,” Trump told reporters during the meeting.
Details still unclear
In an X post last week, Bessent said the U.S. finalized a $20 billion swap line, or a loan, with Argentina’s central bank, where the U.S. Treasury will exchange dollars for pesos.
The expectation, Bessent has said, is that those dollars will eventually be paid back.
Bessent also said last week the U.S. directly purchased pesos, without specifying how much.
The Treasury Department had not published any details about the terms of the swap agreement as of Tuesday and ultimately the dollars it’s offering to Argentina’s central bank are U.S. taxpayer dollars.
“You can call it a bailout, you can call it a rescue, it is a credit line to a country that otherwise would be out of reserves,” Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former Treasury official, told ABC News.
Bessent has repeatedly denied that the deal is a bailout, saying the U.S. is supporting the economic reforms of a key South American ally and advancing U.S. strategic interests in the region.
The Treasury Department has not responded to ABC News requests for more information on the deal.
Farmers, leaders on both sides sound off
The bailout has sparked controversy with farmers, Democrats and some Republicans questioning why the U.S. would commit billions to boost the economy of a foreign country, especially when thousands of American soybean farmers are suffering and in need of help.
China stopped purchasing American soybeans amid the trade war with the United States. According to the American Soybean Association, China is the largest buyer of American soybeans, purchasing more than 50 percent of U.S. exports in 2023 and 2024.
While some American farmers have said they are afraid of bankruptcies and foreclosures because of their losses, Argentina and Brazil’s farmers are increasingly supplying Chinese markets — with soybeans.
Ben Steffen, a Nebraska soybean and corn farmer, who spoke to ABC News from his tractor Tuesday, said the U.S. is “bailing out our competitor in the soybean production business.”
“Clearly, people are not happy about the markets, and my neighbors are not happy about bailing out Argentina,” he said.
Minnesota farmer Darin Johnson said China’s purchase of soybeans from Argentina has cost the U.S. leverage in trade talks, by satisfying China’s demand for the crop.
But he added that many farmers still support Trump, despite any frustrations with some of the administration’s policies.
“We’re going to put it to good faith in this administration that we are going to get a trade deal, but we are running out of time,” Johnson said. “Without a little help from this administration, which we don’t know what is going on yet, there is still a fair amount of uncertainty.”
Ryan Marquardt, an Iowa farmer, told ABC News on Tuesday that the bailout for Argentina seems to run counter to Trump’s “America First” vision.
“It does feel like you are propping up your competition. It does seem counterintuitive to the America First ideology,” he said. “I don’t see any place where we come out ahead from that transaction.”
Democrats have accused the White House of neglecting farmers and other Americans at a time of economic turmoil and uncertainty.
“The truth is clear: Trump put America second, bailing out another country while abandoning American farmers,” the Democratic National Committee said in a press release Monday.
Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley also criticized the priorities of the administration in an X post last month when word of the Argentine deal was making the rounds.
“Why would USA help bail out Argentina while they take American soybean producers’ biggest market, he said. “We shld use leverage at every turn to help hurting farm economy Family farmers shld be top of mind in negotiations by representatives of USA.”
The American Soybean Association’s president, Kentucky farmer Caleb Ragland, said in a statement in September that “frustration” with the Trump administration was “overwhelming.”
“U.S. soybean prices are falling, harvest is underway, and farmers read headlines not about securing a trade agreement with China, but that the U.S. government is extending $20 billion in economic support to Argentina while that country drops its soybean export taxes to sell 20 shiploads of Argentine soybeans to China in just two days,” Ragland said.
“The farm economy is suffering while our competitors supplant the United States in the biggest soybean import market in the world,” he added.
Trump has promised to help the soybean farmers, at one point claiming that money from tariffs would be used to assist them financially, but no such proposal had been formalized as of Tuesday.
The administration has blamed the current federal government shutdown for delaying the rollout of an assistance package.
The president has also called on China to purchase U.S. soybeans — to no avail.
“President Trump pledged to put American farmers first, and every historic trade agreement that his Administration has struck with the EU, Japan, and others includes unprecedented provisions to expand American agricultural exports,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to ABC News.
“The Administration continues to fight for American farmers in trade negotiations, and also remains committed to using tariff revenue to support farmers who have been left in the lurch due to unfair foreign trade practices,” he added.
Trump says deal helps South American conservative ally before election
The Argentine bailout comes at a politically crucial time for its controversial president.
Milei has made headlines for his libertarian beliefs and has frequently been seen with conservative leaders and figures, including Elon Musk, who he joined at this year’s CPAC and gave him a what became a famous mock chainsaw, praising Musk’s DOGE cuts.
Trump has frequently praised Milei and backed his leadership, praising his right-wing, cost-cutting agenda in Argentina.
“They have a great leader,” Trump told reporters just before his meeting with Milei on Tuesday.
However, the 55-year-old is facing serious competition in Argentina’s Oct. 26 election as he has been hit with rising disapproval ratings over the last few months, according to Reuters.
The U.S. deal seeks to stabilize the peso just as Argentine voters head to the polls.
“We’re helping a great philosophy take over a great country … we want him to succeed,” Trump said Tuesday, adding that if Milei is successful, other countries in South America could follow its lead politically.
Trump later said the currency swap is dependent on Milei’s success during the country’s upcoming elections.
“If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina,” Trump said. “If he doesn’t win, we’re gone,” he said.
Trump said “no” when asked how the currency swap was an “America First” policy — if it was just to help Milei in the upcoming election.
Bessent echoed the president’s sentiment Tuesday, claiming that the U.S. is using its economic strength to create peace in South America.
“It’s hope for the future,” Bessent said. “I think that with the bridge the U.S. is giving them and with the strong policies, that Argentina can be great again.”
Bessent’s finance colleagues come under scrutiny
Bessent has also been on the hot seat over Argentina’s ties to some of his former colleagues in the finance world.
Rob Citrone, a billionaire who once worked with Bessent, has sizable investments in Latin America and Argentina, according to SEC filings.
A spokesperson for Citrone and Discovery Capital Management, his hedge fund, declined to comment to ABC News.
Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller — a longtime friend of Bessent — has publicly said he invested in Argentina after Milei’s election. Druckenmiller did not immediately return messages to ABC News for comment.
The Treasury Department did not respond to a message seeking comment about reports that Bessent had discussed Argentina with Citrone, or additional requests for comment on the deal.
Bessent denied the deal had any connection to his finance colleagues in a CNBC interview last week where he said the “trope that we’re helping out wealthy Americans with interest down there couldn’t be more false.”
“What we’re doing is maintaining a U.S. strategic interest in the Western Hemisphere,” he added.
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray and Fritz Farrow contributed to this report.
