United States Secretary of Transportation

Michael Alfonso, a 26-year-old accountant and son-in-law of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, won Wisconsin's deep-red 7th Congressional District, becoming the youngest member of the incoming Congress. He defeated Democrat and former state lawmaker Fred Clark, 67, in a race that was not competitive given the district's partisan lean. Alfonso succeeds retiring Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor. A first-time officeholder, Alfonso campaigned heavily on his Trump endorsement, pledging to make tax cuts permanent and lower costs, and says his first priority will be a bill restricting bathroom access by sex. His ties to Duffy and transportation-industry donations drew scrutiny during the campaign.

Florida's Division of Emergency Management released a long-delayed report Friday showing a projected $1.5 billion worst-case deficit by next summer, just before a legislative budget commission approved an additional $250 million to cover overdue bills. Of that, $187 million goes to contractors tied to the now-closed Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention facility and related enforcement work, including $60 million to a porta-potty supplier; the remaining $62 million covers hurricane recovery costs dating back three years.

The state's pay-first, reimburse-later system means Florida is still owed more than $500 million from the federal government for immigration enforcement (Operation Vigilant Sentry) and roughly $2 billion combined for Hurricanes Helene and Milton recovery. The report, due in July but delivered in September, projects the agency will spend $2.6 billion through mid-2027 while receiving only about $1.1 billion in funding. Democrats on the commission, who voted against the request, criticized the administration's transparency and argued emergency funds are being diverted toward immigration enforcement rather than disaster recovery.

Republicans in Congress amplified Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's criticism of Ford Motor Co. over its business dealings with Chinese firms. In a letter to CEO Jim Farley, Duffy raised "profound concern" over Ford's reliance on licensed battery technology from CATL, a Chinese company on the Pentagon's list of firms tied to China's military, at its Michigan plant. He also faulted Ford's decision to delay moving Lincoln Nautilus production from China to the U.S. until 2030. Sen. Rick Scott and Rep. John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on China, backed Duffy's stance, urging Ford to cut ties with Chinese partners including Geely and BYD.

Ford called the letter a "wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines," saying it controls the Michigan plant and its workforce. The Chinese embassy urged the U.S. to avoid politicizing business cooperation. The dispute comes as Congress pushes to tighten a ban on Chinese vehicles and ahead of a planned Trump-Xi meeting.

Vice President JD Vance rallied for Michigan Republicans at a Sterling Heights event Monday, sharply attacking Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed over past comments referencing second lady Usha Vance, telling him to keep his wife's name "out of your mouth." Vance also criticized El-Sayed's initial response to an attack at Temple Israel, remarks the Democrat later apologized for, and accused a campaign surrogate of past comments sympathetic to the Sept. 11 attacks. El-Sayed has rejected efforts to tie him to terrorism and is focusing his campaign on affordability and health care.

Vance urged voters to back Senate candidate Mike Rogers, along with gubernatorial nominee John James and other Michigan Republicans, ahead of the Nov. 3 election. He also promoted stricter federal requirements for commercial truck drivers tied to immigration status and English proficiency, and criticized the University of Michigan's out-of-state enrollment. Democrats, including Jocelyn Benson, countered by attacking the administration's tariffs on Canada as harmful to Michigan workers.

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport has abandoned an internal proposal to install wudu washing stations for Muslim travelers on the pre-security side of Terminal D, after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott publicly objected and ordered a review of state funding to the airport. Abbott argued that "government-owned airports cannot favor one religion over all others," calling the plan illegal religious discrimination at a taxpayer-funded facility. He directed a review of state grants to both DFW and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to investigate.

DFW said the proposal, which had not reached final approval, was privately funded per a filing the airport attributed to an error by its design firm, and that it does not use taxpayer money for operations. After "elevated public interest," DFW accelerated its review and decided not to proceed, saying the project would not deliver the anticipated operational benefits. Houston's IAH has had a similar wudu facility since 2024; Abbott is pressing to have that facility investigated as well. President Trump also weighed in, amplifying coverage of the controversy.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate ritual washing facilities for Muslim travelers at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport, arguing that because the airports receive federal funds, the accommodations may violate anti-discrimination conditions attached to that funding. The Council on American-Islamic Relations' Texas chapter rejected the characterization, calling the facilities accessible public infrastructure open to all travelers, comparable to nursing rooms or interfaith prayer spaces, and describing Abbott's move as an "anti-Muslim political stunt."

The DOJ referral follows an earlier complaint Abbott filed with U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, after which DFW dropped plans to expand its ablution stations, citing uncertain benefit. Texas is home to more than 300,000 of the roughly 4.5 million Muslims in the U.S. Advocacy groups say anti-Muslim rhetoric in American politics has intensified in recent years, and Republican officials in Texas and Florida have separately labeled CAIR a terrorist organization, a claim the group disputes.

Rebecca Cooke defeated Emily Berge in Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary, setting up a third consecutive matchup against Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden. Cooke, who grew up on a dairy farm near Eau Claire and works as a waitress and small-business owner, narrowly lost to Van Orden in 2024 by less than three percentage points after also losing the 2022 primary. She entered this year's primary with backing from the DCCC's "Red to Blue" program, while Berge campaigned as a local alternative skeptical of national party influence. Cooke holds a fundraising edge, having raised about $8.6 million to Van Orden's $7.5 million, though he retains nearly $3 million more cash on hand.

The western Wisconsin district, covering Eau Claire and La Crosse, has trended Republican in presidential races but is rated a toss-up, making it Democrats' top target in the state as they seek to retake the House majority in November. Cooke is campaigning on rural frustration over Trump administration policies, including tariffs that have hurt farm exports, cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, and rising fuel and fertilizer costs tied to the Iran conflict, while Van Orden defends his record backing Trump's agenda. The race is part of a broader Wisconsin battleground that includes the 1st District, where nurse Mitchell Berman will challenge GOP Rep. Bryan Steil, and the solid-red 7th District, won by Sean Duffy's son-in-law Michael Alfonso in the Republican primary.

Minnesota voters went to the polls August 11 in Democratic primaries pitting moderate Rep. Angie Craig against progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan for the open Senate seat left by retiring Sen. Tina Smith. Flanagan drew backing from Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Ilhan Omar and Smith herself, while Craig secured establishment support from Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi, Pete Buttigieg and Gwen Walz, and roughly doubled Flanagan's fundraising. The race centered on Craig's contested vote for the Laken Riley Act, which she has since disavowed, immigration enforcement after federal agents killed two protesters during "Operation Metro Surge," and clashing views on Israel and AIPAC funding. On the Republican side, Michele Tafoya leads a fundraising-heavy field including party-endorsed Adam Schwarze and Royce White, while Amy Klobuchar faces minimal opposition for governor against Republicans Mike Lindell (Trump-endorsed), Lisa Demuth and Kendall Qualls, as the GOP seeks its first statewide win since 2006.

Craig's departure also triggered a six-way Democratic primary for her open 2nd Congressional District seat. The results will help determine whether Democrats lean moderate or progressive heading into the midterms and test Republican hopes of ending their statewide losing streak. Prediction markets, which favored Flanagan and Craig-adjacent dynamics entering Election Day, are watching outcomes as an early signal for the broader 2026 fight over Congress and Minnesota's state government.