A few days after President Donald Trump abruptly canceled a plan that would have given the federal government power to vet frontier AI models over fears that it might hobble innovation, Illinois lawmakers passed the nation’s strongest AI safety law.

Growing demographic changes, suburban shifts, and internal Republican divisions are fueling fears that Texas could become a true battleground state. Party strategists increasingly worry that losing Texas would fundamentally reshape American politics.

The president doesn’t seem that concerned that his party could lose control of Congress. Ezra Klein and the Republican strategist Liam Donovan discuss Trump’s midterm strategy and Democratic paths to victory.

As usual, Trump wants what he wants and expects his Capitol Hill colleagues to deal with the inevitable fallout. But Republicans are getting sick of being radioactive, and they certainly aren’t interested in losing their jobs in order to cape for a noxious MAGA flunky like Blanche.

Growing fears that Texas could become fully competitive for Democrats are colliding with internal Republican infighting and backlash against Trump’s political strategy. Party insiders now warn the GOP may be entering one of its most unstable periods in years as tensions explode behind closed doors.

Sen. John Cornyn lost to his MAGA-aligned challenger, Ken Paxton, by 28 percentage points. It was a historically poor showing.