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Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription Updated - July 02, 2026 04:39 am IST - WASHINGTON Bill Pulte, acting director of national intelligence, also currently leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency and will remain as ODNI until Jay Clayton is confirmed by the Senate. File | Photo Credit: AP U.S. Clayton’s confirmation hearing in an effort to force Congress to pass a strict voter identification bill. “Bill’s there, just, you know, for maybe a month or two months or something,” Mr. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the office of Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton did not respond to requests for comment on Mr. Clayton is confirmed by the Senate. Trump has said legislation known as the SAVE Act would deliver his fellow Republicans a “guaranteed” win in November as they seek to maintain their slim control of Congress. Trump’s low approval ratings to recapture at least the House of Representatives or the Senate.
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Bill Pulte, a political loyalist with no national security experience, was appointed as acting director of national intelligence last month; he has reportedly already moved to cut hundreds of intelligence jobs
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Published by The Hindu – International on thehindu.com
Newly-appointed Uttar Pradesh Congress in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam on Wednesday said the party would strengthen its organisation at the grassroots, promote hardworking workers and fight the next Assembly elections unitedly to bring the Congress back to power. Making his first visit to Uttar Pradesh after being appointed the party's state in-charge , Gautam said the Congress would "fight together and strengthen every booth." "We will win Uttar Pradesh in 2027 and make Rahul Gandhi the prime minister in 2029," he said while addressing party workers at the Uttar Pradesh Congress headquarters in Lucknow after receiving a grand welcome led by state Congress chief Ajay Rai. Gautam said the Congress would fight to protect the Constitution framed by BR Ambedkar and rejected attempts to portray Ambedkar and the Congress as being at odds. "There was no difference between Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Congress. They complemented each other. That is why the Congress made him... the country's first Law Minister," he said. Targeting the BJP-led governments in the Centre and in the state, Gautam alleged that education had become unaffordable despite India's economic growth and accused the government of failing to prevent examination paper leaks and provide government jobs. "If an economy cannot educate children, conduct examinations on time or stop paper leaks, then such a government is not needed," he said. Alleging that the BJP was spreading hatred against Dalits, backward classes and minorities, Gautam said the Congress would work to eliminate such divisions. He also alleged that the BJP was "stealing people's faith, donations and votes", and said the Congress would continue its struggle under Rahul Gandhi's leadership for the rights of the poor, deprived, backward classes and Dalits.
A federal judge in the United States has blocked proposed restrictions on mail-in voting that were championed by President Donald Trump. On Wednesday in Washington, DC, District Judge Emmet Sullivan sided with the NAACP, a civil rights organisation, in its case against the US Postal Service (USPS). Sullivan found that the restrictions would likely violate a 2021 settlement requiring expedited handling for mail-in ballots. He therefore granted the NAACP’s motion to enforce compliance with the settlement, dealing another setback to the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape the US voting landscape. “NAACP has plausibly suggested — and the Postal Service has not disputed — that the Proposed Rule is already having a ‘real impact on present day affairs’,” Sullivan wrote in his ruling. The case revolves around a rule the Postal Service put forward in May that would require states to provide lists of absentee and mail-in voters. Ballots that do not conform to the list would be returned. The decision comes less than five months before the November 3 midterm elections, which will decide whether Trump’s Republican Party retains control over both chambers of Congress. In March, Trump issued an executive order called “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections”. But in another blow to Trump, the Supreme Court on Monday upheld a state law that allows mail-in ballots to be counted even if they were received after Election Day, so long as they were postmarked on or before that date. The president’s executive order has also been blocked by lower courts.
