India, Pakistan move to the brink of conflict
Plus: The latest from Congress and the courts.
It’s Wednesday, May 7, 2025. Election Day 2025 is 181 days away. Election Day 2026 is 545 days away. No top story for you today; instead let’s catch up on some key headlines to know as you start your day. — Gabe
AROUND THE WORLD
India strikes Pakistan
India launched several missiles at Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled parts of the disputed Kashmir territory last night, in an assault that New Delhi said was retaliation for an April attack on tourists in an Indian-controlled area of Kashmir.
A Pakistan-based Islamic militant group claimed responsibility for the April attack, which killed at least 28 civilians; India said that its strikes last night targeted infrastructure used by the group. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described the missile attacks as an “act of war” and said that Pakistan reserves “every right to give a robust response.” Sharif also said that Pakistan responded by downing five Indian fighter jets.
The confrontation marks the most serious tensions between the two rival nuclear states since a series of border skirmishes in 2019.
IN THE COURTS
Justices side with Trump on trans troops
The Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s emergency request Tuesday to let the president’s ban on transgender troops take effect while litigation continues. The unsigned, paragraph-long order noted dissents from Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court’s three liberals.
A George W. Bush-appointed district judge in Seattle had previously issued a preliminary injunction pausing enforcement of the ban. Yesterday’s order is not a final ruling on the merits of the ban; rather, it sets the status quo (the ban remaining in place) that will dominate while the legality of the ban is decided in the courts. According to the Trump administration, about 4,200 people in the military (or 0.2% of service members) are transgender, far lower than previous estimates.
Another judge blocks use of Alien Enemies Act
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a Clinton appointee in New York, became the second judge to issue a preliminary injunction against the president’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law, to deport Venezuelan migrants. Hellerstein’s order applies only to his district, which includes Manhattan and the Bronx.
The Alien Enemies Act can only be used when a foreign government has launched a “war,” “invasion” or “predatory incursion” against America. Trump has said that the entrance into the U.S. by members of the gang Tren de Aragua fits that bar because of the gang’s ties to the Venezuelan government, a claim that was undercut by U.S. intelligence agency findings that the Venezuelan government is “not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States.”
Judge Hellerstein wrote that the Trump administration had not “demonstrated the existence” of a “war,” “invasion” or “predatory incursion,” which meant that the 1798 law was “not validly invoked” by Trump. A Trump-appointed district judge in Texas previously came to the same conclusion last week.
ON THE HILL
Top prosecutor pick teeters on the edge
Ed Martin, the president’s nominee to serve as U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., is facing backlash for his past support for January 6th rioters, some of whom he represented as a defense lawyer.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) announced Tuesday that he won’t support Martin, who gave an award to a Capitol rioter who shaved his mustache to look like Adolf Hitler’s and was described by federal prosecutors as a “Nazi sympathizer.”
“If Mr. Martin were being put forth as a U.S. attorney for any district except the district where January 6 happened, the protest happened, I’d probably support him, but not in this district,” Tillis said. Tillis is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is split between 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats. Without his support, the nomination would tie 11-11, blocking it from advancing to the Senate floor.
The president, his eldest son, and other top allies are exerting pressure on Republican senators to hold the line and support Martin, who currently holds the prosecutor post on an interim basis (although he can only serve until May 20 without being confirmed). If Martin is not approved, it would mark one of the few congressional rejections of Trump’s second term.
MORE NEWS TO KNOW
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WaPo: Trump team urged Ukraine to take U.S. deportees amid war, documents show
The Hill: JD Vance’s half-brother advances in Cincinnati mayor’s race
Politico: Biden defends waiting until last minute to drop out of 2024 US election
Bloomberg: Top Trump Crypto Buyers Vying for Dinner Seats Are Likely Foreign, Data Shows
THE DAY AHEAD
Picking new interest rates… and a Pope
President Trump will attend the swearing-in of former Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) as U.S. ambassador to China and have lunch with Vice President Vance.
The Senate will vote on a resolution overturning a Biden-era regulation setting the procedures for reviewing applications for proposed bank mergers.
The House will vote on the DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act and the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will hold a press conference to announce whether the Fed has decided to lower interest rates, as Trump has urged, or keep them steady.
The College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church — or at least the 135 of them who are under 80 years old — will begin their conclave to pick a successor to Pope Francis.
I was disappointed when Tillis backed off from his opposition to Hegseth and I hope he holds the line on Martin. I expect that Trump will orchestrate a primary challenge. Even without that, Tillis will have a run for his money if Cooper runs. Tillis is one of the Republicans who have a shot at bringing the party back from the abyss.
Good Job Gabe. I will keep my digital subscriptions to the wsj and nyt and the washington post . Your reporting is excellent ane I look forward to reading it every day..