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Texas State Rep. James Talarico (D) addressed supporters late Tuesday night as his primary race against Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) for the U.S. Senate seat in Texas remained too close to call.   "We are not just trying to win an election. We are trying to fundamentally change our politics," he said, noting the strong youth turnout in the highly watched primary. "This is proof that there is something happening in Texas."   "Tonight, the people of our state gave this country a little bit of hope. And a little bit of hope is a dangerous thing," he said.   #jamestalarico #senate #cspan

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) thanked his supporters Tuesday night after advancing to a runoff in the Republican U.S. Senate primary, where he’ll face incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).   “John Cornyn spent around $100 million trying to buy this seat. We spent around $5 million,” he said. “We proved something they’ll never understand in Washington: Texas is not for sale.”   #kenpaxton #texas #cspan

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) thanked his supporters after advancing to a runoff in the Republican primary for Texas's U.S. Senate race and criticized his opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who he will face again in May.   "I've worked for decades to build the Republican Party, both here in Texas and nationally. I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton to risk everything we've worked so hard to build over these many years," he said at a press conference.   "There is simply too much at stake," he continued. "If he's nominated, there's a high risk that Paxton would lose this Senate seat, taking five congressional seats down with him."   #johncornyn #senate #cspan

Roy Cooper, the former North Carolina governor, delivered a victory speech Tuesday night after winning the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate race in the Tar Heel State.   “We have a long way to go until November,” he told supporters. “I’ve never been in a race that’s this crucial for the people of North Carolina and for our country and I need all of you to get this job done.”   Mr. Cooper will face Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chair, in the November general election to succeed retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC).   Watch more by tapping the link in our bio.   #roycooper #senate #northcarolina #cspan

Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chair, delivered a victory speech Tuesday evening after winning the GOP nomination for North Carolina’s U.S. Senate seat.   “Tonight, North Carolina did not just choose a nominee — you chose a direction,” he told supporters. “Tonight is not the end of a campaign, tonight is the beginning of a movement.” #michaelwhatley #senate #northcarolina #cspan

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) said Tuesday night confusion over voting hours in Dallas County will likely prevent her race in the Texas Democratic primary for U.S. Senate from being called tonight.   "We need to see the Dallas County votes to see where they are. I mean, if the early vote comes in, which we may have the early vote soon, if it comes in and I'm losing Dallas County, then we know kind of where this thing is going," she told supporters, adding that she "fully" expects results won't come in until Wednesday.   Rep. Crockett said legal disputes over polling hours and a late ruling from the Texas Supreme Court complicated the vote count.   The state's supreme court granted a request from Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) to halt a Dallas County judge's order that would have extended voting hours to 9pm CT.   The high court directed election officials to separate ballots cast by anyone who was not already in line by 7pm.   "We're not going to have election results tonight, in my opinion, based upon what specifically is taking place in Dallas County," she said.   #jasminecrockett #senate #cspan

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) advanced Tuesday night to a runoff that will determine the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate race in Texas. Neither candidate secured more than 50% of the vote, triggering a May runoff, the winner of which will face either James Talarico or Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) in the general election. Sen. Cornyn had about 42% of the vote while Mr. Paxton had about 40% when the race was called by the Associated Press. The GOP primary was the most expensive in history. Follow more results at c-span.org/campaign #johncornyn #kenpaxton #election2026 #cspan

Roy Cooper, the former Democratic governor of North Carolina, and Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chair, easily won their respective primaries for U.S. Senate in the Tar Heel State. The two will face off in November to succeed retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). Follow more results at c-span.org/campaign #roycooper #michaelwhatley #election2026 #cspan

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) slammed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s leadership Tuesday, accusing her department of repeated failures.   “This is a reckless and out of control agency that you are responsible for,” he said at a Judiciary Committee hearing.   “You seem to have no situational awareness whatsoever of some of the most egregious examples of Americans being completely attacked, violated, undermined in accordance with our laws by their own government.” #corybooker #kristinoem #dhs #cspan

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) sharply criticized Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday over her handling of Minneapolis and other issues, calling her a “disappointment” and renewing his call for her resignation.   “We’re an exceptional nation. And one of the reasons we’re exceptional is we expect exceptional leadership. And you have demonstrated anything but that,” he said in a lengthy diatribe during a Judiciary Committee hearing.   Sen. Tillis said she has presided over “innocent people” getting detained who later turned out to be American citizens, and blasted the killings of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti, asking her, “why can’t we just say we made a mistake?”   “We’re beginning to get the American people to think that deporting people is wrong. It’s the exact opposite,” he said. “The way you’re going about deporting them is wrong, the fact that you can’t admit to a mistake, which looks like under investigation, it’s going to prove that Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti probably should not have been shot in the face and in the back.”   Sen. Tillis also used his time to criticize Secretary Noem for killing her dog, an anecdote she bragged about in her autobiography.   “You decided to kill that dog because you hadn’t invested the appropriate training, then you have the audacity to write a book and say it’s a leadership lesson,” he said. “Those are bad decisions, not unlike what happened in Minneapolis.”   The senator, who is retiring at the end of this year, said he would place additional holds on presidential nominees if Secretary Noem does not provide information he requested on a Border Patrol operation last year in Charlotte, North Carolina.   He also demanded information about FEMA money for his state that is being held up.   “The Homeland Security Act of 2002 expressly prohibits the secretary of Homeland Security from restricting or diverting FEMA resources from the agency’s mission,” he said. “Based on your disaster response, the chart that I just showed you, I have reason to believe that you’re violating the law, either knowingly or unknowingly.” #thomtillis #kristinoem #cspan

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem repeatedly declined Tuesday to apologize for suggesting that two American citizens killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were domestic terrorists.   “You and your agency rushed to brand these victims as, quote, ‘domestic terrorists,’” Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), the panel’s ranking member, said. “We have ample video evidence and eyewitness testimony proving you are wrong. Your statements caused immeasurable pain to these families.”   Secretary Noem said she was relying on information from people on the scene and blamed “violent protesters” for contributing to the chaos officers encountered.   “I was getting reports from the ground, from agents at the scene, and I would say that it was a chaotic scene, as you’ve seen in Minneapolis and St. Paul,” she said, adding that her agents frequently faced violence from protesters.   Sen. Durbin scoffed at the notion that she was simply being transparent and providing the best information she had at the time.   “You believe calling the victims of violence ‘domestic terrorists’ is a way to calm the scene?” he shot back. #richarddurbin #kristinoem #dhs

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday backtracked on his claim the day prior that the U.S. struck Iran after learning that Israel was preparing to attack.   "The bottom line is this: the president determined we were not going to get hit first. It's that simple, guys. We are not going to put American troops in harm's way," he told reporters on Capitol Hill.   "The president had already made a decision to act. On the timing, the president acted on the timing that gave us the highest chance of success."   On Monday, Secretary Rubio said the U.S. acted "preemptively" after learning Israel was preparing to strike, citing concerns about retaliation against American forces.   "We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action," he told reporters. "We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn't preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties."   Earlier Tuesday, President Trump said it was his "opinion" that Iran would have attacked if the U.S. and Israel had not struck first and rejected the suggestion that Israel's plans to strike prompted him to launch U.S. attacks, saying instead that he may have influenced Israel's timing.   "If anything, I might have forced Israel's hand," he told reporters in the Oval Office. "But Israel was ready, and we were ready, and we've had a very, very powerful impact, because virtually everything they have has been knocked out now. Their missile count is going way down."   #marcorubio #israel #iran #cspan

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said Tuesday he has seen "zero evidence" that the U.S. was under threat of imminent attack from Iran, as the Trump administration has claimed.   "There is no evidence that has been presented to us that the United States was under threat of imminent attack from Iran," he said after being briefed twice by the administration.   Rep. Jeffries said the president had "unconstitutionally and illegally chosen to launch a war," a prerogative that resides within the legislative branch.   "Every member of Congress needs to go on record," he said of the war powers resolutions that are expected to receive votes this week in both chambers. "This is a matter of the utmost significance that the Framers understood would perhaps be the most important decision that members of Congress would make."   #hakeemjeffries #iran #cspan

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) on Tuesday said President Trump was "perfectly within his rights" to launch military strikes on Iran, dismissing the need for Congress to weigh in.   "No," he told reporters when asked whether he thinks Congress would need to give the administration approval for an extended military campaign. "I think the president has the authority that he needs to conduct the activities, the operations that are currently underway there."   Sen. Thune noted the president has "broad authorities" under Article II of the Constitution when it comes to defending America's national security interests.   "There is no country in the world that has more American blood on its hands than Iran," he said. "So, I think president was perfectly within his rights to take the steps that he took. I think it was a necessary step in order to protect American lives."   #iran #senate #gop #trump #cspan

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday accused Democrats of holding her department “hostage” by withholding funding as they demand changes to immigration enforcement operations.   “I recognize that members of this committee may hold differing views about immigration policy,” she said in her opening statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee. “But it’s important that we distinguish between disagreements over policy and the department’s operational responsibility to enforce existing law that has been passed by Congress. It’s our duty as a department to defend our homeland.”   The Homeland Security Department has been without funding since Feb. 13, as Democrats and Republicans negotiate potential reforms to immigration enforcement operations in the wake of the killings of two American citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis.   “The latest Democrat-led shutdown of DHS is reckless, it’s unnecessary, and it undermines American national security and harms the men and women who work at DHS and their families,” Secretary Noem said.   “As a result, critical national security missions, including border security, immigration enforcement, aviation security, disaster response, cybersecurity, and the protection of critical infrastructure are all being strained.” #kristinoem #dhs #cspan