Blinken says he's 'profoundly disappointed' over contempt vote
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a letter to Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, that he was “profoundly disappointed” that House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman sought to subpoena him and threaten him with contempt over his failure to appear before the committee at a hearing on Afghanistan that was scheduled on the same date as the opening to the long-planned United Nations General Assembly meeting.
“As I have made clear, I am willing to testify and have offered several reasonable alternatives to the dates unilaterally demanded by the Committee during which I am carrying out the President’s important foreign policy objectives,” Blinken wrote in the letter, obtained by NBC News. “I urge you to withdraw your subpoena, reconsider your planned contempt proceedings, and begin good faith engagement with the Department to find an appropriate accommodation.”
In addition to detailing conversations between the chairman and Blinken on finding another time for him to testify, the letter also said Blinken has testified publicly before Congress 14 times on the withdrawal from Afghanistan, including four times before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, including as recently as May 22.
Arizona voters say whether Trump or Harris is stronger on the border and immigration
Our new NBC News national poll showed Trump with a 21-point lead over Harris on the issue of securing the border and controlling immigration.
NBC News asked four Arizona voters which candidate they considered stronger on the issue. Two said Trump, one said Harris, and one said neither.
Sage Allen, 30, was a Clinton voter in 2016 and a Biden voter in 2020 but is leaning Trump in 2024. She said she thinks Trump is “way stronger on border issues.”
“There was this knowledge that, you know, just don’t even bother going to the border. You’re not going to get in,” said Allen of the message Trump’s presidency sent to migrants. “When Biden and Harris were in office, it seemed like it was the exact opposite kind of knowledge, which was, everyone go to the border, you’re going to get in,” Allen added.
“It’s a free for all,” she said.
Juan Zoppetti, who immigrated to the U.S. from Argentina, also believes Trump is stronger on the border and immigration.
“He wants to create a program that will be a merit-based program," Zoppetti, an engineer, said. "He wants the laws to be respected.”
“I’m an immigrant, and I did it the legal way, and it’s very difficult. So reform is due,” said Zoppetti. “It’s super hard to become a U.S. citizen or getting a green card, but the things that they’re doing right now, just letting people go, they’re not fair for anyone, not even for the people who are coming."
First to NBC News: New York Democrat Pat Ryan focuses on abortion in new swing-district ad
New York Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan is focusing his pitch to voters on abortion access in a new ad as he fights to keep his seat— a must-win for Democrats as they hope to retake control of the House.
The 30-second ad, provided first by NBC News, features a constituent who discusses her decision to have an abortion in college.
“I was single, in college, I had big plans,” a woman named Debra from Rhinebeck, N.Y., says while facing herself in a mirror that shows photos of her children. “But I didn’t plan on pregnancy. I had an abortion then, so I could have the family I have today.”
The six-figure ad buy in New York’s 18th District seeks to put GOP challenger and former New York City police officer Alison Esposito on defense on the issue. It marks the first time Ryan is up on the airwaves with a “negative” ad this cycle.
The ad directly addresses Esposito, saying: “Miss Esposito, if you want to see the lives you’d risk, just look in the mirror.”
Ryan has found success in the battleground district before with a message centered around reproductive freedom. In 2022, he won one of the first special elections held in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that overturned the national right to abortion access under Roe v. Wade.
It’s exactly the kind of litmus test he hopes to apply again in November against an opponent in Esposito who praised the Dobbs decision as the “absolute right thing,” though she has also sought to downplay the issue’s salience for voters in recent months.
Biden will take center-stage at the United Nations, addressing world leaders in one of the final and most consequential speeches of his presidency. He is expected to address a series of global challenges from the climate crisis to conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports for TODAY.
House committee to hold contempt vote on Blinken
The House Foreign Affairs Committee will vote this morning on a resolution recommending that the House of Representatives find Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress for not complying with a subpoena to testify on the Afghanistan withdrawal.
The resolution will advance to the House floor for a vote if approved by the committee.
Arizona voters say the presidential debate helped clarify who they will support
The latest NBC News poll found Harris’ favorability increased by 16 points since July. NBC News asked a few Arizonans if their perception of Harris has changed since she entered the race.
Two voters, one supporting Harris and the other leaning toward Trump, said Harris’ debate performance impressed them.
“She did definitely improve, in my eyes, after the last debate,” Sage Allen said, adding that she's likely to vote for Trump. On her impressions of Harris at the debate, Allen said, “She’s very educated. She’s smart. I do like there’s policy positions ... so it was nice to also finally get a firm answer from her on some things."
Ian Galvez-Daley said he was undecided before the debate, but Harris’ performance made his decision for him.
“I was really sitting on the fence up until the first debate, and I saw how she handled herself,” the 28-year-old said. “She kind of ran the debate, and she didn’t really stoop to Trump’s level, and over the past like eight years, that’s been really refreshing,” he said.
While Trump singled out Charleroi, Pa., for its influx of legal Haitian immigrants, many in the town expressed support for the new arrivals, while others said the town’s resources are being strained. NBC News’ Yamiche Alcindor reports.
Arizona voters say what they like about Harris and Trump
NBC News asked four Arizonans why they were voting for Trump or Harris.
Ian Galvez-Daley, 28, said this election is the first time he has experienced hope since being able to participate in the democratic process.
“There seems to be a actual push for the people, as opposed to just, you know, the regular rich people stuff,” the Phoenix native said, adding he was supporting Harris.
Sage Allen, who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020, is leaning toward voting for Trump this cycle.
“I took issue with the way the Democrats handled Joe Biden and his what appeared to be infirmary,” said Allen, referring to what she perceives as Biden’s cognitive decline.
Trump has “really toned down a lot of his rhetoric,” Allen said, adding that the assassination attempts against him have led her to view him in a different light.
“I also think the shootings kind of humanized him in my eyes. Before, I had a lot of difficulty sympathizing with him. The shooting humanized him in my eyes,” she said.
Juan Zoppetti, 48, of Gilbert, Arizona, said that he's supporting Trump because he believes the world was a safer place and the economy was better under his presidency.
"The Middle East was on the road to peace instead of the chaos like right now," he said. "And then you also have a party that is weaponizing everything that they can weaponize, you know, the branches of government, the IRS, the judiciary, everything they can do to weaponize and go after their opponents."
Zachary O'Haire, 42, of Phoenix, said he's "not sure I'm ready for four more years" of Trump.
"I think that there is a lot of negative global impact that comes from that — not just what happens in our country, but also global relations and how they view that," he said.
Harris considering visit to border when in Arizona on Friday
Harris is considering a visit to the southern border when she travels to Arizona on Friday, two people familiar with her schedule told NBC News.
Harris’ possible trip to the border has not been finalized, and the logistics are still being worked out, they cautioned.
Harris plans to address immigration and the border this week in her campaign messaging, a third person familiar with her schedule said.
The Harris campaign declined to comment on the potential border visit.
Schumer to host Zelenskyy for meeting with senators at the Capitol on Thursday
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Capitol for a bipartisan meeting with senators on Thursday, Schumer’s office told NBC News.
The meeting comes as Zelenskyy is set to attend sessions of the U.N. Security Council and General Assembly this week. Zelenskyy also plans to meet Biden and Harris in separate meetings at the White House on Thursday.