Trump, Graham campaign on heels of Russian sanctions waiver

It’s Wednesday, and Washington is buzzing for the Wizards’ season opener tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Ramaswamy takes responsibility for Acton ad

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President Trump is slated to campaign alongside Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) in South Carolina tonight — a meetup coming just days after he waived sanctions against Russia outlined in a legislative package named after her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

While some Republicans have slammed these waivers — which Trump introduced via executive order late Friday — as a slight on Lindsey Graham’s legacy, the late senator’s sister stopped short of criticizing the president for the move. Though Darline Graham conceded that “personally, I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia.”

“The president and I share the same goal, which is to end the war, get gas and diesel prices down,” she told The Associated Press on Saturday. “The sanctions bill is one of the tools he can use to do that. It’s up to him whether or not he chooses to use it.”

Now the pair are set to meet up in Clemson, S.C., at 7 p.m. EDT — the next stop in the president’s seven-day, seven-stop campaign blitz less than two weeks out from Election Day.

Endorsement power: The president sang Graham’s praises this morning in a Truth Social post, writing, “Darline Graham is GREAT!”

Trump’s endorsement played a crucial role in securing a primary runoff victory for Graham despite scrutiny surrounding her qualifications for the role. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) appointed Graham, who had never held political office, to the Senate after her brother’s unexpected death in July.

Trump was quick to boost Graham after her appointment and maintained his support throughout the election cycle. The president last campaigned with the senator a week ahead of the state’s primary runoff and shortly after her dodgy performance during a debate, in which she flubbed a question on national security.

The Hill’s nonpartisan election forecasting partner, Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), gives Graham a 70 percent chance of beating Democratic opponent Annie Andrews.

Meanwhile, in Moscow: Kremlin officials said Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to resume trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. after meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg, the AP first reported this morning.

The meeting came a day after Witkoff met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky , who has grown increasingly critical of Trump in the wake of the Russian sanctions waiver and Ukraine’s outage of Starshield, the military version of SpaceX’s Starlink internet.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that tech mogul Elon Musk , a close ally to the president, called for the slowdown.

Former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed will go head-to-head once again tonight in a debate for Michigan’s open Senate seat.

As a reminder, the first debate on Oct. 8 made WOOD TV8 moderator Rick Albin say, “In 30 years of doing debates, I’ve never seen it continue during the commercial. But it did.”

Round 1 went off the rails: The first debate between Rogers and El-Sayed featured mostly personal jabs at each other.

The GOP candidate alleged that El-Sayed and his family have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist religiopolitical organization founded in Egypt in the 1920s.

Rogers also labeled the Democrat a fake medical professional. El-Sayed received a medical degree from Columbia University and a doctorate in public health from Oxford University.

El-Sayed fought back, labeling Rogers as a “rubber stamp” and “sock puppet” for Trump.

In the first debate, the two zoomed in on the Trump administration’s relationship with Israel, the nationwide immigration crackdown and rising fuel/energy prices connected to the Iran war.

Brotherhood comments bound to come up: El-Sayed was asked a question during a Saturday town hall event in Michigan on whether he would “disavow the Muslim Brotherhood.”

El-Sayed responded, saying, “Sure. Yeah, absolutely,” but, “Why are you asking the question?”

The Democrat continued to bash the question, adding, “Have you asked everybody in your life if they disavow them? So why are you asking me?”

Bridge Michigan reported last month there is no evidence connecting El-Sayed to the organization, but Rogers will most likely pounce on the opportunity to bring it up again in Wednesday’s debate.

Rogers, Trump have their differences: The president is set to hold a rally Friday in St. Clair County, Mich., to help move the needle for highly contested races in the Senate, House and gubernatorial elections.

Despite Trump’s upcoming visit, Rogers has split from the president on the administration’s trade war with his state’s neighbor, Canada.

“Here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end this tariff war — now,” Rogers shared earlier this month on social media.

Rogers has been critical of the U.S.’s diesel deal with Russia, saying, “I do worry about the optics of it, but I understand what his motives are,” but he went on to note that “I don’t think we can give Putin an inch.”

Incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) has seen his lead disappear in recent weeks to Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton — making it one of the most important races in November’s midterm cycle.

Marshall and Hamilton will take the debate stage Wednesday night in Kansas City, Mo.

Election handicappers Sabato’s Crystal Ball and Cook Political Report have shifted the race to a toss-up due to Hamilton’s recent rise in the polls.

DDHQ lists the state as “Lean Republican,” giving Marshall a 65 percent chance of winning in Kansas.

The Wisconsin gubernatorial debate between Democrat David Crowley and Republican candidate Tom Tiffany will kick off at 8 p.m. EDT.

Iowa PBS will host an 8 p.m. EDT debate for the state’s highly contested governor’s race between Republican Zach Lahn and Democratic candidate Rob Sand .

Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (R) confirmed his campaign was responsible for an ad targeting Democratic opponent Amy Acton featuring her mother, who called the Democrat a “liar.”

The ad drew backlash from lawmakers, with Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown (D) even calling on GOP challenger Sen. Jon Husted to denounce Ramaswamy’s move.

In the video posted Monday, Acton’s biological mother, Donna Arthur , said, “I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent — it is not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem.”

Acton family’s response: The Democrat has previously mentioned that she experienced sexual abuse and neglect during her childhood with her estranged biological mother.

Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns , condemned the ad and said he and his sister were removed from Arthur’s custody after their stepfather was arrested for sexually abusing Acton when she was 12.

“It’s not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political point,” Stearns told CBS News.

🕵️ With Democrats projected to take both chambers of Congress, the party has ambitious plans for the next two years. Democratic House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members are eyeing investigations into Trump and other administration officials. The Hill’s Mike Lillis and Sudiksha Kochi have more for Insiders here .

⛓️ New York congressional candidate Brad Lander (D) claimed he was detained by the Israeli military in the West Bank on Wednesday. Lander was in the West Bank harvesting olives, according to his social media.

📈 Polymarket has removed a market that allowed people to make bets on the Cornell University students accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2024. The market asked whether any of the so-called Cornell 7 would be charged with a felony sex crime.

☣️ Residents in north Toledo, Ohio, were ordered to shelter in place or evacuate Tuesday night after a chemical was released into the air. The city did not immediately say what chemical was released but noted it could cause burning of the eyes, nose, mouth and skin.

🧀 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boosted Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) during a day trip to the Midwest battleground state on Wednesday. The incumbent Republican is facing a tight race in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District against Democrat Rebecca Cooke .

The New York Times: How Venezuela’s public housing towers were built to fail

The Associated Press: Ebola has spread from Congo to 4 other countries. A look at where things stand

Politico: Why Anthropic’s draft bill sets $1 billion threshold for AI risk

NBC News: Secret Service study explores how to prevent workplace violence

The House and Senate are out. President Trump is in Washington before he travels to Clemson, S.C., for a midterm rally. (All times EDT)

7 p.m.: Trump midterm rally in South Carolina

8 p.m.: Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota governor’s debates

🍎 Celebrate : Today is National Apple Day! Have one today and keep the doctor away …

🏀 LeBron James made his Philadelphia 76ers debut Tuesday night in a 106-100 win over the New York Knicks. Safe to say the 👑 spoiled banner night for the defending champions.

It’s finally feeling like fall here on Capitol Hill, with temperatures dipping to around 50 degrees this morning. Just like this sloth , we’re ready to carve some pumpkins.

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