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3 BIG THINGS TO WATCH THIS WEEK
By Joshua Barajas
Senior Editor, Digital
Matt Loffman
Senior Producer, Elections
Love it or hate it, April has arrived, and along with it, “April Fools!”
Not sure if y’all have been pranked today, but I didn’t budge when my partner tried to say there was a spider crawling underneath my laptop. (There was no eight-legged friend in sight.)
Maybe it’s because I was already working on this week’s laugh-free edition of Here’s the Deal. While Lisa is out, Matt and I have compiled three big things to watch this week.
Casting ballots yet again. Yes, we’re far away from the 2026 midterm elections. And the ol’ Here’s the Deal chestnut reminds us that what issues are pressing today may not be the same as what matters when the November vote rolls around again.
Yet there are some key races to watch Tuesday, starting with a state Supreme Court election that’s gotten national attention.
Wisconsin’s high-stakes Supreme Court race. The swing state has an open Supreme Court seat that’s drawn both interest and money. [Live results]
Watch the segment in the player above.
Who are the candidates? Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel, both county judges, are seeking the seat, which comes with a 10-year term.
Supreme Court races in the state are officially nonpartisan. But based on her record, Dane County Judge Crawford is generally considered a liberal candidate. She’s been backed by Democrats, including an endorsement from former President Barack Obama. Waukesha County Judge Schimel, from a conservative-leaning Milwaukee suburb, has been backed by Republicans, including President Donald Trump and allies like Elon Musk.
What’s at stake? This race will determine who replaces one of the four liberal-leaning judges on the seven-member Supreme Court. After 15 years with a conservative majority, the court flipped to a 4-3 liberal majority two years ago.
Money, money, money. This is considered the most expensive judicial race in history. How expensive? At least $90 million has been spent so far, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. That includes $20 million from Musk and his political action committee to bolster Schimel’s campaign.
Zooming out. The race will not only affect expected rulings in the state on union rights and congressional redistricting, among others. It’s perceived as an indicator of voters’ views on Trump’s agenda, the early months of his second term and efforts to shrink the government workforce, spearheaded by Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency.
Two seats up for grabs in Florida. There are two vacant House seats in the 1st and 6th Congressional Districts, both Republican strongholds. [Live results]
The previous seat-holders are familiar names. These are seats left behind by Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz. You may recognize Waltz as Trump’s embattled national security adviser.
Both Republican lawmakers resigned from Congress for roles in Trump’s Cabinet. Gaetz was nominated to be attorney general, but ultimately withdrew from the Senate confirmation process because of mounting scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking probe. Waltz’s name has been in headlines recently over “Signalgate.” Waltz was flagged as the person who accidentally added The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg to the group chat.
Why these races matter: Given the Republicans’ narrow majority in the House, both seats could give the party “some breathing room,” as the Associated Press puts it. That said, these races won’t determine control of the House.
As part of Trump’s widening trade war, he’s dubbed April 2 as “Liberation Day.” He’s promised a new set of tariffs, or a tax on imports, on major U.S. trading partners, though the details have not been fully revealed.
What we do know is how different groups are responding to the president’s ongoing tariff talk.
Companies, big and small, are worried about sales and the higher costs of goods they buy from other countries.
Trump’s main argument is that tariffs will revitalize America. Economics correspondent Paul Solman, checking in with several experts, closely examines the president’s claim.
3. Trump v. the courts
Watch the segment in the player above.
Many of the actions Trump has taken — from mass deportations under the Alien Enemies Act and mass firings of federal workers to the withholding of federal funds — have been challenged and in some cases blocked in federal courts.
The president and his team have grown increasingly frustrated with the legal system. Trump and allies like Musk have called for the impeachment of judges who have blocked Trump’s agenda. The president has issued executive orders targeting law firms he views as hostile to his agenda.
Some Republicans are joining the cause. The GOP-led House Judiciary Committee held a hearing Tuesday on so-called “judicial overreach,” and House Speaker Mike Johnson has floated the idea of cutting funding for federal courts that rule against Trump. (Other House GOP leaders have signaled that impeachment proposals were more symbolic than anything.)
The executive branch’s defiance of the judiciary should “worry all Americans,” said Deborah Perlstein, director of the Princeton Program on Law and Public Policy.
“The courts and lawyers have proven among the most effective, so far, institutions in pushing back against some of the president's initiatives,” she told the News Hour on Monday. “We're also seeing enormous attacks against the institutions themselves and the rule of law.”
More on politics from our coverage:
Watch: White House holds briefing as Trump readies tariffs ahead of “Liberation Day.”
One Big Question: Trump has openly talked about staying in office for a third term. Can he run again? NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter discuss.
A Closer Look: After the devastating earthquake in Myanmar, China is filling the vacuum left by USAID’s absence.
Perspectives: Two former leaders of the Department of Human and Health Services on how new job cuts at the agency could affect Americans.
Thousands of admirers are still in Washington, D.C., to catch the pink and white flowers along the Tidal Basin. The trees, gifted to the U.S. by Japan in 1912, represent a century-long bond between the two countries.
Our question: What did President William Howard Taft give to Japan in return for the cherry blossom trees?
Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.
Last week, we asked: Which U.S. president was the first to have a telephone installed in the Oval Office?
The answer: Herbert Hoover. Decades after President Rutherford B. Hayes had the first telephone installed at the White House in 1877, Hoover thought to have one in the Oval Office. He'd grown tired of using the phone in the foyer outside the office.
Congratulations to our winners: Nancy Bird and Nabiha Chowdhury!
Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.
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