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Today’s top stories

Trump-backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated four-term GOP Sen. John Cornyn yesterday to become the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat. Paxton, 63, outpolled 74-year-old Cornyn by a margin of nearly two to one. Both candidates made it to Tuesday’s runoff election after failing to secure a majority in Texas’ primary in March. Republicans spent $100 million for the primary race, making it the most expensive primary in Senate history.

• 🎧 The election, like many across Texas and the country, was centered around a potential changing of the guard, Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider tells Up First. Cornyn represents the establishment wing of the Texas Republican Party. The party has moved significantly to the right since he was first elected to the Senate during George W. Bush’s presidency. Over the past year, Paxton has argued that Cornyn’s time has passed and that he wasn’t sufficiently supportive of President Trump. Last month, Texas Public Opinion Research released a poll indicating that a Trump endorsement could propel Paxton to a double-digit victory over Cornyn. Paxton will now face the Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico, in the midterms. Paxton argues that Talarico is too far to the left to represent Texas, citing his previous comments on issues including immigration, the economy and transgender rights. Talarico secured his position as the Democratic nominee by highlighting his success in flipping a state House district that previously supported Trump by double digits.
• ➡️ Democrat Nathan Johnson and Republican Mayes Middleton are set to face off to become Texas’ next attorney general in the November election. The winner will replace Paxton. (via KERA News)
• ➡️ U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee won the Democratic primary runoff against U.S. Rep. Al Green in Texas’ 18th Congressional District, according to a race call by the Associated Press. (via Houston Public Radio)
• ➡️ The Texas general election matchups are finally set. Here are four takeaways from the state’s primary runoffs.

South Carolina lawmakers yesterday blocked Trump’s effort to alter voting maps ahead of the midterm elections. A new map could have flipped the only Democratic-held House seat in the state, which is currently held by Rep. James Clyburn. It would have made all seven congressional districts in the state lean Republican, further extending the GOP’s advantage in the national redistricting process, which has already potentially netted them around nine more U.S. House seats.

• 🎧 In South Carolina, the last three weeks have been a whirlwind as redistricting took center stage during the final days of the legislative session, South Carolina Public Radio’s Gavin Jackson says. The Senate briefly stalled the process, prompting Gov. Henry McMaster to call a special session to address a new map. McMaster has said that the president needs to maintain a Republican Congress to advance his agenda. Despite this, a handful of prominent state Senate Republicans pushed back against the redistricting process. South Carolina senators take pride in being deliberative and resisting external pressures from Washington, Jackson says. After considering the anticipated lawsuits and the costs of delaying the primaries, some of them said that it wasn’t so much a rebuke of the president, but rather a reality check, according to Jackson. Unlike members of the House, South Carolina’s state senators are not up for reelection this year, which could insulate them from pressure from Trump.
• ➡️ Yesterday, a federal court in Alabama blocked the state’s effort to implement a 2023 congressional map that favors the GOP. This ruling comes amid a long-running redistricting case over Black voter representation.

The Department of Homeland Security is expanding its iris scanning capacity as part of its mass deportation efforts. Privacy experts have raised concerns that the agency is collecting biometric data from detained individuals. Last week, DHS awarded a $25 million no-bid contract to BI2 Technologies, a company that specializes in iris scanning. This new contract is more than five times the amount of BI2’s previous contract with DHS, awarded last fall. As part of its proposal to B12, DHS requested over 1,500 iris scanners and sought access to BI2’s mobile app.

The Trump administration has mass-deleted information regarding prosecutions related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including cases involving defendants who assaulted police officers. This move marks the latest attempt by Trump to alter the narrative surrounding the violent riot. Last week, Justice Department news releases that detailed guilty pleas, jury verdicts and prison sentences disappeared from government websites. An NPR review found that the deletions included information about some of the most serious assaults on law enforcement that happened that day.

• ➡️ NPR maintains the most complete database and visual archive of the Jan. 6 prosecutions. Check it out here.

Church and State

This week at NPR, we’re going to explore the increased intermixing of God and government in a new series we’re calling Church and State. It’s an idea that has been gaining momentum through the first and second Trump administrations, not only within U.S. politics but also throughout American culture, in songs and paintings, schoolbooks and worship events infused with faith and politics.

In January, the Department of Homeland Security released a video as the massive immigration enforcement was underway in Minnesota. The phrase “Blessed are the peacemakers” from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew appears on screen, followed by imagery of military-style immigration enforcement. As the scene unfolds, the rest of the biblical passage emerges: “For they shall be called the sons of God.” Presidents have long turned to scripture as a rhetorical tool, invoking the Bible to frame moments of national crisis or purpose. But the Trump administration applies biblical references in a very different way, using specific passages to connect its policies and actions to God’s will.

Dyron Daughrity, a minister in the evangelical Church of Christ, says the imagery in the DHS video is striking but not unprecedented. Yet, some view this approach as more intentional and troubling. To some scholars of Christianity, such framing undermines some of Jesus’ core ethical teachings. Explore both perspectives on how the administration uses the Bible to justify military invasions and immigration raids.

From our hosts

Workers have begun assembling a temporary outdoor stadium on the White House South Lawn. It includes seating for several thousand people expected to watch mixed martial arts fighting cage matches as part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 14.

Steve Inskeep spoke recently with UFC chief Dana White on video for the NPR’s Newsmakers.

We met Dana White just before a UFC event in a New Jersey arena, sitting near the fenced octagon like the one the UFC is building on the White House lawn.

He has doubts about what he was asked to do. “I hate stadiums, and… fighting outside,” he said, citing the chance of “rain and lightning” as well as “bugs.” White still agreed to build a temporary outdoor stadium, marking the nation’s 250th anniversary. “There possibly couldn’t be a greater honor,” he said.

White is a friend of Trump, whose casinos once provided venues for the UFC. In a divided country, that may be all some people think they need to know about White — but our Newsmakers video interview showed otherwise.

The fighters in White’s UFC include refugees and immigrants. UFC competitors fight their way up from the bottom, and White is frank about the physical risks.

In the most surprising part of the interview, White told me that he was urged to frame the June 14 event as the USA against the world, with Americans paired against foreign fighters. White felt that narrative would miss the point of the United States as well as the UFC. He says he intends, instead, to showcase the diversity of America.

3 things to know before you go

1. The U.S. men’s national soccer team yesterday announced the 26 players who will represent them in this summer’s FIFA World Cup. The squad will include a mix of veterans and 13 newcomers.
2. The French Open, the second Grand Slam tournament of the year, is now underway in Paris at the Roland Garros complex. The venue is named after a World War I fighter pilot with no known ties to the racquet sport. Here’s why.
3. The Trump administration has proposed a government-wide nondisclosure agreement for federal employees, citing recent leaks regarding immigration enforcement and the Venezuela raid.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.