From “Rare rebuke for president as four House Republicans side with Democrats to pass war powers resolution. Vote sends resolution to the US Senate, where the chamber must promptly take up the measure under law – key US politics stories from Wednesday, 3 June at a glance” by Guardian Staff at The Guardian. “The US House of Representatives delivered a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump over his war on Iran on Wednesday, as representatives backed a move to force him to seek approval from Congress or withdraw US forces…The House voted 215 to 208 in favor of the war powers resolution, as four Republicans voted with Democrats. The dissident Republicans were Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Tom Barrett of Michigan…Wednesday’s vote came nearly two weeks after House Republicans cancelled an earlier scheduled vote, on the grounds that they lacked the votes to defeat it…The vote sends the resolution to the Senate, where the chamber must promptly take up the measure under the war powers law. A handful of Senate Republican defectors joined Democrats last month to advance a similar resolution forcing Trump to seek congressional approval after four Republican senators rebelled and voted with the Democrats…The latest vote comes as efforts aimed at reaching a negotiated settlement to the three-month conflict have yet to bear fruit, despite repeated claims by Trump and his most senior officials that an agreement is almost negotiated, and that Iran is “desperate” to reach a deal.” More here.

In “Attitudes toward same-sex marriage and transgender issues are shifting, Gallup poll shows,” Geoff Mulvihill ands Amelia Thomson Deveaux write at apneas.com: “Acceptance of same-sex marriage and relationships in the U.S. has flattened after more than two decades of steadily increasing support, with an ongoing decline among Republicans, according to a new Gallup poll…About 65% of U.S. adults believe same-sex marriage should be legal, down slightly from 71% in 2022 and 2023…Most of the change is due to dropping acceptance among Republicans. In the new survey, which was conducted in May, only 37% of Republicans say same-sex marriage should be legally valid, while 35% say gay and lesbian relations are “morally acceptable.”…The views of Democrats and independents are largely stable in the findings released Wednesday, with most in both groups saying same-sex marriage should be legal and that gay or lesbian relations are moral…The widening partisan divide is also reflected in policy around LGBTQ+ issues across the U.S., particularly regarding transgender people, and a rising push in some states to ban same-sex marriage…The downtick in support for same-sex marriage, while slight, is still striking because of how dramatically American views on the issue have shifted over the past few decades…According to Gallup’s trend data, only 27% of U.S. adults supported legal same-sex marriage in 1996. Since then, support for same-sex marriage rose steadily until a few years ago, when it peaked with around 7 in 10 U.S. adults saying same-sex marriage should be legal…Opinion about the morality of same-sex relationships followed the same pattern. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults said same-sex relations were morally acceptable in 2001. That increased nearly 30 percentage points over the next two decades.” More here.

Kyle Kondik and J. Miles Coleman report on “Rating Changes in Iowa Following Tuesday’s Primary” at The Center for Politics: “In Iowa, Rep. Randy Feenstra (R, IA-4), who got a late endorsement from Donald Trump, lost a gubernatorial primary to Zach Lahn, an anti-establishment newcomer…Regardless of who the GOP picked to run against state Auditor Rob Sand, the Democratic nominee for governor, we have been considering moving the race to Toss-up—and we are making that change today…We are also bumping both Iowa’s Senate race and the contest for the state’s 2nd District from Likely Republican to Leans Republican…With the Supreme Court allowing Alabama to use a 6-1 Republican map, mid-decade redistricting may be coming to a close, at least for 2026…In Vermont, popular Gov. Phil Scott (R) announced at the last minute that he’d seek a sixth term; his decision means that the GOP will almost certainly keep the state’s governor’s mansion for at least 2 more years…With virtually all votes reporting, Lahn leads Feenstra by a 37.8% to 37.0% margin. One early indicator that Feenstra was in trouble was that he was clearly weak at home (he is from the Sioux City area). In 2020, three counties that occupy the state’s northwestern corner—Lyon, Sioux, and Plymouth—collectively gave Feenstra close to three-quarters of the vote against King; yesterday, that area was a draw, as Feenstra won them by about 90 votes out of the 10,000 they cast…The Lahn campaign’s spending strategy, from these returns, appears clear: it focused on the two most populous markets, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids/Waterloo—while the latter was close, the former made up just under 40% of the statewide share and also gave Lahn just under 40% of its vote. Meanwhile, Feenstra tended to do better in the markets that were less centrally-located: he carried Davenport while Omaha represented his best substantially-sized market—curiously, while many of those Omaha-area counties are in his district, he has less of a personal history there than he does in the Sioux City area, where he seemed to underwhelm.” More here.

Political prognosticators should take a look at “Black and Latino voters face an affordability gap before the midterms,” in which Keon L. Gilbert, Gabriel R. Sanchez, and Rashawn Ray write at Brookings: Despite the Trump administration’s claims of a thriving economy, data show inflation, stagnant wages, and rising costs are hitting middle- and lower-income Americans—particularly Black and Latino communities—the hardest…Latino and Black voters who shifted toward Trump in 2024 over economic concerns are now among the most likely to reconsider their support ahead of the midterms…The party that can credibly promise to lower the cost of daily living will have the advantage this fall, and that race remains wide open…Affordability is a top issue for Americans and will be a key component in the 2026 midterms. Racial and ethnic minorities will be a crucial voting bloc in future elections, and given that they are some of the most vulnerable communities bearing the brunt of economic downturns, their opinions on the economy shouldn’t be overlooked. Lower-income Americans are widely understood to face tremendous challenges with daily-cost-of-living expenses, but recent reports point to middle-class Americans also struggling with affordability across every state…Below, Brookings scholars from the Race, Prosperity, and Inclusion Initiative (RPII) discuss the affordability crisis in America, and find a harsher reality than what President Trump has consistently described throughout his second term. From his State of the Union address claiming Americans are “thriving” to his mid-May assertion that he does not “think about Americans’ financial situation” when negotiating with Iran, we analyze the disconnect between the administration’s messaging and the lived experiences of Americans…Recent polling suggests that a majority of Americans (57%) believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, contradicting the Trump administration’s messaging of a “thriving nation.” Perhaps most telling, a net 76% of Americans describe current economic conditions as fair or poor…While President Trump inherited a strong economy,  many Americans believe there is a cost-of-living crisis and are uncertain about when or how conditions will improve. Many also believe the Trump administration has deepened the affordability crisis through rising prices and its geopolitical actions, contributing to inflation outpacing wages for the first time since May 2023 and reaching 3.8% this past April. Although no single government agency controls the economy, many Americans across the political spectrum believe government should help manage the costs of daily living—from health care, medications, and groceries, to child care, housing, and utilities, and gas. These rising costs are leading many households to fall behind on bills such as rent, mortgage, car payments, and utilities. Middle- and lower-income households—and Black and Hispanic households in particular—will continue to bear the greatest burden if wages remain stagnant and economic conditions don’t improve.” More here.