WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump reshaped this year’s U.S. Senate map by sidelining some Republican incumbents and promoting loyalists to replace them. Now the question is whether he’ll put his money where his mouth is.
With four months to go until November’s elections, it's still unclear how much MAGA Inc., the country's largest political war chest with $382 million in the bank as of last month, plans to spend on key races. The silence has persisted even as Senate Republican leaders have urged Trump’s team, both privately and publicly, to pick up the tab for the president’s decisions.
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FILE - North Carolina Republican candidate for Senate Michael Whatley addresses a crowd, March 13, 2026, in Rocky Mount, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward, File)
FILE - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, waves as he takes the stage during a primary runoff election night event after winning the Republican party's nomination, May 26, 2026, in Plano, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
People listen as President Donald Trump speaks at Burning Hills Amphitheatre during the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opening ceremony, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Medora, N.D. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump walks from Marine One to board Air Force One at Bismarck Municipal Airport, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Bismarck, N.D. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump greets supporters after arriving on a Freedom 250 train, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Medora, N.D. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Front and center is Texas, where Trump successfully endorsed fiery conservative Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn, a choice that some Republicans grumble has turned a safe election into a toss-up that will drain resources away from other battlegrounds. Democratic nominee James Talarico, a state lawmaker, has made Paxton's history of corruption allegations a central target of his campaign.
“The president picked Paxton, and he’s got $350 million dollars," Cornyn recently told Semafor. “I think he can spend his money.”
Another challenge has emerged in North Carolina, where Sen. Thom Tillis declined to run for reelection after feuding with Trump last year over healthcare spending. Trump backed Michael Whatley, his former handpicked chair of the Republican National Committee, to run instead, and Democrats hope to flip the seat with former Gov. Roy Cooper.
Some in Republican campaign leadership are expecting MAGA Inc. to pitch in for Whatley in North Carolina, where the state’s several metro media markets can be pricey.
Republicans will likely be able to count on generous support from well-funded official party committees, which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this week should be allowed to make unlimited direct contributions to candidates’ campaigns. But even that sum falls short of what Trump has stockpiled in MAGA Inc. Even though the president is constitutionally barred from running again, he began raising money shortly after winning a second term, and he's regularly held fundraisers at his resort properties where tickets cost $1 million per person.
James Blair, the former White House political director who left his government job to coordinate the president's midterm efforts, was evasive in an interview with Sean Spicer, a former Republican spokesman who hosts a podcast.
“The president is going to expend substantial resources to win the midterms,” said Blair. “He cares deeply about the party winning.”
As a super PAC, MAGA Inc. can raise unlimited money from individuals and corporations. However, it is barred from coordinating with individual campaigns or national Republican committees, which adds to the sense of mystery surrounding its plans.
It’s been more than two months since Blair, along with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, pollster Tony Fabrizio and political adviser Chris LaCivita huddled at Washington’s Waldorf Astoria to discuss MAGA Inc.'s strategy.
The huddle was focused on assembling teams of vendors, such as advertisers, canvassing providers and digital media company leaders who had worked with the Trump team in key states during previous elections and who would be dispatched once plans were in place.
The president has spent much of the year waging a war of retribution against Republicans who have crossed him. He viewed Cornyn as insufficiently loyal, held a grudge against Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana for voting to convict him in an impeachment trial and assailed Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky as the “worst Republican Congressman in history." All of them lost their primaries to Trump-backed challengers.
Cornyn's loss weighs heavily on Senate Republicans, who suggest that Paxton could cost the party an extra $100 million to defend the seat.
Senate Leadership Fund, the principal super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, is still expected to spend money on advertising in Texas but not play a central role given its obligations elsewhere.
Democrats must net four seats to take the majority, and they see Alaska, Maine, North Carolina and Ohio as their best opportunities. The Senate Leadership Fund has already committed to spending $342 million across these four states, plus Iowa, Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire.
When Paxton came to Washington after winning the nomination on May 26, he had a cordial meeting with Thune focused on moving forward together, according to people with knowledge of the conversation who were not authorized to speak publicly.
Later that day, Thune suggested that Trump should be putting up money for a candidate whom Senate Republicans hadn’t asked for.
“We will do what we need to do to make sure the state stays red," Thune told reporters. "But I’m certainly hopeful the president and the resources he can bring to bear will be engaged.”
“It’s going to be an expensive race,” he added.
Associated Press White House correspondent Seung Min Kim contributed from Washington. Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.
FILE - North Carolina Republican candidate for Senate Michael Whatley addresses a crowd, March 13, 2026, in Rocky Mount, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward, File)
FILE - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, waves as he takes the stage during a primary runoff election night event after winning the Republican party's nomination, May 26, 2026, in Plano, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
People listen as President Donald Trump speaks at Burning Hills Amphitheatre during the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opening ceremony, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Medora, N.D. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump walks from Marine One to board Air Force One at Bismarck Municipal Airport, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Bismarck, N.D. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump greets supporters after arriving on a Freedom 250 train, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Medora, N.D. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
CATIA LA MAR, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's U.S.-backed acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday issued a fiery defense of her government's response to last week's devastating earthquakes, lashing out at critics who say authorities reacted too slowly, pushing back on suggestions that the true death toll is far higher than the government has acknowledged and rejecting accusations that the nation's shoddily constructed social housing exacerbated the disaster.
The self-described socialist government of Rodríguez, striving for legitimacy months after the United States removed former President Nicolás Maduro from power in January, has come under fire for what residents have described as a sluggish and haphazard response to the quakes.
Residents of the hardest-hit state, La Guaira, have complained that the initial absence of a serious government search-and-rescue operation left them alone to scour for neighbors and loved ones with their bare hands. Rescuers have lamented the country's shortages of specialized equipment. Experts have warned that substandard construction of social housing projects — a hallmark policy of former President Hugo Chávez — left neighborhoods vulnerable to quakes.
At a press conference for foreign journalists in the capital of Caracas late Thursday, Rodríguez, wearing a black ribbon as a symbol of mourning, refused to accept the criticism.
“We did not wait one day, two days or three days. We activated immediately,” she said, lacing into media outlets that she accused of spreading misinformation. “To politicize a humanitarian tragedy like this — when the Venezuelan government and its authorities have spared no effort, public, private, national, or international — is disgraceful."
Authorities have counted at least 2,295 people killed by the earthquake as of Wednesday — a number that’s expected to rise. They did not offer an updated death toll on Thursday, and have maintained tight control over public communications and relief efforts.
The stench of decomposition hung heavy over streets of flattened buildings as rescue missions to find survivors of Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes increasingly turned to the recovery of corpses.
Desperate for good news, Venezuelan and international emergency workers celebrated the near-miraculous rescue of a 43-year-old security guard found alive after nearly eight days under the rubble — five days beyond the critical 72-hour mark following a quake when experts say finding survivors is most likely.
National broadcasters reran footage of the exuberant moment he was pried free from the collapsed mall and lifted onto a stretcher as crowds cheered. Trapped in an air pocket beneath the concrete, Hernán Alberto Gil Flores survived on the food and water that rescuers managed to pass him through crevices.
Elsewhere across La Guaira, an air of hopelessness was setting in. The port city of Catia La Mar teemed with officials carrying body bags and stacking wooden coffins.
More than 38,000 reports of missing people — many of them likely buried beneath the rubble — have been sent to a website set up by the Venezuelan opposition, as the government has not given official figures for those missing.
When one journalist asked Rodríguez about the true, still-unknown toll of the disaster, citing reports that the United Nations is procuring 10,000 body bags, Rodríguez defended the government's tally.
“We do not want to speculate," she said. “The numbers we provide are rigorously verified.”
In La Guaira, several of Chávez's signature social housing projects were razed by the earthquakes, prompting suspicions of flawed construction. Rodriguez deflected the accusations, claiming on Thursday that about 80% of the collapsed buildings were privately developed. She did not offer evidence.
Pressed on reports that residents were on their own in the first 48 hours after the quakes, with heavy machinery and official aid scarce, Rodríguez acknowledged that “naturally, at the sites where the building collapsed, the first people to arrive were survivors of the collapse itself, relatives and neighbors."
But she railed against what she called “narratives manufactured in propaganda laboratories" and claimed that a day after the quakes, “We had already mobilized the full capacity of the Venezuelan state together with the private sector.”
The disaster has evolved into the biggest test of competence yet for Rodríguez, who served as deputy to Maduro until his ouster and became interim leader with the backing of the Trump administration.
Her comments Thursday came a day before the extension of her 180-day mandate as acting leader was set to expire. It was unclear what would happen once the deadline passes Friday.
Under Venezuela’s constitution, temporary absences are to be filled by the vice president — which was Rodríguez’s former role — for up to 90 days. These interim appointments can be extended by the national assembly for an additional 90 days. The National Assembly, controlled by Rodríguez’s party, can trigger a snap election if lawmakers declare the post permanently vacant.
In contrast to the aftermath of Venezuela's catastrophic 1999 landslides, when then-President Chávez rejected offers of assistance from an adversarial U.S., Rodríguez has publicly welcomed aid and rescue teams from governments across the political spectrum — including the Trump administration and its regional allies.
In expressing thanks for the foreign help, Rodríguez singled out Israel, which has no diplomatic relations with Venezuela. She praised President Donald Trump and Secretary State of Marco Rubio, saying they “remained constantly attentive and offered support.”
Washington has thrown its support behind Rodríguez in its bid to open up Venezuela’s lucrative energy industry and largely turned its back on opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, who this week accused Rodríguez’s government of blocking her return to the country.
The U.S. has committed over $300 million and deployed some 900 military personnel to support rescue operations. On top of that, John M. Barrett, the U.S. chargé d’affaires to Venezuela, said the U.S. would make revenue from Venezuelan oil production, controlled by the U.S. Treasury since Maduro’s seizure, available for relief efforts. That promise has made demands for more transparency in U.S. management of Venezuelan oil sales all the more urgent, analysts say.
“Venezuelans really need that money to be used for the protection of Venezuelans,” said Laura Cristina Dib, Venezuela program director at the independent human rights organization Washington Office on Latin America.
DeBre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Associated Press journalists Ben Finley in Washington, Gabriela Aoun Angueira in San Diego, Gisela Salomon in Miami and Megan Janetsky in Mexico City contributed to this report.
Corrects that the deadline for the acting president expires on Friday, not Thursday.
Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez gestures as she visits a temporary camp of the French Civil Security in La Guaira, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, following the June 24 earthquakes. (Miguel Medina/Pool Photo via AP)
SOS is seen on collapsed buildings following the June 24 twin earthquakes in Caraballeda in the state of La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Miguel Medina/Pool Photo via AP)
Damaged buildings are seen following the June 24 twin earthquakes in Caraballeda in the state of La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Miguel Medina/Pool Photo via AP)
Residents and rescue workers search through the rubble of buildings damaged in the earthquakes that struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Stuffed animals decorate the wall of an apartment damaged in the earthquakes that struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Rescue workers sort humanitarian aid for earthquake survivors in La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Vietnamese rescuers searches a building that collapsed during back-to-back earthquakes in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Rescuers from Argentina search a building damaged by back-to-back earthquakes after residents reported hearing noises from beneath the rubble in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Lieutenant-Colonel Vianney Labbe, left, head of the detachment of the French 7th Civil Security Training and Intervention Regiment (RIISC 7), Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez, center, Oliver Blanco, Venezuela's Vice Minister for Europe and North America, and French ambassador to Venezuela Emmanuel Pineda, right, visit a temporary camp of the French Civil Security in La Guaira, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, following the June 24 earthquakes. (Miguel Medina/Pool Photo via AP)
Rescue workers attend to Hernán Alberto Gil Flores after he was pulled from the rubble eight days after he was trapped by twin earthquakes that struck Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Chilean rescue workers carry Hernán Alberto Gil Flores after he was pulled from the rubble eight days after he was trapped by twin earthquakes that struck Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
