Donald Trump has accused fellow Republicans, including incumbent senator John Cornyn and political strategist Karl Rove, of "doing everything possible to make it hard" for Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee in the Texas Senate race. In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump claimed they were "sadly, and very stupidly" working against Mr Paxton due to personal jealousy, asserting they were "hurting Texas and, more importantly, hurting the United States of America!"
Mr Trump added that if Mr Paxton loses, it would be due to "WEAK and INEFFECTIVE Political Hacks like John Cornyn and Karl Rove." Despite Texas often being considered a Republican safe seat, polls show Democratic nominee James Talarico with a slight lead over Mr Paxton, who has served as Texas attorney general since 2015.
A loss for Mr Paxton would mark the first time a Republican has not won a Senate election in Texas since 1988 and would be seen as a significant setback for Mr Trump and the Republican Party.
In other developments, Mr Trump has labelled a series of Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries as a "disgrace." He also described Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "more difficult to deal with than Putin."
Separately, Katie Zacharia, the White House's new press secretary, has stated it is "unknown" how much she will engage with the press or hold briefings. Questions about her legal credentials persist following revelations that she failed the California bar exam after law school.