The Latest: Trump promises to campaign for Republicans despite sagging popularity

President Donald Trump urged Republican lawmakers facing tough reelection campaigns to run on his record in the White House despite his sagging popularity, and he pledged to campaign in all of the roughly three dozen contests that are likely to determine control of Congress.

Also, a federal judge in Boston will hear arguments Thursday on whether to extend her prohibition against the U.S. Postal Service requiring states to use a new mail balloting system for the midterms as part of an executive order by Trump. The hearing in the closely watched case comes the day before the first state begins sending mail ballots to voters.

Here’s the latest:

Trump fact-checks his own commerce secretary on Iran war deaths

The president took the unusual step of correcting a misleading statement by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who had said in an interview that no U.S. forces had died in the Iran war.

“Sec. Lutnick had Venezuela on his mind when he said nobody was killed,” Trump posted on social media. “18 people were killed in Iran!”

Lutnick had said in a Wednesday CNBC interview that no Americans had died in the conflict that began at the end of February. But Lutnick in his remarks was specifically talking about the Iran war, which he called “an economic chokeout.”

Federal judge considers whether to extend ban against US Postal Service mail voting changes

A federal judge in Boston will hear arguments Thursday on whether to extend her prohibition against the U.S. Postal Service requiring states to use a new mail balloting system for the midterms as part of an executive order by President Donald Trump.

The hearing in the closely watched case comes the day before the first state begins sending mail ballots to voters.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani is considering whether to order a preliminary injunction that would bar the Postal Service from requiring the new system to be used for the midterms. Last week, she imposed a 14-day temporary restraining order to keep it from being used. That order expires next week as more states begin sending out mail ballots.

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Trump promises to campaign for Republicans and says they have a winning midterm message

President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Republican lawmakers facing tough reelection campaigns to run on his record in the White House despite his sagging popularity, and he pledged to campaign in all of the roughly three dozen contests that are likely to determine control of Congress.

Voters’ dim views of the economy and the war in Iran have put Republicans in a tough spot as the midterm election season enters its final stretch. But during a dinner in the Rose Garden, one of the spaces he has controversially renovated since returning to office last year, the president told his party’s most vulnerable lawmakers they had a triumphant story to tell voters.

“All you have to do is talk about it, and you’re going to win and you’re going to win big,” Trump said a week before the party gathers in Dallas for an unusual midterm convention.

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