Joe Biden’s campaign is seizing on the Florida court ruling to argue it is a sign of what would come of Donald Trump’s presidency

Good morning, US politics blog readers. Democrats have not had much luck in Florida lately, where its status as a swing state has been eroded by years of Republican victories. And the GOP once again got their way yesterday when a court allowed a six-week abortion ban signed by governor Ron DeSantis to take effect in 30 days. But voters in many states, even those otherwise hostile to Democrats, have signaled that they are not on board with efforts to tighten access to the procedure, and today, Joe Biden ’s campaign and its allies are seizing on the Florida ruling to argue it is a sign of what Donald Trump would do if returned to the White House and perhaps regain some momentum in Florida. At 10am ET, Hakeem Jeffries , the Democratic House minority leader, Xavier Becerra , the health and human services secretary, and other lawmakers will hold a hearing in Broward county on threats to productive freedom, while the Biden-Harris campaign is convening a call between reporters and North Carolina governor Roy Cooper to elaborate on the message.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump will hold two rallies today in swing states Michigan and Wisconsin, where he’s expected to hammer Biden over immigration policy – reliably fertile ground for Republicans. The former president has voiced support for banning abortion, but at 15 weeks of pregnancy , and we’ll see if he weighs in on the decision in Florida.

Israel has expressed “sincere sorrow” over the deaths of seven aid workers in Gaza, which killed nationals of the UK, US, Australia, Poland and Palestine. Follow our live blog for the latest on this story.

A slew of states are holding primaries today, including Wisconsin, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York, while Arkansas and Mississippi will hold primary run offs. Trump and Biden both already have the delegates they need to win their parties’ nominations.

The White House press briefing takes place at 1.30pm.

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Voters will also potentially enshrine two state amendments that some say could have a negative impact on elections administration

Voters in Wisconsin cast their ballots today in an election that will test voter enthusiasm for Joe Biden and Donald Trump – and potentially enshrine two amendments in the state constitution impacting election administration across the state.

The president and former president are already the presumptive nominees and will almost certainly face off in the general election in November, and it seems that the threat of prosecution, general unpopularity and advanced age can’t stop them.

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US judge Aileen Cannon’s delays in setting a schedule means prosecutors are unlikely to get their wish for a trial in July

The prospects of Donald Trump going to trial in July on charges of retaining national security documents, as suggested by special counsel prosecutors, are rapidly diminishing, with the judge overseeing the case yet to issue a schedule weeks after she was presented with the potential options.

The US district judge Aileen Cannon received proposed trial start dates from Trump and the special counsel Jack Smith more than a month ago in advance of a hearing ostensibly to settle the matter in Fort Pierce, Florida, but she has still not decided when the proceeding will begin.

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Of course there’s extra material as well as the usual gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But is it enough to make America believe again?

Donald Trump’s Bible costs $59.99, which puts it at the more expensive end of the King James editions, but it does have extra content: it’s called the God Bless the USA Bible, and includes a copy of the US constitution, the Bill of Rights and handwritten lyrics to the chorus of God Bless the USA, by Lee Greenwood. If you thought that chorus was “ God bless the USA”, you’re getting it mixed up with “Born in the USA”, idiot; Greenwood’s lyrics have a load of other stuff about freedom, death and defence, which obviously makes them the ideal anthem to scripture.

Trump has always said the Bible is his favourite book, on one occasion going on to name his favourite bit, “an eye for an eye”, elaborating “if you look at what’s happening to our country … how people are taking advantage of us, and how they scoff at us and laugh at us. And they laugh at our face, and they’re taking our jobs, they’re taking our money, they’re taking the health of our country. And we have to be firm and have to be very strong.”

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Move bars Trump from lashing out at family members of attorneys and court personnel in case tied to hush-money payments

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s forthcoming criminal trial in New York expanded an existing gag order on Monday, preventing the former president from making inflammatory comments about the judge’s family members, after they became the target of Trump’s personal attacks.

The new protective order continues to allow Trump to rail against the judge and the Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, who charged Trump last year with falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal before the 2016 election.

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Former president was found liable in February for fraudulently inflating his net worth to secure better loan and insurance terms

Donald Trump posted a $175m bond in his New York civil fraud case on Monday, averting asset seizures by state authorities that could have hobbled the former US president’s business empire.

Trump, to face Joe Biden in the November US election, was found liable on 16 February for fraudulently inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to secure better loan and insurance terms.

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Former White House adviser and white nationalist Stephen Miller plans to reinterpret civil rights laws should Trump return to power

The former Trump White House adviser, anti-immigration extremist and white nationalist Stephen Miller is helping drive a plan to tackle supposed “anti-white racism” if Donald Trump returns to power next year, Axios reported .

“Longtime aides and allies … have been laying legal groundwork with a flurry of lawsuits and legal complaints – some of which have been successful,” Axios said on Monday.

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Shares fell sharply during early trading as investors scrutinize fundamentals of company’s business

Shares in Donald Trump’s Truth Social dropped more than 18% on Monday morning as the company revealed it lost $58.2m last year, raising questions about the extraordinary stock market debut which left it valued at more than $7bn.

Trump Media & Technology Group generated sales of just $4.13m in 2023, according to regulatory filings . The company’s stock fell sharply during early trading in New York on Monday, as investors scrutinized the fundamentals of its business.

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Mike Johnson signals that Republicans might make three demands in order to move the aid through the House chamber

Good morning, US politics blog readers. Congress may be out of Washington DC, with lawmakers back in their districts and home states until next week, but there are signs of movement in the long-stalled military aid package for Israel, Ukraine and other national security priorities. Yesterday, Republican House speaker Mike Johnson gave an interview to Fox News where he signaled three demands he may make in order to move the package through the chamber. These were including in the legislation provisions to seize Russian assets and give them to Ukraine, make the aid a loan that Kyiv will pay back at a future date, and roll back Joe Biden ’s decision earlier this year to pause new natural gas export projects.

The big questions now are: will Democrats, who control the Senate and have already passed a version of the military aid bill, accept Johnson’s asks? What about his fellow Republicans in the House, where there are rumblings of booting Johnson from the job? And what of Donald Trump , who clearly has his eye on the matter – after all, he played a big part in killing an earlier compromise that would have paired the assistance with hardline immigration policies. We’ll see if any answers reveal themselves today.

The Biden administration and conservatives squabbled over the weekend after the president declared 31 March “Transgender Day of Visibility”, which happened to correspond with Easter Sunday.

US and Israeli officials will meet virtually to discuss potential alternatives to an offensive against the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Reuters reports.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters at 12pm ET.

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