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SEASIDE, Calif. Mike Gravel, a former U.S. senator from Alaska who read the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional Record and confronted Barack Obama about nuclear weapons during a later presidential run, has died. He was 91.

Gravel, who represented Alaska as a Democrat in the Senate from 1969 to 1981, died Saturday, according to his daughter, Lynne Mosier. Gravel had been living in Seaside, Calif., and was in failing health, said Theodore W. Johnson, a former aide.

Gravels two terms came during tumultuous years for Alaska when construction of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline was authorized and when Congress was deciding how to settle Alaska Native land claims and whether to classify enormous amounts of federal land as parks, preserves and monuments.

He had the unenviable position of being an Alaska Democrat when some residents were burning President Jimmy Carter in effigy for his measures to place large sections of public lands in the state under protection from development.

Gravel feuded with Alaskas other senator, Republican Ted Stevens, on the land matter, preferring to fight Carters actions and rejecting Stevens advocacy for a compromise.

In the end, Congress passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980, a compromise that set aside millions of acres for national parks, wildlife refuges and other protected areas. It was one of the last bills Carter signed before leaving office.

Gravels Senate tenure also was notable for his anti-war activity. In 1971, he led a one-man filibuster to protest the Vietnam-era draft and he read into the Congressional Record 4,100 pages of the 7,000-page leaked document known as the Pentagon Papers, the Defense Departments history of the countrys early involvement in Vietnam.

Gravel reentered national politics decades after his time in the Senate to twice run for president. Gravel, then 75, and his wife, Whitney, took public transportation in 2006 to announce he was running for president as a Democrat in the 2008 election ultimately won by Obama.

He launched his quest for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination as a critic of the Iraq war.

I believe America is doing harm every day our troops remain in Iraq harm to ourselves and to the prospects for peace in the world, Gravel said in 2006. He hitched his campaign to an effort that would give all policy decisions to the people through a direct vote, including health care reform and declarations of war.

Gravel garnered attention for his fiery comments at Democratic forums.

In one 2007 debate, the issue of the possibility of using nuclear weapons against Iran came up, and Gravel confronted then-Sen. Obama. Tell me, Barack, who do you want to nuke? Gravel said. Obama replied: Im not planning to nuke anybody right now, Mike.

Gravel then ran as a Libertarian candidate after he was excluded from later Democratic debates.

In an email to supporters, he said the Democratic Party no longer represents my vision for our great country. It is a party that continues to sustain war, the military-industrial complex and imperialism all of which I find anathema to my views, he said.

He failed to get the Libertarian nomination.

Gravel briefly ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020. He again criticized American wars and vowed to slash military spending. His last campaign was notable in that both his campaign manager and chief of staff were just 18 at the time of his short-lived candidacy.

There was never any ... plan that he would do anything more than participate in the debates. He didnt plan to campaign, but he wanted to get his ideas before a larger audience, Johnson said.

Gravel failed to qualify for the debates. He endorsed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the contest eventually won by now-President Joe Biden.

Gravel was born Maurice Robert Gravel in Springfield, Mass., on May 13, 1930.

In Alaska, he served as a state representative, including a stint as House speaker, in the mid-1960s.

He won his first Senate term after defeating incumbent Sen. Ernest Gruening, a former territorial governor, in the 1968 Democratic primary.

Gravel served two terms until he was defeated in the 1980 Democratic primary by Gruenings grandson, Clark Gruening, who lost the election to Republican Frank Murkowski.

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Mike Gravel, former U.S. senator for Alaska who objected to wars, dies at 91 - Tampa Bay Times

That embrace of Trump also means closely identifying the party with his coarse rhetoric, which helped push swing states like Arizona into Democrats' column last fall. Down here in the Rio Grande Valley, however, Republicans see potential payoff against vulnerable border-state Democrats.

Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) visits the U.S. border in La Joya, Texas. | Olivia Beavers/POLITICO

I think youre going to see a surge of voters who are fed up with a lack of security, freshman Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) said in an interview. The Biden administration is not prioritizing American security In 2022, what I think we will see is, people are tired of a lack of a good policy.

Republicans are already starting to invest in the very district where members gathered for the trip: Texas' 15th. The incumbent, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), won this once-safe blue seat by just 3 points in 2020 against his GOP opponent, Monica De La Cruz-Hernandez. She has already launched a second bid against Gonzalez and met Tuesday evening with members of the Republican Study Committee ahead of their border event with Trump to make her case for flipping the seat next year.

When House Republicans appeared alongside Trump on Wednesday, the climate was almost nostalgic. While Trump talked about the migration uptick, he also devoted significant time at a news conference to personally mentioning each of the House Republicans who joined him.

For Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), whose home Trump warned that no one should enter uninvited lest guns will be blazing, the laudatory shoutout was received. As he spoke about his loss to President Joe Biden, calling it a shame, Boebert called back at Trump that "you won."

The former president even welcomed Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), whom he had previously called to face a GOP primary challenge after Roy vied with Trump favorite Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) for a party leadership spot. "Hi Chip. How are you, Chip? Talk to you later, Chip," Trump said.

It didnt take long for some of the House Republicans, who appeared giddy at Trump's news conference, to share online clips of their ex-presidential acknowledgments. A few could be seen taking photos of one another, trying to capture Trump in the background behind them, as they waited to hear him speak.

The visit with Trump caused its GOP attendees to miss a key House vote on Speaker Nancy Pelosis resolution to establish a select committee to examine the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Multiple members either missed the vote or voted by proxy, with members like Boebert, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), Chris Jacobs (R-N.Y.), Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) citing the pandemic as their reason for taking advantage of a proxy system many in their party have criticized.

It wasnt lost on them that Trump lassoed the attention that they had been trying to bring to the border.

Republicans visited the border repeatedly this year, Banks said in an interview. But it wasn't until Trump announced he would be making the trek to the border that Republicans received the sort of attention we could not get before, he said.

That attention landed on Banks, who chairs the Republican Study Committee, and roughly two dozen Republicans who joined the trip he organized to view border crossings firsthand.

The Republicans briefly accompanied migrants traveling along a gravel road after crossing the Rio Grande. Some were children joined by their mothers, while others traveled alone.

At one point, Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Mary Miller (R-Ill.) exited their vehicles to walk with the migrants, asking them questions that were translated by a Spanish-speaking member of the media who was covering the trip. This group said they were from Guatemala and planned to surrender themselves to border patrol agents.

The Republicans are expected to cite their emotional moment as they hammer the Biden administration for policies they say have escalated a dangerous environment at the border, including empowering drug cartels and putting unaccompanied migrant children at risk. But Democrats aren't shrinking from that fight, pushing back hard against a Trump immigration legacy widely derided for its separation of migrant families at the border.

The trip also allowed roughly two dozen members of the congressional delegation that Banks organized to see the border crossings in action. On Tuesday night, a visit to a path frequently used by migrants crossing the border in La Joya, Texas, afforded a new experience for many GOP members: Talking with migrants traveling along a gravel road after crossing the Rio Grande, who were planning to surrender themselves to U.S. Border Patrol agents. Some children were accompanied by their moms, while others traveled alone.

"If Republicans were serious about addressing issues at the border, they'd join President Biden and Democrats in working to clean up the mess they left behind, create a safe and humane immigration system, and finally pass immigration reform," Democratic National Committee Rapid Response Director Ammar Moussa said in a statement. "Anything less is political theater."

This week's GOP border trip was already in the works when Vice President Kamala Harris announced that she would be visiting El Paso, Texas, to observe the situation. Republicans had repeatedly attacked her for failing to visit the border after assuming a leadership role on immigration for Biden's White House, and they responded to her trip by contending that a visit to El Paso sidesteps the more serious problems visible in the McAllen area.

Biden and Harris "swore they were going to protect and defend the Constitution and obey the law and enforce the law, Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) told reporters after the GOP group arrived Tuesday night. And yet they have absolutely willfully opened our border up, encouraging people to migrate up here and take an extremely dangerous trek.

Several migrant children taking that trek crossed paths with the Republicans on Tuesday night, clutching small backpacks and carrying papers explaining the reason for their travel. The children sat or slept on the wet grass, waiting to be processed and loaded onto a bus. One child, an 8-year-old who lay on the ground, explained to lawmakers through an interpreter that he had crossed the border on his own with the hopes of meeting up with his mother and brother who were already in the U.S.

Miller looked visibly upset as she listened to the boys story.

"Since the administration is saying that they are unable to control this, then by definition, they've owned up to an invasion," Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said. "They have been unable to to meet their Constitutional requirement."

Issa was one of multiple outspoken pro-Trump conservatives who joined the Texas trip organized by Banks, whose caucus is the largest in the House GOP.

A lot of members asked if they could join us" after Trump accepted Gov. Greg Abbott's (R-Texas) invitation to the border, Banks said of fellow House Republicans. We didn't widely publicize it.

The former president attended a briefing with Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday afternoon prior to his scheduled tour of border barriers.

Trump is using his trip to Texas both to serve as a defense of his term in the White House and a dry run for future campaign themes. During the briefing he touted the symbolic and functional utility of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and tied China to illegal drugs being smuggled into the country.

At times Trump veered off topic into his false assertions that the presidency was stolen from him and laments about New York City election officials bungling the Democratic mayoral primary tally, in addition to criticizing Biden for unwinding many Trump-era border and immigration strategies.

We had all these great policies going, and they were all ended, Trump said. Its almost like they were ended because I did it.

Trump yoked the issues together as evidence that the U.S. is in decline under Democratic governance, arguing that "if you dont have good elections and if you dont have a strong border, you dont have a country.

Nick Niedzwiadek contributed to this report.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this reported misstated Rep. Darrell Issa's party affiliation. He is a Republican.

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House Republicans use Trump visit to hammer Dems on the border - POLITICO

SOUTHERN INDIANA All of Indianas Republican members of Congress signed off on a letter delivered Thursday opposing Democratic President Joe Bidens administrations block of the states work requirements for Medicaid recipients.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services informed state officials last week that the Indiana Gateway to Work Program, which includes an employment mandate, risks significant coverage losses and harm to beneficiaries and does not promote the objectives of the Medicaid program, according to the Associated Press.

Those requirements are included in Gov. Eric Holcombs 2019 Healthy Indiana Plan program, which was approved by former President Donald Trumps administration.

But the program was halted during the pandemic after a challenge through a federal lawsuit.

According to the AP, the agencys response referenced the time and paperwork required for Medicaid recipients to receive coverage. The agency stated the Gateway to Work program would influence the behavior of a very small number of individuals, while risking coverage loss for many.

The letter sent Thursday by the Republican lawmakers and dispersed via a news release was addressed to Xavier Becerra, secretary for the agency.

We write today to express our dismay that, under your watch, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) withdrew authorities enjoyed by the State of Indiana through its Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) that permit our state to determine appropriate work and community engagement requirements for its Medicaid recipients, Indianas Republican Congressional members wrote in the letter.

Those who signed the letter include Sen. Todd Young and Sen. Mike Braun, as well as Rep.Trey Hollingsworth.

Indianas Gateway to Work program aims to require Healthy Indiana Plan members to report 20 hours of work, volunteer, school and other activities every month, the members of Congress wrote in the letter. CMS has not allowed the state of Indiana to fully implement the program, even while our states Governor has noted that the Gateway to Work program has the potential to help many Hoosiers.

The Republicans go on to infer that its curious that the Biden administration is resorting to fear tactics by prematurely rescinding the program before the U.S. Supreme Court issues a decision.

They focus on a part of the agencys response stating that the pandemic and its aftermath would make the work or volunteer requirements infeasible.

As of May, Indianas unemployment rate stands at 4 percent well below the national average despite the challenges associated with the pandemics recovery, they state in the letter. Our state has low unemployment, employers looking to hire, educational and training opportunities abound, and yet your agency is making decisions to curtail our states ability to connect our Medicaid recipients to a network of community engagement that makes sense to Hoosiers.

The letter concludes with a request for a response by July 12 to include documentation and communications regarding the decision.

Indianas plan included exemptions for people 60 or older, those with medical problems and people who are primary caretakers of young or disabled children.

According to the AP, more than 130,000 Hoosiers were predicted to be affected by the requirements as of 2019. Other states have attempted to implement similar restrictions, which were blocked by federal court orders.

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Indiana Republicans oppose Biden administration's block of Medicaid work rules - Evening News and Tribune

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Is it hip to be a Republican in Arlington again?

The Arlington County Republican Committee continues to see a resurgence in membership driven, perhaps counterintuitively, by the results of the 2020 national election.

Were close to 100 members, said Matthew Hurtt, communications chairman for the Arlington County Republican Committee.

Its a major increase since the start of the year, and a testament to excitement and enthusiasm that is happening here in Arlington, Hurtt said.

Being a party member involves paying dues and meeting other obligations. Under rules of the Republican Party of Virginia, the Arlington committee can have a maximum of 163 members, something still down the road but within the realm of possibility.

I dont think weve hit that limit [since sometime before] 1987, Hurtt said.

What happens if Republicans reach that magic number? They will start to have to hold elections to determine who gets to be a party member and who doesnt.

Thats how Scott McGeary entered the Arlington County Republican Committee in the early 1970s. He later rose to chair the committee, and currently serves as secretary of the Arlington Electoral Board.

McGeary said that, under the current leadership of party chair Andrew Loposser, there has been a boost in interest in GOP activities.

Loposser has seen us through a very challenging year, McGeary said, noting that most Republican gatherings since the onset of the pandemic had been forced into a virtual setting.

But not on June 29, when the Arlington GOP held its monthly meeting in person at Crystal City Sports Pub. About 75 people attended.

Order food, take care of your [wait] staff, Loposser exhorted at the start, expressing hope that the restaurant could become the partys meeting place for the next few months.

During the Trump era, the Arlington GOP splintered into factions and saw its share of the vote in Arlington plummet. The former president received less than 18 percent of the county vote in both 2016 and 2020, and his victory that first time energized county Democrats into further dominance in local politics.

The election of Joe Biden seems to have had the same motivating effect on Republicans as that of Trump did on Democrats the party is more cohesive and more focused on getting its message out.

Loposser and other local GOP leaders were even able to recruit contenders to take on Arlingtons four Democratic members in the Virginia House of Delegates, who made their debut at the June 29 meeting.

Weve got a lot of great candidates, Loposser said, although (left unsaid) was they face a decidedly uphill battle in November.

But hope springs eternal.

I dont think we realize how fantastic our message is were in a really good position, said Ed Monroe, the Republican nominee hoping to unseat Del. Rip Sullivan in the 48th District, which spans portions of Arlington and McLean.

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Post-Trump Republicans appear to be picking up tailwinds - Inside NoVA

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) Members of Congress and advocates are pushing for the Biden administration to evacuate more than 18,000 Afghans, to keep a promise many service members made.

Lets show these Afghans, lets show the world, we have their backs, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) said.Moulton says the U.S. needs to support Afghans who risked their lives to help Americans.

When guys like me asked Iraqis or Afghans to work for us, we said to them We have your backs,' Moulton said.

Moulton served and fought with Afghan allies. He is calling on the president to evacuate more than 18,000 Afghans, before finishing the military withdrawal.

It takes 800 days to get a special immigrant visa, and were going to be out of Afghanistan in 80 days, Moulton said.

Hussain Kazimi is one of many Afghans who served the troops as a translator. He fears for those still in his home country.

I feel and understand their situation, because the threat is real and they are in danger, Kazimi said.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are voicing support for the thousands who say their lives are threatened by the Taliban.

This would be somebody who was beneficial and helpful to our troops. We should look at what we can do to be helpful to them, Rep. Fred Keller (R-Pa.) said.

Republicans like Keller and Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) are calling on the president to take action now.

The idea that we would abandon them would set a terrible precedent for the united states and our military moving forward. We must secure their safety before an entire pullout takes place, Meuser said.

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Republicans and Democrats calling on Biden to save Afghan allies - WAVY.com