Presented by CTIA.

Wireless and AI are combining to drive the future of innovation,

bringing AI from the cloud into the real world.

Physical AI will work alongside us in factories, hospitals, and on the front lines of public safety.

Meeting its connectivity demands requires new mid-band spectrum and policies that accelerate infrastructure deployment.

The country that leads this convergence leads the future. Learn more at cTIA.org.

Morning, I'm Anna Palmer. And I'm Jake Sherman. And welcome to The Daily Punch, brought to you by Punchable News. It's Thursday, May 14th, 2026. Let's get into the mix. Here are your Washington headlines of the day. Number one, how the redistricting wars is decimating the CBC. Number two, lawmakers are in the dark on Representative Keene's long absence.

And number three, Congress tears down defense spending mess. Wow, we got a lot of dramatic headlines here this morning, Jake.

Yes. But let's start off with a really important look at how the CBC is being affected by the redistricting wars, by the Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act.

If you look back kind of in history, right, we have seen black power on Capitol Hill rise.

You know, you think about, I mean, the fact that you've got 62 members of the CBC at the beginning of this Congress. That's from 13 in 1971.

You have Hakeem Jeffries in the brink of becoming the first black speaker.

There are now a record of five black senators.

But right now, Republicans are taking aim at this power center and power base of the Democratic Party.

And not only in the 26 elections, but expected to also kind of go back at it in 2028.

The CBC is at an inflection point. I think that's fair to say and that's not something that is going too far.

The Supreme Court and Republicans in state houses across the country are going to get rid of majority, minority districts, which this has been a huge part of the CBC's power base over the last several decades.

From 13 to 62 to having the first Black House Democratic leader, he'll be the first black speaker, if he is speaker, in Hakeem Jeffries, to losing could be half a dozen to a dozen members over the next couple of years, is a massive shift for the CBC, which is undoubtedly the most powerful and consistently powerful caucus on Capitol Hill.

And a lot of members of the CBC are starting to grapple with it. Troy Carter, the Louisiana legislature

passed a map with only one black district in Louisiana, a better outcome than getting rid of both

black districts, but still a big problem for the CBC in Louisiana, a better outcome than getting rid of both black districts, but still a big

problem for the CBC in Louisiana.

...