Today in One Sentence. Voters are deciding whether Republicans will keep control of Congress for the final two years of Trump’s presidency; the Justice Department sent about 1,000 election monitors to more than 120 jurisdictions across all 50 states; U.S. military secretly carried out airstrikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on the eve of the midterm elections; Trump said he’ll cut off nearly $4 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Israel by the end of the year; D.C. and Virginia sued to block Trump’s planned 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery; a federal judge dismissed Trump’s revised defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over its report on a purported birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein; and a federal magistrate judge dismissed the Justice Department’s criminal complaint against two former FBI officials accused of lying to Congress about the Hunter Biden investigation.

1/ Voters are deciding whether Republicans will keep control of Congress for the final two years of Trump’s presidency. Democrats are favored to win the House, which would give them control of congressional committees and the power to investigate Trump and his administration. The Senate, however, is less certain. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, and Democrats need to flip four Republican-held seats while defending all their own, with closely watched races in North Carolina, Maine, Texas, Kansas, Alaska, and Iowa, as well as Michigan, where Democrats are defending a seat. Trump’s approval rating stands at 32% as Americans weigh high prices, the war in Iran, and his immigration crackdown. Trump, however, claimed on Election Day that “Inflation is solved.” More than 59 million Americans have voted early, surpassing the 46 million who voted early in 2022. Republican turnout on Election Day, however, could determine whether it’s a “blue wave” or “blue tsunami.” Trump nevertheless claimed, “If our people vote, we win in a landslide.” The first polls close at 6 p.m. Eastern in parts of Kentucky and Indiana, but control of Congress might not be known for a few days, or longer. (Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / ABC News / New York Times / NPR / Reuters / CNBC / Axios)

2/ The Justice Department sent about 1,000 election monitors to more than 120 jurisdictions across all 50 states – its largest monitoring operation ever. Nearly two-thirds of the jurisdictions selected have consistently voted Democratic in recent presidential elections. The Biden administration monitored Democratic-leaning areas in roughly the same proportion during the 2022 midterms. Democrats and local election officials warned that the deployment could intimidate voters or interfere with voting. Monitors, however, would be unarmed, out of uniform, and have no arrest powers. (Axios / Washington Post / Bloomberg)

3/ The U.S. military secretly carried out airstrikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on the eve of the midterm elections. U.S. officials described the attack as defensive after Iranian forces fired at American aircraft near the strait. The strike wasn’t initially publicly disclosed, and Trump previously promised to “not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections.” He called the strikes “just a minor attack” after claiming on Monday that “we haven’t been doing any fighting for months.” Trump, however, has repeatedly threatened to resume major attacks after the midterms. (Wall Street Journal / CNN / Associated Press / New York Times / Washington Post / Reuters / NBC News / CBS News)

4/ Trump said he’ll cut off nearly $4 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Israel by the end of the year. “We won’t be paying anymore to Israel,” Trump said. “We’ve already agreed that by the end of this year, we won’t be paying Israel.” He claimed that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the deal months ago, saying “they’re fine with it.” The current agreement provides $3.8 billion a year through 2028, and ending it early would require cooperation from Congress. Trump, however, said Israel could still continue to buy U.S. weapons. (Associated Press / New York Times / Bloomberg / Politico / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / CNN)

5/ D.C. and Virginia sued to block Trump’s planned 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery, arguing it lacks congressional authorization and violates D.C.’s building-height law. (Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / NPR / Axios)

6/ A federal judge dismissed Trump’s revised defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over its report on a purported birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein, finding that Trump failed to plausibly allege actual malice and blocked him from refiling the lawsuit again. (NBC News / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / CNBC / CBS News / Politico / Axios)

7/ A federal magistrate judge dismissed the Justice Department’s criminal complaint against two former FBI officials accused of lying to Congress about the Hunter Biden investigation. Judge Zia Faruqui found that prosecutors failed to show probable cause that Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides knowingly made false statements in their 2023 testimony. He said the case couldn’t “be described as anything other than weaponization” and that it was “self-evident that the U.S. attorney’s office is avoiding taking this case to a grand jury.” (Associated Press / Reuters / NBC News / Axios / Washington Post / CNBC / New York Times / ABC News)

The 2028 presidential election is in 735 days.