Mariana Bacayau

Judge Waverly Crenshaw has reviewed internal documents that show the charges against Abrego Garcia from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee were made a, quote, top priority for the DOJ a few days after the U.S.

Supreme Court ordered him return to the U.S.

That's after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March.

Since then, Abrego Garcia's case has become a flashpoint for critics of the administration's crackdown on illegal immigration.

In a statement, the federal attorney's office says that the decision to prosecute was made based on facts and standard practices.

The next hearing in the case is set for late January.

For NPR News, I'm Mariana Bakayau in Nashville.

At the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Republicans celebrated after a heated race for Tennessee's 7th congressional district.

Last year, the GOP swept this district by 22 points.

Van Epps fended off a challenge from Democratic State Representative Afton Bain, winning the election by about nine percentage points.

That's according to a race called by the Associated Press.

In his victory speech, Van Epps said Democrats shouldn't own the conversation on affordability.

Van Epps will be back on the ballot next year for the midterms after he finishes out his predecessor's term.

For NPR News, I'm Mariana Bacayau in Nashville.

Green retired from Congress just six months into his term.

President Donald Trump's pick to replace him, Matt Van Epps, has sailed through a crowded Republican primary.

Trump endorsed the former state commissioner just days before the election, and out-of-state groups poured money into defeating his anti-school voucher opponent, state representative Jody Barrett.

Van Epps will face Democratic state lawmaker Afton Bain in the general.

Since redistricting in 2022 incorporated parts of Nashville into the mostly rural district, Democrats are hopeful that the reliably Republican seat can be flipped blue.

For NPR News, I'm Mariana Bacayau in Nashville.