Political developments with market and economic implications.
Coverage of political events, elections, legislation, and regulatory changes that influence markets and economic policy. Focuses on political risk, fiscal decisions, and policy uncertainty relevant to investors.
897 total articles
President Donald Trump is scheduled to deliver a primetime address on Thursday focused on election security, spotlighting his persistent allegations about U.S. voting systems amid a difficult midterm environment for Republicans. The White House has considered whether to disclose intelligence reportedly related to Chinese activities during the 2017-…
On July 15, federal authorities installed updated informational panels on slavery at George Washington’s Philadelphia house, following a federal appeals court decision that removed a lower court barrier to altering the site’s interpretation. The Department of the Interior said the new panels provide historical context and acknowledge the evils of s…
The White House is weighing whether to make public classified intelligence gathered during the first Trump administration that pertains to China's intent or capability to interfere with U.S. elections in 2020. Some current and former officials warn the material could be misleading or reveal sensitive sources and methods. The president may disclose …
The television station hosting Thursday’s Democratic U.S. Senate debate in Maine has agreed to invite eight declared candidates to the stage, expanding the lineup after initially excluding half the field. The change follows pressure from campaigns and public calls for inclusive participation as the state’s Democrats prepare to select a nominee to r…
President Donald Trump is scheduled to press senior defense executives on July 15 at a summit in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to accelerate weapons production and broaden manufacturing capacity as operations in Ukraine and the Middle East deplete U.S. inventories and reveal bottlenecks in the industrial base. The roundtable, hosted by Senator Dave McCor…
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has terminated a federal desegregation oversight requirement for the Concordia Parish School Board, ending more than six decades of judicial supervision. The ruling was hailed by state Republican officials as a restoration of local control, while civil rights proponents warned that dismantling long-running reme…
A fatal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shooting in Biddeford has prompted large local protests and sharpened debate over immigration enforcement just as Maine Democrats scramble to replace Graham Platner, who withdrew from the U.S. Senate race amid allegations he denies. Seven candidates have filed to seek the Democratic nomination, while…
Senate Republicans say former Special Counsel Jack Smith's team obtained text message records from 44 members of Congress via subpoenas to the National Archives and Records Administration. The records encompass exchanges between lawmakers and Trump-era officials from October 2020 through January 2021 and were gathered while Smith pursued probes int…
A federal judge in Washington has enjoined enforcement of a State Department policy that threatened foreign nationals studying online disinformation and hate speech with visa denials and deportation. Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled the policy likely infringes on the First Amendment rights of non-citizen researchers and advocates, gra…
A bipartisan Senate bill introduced by Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and Republican Senator John Curtis would create a federal definition for transnational repression and raise potential prison sentences for convicted agents by up to an additional 10 years. The proposal, titled the Stop Transnational Repression Act, follows China's new ethnic unit…
Todd Blanche heads into a high-stakes Senate confirmation hearing as acting attorney general with a slate of controversies at his back: representation of the president, a suspended $1.8 billion settlement fund criticized as a potential tool for political weaponization, and pressure from Democrats, former prosecutors and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein…
The Department of Health and Human Services, under the Trump administration, has withdrawn its earlier action that froze roughly $10 billion intended for child care subsidies and social services in five states led by Democrats. The move follows court challenges that blocked the freeze and a legal filing releasing the department's communication that…
A Chinese-born U.S. citizen and seismologist, Youlin Chen, has been held in China since November while accused of espionage, his wife and advocacy groups say. Chen, who became a U.S. citizen in 2011 and is based in Boston, authored U.S.-funded research on distinguishing North Korean nuclear test blasts from earthquakes. U.S. officials have designat…
A bipartisan group of over two dozen U.S. senators, led by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, has urged the Pentagon to release within a week the results of its investigation into a Feb. 28 strike on a girls' school in Minab, Iran. Lawmakers seek an unclassified briefing for Congress and the public and a detailed prevention and remediation plan after an i…
The New York Times reported that the U.S. Department of Justice has issued subpoenas requiring several of its journalists to appear before a federal grand jury in connection with reporting on security issues involving President Trump's new Qatari-donated Air Force One. The subpoenas, attributed to Jay Clayton, were reportedly served on Friday and d…
The sudden passing of Senator Lindsey Graham and the ongoing absence of Senator Mitch McConnell reduce Republican Senate ranks and complicate efforts to advance defense and national security legislation, renew surveillance authority, secure confirmations and negotiate government funding in a tightly scheduled four-week summer work period.
The United Kingdom announced sanctions on 24 people and organisations tied to cyber-attacks, election meddling and disinformation aligned with Russian state interests. The package is the first coordinated UK and EU action specifically focused on cyber-enabled operations and targets senior GRU figures, FSB-linked actors, cybercriminal tools and a me…
The New York Times says several of its reporters were subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury to testify about their coverage of security concerns related to President Trump's new Air Force One, donated by Qatar. The subpoenas, issued by Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, reportedly demanded appearances on Wednesday in connection…
Senior White House figures spent months evaluating ways to bypass the federal Election Assistance Commission and use emergency powers to compel changes to voting machines and registration forms, according to people familiar with the discussions. President Donald Trump subsequently removed the agency’s Democratic commissioners and accepted the resig…
On July 10 the Trump administration finalized a revision to how threatened species are considered in federal agency actions, removing regulatory language that treated damage to wildlife habitat as "harm" under the Endangered Species Act. Interior and Commerce officials say the change will cut permitting and compliance expenses for industries includ…
The U.S. Department of Justice has initiated civil litigation against the state of Maryland, asserting that certain state and local laws, policies and practices - described by the DOJ as sanctuary-style - interfere with federal immigration enforcement efforts. The action, filed in federal court, follows a directive from Acting U.S. Attorney General…
President Donald Trump terminated the remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission on July 9, removing three commissioners from the four-member bipartisan body. Two Democratic appointees were notified by email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office and one Republican appointee resigned. The commission, which supports election…
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston’s Magnolia Park, a historic Hispanic neighborhood also called Little Mexico. The incident has prompted large street protests, family calls for an independent probe, and heightened fear among immigrant residents who say stepped-up enforcement threate…
The U.S. Senate returns for a four-week legislative period expected to take up defense and other national security measures while Republican Senator Mitch McConnell remains hospitalized with undisclosed health problems. McConnell, 84, who chairs the Senate Rules Committee and a defense appropriations panel, has been absent since mid-June. His offic…
The Trump administration's termination of the U.S. Department of Agriculture food security survey removes a long-standing tool used to measure household access to sufficient food. Analysts and former agency officials say the move complicates efforts to determine whether recent reductions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have increas…
