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.
909 total articles
On July 17 President Donald Trump said he had asked Darline Graham, sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, to run in the Republican special primary in South Carolina scheduled for August 11. Trump posted on Truth Social that he hopes she will run and that she would have his endorsement. The sister was appointed by South Carolina Governor Henry …
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has asked secretaries of state in California, New Jersey, Nevada and Pennsylvania to examine their voter registration lists for possible non-citizen registrants. The request, delivered in letters that cite preliminary reviews of state records, follows a presidential address on election security. The Depa…
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told state election officials they could face fines, penalties and even prison time if they do not adopt measures the department has outlined to prevent non-citizen voting and to secure voting machines. The warnings came after President Trump renewed unproven claims about past election fraud and accused …
Four top Democrats competing to be their party’s U.S. Senate nominee in Maine used a Thursday debate to focus attacks on Republican Senator Susan Collins and President Donald Trump, while largely avoiding intra-party attacks. The candidates embraced a progressive policy slate similar to the withdrawn front-runner’s, debated electability, and highli…
President Donald Trump used a prime-time address from the White House to make election security the focal point of the Republican message heading into November, unveiling declassified materials he said revealed vulnerabilities tied to China’s collection of U.S. voter information. While the administration highlighted large datasets and citizenship c…
President Donald Trump intensified efforts to question the integrity of recent U.S. elections by declassifying a collection of intelligence material he said revealed fraud and foreign interference. The release coincides with repeated public claims that the 2020 election was "rigged" and renewed pressure for federal voting restrictions under the SAV…
Election security specialists, academics and cybersecurity officials say renewed assertions that the 2020 presidential vote was manipulated by foreign actors lack credible evidence and could be intended to lay groundwork for contesting the November midterms. Officials cited a 2021 unclassified intelligence summary that found limited foreign activit…
A panel of independent experts convened by the United Nations Human Rights Council has criticized the U.S. administration's removal of more than 100 immigration judges, saying the actions undermine the independence of immigration courts and the broader justice system. The panel urged a stop to what it described as "the mass arbitrary removal" of ju…
The Department of Homeland Security announced it will revive a public-charge rule that could prevent immigrants who use government benefits such as food stamps and Medicaid from obtaining permanent residency. The policy, initially adopted in 2019, broadened the definition of public charge to include those receiving benefits for more than 12 months …
Senator Thom Tillis said he will not support moving President Trump's acting attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche, out of the Senate Judiciary Committee unless Blanche meets with Jeffrey Epstein survivors and their lawyers. Tillis framed the meeting as a prerequisite to his vote, underscoring fragile Republican support for the nominee and heighte…
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio used a Washington conference to press more than 60 countries to prioritize what he described as a growing threat from far-left violence, saying attention to Islamic militancy has reduced but left-wing threats remain an overlooked risk. The administration has taken steps including designating several European grou…
A fatal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement traffic stop in Biddeford has become a central issue in Maine’s Senate race, complicating Republican Senator Susan Collins’ standing after her likely Democratic opponent withdrew and the state party scrambled to replace him. Collins has urged a halt to non-urgent ICE stops while investigations procee…
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…
