Washington Policy Watch

Two fronts reveal how Reconstruction-era questions of belonging still drive conflict. The Supreme Court permitted Alabama's congressional map despite...

Two recent federal actions highlight administration priorities on accountability and compliance:

• An executive order converted nearly 8,000 senior...

Back-to-back hearings show cabinet officials outlining the administration's budget priorities:

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified before the...

New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh pledged a "reform-oriented" approach at his unusual White House swearing-in, while President Trump urged the central bank to...

• Iowa governor's race: Trump-backed Rep. Randy Feenstra lost to businessman Zach Lahn, marking a rare endorsement defeat.
• California primaries:...

The MORE Act added its 73rd House sponsor this week as Rep. Val Hoyle (D-OR) signed on, continuing a streak of new Democratic support to end federal...

Business groups hailed the SECURE Data Act as a needed uniform standard, while privacy advocates warned it would weaken protections.

• The bill...

The Supreme Court’s late April 6-3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, blocking a congressional map with two...

Early polling shows Donald Trump Jr. trailing in the 2028 GOP field, though his stance leaves room for shifts.

• CPAC straw poll placed him tied for...

Republican Chris McGowan won his party's nomination unopposed for Iowa's 4th congressional seat and will face Democrat Dave Dawson in November. Dawson framed the race around threats to rural hospitals, Medicaid cuts, and family farms hit by tariffs.

Originally subpoenaed in March for a formal videotaped deposition under oath, Pam Bondi's appearance was downgraded after her April firing to a...

Congress's repeated failures on core responsibilities stand in sharp contrast to ongoing pay raise discussions and high spending proposals.

• Backlog...

Rebuilding federal science capacity requires redesigning White House processes, not restoring 2021 structures that agencies can no longer support.

-...

• Anti-weaponization fund of $1.776B scrapped, no longer moving forward.
• Fund intended to compensate claimed victims of unfair federal...

The Court faces 26 remaining opinions, many high-stakes Trump challenges.

• Executive power: Likely to block Trump's Fed firing but allow FTC...

• Black and Latino voters who shifted to Trump in 2024 over economic concerns are now most likely to reconsider their support.
• Inflation at 3.8%,...

The BUILD America 250 Act shifts power toward states with more flexible highway funding while cutting federal priorities.

• Strengths: New bridge...

Lawmakers are demanding answers after the White House intervened to secure a $620 million loan for a firm tied to Donald Trump Jr. The move highlights...

Justice Thomas's dissent in the Whitton fair-trial case takes an odd detour from standard criminal jurisprudence.

• It pivots to three unrelated...

A federal appeals court ruled the Trump administration's transgender troop ban illegal, finding it arbitrary and based on animus toward a politically...