American Policy Pulse

BLS data shows a bad news/good news paradox in US jobs:

• Bad: 6-month average job growth near zero since 2024, no Trump boom
• Good: Unemployment...

New analysis exposes unequal burdens: Federal tax changes under Trump's second term favor the wealthy.

• Top 20% gain massively: $380 billion tax...

Prof. Sheri Berman reframes US backsliding in longstanding democracies as neither sudden nor surprising, challenging post-Cold War optimism as a...

High stakes at SCOTUS: Trump's EO could deny citizenship to babies born post-2025 to non-permanent legal parents, impacting hundreds of thousands of...

Trump loyalist Harmeet Dhillon, running DOJ's Civil Rights Division and shortlisted for AG, faces scrutiny for:

• Leading the probe into Cassidy...

Climate highlights amid warming:

• Arctic sea ice variability rose 11.4% since 2007, amplifying summer heat uptake 11.9% and winter release 45.3%
• El...

• Trump deeply unpopular, sapping GOP enthusiasm
• Voters still loathe Democrats despite this
• Motivated voters favor Dems nearly 2:1, signaling key midterm dynamic

Security spending for congressional and presidential campaigns has jumped fivefold over the past decade due to an increasingly hostile environment.

Federal Monetary Policy Signals

• 🔥 Fed Minutes on Rate Hikes: Federal Reserve minutes from the March meeting show a growing group of...

Trump Treasury pick Bessent urges Congress to pass crypto regulation bill, signaling push for federal digital assets framework.

Key tweaks in Trump's FY2027 HHS budget assume restructuring advances:

• Administration for a Healthy America (AHA) consolidates HRSA, SAMHSA, OASH,...

Trend spotlight: Coordinated federal, judicial, and state moves threaten voter access and VRA safeguards.

• DOJ Voter Purge Push: Trump admin sues 30...

State and local ingenuity counters election risks through tech and tailored control, outpacing one-size-fits-all federal approaches.

• Cyber defenses...

• Growing openness to hikes: Many officials see case for rate increases if inflation stays above 2% due to oil spikes from U.S.-Israeli-Iran war.
  -...

• Early delay debunked: First opinion day was unusually late on Jan. 9, but court has since released 18 opinions over 10 days by end of March,...

• House Dems to force war powers resolution next week after Trump's Iranian civilization threat.
• Jeffries seeks 2 GOP votes to curb executive...

Cook Political Report flags Democratic momentum with 5 districts shifting left amid redistricting and vulnerabilities:

• Ohio-1 (Landsman): Toss-up...

• 28 states lead on election deepfakes with prohibitions (MN, TX) or disclosures.
• Courts strike CA and HI laws on First Amendment vagueness and...

Growing voter approvals for aligning municipal elections with even-year cycles.

• 2024 wins: Garland TX Prop Q, Miami FL Referendum 4, St. Paul MN...

Historic entry in DC local politics: Indian American Rini Sampath qualifies for mayor's ballot with 4,500+ signatures, becoming the first South...