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.
910 total articles
Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the U.S. Senate. With Election Day approaching, Democrats have a tangible path to flip the chamber but must defend vulnerable seats and win contests in states President Donald Trump carried by double digits in 2024. This analysis examines the pivotal races in Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire, Maine, No…
South Africa’s foreign ministry responded with concern to U.S. visa restrictions announced a day earlier, saying the move echoes a mischaracterisation of the country’s policies and urging bilateral issues be handled through diplomatic channels. The U.S. Ambassador in Pretoria described the measures as the first of a sequence of escalatory steps. It…
Montana voters will decide this November whether to enact Initiative 194, a ballot measure that would prohibit corporations and other "artificial persons" from spending money on elections. The measure, dubbed the Montana Plan, does not directly challenge the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision but instead targets corporate powers gra…
A Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted in the days after the Republican Party's inaugural midterm convention found President Trump's approval rating rose slightly to 35% from a record low of 33%, even as a larger share of Americans prefer Democrats to control Congress. The poll also reported broad disapproval of the president's $5,000 dividend pledge tie…
The Trump administration pursued a series of high-profile criminal cases that in many instances were later dropped, dismissed or blocked by judges or grand juries. The cases include the abandoned prosecution of a former Olympian over damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, dismissed or refused indictments involving public figures such as Le…
A federal appeals court in Boston declined to allow the U.S. Postal Service to put into effect a new mail-in voting rule ordered by President Donald Trump, upholding a lower-court injunction that found the rule risks disenfranchising voters and likely violates constitutional principles governing state-run elections. The Supreme Court is separately …
Summary: On Sept. 9, a coalition of state attorneys general filed two separate lawsuits asserting that recent regulatory changes to the Endangered Species Act unlawfully weaken federal protections. One suit targets a rule that narrows the law's definition of harm to exclude many habitat encroachments; the other challenges two rules that limit prote…
On the morning of September 11, 2001, what began as a routine presidential visit to an elementary school in Florida became the scene of a national crisis. The sitting president, who had been in office less than eight months, learned during a classroom reading that the United States was under attack. In the days and weeks that followed, the administ…
Republicans are convening in Dallas for the party's first midterm convention, banking on President Donald Trump to galvanize core voters and help retain congressional majorities. The event, staged over two days at the American Airlines Center, will feature a dominant role for Trump and other administration figures while several competitive candidat…
A federal judge has ordered the administration to provide at least 48 hours' notice before engaging in any activity at the site of a proposed 250-foot (76-meter) triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery, with an exception for narrowly defined archaeological investigations under the National Historic Preservation Act. The decision follows the…
The U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service have proposed regulations that would revoke tax-exempt status from schools that offer programs or support targeted to particular racial groups. The proposal, citing recent U.S. Supreme Court limits on race-conscious admissions, would extend to admissions, scholarships, loans, athletics and a…
A Federal Election Commission filing dated Sept 5 shows President Donald Trump’s MAGA Inc super PAC will allocate at least $10 million to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s U.S. Senate campaign, dividing funds evenly between positive ads for Paxton and negative ads against Democratic state Representative James Talarico. The filing is the group’s f…
A federal judge in Maryland has issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Trump administration from enforcing a recently signed executive order that would limit birthright citizenship in several specific circumstances. The order followed a U.S. Supreme Court rejection of an earlier, broader attempt to curtail automatic citizenship for children…
Massachusetts Democrats face a pair of intraparty tests that center on generational change. In the U.S. Senate primary, 80-year-old Ed Markey, a long-serving progressive, is being challenged by 47-year-old Representative Seth Moulton. In the Boston area, 71-year-old Representative Stephen Lynch is facing 39-year-old attorney Patrick Roath. Endorsem…
The Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents has designated the Arts and Industries Building as the permanent site for the National Museum of the American Latino, allowing the museum to proceed without seeking congressional approval for a new National Park Service location. The museum was authorized by Congress in December 2020 and opened a tempo…
The U.S. Department of Justice has asked the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to suspend a federal judge's temporary restraining order that stopped the U.S. Postal Service from implementing a new rule tightening requirements for mail-in ballots. The lower-court order, issued at the request of Democratic-led states and voting rights groups, will re…
President Donald Trump urged Congress to approve a federal production incentive aimed at keeping movie, television and entertainment production in the United States. The call follows a meeting with actor Jon Voight and coincides with industry groups and unions advocating for federal tax relief, including a proposed 20% labor tax credit presented by…
The U.S. State Department is preparing to allocate $4 million to support right-leaning media efforts in Europe, included within a larger package of at least $25 million aimed at civil society groups promoting conservative causes, according to several people familiar with the plans. The funding, notified to Congress on August 21, has drawn criticism…
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told a U.S. senator that the military will not deploy federal forces or National Guard troops to polling sites for the upcoming midterm elections and will not seize ballots or voting equipment. The written response reiterates that election administration and security are matters for state and local authorit…
A string of derogatory posts by Laura Loomer targeting Angie Nixon, several Black members of Congress and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson drew sharp condemnation from politicians and civil rights advocates. Loomer repeated and escalated earlier comments on social media, prompting responses from Democratic leaders, a state governor and c…
A nationwide poll concluded Aug. 31 finds President Trump’s approval rating stalled at 33%, marking the lowest level of his political career and the third straight poll at that figure. The same survey shows Democrats substantially more likely to report being "very enthusiastic" about voting in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, while broad dissatisfacti…
Forty-two U.S. Senate Democrats have urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take decisive steps to curb a recent escalation in violence by West Bank settlers and to investigate killings of American citizens in the occupied territory. The lawmakers requested clearer directives to Israeli security forces to prevent and intervene in confro…
The U.S. Supreme Court on Aug. 21 issued an administrative stay allowing the Trump administration to continue construction on a controversial $400 million White House ballroom for the time being. The temporary reprieve pauses a lower court injunction that had halted much of the above-ground work while litigation by the National Trust for Historic P…
With diplomacy on Iran stalled, markets unsettled and his approval rating at a historic low, President Donald Trump spent about 30 minutes on the South Lawn directing reporters through White House renovation sites. He promoted a new granite helipad, a $400 million ballroom and other upgrades he says will modernize and preserve the complex, while so…
A Democratic member of the John F. Kennedy Center's board has asked a federal court to prevent President Donald Trump's name from being newly added to the center's exterior, arguing the board's recent actions defy a judge's ruling that only Congress can rename the memorial. The board, dominated by Trump appointees, voted to alter signage and rename…
