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.
165 total articles
Three senior officials who run the nation’s immigration enforcement and legal immigration agencies are scheduled to testify before the House Homeland Security Committee, marking the first congressional hearing since the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis amid an aggressive enforcement operation. Lawmakers, particularly Democrats on the pane…
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick disputed a close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein at a Senate hearing on Feb. 10, saying he exchanged only about 10 emails with Epstein over 14 years and that a reported lunch on Epstein's private island occurred while his family was nearby. The remarks come after the Justice Department released millions of d…
Political turbulence in the United Kingdom has re-emerged amid speculation about Prime Minister Keir Starmer's tenure. J.P. Morgan has said any formal leadership challenge is more likely to emerge after upcoming local elections rather than immediately. Recent senior resignations tied to the appointment of former UK ambassador to the US, Peter Mande…
A U.S. district judge in Los Angeles has issued a preliminary injunction preventing California from enforcing a law that would bar federal officers from wearing masks while on duty, while simultaneously upholding a separate state requirement that federal officers display identification. The decision stems from a Justice Department challenge arguing…
A proposal from the Office of Personnel Management would eliminate fired federal workers' ability to appeal dismissals before the independent Merit Systems Protection Board, requiring them instead to seek redress directly from OPM - an agency whose director reports to the president. The move follows administration efforts to reduce federal headcoun…
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, denied claims by lawmakers that she impeded congressional access to a top-secret whistleblower complaint filed in May, saying she took immediate steps to provide required security guidance after being told the complaint would be sent to Congress. The matter centers on whether the Office of the Direc…
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under intensifying political pressure following the resignation of close ally Morgan McSweeney over his role in the appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the United States last year. The episode has triggered further official scrutiny, raised questions about the prime minister's judgment and coincides wit…
Ghislaine Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year sentence following her 2021 conviction for helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls, intends to invoke her Fifth Amendment right and decline to answer substantive questions during a scheduled deposition before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Representative Ro Khanna …
President Donald Trump posted a short social media video that inserted images of former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama into dancing primate footage, prompting criticism from political figures across the spectrum. The clip, which also echoed the president's unfounded claims about the 2020 election, was defended by the Wh…
A man who took part in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot and received a pardon from former President Donald Trump has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge for sending messages that threatened to kill U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The defendant will be sentenced in April, prosecutors said, and the case underscores continue…
Democrats are advancing a package of measures aimed at curbing practices by federal immigration agents following a wave of public backlash to violent encounters. Republicans, who control Congress, have so far resisted key elements of the proposals. With funding for the Department of Homeland Security set to expire on February 13, negotiators face a…
The White House said President Donald Trump has not discussed any formal plan to place U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at polling locations for the November midterm elections, while declining to categorically rule out their presence near voting sites. Comments from the president and allies have prompted concern across the poli…
At the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, President Donald Trump delivered an unscripted address defending three members of his cabinet whose recent actions have prompted criticism. He lauded U.S. military capabilities, urged Hamas fighters in Gaza to disarm, praised foreign leaders and described recent developments in Venezuela. Trump…
The New York City Health Department announced it has joined the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) after the United States formally withdrew from the WHO. The move aligns the city with other Democratic-led jurisdictions that have sought to retain direct channeling of international outbreak response resour…
President Donald Trump said he would prefer not to take sides between Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as potential successors in the 2028 Republican presidential contest, praising both men and delaying any endorsement. He also reiterated an earlier, controversial suggestion that he might be president when the next term be…
President Donald Trump has publicly backed Clay Fuller, a 44-year-old district attorney who prosecutes cases across four counties in northwest Georgia, in the upcoming special election to fill the U.S. House seat vacated by Marjorie Taylor Greene. The endorsement, posted on Truth Social, praises Fuller as an "America First Patriot" and a supporter …
Republican U.S. Senator Roger Wicker has formally objected to the Trump administration's plan to acquire a warehouse in Byhalia, Mississippi, and convert it into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center with capacity for more than 8,500 beds. In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Wicker said he supports immigration …
A recent fatal shooting tied to President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement actions has pushed immigration policy to the forefront of a crowded New Jersey Democratic primary to replace Mikie Sherrill. While Democrats are expected to retain the seat, the contest is serving as an early indicator of which immigration messages will resonate ahead …
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to block California’s recently redrawn congressional map, allowing a map approved by state voters last year that is expected to add five seats favorable to Democrats. The court issued a one-sentence order denying the California Republican Party’s emergency request without public dissent or explanation. T…
The Trump administration will reduce its federal immigration enforcement presence in Minnesota by 700 agents while leaving roughly 2,000 on the ground, White House border official Tom Homan said on Wednesday in Fort Snelling. Homan framed the partial drawdown as a response to cooperation from county sheriffs that operate local jails, but stressed t…
Ryan Routh, 59, was sentenced to life in prison in Fort Pierce, Florida after a jury found him guilty last September on five counts including attempted assassination of Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon cited the premeditated nature of the plot and Routh's extensive criminal history while imposing the sentence. Prosecutors characteriz…
The Democratic National Committee is launching a program called Local Listeners to reach more than 1 million voters who supported Democrats in 2020 but did not vote in 2024. The initiative, announced ahead of the November midterm elections, combines large-scale phone outreach with in-person events and voter registration drives in tight races, and w…
Two U.S. senators introduced legislation requiring companies that synthesize gene sequences to vet customers and orders and directing the Commerce Department, with other federal agencies, to compile a list of genetic sequences judged potentially dangerous. The proposal aims to close regulatory gaps as advances in AI and compact synthesis machines m…
New York and New Jersey filed suit in federal court on Feb. 3 seeking immediate restoration of federal funding for the $16 billion Hudson River tunnel project. The states say the Department of Transportation has blocked release of funds approved under the previous administration, and they asked a Manhattan judge to order the money released before w…
President Trump has urged Minnesota to give federal immigration agents broader access to people in custody. Minnesota's Department of Corrections says it notifies and transfers noncitizen felons sought by ICE, and some county jails have formal agreements; other counties, citing legal limits and public-safety concerns, limit or bar ICE access. State…
