States enact multiple policy changes as deadlines loom

 

Delaware — As the General Assembly met June 30, legislators sought final-session votes on measures including House Bill 444, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which passed the House and awaited Senate committee review, alongside bills on energy drink sales at schools and increased oversight of gun dealers during the...

Washington Republicans weigh reconciliation for Trump voting plan

 

House Republican leaders are considering using the Senate’s budget reconciliation process to advance former President Donald Trump’s signature voting proposal, the Save America Act, without needing 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. After a White House meeting with Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Republicans are exploring whether key provisions...

Kean Returns Amid Disclosure of Treatment for Depression

 

Washington, D.C. Rep. Tom Kean Jr. returned to the U.S. Capitol this week and delivered a floor speech explaining a months-long absence from the House after missing more than 100 votes since March 5; he said doctors treated him during a hospital stay and that the diagnosis was depression. His disclosure...

Washington Supreme Court broadens presidential removal authority

 

On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6–3 decision in Trump v. Slaughter that significantly expands presidential power to remove leaders of independent federal regulatory agencies. The conservative majority, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, formally overturned the 1935 decision in Humphrey's Executor v. United States, which...

Washington Supreme Court upholds mail-ballot grace periods

 

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a Republican-backed challenge to invalidate mail ballots that arrive after Election Day, allowing 14 states to keep counting ballots postmarked by Election Day but delivered later. The case originated in Mississippi and was supported by the Republican National Committee, raising concerns that states would...

Colorado incumbents face progressive primary challenges Tuesday

 

Washington — On June 30, incumbent Colorado Democrats faced progressive primary challenges as voters prepared to decide intra-party nominations. Representative Diana DeGette was challenged by Melat Kiros, and Senator John Hickenlooper was challenged by state Senator Julie Gonzales; reporting identified challengers' positions on Israel and immigration enforcement ahead of the...

Supreme Court preserves states' right to count ballots

 

United States — On Monday, June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision upheld states' authority to count mail-in ballots that are postmarked by Election Day even if they arrive after Election Day, resolving a challenge stemming from a Mississippi case and rejecting an RNC effort to shorten...

Supreme Court Clears Way to End Haitian TPS

 

United States. The U.S. Supreme Court this week cleared the way for the Department of Homeland Security to move forward with terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for Haitian and Syrian nationals, a decision that removes lower-court injunctions and allows the administration to resume administrative steps toward ending those protections. This...

Doha: Trump, Iran clash over proposed emergency talks

 

United States, June 29, 2026 – President Donald Trump stated on social media that Iran had requested an emergency meeting with U.S. officials to be held Tuesday in Doha, Qatar, describing it as an effort to preserve a fragile interim agreement between Washington and Tehran. Trump said the proposed talks...

United States plans rival 250th anniversary celebrations

 

The United States is preparing for its 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026, with two separate, politically divided federal celebrations developing on opposite coasts. On the East Coast, the Trump administration’s "Freedom 250" committee is organizing a large National Mall event in Washington, D.C., framed heavily around President Donald Trump,...