September 2026
Pappas keeps focus on November amid signs of tightening Senate primary
PLYMOUTH, N.H. — Chris Pappas has been seen as Democrats’ presumed Senate nominee in New Hampshire since he entered the race more than a year ago. And for most of that time, the four-term congressman has also been viewed as a slight favorite to hold the seat of retiring fellow Democrat Jeanne Shaheen in a […]
At the Races: Don’t take it for Granite
Welcome to a special edition of At the Races! Throughout the 2026 primary season, watch for these updates from the CQ Roll Call campaign team on what you need to know for Election Day. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here. By Mary Ellen McIntire, Andrew Menezes and Daniela Altimari Labor […]
Congress punts on big issues
Congress avoided a shutdown fight until December, but passed on several sticky problems it will need to address after Election Day. CQ Roll Editor in Chief Jason Dick and CQ Roll Call Budget Editor David Lerman outline the major fights looming in November in a very special Political Theater and CQ Budget podcast collaboration. Show […]
Missouri and Maryland high courts hand Democrats a pair of redistricting wins
Democrats received some good news on the redistricting front Thursday, with a pair of favorable rulings from the supreme courts of Missouri and Maryland. In Missouri, the state’s high court blocked the use of a new Republican-drawn congressional map this November, overturning a lower court ruling and setting up a fall vote on the proposed […]
GOP consensus elusive on timing, scope of data centers bill
As anger mounts over the impacts of data centers, Republicans are wrestling with legislation that would address concerns over increased electricity and water demand that many voters associate with higher utility bills. But it’s not yet clear if any solution can move in the now-shortened September work period before House members go home to campaign. […]
NTIA opens door to new federal broadband grants
More broadband deployment funding could be headed to states to serve locations missed in earlier rounds of a $42 billion federal grant program. The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced Thursday that it plans to accept new proposals from states under the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. The announcement comes after members […]
Social media debate shaken up by Meta settlement
Those who’ve fought on Capitol Hill to rein in social media platforms see last week’s settlement between Meta and state attorneys general not as a final destination, but as a roadmap to what’s possible. Privacy and First Amendment advocates are worried they’re right. The settlement comes as the House and Senate have taken divergent paths […]
House plans quick September exit
House Republicans are scrapping the last two weeks the chamber was scheduled to be in session before the midterm elections. Under the revised schedule announced Thursday, the House will return for votes the evening of Monday, Sept. 14, a week after Labor Day, for what is now expected to be only a one-week session before […]
Higher Social Security payroll taxes no longer taboo for GOP
Some Republicans are slowly warming to the idea of raising payroll taxes on upper-income households to shore up Social Security. Rep. Lloyd K. Smucker of Pennsylvania, a top candidate to lead House Budget Committee Republicans in the next Congress, said Thursday that raising the cap on income subject to Social Security payroll taxes could be […]
Former Rep. Charles Hatcher dies at age 87
Former Rep. Charles Hatcher, who championed Georgia’s peanut industry for over a decade until losing his seat in House in 1992, has died at the age of 87. The Georgia Democrat died Tuesday in Alexandria, Va., according to local news reports. The cause of death was not specified. “Georgia lost a true public servant and […]