October 2026
Guns, voting and immigration on deck for Supreme Court
The Supreme Court begins its new term Monday facing cases on Americans’ civil rights, federalist struggles between states and the federal government, and the looming specter of more last-second litigation over the coming midterm elections. The court, currently controlled by six conservative appointees, has stocked its docket with fights over climate change, voting rights, gun […]
Rep. McIver joins rare group who have given birth in Congress
Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., announced the arrival of her daughter this week, boosting the ranks of congresswomen who have given birth in office. It’s still a small group — just 14 others have given birth to children while serving as sitting members of Congress, according to the House historian’s office. The announcement, which she posted […]
Vulnerable Republican senators stick with Trump on votes since 2025
The six Republicans who made CQ Roll Call’s latest list of the most vulnerable senators have been almost uniformly supportive of President Donald Trump’s priorities since his return to office. In fact, five of them – Ohio’s Jon Husted, Alaska’s Dan Sullivan, Kansas’ Roger Marshall, Nebraska’s Pete Ricketts and South Carolina’s Darline Graham, who only […]
Rare out-of-session hearing draws top Banking Democrat’s ire
While the rest of the Senate was in recess, the Banking Committee held a hearing Thursday morning featuring Trump administration nominees — a move that the panel’s leading Democrat called out of bounds. The panel convened fewer than 12 hours after the Senate gaveled out for the midterm recess late Wednesday night. The chamber won’t […]
New critique of offshore wind clawbacks: Taxpayers lose out
The Trump administration’s buyouts of offshore wind leaseholders to stifle the nascent clean energy projects have drawn plenty of criticism from Democrats and environmental groups. Now comes a new argument from a nonpartisan watchdog group: Taxpayers are taking it on the chin from the controversial lease deals — which cost the Treasury nearly $4 billion […]
Lawmakers’ stock trading bill falls short in Senate
A bill to rein in stock trading by members of Congress did not clear a first procedural hurdle to advance in the Senate on Wednesday, after passing the House on a mostly party-line vote in July. Democrats tanked a motion to invoke cloture on proceeding to the bill in a 53-47 vote, which fell seven […]
Voluntary ratepayer protection bill blocked in Senate again
A bipartisan bill aimed at pressuring state utility regulators to reduce data center-related costs stalled in the Senate again Wednesday after a procedural vote to take up the bill fell short of the 60 supporters needed to move forward. The cloture vote on the motion to proceed was 57-43, keeping the measure bottled up for the […]
Housing groups challenge Trump funding clawback
The National Urban League and several local housing nonprofits nationwide challenged part of the Trump administration’s last-minute cancellation of congressionally appropriated funds. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday night in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, focuses on one portion of the $810 million cancellation the Trump administration announced last week, a $56 million […]
The most vulnerable senators of 2026, about a month out from Election Day
The once unlikely prospect of Democrats scoring a net gain of four seats to win the Senate majority now looks more plausible less than five weeks out from the midterm elections. Still, that would require the party to win in red states that haven’t elected a Democrat to the Senate in years. But strong recruits, […]
Blackburn sues Jack Smith over phone records
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., sued former special counsel Jack Smith on Wednesday, alleging that his prosecution of the president also unconstitutionally pulled in her records as a member of Congress. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, moves a political fight over the sweep of Smith’s investigation into […]