https://planckstandard.com/politics/ U.S. politics: the White House, Congress, the courts and the campaigns, and what each move means. en-us Thu, 24 Sep 2026 07:04:28 GMT https://planckstandard.com/assets/logo-512.pnghttps://planckstandard.com/politics/ https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-greets-xi-on-the-tarmac-as-the-us-and-china-extend-the.html https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-greets-xi-on-the-tarmac-as-the-us-and-china-extend-the.html Thu, 24 Sep 2026 07:03:43 GMT Politics The Chinese leader's first state visit in more than a decade opened with a rare planeside welcome at Joint Base Andrews. Bessent announced a two-month truce extension, far shorter than many expected. https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-plans-to-admit-up-to-17500-white-south-africans-as-ref.html https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-plans-to-admit-up-to-17500-white-south-africans-as-ref.html Thu, 24 Sep 2026 07:03:40 GMT Politics A State Department notice to Congress says the fiscal 2027 refugee slots will go 'primarily' to Afrikaners, at a projected cost of $500 million, while the program stays shut to most other refugees. https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-signs-lindsey-graham-russia-iran-sanctions-act.html https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-signs-lindsey-graham-russia-iran-sanctions-act.html Mon, 21 Sep 2026 17:22:05 GMT Politics H.R. 5334 passed the Senate 86-11 and the House 262-159 in honor of the senator who died in July. It bars new U.S. investment in Russia until Ukraine accepts a peace deal and extends Iran sanctions to 2031. A former State Department sanctions chief says Trump 'missed a chance to send a message to Putin.' https://planckstandard.com/article/nyu-langone-upmc-pay-9-5-million-doj-end-minor-gender-care.html https://planckstandard.com/article/nyu-langone-upmc-pay-9-5-million-doj-end-minor-gender-care.html Mon, 21 Sep 2026 17:22:05 GMT Politics The deals resolve allegations that providers used false diagnosis codes to bill insurers and federal programs. NYU had already shut its youth program in February. Mount Sinai, Texas Children's, Cleveland Clinic and Connecticut Children's have signed similar agreements, and DOJ says investigations into other hospitals 'are ongoing.' https://planckstandard.com/article/newsom-signs-13-election-bills-felony-to-seize-ballots.html https://planckstandard.com/article/newsom-signs-13-election-bills-felony-to-seize-ballots.html Mon, 21 Sep 2026 17:22:05 GMT Politics The package extends drop-box hours, lets voters return mail ballots at any polling place, expands language access and targets AI deepfake ads seven weeks before the midterms. State Sen. Aisha Wahab, who wrote the felony provision: 'This is about protecting every Californian's right to be able to vote and vote how they want.' https://planckstandard.com/article/cnn-ms-now-politico-sue-trump-over-white-house-ban.html https://planckstandard.com/article/cnn-ms-now-politico-sue-trump-over-white-house-ban.html Mon, 21 Sep 2026 14:27:40 GMT Politics The three outlets asked a federal judge in Washington for a temporary restraining order after their reporters were turned away at the gate Saturday and CNN was pulled from Monday's travel pool. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the 'off-ramp' might be 'a change in coverage.' https://planckstandard.com/article/judge-rules-epa-illegally-killed-7-billion-solar-for-all.html https://planckstandard.com/article/judge-rules-epa-illegally-killed-7-billion-solar-for-all.html Mon, 21 Sep 2026 14:27:39 GMT Politics Judge Mary McElroy in Rhode Island vacated the August 2025 termination in a suit led by the state AFL-CIO. The EPA says it is 'considering options for appeal.' A separate appeals court already found the other $20 billion of the green bank was improperly cut. https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-orders-board-with-veto-over-nih-grants.html https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-orders-board-with-veto-over-nih-grants.html Mon, 21 Sep 2026 14:27:37 GMT Politics Vought accused Bhattacharya of funding 'woke' projects and tried to claw back unspent money; the NIH says 'all NIH grant monies will be spent.' Congress blocked a similar OMB rule earlier this year, and the ACLU sued last week over the agency's existing screening list. https://planckstandard.com/article/rfk-jr-gave-the-keynote-at-children-s-health-defense-the-ant.html https://planckstandard.com/article/rfk-jr-gave-the-keynote-at-children-s-health-defense-the-ant.html Mon, 21 Sep 2026 05:16:00 GMT Politics 'We've accomplished in 19 months things that would have seemed unthinkable two years ago,' Kennedy said, citing the cut-down childhood schedule and the remade vaccine advisory panel, both of which a judge has since halted. Gov. Josh Shapiro said he 'couldn't bring himself' to tell people to get the measles shot. https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-says-he-is-forming-an-ai-force-much-like-i-did-space-f.html https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-says-he-is-forming-an-ai-force-much-like-i-did-space-f.html Mon, 21 Sep 2026 05:16:00 GMT Politics The Saturday Truth Social post gave no structure, budget, authority or name for the new body. It landed a week after Anthropic's Dario Amodei told CBS the industry 'lied to people' about AI's risks and after four subscribers sued the top labs for agreeing to slow down. https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-says-his-250-foot-triumphal-arch-will-now-be-a-top-gra.html https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-says-his-250-foot-triumphal-arch-will-now-be-a-top-gra.html Mon, 21 Sep 2026 01:14:07 GMT Politics The president said the monument between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial will also store sniper ammunition. Rep. Don Beyer called a drone site under DCA's approach 'a stupid, dangerous, and unworkable idea,' and a federal judge has ordered 48 hours' notice before any construction. https://planckstandard.com/article/bessent-and-greer-sat-down-with-china-s-he-lifeng-at-jpmorga.html https://planckstandard.com/article/bessent-and-greer-sat-down-with-china-s-he-lifeng-at-jpmorga.html Mon, 21 Sep 2026 01:14:07 GMT Politics Trump will meet Xi at the airport himself. The summit is the two leaders' second face-to-face of the year after May's meeting in Beijing, and it lands as an existing trade truce nears expiry and as the administration weighs what, if anything, to ask Beijing on AI safety. https://planckstandard.com/article/the-justice-department-declared-the-1968-ban-on-selling-hand.html https://planckstandard.com/article/the-justice-department-declared-the-1968-ban-on-selling-hand.html Sun, 20 Sep 2026 01:22:24 GMT Politics The Office of Legal Counsel opinion by T. Elliot Gaiser says the law fails the Supreme Court's 2022 history-and-tradition test because Founding-era militia statutes required 18-year-olds to show up with their own guns. It binds no court, but it tells every federal prosecutor to stand down. Everytown called it a 'dangerous dereliction of duty.' https://planckstandard.com/article/a-federal-appeals-court-ruled-that-dhs-cannot-put-a-migrant.html https://planckstandard.com/article/a-federal-appeals-court-ruled-that-dhs-cannot-put-a-migrant.html Sun, 20 Sep 2026 01:22:24 GMT Politics Judge Seth Aframe wrote that the government's reading of the law 'would deny access to that protection to a substantial swath of noncitizens.' DHS general counsel James Percival said the policy stays in force because the ruling has not taken effect, and the case is expected to go back to the Supreme Court. https://planckstandard.com/article/pennsylvania-has-731-measles-cases-141-hospitalizations-and.html https://planckstandard.com/article/pennsylvania-has-731-measles-cases-141-hospitalizations-and.html Sat, 19 Sep 2026 23:03:30 GMT Politics The outbreak, centered in Lancaster County's Amish and Mennonite communities, is the worst in the country since 1991. Health Secretary Debra Bogen says the CDC's refusal to acknowledge the deaths 'undermines our response.' https://planckstandard.com/article/a-federal-judge-told-todd-blanche-a-contempt-finding-would-b.html https://planckstandard.com/article/a-federal-judge-told-todd-blanche-a-contempt-finding-would-b.html Sat, 19 Sep 2026 23:03:30 GMT Politics Judge Emmet Sullivan's 20-page order found the department's arguments for withholding material 'without merit.' Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November, the DOJ released 3.5 million pages in January, and the plaintiff says 'millions' more are still being held back. https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-banned-cnn-ms-now-and-politico-from-the-white-house-fo.html https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-banned-cnn-ms-now-and-politico-from-the-white-house-fo.html Sat, 19 Sep 2026 23:03:30 GMT Politics The White House Correspondents' Association says the president himself described the move as a 'ban on the free press.' CNN, Politico and MS NOW all say they will fight it, and the AP's lawsuit over its own 2025 ban is still in court. https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-personally-ordered-the-doj-not-to-appeal-a-texas-rulin.html https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-personally-ordered-the-doj-not-to-appeal-a-texas-rulin.html Fri, 18 Sep 2026 17:43:48 GMT Politics Judge James Wesley Hendrix found that once Congress zeroed out the $200 tax on 'gangster weapons' in last year's One Big Beautiful Bill, the National Firearms Act's rules lost their constitutional footing. The appeal deadline is October 5. Anyone who joins the gun groups that sued is covered. https://planckstandard.com/article/the-state-department-cleared-a-24-3-billion-sale-of-48-f-35s.html https://planckstandard.com/article/the-state-department-cleared-a-24-3-billion-sale-of-48-f-35s.html Fri, 18 Sep 2026 17:43:48 GMT Politics Congress has 30 days to block the deal. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said the sale could put 'the crown jewels of American military technology within reach of the Chinese Communist Party.' The kingdom is under daily Houthi attack and just lost its East-West pipeline. https://planckstandard.com/article/fish-and-wildlife-memo-says-accidental-killing-isnt-take.html https://planckstandard.com/article/fish-and-wildlife-memo-says-accidental-killing-isnt-take.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 21:19:01 GMT Politics The directive, first reported by The New York Times, limits illegal 'take' to intentional acts aimed at a particular animal. It landed the same day a July rule erasing the definition of 'harm' took effect, and days after 21 attorneys general sued over that rule. https://planckstandard.com/article/postmaster-general-steiner-tells-confidants-he-wants-out.html https://planckstandard.com/article/postmaster-general-steiner-tells-confidants-he-wants-out.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 21:19:01 GMT Politics Four people familiar with his thinking say the former Waste Management CEO was furious after a June Senate hearing where he was called a 'pawn' in Trump's mail-ballot plan. The Supreme Court blocked key parts of that plan on Monday. https://planckstandard.com/article/scientists-sue-nih-over-235-word-grant-screening-list.html https://planckstandard.com/article/scientists-sue-nih-over-235-word-grant-screening-list.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 21:19:01 GMT Politics The ACLU-backed suit names Jay Bhattacharya, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and DOGE. One plaintiff's Alzheimer's study was cut off mid-appointment. Another says she can no longer describe 15 years of work on sexual harassment in medicine without tripping the filter. https://planckstandard.com/article/house-passes-data-center-ratepayer-bill-417-3-then-leaves.html https://planckstandard.com/article/house-passes-data-center-ratepayer-bill-417-3-then-leaves.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 21:19:01 GMT Politics It is the first data center bill to pass the 119th Congress. The three no votes were progressives who wanted a moratorium. Nearly 70% of Americans don't want a data center near them, and the bill's Republican sponsor is in a toss-up race. https://planckstandard.com/article/jon-kyl-arizona-senator-kavanaugh-sherpa-water-dies-84.html https://planckstandard.com/article/jon-kyl-arizona-senator-kavanaugh-sherpa-water-dies-84.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 17:19:06 GMT Politics He served 26 years in Congress, four months more filling John McCain's seat, and withdrew from public life last December after a dementia diagnosis. 'Probably a lot of my better achievements were in preventing bad things from happening.' https://planckstandard.com/article/the-house-passed-the-lindsey-graham-russia-sanctions-bill-26.html https://planckstandard.com/article/the-house-passed-the-lindsey-graham-russia-sanctions-bill-26.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 05:12:47 GMT Politics Fifty-eight Democrats crossed over and seven Republicans defected. Hakeem Jeffries said Trump 'cannot be entrusted' with new tariff power. The bill now goes to a president who has spent months saying he wanted it. https://planckstandard.com/article/tierra-walker-asked-for-an-abortion-at-two-san-antonio-hospi.html https://planckstandard.com/article/tierra-walker-asked-for-an-abortion-at-two-san-antonio-hospi.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 05:12:45 GMT Politics The lawsuit says Texas's 'merciless blanket prohibition' killed a 37-year-old mother with diabetes, hypertension and a history of a stillbirth. Her son found her unresponsive on his 15th birthday. 'Honestly, go to hell,' her aunt said of Paxton. https://planckstandard.com/article/doj-linkedin-reporter-records-fourth-circuit-leak-probe.html https://planckstandard.com/article/doj-linkedin-reporter-records-fourth-circuit-leak-probe.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 01:19:09 GMT Politics A Fourth Circuit panel heard arguments Tuesday in a case that has been sealed since November. Judge Harvie Wilkinson, a Reagan appointee, asked whether an 'overbroad disclosure order that reveals sources' compromises a reporter's interest. https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-28700-stock-trades-more-than-all-of-congress.html https://planckstandard.com/article/trump-28700-stock-trades-more-than-all-of-congress.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 01:19:09 GMT Politics Bloomberg counted about 20 cases where Trump bought into companies within a week of publicly promoting them, including DoorDash, Nvidia and Tesla. The White House says outside firms run his money through index-tracking models and nobody in the family directs a trade. https://planckstandard.com/article/the-house-held-leon-black-in-contempt-of-congress-without-a.html https://planckstandard.com/article/the-house-held-leon-black-in-contempt-of-congress-without-a.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:15:06 GMT Politics The Oversight Committee voted 41-0 on Tuesday and the full chamber approved the referral by unanimous consent Wednesday. The matter now goes to the Justice Department, which decides whether to prosecute. https://planckstandard.com/article/the-iran-war-has-cost-the-pentagon-38-1-billion-through-augu.html https://planckstandard.com/article/the-iran-war-has-cost-the-pentagon-38-1-billion-through-augu.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:15:05 GMT Politics The nonpartisan budget office's first full accounting excludes damage to U.S. bases, the fuel bill for other agencies and interest on the debt. It says restocking missile defenses could take five years, and it notes the Pentagon refused to provide detailed data.