Category: Federal
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USDA releases SNAP error rate data that could determine states' share of benefit costs
On June 24, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released fiscal year 2025 (FY25) payment error rate data for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This was the first update of payment error data since the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) established a cost-share system based on this data, and the first year of…
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Lindsey Graham becomes the fourth member of the U.S. Senate since 2013 to die while in office
On July 11, 2026, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) died, leaving a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. The vacancy now brings the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate to 52 to 45, with one vacancy. Additionally, Sens. Angus King (I-Maine) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are independents who caucus with Democrats. Graham is the fourth member of…
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Trump ends June with 40% approval rating, same as Biden's at this point in his term
At the end of June, polling averages showed President Donald Trump (R) with a 40% approval rating, the same as President Joe Biden (D) had at this point in his term. Fifty-seven percent of voters disapproved of Trump's performance. The highest average approval rating Trump has received in his second term was 54%, last seen…
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Second Trump administration has seen historically high ambassador vacancies and political appointments
Seventeen months into President Donald Trump's (R) second administration, a historically high number of ambassador posts remain vacant. According to the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), an unprecedentedly high percentage of ambassadors appointed during Trump's second term have been political appointees. Ambassadors are the highest-ranking U.S. representative to their appointed countries or international organizations. Article…
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Tracker: Article III federal judicial nominations by president by days in office since 2001
This report is limited to Article III courts, where appointees are confirmed to lifetime judgeships. In the past month: By June 30 — 527 days in office — President Donald Trump (R) nominated 61 individuals to Article III judgeships. For historical comparison*: *Note: These figures include unsuccessful nominations. The following data visualizations track the number…
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President Donald Trump issued six executive orders in June, the fourth-lowest monthly total in his second term
President Donald Trump (R) issued six executive orders in June, the fourth-fewest of any month in his second term. As of July 1, Trump has signed 269 executive orders in his second term. The June executive orders addressed artificial intelligence, the administrative state, customs enforcement, quantum computing, and agriculture. Click here to read more about…
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U.S. Supreme Court agrees to review Arizona's documentary proof of citizenship and noncitizen voter removal laws
On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would hear Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota, a case disputing whether two Arizona laws requiring documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) to register to vote in federal elections and requiring election officials to remove noncitizens from voter rolls violate the National Voter Registration Act…
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U.S. Supreme Court strikes down campaign finance restrictions on candidate coordination with parties
On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission that federal limits on the amount of money that a political party could spend in coordination with candidates were unconstitutional. The court previously held that political parties, as well as candidates and private groups, may make…
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U.S. Supreme Court rules 6-3 for presidential removal of independent agency commissioners
On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 in the case of Trump v. Slaughter that the president may remove a leader of a multi-person independent agency for reasons other than those enumerated in statute. The Court upheld President Donald Trump's (R) 2025 dismissal of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, ruling that…
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An overview of the rules, agency documents, and notices published in the Federal Register in the second quarter of 2026
The federal government added 23,692 pages to the Federal Register in the second quarter of 2026, spanning from April 1 to June 30. This is more than in all other quarters during the second Trump administration. The next highest was the third quarter in 2025, during which the government added 19,256 pages. The 23,692 pages…