Category: Federal
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New York Governor says state plans to participate in federal education tax credit scholarship program
On May 7, 2026, New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) said that she plans to opt the state into the federal education tax credit scholarship program, also known as the Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC). New York is the third state with a Democratic trifecta to indicate participation in the program, following Virginia and Colorado. Twenty-three…
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SEC moves to rescind 2024 climate disclosure rule
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) submitted a proposal to rescind its 2024 climate-risk disclosure rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on May 4, 2026. The rule never took effect because litigation paused its implementation shortly after adoption. SEC staff is also preparing recommendations to the commission to rescind the rule at…
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Department of Education issues regulation modifying federal student loan programs
On May 1, the Department of Education issued a final rule that overhauls federal graduate student borrowing limits, parental borrowing limits, and replaces current income-driven repayment plans. This regulation, the majority of which will go into effect on July 1, 2026, implements some of the changes that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) made…
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Proxy advisors sue Indiana and Kansas over disclosure laws
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis filed lawsuits in April 2026 challenging state laws in Indiana and Kansas that require the proxy advisory firms to disclose when their voting recommendations differ from management’s recommendations on shareholder votes. ISS sued Kansas on April 29 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. Glass…
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President Trump has appointed 37 federal judges through May 1 of the second year of his second term
President Donald Trump (R) has appointed, and the Senate has confirmed, 37 Article III federal judges through May 1 of the second year of his second term in office. This is the third-most Article III judicial appointments through this point in all presidents’ second terms since President Bill Clinton (D). The average number of federal…
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Senate Committees release $72 billion budget reconciliation spending package
On May 4, 2026, two U.S. Senate committees released the first version of a proposed budget reconciliation spending package that mostly includes funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and would increase the deficit by $72 billion over the following decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Corresponding committees in the U.S. House have…
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European Commission unveils $711 billion clean energy investment plan
The European Commission released AccelerateEU on April 21, 2026, a policy package designed to accelerate the European Union's shift to clean energy while providing relief to households and industry facing volatile fossil fuel markets. The Commission estimates the plan requires €660 billion ($775 billion) in annual investment through 2030 to meet energy transition goals. Commission…
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Trump issued second-lowest number of executive orders of his second term in April
April saw President Donald Trump’s (R) second-lowest monthly executive order total thus far in his second term. Trump issued five executive orders in April, having issued 259 total in his second term as of May 1. Trump issued orders on pharmaceuticals, college sports, the administrative state, and retirement savings. Click here to read more about…
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Trump and 119th Congress saw lowest approval ratings of Trump's second term in April
President Donald Trump (R) and the 119th Congress saw their lowest approval ratings of Trump’s second term in April. At the end of April, approval polling averages showed Trump at 41% approval. Fifty-seven percent of voters disapproved of his performance. The lowest average approval rating of his second term was 40%, last seen on April…
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An overview of the rules, agency documents, and notices published in the Federal Register in the first quarter of 2026
The federal government added 16,150 pages to the Federal Register in the first quarter of 2026, spanning from Jan. 1 to March 31. This is more than in all quarters during the second Trump administration except the third quarter in 2025, during which the government added 19,256 pages. These pages constitute the 6,071 documents that…