Category: Federal

  • Republican AGs warn companies about European ESG compliance

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    A coalition of 16 Republican state attorneys general sent letters in October 2025 to corporate leaders at Microsoft, Google, and Meta alleging that compliance with the European Union’s sustainability directives could violate U.S. law. The officials cited the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), saying the measures would effectively…

  • Rep. Adelita Grijalva takes office—ending the second-longest U.S. House vacancy of the 119th Congress

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    On Nov. 12, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) swore Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) into the U.S. House of Representatives, filling the vacancy in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District. The vacancy began on March 13 due to the death of Grijalva’s father, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.). In the Sept. 23 special election to fill the…

  • Rep. Jodey Arrington becomes the sixth member of Texas’ congressional delegation to announce their retirement

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    Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) announced on Nov. 11, 2025, that he will not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026. In a video announcing his retirement, Arrington said, “As much good as we’ve done together, there’s a time and season for everything. And this season is coming to a close. That’s why…

  • Forty-five members of Congress have announced they will not seek re-election in 2026—the most at this point since 2018

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    Forty-five members of Congress—37 representatives and eight senators—have announced they will not seek re-election in 2026. That’s the most retirement announcements at this point in an election cycle since 2018. Since our Oct. 20 update, six representatives have announced that they will not seek re-election to the U.S. House in 2026. Here are the six…

  • President Donald Trump (R) has issued 142 pardons in second term so far

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    As of Nov. 9, 2025, President Donald Trump (R) has issued a total of 142 pardons during his second term, which is one less than he issued throughout the entirety of his first term (143). Additionally, Trump has issued 28 commutations during his second term. See the chart below for executive clemency figures from 1902…

  • Senate confirms largest number of Trump judicial nominees of his second term

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    In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from Oct. 2 through Nov. 4. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month. HIGHLIGHTS New vacancies There were 47 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions, a total vacancy rate of 5.4%, which is…

  • President Trump has appointed 17 federal judges through November 1 of his first year of his second term

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    President Donald Trump (R) has appointed, and the U.S. Senate has confirmed, 17 Article III federal judges through Nov. 1 of the first year of his second term. This is the second-fewest number of Article III judicial appointments through this point in any president's second term since President Bill Clinton (D). The average number of…

  • SNAP benefit funding and the state's hold harmless period end on November 1

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    November 1 marked two key events for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It was both the day that some SNAP recipients did not receive benefits due to the federal government shutdown and the day that marked the end of state agencies' hold harmless period, or the period during which states were not held responsible…

  • Federal government shutdown now longest in U.S. history

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    At the end of the day on Nov. 4, the federal government shutdown became the longest shutdown in U.S. history. At 35 full days long, it has outlasted the shutdown that ran from Dec. 2018 to Jan. 2019, which lasted 34 full days. In addition to being the longest shutdown, this is also the first-ever…