Category: Federal
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Stopgap funding bill delayes OMB grants rule until December 11
On September 3, President Donald Trump (R) signed a stopgap spending bill which funds the federal government until Dec. 11. The bill averted a government shutdown, but also delayed the implementation of an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed rule on federal grantmaking that would give political appointees and agencies more say in awarding…
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EPA repeals power plant carbon standards
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Sept. 14 repealed most Biden-era carbon emissions standards for coal- and gas-fired power plants and proposed eliminating remaining federal greenhouse gas requirements for the power sector. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the actions during a meeting of G20 energy ministers in Houston. The Biden-era standards required certain coal-fired power…
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U.S. Supreme Court leaves order blocking USPS absentee/mail-in voting rules in place for 2026 election
On Sept. 14, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to reverse a lower court order blocking the implementation of an executive order President Donald Trump (R) issued in March that would prohibit the delivery of absentee/mail-in ballots to anyone not enrolled by state election officials in a U.S. Postal Service portal. The ruling means that the…
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Alaska voters to decide on the second U.S. Senate general election using ranked-choice voting
Incumbent Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan (R), Mary Peltola (D), Gerald Heikes (R), and Dan Sullivan(R) are running in the general election for the U.S. Senate in Alaska on Nov. 3, 2026. Daniel S. Sullivan and Peltola lead in polls, noteworthy endorsements, and fundraising. The four candidates who received the most votes during the top-four primary…
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Ballotpedia releases federal judicial vacancy count for September 2026
In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from Aug. 2 through Sept. 1, 2026. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month. HIGHLIGHTS New vacancies There were 27 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions, a total vacancy percentage of 3.1, which…
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SEC moves to eliminate shareholder proposal rule, shift power to states
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) submitted a proposed rule for interagency review on Aug. 28 that would rescind Rule 14a-8, the federal regulation requiring public companies to include qualifying shareholder proposals in their annual proxy statements. The proposal would also amend Rule 14a-4, which governs proxy solicitation materials. Under the current rule, shareholders who…
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President Trump has appointed 53 federal judges through September 1 of the second year of his second term
President Donald Trump (R) has appointed, and the U.S. Senate has confirmed, 53 Article III federal judges through Sept. 1, 2026, the second year of his second term in office. This is the third-highest number of Article III judicial appointments through this point in a president’s second term since President Bill Clinton (D). Presidents since…
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Trump issued six executive orders in August, bringing his second-term total to 277
President Donald Trump (R) issued six executive orders in August, bringing his second-term total to 277. Trump issued orders on military spouses, citizenship, vaccines, the bulk-power system, and the Great Lakes. Click here to read more about each order. Trump issued four more orders in August than he did in July, when he issued two…
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Trump ends August with 41% approval rating, congressional approval at 16%
At the end of August, approval polling averages showed President Donald Trump (R) at 41% approval. Fifty-six percent of voters disapproved of his performance. The lowest average approval rating of his second term was 39%, last seen on Aug. 25, 2026. The highest average approval rating of his second term was 54%, last seen on…
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Everton Blair Jr. takes office — ending the vacancy in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District
On Sept. 1, 2026, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) swore Rep. Everton Blair Jr. (D-Ga.) into the U.S. House of Representatives, filling the vacancy in Georgia's 13th Congressional District. The vacancy began on April 22, 2026, after the death of Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.). In a runoff election on Aug. 25, 2026, Blair…