Category: Federal
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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…
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A look at the notable Republican primaries for U.S. Senate happening in May
There are eight states holding primaries for U.S. Senate this month. Additionally, on May 5, Ohio is holding a primary for the special election to fill the rest of the six-year term that Vice President J.D. Vance (R) was elected to in 2022. Eight Democratic primaries and eight Republican primaries are contested this month. Republicans…
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U.S. Supreme Court decides prominent redistricting case with implications for future map changes
On April 29, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a 6-3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais, ruling that Louisiana’s congressional map that added a second majority-Black district was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. In 2024, the Louisiana Legislature added the second majority-Black district in response to a previous lawsuit that argued the 2022 map diluted minority…
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Senate passes budget resolution that includes funding for ICE and defense
On April 23, 2026, the U.S. Senate passed the 2026 budget resolution and sent the proposed text to the House. The resolution was passed 50-48, with no Democrats voting in favor and two Republicans, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), voting against; Sen. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Warner (D-Va.) did not vote.…
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ESG shareholder proposals drop 47% in 2026 proxy season
According to As You Sow, a shareholder advocacy nonprofit, in its 2026 Proxy Preview report, shareholders filed 184 ESG proposals at U.S. shareholder meetings as of March 17, 2026. That is down 47% from 355 proposals filed at the same point in 2025. Shareholders use proxy proposals to ask companies to adopt specific policies or…