Politics

Elections, legislation, government decisions, and the people behind them.

By-the-numbers graphic on a third presidential term: the 22nd Amendment bars election to the presidency more than twice; changing it needs two-thirds of Congress and 38 states; the last amendment ratified was the 27th in 1992; no court has endorsed the vice-presidential workaround.

Politics

Trump wore a 'Trump 2028' hat and joked about a fourth term. Here is what the Constitution actually allows

At a rescheduled, scaled-down White House Correspondents' dinner, the president put on a red 'Trump 2028' hat and announced his intention to run for a fourth term. The room read it as a joke. The search traffic did not. So: what would a third term actually require?

July 24, 2026, 9:20 PM ETGraphic: DWC News

DevelopingPolitics

The government just told a court how it picked which grants to cancel — by which way the state voted

Three sets of federal court records this month describe the method behind the grant terminations: an Energy Department concession that politics selected 284 awards, filings showing agencies screened research by keyword, and a ruling limiting when a grant can be cancelled at all.

July 24, 2026, 7:44 PM ET

DevelopingPolitics

Permanent daylight saving time passed the House. Here is exactly what it would do to your state's sunrise

The House passed H.R. 139 on July 14 by 308–117, and 19 states already have year-round daylight saving laws waiting on Congress. The bill changes nothing about how much daylight you get — it changes when the clock says you get it. Pick your state and see the actual times.

July 24, 2026, 7:41 PM ET

DevelopingPolitics

Trump administration imposes 10% and 12.5% tariffs on 60 economies over forced labor

The U.S. Trade Representative took final Section 301 action on July 23, 2026, imposing 10% or 12.5% duties on imports from 60 economies — about 99.4% of U.S. imports — for what it calls a failure to ban goods made with forced labor. The EU and China rejected the accusation.

July 23, 2026, 6:22 PM ET

DevelopingPolitics

DHS rescinds the 2022 public-charge rule, widening the benefits test for green cards from Sept. 18

On July 20, DHS published a final rule scrapping the 2022 public-charge regulation and returning green-card decisions to a ‘totality of the circumstances’ standard. From Sept. 18, officers may weigh benefits like Medicaid, SNAP and housing aid. A $100,000 State Dept. visa bond is only a proposal.

July 23, 2026, 5:46 PM ET

DevelopingPolitics

Senate Banking Committee moves behind closed doors, then advances two Trump nominees

The Senate Banking Committee voted 12-10 to move into a closed session on Thursday, July 23, after ranking member Elizabeth Warren questioned the nominees' FBI background checks. It then advanced two of three Trump nominees, according to reporting; exact tallies are pending confirmation.

July 23, 2026, 5:41 PM ET

DevelopingPolitics

Jim Jordan refers Jack Smith to the Justice Department: what a criminal referral is — and isn't

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan asked the Justice Department to consider prosecuting former Special Counsel Jack Smith. A referral is a request, not a charge — here is what is established, what is contested, and what happens next.

July 22, 2026, 7:00 PM ET

DevelopingPolitics

House passes $1.14 trillion 2027 defense bill, sending pay-raise and Israel-tech fights to the Senate

The House approved H.R. 8800, the roughly $1.14 trillion defense policy bill for fiscal 2027, on July 22 by a 219-206 vote. It now heads to the Senate, where a tiered troop pay raise and a contested U.S.-Israel defense-tech provision remain unsettled. It is not yet law.

July 22, 2026, 10:00 AM ET