Poli Alert Politics & Civics

Washington, D.C., Police Chief Pamela Smith is once again the city’s top law enforcement official after the Trump administration abruptly rescinded a sweeping order that had stripped her of authority less than 24 hours earlier. The reversal came Friday as part of an agreement between the Department of Justice and …

District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a federal lawsuit Friday seeking to block the Trump administration’s takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department, arguing the move violates D.C.’s limited self-governance rights under the Home Rule Act. The legal challenge targets both President Donald Trump’s Monday order placing the city’s …

Texas House Democrats who left the state in protest of proposed congressional redistricting said Thursday they will return to the state after the Legislature adjourns Friday and California’s state lawmakers introduce a retaliatory redistricting map in their state assembly. In a statement, members of the minority party said their lawyers …

A federal judge in Maryland has overturned two Trump administration directives aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs in U.S. schools and universities, ruling the Education Department violated the law by threatening to pull federal funding from institutions that maintained such initiatives. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, appointed by …

Local leaders and advocates Thursday said that President Donald Trump’s decision to seize the District of Columbia’s 3,400-member police force and deploy 800 National Guard members is a continuation of his administration’s immigration crackdown. Since the president’s decision Monday to invoke the district’s Home Rule Act, checkpoints are being set up …

A now-former Justice Department employee has been charged with felony assault after authorities say he threw a Subway sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer in Washington, D.C., during a heated confrontation near a busy nightlife district. Sean Charles Dunn, who worked in the criminal division’s international affairs …

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday urged California lawmakers to approve a November ballot measure that would allow Democrats to bypass the state’s independent redistricting commission and redraw the state’s congressional map, framing the move as a direct response to Republican-led mid-decade redistricting efforts in Texas. The proposal, called the Election …

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is preparing to open a new political front in the national fight over congressional maps, threatening to redraw districts in his state to offset a Republican-led redistricting push in Texas. Newsom’s office announced plans for a “major state announcement” Thursday, signaling that California Democrats may take …

President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics was on the Capitol grounds during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, appearing in multiple videos of the crowd taken shortly before rioters breached the building. The White House insists the nominee, conservative economist E.J. Antoni, was merely a bystander …

President Donald Trump put his personal imprint on one of the nation’s most prestigious cultural traditions Wednesday, announcing this year’s Kennedy Center Honors recipients himself after installing loyalists on the center’s board and naming himself chairman. Flanked by American flags and covered photo stands for each honoree, Trump revealed the …

The U.S. government’s gross national debt has topped $37 trillion for the first time, according to new Treasury Department figures released Tuesday, marking a historic milestone that has arrived years earlier than budget forecasters once predicted. The record, driven by pandemic-era borrowing and fresh spending measures, underscores the mounting cost …

Former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is planning to challenge U.S. Sen. Jon Husted next year for one of Ohio’s two seats in the Senate, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Tuesday. The race would surely take on a national profile as Democrats try to take control of a closely divided chamber …

Black civil rights leaders and mayors of several major U.S. cities sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, labeling the move a “federal coup” and an act of “racially divisive politics.” The White House defended the action as a lawful, necessary measure …

The Trump administration on Tuesday advanced its unprecedented federal takeover of Washington, D.C.’s police force, convening top federal and city leaders to coordinate crime-fighting efforts as hundreds of National Guard troops and federal agents move into the city. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Police Chief Pamela Smith met with Attorney General …

U.S. consumer prices were unchanged in July from the previous month, as falling gas and grocery costs offset tariff-driven increases for some imports, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The Consumer Price Index rose 2.7% in July from a year earlier, matching June’s pace and up from a post-pandemic low of …