(The Center Square) – Two nonprofits run by an attorney with long-time Democratic connections have been filing ethics complaints against lawyers who represented Trump officials or issues, seeking to get them disbarred or disciplined. But an investigation by The Center Square found nearly all of the attorneys the groups targeted received no public discipline years after the complaints were filed.

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(The Center Square) – Casting a ballot may look different for millions of American voters in the 2026 midterm elections if Republican-led states follow President Donald Trump’s wish to abolish mail-in voting and electronic voting machines. In a lengthy social media post Monday, the president announced he is planning to “lead a movement” to end mail-in ballots and voting machines, beginning with issuing an executive order in the near future. Trump said the changes would restore election integrity and “help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections.” He called mail-in voting a “SCAM” that can enable “MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD” and labeled paperless voting machines "Inaccurate," “Expensive” and “Seriously Controversial.”

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(The Center Square) – The White House has helped open the channels of communication between Russia, Ukraine and the rest of Europe, but the details of any resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war remain murky. The White House continues to highlight the differences in how President Donald Trump has responded to the overseas conflict versus former President Joe Biden. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared some remarks from European leaders to that effect from Monday’s discussions at the White House at a Tuesday press briefing.

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(The Center Square) – More than a week after President Donald Trump declared “Liberation Day” in Washington, D.C., his administration is touting the operation as a success as more Republican governors commit National Guard troops. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that since the operation began on Aug. 11, law enforcement officials have made 465 arrests, adding that “nearly half” of the “arrests have occurred in the high-crime areas” of the district. The D.C. Police Union has calculated major decreases in crimes since “Liberation Day,” including 83% drops in carjackings, 46% decreases in robberies, 22% drops in violent crime, 21% decreases in car theft, and 6% drops in property crime. The group adds that there has been an 8% reduction in crime overall.

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(The Center Square) – As President Donald Trump’s tariff policies come into effect, July’s Consumer Price Index showed overall consumer prices rose 2.7% annually, slightly lower than forecasted by economists. The CPI measures changes in price of everyday consumer goods like groceries and clothes over time. July’s CPI rose 0.2% on a monthly basis since June’s reading which came in at 2.7%. Since a universal 10% tariff was implemented in April, economists have been watching how levies would affect costs for consumers. Data has shown that tariff impacts have been marginal so far this year, in part due to businesses stockpiling goods before tariffs went into effect.

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(The Center Square) – “Liberation Day” arrived Monday in Washington, D.C., as declared by President Donald Trump. The president declared a crime emergency in the district and said the National Guard will soon patrol the streets in an effort to curb crime. Flanked by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, FBI Director Kash Patel, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll and U.S. Attorney of the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, the president announced that he is invoking the D.C. Home Rule Act to take federal control of Metropolitan Police Department while deploying the National Guard, with threats more military could be called in to assist.

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(The Center Square) – Right before leaving for its week-long August recess, the U.S. Senate passed a minibus Friday evening containing three out of the 12 annual government funding bills. The package allocates more than $153 billion for military construction and Veterans Affairs in fiscal year 2026 alone, $27 billion for agriculture and rural development, and $2.2 billion for the Legislative branch. More than 80 senators ultimately voted for the minibus. Appropriations bills are typically passed individually. The unorthodox move is the result of Republican leaders spending days negotiating with uncooperative Democrats, who stalled on confirming the rest of President Donald Trump’s civilian nominees and by doing so prevented progress on the funding appropriations process.

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 (The Center Square) – The FBI on Thursday agreed to assist with locating Texas Democrats who fled the state to prevent the Texas House from reaching a quorum and conducting official business. On Sunday, more than 50 Democrats fled the state, many to Chicago, to prevent a House vote on redistricting, and all other votes during a special session of the legislature, by preventing a quorum from being reached. They also fled Texas to avoid being arrested by state law enforcement. On Monday, House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, signed civil arrest warrants and by Tuesday, only eight Democrats showed up for work. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the missing Democrats to return to Austin by Monday or face being arrested and removed from office.

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(The Center Square) – Appellate court judges scrutinized President Donald Trump's tariff authority on Thursday, asking attorneys on both sides of the case tough questions about the president's authority to restructure global trade without help from Congress. Trump has used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to underpin his "Liberation Day" tariffs. On April 2, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners. He later suspended those higher tariffs but used the threat of higher taxes to get foreign nations to agree to new trade deals. Most of the deals Trump has announced so far come with a 15% import tax on foreign countries, although some face higher rates. 

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(The Center Square) – The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to rescind an Obama-era environmental finding impacting the automobile industry. The EPA chief says it costs $1 trillion in regulations. Lee Zeldin, administrator of the EPA, made the announcement Tuesday in the backdrop of an auto dealership in Indianapolis, Ind., to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding, which the Trump EPA claims is responsible for the Biden administration's electric vehicle mandate — pushing to reduce the production of gas-powered vehicles.

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