What a Mandate Is — and How to Judge Whether an Election Gave One
Margins, agenda specificity and divided government offer a way to test a claim that voters endorsed a platform.
Henrik Larsen · September 17, 2026What the Debt Limit Is, and What Happens if Congress Misses It
The debt limit caps how much the Treasury may borrow to pay for spending Congress already approved, and hitting it without an increase would force choices among payments no law currently defines.
Henrik Larsen · August 28, 2026
Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Divest-or-Ban Law in Unanimous Ruling
The Court ruled the law's requirement that ByteDance divest TikTok's US operations does not violate the First Amendment, clearing the law to take effect.
Aleksandr Komarov · August 23, 2026
Supreme Court Curbs Nationwide Injunctions In CASA Ruling
Aleksandr Komarov · August 21, 2026
Congress Turns to Stopgap Bills to Avoid Government Shutdowns
A look at how continuing resolutions work, why lawmakers rely on them almost every year, and what happens when one is not passed by the fiscal deadline.
Valentina Sokolov · August 20, 2026
Supreme Court Upholds Birthright Citizenship in Trump v. Barbara
The Court ruled 6–3 on June 30 that children born on U.S. soil to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Alexandria Lucas · July 5, 2026Congress Ends 76-Day DHS Shutdown With Split-the-Difference Bill
The House passed a Senate bill funding every DHS component except ICE and Border Patrol by voice vote on April 30, and the president signed it the same day.
Alexandria Lucas · May 2, 2026Why Control of Congress Is the Whole Ballgame in 2026
Committee gavels, subpoenas, the Senate's confirmation calendar, and the fate of every bill run through the majority — which is why both parties treat midterms as existential.
Alexandria Lucas · April 9, 2026
Four-Day Government Shutdown Ends After House Approves Funding Package
The first shutdown of 2026 closed February 3 when the House accepted a Senate package of five appropriations bills and a two-week Homeland Security stopgap on a 217–214 vote.
Alexandria Lucas · February 4, 2026Policy
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How a Continuing Resolution Actually Funds the Government
Congress has finished its full appropriations process on time only three times in 47 years, making stopgap spending bills the routine way agencies stay funded.
Henrik Larsen · August 18, 2026
How the Federal Budget Timeline Actually Works
The budget year runs a 20-month production cycle — president's request, spring resolutions, summer marks, October 1 funding deadline — and every stage slips.
Henrik Larsen · August 1, 2026
How SNAP Work Requirements Are Structured
The food-stamp program's work rules layer federal statutes, age thresholds, and state waivers — and the 2025 law expanded them to new groups.
Henrik Larsen · July 14, 2026
How the Federal Reserve's Bank Stress Tests Work
Every June the Fed publishes scenarios and results that set the capital cushions the largest U.S. banks must hold — and the program is under legal challenge.
Henrik Larsen · June 21, 2026Law
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How States Decide Who Draws Congressional District Lines
Aleksandr Komarov · August 16, 2026
How Continuing Resolutions Keep Federal Agencies Funded
Congress routinely relies on short-term spending bills to avoid shutdowns, but the stopgap funding comes with restrictions that agencies say slow hiring, contracting and new programs.
Aleksandr Komarov · August 15, 2026What a Government Shutdown Actually Funds — and What It Stops
Aleksandr Komarov · August 10, 2026What Loper Bright Means for Federal Regulation, Two Years On
The end of Chevron deference shifted interpretive power from agencies to courts — and the emerging case law shows both continuity and real change.
Aleksandr Komarov · July 27, 2026Debate
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National Popular Vote Compact Divides State Legislatures
Eighteen states and Washington, D.C. have pledged their electoral votes to the national popular-vote winner, reviving a state-by-state fight over how presidents are chosen.
Lena Fischer · August 13, 2026
Should the Federal Minimum Wage Rise? Both Sides' Best Case
The $7.25 floor has not moved since 2009 while nearly 20 states raised theirs in January 2026 — the argument is about who is helped and who is priced out.
Valentina Sokolov · August 10, 2026Should the Social Security Retirement Age Rise? Both Sides' Best Case
Full retirement age is 67 for those born in 1960 or later; the trust fund's shortfall puts the number back on the table every Congress.
Lena Fischer · July 23, 2026Should the U.S. Adopt Universal Basic Income? Both Sides' Best Case
Pilot programs from Stockton to Kenya informed the UBI debate; the argument turns on what cash without conditions does to work, poverty, and the budget.
Lena Fischer · July 9, 2026Business News
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How Tariffs Work And Who Actually Pays Them
Importers write the check to Customs and Border Protection, but government and Federal Reserve research shows the cost mostly lands on consumers within months.
Valentina Sokolov · August 10, 2026
Fed Holds Rates at 3.50–3.75 Percent as Committee Splits
The Federal Open Market Committee left its target range unchanged on July 29, 2026 — holding all year while inflation cools slower than expected.
Alexandria Lucas · August 5, 2026How Earnings Season Works — and What a 10-K Actually Tells You
Four times a year public companies open their books: a press release, a call, and the annual 10-K whose footnotes carry the real story.
Alexandria Lucas · June 30, 2026What the Yield Curve Signals — When It Works and When It Doesn't
An inverted Treasury yield curve has preceded every modern recession, with one false alarm — which is why the Fed watches it and why forecasters argue about it.
Alexandria Lucas · June 12, 2026