Latest News
Democrats Sue to Block Armed Federal Agents at Polling Places in November
Congressional Democrats are suing to prevent the Trump administration from deploying armed federal agents to polling locations during the upcoming November election.
The lawsuit is a response to President Donald Trump’s statements implying the possibility of using federal agents to monitor elections.
During a Feb. 2, 2026 podcast interview, Trump said, “The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.”
Under the Elections Clause of the Constitution, states control “the times, places and manner of holding elections.”
The following day, when Trump was questioned by reporters about his comments, he said, “I want to see elections be honest. And if a state can't run an election, I think the people behind me should do something about it.”
Trump Plans More Sanctions Against International Criminal Court
President Donald Trump announced plans last week to sanction the International Criminal Court while accusing it of misguided judgments over political disputes.
The sanctions would prohibit U.S. citizens and companies from conducting financial transactions with the court.
They would be targeted at the entire court rather than its individual officials as in previous U.S. sanctions.
The ICC is a tribunal established under an international treaty known as the Rome Statute. Since 2002, it has prosecuted persons accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Trump referred to the court as a “rogue institution” during a speech last week before the United Nations’ General Assembly.
Hackers Claim to Hold Personal Information on Nearly All FBI Agents
The FBI acknowledges that it is investigating claims by the cybercrime group ShinyHunters that it stole personal information on thousands of bureau employees and job applicants after breaching the agency’s computer records.
They included names, home addresses, Social Security numbers and job assignments.
The computer thefts were verified by at least two media organizations.
The hackers told media representatives the intrusion occurred last week. The FBI’s jobs website was subsequently taken offline.
A sample of the stolen information obtained by 404 Media reportedly contained information on about 5,000 FBI employees. In some cases, the records listed information about their spouses.
Legal Briefs
D.C. Council Wants to Overhaul Ride-Hailing Laws after Empower Investigation
A D.C. Council committee unanimously adopted an investigative report last week examining the years-long legal and regulatory dispute between the District and ride-hailing company Empower.
Council members are pledging to introduce a bill to overhaul the city's laws governing for-hire vehicles.
Current laws give the companies a loophole they can use to evade Washington’s regulations, according to the investigative report. It says existing laws make it possible for companies to structure their operations around definitions of the vehicles they use and their operators rather than the transportation service they provide.
A revision being considered by Council member Brianne K. Nadeau, D-Ward 1, would broaden the definition of for-hire vehicles and services.
"If it looks like a ride-hailing company and acts like a ride-hailing company, it's a ride-hailing company," Nadeau said at a hearing of the Council's Committee on Public Works and Operations.
When Empower began operating in the Washington area in 2020, it described itself as a software company that connects passengers with independent drivers rather than as a conventional ride-hailing company.
Unlike Uber and Lyft, Empower says its drivers set their own fares and use the company's technology through a different business model.
District officials disagree. They say Empower's operations fall within the city's laws regulating private vehicle-for-hire companies.
D.C. in Brief
Senate Bill would Allow Federal Circuit Judges to Live Outside Washington
A bipartisan Senate bill introduced last week would allow judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to live anywhere in the country rather than requiring them to reside within 50 miles of Washington, D.C.
The bill is intended to broaden the pool of lawyers eligible to serve on the specialized court.
The measure, known as the Better Bench Act, was introduced by Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., a former state appellate judge, and co-sponsored by Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
The legislation also would eliminate the 50-mile residency requirement for judges of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, another federal court based in Washington with jurisdiction extending nationwide.
Under current federal law, active Federal Circuit judges appointed after 1982 and the court's chief judge generally must live within 50 miles of the District of Columbia.
"For a court that covers the entire country, we should be considering nominating judges from everywhere in America based on merit, not their proximity to the D.C. bubble," Moody said in announcing the legislation.
Coons said the residency requirement can be particularly significant for judges with expertise in intellectual property law, an important part of the Federal Circuit's work.
"For too long, we have limited the pool of judges available to take on the toughest IP and federal contract cases to those willing to uproot their lives and move to Washington, D.C.," Coons said.
The Federal Circuit has nationwide jurisdiction over several specialized areas of federal law, including patent appeals, while the Court of Federal Claims handles claims involving the federal government, including disputes involving government contracts. The Federal Circuit also hears appeals from the Court of Federal Claims and administrative agencies.
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