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Sep 18, 2026· Updated

The Senate Passes the Russia and Iran Sanctions Bill 86-11 and Names It for Lindsey Graham a Month After He Died — "This Is a Big Effing Deal," Blumenthal Says, Quoting Graham's Last Words to Him

On August 7, 2026, the Senate passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 by a vote of 86-11, breaking a stalemate that had lasted more than a year and handing the late South Carolina Republican a posthumous version of the bill he had spent years failing to move. The measure imposes primary and secondary sanctions on Russia and the financial network sustaining its war in Ukraine, targeting the "shadow fleet" of shell corporations and repurposed maritime infrastructure along with Russian officials, oligarchs, their family members and financial institutions. It authorizes tariffs of up to 100 percent on the five largest importers of Russian crude and natural gas by volume — in practice China and India — and extends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, renewing sanctions on Iran's energy and weapons sectors that were set to lapse at the end of the year. The bill had been blocked for months by the White House's unwillingness to accept binding sanctions authority. It moved only after a bipartisan group — Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Darline Graham Nordone (R-S.C.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) — announced an agreement on July 28, seventeen days after Graham died at 71 at his Capitol Hill home. They said there was "no greater way to honor" his legacy. Blumenthal, a co-author, told the floor: "I'm not even going to try to channel my inner Lindsey Graham, except to say, as he said to me in some of his last words, 'This is a big effing deal.'" Graham's sister Darline Graham Nordone — appointed to his seat on Trump's recommendation — said he "believed that this was the most consequential piece of legislation that he had ever led." Not everyone was satisfied. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) forced a vote on an amendment limiting Trump's tariff authority under the bill; it failed 32-64. On the House side, Foreign Affairs ranking member Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) warned that the final text "still contain[s] the broadest possible waiver authority for President Trump, who already has the power to impose these sanctions on Russia under U.S. law but has refused to do so," and Meeks said he opposed "handing President Trump a Trojan horse for tariff authorities he has repeatedly abused." The House is expected to take the bill up when members return from summer break on August 31.

“I wish Lindsey were here to celebrate this historic day. I know he would be so proud.”
Darline Graham Nordone (R-SC) · Sep 18, 2026

Sep 17, 2026· Updated

With the House Already Adjourned for the Midterms, the Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus Drops Four Anti-Gerrymandering Bills — Fitzpatrick Says "Gerrymandering Is a Problem That Both Parties Are Guilty Of," and Jeff Hurd Says Redrawing Districts Midway Through the Decade Is "Wrong"

On September 16, 2026, the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus held a press conference unveiling four bills aimed at ending the mid-decade redistricting war that both parties escalated ahead of the 2026 midterms. The bills were formally introduced the following day. The package came out of a bipartisan task force the caucus stood up earlier in the year to study what it called "extreme partisan gerrymandering," and it arrived the same week the House cancelled its remaining votes and adjourned until after the election — meaning none of the four bills will get a floor vote this Congress. The four bills: - **H.R. 10378 — Problem Solvers TRUST Act** (Transparent Redistricting Under Stable Timelines), led by Reps. Ed Case (D-HI) and Jeff Hurd (R-CO), would limit congressional redistricting to once per decade following the census, barring most mid-decade redraws. - **H.R. 10379 — Problem Solvers MAPS Act** (Mapdrawing Accountability and Principled Standards), led by Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Salud Carbajal (D-CA), would require congressional districts to be equal in population, contiguous, reasonably compact, and respectful of communities of interest and existing political boundaries. - **H.R. 10380 — Problem Solvers Independent Commissions Act**, led by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI), would push states toward independent redistricting commissions by withholding federal election assistance funding from those that decline. - **H.R. 10381 — Problem Solvers COURTS Act** (Nonpartisan Congressional Uniformity and Oversight of Redistricting Trials), led by Reps. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) and Ed Case (D-HI), would standardize how redistricting litigation is handled. Caucus co-chairs Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) led the rollout. Notably, several of the sponsors represent states — New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, California — that have been at the center of the redraw fight.

“Congressional districts should be drawn around communities, not political interests. Politicians in states like New York and Texas should not be able to choose their elected representatives.”
Michael Lawler (R-NY) · Sep 17, 2026

The Same Day the House Clears the Russia Sanctions Bill, Shaheen and Wicker Introduce a Bipartisan Resolution for Russia's Democracy Advocates — "For Nemtsov, for Navalny, and for the Courageous Russians Who Carry Their Torch Today"

On September 16, 2026 — the same day the House passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act 262-159 — Senate Foreign Relations Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced a bipartisan resolution recognizing the US national interest in supporting Russian democracy advocates. The resolution honors Russians imprisoned, exiled or killed for opposing Vladimir Putin's government — Wicker named Boris Nemtsov and Alexei Navalny explicitly — and ties Putin's repression at home to his war abroad. Shaheen argued the invasion of Ukraine was itself rooted in Putin's fear that Russians would want what Ukrainians were building. It is a narrow, symbolic measure, but a notable one: the top Democrat on Foreign Relations and the top Republican on Armed Services jointly rebuking Russia's internal repression, with Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) signing on as co-sponsors.

“My colleague Senator Shaheen and I introduce this resolution for Nemtsov, for Navalny, and for the courageous Russians who carry their torch today. Putin casts a repressive shadow over Russia, but these heroes work toward a bright future they cannot yet see. The U.S. Senate honors their efforts and looks forward to the day when Russia is led by and for its people.”
Roger Wicker (R-MS) · Sep 16, 2026

Congress Holds Its First Hearing Ever on Menopause — Gillibrand Calls It "Absolutely Disgraceful" That It Took This Long, and Republican Chairman Rick Scott Says "Women Should Not Suffer in Silence"

On September 16, 2026, the Senate Special Committee on Aging held the first congressional hearing ever devoted to menopause. Chairman Rick Scott (R-FL) and Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) titled it "Half the Country, Zero Hearings." Witnesses testified on gaps in research funding, the near-absence of menopause training in medical education, and the lasting effects of the 2002 Women's Health Initiative findings on hormone therapy prescribing. Roughly 8 to 10 million American women experience menopausal symptoms each year. Scott and Gillibrand closed the hearing with a joint request to the Government Accountability Office to review how the federal government currently coordinates and funds menopause research and care — a bipartisan ask in a chamber where little else moved that week.

“Women should not suffer in silence. … This hearing is not about a one-size-fits-all solution; it's about ensuring that every woman in this country has access to good information, the right healthcare provider, and treatment options.”
Rick Scott (R-FL) · Sep 16, 2026

On Its Last Working Day Before the Midterms, the House Passes the Water Resources Development Act 415-9 — the Transportation Chairman Says It Makes "Significant Improvements … to Our Inland Waterways, Ports and Harbors, Flood Protection," and the Top Democrat Calls It "Great News for Ports, Harbors and Inland Waterways"

On September 16, 2026 — the same day House Republican leaders cancelled the rest of the week's votes and sent members home until the midterms — the House passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2026 (H.R. 9497) by 415 to 9. WRDA is the biennial reauthorization of the Army Corps of Engineers' civil works program. The 2026 bill authorizes 61 new feasibility studies and 15 new or modified Corps projects covering navigation, flood control and ecosystem restoration, and reauthorizes the EPA's State Revolving Funds for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. The lopsided margin made it one of the few genuinely bipartisan measures to clear the chamber in the seven working days between the summer recess and the midterm adjournment. Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Sam Graves and Ranking Member Rick Larsen both claimed it, and the bill now goes to the Senate.

“The Water Resources and Development Act—or WRDA—just passed through the House of Representatives!”
Brian Mast (R-FL) · Sep 16, 2026

Three Republicans and Three Democrats Tell Rubio and Bessent to Press Israel to Release the Palestinian Authority's Withheld Tax Revenues — Warning That the West Bank's "Fiscal Collapse" Would Serve "Extremist and Iran-Backed Groups, Not Israel, Nor the United States"

On September 9, 2026, six members of the House — three Republicans and three Democrats — sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging the administration to press Israel to stop withholding billions of dollars in "clearance revenues," the customs and tax receipts Israel collects on the Palestinian Authority's behalf and has increasingly held back, pushing the PA toward insolvency. The letter was led by Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Craig Goldman (R-TX), co-chairs of the Congressional Abraham Accords Caucus, and co-signed by Republican Reps. Ann Wagner (R-MO) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Democratic Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA). "Continued withholding of billions in clearance revenues risks accelerating the West Bank's fiscal collapse," the lawmakers wrote — "an outcome that would serve the interests of extremist and Iran-backed groups, not Israel, nor the United States." They asked Rubio and Bessent to work with Israel and the PA on "practical, security-conscious mechanisms that keep clearance revenues flowing to legitimate Palestinian institutions while ensuring none are diverted to terror financing," and argued that "despite its significant shortcomings and flaws, the PA remains the only current viable governing alternative to Hamas." The Times of Israel called it a rare bipartisan critique of Israeli policy from members who are otherwise among Israel's firmest supporters in Congress. The letter came as the administration was escalating its financial campaign against Iran's regional proxies — the State and Treasury departments launched "Operation Economic Outcast" against Hezbollah and Kata'ib Hezbollah financing on September 10 — and amid a separate fight over Israeli settlement policy with Britain. Neither the Israeli government nor the State Department had publicly responded as of September 11.

“Supporting Israel's security and defeating terrorist groups is central to America's foreign policy. Economic instability in the West Bank risks creating a vacuum that Hamas and other Iranian-backed terrorist organizations could exploit.”
Craig Goldman (R-TX) · Sep 9, 2026

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Sep 4, 2026

Every Branch of the U.S. Military Tells Ron Wyden It Has Switched Off the Advertising Trackers on Its Devices — Months After Foreign Adversaries Began Buying Commercial Location Data to Target American Troops in the Middle East

On Friday, September 4, 2026, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released letters from the Air Force, the Army, the Navy and U.S. Special Operations Command confirming that each had disabled the advertising identifiers on the phones and computers its personnel use — the persistent codes that feed the commercial location-data market. The letters are the Pentagon’s answer to a bipartisan warning Wyden and Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-N.C.) delivered on May 28, 2026, when they and twelve other members of Congress revealed that foreign adversaries were buying commercially available location data to track U.S. servicemembers deployed in Middle East hotspots and using it to aim attacks. The Air Force said it had turned the identifiers off two months earlier; Special Operations Command said it had done so "recently"; the Army said advertising IDs had been blocked on its Windows computers since before 2021 but were only disabled by default on Android and Apple mobile devices as of February 2026. Wyden and Harrigan were not satisfied. The same day, they asked the Pentagon to investigate whether the Defense Department had ever properly countered the danger — with the war against Iran in its seventh month and U.S. bases in Jordan, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates having taken Iranian missile and drone fire in the preceding weeks.

“The steps the Defense Department has taken so far, Wyden said, “have not been effective at neutralizing this threat.””
Ron Wyden (D-OR) · Sep 4, 2026

A Fifteen-Foot Wall of Water Comes Down Bright Angel Creek at the Bottom of the Grand Canyon — Two Dead, About Fifteen Unaccounted For, 62 Airlifted Out, and Arizona's Delegation Answers in One Voice Across Party Lines

At about 2:30 p.m. Mountain time on Saturday, August 29, 2026, a flash flood tore down Bright Angel Creek at the bottom of Grand Canyon National Park, in the corridor that runs past Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail — the most heavily used inner-canyon route in the park, and one of the hardest places in the United States to evacuate. Hikers described a fifteen-foot wall of water arriving with almost no warning. One evacuee, Erica Viola, told ABC News: "We just heard people yell, 'Run, run, run!' And there's 40 of us running through this deep, muddy water, trying to make it to the bridge. Once we got to the bridge, that's when this 15-foot wall of water came through." The flood destroyed a footbridge, knocked out the trans-canyon water pipeline that serves visitors on the rim, and closed Phantom Ranch and the North Kaibab Trail. Because there is no road to the canyon floor, the rescue had to be flown: the National Park Service and the Arizona Department of Public Safety airlifted at least 62 people out over Saturday night and Sunday. By Monday, August 31, the Park Service had confirmed two deaths and said roughly fourteen to fifteen people "may be missing or unaccounted for," and was asking anyone who knew of hikers or backpackers in the Bright Angel Creek corridor on August 29 to call in. A flash flood watch remained in effect, with more monsoon storms forecast over already-saturated ground. The political reaction was notable mainly for what it was not: a fight. Gov. Katie Hobbs, Sen. Mark Kelly and Sen. Ruben Gallego — all Democrats — and Rep. Andy Biggs, a Republican whose politics overlap with theirs on almost nothing, all issued statements within roughly 24 hours of one another, each thanking the rescuers and directing people to the Park Service. Gallego, whose statement also addressed tribal constituents, said the flooded area does not include the Havasupai reservation and that no tribe members had been reported missing. Rep. Eli Crane, whose district contains the park, had toured both rims with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on August 28 — the day before the flood — for a briefing that included, among other things, strain on the park's core water infrastructure.

“A terrifying and tragic situation.”
Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) · Aug 31, 2026

Aug 30, 2026· Updated

A Democratic Senator and a Republican Congressman Jointly Tell Hegseth to Reverse the 30 Percent Cut to U.S. Fighter Jets Committed to NATO — "Deterring Russia Is Far Less Costly Than Fighting a War With Russia"

On August 19, 2026, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) sent a bipartisan letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth urging the Department to reverse planned reductions in the forces the United States commits to NATO operations in Europe. Earlier in the summer, U.S. European Command announced it would scale back its NATO commitment, including a roughly 30 percent cut to fighter jets, a reduction in reconnaissance aircraft, and the withdrawal of aerial refueling tankers. The lawmakers wrote that the decision and the speed of its implementation would weaken allied deterrence and send a troubling signal to Moscow at a moment of strain in the transatlantic relationship. The letter asked Hegseth to reconsider the cuts and to provide Congress, in writing by August 31, 2026, an explanation of how the United States intends to uphold its commitments to allied security. It arrives against a Congress that has already tried to fence in the drawdown: the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act set a 76,000-troop floor for U.S. forces in Europe and, through a provision secured by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), requires the administration to consult Congress and allies before changing force posture there. Neguse and Bacon lead the bipartisan effort from opposite parties — Bacon, a retired Air Force brigadier general, has been among the most consistent Republican critics of the administration's Europe drawdown.

“I doubt that Congress will approve, at this critical moment, reduction in force structure in Europe when Putin is more dangerous and threatening than ever.”
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) · Aug 30, 2026

A Panel of Three Trump Appointees Rules That Kalshi’s Sports Contracts Are Gambling, Not Swaps — Handing Nevada the Power to Regulate Prediction Markets, Splitting With the Third Circuit, and Sending the Whole Fight Toward the Supreme Court

On Friday, August 28, 2026, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit — all Trump appointees, ruling without dissent — held that Kalshi's sports event contracts are not "swaps" under the Commodity Exchange Act, and that federal registration with the CFTC therefore does not preempt state gaming law. The decision upheld a Nevada federal judge's ruling dissolving the injunction that had let Kalshi keep offering sports contracts in the state without a gaming license, and it applies across the Ninth Circuit to platforms including Kalshi, Crypto.com and Robinhood. It is the largest courtroom win to date for the states and tribes that have argued the prediction-market industry built a federal back door around state gambling regulation. It also creates a direct circuit split: the Third Circuit held in April that event contracts are swaps subject to exclusive CFTC jurisdiction. That split is the classic setup for Supreme Court review, and every party to the fight said so within a day. The congressional dimension is a bipartisan Nevada bill. Rep. Steven Horsford (D) and Rep. Mark Amodei (R) introduced the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act in July 2026 to write the state-and-tribal-jurisdiction rule into statute rather than leave it to litigation; Sens. Adam Schiff, John Curtis and Catherine Cortez Masto have a Senate companion, and Rep. Dina Titus has a separate bill, the Fair Markets and Sports Integrity Act. Horsford's response to the ruling was to treat it as leverage rather than a finish line: "the fight is not over," and Congress should pass the bill before the Supreme Court takes the question away. Nevada's Republican governor, Joe Lombardo — a former Clark County sheriff who oversees the state whose gaming regulators brought the case — welcomed the ruling in the same terms, saying sports-event contracts are gambling and must comply with Nevada's licensing regime. Arizona's attorney general, whose criminal case against Kalshi a federal judge had blocked in May, said the decision was a significant win for state authority and that her office was reviewing what it means for that prosecution.

“The Ninth Circuit affirmed what Nevadans have always known: prediction markets are gambling. This is an important victory for States’ and Tribes’ authority to regulate gambling. But the fight is not over.”
Steven Horsford (D-NV) · Aug 28, 2026

Congress Passes 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (Senate 85-5, House 358-32) — Trump Cancels Signing Ceremony

Congress passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, the largest housing-affordability bill in decades, with the Senate approving it 85-5 on June 22, 2026 and the House passing it 358-32 on June 23, 2026. All 32 House no votes and all five Senate no votes were Republicans; all Democrats present voted yes. The bipartisan package streamlines federal housing-finance regulations, lets some builders bypass environmental reviews, creates a grant program for preapproved housing designs, and limits large institutional investors from buying single-family homes. It was led by Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren, and House Financial Services Chairman French Hill and Ranking Member Maxine Waters. In a twist, President Trump abruptly canceled the planned signing ceremony, calling the bill "a yawn" and vowing not to sign it until Congress passes the SAVE America Act requiring proof of citizenship to vote.

“The housing crisis is a national emergency. Do something to make life more affordable for hardworking American taxpayers. Sign the bill.”
Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) · Jul 2, 2026

House Passes Iran War Powers Resolution 215-208, First Successful Vote Since War Began

The House passed a war powers resolution on June 3, 2026, directing President Trump to end military hostilities with Iran — the first time such a measure has cleared either chamber since the conflict began more than three months earlier. The 215-208 vote saw four Republicans cross party lines: Reps. Thomas Massie (KY), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), Tom Barrett (MI), and Warren Davidson (OH). Every Democrat voted in favor, including Rep. Jared Golden (ME) who had opposed three previous attempts. The resolution is largely symbolic — Senate passage is unlikely and Trump would almost certainly veto it — but it represents a significant bipartisan rebuke of the administration's handling of the war.

“The president is now in the process of concluding a peace agreement, and we have to allow him the latitude to do that.”
Mike Johnson (R-LA) · Jun 3, 2026

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