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Browse major news stories and see what officials have said.

Sep 23, 2026

As Xi Jinping Arrives for a State Visit, Senate Democrats Demand Votes on Three Bipartisan Bills to Keep America's AI Chips Out of China — Chuck Schumer Says "Trump Is Handing China the Technology It Needs to Win the AI Race," Elizabeth Warren Says Jensen Huang "Should Be Nowhere Near the Negotiating Table," and the White House Says It Has "the Most Rigorous Export Control Regime in Modern History"

On September 23, 2026 — the day Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for his first U.S. state visit since 2015 — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, Andy Kim and Elissa Slotkin called on Majority Leader John Thune to bring three bipartisan chip export-control bills to the floor: Sen. Jim Banks's AI OVERWATCH Act, which would write Trump's ban on sales of the most powerful AI chips to adversaries into law for 18 months and require licenses for "countries of concern"; the MATCH Act from Sens. Pete Ricketts and Schumer, which would align controls on chipmaking equipment with allied suppliers; and Sen. Tom Cotton's Chip Security Act, which would require location tracking on advanced chips. All three passed House Foreign Affairs by wide margins and were folded into the Senate NDAA manager's amendment, but the defense bill has been stalled since Senate Democrats blocked it in July over the Iran war and the Pentagon topline. Democrats pointed to Trump's earlier decision to let Nvidia sell H200 chips to China and to reports that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang would attend the state dinner. The White House answered that the administration has "the most rigorous export control regime in modern history." Days earlier, Republican Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz had said Huang's argument against tight controls was "not a frivolous argument," while Democrats Mark Warner and Chris Coons questioned it.

“This is not some idea that we have. It is actual legislation that we have ready to go.”
Andy Kim (D-NJ) · Sep 23, 2026

Trump Orders Russ Vought to Draft an Executive Order Giving a White House Board Veto Power Over NIH Grants — Susan Collins Calls It "Contrary to Congressional Intent," Patty Murray Calls the Board "a Panel of Lackeys," and Two Days Later Collins Says "the White House Listened"

After NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya declined to cut off funding for Harvard researchers, President Trump directed OMB Director Russ Vought to draft an executive order creating a review board — including Vought and Bhattacharya — that would have to unanimously sign off on National Institutes of Health grant awards, including grants already selected through peer review. The plan drew immediate objections on September 21, 2026 from the top appropriators of both parties: Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME), Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). Collins followed with a September 22 letter to Vought and Bhattacharya urging the administration to send Congress a legislative proposal instead. On September 23, Semafor and The Hill reported the administration was backing off the order; Collins said White House chief of staff Susie Wiles shared concerns and that "the White House listened." The stopgap funding law already bars a similar government-wide political review of grants through December 11.

“We should not have a politicized process for awarding research and biomedical grants to institutions. It needs to be merit-based, and I'm glad that the White House listened to those of us who were making that argument. … What we're hearing — and I've been weighing in with the White House — is that [chief of staff] Susie Wiles is also concerned about what the impact of this would be. And I am hoping … that the executive order won't be issued.”
Susan Collins (R-ME) · Sep 23, 2026

ProPublica Reports the FBI's Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins Over a Defense Contractor's $150,000 to Her Super PAC — Until Trump Returned and the Probe Was Dropped — Collins Calls It "Clearly a Political Hit Job," John Thune Blames "a Left-Wing Outlet," and Her Democratic Opponent Says "This Is Corruption of the Highest Order"

On September 22, 2026, ProPublica reported that an FBI public-corruption squad had been seeking approval by late 2024 to open a wider bribery investigation touching Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), built on previously undisclosed FBI interviews with Martin Kao, the former CEO of Hawaii defense contractor Navatek, who is serving an 87-month sentence after pleading guilty in 2022 to illegal campaign contributions and fraud. Kao told agents that after a November 2019 meeting with the head of the pro-Collins super PAC, who allegedly asked for $500,000, he routed $150,000 to the PAC through a shell company, and that Collins had committed to steering Navy research contracts to the company. According to ProPublica, the inquiry was abandoned after Trump returned to office and FBI Director Kash Patel removed the agents and dismantled the unit handling it. Collins, who faces Democrat Troy Jackson in one of the most competitive Senate races of the midterms, denies any wrongdoing, noting that the Biden Justice Department found none in 2021, and blamed the report on Chuck Schumer. The FBI said the allegations "had already been investigated by the FBI years ago and ultimately found nothing implicating Senator Collins or Senator Collins' campaign." The New York Times separately reported that agents had found little to corroborate Kao's claims.

“[Thune called the report a] political hit job by a left-wing outlet. … I don't think there's ever been any implication that she or her campaign were in any way implicated in that.”
John Thune (R-SD) · Sep 23, 2026

Sep 23, 2026· Updated

An ICE Officer Shoots a DoorDash Driver in North Austin, Then Agents Move Him Into Federal Custody Before His Wife Can See Him — Greg Casar Says "The Horror Has Come to Our City," and Austin's Mayor Says "Austinites Have a Right to Know What Happened"

Just before 1 p.m. on Sunday, September 20, 2026, an ICE officer shot and wounded Wilber Rafael Garcés Perez, 28, a Venezuelan DoorDash driver, during a vehicle stop and pursuit in North Austin. ICE said it had targeted his car over a license-plate check tied to a final removal order; his attorney says he entered the country legally and held a valid work permit. Garcés Perez called his wife at 12:30 p.m. to tell her he had been shot. He was hospitalized in serious but stable condition, then moved by federal agents to an undisclosed location — without being allowed to see his wife first — before landing in ICE custody pending removal. Rep. Greg Casar posted the same morning that "the horror has come to our city," and hours later sent DHS a formal letter demanding release of the unedited body-camera footage, preservation of evidence, and a briefing for Congress by September 28. Rep. Joaquin Castro said "Trump has allowed ICE to flood our streets and put our communities in harms way again and again and Governor Abbott is complicit every time." Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said "Austinites have a right to know what happened." Texas Senate candidate James Talarico said past incidents show "this agency cannot be trusted to report all the facts," and called for a full independent investigation with all footage released. DHS, without naming Garcés Perez, said he had a final removal order and entered during the Biden administration; Homeland Security Investigations, with FBI assistance, is leading the review.

“If you saw Wilbur, just like if you saw anybody that had been shot three days ago, you would say this person needs a doctor, not a deportation, or a detention center. Why was he taken from the hospital?”
Gregorio Casar (D-TX) · Sep 23, 2026

Sep 23, 2026· Updated

Trump Announces He Will Meet Venezuela's Acting President Delcy Rodríguez in New York — the First Sit-Down Between a U.S. President and a Venezuelan Leader in Eleven Years — and Lifts Her Country's Drug Blacklisting Over "Positive Progress," While Rick Scott Calls Her "the Head of the Drug Cartels" and Maria Elvira Salazar Calls the Meeting a "Necessary Evil"

Eight months after a U.S. military operation captured Nicolás Maduro and installed his former vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, as acting president, the White House announced Trump will meet her on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York — the first meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a Venezuelan head of state since 2015. Days before the announcement, Trump also removed Venezuela from the list of countries deemed to have failed their anti-drug-trafficking commitments, citing "positive progress" under Rodríguez. The planned meeting split Florida Republicans: Sen. Rick Scott called Rodríguez "the head of the drug cartels" and warned a photo with Trump would insult Venezuelans, while Rep. María Elvira Salazar — who has previously called Rodríguez the head of Venezuela's secret police and "one of the thieves" who destroyed the country — defended the meeting as part of Trump's strategy of engaging "bad actors" to open space for "good actors," calling her a "necessary evil for now."

“There's a lot that needs to be fixed in order for Venezuela to be successful. Debt restructuring is key to that. … [Venezuela has] probably the world's largest sovereign debt that has to be restructured, [and] it has to be done in the right way. [Rubio called the meeting "short but important."]”
Marco Rubio (R-FL) · Sep 23, 2026

Sep 23, 2026· Updated

A Putin-Allied Russian Oligarch Paid for Donald Trump Jr.'s Island Wedding Celebration — the Couple Call It "an Extraordinarily Generous Wedding Gift From a Friend," the President Says "Not a Big Deal!," and Chris Murphy Tells the Senate "Never Before Has a Foreign Enemy of the United States Paid for the Family Wedding of the President"

On September 14, 2026, ProPublica reported that Umar Kremlev — a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin, secretary general of the International Boxing Association, whose boxing operations are financed by the state energy giant Gazprom — paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses for Donald Trump Jr.'s May 2026 wedding festivities in the Bahamas. According to the report, Kremlev's organization rented a private island for the roughly 50-guest post-wedding celebration at about $100,000 a night, paid an estimated $70,000 for a fireworks show and helped plan the event. Kremlev and a Russian delegation attended; so did Jared Kushner, who is helping lead U.S. negotiations with Russia over the war in Ukraine. President Trump did not attend. Hours after the report, Bettina Trump confirmed on Instagram that Kremlev "very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations" as "an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend," writing that "friendship doesn't require a political motive." A spokesperson for Trump Jr. said "Umar is a personal friend of Don." President Trump said he had "no idea who Umar is" and called the party "Not a big deal!" Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) called it "naked corruption in plain view" on the Senate floor that evening. On September 15, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, sent Trump Jr. a letter demanding he preserve all records of his relationship with Kremlev and any White House communications about the celebration, writing that the reporting "may be the most serious allegation against you to date."

“[T]he last Russia hoax cost this country years of progress. We are not doing it again over a private citizen's wedding. … Don Jr. is a businessman, not an administration official. There is no evidence he sold access to the presidency.”
Jim Banks (R-IN) · Sep 23, 2026

Sep 23, 2026· Updated

Trump Sends Witkoff and Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv With "a Proposal to End the War" — Putin Halts Strikes on Kyiv for 72 Hours, and a Republican Senator Answers That "You Don't Get Any Credit for Kissing His Ass"

Special envoy Steve Witkoff and White House adviser Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday, September 5, 2026, for more than three hours followed by dinner — the first substantive US-Russia meeting since direct talks broke down roughly six months earlier. Announcing the trip from the Oval Office the day before, President Trump called the two men "great negotiators" and said "they're bringing with them a proposal to end the war." Putin ordered a 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv so the envoys could travel on, and on Sunday, September 6, they met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv — the first visit by either man to the Ukrainian capital — touring the bomb-damaged St. Sophia's Cathedral before talks. Kushner said afterward that he and Witkoff wanted to "go back to the trilateral format" with Russia and Ukraine at the same table; Witkoff said he was "confident that there'll be a good resolution here." The White House said the delegation also thanked Putin for releasing former US Marine Robert Gilman from Russian custody. The substance of the American proposal was not released. The sharpest on-record American criticism came from within the president's own party: Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), on NBC's "Meet the Press" the same Sunday, called Putin "a pirate" with "blood under his fingernails," said "you don't get any credit for kissing his ass," and argued the United States has Putin cornered and should press the advantage rather than trade concessions.

“I think both sides have expressed an interest in some limited ceasefire that involve grain and energy. Obviously, you know, that won't be easy either. [Rubio spoke after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the U.N.]”
Marco Rubio (R-FL) · Sep 23, 2026

Sep 23, 2026· Updated

Florida Orders Flock's License-Plate Cameras Off Its State Highways and Two Days Later Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna Put Their Names on the Same Bill — the Surveillance Backlash Has Become the Rare Thing Both Parties Are Running On Nine Weeks Before the Midterms

In the first week of September 2026 the political backlash against Flock Safety's automated license plate readers — AI-powered cameras that photograph passing cars and let police reconstruct where a vehicle has been over time — turned into concrete government action in both parties at once. On Monday, September 1, the Florida Department of Transportation ordered local agencies to pull automated license plate readers off state roads within 30 days. Gov. Ron DeSantis, announcing the move, said the technology had gotten "out of control" and asked the legislature to keep Florida from becoming "some type of digital prison." More than 8,000 Flock cameras are documented in Florida, though the state-road order reaches only about 2 percent of them; the rest sit on local roads and private property. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had already frozen state spending on the cameras. On Wednesday, September 2, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) introduced the Flock-Off Act, H.R. 10221, which would bar federal funds from paying for license-plate-reader and facial-recognition camera systems except at the border or for toll collection. It does not ban the cameras. Its five cosponsors are Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) — and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). The bill joins a crowded field: Tim Burchett's Protection Against Mass Surveillance Act, the Massie-Boebert Surveillance Accountability Act, and the PRIVACY Act from Keith Self, Eli Crane and Andrew Clyde. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) have pressed the FTC to investigate Flock's cybersecurity after credentials for at least 35 customer accounts were traded on Russian cybercrime forums. As of early September, no bill in Congress would outlaw the cameras outright. By Saturday, September 5, NPR reported that candidates in races from Florida to Ohio to Wisconsin were campaigning against the cameras, and that Pennsylvania's Democratic governor and Florida's Republican governor had landed in the same place on them. The driving grievances differ by party — Democrats point to ICE's use of Flock's national lookup tool to run searches in states that bar cooperation with the agency, Republicans to the prospect of a de facto federal registry and to documented abuse by individual officers, including a Haines City, Florida officer arrested for using the system hundreds of times to track his estranged wife's car — but the conclusion has converged. Stances below record each official's position on the license-plate-reader networks themselves.

“If you haven't heard of Flock, Flock has probably heard of you. … We need the Bill of Rights now more than ever.”
Josh Hawley (R-MO) · Sep 23, 2026

Sep 23, 2026· Updated

Fauci Invokes the Fifth More Than 100 Times at Senate COVID Hearing as Rand Paul Moves to Hold Him in Contempt

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times during a roughly three-hour hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on July 29, 2026. Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-KY), who has referred Fauci to the Justice Department and accuses him of making false statements to Congress and concealing NIH involvement in coronavirus research in Wuhan, called the hearing; Fauci denies the allegations. Fauci's lawyer, David Schertler, described the proceeding as an "obsessive vendetta," and Fauci said the sole purpose was to make him say something that would vindicate Paul's public pledges to put him behind bars. Republicans hold an 8-7 majority on the panel, and several used their time to attack Fauci for declining to answer. Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-MI) called the hearing a partisan exercise. Public health experts warned the episode could have a chilling effect on federal public health staffing. On Tuesday, August 4, 2026, Paul released the text of a contempt resolution against Fauci and scheduled a committee vote for Thursday morning. Paul's position is that Fauci's Fifth Amendment protection no longer applied because of his presidential pardon, and that Fauci waived any remaining privilege by delivering opening testimony — a ruling Paul made from the chair during the hearing before ordering Fauci to answer and warning him about contempt.

“I think everybody should be for transparency, whether a Republican or a Democrat. … If she's taking orders from above, it's the person who gave the orders that needs to be either reprimanded or chastised. [Paul spoke after committee Democrats blocked a grant of immunity for Fauci's former assistant, 8-7, short of the two-thirds required.]”
Rand Paul (R-KY) · Sep 23, 2026

Sep 23, 2026· Updated

Trump Demands the Senate Cancel Its August Recess Over the SAVE America Act, Splitting Republicans and Drawing a Rebuff From Thune

President Trump demanded in late July 2026 that the Senate stay in session through its scheduled August recess until it passes the SAVE America Act — his top legislative priority, which would ban mail-in ballots and require identification and proof of citizenship to vote — or else abolish the legislative filibuster. On July 26, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) publicly objected to any motion to recess until the bill passed, and Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Ashley Moody (R-FL), Jim Banks (R-IN) and Katie Britt (R-AL) joined the push over the following days. Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) responded coolly, noting the bill had already failed on the floor multiple times and asking supporters to show him a path to an outcome; he separately rebuffed Trump's calls to eliminate the filibuster, pointing out that Republicans hold only a 53-47 majority and lack the votes for either the bill or a rules change. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who supports the underlying bill, opposed canceling the recess, saying she did not see a route to 60 votes. Trump said he had not "even thought" about replacing Thune as leader but said Thune had "got to get his job done." The House had already begun its August recess.

“Let's make it easy to vote and let's make it hard to cheat. [Lee said on the Senate floor as he asked unanimous consent to pass the SAVE America Act.]”
Mike Lee (R-UT) · Sep 23, 2026

Vance's Fraud Task Force Cancels Obamacare Coverage for More Than 760,000 People It Calls "Phantoms" — the Vice President Says "This Is Not About Cutting Off Anybody From Their Benefits," Dr. Oz Says "We're Not Paying Insurance for Nonexistent Ghosts," and Chuck Schumer Says the Administration's Answer to Rising Costs Is to "Kick Hundreds of Thousands More People Off Their Health Insurance"

On September 22, 2026, Vice President JD Vance's White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services was cancelling roughly 315,000 federal-marketplace Affordable Care Act enrollments covering more than 760,000 people, saying they were fraudulent or ineligible and that the move would return about $2.2 billion in taxpayer-funded subsidies. Another 419,000 enrollments were flagged for additional checks on immigration status and income, and CMS froze new agent and broker registrations for six months. Officials pointed to one ring of 40 brokers they said had enrolled 50,000 people. CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz called the cancelled enrollees "phantoms" and said about 35% of exchange enrollees never used their coverage. Vance insisted the effort was "not about cutting off anybody from their benefits." Health-policy analysts warned that legitimate enrollees who simply missed a notice could lose coverage. The cancellations apply only to the federal HealthCare.gov marketplace, not to states running their own exchanges such as California. Democrats called it retribution disguised as fraud enforcement, six weeks before the midterms and as premiums rise after the expiration of enhanced ACA subsidies.

“We're actually making sure that the people receiving Obamacare subsidies are actually entitled to receive them. Amazingly, we weren't doing that before. … This is not about cutting off anybody from their benefits. It's about cutting off fraudsters from stealing from these programs. … We had a system in this country that rewarded brokers, that made people rich for enrolling fake people in programs that are meant to ensure that our fellow citizens have health care. This was a scandal.”
JD Vance (R-OH) · Sep 22, 2026

Families of Five People Killed by Federal Immigration Agents Tell a Democratic Shadow Hearing the Government's "Falsehoods" Amount to "Dual Assassinations" — Richard Blumenthal Says the Anger "Ought to Be Directed at Congress" Too, and Alex Padilla Promises Investigations "When We Get the Gavels Back"

On September 22, 2026, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the ranking members of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and the House Oversight Committee, convened their fifth bicameral "shadow hearing" on immigration enforcement in a Senate office building. Relatives of five people killed by ICE or CBP agents — Ruben Ray Martinez, Renée Good, Alex Pretti, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, who was shot in Biddeford, Maine — described what they called official falsehoods, obstruction of investigations and smears of the victims. Democrats in the minority cannot compel testimony or issue subpoenas; members at the forum pledged formal investigations if their party wins control of either chamber in November.

“We're all committed to accountability in all its forms, and when we get the gavels back, we're going to move on that aggressively, starting with the investigations.”
Alex Padilla (D-CA) · Sep 22, 2026

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