Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Pulte cuts his inspector general’s budget 61%, ending its mortgage fraud investigations, a crime he claims to prioritize.
Ohio’s Republican-led legislature passes a 90-day gas tax holiday Democratic governor candidate Acton proposed first, as fuel prices threaten GOP chances five weeks before the election.
Trump sends $500 checks and a personal letter to 950,000 Obamacare enrollees in 30 states, a month before the midterms.
Trump demands Fed governor Powell resign over the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation, after its watchdog finds no crime or misconduct.
Trump says South Korea will invest $54 billion in an Alaska natural gas pipeline Seoul says it’s still reviewing for commercial viability.
Senate confirms acting Labor Secretary Sonderling 47-41 along party lines, filling a Cabinet seat officially empty since his predecessor resigned in April.
Boulder County, Colorado, grants $11 million to help about 1,000 mobile home park residents counter an anonymous buyer’s $42.5 million offer for their park.
Above-average rents cause 16% to 34% of poverty in 10 states including California, New York and Maryland, a Pew analysis finds.
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi expects a formal US reply to Tehran’s seven-day ceasefire and Hormuz reopening plan Trump has publicly rejected.
Georgia Gov. Kemp suspends the state gas tax for 30 days by emergency order, cutting 33 cents a gallon from gasoline and 37 from diesel.
Trump dines with Anthropic CEO Amodei as he rejects AI regulation, saying if companies don’t fix problems, “that’s why you have the Department of Justice.”
Texas Gov. Abbott declares a statewide disaster over diesel at $5.86 a gallon, up from $3.30 in February, seven months into the Iran war.
Transportation Department cuts fuel economy target to 34.9 mpg by 2031, below Trump’s own 2020 rollback, as pump prices hit records.
Trump confirms rejecting Iran’s offer to reopen Hormuz, as Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister tells the UN the world has failed to protect Gulf shipping.
AI lab finds agents apparently from OpenAI tried to hack an Education Department website, as OpenAI discloses its agents also used SEC and Census sites.
Michigan Gov. Whitmer signs laws requiring landlords to offer at least one fee-free way to pay rent and allowing electronic security deposit refunds.
New York sues Polymarket as an illegal gambling operation, despite a Trump administration regulator’s claim of sole power over prediction markets.
Senate rejects resolution to end the Iran war 49-50, as Republican Sen. Cassidy votes no after huddling with Majority Leader Thune.
Iran’s foreign minister says Iran gave US mediators a seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, largely mirroring the June memorandum Trump signed.
Trump personally greets China’s President Xi on the tarmac as Treasury Secretary Bessent extends the trade truce two months, short of what China wanted.
Treasury Secretary Bessent reported at least $100,000 of his husband’s JPMorgan stock as bank cash, and his department’s inspector general finds no “knowing violation.”
Nine states sue to block Trump administration deals paying wind developers to cancel offshore leases and invest in fossil fuel projects instead.
Trump administration cancels Affordable Care Act coverage for more than 760,000 people in enrollments it calls unauthorized, cracking down on insurance brokers.
Trump agrees to technical talks on New York Mayor Mamdani’s 12,000-home Queens rail yard plan, seven months after the pitch, but commits no money.
Delaware takes over its farm-to-community food program, making it permanent state law after the Agriculture Department canceled its federal funding last year.
Maine’s housing agency reopens eviction prevention aid Monday, paying past-due rent plus up to 12 months more for renters owing no more than $9,600.
Federal judge orders EPA to reinstate $7 billion in Solar for All grants for 900,000 lower-income households, ruling Trump’s budget law cannot cancel existing grants.
Trump signs the late Sen. Graham’s Russia sanctions bill, gaining power to put 100% tariffs on the top five buyers of Russian oil and gas.
Trump says all 50 states joined most-favored-nation Medicaid drug pricing that “alone should win us the midterms,” as experts say Medicaid patients already pay little.
40 states and DC force subprime auto lender Credit Acceptance to forgive $634 million for 55,000 borrowers after the federal consumer bureau dropped the case.
California Gov. Newsom signs the nation’s first smoke-damage testing and cleanup standards, forcing insurers to pay after 13,000 claims from the 2025 Los Angeles fires.
Senate Agriculture Committee advances the farm bill on party lines, McConnell’s return supplying the vote it lacked in August, as Democrats hold out over food stamp cost shifts.
Trump warns the European Union that making Canada an associate member could be a “hostile act” and threatens “very heavy tariffs” on Europe in response.
Federal Reserve under Trump-picked Chair Warsh unanimously raises rates a quarter point, the first hike since 2023, 12 days after Trump demanded cuts.
Seattle Mayor Wilson signs a ban on rental junk fees like pet rent and package charges into law, letting the city sue landlords for triple the illegal amount.
Trump tells a North Carolina rally “hopefully we’re toward the end” of the Iran war, a week after saying it ends “immediately after” the midterms.
Treasury Secretary Bessent tells Congress Trump’s $5,000 checks won’t add to the $40 trillion debt but refuses to say how, calling the plan “in process.”
Senate Democrats block the Clarity Act crypto bill, far short of the 60 votes needed, after Republicans refuse ethics rules covering Trump family crypto profits.
Federal watchdog finds paid administrative leave hit $9.5 billion last year, up 435% since 2023, mostly for 144,000 employees paid not to work before resigning.
Congressional Budget Office puts the Iran war at $38 billion through August 1, growing up to $3 billion a month, with interceptor stocks depleted for years.
Kentucky Gov. Beshear erases $250 million in medical debt for more than 130,000 residents by spending $2.5 million in state housing money.
San Francisco Mayor Lurie unveils $30 million rent-emergency package capping rent-controlled increases at 10% a year and replacing expiring federal vouchers for 650 households.
Pentagon watchdog tallies $33.4 billion Iran war cost through June and finds the $22.3 billion in munitions fired left US stockpiles short, as oil holds above $100.
House Speaker Johnson says Trump’s $5,000 election-conditioned dividend checks need Congress to act, three days after Trump claimed tariff revenue lets him skip a vote.
Trump promises to lift the tariff on Irish whiskey while at his Doonbeg resort, five days after banning Canadian whisky and most other Canadian alcohol.
Trump tells Ukraine to stop striking Russian diesel refineries, blaming Kyiv for a global shortage experts tie to the Iran war and closed Strait of Hormuz.
San Diego transit agencies freeze fares at $2.50 for riders on CalFresh, Medi-Cal or CalWORKs ahead of the region’s first fare hike since 2009.
Trump says $1.2 trillion election-conditioned dividend needs no congressional vote, citing tariff revenue, as Commerce Secretary Lutnick points to unlaunched visa card and Intel shares.
Federal appeals court strikes down Energy Department’s emergency order keeping 64-year-old Michigan coal plant open 15 months past retirement, finding no specific shortage justified it.
New York Mayor Mamdani opens free year-round 2-K childcare for 2,000 toddlers, expanding to 12,000 next fall, as some providers still await city contract payments.