Donald Trump emailed termination notices to the two Democrats who oversee America’s voting machines and let the lone Republican resign.
Congress built the Election Assistance Commission with two Democrats and two Republicans so that neither party controls it. Four months before the midterms, the commission cannot legally act.
The White House says the president can remove anyone not “totally aligned” with securing elections. Firing the Democrats while sparing the Republican tells you what aligned means. Trump already ordered this commission to add a proof of citizenship requirement to the voter registration form, and its commissioners refused. Now there are no commissioners.
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Secret Service urges Trump off the Qatari-gifted Air Force One for the leg near Iran, and he reboards it in England for the safe flight home.
Today’s GovBrief News
U.S. strikes kill at least 14 in Iran and hit the Bushehr nuclear plant perimeter as Trump claims Tehran "wants to make a deal so badly."
Source: CBS News
July 9, 2026
Michigan's cyclosporiasis outbreak passes 1,200 cases with 44 hospitalized as investigators still cannot find the source and neighboring Ohio counties report 500 more.
Source: Ars Technica
July 9, 2026
Trump fires every remaining Election Assistance Commission member, freezing the federal agency that certifies voting machines four months before the midterms.
Source: Votebeat
July 9, 2026
Judge admonishes Chicago US Attorney Boutros for revealing sealed suspect photos at a DOJ press conference while one Tren de Aragua defendant remained at large.
Source: NBC Chicago
July 9, 2026
Justice Department sues Maryland over its new law limiting police cooperation with ICE, the 21st federal suit against state sanctuary policies.
Source: WBAL Baltimore
July 9, 2026
Appeals court upholds Illinois's assault weapons ban 2-1 a week after the Supreme Court agreed to review similar bans, with a Trump appointee writing the majority.
Source: Courthouse News Service
July 9, 2026
Judge says the man charged with killing Guard member Sarah Beckstrom is in "dire circumstances" after a jail hunger strike, some days refusing water.
Source: The Independent
July 9, 2026
Ohio grand jury indicts 8 men on terrorism and murder conspiracy charges in a foiled drone and sniper attack targeting Trump's June White House UFC event.
Source: The Associated Press
July 9, 2026
Three-time Olympian David Hearn pleads not guilty to felony property destruction for touching peeling coating on the Reflecting Pool during a June bike ride.
Source: WTTG Washington
July 9, 2026
ICE's acting director tells Rep. Sylvia Garcia that agents who killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo were not targeting him and wore no body cameras.
Source: The Texas Tribune
July 9, 2026
White House wraps the North Portico in scaffolding to repair column "dings" Trump spotted greeting world leaders, Interior Secretary Burgum says.
Source: The HIll
July 9, 2026
USDA slashes its reported beef export sales 90% after publishing record numbers to Chile and Italy it had defended as confirmed a week earlier.
Source: Reuters
July 9, 2026
Federal planning commission approves preliminary plans 8-1 for Trump's 250-foot arch that preservationists say would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial and loom over Arlington's graves.
Source: UPI
July 9, 2026
Palm Beach International becomes Donald J. Trump International, the first US airport named for a sitting president, with the FAA identifier now reading DJT.
Source: WPBF West Palm Beach
July 9, 2026
Baltimore sends city crews into every council district for 24 weeks of street sweeping, pothole repair, graffiti removal, and rodent control.
Source: WMAR Baltimore
July 9, 2026
Federal judge orders GEO Group to let Washington inspectors inside its Tacoma ICE facility after years of refusal and 3,500 uninvestigated complaints.
Source: The Washington State Standard
July 9, 2026