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Congress

11 briefs

power 2026-04-17

Ten Republicans Voted Against Trump on Immigration. It Will Not Matter.

The House passed a bill protecting Haitian immigrants. The Senate will kill it. Trump will veto anything that survives. The vote was not for policy; it was for the record.

power 2026-04-16

The Fourth Time Is Not the Charm

Senate Republicans blocked the Iran war powers resolution again. But the 60-day War Powers Act clock is ticking, and their private words no longer match their public votes.

decision 2026-04-14

The Aviation Safety Bill Was Too Weak. Then Congress Weakened It More.

67 people died in the Potomac River crash 15 months ago. The House safety bill needs a two-thirds vote tonight. Victims' families say it lacks strict timelines. Senators Cruz and Cantwell say it needs improvement. The NTSB said the original was 'watered down.'

power 2026-04-14

The Surveillance Law Both Parties Hate Is About to Lapse

FISA Section 702 expires April 20. The White House wants a clean extension. House Republicans are blocking it for warrant requirements. The military says a lapse would blind US intelligence in an active war.

power 2026-04-14

The Court Ordered $133 Billion Back. Now What?

The Supreme Court struck down Trump's IEEPA tariffs. A federal court ordered refunds. Trump is already testing a workaround using a different statute. The constitutional crisis is just starting.

power 2026-04-12

Regulate the Machine or Regulate the Person

Both parties want to regulate AI but disagree on the target: Republicans want to control how the technology is built; Democrats want to control how individuals misuse it. The difference is not semantic.

power 2026-04-12

Funding Half a Border Agency

Congress reopened DHS after 40 days but left ICE and Border Patrol unfunded. Now Republicans want reconciliation to finish the job without Democrats. The shutdown is over in name only.

power 2026-04-11

Two Parties, Two Theories of What AI Is

Both parties want to regulate AI, but they disagree on whether the problem is the technology itself or what people do with it, and that gap cannot be bridged.

power 2026-04-11

Shutdown Theater

DHS ordered furloughed workers back to their desks during a shutdown, which is either a constitutional violation or proof that 'shutdown' no longer means what it used to.

power 2026-04-09

Congress Ended the DHS Shutdown by Defunding the Part Trump Actually Wanted

The Senate reopened DHS after 52 days by funding TSA, FEMA, and Coast Guard while leaving ICE Enforcement and Border Patrol without appropriations. The administration called it a win. It wasn't.

power 2026-04-09

Zero Federal AI Laws, 1,561 State Bills, and a White House Framework Nobody Has to Follow

The US has no binding AI law while the EU enforces its Act across 27 countries. The federal-state collision is now the biggest AI governance story in the world.