Political Spectrum

The Justice Department began notifying counties this week that it plans to send monitors on Election Day, NPR reports; counties in Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Texas and Washington have been told so far. Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon said last month the department would send 1,000 observers nationwide, which she called the largest monitoring effort in its history. In the last midterm year, 2022, the department monitored 64 jurisdictions in 24 states. A DOJ spokesperson said details will be shared closer to the election and that the department prioritizes places with competitive elections.

Officials in three states told NPR they were not initially notified alongside their counties, as in past cycles; after NPR asked the department, several said they then received notice. In Colorado, Adams County's Democratic clerk said he suspected political motives because the neighboring Republican-run county that shares a toss-up district was not contacted. Wyoming's Republican governor had raised concerns about monitors' behavior in the August primary, which the DOJ disputes.

The New York Times reported on October 20 that the family of Venezuelan banker Julio Herrera Velutini hired Alina Habba, Trump's former personal lawyer, as general counsel of Concord Partners, a Florida company set up by his daughter. Herrera had been charged over an alleged scheme to bribe Puerto Rico's governor and in August 2025 pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor campaign-finance violation. According to the Times, the deal guaranteed Habba more than $50 million over four years including bonuses, and was finalized while she was still U.S. attorney in New Jersey. She started on January 1, 2026; weeks later Trump granted Herrera a full and unconditional pardon. The Times reports his daughter had given $3.5 million to a super PAC tied to Trump.

Habba said any suggestion her job had to do with securing a pardon is false. The Justice Department said she "did not speak to anyone about a pardon," and a White House official said she "had nothing to do with the pardon."

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee told members on October 21 that it will no longer issue endorsements, make direct PAC contributions or earmark funds for candidates, NPR reports. AIPAC began direct political involvement five years ago. Its letter said it will instead prioritize "direct, organized contributions from individual Americans to candidates." Its affiliated super PAC, United Democracy Project, will keep operating and can raise unlimited money.

According to FEC filings cited by NPR, AIPAC gave nearly $25 million to candidates and political committees in 2026 through Sept. 30; the super PAC contributed $13 million and spent another $53.5 million independently. A spokesperson said members gave more than $90 million directly to candidates this cycle and that this giving will "continue and increase." The change comes amid growing criticism of the group, especially among Democrats, The National reports; its super PAC has been spending against Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan.

A week after federal agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar's Washington home, White House border czar Tom Homan told Fox News that the Minnesota Democrat could be stripped of her U.S. citizenship and deported if investigators prove immigration fraud. He said he was not familiar with the details of the Justice Department's investigation but had been told the case was strong. The probe reportedly examines whether Omar or her father misrepresented her birth year on immigration paperwork decades ago. Omar has not been charged, denies the allegations and calls the investigation politically motivated.

On October 20, asked in the Oval Office about deportation, President Trump said "she could also go to jail," calling it his opinion, and disparaged Somalia, where Omar was born. Former President Barack Obama wrote that agents had raided her home "to try and uncover a nonexistent smoking gun from 20 years ago." The White House denies weaponizing the Justice Department, and Trump and Vice President JD Vance have denied involvement in the investigation.

On October 22 the Supreme Court granted New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan's emergency request and paused two October orders by U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante. A state law enacted in April removed student IDs from the forms of identification accepted when someone requests a ballot. Laplante left that law in place, but blocked Scanlan's guidance that student IDs could not be used for any purpose, including under a "safety valve" that lets officials weigh other evidence of identity. With the stay, NBC reports, student IDs cannot be used even as backup evidence in the Nov. 3 election.

The unsigned order cited precedent that lower courts "should ordinarily not alter the election rules on the eve of an election." Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented alone, writing that the injunction targeted misleading official guidance rather than changing the law. The Republican National Committee backed the state; the challenge was brought by the Coalition for Open Democracy. New Hampshire has an open U.S. Senate seat on the ballot.

An executive order dated October 16 (EO 14436) waives the sanctions, restrictions and tariffs in the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which President Trump signed into law on September 18. The law called for a 500% duty on Russian goods and 100% duties on the largest buyers of Russian oil and gas and on the top facilitators of sanctions evasion. The order says the president certified to Congress that the waivers are in the national interest; they stay in place until the administration decides further action is appropriate. Sanctions under earlier executive orders on Russia are not affected.

AP reports the waiver came days before the provisions were due to start and drew criticism from both parties. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis called it "beyond irresponsible," noting the Senate passed the law 86-11, and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Trump's "deal with the devil keeps getting dirtier." Congress is in recess until after Election Day. The waiver follows Trump's announced deal to import Russian diesel, which Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) has introduced a bill to block.

The Justice Department has sued California and asked a federal court to make the state segregate ballots from about 20,000 registered voters that federal officials call "likely noncitizens." On October 19, Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter announced charges against 28 green-card holders, all on that list, and acknowledged it may include some citizens. In an October 20 filing, state Attorney General Rob Bonta called the suit "a reckless political stunt." Los Angeles County officials reviewed a sample of 200 names; of those with a reported birthplace, 38.9% indicated they were born in the U.S., NPR reports.

Separately, on October 21 U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín barred Homeland Security officers in nine states from field operations aimed at people they know or should suspect are citizens, or based only on USCIS data matches, writing that the effort likely violates the Voting Rights Act's ban on voter intimidation. DHS said it has "no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be U.S. citizens." The order runs through election night unless it is appealed.

On October 21 the Supreme Court denied the Trump administration's request to pause a lower-court injunction against a Bureau of Prisons policy that would end hormone therapy and other treatments for transgender inmates. The order gave no reasons; Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito said they would have granted the stay.

The injunction by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth stays in place while the litigation continues; the D.C. Circuit had also declined to pause it. The class action, Kingdom v. Trump, argues the policy violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. According to the ACLU, the class covers about 1,000 inmates with a gender dysphoria diagnosis, roughly 800 of them prescribed hormones. In its filings the administration argued that providing the care puts recipients at risk of attack and raises "fairness concerns" with other inmates. NPR notes the decision is at odds with other recent rulings that sided with the administration's transgender policies.

Protests across France on October 17 over the cost of living and conditions in schools turned into rioting and looting, with at least 2,400 arrests, NPR reports. Paris imposed curfews in two zones around Place de la République and Les Halles, Lyon renewed a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew in its center, and Marseille set one for unaccompanied minors. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu told lawmakers the police deployment for new protests planned for Saturday will be "massive," and soldiers from Operation Sentinelle will guard sensitive sites. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said more than 800 people had been sent before prosecutors, and police arrested a suspect in the arson of Limoges' 143-year-old city hall.

French officials blame far-left groups and opportunistic looters; U.S. Vice President JD Vance and President Trump linked the unrest to immigration. The National Assembly is opening an inquiry into the violence and the policing strategy.

Albertans voted on October 19 on ten referendum questions. The headline question, non-binding under the order that set it, asked whether Alberta should remain a province of Canada or whether the provincial government should begin the constitutional process toward a binding referendum on separating. With more than 1.8 million votes counted and 84% of voting areas reporting, unofficial Elections Alberta results showed 75% for remaining in Canada and 25% for starting the separation process, NPR reports. Other questions asked about provincial control over immigration and eligibility for provincially funded programs.

Prime Minister Mark Carney called it "a great result for Canada." Premier Danielle Smith, who called the vote under pressure from separatists in her United Conservative Party while opposing independence, wrote that Albertans "have voted for a stronger Alberta in a united Canada." Separatist leaders said the result shows at least a quarter of Albertans want better treatment and vowed to keep going. Official results will be posted by Elections Alberta.