If the Supreme Court Sides with Trump, Congress Loses Its Oldest Power
When the First Congress convened in 1789, it didn't start with grand speeches about democracy or the rights of man. It passed a tariff bill. The Tariff Act of 1789…
Major Questions Doctrine: The Supreme Court Tool Reshaping Presidential Power
The federal government has collected $287 billion in customs duties in 2025 alone—a 192% increase over the previous year—while the Supreme Court deliberates whether the president can impose these tariffs…
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An Independent Team to Decode Government
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Your Money & Home
How CFIUS Reviews Dual-Use Technology Mergers for National Security
A small federal committee called CFIUS has the power to reshape, delay, or kill Elon Musk's $1.25 trillion merger between…
FCC Spectrum Limits Were Designed for Dozens of Operators. One Wants Millions of Satellites.
SpaceX operates over 9,400 satellites. When Elon Musk announced the company's acquisition of xAI in a deal valued at $1.25…
Can the FTC Block Private Company Mergers? The Authority Is Murky.
Elon Musk announced a $1.25 trillion deal in early February 2026: SpaceX would acquire xAI. The deal raised a question…
Your Health & Safety
How State Criminal Cases Can Jump to Federal Court—And Why It Rarely Happens
A federal judge in Manhattan heard arguments about something that almost never happens in American criminal law: whether to move…
The Supreme Court Immunity Ruling Now Complicating Trump’s Hush Money Case
On January 10, 2025, a New York judge sentenced Donald Trump to an unconditional discharge—a sentence with no punishment at…
What Happens to a Conviction If a Case Moves to Federal Court After Trial
A former president sits convicted in New York state court while a federal judge decides whether that conviction should be…
Your Voice & Rights
The Constitutional Limits on Federal Control of State Elections
But there's a problem. The Constitution might not allow it. The question isn't whether these policies are good or bad—though…
Voter Roll Purges: What Due Process Protections the Law Requires
The Make Elections Great Again Act, introduced by House Republicans in late January 2026 under the leadership of Rep. Bryan…
If MEGA Act Passes, These Voting Rights Act Protections Could Vanish
This bill doesn't repeal the Voting Rights Act. It creates rules that directly conflict with the VRA—you can't follow both…
Your World
What New START’s Expiration Means for Nuclear War Risk
On February 5, 2026, the last treaty constraining the nuclear arsenals of the world's two largest nuclear powers expired at…
Can a President Let a Senate-Ratified Treaty Expire Without Congressional Approval?
At midnight on February 5, 2026, the world's last remaining major arms control pact expired. No replacement exists. What makes…
When Presidents Call Foreign Leaders: How the State Department Preps These Calls
When Donald Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 4, 2026, the call itself lasted perhaps an hour.…
Presidential Foreign Policy Powers Have Few Limits. Here’s Why.
On February 4, 2026, President Donald Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping for 90 minutes—discussing Taiwan's future, Iranian nuclear…
Trending Federal Guidance
Understanding Your Passport Costs: A Clear Guide to Fees
Getting a U.S. passport is your ticket to international travel, but understanding the associated costs can be confusing. This guide breaks down the different fees for obtaining or renewing your…
USPS Package Size Limits
Whether you're shipping products nationwide as a small business owner or sending gifts to loved…
Understanding the Social Security Earnings Limit
You can receive Social Security retirement or survivor benefits while still employed. However, if you…
Exempt vs. Non-Exempt Employees: Understanding Your Rights Under the FLSA
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the cornerstone of federal wage and hour law…
Step-by-Step Guide for Applying for Social Security Benefits
Navigating Social Security benefits doesn't have to be complicated. This guide breaks down the application…
Other Top Federal Guidance
USPS Media Mail Rules and Restrictions
Media Mail is an economy shipping service provided by the USPS specifically for sending media items. Its primary purpose is…
Navigating Taxes for Deceased Relatives
Dealing with the financial affairs of a loved one who has passed away is challenging, and tax obligations are a…
Renewing Your U.S. Passport: A Step-by-Step Guide
Keeping your U.S. passport current is essential for international travel and serves as a secure form of federal identification. This…
What the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Does
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the United States' premier biomedical research agency and one of the most influential…
Inside a USPS Sorting Center: How Your Mail Gets Sorted
The journey of a letter or package begins with dropping it into a mailbox or handing it over at a…
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The Federal Reserve Was Built to Be Independent. Here’s How That Works.
When federal prosecutors served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas in January 2026, most news coverage focused on the constitutional drama: Could a president investigate the nation's central bank…
DOJ Probes Fed Chair Powell: What’s at Risk When Criminal Law Meets Central Banking
In January 2026, the Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over his congressional testimony about a building renovation. Nearly every mainstream economist and…
No Fed Chair Has Faced Criminal Investigation Before. Why This Is Unprecedented.
Federal prosecutors issued legal orders demanding Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appear before a grand jury on Friday, January 10, 2026, threatening to formally charge him with a crime. The…
What Congress Can Do If DOJ Investigations Threaten Fed Independence
In January 2026, the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for statements he made to the Senate Banking Committee about a building renovation.…
Can State Prosecutors Charge a President? The Constitutional Question at Stake
The Second Circuit's November 2025 order doesn't cancel Trump's 34-count felony conviction for falsifying business records. But it does something that could matter more: it forces a federal judge to…
Can a President Unilaterally Exit Treaties? The Constitutional Answer Is Murky.
But a fundamental constitutional question remained unresolved: Does the President have the legal power to terminate treaties without congressional approval? The Constitution is strikingly clear about one thing: making treaties…
Trump Exits 66 International Bodies: What the U.S. Loses in Global Influence
In January 2026 (announced January 7-8, 2026), President Donald Trump signed a memorandum directing the United States to withdraw from 66 international organizations. The list includes 31 UN entities and…
What Happens to U.S. Funding After Withdrawing from International Organizations
The United States owes the United Nations over $4 billion in unpaid bills. Now the administration is moving to withdraw from dozens of international organizations entirely, setting off a tangled…
Does Congress Have Power to Block Treaty Withdrawals? The Legal Battle Ahead
On February 4, 2026, President Trump signed a directive ordering the United States to exit sixty-six international organizations and treaties simultaneously—the largest mass withdrawal from global commitments in American history.…
How Criminal Contempt of Congress Works—And When It’s Actually Enforced
On February 3, 2026, something unusual happened: Bill and Hillary Clinton agreed to testify before Congress about what they knew about Jeffrey Epstein. They'd spent months resisting. Their lawyers had…
Do Former Presidents Have Special Privileges to Refuse Congressional Testimony?
The agreement to provide private testimony sessions later this month represents a dramatic collision between two fundamentally different views of executive power: whether former officials can claim constitutional protections that…