The Tariff Ruling Eliminated Nine Percentage Points of U.S. Trade Barriers Overnight
In Learning Resources, Inc. V. Trump, six justices formed a majority opinion, and with it, nearly half of America's tariff regime stopped existing. No trade negotiation produced this result. No…
When Immigration Agents Can Enter Your Home Without a Warrant
More than 63,000 TSA officers are working without pay. FEMA disaster reimbursements to states face delays, including $11 billion tied to COVID-19 pandemic costs, though the extent to which current…
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An Independent Team to Decode Government
Our articles are referenced by trusted think tanks and publications including Brookings, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, Pew Research, Snopes, The Hill, and USA Today.
Your Money & Home
When AI Companies Reach Bank-Sized Valuations, Financial Regulators Take Notice
For comparison, America's largest bank JPMorgan Chase has a market valuation of approximately $836 billion. JPMorgan manages over $4 trillion…
If the Tariff Case Goes One Way, Billions in Collected Revenue Must Be Refunded
The Supreme Court will announce a decision within days that could force the federal government to refund approximately $130 billion…
If TSA Agents Walk Out, Can They Be Fired? What Federal Workers Risk in Shutdowns
On February 14, 2026, roughly 47,000 to 50,000 Transportation Security Administration agents reported to work at America's airports knowing their…
Your Health & Safety
Civil Rights History in Schools: What Federal Education Standards Require
When Reverend Jesse Jackson died in February 2026, the national conversation about his legacy collided with an uncomfortable reality: most…
Inside the Grand Jury: How Citizens Block Prosecutions Prosecutors Want
In fiscal year 2013, federal grand juries approved charges in 99.993 percent of cases—196,964 indictments out of 196,969 matters presented.…
Inside the Grand Jury: The Citizens Who Check Prosecutorial Power
The jury refused to charge them. What Grand Juries Are Supposed to Do The Constitution requires that before the federal…
Your Voice & Rights
How Jesse Jackson’s Presidential Campaigns Reshaped Voting Rights Enforcement
Jackson launched his first presidential campaign in 1983. The law existed. The federal government had tools to enforce it. What…
TSA Agents Must Work Unpaid During Shutdowns. Here’s What Labor Law Says.
This isn't some bureaucratic oversight or emergency improvisation. It's exactly what federal law allows. The legal framework permitting the government…
The Speech or Debate Clause: Why Prosecuting Lawmakers Is Nearly Impossible
Grand juries indict more than ninety percent of the time when federal prosecutors ask them to. This wasn't one of…
Your World
Inside the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court That Oversees Section 702
That court, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, reviews every aspect of Section 702 surveillance—the government submits its surveillance rules for…
Can the NSA Search Your Messages Without a Warrant? What Section 702 Allows
This isn't a leak or a scandal. It's how Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is designed to…
Section 702 Expires April 20. What Intelligence Agencies Lose If It Lapses.
Congress faces a deadline nine weeks away. What happens if nobody blinks and the authority lapses? Intelligence officials say the…
Why Congress Keeps Fighting Over the Same Surveillance Law Every Few Years
The Trump administration wants Congress to renew Section 702—a surveillance law that lets intelligence agencies collect Americans' communications without a…
Trending Federal Guidance
Understanding the Social Security Earnings Limit
You can receive Social Security retirement or survivor benefits while still employed. However, if you begin receiving benefits before reaching your Full Retirement Age (FRA), specific rules limit how much…
USPS Package Size Limits
Whether you're shipping products nationwide as a small business owner or sending gifts to loved…
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…
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…
USPS Media Mail Rules and Restrictions
Media Mail is an economy shipping service provided by the USPS specifically for sending media…
Other Top Federal Guidance
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 in the United States. Enacted…
Does Medicare Cover Dental and Vision? Exploring Your Options
Most Americans approaching 65 face a rude awakening about Medicare: the program that covers heart surgery and cancer treatment won't…
Understanding School and College Responsibilities Under FERPA
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a cornerstone federal law in the United States that governs the…
Final Paycheck Laws: When Employers Must Pay Departing Employees
The end of an employment relationship involves several administrative steps, with the final paycheck being a crucial element. Understanding when…
Navigating Health Insurance Outside of Open Enrollment: Understanding Special Enrollment Periods
The main time for individuals and families to sign up for health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace occurs during…
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The Legal Architecture That Makes Federal Agencies ‘Independent’
Congress didn't declare federal agencies "independent" and hope for the best. Over more than a century, lawmakers wrote specific rules into law—rules about firing officials, boards with overlapping terms, funding…
Trump Order Targets Independent Agencies: What the Fed, FEC, and CFPB Could Lose
On February 18, 2025, President Trump signed an order that requires agencies that Congress deliberately set up to operate independently—the Federal Reserve, the Federal Election Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection…
Why Congress Created Agencies the President Can’t Fire—And Whether That Still Holds
On February 18, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order that attempts to bring agencies that Congress set up to be independent from the president—the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the…
When the White House Blocks Your Agency’s Rule: Legal Options for Fighting Back
On February 18, 2025, President Trump signed an order that requires independent regulatory agencies—the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and others Congress…
How Emergency Economic Powers Work—And What Counts as an Emergency
By late 2025, small business owners across America were paying more than $16 billion monthly in levies imposed under a law most Americans have never heard of. Tristan Wright makes…
The Federal Process for Designating New Civil Rights Historic Sites
The death of Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson on February 17, 2026, at age 84 set off an immediate scramble among preservationists. Not the usual scramble—the kind where historians debate legacy…
The Supreme Court’s Opinion Schedule: Who Decides What Gets Released When
Most Americans will learn about Supreme Court decisions through news headlines, probably while scrolling their phones. What they won't see is the months of invisible maneuvering that determined why these…
When SCOTUS Rules, Federal Agencies Have 30 Days to Respond. Here’s What Happens.
On February 20, the justices are expected to release opinions in cases involving Trump's tariff authority and Louisiana's congressional redistricting. Both rulings will trigger immediate implementation challenges and put federal…
Speech or Debate Clause: The Constitutional Shield for Congressional Speech
On February 10, 2026, twenty-three ordinary citizens sitting in a federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. did something that a former federal judge had never witnessed in nearly twenty years on…
The Sedition Law Prosecutors Tried to Use Against Democratic Lawmakers
In 2010, federal grand juries refused only 11 of 162,000 proposed indictments. That's about 0.007 percent—roughly one in fifteen thousand. The system is designed to make indictments routine. So on…
What Safeguards Exist Against Weaponizing Criminal Law for Politics
A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. did something this week that almost never happens: they refused to indict. The target was six Democratic members of Congress. The charge prosecutors…