August 29, 2025 •
News You Can Use Digest – August 29, 2025
National/Federal
As Campaign Spending Flows Unchecked, Some States Are Trying to Impose Limits
Christian Science Monitor – Simon Montlake | Published: 8/27/2025
Most elected officials now rely on outside groups, such as super PACs, that accept unlimited donations, to help bankroll their campaigns. As fundraising breaks new records – super PACs spent around $2.7 billion in the 2024 election cycle – reform advocates in two states are pushing back. Maine and Montana are challenging, in different ways, the Supreme Court’s interpretation of campaign finance laws. Reformers hope to lay out a blueprint for how states can regulate corporations, unions, and dark money groups that play an outsize role in determining who is elected to public office.
Trump Says He’s Firing Fed Governor Lisa Cook, Opening New Front in Fight for Central Bank Control
MSN – Christopher Rugaber and Will Weissert (Associated Press) | Published: 8/26/2025
President Trump said he is firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, an unprecedented move that would constitute a sharp escalation in his battle to exert greater control over what has long been considered an institution independent from day-to-day politics. Trump said he is removing Cook effective immediately because of allegations she committed mortgage fraud. The move is likely to touch off an extensive legal battle that will probably go to the Supreme Court and could disrupt financial markets.
CDC Leaders Who Resigned Said RFK Jr. Undermined Vaccine Science, Risking Lives
MSN – Lena Sun, Lauren Weber, and David Ovalle (Washington Post) | Published: 8/28/2025
Senior leaders at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who resigned in protest after CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired, said they were asked to participate in an unscientific vaccine recommendation process they believe could harm the health of Americans. Staff and leaders of the agency are openly revolting against the Trump administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime critic of the CDC and anti-vaccine activist, after months of tension over vaccine policy and staffing cuts.
Consumer Watchdog Ends Investigation into Buy Now, Pay Later Company Linked to Donald Trump Jr.
MSN – Fatima Hussein (Associated Press) | Published: 8/22/2025
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) dropped an investigation into a buy now, pay later company with close ties to Donald Trump Jr., saying the investigation was conducted in a biased manner and based off politics. The closure of the investigation also comes when the CFPB, which helps oversee the nation’s banks and financial services companies, has been undoing rulemaking, dropping other cases, and ending law enforcement work that was done under previous administrations, including President Trump’s first term.
Trump Repeatedly Pointed a Finger at Bolton in the Days Before Raids
MSN – Natalie Allison and Michael Birnbaum (Washington Post) | Published: 8/23/2025
Days before his former national security adviser’s home and office were raided by the FBI, President Trump had trained his sights on his onetime aide, publicly rebuking John Bolton for criticizing his policy toward Russia. The president said he was not aware of the raids until they occurred, and there is no evidence the investigation was launched in response to Bolton’s recent criticisms of Trump. People close to Trump have privately noted, however, that the president was bothered by Bolton’s recent deprecation of his attempts at peacemaking.
Trump Rolls Back Rules Meant to Keep Politics Out of Climate Research
MSN – Scott Dance (Washington Post) | Published: 8/22/2025
Ahead of President Trump’s second term in the White House, scientists and advocates sought to tighten rules that protect climate researchers and their work from political interference. They added policies to prevent a repeat of the scandal known as “Sharpiegate” and even enshrined others in a union contract. The Trump administration has now rolled those changes back.
House Oversight Subpoenas Epstein Estate, Including for Any ‘Client List’
MSN – Kadia Goba (Washington Post) | Published: 8/25/2025
House Oversight Committee Chairperson James Comer subpoenaed Jeffrey Epstein’s estate as part of an ongoing probe into the handling of the federal sex-trafficking investigation. The GOP base has been in an uproar since the Justice Department said there was no “client list” in its files associated with Epstein, contradicting what Attorney General Pam Bondi and some former administration officials have claimed. Several right-wing pundits and conspiracy theorists have accused the federal government of a cover-up aimed at protecting powerful men who might have engaged in improper behavior with teenage girls.
Redistricting War Between Texas and California Is About to Jolt the Midterms
MSN – Liz Crampton, Dustin Gardiner, and Nick Reisman (Politico) | Published: 8/23/2025
California and Texas raced forward with parallel action to draw new congressional maps, setting into motion a national redistricting fight that could upend the midterms and determine control of the House. The nation’s two largest states had fired the opening salvo in what is likely to become an intense and protracted redistricting campaign by both parties to grasp power in Washington. Now other red and blue state governors face pressure to follow their lead and aggressively gerrymander their congressional maps.
FEMA Employees Put on Leave After Criticizing Trump Administration in Open Letter
MSN – Brianna Sacks (Washington Post) | Published: 8/26/2025
The Trump administration placed more than a dozen Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees on leave after they signed an open letter of dissent about the agency’s leadership. About 180 current and former FEMA staffers sent a letter to members of Congress and other officials, arguing the current leaders’ inexperience and approach harm FEMA’s mission and could result in a disaster on the level of Hurricane Katrina.
ProPublica – Doug Bock Clark | Published: 8/26/2025
Heather Honey, a high-profile denier of Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election, was appointed to a senior position in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in which she will help oversee the nation’s election infrastructure. In 2024, ProPublica reported Honey played a key role in the effort to change Georgia’s election rules to allow Republican officials to contest a potential Trump loss in that year’s presidential race. Honey also promoted election conspiracy theories.
State Lawmakers Reconsider Costs, Purpose of Serving After Minnesota Assassination
Yahoo News – Kevin Hardy (Stateline) | Published: 8/26/2025
Minnesota Sen. John Hoffman appeared via video message at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) in Boston and urged fellow lawmakers to refocus on the true purpose of public service. In June, he and his wife were shot just before the politically motivated shooter killed state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband. The shooting hung over this year’s NCSL meeting. Lawmakers in attendance on the left and the right repeatedly lamented the toxicity of American politics and the growing threat of political violence at local levels of government.
Attorneys for Former Special Counsel Jack Smith Hit Back at ‘Unfounded’ Watchdog Probe
Yahoo News – Alexander Mallin (ABC News) | Published: 8/26/2025
Attorneys for former special counsel Jack Smith, who brought criminal charges against President Trump, denounced a watchdog investigation into Smith’s work, describing the reasoning for the probe as baseless and partisan. Sen. Tom Cotton’s complaint accused Smith of taking deliberate steps in his prosecutions of Trump, which included charges for unlawful retention of classified materials as well as a criminal conspiracy to overturn his 2020 election loss, to impact Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign in violation of the Hatch Act.
Ghislaine Maxwell, Who Wants a Pardon, Says She Never Saw Trump ‘in Any Inappropriate Setting’
Yahoo News – Erica Orden, Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney (Politico) | Published: 8/22/2025
Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, who is seeking a pardon from Donald Trump, told top Justice Department officials during an interview she never witnessed the president “in any inappropriate setting” with girls introduced to him by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell, Epstein’s co-conspirator who is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence, makes unfailingly flattering references to Trump, according to transcripts of the conversation. The Justice Department released the interview materials around the same time it delivered a tranche of the so-called Epstein files to Capitol Hill.
From the States and Municipalities
Europe – Denmark Summons US Envoy After Report of Americans Carrying Out Influence Operations in Greenland
MSN – Associated Press | Published: 8/26/2025
Denmark’s foreign minister had the top U.S. diplomat in the country summoned for talks after the main national broadcaster reported at least three people with connections to President Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations in Greenland. Trump has said he seeks U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. He has not ruled out military force to take control of the island. Denmark and Greenland have said the island is not for sale and condemned reports of the U.S. gathering intelligence there.
Yahoo News – Caitlyn Gowriluk (CBC) | Published: 8/27/2025
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew did not violate provincial conflict-of-interest laws when he took planes chartered by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to the Grey Cup in 2023 and 2024, the province’s ethics commissioner found. The investigation came after a CBC article earlier this year raised questions about the trips, which were also offered to Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham.
California – Ex-Dream Keeper Chief Is Under Criminal Investigation – but She Hasn’t Left the Spotlight
MSN – Michael Barba (San Francisco Chronicle) | Published: 8/25/2025
Sheryl Davis resigned amid scrutiny over her handling of the Dream Keeper Initiative, San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s signature reinvestment in the Black community. City Attorney David Chiu later accused a major Dream Keeper beneficiary, the nonprofit Collective Impact, of making payments on behalf of Davis that investigators said amounted to bribes. Davis now seems determined to retain her seat in public life, after her position of authority was stripped from her.
California – OC Democrat Lobbyist Gets Six Months in Jail for Attempted Wire Fraud
Voice of OC – Noah Biesiada | Published: 8/22/2025
Melehat Rafiei, former head of the Orange County Democratic Party, was sentenced to six months in jail by a federal judge for attempted wire fraud. The sentencing comes after Rafiei signed a plea agreement admitting to the attempted fraud charge and acknowledging she tried bribing two Irvine City Council members for favorable cannabis legislation, something she was not charged for. U.S. District Court Judge Fernando Aelle-Rocha also ordered three years of supervised release once Rafiei serves her time and a $10,000 fine.
District of Columbia – D.C. Judges and Grand Jurors Push Back on Trump Policing Surge
MSN – Salvador Rizzo and Michael Laris (Washington Post) | Published: 8/27/2025
President Trump declared a crime emergency in the District of Columbia, giving federal law enforcement agencies and National Guard members unprecedented authority to patrol the nation’s capital. But the surge is meeting resistance in the city’s federal courthouse, where magistrate judges have admonished prosecutors for violating defendants’ rights and court rules, and grand jurors have repeatedly refused to issue indictments. A federal magistrate judge said one arrest was preceded by the “most illegal search I’ve seen in my life” and described another arrest as lacking “basic human dignity.”
District of Columbia – How a Thrown Sub Made ‘Sandwich Guy’ a Resistance Icon in Trump’s D.C.
MSN – Sophia Solano (Washington Post) | Published: 8/21/2025
Where protest movements take hold, symbols of resistance soon follow. In the District of Columbia since the Trump administration has taken over the city’s police force and ordered the National Guard to patrol the streets, that symbol has taken the form of a person who flung a footlong sub. His name, colloquially, is “Sandwich Guy.” His real name is Sean Dunn, a former Justice Department employee who was captured on video hurling a footlong at a federal officer and now faces a felony charge. A video of the incident quickly went viral.
Florida – Florida Ordered to Dismantle Alligator Alcatraz Over Environmental Impact
MSN – Lori Rozsa (Washington Post) | Published: 8/22/2025
A federal judge in Miami gave the state of Florida 60 days to clear out the immigrant detention facility called Alligator Alcatraz, handing environmentalists and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians a win after they clashed with Gov. Ron DeSantis over the environmental impacts the makeshift site was having in the federally protected Everglades. The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Williams, which forbids state officials from moving any other migrants there, deals a blow to what had become a marquee symbol of President Trump’s immigration policy.
Iowa – Democrat Wins Iowa Senate Race, Upending Republican Supermajority
MSN – Ken Jeong (Washington Post) | Published: 8/27/2025
Catelin Drey flipped a vacant state Senate seat in Iowa’s Sioux City area formerly held by a Republican after she won more than 55 percent of the vote in a low-turnout race. The upset victory erased the GOP’s supermajority in the Senate. Drey’s triumph in a voting district that lies inside Woodbury County, which President Trump easily won in 2024, also offers a glimpse into the mood of conservative-leaning districts ahead of next year’s midterms.
Louisiana – Louisiana Asks Supreme Court to Gut Voting Rights Act and Ban Use of Race in Redistricting
MSN – Zach Montellaro (Politico) | Published: 8/27/2025
Louisiana is asking the Supreme Court to dismantle the central provision of the Voting Rights Act and ban any use of race in redistricting. In a legal brief, the state urged the court to overturn a landmark 1986 ruling that established a legal test for when a voting map illegally dilutes minorities’ voter power. That ruling, Thornburg v. Gingles, has been understood for decades to require that states with significant communities of minority voters draw districts that fairly reflect their voting power.
Maryland – Court Throws Out Lawsuit by Trump Administration Against All Maryland Federal Judges
MSN – Lea Skene (Associated Press) | Published: 8/26/2025
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Cullen threw out the Trump administration’s lawsuit against Maryland’s entire federal bench in a ruling that underscored the extraordinary nature of the suit and accused the White House of a “concerted effort” to “smear and impugn” judges who rule against it. At issue in the lawsuit was an order by Chief Maryland District Judge George Russell III that stopped the immediate deportation of migrants challenging their removals. The Justice Department said the automatic pause impeded the president’s authority to enforce immigration laws.
Michigan – Michigan Panel OKs Signature-Gathering to Ban Political Spending by ‘Monopoly’ Utilities
Bridge Michigan – Jordyn Hermani | Published: 8/22/2025
The Michigan Board of State Canvassers approved petition language for an effort to ban political spending by utilities like Consumers Energy and DTE, as well as large state contractors. In addition to prohibiting campaign contributions for certain actors, the initiative also looks to expand state campaign finance laws to more clearly identify who is paying for political communications regardless of whether they are advocating for or against a cause.
Michigan – Michigan GOP Representative’s Earmark Request Raises Questions on Loopholes in New Ethics Rules
Yahoo News – Ben Solis (Michigan Advance) | Published: 8/27/2025
The wealthy owner of the Dort Financial Center made a large political contribution to Michigan Rep. David Martin a month after Martin requested a $2.5 million earmark to renovate areas of the facility located in Flint. While the earmark ultimately was not included in the House budget plan, the request appeared to skirt new House ethics rules that ban legislatively appropriated grants to for-profit entities.
Montana – Lawmakers Detail Stolen Funds in Complaints to State’s Commissioner of Political Practices
Yahoo News – Micah Drew (Daily Montanan) | Published: 8/27/2025
Two state lawmakers have filed complaints with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices detailing how their campaign treasurer allegedly stole thousands of dollars. Sen. Cora Neumann and Rep. Zooey Zephyr filed their complaints after their former treasurer, Abbey Lee Cook, signed a plea agreement with the federal government admitting to an embezzlement scheme of more than $250,000.
Nevada – Ethics Panel Takes Issue with Lieutenant Governor Over Task Force on Trans Athletes
Nevada Independent – Rocio Hernandez | Published: 8/22/2025
A panel from the Nevada Commission on Ethics took issue with Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony using state resources for a task force aimed at keeping transgender athletes out of women’s sports and is recommending he take corrective actions to avoid any further proceedings from the commission. The Nevadans for Equal Rights Committee filed an ethics complaint against Anthony after he stated during a legislative committee meeting that his staff has helped with work related to the task force. Anthony has also promoted the task force’s work on his official X account.
New Jersey – Judge Rules Alina Habba Serving ‘Without Lawful Authority’ as New Jersey’s U.S. Attorney
MSN – Jeremy Roebuck (Washington Post) | Published: 8/21/2025
A federal judge ruled Alina Habba, President Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney in New Jersey, is in that role “without lawful authority” – a decision that called into question the administration’s novel strategy for keeping her and other controversial interim choices in top prosecutorial roles. U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Brann concluded Habba, appointed as interim U.S. attorney in March, had served beyond the 120-day expiration date for that role and the Justice Department’s efforts to keep her past that deadline did not withstand legal scrutiny.
New Mexico – Albuquerque City Council Candidate Alleges Bribery, Extortion in Ethics Complaint
Yahoo News – Gillian Barkhurst (Albuquerque Journal) | Published: 8/27/2025
Stephanie Telles, a candidate for Albuquerque City Council, alleged her opponent;s campaign manager, a longtime political consultant in New Mexico, tried to pay her to drop out of the race. In a letter to the city Ethics Board, Telles alleged Scott Forrester, the campaign manager for Ahren Griego, another candidate, offered to “retire” her campaign debt if she withdrew an appeal for a recount of her signatures submitted to qualify for the ballot.
MSN – Craig McCarthy, Steven Vago and Shane Galvin (New York Post) | Published: 8/21/2025
Allies of New York City Mayor Eric Adams were spotted at several July campaign events handing out red envelopes stuffed with cash to attendees, including journalists from Chinese-language outlets, according to The New York Times. The report was published one day after disgraced Adams advisor Winnie Greco was caught giving cash to a reporter from THE CITY. The practice of receiving anywhere from $20 to $300 is common among Chinese-language journalists in New York, one anonymous reporter for a Chinese-language publication told The Times.
Ohio – Charter Amendment Would Align Cincinnati Campaign Finance Reporting with State Rules
WVXU – Becca Costello | Published: 8/25/2025
A charter amendment on the November ballot would align campaign finance reporting in Cincinnati with statewide rules. “It had to do with easier ways to track compliance with contribution limits, but because of the technology that we have today, particularly in the Office of Ethics and Good Governance, they are able to do that work without these separate reports,” city Councilperson Evan Nolan said.
MSN – Carlos Fuentes (Portland Oregonian) | Published: 8/22/2025
Leaders of cities, counties, and other governing bodies across the state have complained about inconsistent training and vague guidance from the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, which lawmakers empowered to enforce the state’s public meetings law beginning in 2024. The public meetings law essentially prohibits officials of a governing body from privately discussing policies under their authority with a majority of voting members. But proponents and critics of the law say it, and state guidance on how to follow it, contains significant ambiguity.
Pennsylvania – Dauphin County Fired Worker Charged with Computer Crimes, but Keeps Hiring His IT Company Anyway
MSN – Juliette Rihl and Joshua Vaughn (pennlive.com) | Published: 8/26/2025
Dauphin County fired an information technology employee in 2027 after he was convicted of computer crimes. Since then, the county has paid David Maurer’s company nearly $700,000 to serve as an information technology contractor. His company continues to receive county contracts. Maurer was terminated from his role as a county network technician after he was convicted of spying on his estranged wife.
Rhode Island – The RI Ethics Commission Could Double the Gift Limit for Lawmakers. Should They?
USA Today – Katherine Gregg (Providence Journal) | Published: 8/25/2025
Is Rhode Island’s current $25 per gift cap and a cumulative $75 annually from any one “interested person” for public officials too low? Opinions vary widely among Rhode Island lawmakers. Some, like Sen. Todd Patalano, believe increasing the limit would allow for “normal human interactions” and clarify what is acceptable. On September 9, the Rhode Island Ethics Commission will give members of the public their own chance to comment on a proposal to double the gift limit.
MSN – Kate McGee (Texas Tribune) | Published: 8/25/2025
Todd Smith was preparing to stand trial, accused of soliciting exorbitant fees in exchange for state hemp licenses. He was a top political consultant for Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, whose office provided the licenses. Less than a week after prosecutors subpoenaed Miller to testify, Smith accepted a deal offered by prosecutors that will dismiss the charges after two years if he follows the terms of his probation. Three months after his guilty plea, Miller hired Smith to be his chief of staff at the same state agency at the center of his case.
Texas – Texas Showdown: Legal battle looming over Ten Commandments in schools
MSN – Michelle Boorstein (Washington Post) | Published: 8/26/2025
With a new state law set to take effect requiring the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public classroom in Texas, many school districts are scrambling to figure out what to do. Some are holding off following a federal judge’s recent ruling against the mandate. Others are racing to fundraise for donated posters of the commandments. The law, and others like it in Louisiana and Arkansas, is part of a coordinated effort to get the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority, who advocates hope will end, or significantly weaken, restrictions on prayer in public schools.
Texas – Dallas Ousts Newly Hired Inspector General Due to Charter Violation
MSN – Devyani Chhetri (Dallas Morning News) | Published: 8/27/2025
The Dallas City Council discharged Inspector General Timothy Menke after weeks of discussing how city officials bungled his hiring process. Last November, voters approved a charter proposition that established an independent office of inspector general and called for its top officer to be “a competent practicing attorney of recognized ability.” Menke, who began his job on June 30 and has decades of experience investigating governmental fraud and misconduct, is not an attorney.
Texas – NAACP Asks Court to Block New Texas Congressional Map
MSN – Brianna Tucker (Washington Post) | Published: 8/26/2025
The NAACP asked a court to block what it called a “racially motivated” congressional map that dilutes the political power of Black voters. The organization is seeking to prevent Texas’s redrawn congressional map from taking effect, claiming the new district map is unconstitutional. In 2021, Republican lawmakers drew a new map and the NAACP and others sued, arguing the districts were racially discriminatory. A panel of judges held a trial this year but has not yet ruled.
Texas – Texas Senate Passes Bill Banning Elected Officials from Fundraising in Special Sessions
MSN – Aarón Torres (Dallas Morning News) | Published: 8/27/2025
Elected officials in Texas would be prohibited from receiving campaign donations during some special legislative sessions under a bill passed by the state Senate. The legislation bars a member who holds statewide office, including the governor, from being able to fundraise during any overtime session as long as that session begins before September 1. Senate Bill 19 now goes to the House.
Utah – Judge Rules Utah’s Congressional Map Must Be Redrawn for the 2026 Elections
MSN – Hannah Schoenbaum (Associated Press) | Published: 8/25/2025
The Utah lawmakers will need to rapidly redraw the state’s congressional boundaries after a judge ruled the Republican-controlled Legislature circumvented safeguards put in place by voters to ensure districts are not drawn to favor any party. The current map divides Salt Lake County – Utah’s population center and a Democratic stronghold – among the state’s four congressional districts, all of which have since elected Republicans by wide margins.
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