This week’s federal policy roundup covers voting rights, immigration enforcement, civil rights, public health, and financial policy. Courts blocked several administration initiatives while federal agencies continued pulling back on civil rights enforcement and gun violence prevention, and new questions emerged about whether federal disaster aid and homeland security grants are being used as political leverage.
Election Assistance Commission Left Without Commissioners Ahead of Midterm Elections
President Trump removed the two Democratic members of the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission (EAC), while the commission’s remaining Republican member resigned, leaving the agency without any sitting commissioners. The removals follow the commission’s refusal to implement the administration’s request to require new forms of documentary proof of U.S. citizenship on the national voter registration form, a requirement that remains blocked by a federal court. The White House cited the Supreme Court’s recent decision expanding presidential authority to remove leaders of certain independent agencies as the basis for the action. Created by Congress after the 2000 election, the EAC does not administer elections but administers federal election security grants, certifies voting systems, maintains the national voter registration form, and provides guidance to state and local election officials. Without commissioners, the EAC cannot take formal action. Its grantmaking, voting system certification, and other statutory responsibilities are on hold until new members are nominated and confirmed by the Senate. The commission’s inability to operate could delay federal election administration activities further complicating the work of state officials and marks the first major application of the Supreme Court’s expanded presidential removal authority to an independent election agency.
Administration Ties Federal Homeland Security Grants to State Election Policy Changes
The Department of Homeland Security announced it will withhold 20 percent of certain Fiscal Year 2026 Homeland Security Grant Program funding until states certify compliance with new federal election requirements, including voter citizenship verification, post-election audits, and other election administration changes. Separately, the Justice Department warned election officials in all 50 states that knowingly allowing noncitizens to register or vote could result in criminal prosecution and required a response within five days. The actions use federal public safety funding and enforcement authority to encourage states to adopt federal election priorities, while litigation challenging the grant conditions remains pending.
Conflicting Court Rulings Leave Federal Election Authority Unresolved
Federal courts issued two rulings this week addressing separate efforts by the Trump administration to expand the federal government’s role in state election administration. A federal judge in Florida ordered the Department of Homeland Security to restore expanded SAVE database access for four states under a prior settlement, despite a conflicting federal court order blocking the program’s broader use because of privacy, statutory, and voting rights concerns.
Separately, a federal judge blocked the Department of Justice from obtaining the personal information of hundreds of Fulton County election workers as part of its continuing investigation into the administration of the 2020 election despite multiple courts having verified the integrity of those elections. The courts’ decisions leave unresolved the federal government’s authority to obtain and use election-related data while highlighting competing judicial approaches to federal efforts that could affect voter registration, election workers, and the balance of authority between federal and state election administration.
These federal efforts and ambiguity over voter data may deter citizens in mixed families or from immigrant backgrounds to participate in elections. In addition, such developments are complicating election administration as states administer ongoing primaries and complete preparations for the November midterm elections.
New Federal Investment Accounts Offer $1,000 for Eligible Children
The administration launched a new federal investment program for children created by Congress last year named “Trump Accounts.” Eligible U.S. citizen children under age 18 with a valid Social Security number can have an account opened by a parent or another authorized adult. Children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028 can receive $1,000 from the federal government once they are enrolled, even if their family never adds any money. The accounts are invested in low-cost U.S. stock index funds and account holders can withdraw money from those accounts after they turn 18. Families may choose to contribute additional funds. Before contributing beyond the federal $1,000, families should compare the accounts with other savings options and consider the tax rules and remaining questions about how the accounts could affect eligibility for public benefits, student aid, or other need-based programs.
Planned Parenthood Regains Federal Medicaid Reimbursements After One-Year Defunding Provision Expires
Planned Parenthood and two other qualifying nonprofit reproductive health providers regained the ability to bill Medicaid for covered non-abortion health services after a one-year federal funding restriction expired July 5. The provision, enacted through the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, barred affected providers from receiving federal reimbursement for contraception, STI testing and treatment, cancer screenings, and other preventive care during the restriction period. Congress failed to pass an extension, allowing reimbursements to resume. Planned Parenthood reported the restriction contributed to nearly 30 clinic closures, approximately 250,000 fewer patient visits, a 25 percent decline in birth control distribution, and a roughly 20 percent decline in breast cancer screenings, with most closures concentrated in rural and medically underserved communities. Most closed facilities are not expected to reopen. Although reimbursements have resumed, providers face continued uncertainty as Congressional Republicans have indicated interest in pursuing additional restrictions and several states may seek to remove Planned Parenthood from their Medicaid provider networks.
ATF Rolls Back Federal Firearms Regulations and Gun Violence Prevention Programs
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is moving to eliminate more than three dozen federal firearms regulations. The changes include ending a zero– tolerance policy for gun dealers, raising the threshold for revoking dealer licenses, loosening oversight of private gun sales, and removing some fingerprinting requirements for firearms applications. The administration is also restoring firearm access for some people previously restricted due to mental health determinations or inability to manage finances. These regulatory rollbacks reduce ATF’s ability to penalize dealers and oversee private transactions, potentially weakening enforcement against unlawful sales and straw purchases.
Separately, the administration has cut community violence intervention funding, targeted violence prevention grants, and federal gun violence research programs, while the Department of Justice is challenging state firearm restrictions in California and Virginia. The cuts come as firearms kill tens of thousands of people in the United States each year and remain the leading cause of death for Americans ages 1 to 19. Gun violence disproportionately affects Black communities and neighborhoods experiencing concentrated poverty, while firearm suicides account for most gun deaths nationwide and are especially prevalent in rural communities and among veterans.
Another Court Blocks USCIS From Suspending Immigration Application Processing
A federal judge in Ohio issued a preliminary injunction Monday blocking U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from indefinitely pausing applications filed by 25 named plaintiffs. The plaintiffs are lawfully present immigrants from Burma, Canada, Iran, Nigeria, Syria, Tanzania, and Venezuela seeking work authorization, lawful permanent residence, and other forms of lawful immigration status. The court found the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in arguing that USCIS exceeded its legal authority by suspending application processing and directing adjudicators to treat applicants’ nationality as a significant negative factor without statutory authorization. The judge also rejected the administration’s argument that national security concerns shielded the policy from judicial review. The ruling adds to a growing series of court decisions finding similar USCIS processing policies likely unlawful.
Disaster Aid Denials Test the Consistency of Federal Relief Decisions
The president denied major disaster declarations for New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island following a February winter storm, rejecting about $227 million in federal disaster assistance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said it is applying stricter standards that reserve aid for unusually severe disasters, but state officials alleged the states exceeded the agency’s damage threshold and plan to appeal. The denials came two days after the administration approved disaster declarations for several other states and jurisdictions, including five Republican-led states and Michigan, raising questions about whether federal disaster assistance could be applied inconsistently or used to reward or penalize states based on political considerations.
Appeals Court Blocks Florida Law Restricting Classroom Speech
The Eleventh Circuit ruled Tuesday that Florida’s 2022 Stop WOKE Act likely violates the First Amendment because it restricts professors from expressing viewpoints the state disfavors. The court rejected Florida’s argument that professors’ classroom instruction is government speech subject to state control, finding instead that the law engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination by prohibiting instruction reflecting certain perspectives on race, discrimination, privilege, and inequality while permitting competing perspectives on the same subjects. The ruling keeps the law’s higher education provisions blocked while litigation continues, allowing faculty to teach without the law’s viewpoint-based restrictions.