Baskets of ballots sit at a new ballot processing center in Thurston County, Washington, on Oct. 30, 2025. (Photo by Jake Goldstein-Street/Washington State Standard) President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting mail ballots faced a fresh challenge on Friday, as a coalition of Democratic states filed a lawsuit seeking to block an order that experts say is an extraordinary attempt by the president to assert authority over elections. More than 20 states — led by California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington — and the District of Columbia sued in federal court in Massachusetts. They argue the order violates the Constitution, which gives states the responsibility to run elections and allows Congress, not the president unilaterally, the power to override state regulations. “Though the President may wish he had unlimited power to restrict voting rights, the Constitution gives states – not the White House – the authority to oversee elections,” Massachusetts Attorney Gen...
U.S. Senate Democrats say the Trump administration plan to transfer student loan management from the Education Department to the Treasury Department will add unneeded bureaucracy. (Photo illustration by Catherine Lane/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats this week blasted the Trump administration’s attempts to shift management of federal student loans from the Education Department to the Treasury Department, saying it would contribute to dysfunction in the student loan system. In a Wednesday letter , the ranking members of five Senate panels — the committees covering banking, finance, education, federal spending and the Appropriations subcommittee overseeing the Education Department — called on Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to “immediately” rescind the interagency agreement announced in March. The letter is part of Democrats’ efforts to stop President Donald Trump and his administration from outsourcing Education D...