US Politics

Core Summary BBC reports that the Trump administration has recently barred several major US media outlets’ reporters from entering the White House, with press credentials belonging to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico journalists having been confiscated. The affected outlets have confirmed the news on their own platforms and indicated their reporting teams will face restricted access to White House coverage. The action is widely viewed as the latest escalation point in the strained relationship between the US executive branch and major news organizations. ...

Core Summary President Trump publicly announced on September 18 that the White House will no longer allow journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico to access the White House press area. Trump cited what he described as persistent publication of “untrue” reporting as the justification. This represents the largest single restriction on mainstream media access taken by the Trump administration in its second term and has drawn swift attention from both the American press and the legal community. ...

Core Summary The White House announced on September 17 the withdrawal of its nominee for Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper closely allied with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. The withdrawal, which came only weeks after the nomination was announced, has sparked widespread discussion across Washington’s political circles. Multiple major U.S. media outlets view the sudden personnel move as reflecting the Trump administration’s ongoing recalibration of internal immigration policy coordination and senior personnel arrangements. ...

The US House of Representatives passed a bipartisan resolution on September 16 to terminate US military operations against Iran, with seven Republicans joining Democrats in favor. The vote marks the first meaningful congressional check on presidential war powers since the Iran conflict began, exposing deepening intraparty divisions over the war’s trajectory and carrying significant implications for White House military planning, diplomatic timelines, and the 2026 midterm landscape.

FBI Director Kash Patel faced a Senate panel on September 15 amid sustained Democratic criticism of his leadership, agency reforms, and politicization concerns. The bureau simultaneously released updated crime statistics to support its public narrative. The hearing will shape US domestic debates on law enforcement independence, intelligence politicization, and Congress’s next-round legislation regarding FBI budget and oversight frameworks.

NBC News reports that former President Donald Trump has publicly argued that artificial intelligence does not need formal regulatory guardrails, asserting that strong presidential judgment alone is sufficient to oversee the rapidly developing technology. The remarks come amid intensifying debate in Washington over whether Congress should codify mandatory safety requirements for frontier AI models.

US Vice President JD Vance delivered the keynote address on the second day of the Republican midterm mobilization convention in Dallas, Texas, openly positioning himself as Trump’s political heir and the future standard-bearer of the Make America Great Again movement. The speech, in style, policy agenda, and strategic direction, demonstrated full continuity with Trump’s agenda while also revealing Vance’s own political ambitions.

Renowned US late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has publicly disclosed that due to political pressure from the FCC, he has decided to cancel the planned television broadcast of his interview with Democratic lawmaker Talarico, with the full content to be released only on YouTube, sparking a nationwide debate over press freedom, government pressure and the regulation of broadcast licences.

The US Supreme Court has once again rejected the Republican-led congressional redistricting plan in Missouri, dealing another blow to Republican efforts to secure an additional seat through gerrymandering ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, and effectively leaving its congressional map largely unchanged for the 2026 election cycle.

US President Trump publicly pledged to send approximately $5,000 per voter from tariff revenue if Republicans win the 2026 midterm elections. The politically charged economic promise quickly drew widespread skepticism from economists and market analysts, seen as the latest attempt to weaponize trade policy.