Despite supreme court ruling, nationwide injunction still blocks Trump administration from implementing restrictions on mail voting
Rick Hasen , a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, points out on his Election Law Blog that the supreme court on Monday only lifted one of two lower-court orders that blocked the Trump administration from implementing its planned restrictions on mail voting.
The other injunction, not ruled on by the court yet, still stops the US Postal Service from implementing a new rule that would allow it to refuse to deliver ballots mailed by voters who are not on a list approved by the federal government.
Hasen also observes that it is “just weird” that the court issued its opinion on Monday, in which it rules that the states that sued to block the implementation of new federal rules around mail voting should have waited until the USPS proposed a new rule to do what Trump directed. While it is true that the 23 states, and Washington DC, filed suit before the USPS issued its new rule, the rule was actually published last Friday night, and is set to take effect this week if the court lifts the both injunctions.
Monday’s supreme court decision, Hasen addsd, “just postpones any kind of ruling on the merits, but a week or two, when we will be even closer to the election and it will be impossible for states to comply with some of the rules that will come out.”
As the North Carolina board of elections notes on its website : “Voting in the 2026 election officially begins on Sept. 4, with the initial sending of absentee ballots to voters who requested them.”
Trump knows Republicans 'are unpopular and will lose in a free and fair election', NAACP says
The president of the NAACP, which sued Donald Trump in April to block his order to restrict mail-in voting, denounced the supreme court decision that allows the order to be implemented, despite claims that it is illegal and unconstitutional.
The NAACP president, Derrick Johnson , said in a statement:
“Let this ruling be a reminder that democracy is never, ever, guaranteed. We have to fight for it, we have to fight to keep it, and we have to protect the rights we do have within it. Those in power know full well that they are unpopular and will lose in a free and fair election, and so they are trying to do everything they possibly can to make it difficult for you to vote.
Trump’s order has nothing to do with election integrity. It has everything to do with maintaining power at all costs.”
Trump administration plans to revoke up to 200,000 visas of asylum seekers – report
The Trump administration is preparing to revoke the business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for or are currently seeking asylum status in the United States, according to US state department documents obtained by the Associated Press.
According to the documents and unnamed sources who spoke to the AP, the state department plans to announce within weeks the revocation of so-called B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026, whose holders have sought or are now seeking asylum.
A state department spokesperson told the news agency it is working with the Department of Homeland Security on the push.
“We are coordinating with DHS to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently,” the spokesperson, Tommy Pigott, said.
Pigott declined to confirm the number of visas that might be revoked, since “as the process will be ongoing, the number of revocations remains dynamic and will be done on a rolling basis.”
By allowing Trump to restrict mail voting, Justice Jackson says US supreme court 'needlessly injects chaos and uncertainty into the upcoming midterm elections'
The US supreme court’s decision on Monday that the Trump administration can move ahead with plans to restrict mail-in voting “needlessly injects chaos and uncertainty into the upcoming midterm elections”, justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in a blistering dissent.
While the court’s unsigned opinion , from the six Republican-appointed justices, did not say that an executive order signed by Donald Trump to limit mail voting was legal, Jackson argued that permitting the administration to push ahead with changes, including a plan for the US Postal Service (USPS) to refuse to deliver ballots from voters not on a pre-approved list of eligible voters created by the federal government, “contributes to pre-election chaos instead of quashing it”.
“Our Constitution expressly delegates the power to conduct federal elections to the States,” Jackson wrote. In a 31 March 2026 executive order, Trump “attempted to alter this longstanding, constitutionally assigned structure” that “requires a fundamental overhaul of the States’ existing mail-in ballot systems—changing from a state-administered process to one in which the Federal Government controls who gets a ballot and whose vote counts”.
Jackson went on to accuse her conservative colleagues of “a stunning misinterpretation of the factual record” in their claim that a lower court had engaged in speculation that the United States Postal Service would change its rules to refuse to deliver mail ballots in states that did not turn over their voter rolls to the federal government. As Jackson notes, the USPS has proposed a change to its rules, which is scheduled to take effect this week .
“In the end, though, what makes today’s ruling so off-base is the Court’s lack of situational awareness regarding this equitable judgment,” Jackson writes in her conclusion. “Taking its eye off the ball, the majority misses the Government’s actual objective: to secure our imprimatur for its effort to foment chaos ahead of the November elections.”
US supreme court allows Trump to implement executive order to curb mail-in voting
The US supreme court on Monday granted the Trump administration’s request to lift a lower court order that had blocked it from implementing Donald Trump ’s executive order to restrict mail-in voting.
The decision by the court’s conservative majority, with its liberal members dissenting, appears to leave room for additional court challenges that could prevent the implementation of the new restrictions in time for the upcoming midterm elections in November, with some states beginning to send mail ballots to voters in just a few weeks.
The case could be one of multiple voting-related challenges before the justices. The justice department had filed an emergency appeal asking the high court to allow work on implementing the changes before the midterms.
Trump’s executive order, signed in March, calls on his administration to create lists of eligible voters and orders the US Postal Service (USPS) to deliver mail ballots only to people on those lists.
The USPS is prepared to publish a new rule this week to implement that change.
In dig at Ontario premier Doug Ford, Trump calls him less impressive than late brother Rob Ford, Toronto mayor caught on video smoking crack
As we mentioned earlier, Donald Trump quickly got personal in response to criticism of his new tariffs on Canadian imports from the conservative premier of Ontario, Doug Ford , by comparing him unfavorably to his late brother, Rob Ford , a former rightwing mayor of Toronto.
Writing on social media, Trump called the Ontario leader a “less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive” version of his brother. What makes the US president’s enthusiastic praise for the late Rob Ford is that he was best known outside Canada for one thing: having been caught on video smoking crack while serving as mayor.
While the video was not made public until after Rob Ford’s death in 2016, he admitted in 2013 that he had smoked crack, “probably in one of my drunken stupors” in 2012.
The same year, the Ford brothers met Trump at the opening of a new Trump International Hotel and Tower in Toronto.
During Trump’s successful campaign for the Republican nomination for president in 2016, Doug Ford expressed delight that Trump had used one of his brother’s slogans.
“It’s a real tribute and a real honour,” Doug Ford told the Toronto Sun .
“Full disclosure, I like Trump,” he added. “He’s not part of the Washington establishment or the Washington elites ... I wouldn’t underestimate him.”
By last year, Doug Ford’s affection for Trump had waned so much that, as Ontario’s leader, he paid to have a television ad against Trump’s tariffs, featuring anti-tariff comments from Ronald Reagan , broadcast during the World Series, which infuriated Trump.
New poll shows record low support for war in Iran
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that public approval for the war with Iran has dropped to its lowest level since the conflict’s early days at the end of February. Now, only 31% of Americans surveyed support military action in Iran , which is down from 34% earlier this month.
Notably, fewer Americans who identify as Republican support the war, according to the poll. That number now sits at 69%, compared to 77% in March .
This comes at a time when Donald Trump’s own approval rating hovers at a new low of 33%, according to recent polling.
Scott Bessent announced today that the US has begun an “unprecedented” sanctions campaign against Iran “and its enablers”. A number of countries stand to face secondary sanctions, according to the treasury secretary. However, he did not say whether those, like China or Russia, would be impacted. He also did not set out a timeline for those countries to end doing business with Iran. “We know who they are, they know who they are, so when the hammer of US treasury actions falls upon them they will have no one to blame but themselves,” Bessent said, describing the new wave of sanctions as “economic asphyxiation” of the Iranian regime and “no one should test our resolve”.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has threatened to increase tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, auto parts and steel to 50% today, after trade negotiations between Washington and Ottowa broke down last week. On Truth Social, the US president blasted Canada and said the new duties will go into effect on 1 January 2027. “On Trade, and in other ways, also, they are among the worst Nations in the World to deal with. They feel entitled, and yet, WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!” Trump wrote. This escalation comes after Canadian prime minister Mark Carney rejected the latest deal on Saturday, after Trump previously slapped a 50% tariff on $20bn worth of Canadian exports – ranging from hockey equipment to electronics.
In response, Mark Carney told reporters on Monday that Trump’s announcement was largely expected. “It’s not a surprise for us that the US would take some form of reprisal to our response to their unjustified tariff, which was on top of other unjustified tariffs,” he said from Quebec. “But what message does that send to the workers in Michigan, in Ohio, in Kentucky, in Alabama, who rely on Canadian demand?” he continued. “We’re their largest customer for automobiles, more than the European Union, Japan, Korea, many others combined, and the United Kingdom.”
Trump, however, continued a war of words with Ontario premier Doug Ford, who he said was displaying “lots of bluster”. Trump called Ford the “less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive” version of his brother Rob Ford, the former mayor of Toronto. Earlier, the Ontario premier said that Canada must “throw everything and the kitchen sink” at the US in the wake of Trump’s tariff announcement. “I have a lot of real estate on my ass, so he [Trump] has a lot of room to kiss my ass,” Ford told reporters on Monday.
Earlier, ahead of Trump announcing his latest threat to implement 50% tariffs on Canadian cars and auto parts, Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, said that Canada is ultimately responsible for the collapsed talks over the weekend to reach a deal on the duties between the two countries and longtime allies. “We set about to finalize it, and then in the last hours, I think there were things that the Canadians just – you know, they wanted more,” Greer said today in an interview with CNBC. “They wanted more and we weren’t prepared to do that.”
Donald Trump said there is “lots of bluster” coming from Ontario premier Doug Ford, as the two engaged in a war of words on Monday.
The US president called Ford the “less charismatic, intelligent and overall unimpressive” version of his brother Rob Ford , the former mayor of Toronto.
Earlier today, Doug Ford said that Canada must “throw everything and the kitchen sink” at the US after Trump threatened to increase tariffs on Canadian auto parts and cars to 50%. “I have a lot of real estate on my ass, so he [Trump] has a lot of room to kiss my ass,” Ford told reporters today.
“The red states – we’re gonna hit hard,” the premier said. “You think an insult from him [Trump] hurts me? Bring it on, buddy. You’re a loser.”
On Truth Social, Trump remained bullish . “America has been carrying Canada for decades, but no longer! The U.S.A. will always be far bigger, richer, and stronger than Canada,” he wrote. “Without the United States, Canada couldn’t survive – It’s where they get all of their money and, because of their current bad leadership, primarily Governor Carney, and his Flunky, Ford, they will not be allowed to keep taking advantage of the United States – Their key to survival.”
By referring to Mark Carney , the prime minister of Canada, as a “governor”, Trump continues to brand the country as a “state” in the US. Earlier, in Maine, vice-president JD Vance repeated a similar posture .
“Remember, much of the Electricity, Oil, and Gas that Canada gets is transported through the U.S.A. Someone should get these clowns to “fall in line” or, the consequences for Canada will be far WORSE!” Trump added.
All US immigration officers working for a key anti-fraud unit have been reassigned by Donald Trump’s administration to focus on screening South African refugees and alleged “unlawful” voters.
Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) immigration officers have been shifted full-time on to two “high-priority” initiatives, according to internal correspondence seen by the Guardian, leaving US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unable to provide officers to train asylum officers in “the near future”.
USCIS is inside the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has led the president’s immigration crackdown during his second term. The processing of asylum claims has largely ground to a halt during Trump’s administration, leaving many seeking asylum in limbo .
“All FDNS IOs [immigration officers] have been reassigned full-time to one of two high-priority USCIS initiatives (South African refugee screening and unlawful voter screening),” an internal message, sent on Monday, said. “Because of this, we will not have the ability to assign IO’s [immigration officers] to the training portfolio for the near future.”
USCIS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
FDNS is the USCIS unit responsible for detecting fraud and national security concerns in immigration benefit applications, including asylum claims. Its officers work with asylum offices to identify cases requiring further investigation, refer matters to law enforcement, and help asylum officers identify potential fraud and other red flags.
The reassignment marks a significant diversion of FDNS personnel. The message addresses only the agency’s ability to provide officers for asylum officer training; it does not say whether routine FDNS screening of pending asylum applications has also slowed or stopped.
A disruption to training would limit specialized instruction for asylum officers, and a broader slowdown in casework screening would have more direct consequences for pending applications. The Guardian has not independently confirmed whether routine asylum screening has been affected.
Related: US immigration officers reassigned to screen South African refugees and find ‘unlawful’ voters
When asked why the US treasury department is not implementing sanctions immediately, Bessent said that it was to give nations who conduct business with Iran the “opportunity to remedy bad behavior” .
“Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?” he said. “We believe that it’s important to level set and give people a cure period. But they should know that will move very quickly, and that we are serious.”
Bessent evades questions about whether sweeping secondary sanctions will include China
Notably, during his press conference today, Scott Bessent didn’t specify which countries would be targeted by secondary sanctions , even when asked by reporters whether China – the largest importer of Iranian oil – would be impacted.
While Bessent said that “quiet diplomacy” is the best way to engage with countries who still maintain trade relationships with Iran, this latest move is an attempt to show that “no one is above” sanctions.
“ We know who they are, they know who they are, so when the hammer of US treasury actions falls upon them they will have no one to blame but themselves,” Bessent said.
He described the new wave of sanctions as “economic asphyxiation” of the Iranian regime and “no one should test our resolve” .
The treasury secretary also said he would not “name names” about the world leaders that Donald Trump is in touch with when it comes to ending business with Iran.
Bessent also added: “I’m not going to set timelines, but we do not have infinite patience here.”
Bessent said that the sanctions will target “five of Iran’s most vital lifelines that it exploits in other countries – digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping.”
“As I speak, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is also sanctioning over 60 entities, individuals and vessels around the world that enable the Iranian regime to procure illicit nuclear and missile technology, conduct cyber operations, and generate oil revenue,” he said.
Bessent says that Iran faces two choices, “complete global isolation and a subsistence economy or a path back to normalcy with an opportunity to rejoin the global economy ”.
“Treasury has mapped every node, every facilitator, and every network that Iran has used to smuggle oil and evade sanctions,” he added. “Beginning today, the actions of treasury and other agencies will tighten the noose and block every potential source of revenue that funds the IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) and the evil Iranian regime.”
Later in his remarks, he warned: “Those who stand with the United States will reap the rewards of our partnership. Those who tether themselves to the Iranian regime should expect to share in the isolation of a withering regime.”
US Treasury has begun 'unprecedented campaign' of sanctions against Iran 'and its enablers', says Bessent
In his remarks, Bessent says that today, at Donald Trump’s direction, the United States Treasury “has begun Operation Economic Outcast”, which he described as an “unprecedented campaign” against Iran “and its enablers ”.
“We are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe,” he said. “Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.”
Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary, is now delivering a press conference.
It comes a day after he wrote an Opinion Piece for the Financial Times, in which he warned that an “economic D-day is coming for Iran”.
During his remarks today at a manufacturing facility in Brewer, Maine, Vice President JD Vance referred to Canada “a state” before noting “sorry, Freudian slip” as the audience laughed.
Vance went on to critique Canada, saying that it is a “country that has underinvested in its military that quite literally would get invaded by a foreign country, were it not for the umbrella of protection provided by the United States of America”.
Since Trump’s return to the White House last year, Trump has discussed making Canada the US’s 51st state, which has enraged many Canadians. A petition to expel the US ambassador to Canada, accusing him of normalizing the notion of the US annexing Canada, has collected about 248,000 signatures.
Donald Trump accuses Democrats of putting out 'fake polls' as 'demoralization operations'
In a new post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump is accusing Democrats of putting out “fake polls” as “demoralization operations”.
“They’re putting them out at levels never seen before” Trump claimed , without providing evidence to back up his allegation. “They’re called ‘Demoralization Operations’ where they try to demoralize Republicans so that they don’t go out and vote.”
In the same post, he also claimed that “the actual Polls are tremendous, and the Spirit in our Country has never been higher.”
Vice-president JD Vance is speaking at a defense technology manufacturing facility in Brewer, Maine at the moment. As I noted earlier, Susan Collins – the Republican senator from Maine who is facing a competitive re-election race this year and criticized the faltered trade talks between the US and Canada, is not appearing alongside Vance today, with her campaign telling local media that she had a clashing commitment.
“Whenever I’m in Maine, I’ve got to give Susan a little bit of crap,” Vance said on stage today. “As you know Susan is the most independent member of the United States Senate, and as the president of the United States Senate she sometimes makes my job just a little bit harder.”
He added: “But she makes it harder, because she’s coming to work every day and fighting not for a political party or not for any abstraction. She comes to work every single day and fights for the great people of Maine … she tries to get as much good for this state out of Washington, and as little bad out of Washington for this state. Which, by the way, is a very hard job.”
Collins, who will face former state lawmaker Troy Jackson in November, is contending with a spike of anti-Trump animus going into the midterm elections. Democrats have sought to categorize her so-called “independence” and “moderation” as weak checks on the president’s agenda, often mocking her “concerns” about Trump’s hardline policies.
'They wanted more and we weren't prepared to do that': US trade representatives blames Canada for collapsed talks
In an interview with CNBC ahead of Donald Trump announcing his latest threat to implement 50% tariffs on Canadian cars and auto parts, Jamieson Greer , the US trade representative, said that Canada is ultimately responsible for the collapsed talks over the weekend to reach a deal on the duties between the two countries and longtime allies.
“We set about to finalize it, and then in the last hours, I think there were things that the Canadians just – you know, they wanted more,” Greer said today. “I don’t know if it was political for them. It certainly doesn’t make economic sense, but perhaps for political reasons … they wanted more and we weren’t prepared to do that.”
Republicans pushback on Trump policy to temporarily pause import tariffs on foreign beef
Following Donald Trump’s announcement that there would be a temporary pause on tariffs to allow for more than 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef to be imported to the US, a number of Republicans have pushed back on the latest trade policy – arguing that it stands to negatively impact American ranchers who are already feeling the burden of higher costs.
The president has said the move, announced on Friday, would “reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again”, however, several GOP lawmakers claim this is a short-term fix for a chronic problem, namely a 75-year low in US cattle supply.
“I absolutely want to see those prices come down,” said Congresswoman Ashley Hinson , the Republican nominee in a competitive US Senate race in Iowa. “But I think this isn’t the way to do that.”
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Hinson added: “I think we need to focus on letting our cattle men grow their herd … it takes some time and it takes some resources, and so I think we should be letting market conditions to do what they do – demand for beef is still really high.”
Other Republicans in states with sizeable cattle farming industries also criticized the president’s recent decision. “Short term policy shifts do not equal long term solutions,” said Pete Ricketts , a GOP Senator from Nebraska and frequent ally of the Trump. “Flooding the market with lower quality beef compromises Nebraska farmers and ranchers. They should be enabled to grow herd sizes and meet consumer demand.”
Another Trump loyalist, Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana, said that while the president’s “heart is in the right place on wanting lower prices for the American people”, the action would actually make it more difficult for American ranchers to rebuild their herd.
Aside from beef, other Republicans criticized the Trump administration’s ongoing trade war with Canada over the weekend. Senator Susan Collins , a Republican from Maine who is facing a re-election battle this year, called the “on-again/off-again” trade talks between the US and Canada would lead to “higher costs, risk, and uncertainty” for businesses in Maine – which borders Canada.
“Ever since the tariffs were first announced, I have heard from many businesses, farmers, and lobstermen concerned about the cost of navigating the tariffs, the lack of domestic supply chains, and the likely imposition of retaliatory tariffs by Canada,” Collins said in a statement after trade talks broke down over the weekend, urging “both sides to return to the negotiating table”.
A reminder that the current tariff on Canadian automobiles and parts sits at 25%.
After the trade talks with the US collapsed over the weekend, Mark Carney vowed “dollar for dollar” retaliation on the initial round of 50% tariffs that went into force on Saturday.
“You’re at war when you’re attacked, and we got attacked,” the Canadian prime minister told reporters in Ottawa. “We cannot accept what they’ve offered and we will not give what they’ve asked.”
Earlier, Carney said that “last-minute changes in the US proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic and called into question the reliability of any deal”, and ultimately led to collapse in talks.
Trump threatens 50% tariffs on Canadian cars and auto parts, after breakdown in trade talks
Donald Trump has threatened to increase tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, auto parts and steel to 50% today, after trade negotiations between Washington and Ottowa broke down last week.
On Truth Social, the president blasted Canada, and said the new duties will go into effect on 1 January 2027 .
“On Trade, and in other ways, also, they are among the worst Nations in the World to deal with. They feel entitled, and yet, WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!” Trump wrote.
This escalation comes after Canadian prime minister Mark Carney rejected the latest deal on Saturday, after Trump previously slapped a 50% tariff on $20bn worth of Canadian exports – ranging from hockey equipment to electronics.
Carney said the Trump administration’s final demands went too far: “They asked too much and offered too little.”
Today is also the last full day of campaigning for Darline Graham and Ralph Norman as they head into a run-off election on Tuesday for the Republican nomination for US Senate.
A reminder that Darline Graham was appointed to finish the remainder of he brother Lindsey Graham’s term in office, after he died in July. With Donald Tump’s endorsement, Darline announced her bid for a full term. While she’s leading Norman – a five-term congressman – in the polls, this would be Darline’s first time officially winning and holding public office.
In recent weeks, however, there have been increased concerns among Republicans in South Carolina about Darline Graham’s legislative skillset. Last week, during a primary debate with Norman, Graham admitted that she was “not that informed on national security”.
However, Trump and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott , a Republican, have both come to Graham’s defense in recent days. The president even traveled to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to campaign for Graham, and defended her debate performance. “I thought it was a very honest answer, actually,” he said.
Meanwhile, Scott said in an interview with NBC News on Sunday that Graham was prepared to serve in the Senate, calling her “the real deal” and deeming her “highly qualified, incredibly competent, ready for prime time”.
New Mexico will continue funding gender-affirming care for minors after a federal rule ending Medicaid support for such care goes into effect.
On 13 August, the Trump administration finalized a rule – set to go into effect on 13 October – that will end funding for gender-affirming care through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (Chip).
New Mexico’s “Health Care Authority is planning to continue covering these services using state funds”, Timothy Fowler, a state health care authority spokesperson, wrote in an email to the Santa Fe New Mexican .
Earlier this year, New Mexico also announced that it would cover the cost of expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits for residents who purchase health insurance on the state marketplace. In July, a news analysis showed that New Mexico was the only state in the country where Affordable Care Act enrollment increased after federal subsidies expired at the end of 2025.
In recent years, New Mexico has become a haven for gender-affirming healthcare in the south-west. In 2023 the state legislature passed a Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care Freedom Act , and a growing number of families have relocated to the state as protections for transgender youth disappeared in neighboring states. The Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, estimates that 4,800 transgender teens between the ages of 13 and 17 live in New Mexico today.
Related: New Mexico to continue funding gender-affirming care for minors after federal cuts
Trump claims Iran is 'completely collapsing' ahead of new sanctions announcement
Meanwhile, ahead of the treasury secretary’s annoucement, Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social to insist that “IRAN IS COMPLETELY COLLAPSING!!!”
It’s a common refrain from the president, but perhaps takes on a new meaning ahead of the fresh sanctions that we’re expecting later today. My colleagues are covering the latest reactions to the Iranian economy ahead of Bessent’s press conference. This includes the news that Iran’s currency has weakened to an all-time low.
The rial was trading at 1.992m per dollar on the unregulated market on Monday, according to Bloomberg News , which cited data from tracking website Bonbast – down 4.5% since last week.
Related: Iran’s rial falls to record low as Scott Bessent warns of ‘economic D-day’ – business live
Treasury secretary to announce new sweeping Iran sanctions
Today we can expect a new round of sweeping sanctions on Iran from treasury secretary Scott Bessent .
The US also said it would impose steep penalties on any country trading with Tehran.
Bessent called the plan, which he prefaced in an op-ed in the Financial Times, as “the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary”.
We’ll bring you the latest from the treasury secretary’s press conference at 1pm ET.
He warned of an “economic D-Day” for Iran, as the war –now in its sixth month – shows no signs of easing.
As my colleague Patrick Wintour reports , in advance of the US announcement, the United Arab Emirates, Iran’s single biggest trading partner in the Middle East, announced it was ending all trade with Iran . It’s a move Tehran believes was coordinated between Washington and the UAE.
The new sanctions will also be a test for China and Russia to see if the US follows through on its vow to punish the countries for their continued trading with Iran.
Donald Trump is in Washington today. He’ll spend most of the day in meetings that are closed to the press, but we’ll hear from the president at 2.30pm ET when he hosts a Rose Garden event at the White House.
We’ll bring you the latest lines here as that gets under way.
Election deniers are back on the ballot. In most swing states, at least one major Republican candidate has questioned or outright denied the results of the 2020 US presidential election, which Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden.
While voters in swing states have previously largely rejected candidates who denied election results, Republicans running for statewide offices across much of the country are trying again.
In Arizona, gubernatorial candidate and US representative Andy Biggs voted against certifying his own state’s election results. In Wisconsin, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Tom Tiffany similarly voted against certifying the 2020 results as a US representative for his state.
Candidates for governor in Pennsylvania and Michigan have cast doubt on the validity of the 2020 results. And some swing state Republican candidates for secretary of state have questioned or denied election results.
Governors sign off on state election results, issuing certificates to the presidential electors of whichever candidate wins. They can call for investigations or special sessions, and use their bully pulpit to cast doubt on election results. Secretaries of state are meanwhile the chief election officials in most US states, overseeing voting systems and advising the local jurisdictions that run elections. They usually play a role in certifying election results, too.
In 2020, Trump pressured governors and secretaries of state, alongside a host of state and local officials in several swing states, to withhold their signatures in a broad campaign to overturn his loss. Swing state governors and secretaries of state refused to stall or impede their states’ results.
But if election deniers or skeptics are elected to these key statewide roles, they would be in office in 2028, raising apprehension that they may refuse to sign off on results, or succumb to pressure from Trump and his allies, should Republicans lose.
Related: From Arizona to Wisconsin, election deniers are vying for office nationwide
Over a dozen US companies that signed a 2021 letter urging Congress to strengthen the Voting Rights Act continue to contribute to state political groups that are actively working to undermine the legislation, according to a campaign finance watchdog.
Researchers at the Center for Political Accountability (CPA), a nonpartisan organization that tracks financial disclosures, found that companies – including Airbnb, DoorDash, Target and Zillow – that signed the letter are contributing to groups known as 527 organizations that prop up key state races, according to data provided exclusively to the Guardian.
Four longtime donors to these groups, Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft, had either stopped contributing entirely or lowered their contributions to Republican and Democratic groups for the 2022 midterms, but have resumed contributions for the current election cycle.
The January 6 insurrection created a brief reckoning among corporate leaders, many of whom criticized Donald Trump’s role in inciting the violence. The Republican Attorneys General Association (Raga), a 527 organization, was under scrutiny after reports revealed the group sent out robocalls to people encouraging them to attend a “Stop the Steal” rally in front of Congress on January 6 2021 – which preceded the insurrection. Raga leaders later said they had no knowledge of the robocalls.
But the companies have resumed their donations to Raga and, in some cases, have become new contributors to the group. Google’s contribution went from $100,400 in the 2018 election down to $50,000 in 2022. So far this election, the company has donated $325,000 to Raga.
Related: Top US firms that backed Voting Rights Act donate to groups working to undermine it
Dan Sullivan supports Dan Sullivan against Dan Sullivan in Alaska ’s US Senate election , says a former Alaskan mayor who recently backed the race’s Republican incumbent over a challenger sharing their name.
That development provided another of multiple absurd elements to Dan S Sullivan’s campaign for a third term in the US Senate, which – beside Mary Peltola, a former Alaska Democratic congresswoman – has drawn opposition from Dan J Sullivan.
Dan J Sullivan emerged from an 18 August primary to join a four-candidate field rounded out by Dan S Sullivan, Peltola and one other contender. His presence in the field for the general election during the 3 November midterms has prompted accusations that he is a Democratic plant aiming to draw enough votes away from Dan J Sullivan – whose name was positioned consecutively to him on the primary ballot – so that Peltola can win.
Donald Trump’s Republican party is projected to lose congressional seats during the midterms, and the president wrote on social media on the day of the primary: “ALASKA: Be careful. VOTE FOR THE REAL DAN SULLIVAN TODAY.
“The Dumocrats know how good he is and have put up an imposter of the same name.”
Trump was not the only Republican politico to come out swinging for Dan S Sullivan’s re-election bid on the day of the primary, in which Peltola finished first. Another who came out in favor of the incumbent was Dan A Sullivan, the mayor of Anchorage, Alaska , for six years beginning in 2009.
Related: Ex-mayor Dan Sullivan supports incumbent Dan Sullivan’s Senate bid against third Dan Sullivan
Hakeem Jeffries meeting with Jared Kushner sparks fierce backlash
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries’ meeting with Jared Kushner, the president’s influential son-in-law, has sparked backlash from his own party and other Donald Trump critics.
The reported meeting comes months ahead of the November midterm elections in which Democrats are favored to retake the US House, a development that would make Jeffries speaker.
If they are in the majority, Democrats are expected to use their oversight power to aggressively investigate the Trump administration, including self-enrichment by the president and his family.
There are longstanding conflict-of-interest concerns about the way Kushner has continued to make money from foreign nations as he works on foreign affairs, including conflicts in Ukraine, Iran and Gaza.
Asked about the reported meeting, Jeffries said in a statement:
Throughout this Congress, Republicans have adopted a my-way-or-the-highway approach to governing that has failed the American people. To stop the madness, we have repeatedly made clear that an extremist approach will not work and will be met with forceful opposition.
The American people want bold change and that’s what House Democrats will deliver. In every conversation that we have with the Trump administration, we will continue to make it explicitly clear that the affordability crisis is not a hoax and nothing short of transformational policy change is acceptable. We are fighting for an affordable America. The question is whether Republicans will join us.
Nonetheless, among some who lamented the reported gathering was Tommy Vietor, previously an aide to former president Barack Obama and now a co-host of the left-leaning podcast Pod Save America.
“Jared Kushner has no actual government job he just uses his family connections to get money from gulf autocrats and fund corrupt deals. The only way [Jeffries] should work with him is with demands for documents and subpoenas,” Vietor posted .
Asked whether he supported the meeting during an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Senator Chris van Hollen – a Maryland Democrat – said: “I’m in favor of people meeting with whoever they want to discuss ideas. But it’s one thing to have a meeting. It’s another thing to see something real come out of that.”
Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican congressman from Illinois who is an outspoken Trump critic and served on a House committee that investigated the Capitol attack, posted in reference to the meeting, “Make this make sense,” while tagging Jeffries.
Related: Democrats incredulous over Hakeem Jeffries and Jared Kushner meeting
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This report is published with credit to theguardian.com. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on theguardian.com →
Source: theguardian.com · Robert Mackey (now); Anna Betts, Shrai Popat and Tom Ambrose (earlier). Published 24 Aug 2026, 10:47 pm.
