April 6

Supreme Court GVR vacates Bannon contempt of Congress conviction

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a GVR order in Bannon v. United States, vacating the D.C. Circuit's ruling upholding Steve Bannon's contempt of Congress conviction and remanding the case to district court. No justice noted a dissent. The Trump DOJ had moved to dismiss the indictment in February 2026. The GVR cleared the procedural path for dismissal.

Vance chairs manufacturing roundtable with steel industry in Pittsburgh

Vice President JD Vance chaired a roundtable on manufacturing employment in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on April 6, 2026, with steel and aluminum executives who have benefited from the administration's Section 232 tariffs. The administration cited the Pittsburgh meetings as evidence of a domestic manufacturing rebound driven by tariff-based industrial policy; steel industry representatives cited increased domestic orders following reimposition of tariffs in 2025.

Jamie Dimon annual letter warns Iran war could trap Fed in stagflation

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon released his 2026 annual shareholder letter warning that the Iran war represents the skunk at the party that could push inflation higher rather than lower, trapping the Federal Reserve in a higher-for-longer rate environment. Dimon outlined a tipping-point scenario where energy shocks from the Strait of Hormuz closure combine with deficit spending to produce stagflation. He flagged eight compounding risks including souring US-China relations, trade uncertainty, and stress in private credit markets.

Biden signs Postal Service Reform Act eliminating pre-funding mandate that drove USPS losses

President Biden signs the Postal Service Reform Act into law with bipartisan support. The law eliminates a 2006 mandate that required the US Postal Service to pre-fund retiree health benefits 75 years in advance, a requirement no other federal agency faces. That mandate had driven the USPS to post net losses for 15 consecutive years, totaling over $160 billion. The law requires USPS retirees to enroll in Medicare, moves employees to the federal health benefits marketplace, and requires six-day delivery service. Postal workers union leaders call it a important step toward USPS financial stability.

US and Iran begin indirect JCPOA revival talks as Biden pledges to rejoin deal

The United States and Iran begin indirect nuclear talks in Vienna, mediated by European diplomats. The Biden administration has pledged to rejoin the JCPOA if Iran returns to compliance, but Iran insists all U.S. sanctions must be lifted first. The two sides are unable to meet directly because Iran refuses. After 13 months of on-and-off negotiations, the talks stall in August 2022 without a deal, as Iran demands guarantees against future U.S. withdrawal and the removal of the IRGC from the terrorism list.

Sessions announces zero tolerance policy, separating more than 5,500 children from parents

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a Zero Tolerance policy directing federal prosecutors to criminally charge all adults apprehended crossing the southern border without authorization. Because children cannot be held in criminal detention with adults, Border Patrol separated more than 5,500 children from their parents — including infants — and sent many to shelters hundreds or thousands of miles away. Internal DHS documents showed officials knew the policy would separate families before implementing it.

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Senate Republicans Extend Nuclear Option to Supreme Court Nominations

Senate Republicans led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell invoked the nuclear option to eliminate the 60-vote filibuster threshold for Supreme Court nominations, passing a rules change by a 52-48 party-line vote. The move came after Democrats filibustered the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia's death in February 2016. Gorsuch was confirmed the following day by a 54-45 vote, completing a process that McConnell had initiated by refusing to hold hearings on President Obama's nominee Merrick Garland for the preceding year.

D.C. Circuit Court strikes down FCC Comcast ruling, limits FCC ancillary authority

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rules that the Federal Communications Commission exceeded its authority when it sanctioned Comcast for throttling BitTorrent traffic. The court finds that the FCC lacked "statutorily mandated responsibility" to enforce network neutrality, as the agency relied on ancillary authority derived from policy statements rather than explicit statutory grants. The decision vacates the FCC's order against Comcast and establishes that the FCC must identify a specific statutory responsibility before exercising ancillary jurisdiction, significantly constraining the FCC's ability to regulate internet practices absent explicit Congressional authority.