April 28

FCC orders expedited review of eight ABC broadcast station licenses

FCC Chair Brendan Carr orders all eight ABC-owned television stations to file for early license renewal within 30 days, triggering a formal regulatory review process. The stations — in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, Raleigh, and Fresno — hold licenses that Disney needs to operate its broadcast television network. Carr cites the network''s DEI hiring practices as the official basis for the review, not the Kimmel joke, though the timing makes the triggering incident clear. The action is the first FCC-ordered expedited license review targeting a specific broadcast network in the modern era. Disney and ABC face potential loss of the stations that anchor their broadcast business.

King Charles III addresses joint session of Congress

King Charles III became the first British monarch to address a joint session of Congress since Queen Elizabeth II in 1991, delivering a speech on April 28, 2026, during a state visit marking America's 250th anniversary. Invited by Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate leaders from both parties, Charles emphasized the US-UK alliance and opened his remarks referencing the previous night's shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. The address drew bipartisan standing ovations.

GAO finds Treasury skipped security rules granting DOGE access to federal payment systems

The Government Accountability Office releases a report finding that the Treasury Department's Bureau of Fiscal Service failed to follow basic IT security protocols when granting DOGE employees access to three federal payment systems in January and February 2025. The systems manage tax refunds, government salaries, Social Security, and other payments affecting millions of Americans. GAO finds that one DOGE employee — whose details match public reporting on Marko Elez — received access to view, copy, and print data from all three systems without completing required security training or signing the bureau's "rules of behavior" policy. The employee was also temporarily and accidentally granted the ability to modify and delete data in one of the systems. GAO finds no evidence data was changed. GAO also finds that Elez sent an unencrypted file containing personal information on 350 USAID payment recipients to two DOGE associates at the General Services Administration without obtaining agency approval, a probable security incident under Treasury rules. Treasury's data loss prevention tools did not detect or block the transmission. GAO issues multiple recommendations, which Treasury partially accepts. It is one of the first GAO reports released on DOGE''s government-wide data access practices.

King Charles addresses joint meeting of Congress — second British monarch to do so

King Charles III delivers an address to a joint meeting of Congress on April 28, becoming only the second British monarch to speak to Congress after his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1991. Charles and Queen Camilla are on a state visit to the United States — the first since Charles became king in 2022 — partly timed to the 250th anniversary of American independence. Speaking in the House chamber before Vice President JD Vance and Speaker Mike Johnson, Charles emphasizes the shared history and democratic values of the United States and United Kingdom. He shows NATO''s importance and calls on Congress to recommit to collective defense, despite public tensions with the Trump administration over military alliances. He invokes the only use of Article 5 in NATO''s history — after the September 11 attacks — and announces that he and Camilla will visit New York''s 9/11 memorial ahead of the 25th anniversary. The address draws bipartisan standing ovations — a rare sight in a divided Congress. That evening, Trump hosts a formal white tie state dinner at the White House, the first since President George W. Bush hosted Queen Elizabeth in 2007. Charles gifts Trump the original bell from HMS Trump, a British submarine that served in the Pacific in World War II. Trump publicly alluded to the U.S.-Israel-Iran war during remarks, placing Charles in a diplomatically delicate position.

DOJ indicts Comey for second time over seashell photo officials say threatened Trump

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announces a second federal indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, charging him with making a threat against the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. The charges stem from a photo Comey posted and deleted from Instagram on May 15, 2025, showing seashells on a beach arranged to read "86 47." Comey deleted the post the same day, writing that he had not realized some associate the numbers with violence. A grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina — where Comey has a beach house — approves two felony counts with a combined maximum of 10 years in prison. Blanche holds a press conference announcing the charges. The indictment is assigned to Judge Louise Wood Flanagan. Comey is expected to self-surrender. This is the second time the Trump administration has indicted Comey. A prior case charging him with false statements to Congress and obstruction was dismissed in late 2025 after a federal judge found the prosecutor was not lawfully appointed. Legal experts widely describe the new charges as an overreach. University of Notre Dame law professor Jimmy Gurulé calls it "an embarrassment to the American criminal justice system." Comey responds in a video on Substack: "I'm still innocent. I'm still not afraid." His attorney Patrick Fitzgerald says Comey will fight the charges in court.

House Oversight Committee receives Data Foundation enrollment data for donor information

The Data Foundation issues a formal endorsement of H.R. 8463 ahead of the Apr. 29 markup. The foundation analysis identifies administrative barriers as the primary obstacle preventing broader Do Not Pay system adoption across federal agencies. (Data Foundation, Apr. 28, 2026)

GAO releases report on Treasury security failures with DOGE payment system access

The GAO released report GAO-26-108131 finding Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Service failed to follow IT security rules when granting a DOGE member access to three federal payment systems processing 1.2 billion domestic payments annually. The unnamed employee—identified as 25-year-old Marko Elez—never completed required security training or signed Treasury's rules-of-behavior agreement. Elez sent an unencrypted file with 350 USAID recipients' personal data to DOGE associates without agency approval. Treasury's data loss prevention tools failed to flag the transfer. (U.S. GAO, Apr. 28, 2026)

Senate blocks Cuba war powers resolution 51-47, leaving Trump's blockade intact

The Senate votes 51-47 to table a War Powers Resolution that would have required President Trump to end unauthorized military activities related to Cuba within 30 days. The resolution, introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), is one of several War Powers challenges Democrats have brought as Trump has pursued aggressive military postures toward Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran without explicit congressional authorization. Cuba has been subject to a near-complete naval blockade under a Trump executive order reinstating and expanding measures from his first term. The Trump administration argues the actions fall within the president''s commander-in-chief authority and do not rise to the level of "hostilities" requiring congressional approval under the War Powers Resolution of 1973. Democrats argue the blockade constitutes an act of war requiring congressional sanction. All 47 Democrats vote in favor of the resolution. Four Republicans join them but are one vote short of the 51 needed to pass. The vote is the fifth time the Senate has blocked a War Powers challenge under Trump''s second term. A similar resolution over Iran failed 47-52 in the same week.

House Rules Committee advances farm bill with E15 attached

The House Rules Committee voted 9-4 to advance a procedural rule for floor consideration of the farm bill, FISA extension, and DHS funding. Leadership agreed to attach year-round E15 fuel sales to the farm bill after passage, and included anti-CBDC language on FISA to win over privacy hawks. Rep. Lauren Boebert initially voted no, citing rejected amendments for her rural Colorado water project and millet specialty crop provisions. (Washington Examiner, Apr. 29, 2026)

Supreme Court clears Texas congressional map targeting five Democratic seats

The Supreme Court allows Texas to proceed with its mid-decade congressional redistricting plan — known as Plan C2333 — that Republicans drew to eliminate up to five districts currently held by Democrats. The map is part of a broader national mid-decade redistricting push initiated by the Trump administration and carried out by Republican-led state legislatures. Texas Republicans argue the new map simply reflects population shifts and is constitutionally sound. Democrats argue it is an overt partisan gerrymander designed to maximize Republican seats ahead of the 2026 midterms. The map redraws several competitive suburban districts that Democrats had won in 2024 and eliminates or significantly alters the composition of several minority-majority districts. The Supreme Court's clearance comes just days before the same court issues its ruling in Louisiana v. Callais gutting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, removing the primary legal tool that would have been used to challenge racially-drawn districts in the map. Several states — including Florida, Alabama, and Georgia — are moving forward with their own mid-decade maps under the same political strategy.

Virginia Supreme Court upholds Tazewell injunction blocking certification of voter-approved redistricting referendum

The Virginia Supreme Court upholds a lower court injunction on April 28, 2026, blocking state election officials from certifying the results of the April 21 redistricting referendum that Virginia voters approved by a slim margin. A Tazewell County judge had ruled the constitutional amendment invalid the day after the vote, citing procedural defects in how the General Assembly passed the amendment. The Supreme Court hears oral arguments the following week in a parallel Republican National Committee challenge alleging Democrats improperly expanded a special legislative session to advance redistricting. Under HB 1384, Virginia law requires certification within 14 days of the election — by May 5 — creating a hard deadline that passes without resolution. Congressional candidates must file by May 26, leaving the state's entire 2026 congressional election calendar in uncertainty.

Senate votes 51-47 to block Cuba War Powers resolution

The Senate voted 51-47 on April 28, 2026, to table a War Powers Resolution introduced by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) that would have required removal of US forces from around Cuba and classified the naval blockade as a hostile act requiring congressional authorization. Republican Sen. Rick Scott introduced the point of order blocking the resolution, arguing no troops had been deployed. Only two Republicans — Rand Paul (KY) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) — voted against tabling; Democratic Sen. John Fetterman voted with Republicans to block it.

Supreme Court hears Cisco v. Doe Falun Gong surveillance case

The Supreme Court heard oral argument on April 28, 2026, in Cisco Systems v. Doe I, a case asking whether corporations can be sued under the Alien Tort Statute for aiding and abetting human rights abuses. Chinese and American Falun Gong practitioners sued Cisco for allegedly designing the "Golden Shield" — a surveillance system the Chinese Communist Party used to track, detain, and torture adherents. Justices Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson appeared most sympathetic to plaintiffs; the Court's majority seemed likely to rule for Cisco.

Farm bill bipartisan vote exceeds 96%, highest Republican support for any House bill this Congress

With 209 of 212 Republicans supporting the farm bill and 14 Democrats also voting yes, the bill achieved a 96.2 percent Republican vote share - the highest proportion of Republican support for any House bill during the 119th Congress. Only 3 Republicans voted no. The bipartisan 224-200 passage showed rare common ground on food and farm policy despite deep partisan divides. (House Clerk, Apr. 28, 2026)

Vance tours Appalachian broadband and road projects in Pikeville

Vice President JD Vance toured broadband and road infrastructure projects in Pikeville, Kentucky on April 28, 2026, funded under the administration's rural development priorities. Pikeville is in Pike County, Vance's ancestral home region and one of the lowest-income counties in Appalachia; the visit highlighted the administration's argument that tariff revenue and redirected federal spending were delivering investment to economically left-behind communities ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Second Circuit rules against mandatory detention in Barbosa da Cunha v. Moniz

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issues a 3-0 precedential decision authored by Judge Debra Ann Livingston in Barbosa da Cunha v. Moniz, holding that categorical mandatory detention under §235(c) violates the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause when applied without individualized dangerousness determinations. The opinion explicitly rejects the Jennings precedent, arguing that the Supreme Court misconstrued the statute and that the Constitution requires meaningful review even under mandatory detention provisions. Judge Livingston writes that "the plain text cannot save a detention scheme that eliminates human judgment and proportionality." The decision creates a circuit split with the 5th and 8th Circuits.

DOJ indicts former FBI Director Comey over 8647 Instagram post

A federal grand jury in North Carolina indicted former FBI Director James Comey on April 28, 2026, on charges of threatening the president and transmitting a threat via interstate commerce, based on an Instagram post showing seashells arranged as "8647" on a beach. Prosecutors argued "86" signals intent to harm and "47" refers to Trump as the 47th president; Comey said he found the shells and did not interpret the number as a threat. Each count carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

Zeldin defends plan to cut EPA budget in half at House hearing

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin testified before the House Appropriations subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies on April 28, 2026, defending the Trump administration's proposal to reduce the EPA's budget from $9.1 billion to approximately $4.5 billion — a 52 percent cut. The hearing became contentious when Zeldin clashed with Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who called the proposal a "climate change deniers' manifesto," prompting gavel interventions by Chairman Mike Simpson. The proposed cuts would eliminate climate programs and reduce enforcement staff to historically low levels.

Trump fires all 22 members of National Science Board

The White House Presidential Personnel Office sent termination emails on April 24-25, 2026, to all 22 seated members of the National Science Board, stating their positions were "terminated, effective immediately" with no explanation. The NSB was created by Congress in 1950 with Senate-confirmed members serving staggered six-year terms; fired members and Democratic lawmakers said the removals violated statutory protections and were part of a broader effort to strip NSF of independent oversight. The firing followed the Trump administration's push for deep NSF budget cuts.

USTR holds hearings on forced-labor Section 301 probe covering 60 nations

USTR held public hearings on April 28-29, 2026 at the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, DC, gathering testimony on forced labor practices across 60 investigated economies. Industry groups, NGOs, and foreign government representatives testified on potential tariff remedies under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The hearings followed the April 15 public comment deadline and will inform USTR's determination on whether each economy's practices "unreasonably burden or restrict U.S. commerce."

DOJ indicts former Fauci adviser David Morens over COVID records

The Department of Justice indicted David M. Morens, 78, former senior adviser to NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, on April 28, 2026, on charges of conspiracy against the United States, destruction and falsification of federal records, and concealment of records. Prosecutors alleged Morens and co-conspirators used his personal Gmail account to hide COVID-19 origins communications from FOIA requests, and that he attempted to restore a cancelled EcoHealth Alliance grant to suppress the lab-leak hypothesis.