Stephen Dinan

Justice Jackson gives Trump short-term win on food stamp payments during shutdown

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson gave the Trump administration a short reprieve late Friday, putting on hold a lower court ruling that had ordered the government to pay full food stamp benefits, despite the government shutdown.

November 7, 2025

Trump asks Supreme Court to let him block some food stamp payments

The Trump administration rushed to the Supreme Court Friday night asking the justices to put on hold lower court action that ordered the government to pay out full food stamp benefits amid the government shutdown.

November 7, 2025

Trump admin illegally hijacked federal workers’ emails to blame Democrats for shutdown, judge rules

A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration crossed First Amendment lines when it took over employees' email accounts to force their messages to include language blaming Democrats for the government shutdown.

November 7, 2025

States rush to pay food stamp benefits as court ponders Trump appeal

States say they are now paying full food stamp benefits, rushing to get money out the door to needy Americans even as President Trump appeals the court ruling that ordered him to pay.

November 7, 2025

Sen. Ernst says it’s time to cancel $65 billion in unspent COVID cash

Five years after the coronavirus pandemic struck -- and two years after the government declared the emergency over -- states are still awash in cash that Congress doled out.

November 7, 2025

Ice cream maker gets probation after mistakenly selling his personal THC-laced product

A federal judge gave two years of probation to an ice cream maker who says he mistakenly sold some of his own personal product laced with THC, leaving three customers sick enough to end up in the emergency room.

November 7, 2025

Investigation clears Massachusetts judge of intentionally thwarting ICE arrest of illegal immigrant

A Massachusetts judge accused of trying to help an unauthorized immigrant avoid arrest by ICE actually had no idea about the escape plan, and only inadvertently assisted in its execution, a state investigation has concluded.

November 7, 2025

Judge orders Trump to fully pay food stamps

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to pay out the full food stamp benefit this month, rejecting the government's claim that it only has the money to pay out only part of the benefits amid the government shutdown.

November 6, 2025

Appeals court allows Texas drag show ban to take effect

A federal appeals court tossed a lower court ruling Thursday that had blocked Texas's ban on drag shows where kids are present, and suggested sexually explicit performances may not enjoy First Amendment protections.

November 6, 2025

Supreme Court allows Trump to enforce passport policy requiring person’s biological gender

The Supreme Court told President Trump he can move forward with a policy requiring U.S. passports to record a person's biological sex and doing away with gender-neutral markers, saying Thursday that he was acting under his foreign policy powers.

November 6, 2025

Kansas mayor charged with being a noncitizen who cast illegal votes

Jose Ceballos, the mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, shouldn't have been allowed to vote for himself because he isn't even a citizen, the state's attorney general said in bringing criminal charges against the man.

November 6, 2025

IRS to get rid of Direct File program that offered free tax prep service

The IRS has told Congress it will scrap the controversial Direct File program it created during the Biden administration, doing away with a government-run free-filing alternative to paid services such as TurboTax.

November 6, 2025

Pelosi’s departure opens high-profile San Francisco seat; Ocasio-Cortez’s ex-chief of staff in race

Rep. Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she'll retire at the end of this term, closing out a historic 20-term congressional career that saw her become the first woman speaker of the U.S. House.

November 6, 2025

Clocks and soap: Judge orders ICE to improve conditions at controversial Chicago-area facility

A federal judge has ruled that ICE has been keeping illegal immigrant detainees in squalid conditions at its facility near Chicago, and ordered a list of changes including cleaning cells twice a day, three full meals, soap and toothbrushes, and clocks in each room.

November 5, 2025

Trump admin notches fewest border encounters with unauthorized migrants in record October

Homeland Security said Wednesday that it has just completed its sixth straight month without catching and releasing any illegal immigrants apprehended at the southern border.

November 5, 2025

GOP chiefs demand Roberts silence unruly judges criticizing Supreme Court over Trump cases

Two senior Republicans asked Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Wednesday to shut down lower federal judges who have been carping over how the courts have been handling Trump-related cases, saying they are undermining the integrity of the judiciary.

November 5, 2025

Judge orders Trump to restart sign language interpreters for White House briefings

A federal judge on Tuesday spanked the White House for its decision to cancel sign language interpretation of presidential events, saying the law appears to require it.

November 4, 2025

Congressman moves to impeach Judge Boasberg over ‘weaponization’ of courts against Trump

A Republican congressman has drawn up an article of impeachment against frequent Trump adversary Judge James Boasberg, saying his decision to authorize the FBI to secretly snoop on members of Congress crossed lines.

November 4, 2025

Trump says SNAP benefits won’t resume until government reopens

President Trump said his administration won't restart the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food benefits, for 42 million low-income Americans until the government shutdown ends.

November 4, 2025

Trump’s vindictive streak could bite him in court

Trying to get a criminal case tossed on the basis of vindictive prosecution is usually considered a Hail Mary, but experts said the Trump Justice Department is about to test that.

November 4, 2025