3 digests on politics.
In a heated Michigan Senate race, Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed faced an empty podium on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, after Republican opponent Mike Rogers declined to attend a debate hosted by FOX 2 Detroit. The event, part of 'The Pulse' program, highlighted a growing rift in campaign strategies and raised questions about voter engagement in a key battleground state.
· FOX 2 Detroit, The Hill, HuffPost
Chief Justice John Roberts recently praised William Howard Taft as his role model—a decision that critics say reveals everything wrong with today’s Supreme Court. In a piece for Slate, legal scholars Nikolas Bowie and Daphna Renan argue that Roberts’ admiration for Taft, who led the court to strike down Reconstruction-era laws that restrained presidents, signals a dangerous shift: the court is increasingly placing the president above enacted federal law. This trend, combined with recent rulings on immunity, election interference, and agency independence, has revived a 19th-century fight over whether the Supreme Court should be supreme over Congress or accountable to it.
· Slate Magazine, Dayton Daily News, FXStreet
The Trump administration has announced a major shift in U.S. foreign military financing, redirecting $52 million from countries in Europe and the Middle East to conservative-leaning nations in Central and South America. The move, reported on September 15, 2026, underscores a strategic pivot toward the Western Hemisphere, emphasizing drug trafficking and immigration control while reducing commitments to NATO allies. This article explores the reasons, implications, and reactions to this policy change.
· Yahoo, Newser, The Iola Register
