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WEEKLY POINTS

This week’s guide to government and politics in under 10 minutes

I FORMER FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY INDICTED

Former FBI Director James Comey will face arraignment on October 9 after a federal grand jury indicted him on two counts. The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that Comey lied to a Senate committee in 2020 about authorizing a leak of classified information to the media. The indictment follows the appointment of a former member of President Trump’s criminal defense team as U.S. attorney, after the previous attorney resigned over disagreements about pursuing charges against Trump’s political opponents. President Trump has expressed hopes that the DOJ will also pursue charges against Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trump claims Schiff’s role in the first impeachment and James’s fraud charges against him were politically motivated.

>> Learn more about the charges against James Comey here.

I PRESIDENT TRUMP DEPLOYS GUARD TO PORTLAND

Oregon is suing the Trump administration to stop the deployment of the National Guard to Portland. President Trump announced on Saturday that his administration is sending at least 200 National Guard members to the city to “protect federal property” where protests are “occurring or likely to occur.” President Trump said he had authorized the National Guard to use “full force” to suppress protests targeting immigration detention centers. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield described the move as "provocative and arbitrary,” claiming it “threatens to undermine public safety by inciting a public outcry.”

>> Discover what the law says about domestic National Guard deployments here.

I JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES SIX STATES OVER VOTER DATA

The Department of Justice (DOJ) sued six states last week for their failure to turn over voter records that the department had requested. The six states —New York, California, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania — refused to turn over information from registration rolls that can include birth dates, names, partial Social Security numbers, and driver's license numbers. The states argue that state and federal law do not allow them to provide the DOJ with voter data unless the DOJ includes information on how the data will be used and secured. The DOJ has requested voter registration rolls from at least 26 states in recent months, arguing that the information is necessary to prevent voting fraud and abuse.

>> Watch ASP discuss the different roles of state and federal governments during an election here.

I SHUTDOWN LOOMS WITHOUT ACTION

A partial government shutdown is imminent unless Congress passes a spending bill before October 1. The Republican-led House passed a resolution to maintain government funding while continuing negotiations. However, the measure failed in the Senate due to a lack of support from Democrats. Democrats are calling for an extension of Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire at year's end, and provisions to prevent the funds from being rescinded by President Trump. Analysts warn that failing to extend the subsidies could lead to insurance premiums increasing by up to 75%.

>> Dig deeper into a proposal to cut congressional pay during a shutdown here.

I HEGSETH ORDERS “UNPRECEDENTED” MEETING OF MILITARY LEADERS

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has called for an "unprecedented" meeting of senior military leaders, scheduled for tomorrow. The gathering will include all officers with the rank of brigadier general or higher, as well as their top enlisted advisors. Military leaders are reportedly making arrangements to travel from around the world to attend. This comes after Hegseth previously ordered a 20% reduction in four-star officers and a 10% cut in all general-level officers as part of cost-saving measures aimed at reducing “bureaucratic bloat.” On Friday, a senior Trump administration official said that the military leaders will hear a “rally the troops” message based on the war-fighter culture favored by Hegseth, telling the New York Times that the gathering’s goal is to “get our fighters excited” about the new posture of the department, recently rebranded by President Trump as the “Department of War.”

>> Understand the “Department of War” rebrand and the history of the military cabinet positions here.

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