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U.S. Government Shutdown Begins After Senate Fails to Pass Funding

Source 1: Fox News, Source 2: CNN

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Trump’s Effort to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook

Key Economic Regulators Begin Furloughs Amid Shutdown, Disrupting Market Oversight

Source 1: The Economic Times, Source 2: Yahoo Finance

Share your act of courage this week to be included in next week’s update — you can even backdate your act to September 8th.

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Vote Smart provides easy access to congressional and state voting records and maintains a collection of key votes grouped by issue. Vote Smart uses the following criteria to select key votes:

The vote should be helpful in portraying how a member stands on a particular issue.
The vote should be clear for any person to understand.
The vote has received media attention.
The vote was passed or defeated by a very close margin.

Click Here for the Key Votes Visualization

Congress

ongress – Senate Failed HR 5371 – Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026

Congress – Senate Failed S 2882 – Continuing Appropriations and Extensions and Other Matters Act, 2026

Congress – Senate Nomination Confirmed PN 26-10 - Nomination of Hung Cao to be Under Secretary of the Navy

State

California (CA) – Senate Concurrence Vote Passed SB 243 - Requires the Operator of an Artificial Intelligence Chatbot to Disclose that the Chatbot is Artificial Intelligence to Any User that is a Minor and to Maintain a Protocol for Preventing the Production of Suicidal Ideation, Suicide, or Self-Harm Content

North Dakota (ND) – Governor Kelly Armstrong signed HB 1442 – Establishes a State Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Task Force

North Carolina (NC) – House Concurrence Vote Passed HB 926 – Limits Local Governments' Authority to Regulate the Display of the U.S. Flag on Private Property

For full details on each bill, visit our Vote Smart Issue Summary page.

Republican Ryan Walters resigned this week as Oklahoma’s Superintendent of Public Instruction. Walters, who was elected to this position in 2022, left his post to become CEO of the Teacher Freedom Alliance. Governor Kevin Stitt, also a Republican, is expected to name a replacement for Walters, and this individual will serve out the remainder of the term ending in January 2027.

Next week, there is a special primary election for Congress in Tennessee. Click on the link below to view the candidates running:

Tennessee Special Congressional Primary Election, District 7

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