Rubber meets the road in mail-in ballot fight

Time is quickly running short on the Trump administration’s ability to implement President Trump ’s push to restrict mail-in ballots as his executive order remains mired in a court battle.

The midterm voting period officially kicks off today as election officials in North Carolina can start sending out mail-in ballots to voters who request them, under state law.

The state elections board has a special meeting planned for 9 a.m. to discuss possible new guidance on mail-in voting but so far hasn’t released the potential rules changes that it’s considering.

That caused frustration from North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D), who called on the board to “get it together.”

“No one should have to ask these questions less than 48 hours before absentee ballots are mailed out,” he said in a post on the social platform X .

Still, state elections board spokesperson Jason Tyson told Carolina Public Press on Thursday that they have “no current plans” to use the portal that the Postal Service has set up for carrying out the order.

The administration is currently appealing a federal judge’s ruling blocking it from moving forward with voting restrictions at least for one more week. The Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to lift the block.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani , who issued the two-week pause, separately held a hearing Thursday to determine whether to block the plan indefinitely. She hasn’t issued a ruling yet.

At issue is whether the U.S. Postal Service can carry out a rule from Trump’s order directing that mail-in ballots only be sent to people on a list of eligible voters provided by states to the federal government. Under Trump’s order, the Postal Service would not deliver mail-in ballots to those not on the list or ballots that don’t meet certain design requirements, including unique barcodes for tracking.

But while the legal battle has bounced from court to court, the window has been closing on the time needed to implement the order even if the courts were to uphold it.

Today marks 60 days before Election Day — the same number of days in advance that states would have to have submitted their voter lists by under Trump’s executive order.

While North Carolina is the only state that could send ballots as soon as today — another 18 states start sending ballots around 45 days before an election — this 60-day timeline affects even the states that don’t plan to send out their mail-in ballots for another month.

That would likely require the Postal Service to adjust its policy if the order were to be upheld, and even then, the time to carry all this out would be extremely limited.

Courts also tend to be hesitant about making major changes to election administration too close to Election Day unless an urgent situation warrants it.

The Postal Service also appears to be dealing with other logistical difficulties toward implementing the order beyond the court battles. A whistleblower report released earlier this week cast doubt about the functionality of the portal that was created to help carry out the order.

The whistleblower alleged the system has many flaws because of its “rushed” development, which included the elimination of a standard testing period.

▪ Bloomberg : Why Trump’s war on mail-in voting risks backfiring.

▪ CNN : Election officials say they can’t comply with Trump’s mail-in ballot rules.

The Missouri Supreme Court has blocked a GOP-passed congressional map from going into effect in November, ruling unanimously that a referendum intended to overrule the map could go on the ballot in November. The decision effectively saves Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s (D-Mo.) district and makes him a favorite to win reelection.

Trump announced Adam Telle , the current assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, will serve as acting Army secretary in the aftermath of Dan Driscoll’s resignation from the post. Telle is assuming the role “effective immediately.”

Fox News announced it has parted ways with longtime host Maria Bartiromo , giving few details about what led to her departure in a short statement. The network thanked Bartiromo for her past 12 and a half years working at Fox and wished her “all the best on her next chapter.” She had been one of Trump’s strongest defenders at Fox.

EARLY RELEASE : House Republican leadership announced Thursday it would cancel the final two weeks of its September session, ending the legislative calendar early before the midterms.

Lawmakers are heading out of town ahead of the Labor Day weekend and won’t return until the next Monday, Sept. 14 — the same day that the Senate will return from its monthlong recess. The House will be in session through that week, but now members will return home for the last two weeks of the month.

Members of both parties are eager to focus on campaigning ahead of the midterms as they battle for control of both chambers of Congress.

The House was able to pass the short-term funding measure to keep the government open past the midterms through Dec. 11, which Trump signed into law Wednesday, but it wasn’t expected to advance much other significant business with time winding down and a razor-thin majority.

The House Republican whip’s office said members could still be called back to Washington during those two weeks with 48 hours’ notice if the Senate approves what would be a party-line budget reconciliation package, which would provide additional funding for the Iran war, among other initiatives. But the package is facing significant hurdles in the upper chamber, casting doubt on whether it can move forward at all.

▪ The Hill : House Republican expects Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to return after Labor Day.

▪ The Hill : Bipartisan insulin price cap introduced in House.

MOVING FORWARD : House Democratic leadership seems ready to move on from the drama over the surprise defections that riled up the caucus earlier this week.

The Hill’s Mike Lillis reports that House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries ’s (D-N.Y.) tone dramatically changed Thursday after he met with Democratic Reps. Jared Golden (Maine) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), two centrists who bucked their party to vote with most Republicans in favor in advancing a handful of legislation that was otherwise set to fail.

Jeffries and his deputies had initially suggested the move warranted a “significant response,” while some Democrats wanted the two of them to lose their committee posts. But the leader said he and the two members came away from their meeting agreeing to communicate “in a consistent way where we can arrive at shared priorities.”

He said rank-and-file Democrats will continue to discuss possible changes to internal caucus rules in response to the defections, but he suggested Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez will not be punished.

▪ The Hill : Democrats worry rising socialism turning off Hispanic voters.

▪ The Hill Insider : Democrats weigh how big to go on healthcare reform push.

FEDERAL CASE : A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer has reportedly been federally charged with lying to authorities about the events leading up to him shooting a Venezuelan man in the leg during the administration’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

Multiple outlets reported Christian Castro has been charged with making false statements to federal investigators about shooting Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg during the enforcement surge in January.

Castro was previously arrested in Texas after he was charged in Minnesota with second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and falsely reporting a crime. But he was released from jail last week as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said he wasn’t obligated to extradite Castro to Minnesota authorities while the Texas secretary of state’s office reviews the case.

Sosa-Celis had initially been accused of beating an officer with a broom handle and snow shovel, but the charges were dropped after video evidence showed the officers might have lied about the encounter, The Associated Press reported.

The federal indictment against Castro hadn’t been unsealed as of late Thursday.

▪ The Hill : ICE whistleblower says agency cut corners to fill ranks.

▪ IndyStar : ICE mobilization spreads throughout Indianapolis.

The president will leave the White House to travel to Bedminster, N.J., for the weekend.

The House and Senate will convene at 10 a.m. for pro forma sessions.

THE ULTIMATE FEMINIST ICON : Tributes are pouring in to honor Gloria Steinem after the leader of second-wave feminism and co-founder of Ms. Magazine died Wednesday at the age of 92.

Steinem was remembered as a trailblazer who was critical to the women’s rights movement.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , the first woman to serve as a major party presidential nominee, phoned in to “CBS Mornings,” calling Steinem the “architect” of women’s equality.

“Oh, Gayle, I’m heartsick, as I think everyone who not only knew her but followed her, was inspired and challenged by her,” Clinton said.

The former first lady credited Steinem with creating opportunities for women over the course of decades, including for Sally Ride to become the first American woman to go into space and for Title IX to be passed.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the first female House Speaker, said Steinem “changed what was possible for women in America.”

“As we honor her extraordinary life, we must teach the next generation about the barriers she broke and to remain relentless in our pursuit of equality—just as Gloria would want us to be,” she said in a post on X .

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex , remembered working with Steinem to encourage more young voters to become politically active and getting to know her on a personal level.

Former President Obama , who awarded Steinem the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013, said she helped awaken the world to the problems of domestic violence, lack of affordable childcare and unfair hiring practices.

A wide range of celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey and Billie Jean King , also praised the activist and icon.

▪ Ms. : Steinem on the feminist movement and the work ahead.

▪ NPR : Later in life, Steinem found herself free of the ‘demands of gender.’

NYC AI PAUSE : New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) has rolled out a one-year moratorium on the use of artificial intelligence in public school classrooms for elementary and middle school — just days before students are set to return to class.

The ban applies for 2-year-olds in pre-school through the last year of middle school in eighth grade. A “small” number of high school classrooms, up to five per school, will have access to AI pilot programs under the “direct supervision” of a teacher, Mamdani’s office said.

Public high school students will also take two AI critical thinking classes during the 2026-2027 academic year. The use of AI chatbots will be prohibited across all grades.

Mamdani said children need teachers and “human connection” to learn and grow in classrooms.

“The tech industry wants us to believe that AI in early education is not only inevitable, but that it is necessary. We do not see it that way,” he said at a press conference.

Mamdani’s action is one of the latest instances of officials taking action to limit the impacts of the development of artificial intelligence and technology on youth. Many states have passed restrictions on the use of cellphones during the school day.

He’s not alone in taking action on AI, as officials in Los Angeles also announced that they would significantly restrict the use of AI at all grade levels.

▪ The Hill : House Republican says China ‘has it right’ on AI use in classrooms.

Our healthcare system is crashing. Congress must stabilize it , Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.) writes in The Hill.

Black women are poised for historic congressional gains in November , former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile writes in The Hill.

And finally … 👏👏👏 Congrats to this week’s Morning Report quiz winners ! They deserve their own commemorative coin for their knowledge about who has been honored on U.S. currency.

Here’s who went 4/4: Stan Wasser, Rick Schmidtke, Carmine Petracca, Chuck Schoenenberger, Harry Strulovici, Richard Baznik, Billie Goegebeur, Jess Elger, Ned Sauthoff, Gary Cranshaw, Linda L. Field, Jenessa Wagner, Steve Comer, Robert Bradley, John Trombetti, Mark R. Williamson, Terry Pflaumer, Pam Manges, Gail White, Steve James, Savannah Petracca and Naomi Petracca .

Before Trump, the only sitting president to have a coin released with their likeness on it was Calvin Coolidge , who appeared on a commemorative 150th anniversary coin along with George Washington in 1926.

Harriet Tubman was set to appear on the front of the $20 bill in place of Andrew Jackson, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced in July after a series of delays that the department had scrapped plans to do so .

First lady Martha Washington is the only woman so far to have appeared as the primary portrait on U.S. paper currency, appearing on a $1 silver certificate from the late 19th century to mid-20th century.

Despite being arguably the most well-known of the group, Theodore Roosevelt is the only one of those listed who hasn’t appeared on a bill. Grover Cleveland is on the $1,000 bill, William McKinley appears on the $500 bill and Woodrow Wilson appears on the $100,000 bill, though none of these are currently in circulation.