Sep 3
Mo. Supreme Court
Unanimously holds HB 1 "is not the law and has never been the law" under the state constitution's referendum power. Orders Secretary Hoskins to use the 2022 map.
September 7–13, 2026 · Sunday Edition · 51 days to midterms
No. 26A326 · Per curiam stay · Sep 10, 2026 · Referred from Justice Kavanaugh
Three courts, two congressional maps, nine days until overseas ballots mail. On Thursday the full Supreme Court stayed Chief Judge Stephen Clark's order forcing Missouri onto its GOP-drawn HB 1 districts — leaving the state's 2022 map in place for November as litigation races toward the Eighth Circuit.
Sources: SCOTUS — order list Sep 10 · SCOTUSblog — Amy Howe
Missouri · Sep 3–10
In six days Missouri's congressional districts bounced between a state supreme court injunction, a federal TRO, and two Supreme Court emergency applications — each citing different constitutional harms.
Sep 3
Mo. Supreme Court
Unanimously holds HB 1 "is not the law and has never been the law" under the state constitution's referendum power. Orders Secretary Hoskins to use the 2022 map.
Sep 4
U.S. Supreme Court
Hoskins files emergency application (No. 26A304) raising Elections Clause, Article I § 2, and Equal Protection claims to restore HB 1.
Sep 8
Justice Kavanaugh
Denies Hoskins' application without referring to the full Court — leaving the Missouri Supreme Court's injunction in place.
Sep 8
E.D. Mo. · Clark
Hours after Kavanaugh's denial, Chief Judge Clark grants a TRO in Onder v. Missouri, ordering the state to use HB 1 — the map used in August primaries.
Sep 9
8th Circuit
Declines to stay Clark's TRO, finding it "either lack[s] jurisdiction" or that stay factors "have not been met."
Sep 10
U.S. Supreme Court
Grants stay in People Not Politicians v. Onder (No. 26A326), pausing Clark's order. Missouri returns to the 2022 map. No public dissents noted.
Sources: SCOTUSblog — Kavanaugh denial · E.D. Mo. — stay denial Sep 9
Follow-up · No. 26A304 · Sep 8
Two days before the full Court acted in the parallel federal case, Justice Kavanaugh — circuit justice for the Eighth Circuit — turned down Secretary Hoskins' request to stay the Missouri Supreme Court's ruling. Hoskins had argued the state court's referendum-driven injunction violated the Elections Clause by allowing 3.3% of voters to override the legislature's redistricting authority and that switching maps after August primaries would inflict "unprecedented chaos."
Source: SCOTUSblog — Sep 8 order
"The law is the law, the constitution is clear as was the Missouri Supreme Court. The courts have settled this — now it's up to Missouri voters to finish the job."
Richard von Glahn, Executive Director · People Not Politicians Missouri · via PBS News
E.D. Mo. · Sep 8
Less than an hour after Kavanaugh's denial, Chief Judge Stephen Clark issued a temporary restraining order in a lawsuit brought by Rep. Robert Onder and other plaintiffs — directing Missouri to conduct November elections under HB 1. Clark found voters who participated in August primaries under the GOP-drawn map would face irreparable harm if forced to vote in different districts in November, invoking Purcell principles in reverse.
Missouri Supreme Court · Sep 3
HB 1 suspended retroactively. State constitution authorizes referendum on "any act of the general assembly." The 2022 census map governs November unless voters approve HB 1 at the ballot.
E.D. Mo. TRO · Sep 8
Voters who nominated candidates under HB 1 in August primaries would be "deprived of any role in nominating" their general-election representatives if the map switches. TRO preserves the status quo from the primary.
Sources: Clark TRO — Sep 8 · Democracy Docket — analysis
Referendum proponents filed their own emergency application after the Eighth Circuit declined to block Clark's TRO. The full Court granted the stay Thursday morning — pausing Clark's September 8 order pending Eighth Circuit appeal and any certiorari petition. The Missouri Supreme Court simultaneously found Secretary Hoskins in contempt for directing election officials to use HB 1 despite the state court's injunction.
Sources: SCOTUS — order Sep 10 · The Missouri Times — Sep 10
Shadow docket · Filed Sep 8
For the second time in three days, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to clear the way for a voter-verification program. Solicitor General D. John Sauer urged the justices to pause Judge Sparkle Sooknanan's June 22 ruling barring DHS from using the modified SAVE database to verify voters' citizenship — arguing the injunction "makes it harder to detect ineligible voters" and undermines election integrity.
Sources: SCOTUSblog — Sep 8 · SCOTUS — No. 26A308 docket
Follow-up · 1st Circuit · Sep 10
The Boston-based First Circuit declined to stay Judge Talwani's September 4 preliminary injunction blocking mandatory sections of the USPS ballot-mail final rule — keeping barcode tracking, portal registration, and standardized envelope requirements off the table for the November 3 midterms while the administration's Supreme Court application (No. 26A305) remains pending.
Sources: Reuters — Sep 10 · SCOTUSblog — opposition briefs
4th Circuit · Sep 10 · No. 25-7050
Judge Nicole Berner held that 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) — not the mandatory-detention provision in § 1225(b)(2)(A) — governs longtime residents detained during removal proceedings, entitling them to bond hearings before an immigration judge. The decision marks the administration's ninth consecutive loss in the federal appeals courts on no-bond detention policy.
Dissent · Judge Quattlebaum
Warned the majority's reading would mean Congress "quietly ordered the single largest mass detention of human beings in our nation's history" by applying § 1225 to interior enforcement.
Sources: 4th Cir. — published opinion · Migrant Insider — circuit tally
DOJ Antitrust · Sep 9–10
The Justice Department opened an investigation into whether Nvidia structured its licensing deal with AI chip startup Groq to avoid Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust review. Nvidia announced the arrangement in December — obtaining non-exclusive rights to Groq's technology and hiring founder Jonathan Ross and other executives — while the DOJ sent a formal request for information shortly after the deal closed.
Sources: Reuters — Sep 10 · Bloomberg — Josh Sisco
$0B
licensing agreement under DOJ review
DOJ Civil · Sep 10
$0M
False Claims Act · self-disclosed kickbacks
Dompé U.S. agreed to pay $32 million to resolve allegations that between 2018 and 2021 it paid Medicare beneficiary co-pays through two patient assistance foundations to induce purchases of Oxervate — violating the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts noted it has recovered over $1.4 billion in drug-company kickback cases.
Source: DOJ press release — Sep 10
SEC Rulemaking · Federal Register Sep 10
The SEC published a proposed rule to rescind 17 C.F.R. § 275.206(4)-5 — the investment adviser political contribution rule adopted in 2010 — along with related recordkeeping under Rule 204-2. Comments are due November 9. The Commission maintains existing antifraud provisions, fiduciary duties, and the compliance rule are sufficient to police pay-to-play practices.
Current rule · since 2010
17 C.F.R. § 275.206(4)-5
Two-year compensation ban after political contributions to covered officials. Strict liability for "foot faults." Recordkeeping under Rule 204-2(a)(18).
Proposed · Release IA-6994
91 Fed. Reg. 57698
Full rescission. Enforcement shifts to Advisers Act antifraud provisions (intent required). Comment period through Nov 9, 2026.
Sources: Federal Register — Sep 10 · SEC press release — Sep 3
SEC Enforcement · Sep 2026
The SEC sued Institutional Shareholder Services in federal court to compel compliance with an administrative subpoena issued in July. Staff from the Division of Examinations opened an examination in March; after ISS produced a limited data sample, the SEC sought client information for all accounts from July 2024 through February 2026. ISS allegedly ignored nine follow-up requests.
Whether ISS complied with federal securities laws in its proxy advisory services
Whether ISS maintained adequate books and records under the Advisers Act
Whether ISS's client disclosure practices meet fiduciary duty standards
Source: TheCorporateCounsel.net — Sep 10
Civil Rights · Sep 9
The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and the Department of Education announced joint investigative findings that U.C. Berkeley School of Law discriminates against white and Asian applicants in admissions, violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Supreme Court's 2023 Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard decision. The findings follow the department's broader push to enforce race-neutral admissions standards at selective institutions.
Source: TIJ News — DOJ Watch Sep 10
VI
Title VI · Civil Rights Act of 1964
State highlight · Missouri
With the 2022 map restored for November, Missouri voters will decide Proposition A — whether to approve HB 1's redrawn districts — on the same ballot that elects the state's congressional delegation. The referendum collected more than 300,000 signatures in December 2025, triggering the state constitutional process that set this week's three-court fight in motion.
Source: PBS News — Sep 10
Three-week pre-midterm session opens. Government funded through Dec 11 under P.L. 119-103.
League of Women Voters' brief in opposition to stay application in DHS v. League of Women Voters, No. 26A308.
Senate cloture vote on motion to proceed to H.R. 3633 — first floor test for crypto market-structure legislation.
Expedited briefing schedule in People Not Politicians v. Onder appeal from Clark's TRO.
Eighth Circuit hears Missouri map appeal. Government response due in USF College Republicans v. Lutnick cert petition (No. 26-223).
Ballot mailing accelerates nationwide — administration seeks stay of Talwani PI before overseas and absentee deadlines.
CNN's brief in opposition due in Trump v. Cable News Network, Inc., No. 26-223.
Absentee ballots begin mailing as Kavanaugh weighs Michigan ballot-initiative emergency application.