The White House says $500 checks start in October
The White House announced Thursday that nearly 1 million people will get $500 refund checks starting in October. It says the money is health insurance exchange fees collected in excess of what running the federal exchange cost. Eligibility is narrow, limited to people who buy on the federal exchange and pay the full premium themselves. That works out to roughly $500 million, and the fact sheet gives no legal authority for the refunds and no accounting for the surplus.
Trump pledges $5,000 checks, and the right pushes back
Trump promised a $5,000 dividend for every adult citizen at Wednesday's convention keynote in Dallas. It is conditional twice, on Republicans holding Congress and then on Congress passing it. Representative Chip Roy of Texas called it dependency, and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, no critic of the administration, called it a bread and circus bribe.
A new rule reaches past diplomats to embassy staff
An interim final rule took effect September 4 and applies only to births on or after that date. It treats children born here to foreign government employees as noncitizens at birth, and offers them permanent residence registration instead. The 1982 rules it replaces covered only accredited diplomats, while this one reaches embassy and consulate staff.
A fight over acting prosecutors reaches the Supreme Court
The Ninth Circuit ruled that Trump's acting United States attorney in Nevada was never lawfully in the job. The administration asked the Supreme Court to take the case Tuesday. The solicitor general counts four other courts voiding acting appointments, notes the Federal Circuit went the other way, and says both parties have used this route for 25 years.
Rural hospital grants work out to $189,000 each
Health and Human Services sent nearly $25 million to 132 small rural hospitals, which works out to roughly $189,000 each. That is retention money for physicians and nurses, not the rescue from closure the release gestures at. Recipients may spend it on emergency and inpatient services, and the release links the full list of hospitals.
- The State Department made seven former Ecuadorian officials generally ineligible to enter the United States over gang corruption. State Department →
- Trump signed a law authorizing a Medal of Honor monument on the National Mall. Authorization is not construction. White House →