The Daily Brief
Today
Good morning. The House passed a sweeping Russia and Iran sanctions bill Wednesday night, named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, and sent it to Trump's desk. It gives the president authority to impose tariffs on top importers of Russian oil and gas, such as China and India, and divides Democrats and Republicans, with some warning it gives the president power that could be turned against US allies. The same week, the House voted for a third time on a war powers resolution meant to stop Trump from continuing military action against Iran without congressional approval — a war now nearly seven months old, still stuck in the Senate, while leaked photos show a severed radar jet, flattened trailers and severely damaged buildings at US bases in the Gulf from Iranian strikes.
In Texas, the family of Tierra Walker, 37, sued Attorney General Ken Paxton and the doctors who treated her, after [she died from preeclampsia in 2024, suffering seizures, blood clots, and a hypertensive crisis after being denied an abortion](https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/6094214-texas-woman-family-suing-paxton).
Trump has made more stock trades than all 535 members of Congress combined since 2025 — more than 80 trades a day in his first 17 months back in office — even as Congress hands him more unilateral power. Federal authorities confirmed a foreign actor breached the network of two oil tankers bound for Texas in August. FBI Director Kash Patel, installed by Trump despite brief experience in law enforcement, faced a Senate hearing this week and declined a lifeline offered by a Republican senator.
Abroad, a global survey found sinking trust in both US and Chinese leadership, with the survey's commissioner noting that on global problems, people are no longer looking to the United States for the answer. At home, Republicans are bracing for the midterms: GOP strategist Shermichael Singleton burst out laughing on CNN when asked to name candidates navigating the environment well, while Vance is asking voters for another chance as Democrats gain ground and train thousands of volunteers to counter voter intimidation at the polls.
Zoom out: Congress handed Trump sweeping new sanctions and tariff power the same week leaked photos showed the Iran war's toll on US bases, Trump's stock trades outpaced all of Congress combined, and a Texas family sued over a death after a denied abortion.