The Sunday — July 26

This is the Tangle Sunday Edition, a brief roundup of our independent politics coverage plus some extra features for your Sunday morning reading.

What the right is doodling.

What the left is doodling.

Suspension of the Rules.

This week, Isaac, Kmele, and a fresh-faced Ari reunite to talk election integrity, Bill O’Reilly, a twist in an old Hunter Biden story, and the challenge of separating political rhetoric from reality. Check it out:

Monday, July 20.

The Election Assistance Commission. On Thursday, July 9, President Donald Trump fired the two Democratic commissioners of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), and the agency’s final commissioner, a Republican, resigned. Without commissioners, the agency can still distribute election funding to states, but some of its functions will be impacted, such as establishing new programs or carrying out the appeals process for decertified voting systems. President Trump has not indicated whether he plans to nominate replacements. The White House said the Supreme Court’s recent ruling affirming the president’s power to remove leaders of independent agencies established precedent for the firings.

Our take: “Ousting the EAC commissioners probably won’t disrupt elections in the near term. However, the move represents Trump’s latest attempt to exert influence over elections. If the president is concerned about election security, dismantling this agency is a strange response.”

Reader Survey:

Tuesday, July 21.

New York’s data center moratorium. On Tuesday, July 14, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed an executive order pausing construction of new large-scale data centers in the state for up to one year. Hochul said the moratorium is intended to allow policymakers to study the economic and environmental effects of new data centers and consider regulatory action. The governor’s order went into effect immediately, making New York the first state to halt data center construction.

Our take: “Most people — myself included — are imposing their existing positions onto this order before engaging with it. I think data centers are unfairly maligned and are beaten up as a proxy for artificial intelligence. New York’s one-year moratorium won’t do anything about AI development, and it’s likely to have a net negative effect.”

Reader Survey:

Wednesday, July 22.

Darline Graham’s candidacy. On Monday, July 20, Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) said she will run for a full, six-year term to succeed her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R), who passed away suddenly on July 11 after suffering an aortic dissection. Republicans will hold a special primary on August 11 to select a new candidate to run against physician Annie Andrews (D) in the general election. Several other Republican candidates are expected to run in the August primary; if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held on August 25.

Our take: “Open seats should be filled as democratically as possible, not by anointing a family member of the deceased. Darline Graham’s media exposure from her appointment — plus Trump’s public support — gives her an unfair edge over other primary contenders. There should be a new process for appointments that doesn’t rely on outdated precedents.”

Reader Survey:

Thursday, July 23.

The Canadian wildfires. Last week, smoke from wildfires in Canada (as well as northern Minnesota) has affected air quality and visibility across the Midwest and East Coast of the United States. Air-quality alerts remained in place for a large portion of the country throughout the week, and experts expect wildfire smoke to remain prevalent through August. The fires have raised concerns about climate-related catalysts of extreme environmental events, as well as scrutiny of Canada’s forest management.

Our take: “Climate change is directly contributing to the prevalence and intensity of these fires, but it’s not the primary cause. That said, Trump is completely off-base in accusing Canada of mismanaging its forests. Even in a best-case scenario, the best Canada (or the U.S.) can do is mitigate the fires’ impacts.”

Reader Survey:

Friday, July 24.

As Tangle continues to grow, we want to feature interesting perspectives from across the political spectrum. In this week’s Friday essay, Megan Phelps-Roper — best known for growing up in the Westboro Baptist Church, widely regarded as a hate group, before leaving and becoming one of its foremost critics — revisits her childhood upbringing, and what she’s still returning to. You can read her essay here.

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What just happened.

Here’s a rundown of the major stories that have broken since our newsletter on Thursday.

• On Thursday, the House voted 214–208 to pass a war powers resolution to limit President Donald Trump’s military actions in Iran. Later in the day, the Senate voted down a similar resolution 47–49. (The votes)
• On Thursday, the man who killed Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband was sentenced to life in prison. (The sentence)
• On Thursday, President Trump said the U.S.–Saudi Arabia nuclear deal he approved on Wednesday is contingent on Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel. (The update)
• On Thursday, the Secret Service confirmed that an agent assigned to Vice President JD Vance has been put on administrative leave and is under internal review on suspicion of “compromising operational and information security.” The agent reportedly leaked information about the vice president’s travel schedule. (The review)
• On Friday, the Trump administration imposed tariffs ranging from 10–12.5% on over 80 countries. The White House alleged that the countries had failed to pass or enforce laws against importing goods made with forced labor, making them eligible for tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. (The tariffs)

Reader essay.

Kaitlyn Rubertone knows what career she’d choose if money were no object: run an independent music venue. But money is an object, and most venue owners choose their work as a passion project, not because it makes them money. In this week’s reader essay, Kaitlyn explores the value independent venues bring to their communities, and why we shouldn’t take them for granted.