Politics Chat, September 24, 2026

In which I try to answer your questions about modern politics.... In today’s Politics Chat: A federal judge blocked the State Department's Office of Remigration from sending deportees to third countries with no ties to them, a program that has cost more than 400 million taxpayer dollars. Another federal judge ruled Homeland Security cannot keep holding detainees in abysmal conditions at a facility in New York. A judge also blocked Trump's ban on White House press access for Politico, CNN, and MSNBC for 14 days, and Secret Service let the reporters back onto the campus that afternoon. At the United Nations, Iranian and Cuban delegates walked out during Trump's remarks, and many delegates walked out when Benjamin Netanyahu spoke. Chinese President Xi Jinping again invoked the Thucydides Trap to Trump, a reference to a declining power confronting a rising one. Health and Human Services proposed stripping federal regulations from Head Start, including a new English-only requirement. ProPublica corrected false claims Senator Susan Collins made about its reporting on an alleged pay-to-play scheme tied to a Navy contractor's campaign donations. We’re live here on YouTube, Substack, and Facebook every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm Maine time (3 pm PT). Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack... 250 to 250 | Follow Along    • 250 to 250   You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxr... Facebook:   / heathercoxrichardson   TikTok:   / hcrichardson   YouTube:    / @heathercoxrichardson   © 2026 Heather Cox Richardson. All Rights Reserved. All content in this video is protected by copyright. Reproduction, distribution, or re-uploading, in whole or in part, without prior written consent is prohibited.