🦅 Executive Branch |
White House |
-
On January 20, 2026, the executive order says the President told federal agencies to stop helping big Wall Street firms buy single-family homes that could be sold to families. It tells the Treasury to define “large institutional investor” and “single-family home” within 30 days, and it tells USDA, HUD, VA, GSA, and the FHFA to issue rules within 60 days to avoid providing loans, insurance, guarantees, securitization, or sales that would let large investors buy those homes and to favor sales to owner‑occupants (with some narrow exceptions for planned “build-to-rent” projects). The order also asks the Treasury to review investor rules, directs the Justice Department and the FTC to look for antitrust problems from big investors buying many homes, and tells HUD to get more owner-disclosure in federal rental programs; it asks for a proposed law to make the policy permanent. This matters because, if put into practice, it could reduce federal support that helps large investors buy houses and shift more homes toward family buyers, but the order repeatedly says agencies must act only “to the maximum extent permitted by law” and is limited by available funding, so actual changes will depend on later rules, enforcement, and possible new legislation. Read full document →
-
On January 20, 2026, President Donald J. Trump issued a presidential proclamation declaring that day a “National Day of Patriotic Devotion.” A proclamation is a formal statement from the President and is mostly symbolic—it does not by itself make new laws or change people’s legal rights. The document speaks to all Americans and federal officials, asking them to honor country and renew civic duties, and it repeats the Administration’s claims about its first year (for example, it says illegal border crossings fell by 92 percent, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol seized more than half a million pounds of drugs, and inflation is down 70 percent from its peak). This matters because the proclamation signals the President’s priorities, aims to shape public opinion and official observances on the 250th anniversary of the nation, and serves as a public record of the Administration’s policies and claims. Read full document →
|
Federal Register |
-
On January 20, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education withdrew a proposed change to the rules for the Randolph‑Sheppard vending program that had been published on January 10, 2025; because the proposal is withdrawn, no new rules take effect and people must keep following the current rules (there is no new compliance date). The proposal would have changed how “vending facility” and “vending machine” were defined (including removing the word “services”) and would have changed how the rules apply on some federal lands like National Park Service and NASA sites; the department got 67 comments by the March 11, 2025 comment deadline and decided not to move forward. This matters to blind vendors, state licensing agencies, and managers of federal properties because the changes could have affected where vendors can operate and what kinds of work they can do; for now, the existing protections and rules stay the same, though the Department could propose new changes later. Read full document →
-
The Department of Homeland Security says it has formally approved (ratified) a rule called “Security Bars and Processing,” which deals with when people can be blocked from getting immigration benefits for safety or security reasons; the Secretary signed that ratification on December 15, 2025, and it ties back to the rule actions published in 2020 (July 9, 2020, and December 23, 2020). People who must follow this are anyone applying for U.S. immigration benefits (for example, visas, green cards, or citizenship) and the DHS/USCIS staff who decide those cases; the ratification took place on December 15, 2025 and applies back to the rule’s original 2020 dates. This matters because it confirms the department’s authority to use those security rules when deciding who can get immigration benefits, which can affect families, workers, and others seeking to stay or enter the United States. Read full document →
-
On January 14, 2026, the General Services Administration approved changes to the Federal Management Regulation (the rules in 41 CFR that tell federal agencies how to manage buildings, property, records, travel, and other support functions), including edits to parts such as 102‑3, 102‑5, 102‑33 through 102‑42, and up to 102‑192; federal agencies and their employees who must follow the FMR are required to follow the updated rules as of the ratification date (the approval was signed Jan. 14, 2026 and published Jan. 20, 2026, and it applies back to the original rule date); this matters to everyday people because these rule changes affect how the government spends and manages things—like buildings, records, and buying services—which can change how quickly services are delivered and how taxpayer money is used. Read full document →
-
The General Services Administration officially confirmed (ratified) changes that reorganize and simplify the Federal Travel Regulation—the rules for government employee travel found in 41 CFR chapters 300–304—so agencies can run travel more efficiently. Federal agencies and federal employees who travel for work must follow the updated rules as of the date the original rule took effect; the Administrator signed the ratification on January 14, 2026, and GSA published that ratification on January 20, 2026. This matters because it changes how government travel is written and processed, which affects how quickly federal travelers get reimbursements and how taxpayer money for travel is managed. Read full document →
|
|
|
