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The SEC proposes to rescind the shareholder-proposal rule outright
A proposed rule published 21 September 2026 at 91 FR 59904 would rescind Rule 14a-8 in its entirety and 'leave determinations about the role of shareholder proposals to State law and company governing documents'. The Commission's first ground is that the rule 'exceeds the Commission's authority under section 14(a)'. A companion amendment to Rule 14a-4(c) would let companies vote proxies at their own discretion on proposals they were not required to include, subject to a check box. Comments close 20 November 2026.
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EPA repeals the power plant carbon rules, then proposes it lacked the power
Two documents published together on 17 September 2026. A final rule at 91 FR 58954 repeals most of the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards on what EPA calls distinct legal and technical grounds. A supplemental proposal at 91 FR 59002 argues that Clean Air Act section 111 'does not authorize the EPA to regulate emissions from power plants in response to global climate change concerns' at all.
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The SEC exempts tokenized stock venues from the exchange definition
An order of 17 September 2026, Release No. 34-106402, exempts a complying 'Tokenized Securities Venue' from the Exchange Act's definition of 'exchange' and qualifying liquidity providers from the definition of 'dealer'. Trading is capped at 75 symbols and 0.25 percent of prior-month average daily share volume for the most liquid tier.
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FOMC raises rates a quarter point on a 12-0 vote
The Federal Open Market Committee raised the federal funds target range to 3-3/4 to 4 percent on 16 September 2026, by a 12-0 vote. A quarter-point increase was the majority expectation beforehand — prediction markets put it near 79.5 percent — but the unanimity was not. In July the Committee held, 9-3, over dissents from Hammack, Kashkari and Logan, who each asked for exactly this increase. The supply-shock sentence that had accompanied elevated inflation does not appear in the September statement.
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The First Circuit denies a stay on Elections Clause grounds
On 10 September 2026 a First Circuit panel refused to stay the injunctions against the Postal Service's ballot-mail rule, holding the rule is likely 'a regulation of the manner of holding elections' that the Constitution assigns to the States and Congress, 'and not to an executive agency'. Three days later a third district court enjoined the same rule, in a different circuit. The government's answer was that a stay from the Supreme Court would compel the others to follow. The Court refused it the next day.
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The customs line turns positive as refunds collapse
The August 2026 Monthly Treasury Statement puts net customs duties at +$12,836 million, after -$25,556 million in June and -$8,546 million in July. Gross collections barely moved; refunds fell from $49.2 billion in June to $10.5 billion. Year to date the net is almost exactly last year's — $167,308 million against $165,191 million — but gross receipts are up 70 percent and refunds are nineteen times larger, so a flat number sits on two flows that have both changed scale.
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OPM reopens its accountability rule to publish its data
A notice of 15 September 2026 at 91 FR 58387 reopens comment on OPM's half of the July accountability rulemaking for two weeks, and publishes seven years of separations data to support it. OPM reads the data as showing 'no significant increases' in FY2026 — but the FY2026 column covers nine months against full years elsewhere, and on a monthly basis it runs about 19 percent above FY2025, which itself ran 28 percent above FY2024.
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The Supreme Court denies the ballot-mail stay
On 14 September 2026 the Court denied the government's third stay application in the ballot-mail dispute, No. 26A305, holding that 'the Government is unlikely to succeed on the merits'. Three weeks earlier the same Court had granted a stay in the same fight. Justice Kavanaugh concurred on a ground the First Circuit had not used and would have found the rule likely within the Postal Service's authority; Justice Alito, joined by Justice Thomas, dissented and faulted the plaintiffs, the lower courts, and the Court's own pace.
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The commission EO 14248 relies on has no members
The Election Assistance Commission's own website, dated 17 August 2026, lists no sitting commissioner and carries only a link to former ones. All four — Thomas Hicks, Christy McCormick, Benjamin W. Hovland and Donald Palmer — appear there with end dates of 2026. Under 52 U.S.C. 20928 the Commission may act only with the approval of at least three members. Executive Order 14248 of March 2025 directs it to do three things, and each requires Commission action.
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OFAC suspends Iran's aviation-safety general licences
A final rule published 10 September 2026 at 91 FR 57511 stays four authorisations under the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, effective two days earlier. All four concern aviation: payments for overflights of Iranian airspace, specific licences for aircraft safety transactions, bunkering and emergency repairs, and the reexportation of civil aircraft on temporary sojourn. Transactions authorised on 7 September became unauthorised on the 8th, and willful violations carry criminal penalties.
