Politics & World Affairs — July 11, 2026

Trump fires election commissioners. President Trump dismissed multiple members of a bipartisan election administration commission, leaving the agency without any commissioners ahead of the November midterms. The dismissals prompted concerns about interference.

According to The Hill, critics see the move as a sign the White House may be seeking to influence election administration before voters go to the polls this fall. Because the panel was structured to include members of both parties, its complete vacancy raises questions about who will carry out its oversight and administrative functions in the run-up to the midterms, the outlet reports.

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Minnesota withdraws Guard early. Gov. Tim Walz is pulling Minnesota National Guard troops from Washington, D.C., ahead of schedule. Criticism is growing of Democratic governors who sent troops during President Trump's deployment.

NPR reports the decision comes as opposition intensifies toward Democratic governors who contributed forces to the capital while the president's own deployment there continues. Walz's move to bring the troops home before their scheduled end date makes Minnesota an early example of a Democratic-led state reversing course under that mounting pressure, according to the outlet.

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Russia strikes Kyiv again. Russian ballistic missiles and 121 drones hit Ukraine's capital early Saturday, wounding at least 11 people during one of the war's deadliest months.

Reuters reports the barrage combined ballistic missiles with a large drone swarm, underscoring the strain on the capital's air defenses. The attack comes as Ukraine works to develop its own missile defense program as an alternative to the U.S.-made Patriot system, according to the outlet, highlighting Kyiv's push to reduce dependence on foreign-supplied interceptors amid a period of especially heavy casualties.

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Spy chief cuts more staff. Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte announced a third round of intelligence community terminations Friday without disclosing how many roles or personnel are affected.

Reuters characterizes the move as part of a sweeping purge of the intelligence community under Pulte, who holds the director's job in an acting capacity. This marks at least the third wave of cuts he has ordered, and the absence of any figures on affected positions or personnel makes the full scope of the reductions difficult to assess, according to the outlet.

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Ex-official flags vape loophole. A former top law enforcement official said Chinese organized crime groups substitute 6-methyl nicotine for nicotine in flavored disposable vapes to evade FDA oversight.

According to Fox News, the alleged scheme works because 6-methyl nicotine is a synthetic analog rather than nicotine itself, placing the products outside the FDA's regulatory reach. The former official told the outlet the illicit companies are deliberately marketing the flavored disposable devices to young people, framing the chemical substitution as a way for Chinese criminal networks to keep the products on the U.S. market.

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