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Trump Tyranny Tracker | Day 600: Sept. 15, 2026
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U.S. law has long barred armed federal officers or military personnel from being deployed “at any place where a general or special election is held.”Credit...Follow my work on YouTube & Subscribe to Unmasking Russia
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Welcome to today’s Trump Tyranny Tracker…
Trump’s efforts to exert control over the midterms, DOJ’s expanding investigations of his opponents, and the mounting military and economic costs of the Iran war are among today’s top stories.
Today at a Glance
Election Interference — FBI Director Kash Patel refused to rule out sending agents to polling places during the midterms.
Weaponization — DOJ is continuing investigations of former officials involved in investigations of Trump, including former CIA Director John Brennan.
Iran War — The war has cost the Pentagon about $38 billion and is continuing to drain U.S. missile defense inventories.
What We Need to Pay Attention To
Patel Suggests F.B.I. Agents May Be Sent to the Polls
What Happened: Kash Patel refused to rule out sending agents to polling places during the midterms, telling senators the FBI has election crime coordinators in all 56 field offices and would not “shy away” from election enforcement. Federal law generally prohibits armed federal officers from being deployed at election sites.
Why It Matters: Armed federal agents at polling places are meant to intimidate voters. Using federal law enforcement around voting is an authoritarian tactic designed to make people afraid to exercise their rights.
Source: New York Times
Corruption
Papa Johns, Propaganda and Putin: How a MAGA Influencer With Ties to Russia Became Trump’s Arctic Adviser
What Happened: Trump appointed venture capitalist Thomas Dans to chair the U.S. Arctic Research Commission despite having no formal scientific background. Dans has longstanding business ties to Russia, has promoted closer U.S.-Russia relations and pro-Kremlin content, and used his government position to champion a Dutch shipbuilder while his consulting firm was helping the company pursue a federal icebreaker contract.
Why It Matters: Dans has access to sensitive government information while his financial interests remain hidden from the public. Trump put a man with longstanding Russian business ties and overlapping private interests in a position to shape U.S. policy in one of the world’s most strategically important regions.
Source: ProPublica
Power Consolidation
Trump’s push to restrict mail ballots has failed. Other efforts to reshape the midterms are ongoing
What Happened: The Supreme Court blocked Trump’s plan to overhaul mail voting before the midterms, but other federal election efforts are continuing. DOJ is demanding sensitive voter data and preserving 2024 election records, DHS is investigating voter rolls for noncitizens, and Trump officials have asked the Supreme Court to restore a federal voter verification system blocked by a lower court over privacy concerns.
Why It Matters: One of Trump’s election schemes was stopped, but the larger push continues. Trump is using multiple federal agencies to expand federal control over elections just weeks before the midterms.
Source: Associated Press
Trump Threatens to Block Kennedy Center Renovations Over Naming Dispute
What Happened: A federal judge again blocked the Kennedy Center from putting Trump’s name on the building or grounds without congressional approval. Hours later, the Trump-chaired board voted to close the center, and Trump said the $257 million renovation will not proceed unless the ruling is overturned and his name is added.
Why It Matters: Trump is holding the future of a national institution hostage to whether it bears his name. Using presidential power to turn public institutions into monuments to the leader is a classic authoritarian tactic.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Weaponization of Institutions
‘Grand conspiracy’ probe of Trump foes goes on after prosecutor’s departure
What Happened: DOJ is continuing its mass investigation of former officials who investigated Trump. Former CIA Director John Brennan has been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury in October, and multiple grand jury investigations remain active despite the resignation of the prosecutor overseeing the probe.
Source: The Washington Post
DOJ seeks to revive cases against Comey, James a year after dismissals
What Happened: DOJ is asking a federal appeals court to revive criminal cases against James Comey and Letitia James that were thrown out after a judge ruled that Lindsey Halligan, the Trump-appointed prosecutor who secured the indictments, had been unlawfully serving as interim U.S. attorney.
Source: The Washington Post
DHS agents allegedly directed to ‘misrepresent’ themselves to access state voter rolls, whistleblower claims
What Happened: A federal whistleblower alleges DHS ordered immigration officers to pose as individual voters to access state voter databases as part of its “Unlawful Voter Initiative.” Officers were given less than two hours of training and told to review up to 40 people a day using DHS data that the whistleblower says can conflict with state records.
Source: ABC News
Media Suppression & Authoritarian Tactics
Democracy indicators in US at lowest levels for 50 years, data shows
What Happened: International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy report found key U.S. democracy indicators have fallen to their lowest levels in 50 years. The organization pointed to expanding executive power, retaliation against perceived enemies, and the weakening of the rule of law.
Why It Matters: The erosion of American democracy is now measurable across decades of data. Trump and Republicans are attacking judicial independence, press freedom, elections, and checks on government power, and the data shows the damage.
Source: The Guardian
Pentagon Wants Only the Fittest Troops to Attend Upcoming Hegseth Speech
What Happened: The Pentagon is asking commanders to handpick troops for Pete Hegseth’s Sept. 30 “State of the Force” address who meet fitness and waist-to-height requirements and have “impeccable” grooming and uniforms.
Why It Matters: Handpicking troops based on appearance turns the military into political theater, using service members to project an image of strength and conformity around political leadership.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Human & Civil Rights Abuses
Alligator Alcatraz detainees were put in small cages, DHS watchdog report finds
What Happened: A DHS inspector general investigation found detainees at Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz were confined for up to nearly two hours in small metal cages staff called “calming areas.” Investigators said the cages violated standards for humane treatment. They also documented overcrowding, insect-infested showers, insufficient access to showers and recreation, and inadequate access to legal information.
Why It Matters: The U.S. is putting people in cages and subjecting them to inhumane conditions. This is more evidence of human rights abuses being carried out by the Trump regime.
Source: Washington Post
Government Disruption
Federal Employees Were Paid $9.5 Billion Not to Work in 2025 Under DOGE Effort
What Happened: Federal agencies spent an estimated $9.5 billion paying employees on administrative leave in 2025, six times the 2023 level, according to the Government Accountability Office. About $6.7 billion was tied to DOGE’s deferred resignation program as part of an effort to dismantle federal agencies. The program paid workers who agreed to leave the government while they stopped working.
Source: New York Times
FEMA Could Still Lose More Jobs Despite Court Ruling
What Happened: A federal judge ruled that DHS officials illegally planned to cut FEMA’s workforce roughly in half and improperly deleted Signal messages about the plan. The ruling does not reverse thousands of earlier departures or prevent future cuts as Trump shifts more disaster response responsibility to states. FEMA now has nearly 4,000 fewer deployable workers than it did at the start of 2024.
Source: New York Times
Iran war has cost the US more than $38B, budget office says
What Happened: Trump’s Iran war cost the Pentagon more than $38 billion through August 1 and is costing up to another $3 billion a month, according to the Congressional Budget Office. CBO estimates disruptions to oil and shipping will push inflation about half a percentage point higher in early 2027.
Why It Matters: Americans are paying for the war twice: tens of billions in military spending and higher prices at home. Trump’s war is also depleting key missile defense inventories that will take years to rebuild.
Source: Associated Press
Pennsylvania measles-associated deaths climb to four as outbreak grows
What Happened: Pennsylvania reported two additional measles-associated deaths, bringing the state’s total to four. All four people were unvaccinated, and Pennsylvania has recorded 693 cases across 38 counties as U.S. cases have climbed above 3,200 this year.
Source: Reuters
Air pollution spiked after the Trump administration stopped embassy monitoring
What Happened: Trump shut down a State Department program that publicly monitored air quality at more than 80 U.S. embassies and consulates in March 2025. A new study found pollution increased 24% to 33% across 46 cities after the monitoring stopped, with the largest increases in places with few alternative sources of air quality data.
Source: NPR
Imperial & Geopolitical Watch
The U.S. Is Burning Through Its Supply of Interceptors to Counter Iran’s Attacks
What Happened: U.S. forces fired 60 to 70 Patriot interceptors and more than a dozen THAADs against roughly 20 Iranian ballistic missiles targeting a U.S. base in Jordan last week. Some missiles still struck American aircraft at the base.
Why It Matters: Trump’s Iran war is burning through limited U.S. missile defense stockpiles at an astonishing rate. Dozens of interceptors are being fired against individual Iranian attacks, draining weapons the U.S. needs to defend its forces and prepare for other conflicts.
Source: Wall Street Journal
US Republican lawmaker seeks Hegseth’s impeachment over Iran
What Happened: Republican Rep. Thomas Massie filed articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth, accusing him of abusing his office by carrying out military action against Iran without congressional authorization. Massie filed the resolution as privileged, requiring the House to address it within two legislative days.
Source: Reuters
More than 300 South Korean workers are challenging the Trump administration over its Georgia immigration raid
What Happened: More than 300 South Korean workers detained during last year’s raid on a Hyundai-LG battery plant in Georgia have begun filing claims against nine federal agencies, alleging unlawful detention and mistreatment. The raid detained 475 people even though the search warrant identified just four targets, none of whom were the Korean workers.
Source: CNN
Far-Right & Russian Influence Watch
Unmasking RussiaWho Were the Russians at Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding?Yesterday, ProPublica published an excellent in-depth investigation revealing that Umar Kremlev, a Russian businessman close to Putin who runs the International Boxing Association, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars helping pay for Donald Trump Jr.’s intimate wedding in the Bahamas earlier this year. Kremlev attended the wedding alongside a group of Russians whose presence reportedly left some of the 50 guests wondering who they were…Read more7 days ago · 418 likes · 25 comments · Olga LautmanUnmasking RussiaA Very Active Day Across Europe as Russia EscalatesToday has been such an active day across Europe that I wanted to do a quick post to document it. I will also be doing a Substack Live with Julie Roginsky today at 5:30 pm ET to discuss. There is a lot happening and every time I check the news another incident is being reported…Read more7 days ago · 235 likes · 26 comments · Olga LautmanEconomic News
Iran war expected to cause a spike in US inflation, according to budget watchdog
What Happened: The Congressional Budget Office estimates the Iran war will add 0.5 percentage points to U.S. inflation in early 2027 as disruptions to oil, natural gas, and shipping drive up energy costs. The war had already cost the Pentagon about $38 billion through August 1.
Source: CNN
US-Canada trade war further taxes small businesses as costs rise during the Iran war
What Happened: U.S. and Canadian tariffs cover about $20 billion in goods on each side, with some products facing taxes as high as 50%. Small businesses report canceled orders, lost customers and higher costs for equipment, materials and shipping as Trump’s Iran war drives up fuel and transportation expenses.
Source: Associated Press
Resistance
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Source: 50501
By the Numbers
$38 billion — Estimated Pentagon cost of the Iran war through August 1
0.5 percentage points — Estimated increase in U.S. inflation in early 2027 from disruptions caused by the Iran war
60–70 — Patriot interceptors fired against roughly 20 Iranian ballistic missiles in a single attack
$9.5 billion — Estimated amount federal agencies spent paying employees on administrative leave in 2025
$257 million — Kennedy Center renovation Trump said would not proceed unless his name is put on the building
4 — Measles-associated deaths reported in Pennsylvania
693 — Measles cases reported across 38 Pennsylvania counties
3,200+ — Measles cases reported nationwide this year
80+ — U.S. embassies and consulates previously covered by the air quality monitoring program
300+ — South Korean workers challenging their detention during the Georgia immigration raid
$20 billion — Approximate value of goods subject to tariffs on each side of the U.S.-Canada trade dispute
50% — Tariff rate imposed on some U.S.-Canada goods
56 — FBI field offices with election crime coordinators, according to Kash Patel
What to Watch Next
Trump’s push into elections is continuing — How much further will federal agencies go in seeking voter data, scrutinizing voter rolls and expanding federal involvement in elections before the midterms?
DOJ’s investigations of Trump’s former investigators are continuing — Who else will be targeted as multiple grand jury investigations remain active?
FEMA is already operating with thousands fewer workers — Will Trump push ahead with further cuts despite the court ruling, and what will that mean when the next major disaster hits?
The Iran war is draining U.S. missile defenses — How long can the Pentagon continue burning through limited Patriot and THAAD interceptors faster than they can be replaced?
The economic costs of the Iran war are reaching Americans at home — How much further will energy, transportation and consumer prices rise as the war continues?
Key Takeaways
Election Control — Trump’s mail ballot order was blocked, but multiple federal agencies are still taking actions involving voter rolls, election records and voter verification.
Weaponization of DOJ — DOJ continues investigating former officials involved in investigations of Trump while seeking to revive cases against Comey and James.
Government Hollowing — Federal workforce cuts have left FEMA with thousands fewer deployable workers while taxpayers spent billions paying other federal employees not to work.
Iran War — Trump’s war has cost tens of billions of dollars, driven up energy costs, and rapidly depleted critical U.S. missile defense inventories.
Rising Costs — Trump’s Iran war and U.S.-Canada tariffs are hitting Americans and small businesses through higher energy, transportation, material and shipping costs.
Call to Action
Document Everything: Document purges, corruption, and power grabs. Share credible information with journalists, watchdogs, and legal experts. Silence enables authoritarianism—see something, say something.
Defend Press Freedom: Support independent journalism by subscribing to and sharing reporting that challenges Trump’s power grab.
Contact Lawmakers: Demand accountability for Trump’s unchecked power and war on oversight.
Mobilize for Action: Organize or join legal efforts and resistance movements to protect democracy and human and civil rights.
Thanks for reading the Trump Tyranny Tracker. Stay tuned for more updates.
