Politics Chat, September 1, 2026

In which I try to answer your questions about modern politics.... In today’s Politics Chat: A federal whistleblower says the U.S. Postal Service rushed a new mail-in ballot verification system that could reject entire batches if even a single barcode fails to scan. Senator Richard Blumenthal wrote to Postmaster General David Steiner demanding answers by Friday. The Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that Trump can continue building his White House ballroom, deciding the challengers lacked standing rather than ruling on legality, with Chief Justice John Roberts dissenting and calling the project likely unlawful. Trump announced a deal to develop 17 Venezuelan oil fields holding 65 billion barrels while backing Delcy Rodriguez over Venezuela's elected opposition. Military leaders, including the heads of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, warned an extended readiness alert for more than 50,000 troops is unsustainable. The secretary of the Army resigned after reportedly telling Trump he was alarmed by the loss of senior personnel. Naval Support Activity Bahrain and roughly 15 other U.S. bases sustained heavy damage from Iranian strikes. Representative Thomas Massie read Epstein files into the House record but revealed no new names. 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.