Fed rate hike: The Federal Reserve raised rates for the first time in three years, and interest on the national debt now costs more than national defense.
Green card dispute: A rule set to take effect Friday would change who qualifies for a green card, and New York's attorney general is asking a judge to stop it first.
Charlotte trans-care nonprofit: Federal money has kept flowing to a Charlotte group that promotes hormone therapy for minors, three years after North Carolina banned the practice.
Iran war cost: Congress never appropriated a dollar specifically for the war with Iran, so the Pentagon found the money somewhere else.
Record diesel prices: Americans are buying less fuel than they did a year ago, and diesel still set a record at $6.06 a gallon.
Debt interest tops $1 trillion as Fed raises rates
Photo: Federalreserve / Flickr / Public Domain / Edited in Canva
What we found: Net interest on the national debt hit $1.017 trillion in the first 11 months of fiscal 2026, up about 9% from a year earlier, according to the Treasury Department. That is more than the government spends on national defense, and it works out to about $6,247 for every individual income tax return the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) processed in fiscal 2025. The Federal Reserve voted 12-0 Wednesday to raise its benchmark rate a quarter point, its first increase in three years, with Chairman Kevin Warsh saying “inflation is too high, and has been for too long.”
The stakes: Credit card and auto loan rates stay high, and long-term Treasury yields rose after the vote, keeping pressure on mortgage rates. Orphe Divounguy, chief economist of the Quantitative Research Group, told The Center Square the hike lands hardest on households already stretched, and that hiring has narrowed to essentially one sector, health care. Kent Smetters of the Penn Wharton Budget Model called the decision's added cost to the debt "trivial," because the tax base grows with inflation too.
The backstory: In July, three officials dissented in favor of the same quarter-point increase and were outvoted 9-3. This time the whole committee agreed, including Warsh, whom President Donald Trump elevated to the chairmanship as he pushed for lower rates.
Where it stands: Sixteen of 18 officials project the rate will finish the year above its current midpoint. Hours after the vote, Trump wrote on Truth Social that rates “should be 1%, or less.”
3 States
New York: New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, asked a federal judge in Manhattan on Monday to block a proposed Trump administration rule giving immigration officers broader authority to deny green cards and visas to legal immigrants deemed likely to depend on government support. A coalition of cities led by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani filed a separate challenge. Federal law already requires applicants to show they are unlikely to become a “public charge.” The new rule would undo a 2022 Biden-era regulation that narrowed how officers apply that test. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told The Center Square that sanctuary states are “terrified they will lose federal funds” if noncitizens leave welfare programs. The rule is set to take effect Friday.
Washington: A six-month, multi-agency operation across the Eastern District of Washington ended Sept. 11 with more than 293 fugitive arrests, 336 warrants cleared, 55 firearms recovered, about $2.52 million seized and roughly 455 pounds of narcotics confiscated, according to a press release; 88 of those arrested were gang members or associates. Most multi-agency operations run for weeks, not months, and the U.S. Marshals Service says Operation Stampede supported the federal Homeland Security Task Force’s work targeting transnational crime, a model other districts could replicate. Alicia Tobin, executive director of Safe Yakima Valley, told The Center Square that arrests are only the first step: “We have to arrest and prosecute these people, not just arresting.”
North Carolina: Records The Center Square obtained under the state Public Records Law show Mecklenburg County has paid the Charlotte Transgender Healthcare Group $1.34 million in federal COVID-19 recovery funds since 2023, the year North Carolina enacted a law restricting gender-transition procedures for minors. The payments are part of $2.6 million in federal funding directed to the group, which promotes hormone therapy for minors on its website. Nearly half of the total was designated for adult mental health services, but the county contract does not clearly state whether the remaining funds cover adults, minors or both. North Carolina law prohibits certain gender-transition procedures, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones for minors, with limited exceptions. President Donald Trump’s executive orders seeking to restrict federal support for gender-transition treatments for minors have not stopped the payments. Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, defended the funding, telling The Center Square that “trans people are also taxpayers.”
2 Issues
Defense spending: Congress never appropriated a dollar specifically for the war with Iran, but the Pentagon has spent at least $33.4 billion on the conflict through June 30, according to its inspector general, drawing from base accounts that fund training, maintenance and equipment upkeep. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the cost reached $38.1 billion by Aug. 1 and is growing by $2 billion to $3 billion a month. CBO said the Department of War did not respond to its requests for information. The White House has asked Congress for $67.1 billion for the conflict, though CBO found only $42.3 billion of that request appears directly related to it.
Energy: Americans are using less fuel and paying more for it. Total petroleum products supplied averaged 20.1 million barrels a day over four weeks, down 3.7% from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. AAA put diesel at a record $6.06 a gallon on Sept. 11 and regular gasoline at $4.29. Higher fuel costs ripple through the supply chain as truckers cut runs and add surcharges, while refiners have little spare capacity. U.S. refinery utilization has recently approached 98%, compared with a historical range of 90% to 92%. Eric Smith of the Tulane Energy Institute points to an Energy Department forecast showing diesel supply will not catch up with demand until the end of 2027.
1 Number
870,000
That’s how many people the Trump administration says it has suspended over suspected ties to nearly $39 billion in government loan fraud, barring them from small business loans and federal contracting. Officials said many of the suspensions involve the Paycheck Protection Program.
461 million guns, and a case that could reshape the rules
A Georgetown professor surveyed 51,398 adults about the guns they own. The answer landed in the middle of the AR-15 case now before the Supreme Court, and both sides say it helps them.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker
One year after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago, Pritzker said Tuesday that University of Illinois Chicago researchers estimate it cost Cook County $1.26 billion in restaurant and retail activity and $107 million in local sales tax revenue. He also said Illinois joined the coalition suing over the public charge rule. A Homeland Security spokesperson disputed the study in a statement to The Center Square. Pritzker has set up a state commission to document the operation and joined the suit against the public charge rule, making Illinois the test case for how far a state can push back on federal enforcement.
How much do you think the average public employee pays in union dues each year?
Aaron Withe, chief executive of the Freedom Foundation, gave his estimate to The Center Square as House lawmakers debated Tuesday whether public employee unions spend members' money on politics those members do not support.
Enjoy the Weekly Brief?
If this newsletter helps you stay informed, share it with someone who'd appreciate it too. The best way to support our journalism is to spread the word.
First time reading? Subscribe here.