Letters from an American - What Will the Midterms Bring?

Episode Date: September 4, 2026

September 3, 2026Election analyst Charlie Cook is warning Republicans to brace themselves for the midterms, The Trump administration is trying to implement a new gatekeeper role for the US Postal Service, violating the Constitution which gives control of elections to the states, The court that blocked the USPS plan until September 10 held a hearing about extending that block, Solicitor General John Sauer went directly to the Supreme Court to appeal, The Speaker of the House canceled votes for the last two weeks of September, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced that work on Trump’s arch will begin, even though approvals have not been secured, The approaching midterms are affecting decisions about Iran and the Epstein Files.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

September 3, 26. Election analyst Charlie Cook told Republicans today to brace themselves for the midterms. The three most plausible outcomes are that it will be bad, really bad, or truly horrible. To stop voters from turning Republicans out of office and handing Democrats' control of the House of Representatives, the Senate, or both, The Trump administration is trying to implement a new rule for the United States Postal Service that would enable it to act as a gatekeeper for who can vote by mail. Such a measure flies in the face of the fact that the Constitution gives states, not the federal government, control over elections,

while the role of the United States Postal Service is simply to carry mail. Nonetheless, the administration insists this novel measure is necessary to combat voter fraud. There is widespread consensus that voter fraud is not a real issue in the United States. Notably, President Donald J. Trump himself votes by mail, along with about a third of all U.S. voters. On Monday, news broke that a whistleblower has said there are potentially catastrophic problems in the news system for handling federal election ballot mail. As presently designed, the whistleblower said, even if one barcode on one single ballot in a bulk mailing of 10,000 ballots fails to properly scan during the verification process, the entire batch is

rejected and sent back to the state, effectively stopping the ballots from being mailed to voters. Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has blocked the administration's plan until September 10th. Today, a day before the state starts sending out mail-in ballots to voters, she held a hearing about whether to extend that block. We are 70 days from the election, and I have nothing from the United States Postal Service about how this will happen, she said to Michael Velchick, the Justice Department lawyer representing the Postal Service. Lawyers for the United States Postal Service suggested the new plane, were independent of Trump's March executive order, calling for a national list of citizens

against which the United States Postal Service would check mail-in ballots. Talwani expressed concern that the new system could cause major disenfranchisement and said it was puzzling that there is such a rush to put the system in place. She also noted that if states wanted such a system, they could have put one in place. Why is it you want the United States Postal Service to stop batches of ballots from your voters, she asked a lawyer for a group of Republican-dominated states. You can decide you want those measures in your state, she said. I don't understand. You come to me and say, we really want to have election integrity in our state, decided by the United States Postal Service. Apparently concerned about the direction of the hearing,

Solicitor General John Sauer went directly to the Supreme Court this afternoon to ask it to let the new restrictions on mail-in ballots go into effect. As law dorks Chris Geidner notes, although Talwani found that the new requirements were significant and likely unconstitutional, the Department of Justice is arguing that the new rule imposes only modest requirements on the use of the federal postal system and does not regulate state administration of elections. With just four days of work under their belts after the August recess, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican of Louisiana, today canceled votes for the last two weeks in September, leaving the House with only another four days in Washington between now and the midterms.

Leaving town will protect Republicans from having to weigh in on Trump's wild AI posts that he has won the war in Iran, his threats to sick the Federal Communications Commission on journalists who report his tanking job approval ratings, or his claims that the economy is thriving. Today, G. Eliot Morris and David Neer of Strength and Numbers noted that Donald Trump is acting like he wants to lose the midterms. Their evidence is that he has taken to supporting the losing side of his,

issues. From tweeting his support for data centers to renaming Lake Ontario to lavishly spending on the White House ballroom, Donald Trump is constantly taking positions that are opposed by the vast majority of voters. Yesterday, the U.S. Mint began selling $1 gold coins bearing Trump's likeness and Liberty 1776 to 2026 on one side. and the presidential seal on the other. The mint says the gold-colored coins, which are composed of copper, zinc, manganese, and nickel, are legal tender, as well as collectibles to honor the nation's 250th birthday.

Although the coins are worth a dollar, Amy Piki of CBS News reports a roll of 25 costs $61, and 100 of them cost $154 and $50. cents. Today, Interior Secretary Doug Bergam announced that the administration is beginning the construction of Trump's 250-foot triumphal arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, despite lack of approvals for the structure. In June, Senator Angus King, an independent of Maine, and five Democratic lawmakers who sit on committees responsible for national parks and resources, wrote to Bergam to oppose in the strongest terms Trump's proposed triumphal arch.

They pointed out that there are many different laws the construction would break. Most fundamentally, though, they wrote, The arch falls within an area called Area 1, that Congress established in the 1986 Commemorative Works Act. In that law, Congress specified that any commemorative work within Area 1, requires Congress to pass a law authorizing the memorial. Congress has done no such thing. Luke Broadwater and Emily Badger of the New York Times

reported that Representative Donald S. Byer Jr., a Democrat of Virginia, whose district includes Arlington National Cemetery, said that Trump and Bergam were disregarding the risks and rushing this towering monument to Trump's vanity because they believe Republicans will get crushed in November. There is already speculation about what the midterms will bring. Nandita Bose, Humera Pamuk, and Graham Slattery reported today at Reuters that Trump's top aides are trying to keep events in Iran quiet before the midterms

to keep the conflict out of the news and avoid making voters, even angrier than they already are, but are already considering ramping up attacks after the election is over. The election might also change calculations about a new Epstein-Files Transparency Act 2.0, backed by Representatives Roe-Kana, a Democrat of California, and Thomas Massey, a Republican of Kentucky. The new measure would give state courts access to the Epstein files to launch their own prosecutions since the Department of Justice under Trump is stonewalling the process. Kana and Massey are trying to force the House to vote on the measure by pushing it to the floor under a discharge petition, which bypasses the House Speaker.

Hachua Barajas of PBS News reported Massey's comment to the Washington Times in which he said that if the three Republicans necessary to reach the 218 signature threshold, to push through the discharge petition, won't sign it before the midterms. He is confident of sufficient support after the election if Republicans retake the majority in the House. Letters from an American was written and read by Heather Cox Richardson. It was produced at Soundscape Productions, Dead in Massachusetts,

recorded with music composed by Michael Moss.