New Jersey Monitor

As states enact stricter work requirements for the federal food stamp program, a new analysis suggests those requirements won’t enhance employment and will push more people off of food assistance. The researchers conducted a review of studies on work requirements and concluded that “the best evidence shows they do not increase employment.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump agreed Tuesday evening to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, at least delaying his threat of a catastrophic attack on the country’s civilian population as he said the countries were near a long-term peace agreement. The ceasefire was negotiated with Pakistani leaders as intermediaries, Trump said in a post to his social media site, Truth Social.

Most Transportation Security Administration officers received a paycheck Monday covering four weeks of back wages that were held up by the funding lapse at the Department of Homeland Security, a TSA spokesperson said. The lack of pay had produced long wait lines for security checks at some of the nation’s busiest airports after TSA officers quit or called out sick.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will allow gas stations to sell a blended fuel containing 15% ethanol into the summer season in an effort to lower gas prices, Administrator Lee Zeldin said Wednesday. The blend, known as E15,  is usually barred in many Midwest states over the summer to reduce smog, though the federal government has routinely in recent years issued waivers to allow summer sales.

by Jacob Fischler, New Jersey Monitor March 23, 2026 Airport security workers missed work Monday at the highest rate since a partial government shutdown began in mid-February, the Department of Homeland Security said, and the Trump administration sent immigration officials to some airports in an attempt to keep lines moving. Travelers reported hourslong security lines at major airports in Atlanta and Houston, while waits of 30 minutes or more were reported at several other hubs Monday.

by Special to the New Jersey Monitor, New Jersey Monitor March 23, 2026 By Laura Waddell On March 23, the Affordable Care Act turns 16 years old. For millions of Americans, and hundreds of thousands of people here in New Jersey, that anniversary represents something worth celebrating: the right to affordable health coverage and basic consumer protections that were once out of reach. Before the law passed in 2010, too many families lived one illness away from financial ruin.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans and one Democrat blocked another War Powers Resolution Wednesday night to stop President Donald Trump from further military action in Iran without authorization from Congress. The resolution failed to advance, 47-53. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., broke with Democrats to join Republicans in opposing the measure. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted in favor.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court Monday said it will hear oral arguments in April in two cases brought by immigrants hailing from Syria and Haiti after the Trump administration tried to end their temporary protections, initially granted because their countries had been deemed too dangerous for return. Monday’s order consolidates two cases, one brought on behalf of 6,000 Syrians with Temporary Protected Status and another from 350,000 Haitians.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s subpoenas to probe the Federal Reserve and Chair Jerome Powell, pointing to “a mountain of evidence” that President Donald Trump is using the investigation to force lower interest rates, according to an order unsealed Friday.

by Derek Monson, New Jersey Monitor March 13, 2026 America’s highly polarized politics can pressure public officials to pursue partisan interests at the expense of constitutional principles. This mutation of principle is playing out now in the brewing legal fight between the U.S. Department of Justice and dozens of states across the country. The Justice Department lawsuits undermine both the constitutional principle of federalism and the election integrity the agency says it is protecting.