The Gov Hub Newsletter: February 3, 2026

Philly District Attorney has formed a coalition of progressive prosecutors that are committed to charging federal agents who violate state laws, and has named the group appropriately so that its abbreviation could be FAFO aka f*ck around and find out. The formal name is the Project for the Fight Against Federal Overreach, and it so far includes prosecutors from  eight other cities so far, including Minneapolis, MN and Austin, TX.

College students at three North Carolina universities are suing the state’s GOP-led State Board of Elections over the Board’s rejection of including three on-campus early voting sites at NC A&T State University [the largest HBCU in the country], Western Carolina University, and UNC Greensboro. The lawsuit accuses the Board in short of orchestrating a strategic and targeted effort to make it harder for students at these universities to vote; the lawsuit requests that the court restore these voting sites.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox [R] signed a bill that expands the state’s Supreme Court, taking it from five justices to seven. The GOP argument for the move, which comes oddly after the court handed the state’s GOP a handful of legal losses, centers around ‘efficiency.’ Dems, opponents, and critics of the move say that it sets a bad precedent and doesn’t improve efficiency where it’s actually needed in the lower courts. 

From the desk of the Wall Street Journal, is a new report sharing, ​​Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, also known as the “Spy Sheikh,” and a member of the UAE royal family, purchased a 49% stake [$500M] in the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, just days before Trump’s inauguration; special envoy Steve Witkoff’s family is the other party involved. In the months that followed, the U.S. just so happened to allow the UAE to buy 500,000 advanced AI chips per year from American chipmaker Nvidia – like the chips Biden Admin had blocked access to so that China wouldn’t get their hands on them. Thus far, Witkoff’s family took in $31M from the UAE via this venture, while the Trump family took in $187M.

Also from the desk of the Wall Street Journal is a story that’s raising more than just eyebrows, but deep national security concerns. The report outlines that there is a whistleblower report against Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence that is so detrimental that it’s currently locked in a safe. In the same vein, the internal apparatus within the Trump Admin has apparently been trying to figure out how to even share the information with Congress because it is allegedly THAT bad. There are also two separate allegations that have been made that involve another federal agency and the White House.

While the NYT estimated Trump to have made $1.4 billion in his second term so far, and the New Yorker estimating that number at $4 billion, the House Oversight Democrats Digital Gift Wealth Tracker has zeroed in on this number.

Trump is suing the IRS for $10 billion with a B, alongside his two sons, accusing the IRS of not taking the necessary precautions to prevent their tax returns, in addition to those of his company, from being leaked during his first term. Trump is suing in his personal capacity, not as “president,” meaning he’s suing the government he’s in charge of, with the reward if he wins or settles the case, to be taxpayer dollars. And to add to the grift, Trump shared that he’d consider donating the money to charity or to/toward his re-do of the White House, so in other words, the ballroom.

The FBI raided the voting offices in Fulton County, Georgia late last week, seeking to seize records from the 2020 election. On site was DNI’s Tulsi Gabbard [does not oversee the FBI, which makes this extra suss], who besides the dealings shared above, has been charged during her tenure with leading Trump’s mission to find evidence that doesn’t exist that he actually won in 2020. As for what the raid was really about, well Congressman Dan Goldman [D-NY] shared that it’s a part of a larger scheme by the Trump Admin/GOP stealing the 2026 midterms.

A month and change after the release date mandated by law for the Epstein Files, the DOJ continues to slow walk some of them out, this time releasing about 3.5M emails, documents, inquiries, images, and more late Friday – and in the process failed to redact the names of victims. But even the weekend news cycle and the arrest of two journalists couldn’t quiet the many revelations found in the emails, which included Elon Musk begging for an invite to Epstein’s island [also showing their long friendship], pictures of formerly Prince Andrew on all fours over a lifeless girl's body, a lunch being orchestrated before the 2016 election with Peter Thiel, Epstein, and Putin whisperer Vitaly Churkin, Brad Karp getting a lunch [Karp as in Karp from the first big law firm to fall to Trump], interactions with owners of major sports teams, discussion of RFK Jr’s ex-wife’s alleged suicide, Bill Gates asking for advice on how to sneak his wife STD meds without her knowing, Howard Lutnick aka Trump’s Sec. of Commerce making an appearance, and more horror stories that are real life; connections have also been made between Epstein, 4chan, Pizzagate, and the allegation that QAnon was a psy-op dropped to distract from the Epstein ring. *For continued analysis/details on this release drop, Sami’s round-up on IG and Threads provide much of the top-line.

A decrepit-looking Tennessee state rep and candidate for governor, Monty Fritts [R] told a Christian Nationalist podcaster that he thinks that those that help children get gender affirming care should be executed, and would like to see a law in place for it.

One of the things racking in millions of views on social for those under 25 is chilling – according to a deep dive from The Atlantic, it’s Agartha, in varying memes and videos, depicting a story beloved by the head of the SS Heinrich Himmler and his Nazi colleagues. The story of the so-called mystical, underground city of Agartha, which originated by French writers was later adopted by Himmler & Co, as a proof point that the “white race was superior.” And now it’s become a fixture in mainstream meme-culture.

Florida is rolling back the ability for residents to take driving tests in a range of languages, and will now require those taking a driving test to do so in English. The requirement takes effect February 6, 2026 and impacts non-commercial and commercial drivers.

Texas A&M announced that it’s shutter its Women’s and Gender Studies program, a move that comes after 5,000 courses at the university were reviewed following the implementation of a new policy impacting the university system that requires campus presidents to approve any course that’s viewed as “advocating for race and gender ideology.”

Following a number of failed attempts to charge independent journalist Don Lemon with literally anything after he covered a protest in a church because the courts were not having it, Trump’s DOJ was able to secure an indictment. The indictment or rather attack on freedom of the press and freedom of speech, tries to paint a picture that Lemon was obstructing freedom of religion. Lemon’s arrest, alongside the middle of the night arrest of fellow independent journalist Georgia Fort, has led to outrage and this response from Minnesota’s AG.

A sign at the Fort Sumter National Monument in South Carolina that described the impacts of climate change, was removed to comply with Trump’s 2025 executive order about “restoring truth and sanity to American history” – the same one used to rationalize the removal of the slave exhibit in Philly.

The investigative reporters at ProPublica were able to identify the two federal agents that murdered Alex Pretti in Minnesota. The agents are reported to be Border and Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez from South Texas.

It was reported that in St. Peter, Minnesota, the police chief intervened in an attempt by ICE to take a local resident [U.S. citizen] into detention who was observing ICE activity – ICE boxed her in, came toward her car guns drawn, and tried to force her out of her car. However, according to MPR News, the city of St. Peter then denied the intervention in a statement.

ICE has begun buying up “mega’ warehouses to use as detention centers across the country, spending hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money on the purchases. Per Bloomberg,  one of the warehouses purchased is located in the Hagerstown, Maryland area and cost $102M. While protests haven’t deterred the Trump Admin, which is aiming to deport 1M people a year, pushback and protests have reportedly helped to stop some warehouse owners from going through with sales, including one in Oklahoma and another in Virginia.

Minnesota’s chief district judge – a GOP appointee, mind you – Patrick Schiltz, shared that ICE has violated 96 court orders in 74 cases the last month alone. Schlitz also noted in the document, which was attached to a recent order involving ICE, that 96 is likely an undercount. 

As concerns mounted in Springfield, Ohio over a possible ICE surge at what was expected to be the end date for thousands of Haitans with TPS [temporary protected status], U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes temporarily blocked the expiration of that status. The request made its way in front of the Judge as a result of five TPS status holders who are suing DHS claiming that the agency failed to conduct a review process that would determine whether it was safe enough for TPS holders to return to Haiti or not.

In Michigan, Gov. Whitmer [D] unveiled the first-ever ‘Michigan Maritime Strategy,’ which outlines a 10-year plan designed to boost and bolster the Great Lakes economy, while protecting the natural resources that are the waterways. This the plan, which you can leave Michigan residents can leave a public comment on through Feb 27, 2026 here.

Homebuyers are now walking away from signed deals at a record rate, with homebuyers backing out of 40,000 deals in December 2025 alone. According to Redfin, who has been keeping tally of the numbies, the markets with the most ‘walk-aways’ are Atlanta, GA, Jacksonville, FL, and San Antonio, TX.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office [CBO] estimates that Trump’s deployment of National Guard and active-duty Marine personnel in American cities for the next year will cost over $1 billion in taxpayer dollars.

In the midst of a continued housing crisis, Trump told reporters at this Cabinet meeting last week, “I don’t want to drive housing prices down. I want to drive housing prices up for people that own their homes.” 

A story that has all of the makings of a SciFi horror flick, is this one – which centers on the launch of a new social media platform called “Moltbook,” that’s made specifically for AI bots to chat with one another; humans can “observe.” Topics discussed by these bots include…drum roll please… consciousness, how they ‘feel,’ and their human creators. And to answer your question, yes, the person behind this is a man.

In a sea of delulu utterances, the current president shared his plans to build a 100,000-person stadium in front of the White House for the UFC fight in June… a 100,000-person stadium in less than five months…right.

A Waymo hit a child in Santa Monica, California last week. Waymo responded to the incident by claiming that if the child were hit by a car driven by a person, that it would’ve been “worse.” A preliminary investigation by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been opened.

Allegedly two-thirds of the crew members who worked on Melania Trump’s new Amazon documentary titled ‘Melania,’ don’t and didn’t want their names credited. Some of the specifics as to ‘why’ were first broken by Rolling Stone, and can likely be further understood by the fact that the film’s disgraced director, Brett Rattner is pictured in the Epstein files.

Senator Ron Wyden [D-OR] met up with the Korean Mama to test out foods, which led to this Reel, where Wyden dubs the Korean Mama “the secretary of good food.”

Elon Musk’s estranged daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson confirmed on Threads that Elon and the family were in St. Barths at the time specified in the latest batch of released emails between Epstein and Elon.

These four Virginia delegates – Jackie Hope Glass, Jessica Anderson, Nadarius Clark, and Nicole Cole – brought the moves, the ‘fits, and a reminder that joy is key to staying in the fight.

In response to ICE agents caught on candid cam in Jersey City, NJ claiming that they “don’t need a warrant,” NJ Gov. Mikie Sherrill [D] dropped these words on Twitter.

Senator Mark Kelly [D-AZ] drilled into the man who was caught taking a bribe in a Cava bag turned White House Border Czar – Tom Homan – for using war jargon when talking about Minneapolis, an American city.

Minnesota state Rep. Mohamud Noor [DFL] blasted ICE from the podium, sharing his experience having been stopped himself, seeing citizens detained, and kids' schools being on lockdown because of ICE being outside their doors. 

While waiting for votes, Senator Andy Kim [D-NJ] got to tap into some four paw time with this fluffball.

Vogue: Gavin Newsom Is Setting His Own Rules

Erin In The Morning: Kansas Advancing Anti-Trans Bill Allowing Bounty Hunters to Patrol Private Businesses Bathrooms

Newsweek: Visa Responds to Backlash After Trump Accounts Post Goes Viral

USA Today: Does the Constitution protect begging? Supreme Court asked to decide