In February 1865, as the Civil War neared its end, Congress passed a law to bar armed federal officers from voting locations. That law has been a cornerstone of our free and fair elections and has been respected by every administration since. Until now.

This past May in Texas, armed immigration agents appeared in the parking lot of an active polling place. In New York in June, Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents entered a voting location to question a poll worker about her social media posts. Since these incidents, the administration repeatedly has been asked if it will obey the law, and it has repeatedly refused to do so.

That’s why, last week, our offices joined civil rights leaders to make Denver the first city in America to go to court and sue to prevent armed ICE agents from being deployed to polling places and intimidating voters.

There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud. The administration has offered no reason for deploying armed immigration officers at polling places. Their presence could make American citizens wonder whether casting a ballot could put them or their families at risk.

That is unacceptable.

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DHS chief Mullin warns ICE agents could be sent to polling sites during elections

September 2, 2026 / 08:24

And the consequences go far beyond one midterm election. Armed federal agents at the polls could intimidate American citizens from exercising their right to vote. It could raise the risk that eligible voters are questioned or detained because of their perceived immigration status, their name, their accent or the color of their skin.

That strikes at the heart of our ability to hold free and fair elections. And now it is up to cities to defend these rights.

Denver is a diverse city. Nearly one-third of our residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, and a rich Latino heritage shapes the very fabric of our city. From the vibrant culture along Santa Fe Drive to generations of community leaders and dynamic small business owners, our Hispanic residents don’t just contribute to our community, they define it.

We won’t let anyone intimidate our community at the polls, least of all the federal government.

Denver knows what it takes to stand up for our values. Two years ago, more than 40,000 migrants arrived in Denver, many of whom were sent here on buses by Texas officials with little warning. The city opened shelters, working through two brutal winters to make sure families who arrived with almost nothing didn’t end up on the streets. Retired attorneys returned to work to help people file for work authorization so they could work legally and support themselves. Denverites donated so many coats, hats and shoes that the city ran out of room to store them. Some residents even learned to prepare Venezuelan meals.

When others have tried to use fear of immigrants to divide us, Denver has come together. And we will do the same when it comes to voting.

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ICE is ‘not making our communities any safer’: Rep. Jacobs on immigration enforcement in San Diego

August 30, 2026 / 10:04

In Colorado, we love to vote. Our state consistently has among the highest voter turnout rates in the country. In 2024, 90% of Denver voters cast their ballots by mail or drop box. We’re used to carving out the morning before a Broncos game to study ballot initiatives and candidates. We also know how to run elections well. Denver’s elections are secure, transparent and built on gold-standard security. We intend to keep them that way.

That’s why we aren’t waiting until Election Day to prepare. Our election workers are already being trained to identify federal agents, document their presence and de-escalate encounters if necessary. And it’s why we went to court now, before a single Denver voter has to decide whether casting a ballot is worth the risk.

We hope none of this will be necessary. But hope is not a strategy. No president gets to make our neighbors afraid to exercise their right to vote. No American should have to wonder whether exercising their rights could put them or their family in jeopardy.

Denver will not be intimidated. We will do everything in our power to ensure every eligible voter can cast their ballot freely, safely and without fear.

And if this administration insists on testing that right, we’ll see it in court.

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Throughout Barack Obama’s and Joe Biden’s presidencies, the Democratic administrations took steps to address the climate crisis by imposing pollution limits on, among other things, coal-fired power plants.

Donald Trump’s administration continues to take dramatic steps in the opposite direction.

In the latest development, the Republican’s Environmental Protection Agency confirmed Monday that it is scrapping rules that limit climate pollution from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas. As The Associated Press noted, the move, according to Trump’s EPA, would “remove more than $300 billion in costs for the industry.”

While it’s true that removing the environmental safeguards would represent a financial windfall for the companies that own these power plants, critics pointed to the far greater costs to the public.

Indeed, The New York Times noted, “Environmentalists and energy experts have opposed the move, which has been in the works since last spring. They have noted that if the U.S. power sector were its own country, it would be the fifth-largest climate polluter in the world after China, the entire United States, India and Russia.”

The same report added, “Earlier this year, the E.P.A. eliminated greenhouse gas standards for car tailpipes and eased restrictions on planet-warming chemicals used in air-conditioners and refrigerators. Most consequentially, the agency repealed the scientific determination that gave it the legal authority to create climate regulations in the first place.”

Recent history suggests these new developments will spark federal litigation, which might very well lead to yet another fight at the U.S. Supreme Court. Environmental advocates have expressed concern that the dispute could open the door to the high court’s conservative majority prohibiting the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases altogether.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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This is the Sept. 14, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.

“I’m just getting started and I’ll be back here again.” 

—

American tennis star Ben Shelton after losing the U.S. Open final on Sunday  

When you’re losing big, your character comes out. I always told my children to be at their best when their team was down by 5 runs or losing by three touchdowns. 

Keep your head up. Work harder. Forget the scoreboard, and focus on the next play. 

Comebacks happen one play at a time, while your character is measured best in adversity. 

I loved watching Ben Shelton yesterday. After the 23-year-old lost a brutal second set, Shelton continued smiling, kept his focus, and proved himself to be worthy of the moment. 

When the U.S. Open was finally decided, Germany’s Alexander Zverev showed as much graciousness during his celebratory remarks as he did grit during the match. The winner hugged his opponent at the net, then went out of his way to console the American challenger’s father, telling him what a great son he had raised. 

Alexander saluted Ben’s family and told his opponent that he’d bet his last dollar that the young American would one day win the Open. 

Zverev then paid tribute to his own mother’s determination to make sure her four-year-old diabetic son would never be limited by his disease. 

Sportsmanship is often seen in such moments. But yesterday felt particularly special.

Their display of character and class stood in such stark contrast to so many course politicians and public figures who have littered America’s pop culture landscape during the age of Trump.

It may not have been the ending that many of us wanted to see, but just maybe it was the one Americans needed to watch. 

Good luck, Ben. Cheering for you to win a major soon!

CHARTS OF THE DAY

Source: CBS News/YouGov poll of 2,460 U.S. adults interviewed between September 8-11, 2026. Margin of error: ±2.3 points.  

AI Leaders Sound the Alarm 

“Whoever wins AI, wins.” 

That was President Donald Trump’s response Sunday to new warnings from leading tech executives about the catastrophic threat artificial intelligence could pose to humanity. 

For Trump, the more immediate risk is falling behind China.

On Saturday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for “pacing the frontier” — slowing development of the most powerful AI models while safeguards are put in place. His three-step plan calls for independent third-party safety evaluations, coordination among democracies, and eventually, cooperation with authoritarian governments.

Amodei’s proposal quickly won support from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk. 

Meanwhile, House Democrats urged Speaker Mike Johnson to cancel the late-September recess and take up AI legislation, including the bipartisan AI Kill Switch Act, which would allow federal officials to shut down a rogue AI system. 

Johnson balked, saying he wants to consult industry leaders before rushing legislation that could give China the upper hand. Trump doubled down, saying there was a “SICK conspiracy” against AI and data centers.

The debate comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares to visit Trump in Washington on Sept. 24, with AI expected to be on the agenda. 

WHAT THEY SAID

Jonathan Lemire on A.I. 

“This is all anyone’s talking about right now: these worries about AI. The political conversation has focused on data centers, higher bills, fears about jobs. But what happened last week went beyond that. There is a real concern here — and the industry is calling for the government to help to lead. They may not.”

David Ignatius on the midterms

“The irony is that Donald Trump may get just what he wants, in that this November people are going to act as if he’s on the ballot — and he’s not popular. He doesn’t seem to realize that.” 

Ed Luce on Ukraine/Russia 

“We have these false dawns, where we think the White House has finally seen the light that Russia is the aggressor and Ukraine needs help. But Trump does not deviate on this. He’s sympathetic to Russia, and I think we delude ourselves if we think he’s ever going to change his mind.”

Pablo Torre on NFL Week 1 

“It’s like the disclaimer you get on investment advice: Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. No sport is more drastically different from the preseason to the regular season than the NFL. There’s a biorhythmic adjustment for every team now, where your body, your health, and your sanity is on the line.”

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When this year got underway, Brandon Herrera’s GOP congressional campaign was largely dismissed as an unfortunate joke. He was running against Rep. Tony Gonzales in a Republican primary in Texas and, with the party backing the incumbent, it seemed implausible that Herrera, a radical internet personality, would be a serious candidate for federal office.

In February and March, however, Gonzales’ career imploded in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations. The congressman finished second to Herrera in the first round of balloting in early March, and instead of moving forward to a runoff primary, Gonzales ended his re-election bid and soon after resigned in disgrace.

That left Herrera as the sole Republican candidate in a Republican-friendly congressional district.

GOP leaders who had originally backed Gonzales are now rallying behind the online personality. Take House Speaker Mike Johnson, for example.

On CNN’s “State of the Union,” host Jake Tapper asked the Louisiana Republican if he was willing to defend Herrera, in light of his record. Congress’ top GOP leader conceded that Herrera had used “detestable language,” but Johnson nevertheless argued that the Texan was “running a very effective campaign and explaining to people that he has apologized for all that.”

He added that the 30-year-old candidate only said outrageous things because he was a “provocateur” who was trying to “get attention.”

Turning to his usual talking points, Johnson concluded, “I’m telling you, this is a contrast election between common sense and crazy. Brandon Herrera will join the commonsense team of Republicans.”

For those unfamiliar with Herrera, a self-described gun rights absolutist known as “the AK Guy,” Politico noted that the candidate had used “sexually explicit and derogatory language to describe mothers and children, called a Nazi-era machine gun the ‘original ghetto blaster’ and was seen goose-stepping to a Nazi marching song.”

When the Democratic House Majority PAC posted the goose-stepping video to social media in March, Herrera replied, “I standby it, this s––– was funny as hell.”

So much for the idea that he has “apologized for all that.”

The New York Times’ Michelle Goldberg added in a recent column:

Because this is a family newspaper, I cannot quote the piquant term that Brandon Herrera, a Republican House candidate in Texas, used to refer to children in a 2023 video. I can only report that he called them “trophies” for getting a man to ejaculate. Nor, alas, am I allowed to repeat the obscenities that Herrera, a gun influencer, used to explain why the opinions of mothers are without value. I can only say that he argued, essentially, that getting pregnant requires no special skill.

Two weeks ago, ahead of a fund-raiser that Mike Johnson, the House speaker, was holding for Herrera, The Austin American-Statesman reached out to Herrera’s campaign about these resurfaced comments. Herrera’s team responded with a crude visual pun that, once again, is too vulgar for me to describe here.

A separate Politico report in the spring also noted that Herrera “jokes about the Holocaust and boasts about his 1939 edition of ‘Mein Kampf.’”

All of which brings us back to the assessment from the sitting House speaker: “I’m telling you, this is a contrast election between common sense and crazy.”

The public is supposed to believe that the guy was seen goose-stepping to a Nazi marching song isn’t the “crazy” one.

Herrera will face Katy Padilla Stout, a local lawyer and former school teacher, in the fall. Watch this space.

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