Political Analysis
Washington Added $2.53 Trillion to the Federal Debt in Fiscal 2026
Treasury data show the federal debt stood at $40.17 trillion when fiscal 2026 closed on September 30, up $2.53 trillion, or 6.7 percent, in a year.
The Ledger
A Texian Partisan column
The Ledger follows federal policy and the Texas economy to what they mean for Texans. It's a column of the Texian Partisan.
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- Economic Analysis
Comptroller Projects $4.33 Trillion Texas Tax Base as Value Growth Slows
Texas taxable property value is estimated at $4.33 trillion for 2026, up 5.07% after a flat 2025, and the Comptroller moved the same day to stop taxing marketplace platform fees.
- Political Analysis
Kalshi Loses Sports Contract Fight as Appeals Court Sides With States
A unanimous Sixth Circuit panel held that federal commodities law does not preempt Ohio's and Tennessee's gambling laws as applied to Kalshi's sports contracts.
- Political Analysis
Appeals Court Strikes Down 1968 Ban on Interstate Handgun Sales
The Fifth Circuit struck the federal ban on interstate handgun sales in a case brought by a Texas dealer.
- Political Analysis
Texas Asks Supreme Court to Ban Census Estimates That Decide Its House Seats
Texas joined Florida in asking the Supreme Court to bar statistical estimates from the census.
- Political Analysis
Supreme Court Keeps Missouri’s 2022 Map After Voters Force a Referendum
The Supreme Court stopped lower federal courts from forcing Missouri onto its 2025 map after a voter referendum petition suspended it. Missouri's constitution reserves that power to its people; Texas's does not.
- Political Analysis
Supreme Court Lets Texas Resume Voter Citizenship Checks Through Federal Database
The Supreme Court restored DHS's expanded SAVE citizenship database, which Texas used to check all 18 million registered voters. Travis County told the Court the data flagged citizens as noncitizens.
- Political Analysis
Texas Independence Is Not the Threat to Social Security. Washington Put the Cut on Its Own Calendar for 2032.
Texans are told independence would cost them Social Security.
- Political Analysis
Federal Debt Could Hit 222% of GDP If Rates Rise, CBO Says
CBO says federal debt reaches 175 percent of GDP by 2056 under current law and 222 percent if rates run a point higher.
- Economic Analysis
The Fed Raised Rates for the First Time Since 2023. Washington’s $40 Trillion Debt Just Got More Expensive.
The Federal Reserve raised rates a quarter point to 3.75 to 4 percent, its first increase since 2023.
- Economic Analysis
Congress Will Start Another Fiscal Year Without Its Spending Bills. It Has Finished Them on Time Four Times in 50 Years.
Congress will begin fiscal 2027 on October 1 without any of its 12 spending bills, running on a stopgap through December 11.
- Economic Analysis
Washington’s Gold Is Worth $1.1 Trillion. Its Books Still Say $11 Billion.
The Treasury carries 261.5 million ounces of gold at $42.22 an ounce, about $11 billion. At market prices it is worth about $1.1 trillion.
