Latest Politics News Today: 6 November 2026

Victoria's Coalition has promised to expand presumptive rights legislation so firefighters who develop thyroid and lung cancer can access compensation. The party says the change would bring Victoria closer to other states and would take effect if it wins the state election later this month. The Coalition also pledged $160 million over four years to modernise Fire Rescue Victoria's aging fleet.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reportedly not being considered to replace Tennessee Gov.-elect Marsha Blackburn in the Senate. Blackburn is focused on her transition to the governor's mansion, and a person familiar with the matter called speculation about Hegseth taking the seat baseless chatter. Hegseth has campaigned behind the scenes for the post, while outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie plans impeachment articles.

The National Capital Planning Commission voted 8-4 on Thursday to approve plans for a triumphal arch championed by President Trump between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. The arch would stand on Columbia Plaza on the Arlington Memorial Bridge, symbolically linking Washington, D.C., and Virginia. Critics called it a vanity project and raised concerns about its impact on airspace near Arlington.

Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa vowed to protect Texans from data center projects by enacting regulations and stopping work with data centers until protections are in place. She said communities should have a say in whether and how data centers are built, while not ruling out the projects. Her comments follow her defeat of outgoing Governor Greg Abbott and a previous campaign pledge to establish a moratorium on data center construction.

Washington voters are projected to approve Initiative 638, which would require a healthcare provider to verify a student's sex before they can play on a girls' school sports team. The measure reverses a long-standing policy that allowed transgender girls to compete in girls' and women's teams and joins similar laws in 27 states. It is a major loss for transgender rights advocates in a state that tends to lean Democratic.

House Democrats Hank Johnson and Deborah Ross are floating impeachment of Attorney General Todd Blanche after Democrats won control of both chambers. Ross said she expects a resolution against Blanche and suggested targeting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth first, who could face an impeachment vote as soon as next week. Blanche's Justice Department has faced renewed scrutiny over its role in Alaska's Senate race.

Democrat Jessica Killin is projected to unseat Republican Jeff Crank in Colorado's 5th Congressional District, a political first for the Colorado Springs-area seat. The district has never elected a Democrat since 1973, and Trump carried it by roughly 9 percentage points in 2024. Killin focused on affordability, healthcare and military families, and criticized relocating U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado Springs to Alabama.

The Trump administration announced sanctions on 10 individuals and entities tied to Cuba's government, military and oil industry, and designated five vessels as blocked property. The State Department said the measures target an offshore network shipping Cuban crude oil amid the U.S. fuel embargo. Treasury issued a rule allowing sanctions on foreign individuals and companies in Cuba's electronics, manufacturing, marine and technology sectors.

Meta, TikTok and Google filed separate lawsuits against California over the Digital Age Assurance Act, which takes effect Jan. 1 and bans platforms from giving users under 16 an addictive feed. The companies argued the law violates the First Amendment and the Communications Decency Act, while California's attorney general's office said it is reviewing the filings.

California Governor Gavin Newsom moved to grant clemency to 548 death row inmates, and he said he will convert 500 death sentences to life in prison without parole. About 382 commutations require approval by the California Supreme Court because the state constitution requires it for people convicted of a felony more than once. No one has been executed in the state since 2006.

Republican Amanda McKinney, a Yakima County commissioner, is projected to win Washington's 4th Congressional District, defeating Air Force veteran John Duresky. She will succeed retiring Rep. Dan Newhouse in a rural eastern Washington seat that tends to lean Republican, with endorsements from President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Democrats are poised to have a strong majority in the upcoming Congress, but final numbers are still being determined. The AP has not yet called all House and Senate races.