STATE GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Indiana primaries reshape State Senate while congressional incumbents hold steady
Indiana’s primary elections reshaped the state’s political landscape Tuesday night, with major State Senate upsets, razor-thin races headed for possible recounts and congressional incumbents largely holding their ground.
Indiana’s State Republican Senate primaries saw major upheaval, with six incumbent senators defeated by Trump-endorsed challengers following the contentious redistricting vote. Sens. Dan Dernulc, Rick Niemeyer, Linda Rogers, Travis Holdman, Jim Buck and Greg Walker all lost their primaries, while Sen. Greg Goode survived a challenge from a Trump-backed opponent. Two races remain extremely close and could face recounts: Sen. Liz Brown leads Darren Vogt by just 15 votes, and Sen. Spencer Deery holds a razor-thin four-vote edge over Paula Copenhaver, with both sides claiming victory. Other notable races included Sen. Ron Alting defeating a right-wing challenger backed by Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, and several competitive open-seat contests in key swing districts around Indianapolis. All State House of Representative incumbents, save Bruce Borders who was beaten by his primary opponent Kellie Streeter, survived their primary races.
Indiana’s congressional primaries were largely favorable to incumbents, with nearly every sitting member of the delegation surviving challenges and advancing to the November general election. Republican Reps. Jim Baird, Jefferson Shreve, Victoria Spartz and Marlin Stutzman all secured renomination, although Shreve faced the closest race, defeating challenger Sarah Brown by only about 3,000 votes. Democratic Rep. André Carson easily turned back a multi-candidate primary field, while Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan advanced in what is expected to become one of Indiana’s most competitive congressional races this fall. Several incumbents, including Reps. Rudy Yakym, Mark Messmer and Erin Houchin, faced no primary opposition at all. Democrats also finalized key challengers for November, including state Sen. J.D. Ford in the 5th District against Spartz, Barb Regnitz against Mrvan in the 1st District and Cynthia “Cinde” Wirth against Shreve in the 6th District.
Braun extends gas tax holiday, adds excise tax suspension
Gov. Mike Braun extended Indiana’s gas tax holiday for another 30 days, expanding the suspension to include the state’s gasoline excise tax. The action, his office states, will more than double Hoosiers’ savings at the pump.
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FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
ICBA, ABA, others: New stablecoin language falls short on yield
The Independent Community Bankers of America, American Bankers Association and other groups said revised legislative language on yield-bearing payment stablecoins falls short of addressing concerns with the payment of yield and interest on stablecoins.
In a joint statement responding to legislative language released last Friday by Senate Banking Committee members Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., the groups said:
- Tillis and Alsobrooks are seeking to achieve the correct policy goal—prohibiting the payment of yield and interest on stablecoins—but the proposed language falls short of that goal.
- Research demonstrates that yield-earning stablecoins could dramatically reduce consumer, small-business and farm loans, making a clear and transparent prohibition essential.
- They will be sharing detailed suggestions for strengthening the proposed language with lawmakers in the coming days.
Crafted to serve as a compromise between the banking and crypto sectors in the market structure debate, the revised language would:
- Prohibit yield on payment stablecoin balances “in a manner that is economically or functionally equivalent to the payment of interest or yield on an interest-bearing bank deposit.”
- Permit yield on payment stablecoins that is “based on bona fide activities or bona fide transactions that are not economically or functionally equivalent to the payment of interest or yield on an interest-bearing bank deposit.”
- Require a Treasury Department rulemaking within one year to clarify the circumstances in which the prohibition and permission would apply.
ABA, state groups seek comment deadline extension on Treasury’s GENIUS Act proposed rule on state regulatory regimes
The American Bankers Association and 52 state bankers associations sent a letter to the Treasury Department asking for an extension of the comment deadline on the proposed rule to establish the principles under which it will determine whether a state-level regulatory regime is “substantially similar” to the federal framework, as required by the Genius Act.
SEC proposes changes to reporting frequency by public companies
The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed rule and form amendments that would give public companies the option of filing semiannual reports instead of quarterly reports to meet their interim reporting obligations under federal securities laws.
HUD official discusses changes to Fair Housing Act enforcement
The Trump administration is committed to pursuing only cases of intentional discrimination in enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, which includes increased scrutiny of lenders that participate in special purpose credit programs, a top fair housing enforcement official said at the American Bankers Association’s Risk and Compliance Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Bowman: Fed, Treasury and FCC to hold public-private roundtable on consumer fraud
While addressing the 2026 Women in Housing and Finance Symposium in Washington, D.C., Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle W. Bowman told the audience that the Fed, along with the Treasury and the Federal Communications Commission, will hold a public-private roundtable on ways to combat financial and consumer fraud.
Congress passes short-term FISA extension
The House passed a 45-day clean extension of Section 702 of FISA, the government's warrantless surveillance authority, after the Senate failed to accept the House's long-term extension of the program.
SEC proposes flexible corporate reporting model after Trump's push
President Donald Trump’s top Wall Street regulator has formally pitched a long-awaited plan relaxing the quarterly reporting mandate that has guided corporate America for decades.
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposal, released Tuesday, would offer publicly traded companies in the U.S. new flexibility on how often they report critical financial information to investors.