Who Said That
Pete Sepp, the president of the National Taxpayers Union. The Trump administration is floating a proposal that would limit recipients of Section 8 housing vouchers to two years. Currently, the average recipient receives vouchers for a total of 15.1 years. (The Center Square)
Alexandra Syphard, senior research scientist with the Conservation Biology Institute and the director of science for the Global Wildfire Collective. The Trump administration wants to open up more protected forest land to roads, arguing that this will allow firefighters easier access to fight blazes. Syphard contends that roads themselves provide places for more fires to start. (NPR)
Marten Lodewijks, U.S. president of IWSR, a global beverage market analysis firm. He spoke as bourbon sales slump and small distillers shut down, squeezed by shifting consumer tastes, falling resale values, and tariffs blocking U.S. spirits exports to Canada. (BBC)
Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman. Recovering from being shot nine times in June, Hoffman rallied Democrats at the DNC summer meeting in Minneapolis, invoking the late House Speaker Melissa Hortman’s rallying cry to keep fighting heading into the 2026 elections. Her killing, along with that of her husband, Mark, earlier this summer loomed large as Democrats from across the country gathered at the Minneapolis Hilton to chart a path forward. (Star Ledger)
Marlene Benke, a resident of Richmond, Calif. Speaking at the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park, Benke joined local leaders and advocates protesting the Trump administration’s agenda to defund national parks and erase historical narratives. (The Mercury News)
Ken Cuccinelli, former deputy secretary of Homeland Security. He described how Republican governors are competing for billions in federal immigration enforcement dollars under the Trump administration’s expansion of migrant detention capacity, with new state-federal detention facilities already announced in Florida, Indiana and Nebraska. (Politico)
Florida state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith. His remarks came after a rainbow crosswalk outside the Pulse nightclub—site of the 2016 mass shooting—was removed without notice as part of a state and federal effort to eliminate “political banners” from roadways. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer confirmed the city was not notified in advance. (Orlando Sentinel)
Former President Barack Obama. He endorsed California Democrats’ proposal to redraw congressional districts if Texas or other Republican-led states push forward with partisan gerrymanders, saying GOP actions have forced Democrats’ hand. (Los Angeles Times)
President Donald Trump. The president said his effort to broker peace in Ukraine is motivated in part by concerns about his afterlife, a remark his press secretary later said was serious. (New York Times)
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat. He was responding to President Donald Trump’s call to ban mail-in voting, a method used by nearly 75 percent of Arizona voters in the 2024 general election. Trump does not have constitutional authority to prohibit mail-in ballots, which remain central to the state’s election system. (Axios)
Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Republican governor of California. Schwarzenegger, who championed the state’s independent redistricting commission through ballot initiatives, says he will campaign against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to set aside the commission’s work for the next three elections in favor of a partisan map. (New York Times)
U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida. The Democrat says his party is gaining confidence about winning back the Senate, pointing to strong recruits in Ohio and North Carolina and growing interest in other potential pickups, including Maine, Texas, Alaska and Iowa. (Politico)
Henderson, Nev., Councilwoman Carrie Cox. Her comments came after the City Council approved new ward boundaries for the seventh time in 15 years, a practice critics say can skew elections and confuse voters. The frequent redistricting has renewed interest in a stalled proposal to create an independent redistricting commission in Nevada. (Nevada Current)
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. His comments follow data showing New York City added just 956 private-sector jobs in the first half of 2025, the slowest growth outside a recession in decades, with key industries like finance, hospitality and retail shedding jobs. Other major metro areas, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose, have also posted modest job losses in 2025. (New York Times)
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. The Democrat pushed back on President Donald Trump’s threat to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, comparing the idea to actions taken by the Nazi Party in 1930s Germany and warning against federal overreach into local governance. (Chicago Tribune)
Los Angeles City Council member Katy Yaroslavsky. Ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games, the host city is embroiled in a showdown between labor unions and the travel industry. Hotel companies and airlines have been trying to repeal approved wage hikes for tourism workers, which prompted retaliatory ballot initiatives from unions targeting the travel industry. (Politico)
Former Indiana Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels. He said he doesn’t “see the point” of a fresh round of redistricting in the state, pushing back on calls from Vice President JD Vance and others to redraw the state’s congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterms. (Politico)
Robyn Lowe of Ban Carriage Tours Savannah. As Savannah prepares to update its horse tour ordinance for the first time since 2017, Lowe and other advocates are pushing for stricter heat protections, including suspending tours when temperatures exceed 85 degrees. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
California state Sen. Aisha Wahab. The Democrat’s Senate Bill 259 would bar retailers from using AI to adjust prices based on data pulled from customers’ phones. For example, a ride-hailing company could charge more if it knows your battery is about to die. The proposal is part of a broader push in Sacramento to curb AI-driven practices. (Cal Matters)
Missouri state Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin. The Republican president pro tem said Gov. Mike Kehoe is weighing a redistricting plan aimed at aligning the state’s congressional map with its conservative majority, following similar moves debated in Texas. (Bloomberg)
New Hampshire state Rep. Ellen Read. The Democrat sponsored the nation’s first law requiring doctors to perform sterilization procedures for patients who request them, regardless of age, marital status or personal views on fertility. Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed the bipartisan measure on July 15. (New Hampshire Bulletin)
Pinellas County Commission Chairperson Brian Scott. Florida’s new Department of Government Efficiency is launching audits of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, citing concerns over alleged excessive spending. Scott pushed back on the tone but said the county will comply with the sweeping records request, which includes documents on diversity, equity and inclusion and climate initiatives. (Tampa Bay Times)
Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson. The council voted to ban the use of certain slurs during public comment after repeated disruptions involving racist and offensive language. Violators will now face removal or bans from future meetings. (Los Angeles Times)
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. This week, Carter declared a local state of emergency in response to a dayslong cyberattack that shut down the city’s Internet-based systems. The FBI and Minnesota National Guard cybersecurity experts have been called in to investigate and restore services, most of which remain offline, except for emergency operations. The breach has prompted a full network shutdown, affecting everything from library terminals to City Hall operations. (Government Technology)
Andrew Rumbach, a housing and disaster resilience expert at the Urban Institute. As floods, hurricanes and wildfires grow more intense, mobile homes — often a last affordable option — remain especially vulnerable, despite improvements in modern construction standards. (Washington Post)
Teamsters Local 25 Secretary-Treasurer Steven South. As Waymo begins mapping Boston’s streets for potential autonomous vehicle deployment, labor leaders are raising alarms about public safety, transparency and the future of driving jobs in cities already grappling with congestion. (Mass Live)
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. In a major climate address ahead of the COP30 summit, Guterres called on tech companies to commit to powering all data centers with 100 percent renewable energy by the end of the decade. He warned that AI-driven demand could overwhelm global energy systems without urgent reforms. (Newsweek)
Tennessee state Rep. Brent Taylor. The Memphis Republican is pushing for a state takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools, calling local school board members “dumbasses” and questioning their leadership. The remarks drew backlash from city officials and education advocates. (Chalkbeat Tennessee)
Jesse Thorn, father of two patients at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, which officially closed its pediatric gender clinic this week. The shutdown of the Center for Transyouth Health and Development — once one of the nation’s largest and most prominent providers of gender-affirming care for youth on public insurance — signals a wider unraveling of access to trans-specific healthcare nationwide. (Los Angeles Times)
California Rep. Jared Huffman. As Democrats in blue states like California weigh mid-decade redistricting to counter Republican moves in states such as Texas, Huffman is among several House members expressing discomfort with the idea, warning it could escalate partisan gerrymandering nationwide. (Axios)
