Federal Register Watch is The Investigative Journal’s daily review of the rules, proposed rules and notices moving through the federal regulatory pipeline. All items below appear in the September 10, 2026 edition of the Federal Register.
The September 10 edition of the Federal Register carries just under 120 documents from roughly 50 agencies — 14 rules, 11 proposed rules, 91 notices and four presidential documents, according to the Office of the Federal Register’s filing manifest. The headline item is a Census Bureau proposal that would formally exclude illegal aliens from the count used to apportion the House of Representatives, a change with direct consequences for the 2030 census and the balance of political power among the states. Also in today’s issue: two executive orders aimed at cattle ranchers and meat processors, a Securities and Exchange Commission proposal to scrap its longstanding pay-to-play rule, new Treasury sanctions actions on Iran, and a terrorist designation for an Ecuadorian gang.
Census Bureau moves to exclude illegal aliens from the 2030 apportionment count
The Commerce Department’s Census Bureau filed a proposed rule (Docket No. 260903-0005) that would add two new parts to the Code of Federal Regulations governing the decennial census. The first would codify “residence criteria” for determining each person’s usual residence — and, records show, the bureau has “preliminarily determined, after revisiting and reviewing the applicable law,” that persons unlawfully present in the United States lack the tie and allegiance required to establish usual residence for apportionment purposes. The second part would restrict which demographic questions may appear on the census short form, with the bureau writing that the count “should be colorblind” and questioning the utility of race and ethnicity categories. The proposal also invites comment on adding a legal-status question to the questionnaire, citing the Supreme Court’s 2019 holding in Department of Commerce v. New York that the Enumeration Clause permits citizenship inquiries.
The significance is hard to overstate. Apportionment counts have included all residents regardless of immigration status since the first census in 1790, and a 2020 presidential memorandum directing a similar exclusion was never implemented — the Supreme Court dismissed the challenge to it as premature in Trump v. New York before leaving office mooted the dispute. A finalized rule along these lines would almost certainly draw immediate litigation, and the proposal itself anticipates the fight, citing Franklin v. Massachusetts for the proposition that usual residence “can mean more than mere physical presence” and incorporates “some element of allegiance.” The document also indicates the bureau would lean on administrative records from Treasury, HHS, DHS and other agencies to identify status — a data-matching exercise TIJ will be watching closely.
Filings indicate the comment window is short for a rule of this magnitude: comments must be received within 30 days of publication, putting the deadline in mid-October 2026. Comments can be filed on the Federal eRulemaking Portal under docket USBC-2026-0628.
Two executive orders target meatpacker consolidation and rancher regulation
The White House filed two executive orders signed September 4. Executive Order 14424, “Promoting Fair Competition in Livestock Markets and Expanding Market Access for American Meat Producers,” directs the Agriculture Department to expand investigations under the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921, add staff to USDA’s enforcement divisions, and coordinate antitrust referrals with the Justice Department under a September 2025 memorandum of understanding. It also orders USDA to streamline state participation in cooperative interstate shipment programs, stand up a guaranteed loan program for small and regional beef processors, and report within 60 days on statutory barriers that keep state-inspected meat out of interstate commerce. Market context, per press reports: roughly 85 percent of U.S. cattle slaughter runs through four packing companies.
The companion order, Executive Order 14425 (“Supporting America’s Ranchers”), notes the national cattle herd sits at a 75-year low while beef demand has grown nearly 10 percent over the past decade. It gives the Interior Secretary 90 days to determine whether the gray wolf and Mexican wolf meet Endangered Species Act delisting criteria, directs a review of depredation-compensation standards, and — most consequentially for trade policy — orders USDA and the U.S. Trade Representative to review authorities for reinstating mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef, which Congress repealed in 2015 after adverse World Trade Organization rulings. A White House fact sheet and USDA release accompany the orders. Whether enforcement resources follow the directives is the question that will determine if these orders move cattle markets or remain paper commitments — the 60- and 90-day reports they require will be the first test.
SEC proposes to rescind the investment-adviser pay-to-play rule
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a proposed rescission (Release No. IA-6994; File No. S7-2026-31) of Rule 206(4)-5, the 2010 “political contribution rule” that bars investment advisers from collecting fees from government clients — chiefly state and local pension funds — for two years after the adviser or a covered associate donates to officials who can influence the award of advisory business. The Commission’s stated rationale: the rule is “burdensome, complex,” creates what market participants call a “de facto strict liability standard,” and has pushed some firms to ban employee political giving outright. The Commission argues existing antifraud rules, fiduciary duties and compliance-program requirements are likely sufficient to police pay-to-play conduct, and its press release projects meaningful annual compliance savings for the industry.
For accountability watchers, this is a significant bet. The rule was adopted in the wake of pay-to-play scandals involving public pension funds, and rescission would remove the bright-line, prophylactic bar in favor of case-by-case enforcement. Law-firm analyses circulating this week — including from Gibson Dunn — caution that state-level pay-to-play statutes and MSRB/FINRA analogues remain in force regardless. Comments are due 60 days after publication, on or about November 9, 2026, under File No. S7-2026-31.
Treasury suspends Iran general licenses for aviation and shipping transactions
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control filed a final rule staying indefinitely three general licenses and one licensing policy under the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, effective September 8. The suspended provisions had authorized payments for overflights of Iranian airspace, specific licenses for aircraft-safety transactions, bunkering and emergency repairs for vessels, and — via web-published General License J-1 — the temporary reexport of civil aircraft to Iran. OFAC states the action responds to Iran’s “continued disruptions to global energy markets,” attacks on U.S. partners, reconstitution of its weapons programs and support for terrorist proxies.
The rule took effect without notice and comment under the foreign-affairs exemption, meaning affected carriers and shippers had no transition period: as of September 8, those transactions are no longer authorized. Airlines that route around or over Iranian airspace and maritime operators handling emergency port calls will need OFAC-specific licenses going forward.
State Department designates Los Tiguerones a Foreign Terrorist Organization
Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed determinations designating Los Tiguerones (also known as Los Fenix and Los Igualitos) a Foreign Terrorist Organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224. Both determinations are dated August 3 and take effect upon today’s publication. The designations trigger asset blocking, criminal exposure for material support, and immigration consequences.
According to the State Department’s announcement, made as Rubio visited Quito this week, the Ecuador-based gang is tied to narcotrafficking and attacks on civilians, police and journalists — including the on-air takeover of an Ecuadorian television station in 2024. Press reports indicate the move follows July designations of other Ecuadorian groups, including Los Choneros and Los Lobos, and came alongside expanded U.S. security assistance for Ecuador.
Student loan rates for 2026-27: undergraduates will pay 6.52 percent
The Education Department’s Federal Student Aid office published its annual notice of fixed interest rates for Direct Loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026 and before July 1, 2027. Based on the May 12 ten-year Treasury auction high yield of 4.47 percent plus statutory add-ons, undergraduate Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans will carry a 6.52 percent rate, graduate unsubsidized loans 8.07 percent, and PLUS loans 9.07 percent. Companion notices cover variable-rate FFEL-era loans and variable-rate Direct Loans.
The data show rates ticking up from 2025-26 (6.39, 7.94 and 8.94 percent respectively) and sitting near the highest levels since the current statutory formula took effect in 2013 — a pocketbook figure worth noting for the millions of families borrowing this academic year.
White House continues the post-9/11 national emergency for a 26th year
On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the President filed a notice continuing the national emergency first declared in Proclamation 7463 on September 14, 2001. The one-page notice, issued under section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act, states that “the terrorist threat continues” and extends the associated authorities — which underpin, among other things, military mobilization powers — beyond September 14, 2026.
The continuation is routine in the sense that every administration since 2001 has renewed it annually; it is notable precisely because a quarter-century-old emergency remains the legal foundation for standing executive authorities that Congress has never revisited in full — a recurring theme in TIJ’s government accountability coverage.
Also on our radar
Several smaller filings in today’s issue touch TIJ’s investigative beats. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposed a rule on in-situ uranium recovery monitoring and decommissioning timeliness, arriving amid renewed federal interest in domestic uranium supply. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration opened a proceeding on whether federal hazmat law preempts California’s reusability mandate for propane cylinders — the latest federal-state preemption clash worth tracking. The Surface Transportation Board noticed a control filing involving FlixBus and Greyhound entities, a consolidation question in intercity bus service. USCIS filed paperwork extending the E-Verify information collection, and DHS issued a correction to its proposed fee for certain H-1B petitions. The Air Force also announced an environmental impact statement for T-7A trainer recapitalization at Sheppard Air Force Base.
Comment deadlines noted above are calculated from today’s publication date; the published documents control. TIJ’s Federal Register Watch runs each publication day. Tips on regulatory matters: contact the newsroom.
Sources
- Census Bureau, Decennial Census Proposed Residence Criteria and Regulations for Demographic Questions (2026-18481)
- Executive Order 14424, Promoting Fair Competition in Livestock Markets (2026-18567)
- Executive Order 14425, Supporting America’s Ranchers (2026-18571)
- White House Fact Sheet on rancher executive orders
- USDA press release, Sept. 4, 2026
- SEC, Political Contributions by Certain Investment Advisers; Proposed Rescission (2026-18424)
- SEC press release 2026-85
- OFAC, Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations; Final Rule (2026-18461)
- State Department, FTO Designation of Los Tiguerones (2026-18442) and SDGT Designation (2026-18443)
- State Department announcement, Terrorist Designation of Los Tiguerones
- Education Department, Fixed-Rate Direct Loan Interest Rates (2026-18493)
- Notice, Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Certain Terrorist Attacks (2026-18589)
- Federal Register Public Inspection listing for the Sept. 10, 2026 issue
Featured image: south facade of the National Archives Building, Washington, D.C., home of the Office of the Federal Register. Historic American Buildings Survey photograph, Library of Congress (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.