Afternoon Sun: ‘Hitting Pay Dirt’

Good afternoon. This is the Afternoon Sun newsletter for Oct. 22, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

THE LATEST

A federal labor agency accused the Department of Health and Human Services of using AI to draft a document that contained “a fictitious citation.”

• It wouldn’t be the first time the department ran into trouble with the citations.

Calley Means, a senior adviser to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., resigned from the Trump administration over frustrations that the Make America Healthy Again agenda had stalled, The Wall Street Journal first reported.

THE ADMINISTRATION

Construction on Donald Trump’s arch could start in two weeks if the plans get final approval from a federal commission — one that the president recently stacked with his own appointees.

The State Department ordered some nonessential U.S. diplomatic staff and their family members stationed in Saudi Arabia to depart the region following escalating attacks from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebel group.

Federal agents were spotted outside polling locations in two Florida counties this week during early voting, a presence that local election officials say is intimidating and illegal.

THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine denounced a controversial ad featuring the estranged mother of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton. But Trump enthusiastically defended Acton’s Republican rival, Vivek Ramaswamy, saying on Truth Social that he thought the ad was “so good!”

• “Who wouldn’t use such an Ad?” Trump wrote. “I would, it’s called, ‘hitting pay dirt.’”

THE HILL

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) said she is moving out of her D.C. home after federal agents raided the residence earlier this month.

THE COURTS

Federal authorities charged Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas in a sprawling public corruption case that includes fraud and racketeering accusations involving a cannabis business she co-owns.

Trump will have to sit for a deposition in his $10 billion defamation suit against the BBC by Dec. 11, a federal judge ruled today.

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) is asking a federal judge to force the Trump administration to turn over communications about the president’s management of the Kennedy Center, arguing that executive privilege should not shield his decisions as the institution’s chair because the storied performing arts center is not a part of the executive branch.

SURVEY SAYS…

Thank you for reading! Today’s newsletter was produced by Kelly Poe and Gaby Morera Di Núbila. If you liked it, please forward it to a friend. If someone shared it with you, please sign up — it’s free! Got a tip or comments to share? Email us at newsletters@washsun.com.