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2026-03-31

Trump issued executive order directing USPS to vet mail ballot recipients

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on March 31 directing the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to U.S. citizens vetted by the administration.

2026-08-01

USPS issued mail ballot rule

The U.S. Postal Service issued a ballot rule last month requiring mail-in ballots to be stamped with official Election Mail markings and sent inside automation-compatible envelopes with unique Intelligent Mail barcodes, with election officials submitting voter information through a federal government portal.

2026-09-04

Judge Talwani issued preliminary injunction blocking the rule

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the Postal Service mail ballot rule, concluding that challengers including Democratic-led states and voting rights groups were likely to succeed in arguing the policy intrudes on powers reserved for states and Congress.

2026-09-04

North Carolina began mailing ballots

North Carolina began mailing absentee ballots to voters, with additional states scheduled to begin mailing in the following days and weeks.

2026-09-06

Trump administration renewed appeal to the Supreme Court

The Trump administration, through Solicitor General John Sauer, filed an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to lift Judge Indira Talwani's injunction and allow the Postal Service mail ballot rule to take effect for the 2026 elections, marking the third time the administration has asked the high court to intervene.

2026-09-06

Raskin asserted Trump committed impeachable offenses on Meet the Press

Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin appeared on NBC News' Meet the Press and asserted that President Donald Trump has undoubtedly committed impeachable offenses and is continually defying Congress.

2026-09-06

Compliance with the rule must be mandatory and immediate

The best way to address respondents' fears about inability to comply with the Rule is to grant an immediate administrative stay of the order followed by a full stay pending further review, which will make clear that compliance with the Rule is not optional and must start without further delay.

2026-09-06

Each day the injunction is in place risks confusion and chaos

Once ballot envelopes enter the mailstream there is no retrieving them, and each day the injunction is in place risks sowing confusion and chaos because it makes the preparatory steps voluntary rather than mandatory.

2026-09-06

USPS will not determine voter eligibility or count ballots

Eligibility for mail-in and absentee voting will continue to be governed by state law, state and local officials will determine who is eligible and which ballots count, and the Postal Service will not play any role in determining voter eligibility, maintaining voter rolls, or counting ballots.

2026-09-06

Mail ballot restrictions are commonsense postal regulations

The mail ballot restrictions are commonsense changes that are within our power to regulate the mail and are routine postal regulations designed to improve election integrity, not an unlawful federal takeover of elections.

2026-09-06

Mail ballot restrictions are unconstitutional

The Postal Service mail ballot restrictions are unconstitutional because they intrude upon powers reserved for states and Congress under the Constitution.

2026-09-06

Not enough time to comply with the directives

There is not enough time to revise our election systems to comply with the new Postal Service directives before the upcoming elections.

2026-09-06

Trump has committed impeachable offenses

President Donald Trump has undoubtedly committed impeachable offenses and is continually defying Congress.

Inside the report

01 General knowledge

Central banks are pulling gold home amid global uncertainty

For decades, many European central banks stored large shares of their gold reserves in vaults abroad, especially in New York and London, because those cities were the world's most liquid gold markets. That arrangement made it easy to sell or trade bullion quickly without the cost and risk of shipping it across borders. But a wave of geopolitical shocks has pushed several countries to rethink where their gold physically sits.

France completed a major operation between July 2025 and January 2026, selling 129 tonnes of its gold and moving the rest home to Paris, with officials describing the shift as financial modernization rather than a political statement. Germany has faced renewed domestic calls to repatriate the roughly 37% of its reserves still held in New York, with lawmakers citing worries about relying on unpredictable US policy. These moves reflect a broader reassessment among central banks of gold as a strategic safety net in an increasingly volatile world.

The trend is not limited to Europe. Russia has built up its own gold holdings as a buffer against Western sanctions, while China has sharply increased gold imports from Russia as part of its effort to reduce reliance on the US dollar. Gold's role as a store of value in times of crisis has made where it is stored a question of national financial security, not just logistics.

02 The subject

De Nederlandsche Bank and its gold strategy

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) is the central bank of the Netherlands, responsible for safeguarding the country's monetary stability and managing its official reserves. One of its core duties is holding and managing the nation's gold stock, which it treats as a strategic asset that can be deployed in a crisis. DNB keeps most of its gold in secure foreign vaults in major financial centers, a common practice among central banks that want their bullion close to active trading markets.

The bank's president, Olaf Sleijpen, has framed gold as a reserve that must remain tradable and accessible when needed. That ordinary role explains why DNB's recent decision to shift a large share of its holdings to London matters: it is a deliberate choice about where the metal can be most easily converted into usable funds during an emergency.

03 Explained

Why moving gold is done by selling and buying, not shipping

Physically transporting hundreds of tonnes of gold across the Atlantic is slow, expensive, and risky, so central banks often relocate reserves through financial transactions instead. In this approach, bullion is sold in one location and repurchased in another, effectively changing where the metal is held without moving most of it. This lets a bank shift its exposure between vaults while avoiding the dangers and costs of large-scale physical shipment.

DNB combined both methods for its recent move: over 27 tonnes were physically transported from North America to a secure vault in Zeist, the Netherlands, before being sent on to London, while the remaining gold was sold in New York and bought again in London. The result is the same net change in where the reserves are held, achieved through a mix of logistics and financial trading that reduces risk.

04 Previous developments

From tariff threats to a gold relocation

The road to DNB's decision began with escalating trade tensions that rattled global markets through 2026. In January, US President Donald Trump threatened tariffs against several European countries, including the Netherlands, in disputes tied to Greenland, sending investors toward gold and European currencies as safe havens. Gold prices surged to record highs above $5,100 per ounce that month, and by late January spot gold had climbed to $5,319.

Those tensions broadened over the summer. In August, Trump imposed new tariffs on Canadian imports using an obscure Depression-era law, prompting dollar-for-dollar retaliation from Canada and deepening the trade dispute between the two neighbors. Around the same time, US national debt surpassed $40 trillion for the first time, and gold rebounded strongly in August after a mid-year slump, trading around $4,466 per ounce as investors sought safety.

It was against this backdrop that DNB announced its relocation of 86 tonnes of gold from North America to London, carried out between March and August 2026. The move came as other European nations were also reassessing their holdings, with France having already pulled its gold out of the US Federal Reserve earlier in the year.

05 The environment

A volatile market surrounds the Dutch move

The relocation unfolded amid a period of intense market turbulence. In August 2026, gold and silver prices soared as the US dollar weakened and fears about rising US government debt mounted, with gold trading around $4,466 per ounce after an 11% gain for the month. The US Treasury announced it would double its buybacks of long-term debt to stabilize a jittery bond market, while the 30-year Treasury yield had reached its highest level since 2007 before easing.

London itself is positioning to remain the center of the global gold trade. The UK's Financial Conduct Authority has been discussing a regulatory framework for tokenized gold, which could allow the metal to be used as collateral in wholesale markets, as London accounts for roughly 70% of global notional gold trading volume. This makes the city an attractive destination for central banks that want their reserves close to deep, active markets.

Other countries are watching the same signals. Germany still holds about 37% of its reserves in New York, and domestic pressure to bring that gold home has grown amid concerns about US policy unpredictability. The Dutch decision adds to a pattern in which European central banks are weighing financial sovereignty against the practical benefits of keeping bullion in established trading hubs.

06 Why this happened

Why DNB chose London over keeping gold in North America

DNB's president, Olaf Sleijpen, said the move was driven by a need to improve the tradability of the gold reserves, making them more accessible in a crisis. London is the world's largest over-the-counter gold trading hub, so holding bullion there puts it closer to the deepest and most liquid market for converting the metal into funds quickly. That accessibility is the core reason the bank shifted its holdings rather than simply keeping them where they were.

The decision was also a response to the geopolitical environment. The bank cited increasing geopolitical unrest, including the escalating trade tensions between the US and Canada that have produced tariffs and disputes, as a factor in reassessing where its reserves should sit. By moving gold out of North America, DNB reduces its exposure to a region where trade policy has become more unpredictable.

The timing also reflects broader market conditions. With gold prices having surged dramatically through 2025 and 2026, and with central banks worldwide treating bullion as a strategic hedge, DNB's move can be seen as part of a wider recognition that reserves must remain liquid and deployable in an increasingly volatile global economy.

07 Facts and events

What the shift means for the Netherlands and beyond

The relocation reshaped the geography of Dutch gold holdings. Before the move, 31.3% of the reserves sat in New York and 19.7% in Ottawa; after it, both cities hold just 18.5% combined, while London's share jumped from 18.1% to 32.1%. The total Dutch gold stock amounts to 612.4 tonnes, valued at roughly €72.2 billion, or about $83.6 billion.

The Netherlands is now the second country to pull gold out of the US this year and the third in less than a decade, according to reporting on the broader trend. That places the Dutch decision within a growing movement of nations reconsidering the security and accessibility of reserves stored in foreign vaults, even as London's role as the world's gold trading capital appears to be strengthening.

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Trump administration appeals Supreme Court ruling on mail ballot restrictions

Trump issued executive order directing USPS to vet mail ballot recipients

USPS issued mail ballot rule

Judge Talwani issued preliminary injunction blocking the rule

North Carolina began mailing ballots

Trump administration renewed appeal to the Supreme Court

Raskin asserted Trump committed impeachable offenses on Meet the Press

Compliance with the rule must be mandatory and immediate

Each day the injunction is in place risks confusion and chaos

USPS will not determine voter eligibility or count ballots

Mail ballot restrictions are commonsense postal regulations

Mail ballot restrictions are unconstitutional

Not enough time to comply with the directives

Trump has committed impeachable offenses

Dutch central bank relocates gold reserves to London for crisis preparedness

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