Executive Branch

Donald Trump delivers remarks after signing an executive order at his Mar-a-Lago resort on February 18, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida.

This Executive Order Reveals the Trump-Musk Endgame This Executive Order Reveals the Trump-Musk Endgame

A recent order aimed at destroying independent regulatory agencies isn’t just about taking control of the state—it’s a giant cash-grab in disguise.

Feb 21, 2025 / Elie Mystal

Trump’s Plan Is to Flood the Zone With Garbage

Trump’s Plan Is to Flood the Zone With Garbage Trump’s Plan Is to Flood the Zone With Garbage

All if it is meant to disorient and overwhelm us. The question is: How are we to navigate all that excrement?

Feb 21, 2025 / Rebecca Gordon

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and House majority leader Hakeem Jeffries share a lighter moment. Many voters fail to see the humor.

Trump Is Unpopular—and So Are the Do-Nothing Democrats Trump Is Unpopular—and So Are the Do-Nothing Democrats

The president is increasingly hated, but so is an opposition party that fails to oppose.

Feb 21, 2025 / Jeet Heer

People march past NYU Langone Health during a rally demanding that NYU Langone commit to providing gender-affirming care for transgender youth, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in New York.

“We’re Living Through Hell”: What Trump’s Anti-Trans War Really Means “We’re Living Through Hell”: What Trump’s Anti-Trans War Really Means

When hospitals suddenly stop treatment for trans patients, real people are harmed immediately. “I was sent links to suicide hotlines instead of a prescription,” one person told us...

Feb 21, 2025 / Elsie Carson-Holt

Lori Chavez-DeRemer, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Labor Department, testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on February 19, 2025

Trump’s Labor Secretary Pick Turns Out to Be Super Anti-Labor Trump’s Labor Secretary Pick Turns Out to Be Super Anti-Labor

Surprise, surprise: Former representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer supports anti-union “right to work” laws and rejects a national minimum-wage hike.

Feb 21, 2025 / John Nichols

Man waring a suit sits in a courtroom.

A Half Century of Failure to Reform the FBI Has Gifted Patel With Alarming Power A Half Century of Failure to Reform the FBI Has Gifted Patel With Alarming Power

Fifty years ago, lawmakers started lifting the lid on the shocking abuses of the new Bureau chief’s most famous predecessor. The trouble is, very little changed.

Feb 21, 2025 / Steve Howell

A protester holds a poster with an image of Elon Musk that reads “I Am Stealing From You” at the US Department of Education in Washington, DC, on February 14, 2025.

Why Hasn’t Trump Already Closed the Department of Education? Why Hasn’t Trump Already Closed the Department of Education?

Maybe because its support for students is popular with Republicans as well as Democrats. And because cutting that funding would blow a big hole in the budgets of red states.

Feb 21, 2025 / Jack Schneider

Activists wearing masks of (L-R) Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Co-leader and main candidate of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Alice Weidel, US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and US Vice President JD Vance, hold up placards which read “Stop Aid, Screw the poor,” “More Warming More War,” and “Make Russia Great Again” as they stage a protest against the perceived support of the US and Russia for the far-right AfD party in front of the landmark Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, on February 20, 2025, ahead of the upcoming German elections on February 23.

The Endless Conflicts of Interest in the Trump Administration The Endless Conflicts of Interest in the Trump Administration

Each day, another ethics scandal unfolds—and each day, it gets lost in the white noise.

Feb 21, 2025 / Sasha Abramsky

Gwynne Wilcox in front of American flag.

How Donald Trump Dismantled a Worker Protection Agency With One Late-Night E-Mail How Donald Trump Dismantled a Worker Protection Agency With One Late-Night E-Mail

By firing Gwynne Wilcox, Trump is hoping the Supreme Court will overrule 90 years of legal precedent and give him the authority to fire members of independent boards.

Feb 19, 2025 / Lynn Rhinehart

Supporters hold up “Save Medicaid” signs outside the Capitol during the Republicans’ attempt to cut Medicaid during Trump's first term in September 2017.

Donald Trump’s Next Diversity Target: People With Disabilities Donald Trump’s Next Diversity Target: People With Disabilities

The president’s disdain for disabled people—and obsession with genetic superiority—harks back to a grim past.

Feb 18, 2025 / Sam Gustin

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