1. the wall
    Republicans Fear Trump’s Fake National Emergency Could Pave Way for a Real OneMarco Rubio thinks out loud: You wouldn’t want some Democrat to use special powers on climate change, would you?
    By Ed Kilgore
  2. the wall
    Trump Never Actually Believed in the WallIt seems unlikely that Trump actually thinks a wall is his best border security option. But now, he is stuck with it.
    By Zak Cheney-Rice
  3. 2020 elections
    Biden’s Baggage Could Be a Heavy Lift in 2020Problems with Biden’s record go far beyond the 1994 crime bill and Anita Hill. His longevity in politics is a treasure trove for his foes.
    By Ed Kilgore
  4. racism
    GOP Congressman: Oh, So Now It’s ‘Offensive’ to Say Whites Are the Supreme Race?“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” congressman Steve King wants to know.
    By Eric Levitz
  5. world view
    Trump Is Facing a Real Crisis — But It’s in Syria, Not at Our BorderBolton and Pompeo were supposed to clear up confusion over troop withdrawal from Syria. Instead, the U.S. appears to have two contradictory policies.
    By Heather Hurlburt
  7. border wall
    Prototype of Trump’s Wall Proves No Match for SawSometimes people put up walls, not to keep others out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.
    By Eric Levitz
  8. politics
    Andrew Wheeler Is Bad News for Coal Miners and Environmentalists AlikeIf the Senate confirms Andrew Wheeler, it’s great news for coal — and nobody else.
    By Sarah Jones
  9. 2020 elections
    Is the 2020 Dem Presidential Field Finally Shrinking Rather Than Expanding?Tom Steyer’s withdrawal is a good sign that everybody in America isn’t running to face Donald Trump.
    By Ed Kilgore
  10. government shutdown
    Trump Poised to Declare National Emergency After Failing to Show There Is OneThe president seems to be going through the motions of negotiating, just like he went through the motions with his Oval Office speech.
    By Ed Kilgore
  11. the national interest
    Republican Senator Gives Hilariously Incriminating Defense of ManafortKnown Russian agent “was someone Paul Manafort had known for a very long time and trusted,” insists Senator James Lankford. Well, okay then!
    By Jonathan Chait
  12. california wildfires
    Trump Threatens Literal Scorched-Earth Policy to Punish CaliforniaIn apparent anger at California’s – and Nancy Pelosi’s – resistance to his policies, Trump again talks of cutting off disaster relief for wildfires.
    By Ed Kilgore
  13. 2020 elections
    Beto O’Rourke the Latest Potential Presidential DrafteeO’Rourke isn’t a war hero or a national leader like most earlier candidates being courted for a presidential run. But it helps him stay in the news.
    By Ed Kilgore
  14. the media
    Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Critique of Fact-Checking Is ValidThe congresswoman downplays facts that are inconvenient to her ideology. So do her fact-checkers.
    By Eric Levitz
  15. politics
    Trump Gives Hateful Speech Beside Photo of His Immigrant MomDuring his anti-immigration address about the border, the president failed to notice the irony.
    By Opheli Garcia Lawler
  16. government shutdown
    Trump Wastes an Oval Office Address on the Same Old Border Crisis RapWith nothing new to say, Trump just recited the familiar lies and misrepresentations.
    By Ed Kilgore
  17. the national interest
    The U.S. Doesn’t Have a Border Crisis. Trump’s Campaign Does.A president trapped by his own laziness and ignorance flails hopelessly.
    By Jonathan Chait
  18. politics
    NYC Care Is Coming, and So Is the Health-Care Reform WaveBill de Blasio’s universal health-care proposal is part of a trend.
    By Sarah Jones
  19. politics
    Basically Everything Is Improved by an Interrupting ToddlerCalifornia governor Gavin Newsom’s son wandered on stage during his inaugural speech.
    By Lisa Ryan
  20. politics
    It’s Not Just Trump: Why Network TV Shouldn’t Air Any White House SpeechesMost Americans turn elsewhere for news these days, so why bother?
    By Josef Adalian
  21. the national interest
    Trump’s Campaign Manager Gave Polling Data to Russian AgentOdd thing to do if the Trump campaign wasn’t colluding with Russia.
    By Jonathan Chait
  22. prisons
    The Problem With Prison Isn’t Steak and Pie on HolidaysOutrage over federal prisoners being fed well on New Year’s Day while prison workers go unpaid due to the shutdown is ridiculous.
    By Zak Cheney-Rice
  23. conservatism
    Why Tucker Carlson Plays a Critic of Capitalism on TVCapital flight — and “woke” consumer brands — have become a visceral threat to white, rural America’s traditional values.
    By Eric Levitz
  24. politics
    A National Emergency Declaration Could Give Trump Authoritarian PowersTrump may only be looking for a way to get his wall built, but he could soon discover that the declaration comes with all sorts of new powers.
    By Ed Kilgore
  25. the national interest
    Pence Says Trump Thought Presidents on TV Were Talking Privately to HimAlternatively, when Trump said former presidents urged him to build the wall, he was just lying.
    By Jonathan Chait
  26. politics
    It’s 2019 and People Still Don’t Know How to Talk About TrumpThe bluntness of politicians like Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib sounds radical because we aren’t used to hearing the unvarnished truth about Trump.
    By Sarah Jones
  27. politics
    Trump May Invoke Emergency Powers to Fund the WallAdd it to the list of constitutional crises.
    By Matt Stieb
  28. government shutdown
    Democrats Say They’ll Shut Down the Senate Until It Reopens the GovernmentTrump’s got his “national emergency” alternative, but Democrats could stop regular Senate business until the chamber deals with the shutdown.
    By Ed Kilgore
  29. 2020 presidential election
    Single-Issue Presidential Candidates Like Jay Inslee Are RareInslee says he’ll only talk about climate change. That will make his identity clear, but it’s not an approach that’s likely to win.
    By Ed Kilgore
  30. 2020 elections
    Trump Planning a Real Coronation for His 2020 ConventionRepublicans don’t want to repeat the sloppy disunity of 2016’s convention. In 2020, Democrats may be the party that’s all over the place.
    By Ed Kilgore
  31. the national interest
    Trump Literally Did Not Understand What a Shutdown Would DoThe Trump administration’s shutdown was planned about as well as everything else Trump has done.
    By Jonathan Chait
  32. immigration
    Would Patrolling With the Border Patrol Change Your Mind About the Border?A ride-along with an agency at once empowered and besieged.
    By Mattathias Schwartz
  33. impeachment
    Republican Solidarity Will Protect Trump From ImpeachmentHistory shows that impeachment efforts tend to tighten the bonds between president and party. With Trump’s party controlling the Senate, that’s big.
    By Ed Kilgore
  34. education
    Fed Up With Liberal Academia, Conservatives Call for Their Own Safe SpaceRather than being a refuge for scholars, the secular right-wing ivory tower envisioned by researchers would restrict academic freedom in its own way.
    By Sarah Jones
  35. politics
    We’re About to Find Out What Our New Supreme Court Thinks of GerrymanderingSCOTUS’s view on partisan gerrymandering probably won’t be good news for democracy.
    By Sarah Jones
  36. 2020 elections
    Roberts Retirement Gives Dems Another Long-Shot Senate Target for 2020With Kris Kobach mulling a race, anything could happen.
    By Ed Kilgore
  37. voting rights
    House Democrats Aim to Make Voting Rights a National PriorityTheir bill isn’t an immediate fix, but treating voting as a national issue rather than a state-level problem could pay dividends down the road.
    By Ed Kilgore
  38. the national interest
    Rich People’s Houses Have Walls. Also Roofs. The U.S. Should Have a Roof.Trump is totally right that what’s good for a house is good for the country.
    By Jonathan Chait
  39. the national interest
    Donald Trump Was Never VettedWe are only now discovering that Trump is a secretive figure who has escaped basic scrutiny.
    By Jonathan Chait
  40. religion
    The Political World Is Finally Starting to Reflect America’s Religious DiversityRepublican politicians are still nearly all Christians, but Democrats in Congress and in the 2020 field hold a wide range of beliefs.
    By Ed Kilgore
  41. government shutdown
    Republican Senators Facing Tough Reelections Break With Trump on ShutdownYes, some of Trump’s Senate critics are no longer around. But Cory Gardner and Susan Collins are restive, and Lisa Murkowski hasn’t gone anywhere.
    By Ed Kilgore
  42. politics
    Democrats’ First Bill in New Congress Would Actually Drain the SwampDemocrats signaled that they’re serious about changing the balance of power in Washington with a push for public financing of campaigns.
    By Sarah Jones
  43. world view
    Trump Misses the Signs That North Korea’s Dictator Isn’t Really His FriendAs Trump touted his diplomatic win, Kim Jong-un’s New Year’s speech made it clear that he wants more U.S. concessions, and isn’t ditching his nukes.
    By Heather Hurlburt
  44. politics
    Pelosi Returns to Speakership With a Far More Cohesive Democratic MajorityPelosi’s last House majority had significant divisions and bore the burden of Obama’s agenda. Today’s Democrats must only fight and investigate Trump.
    By Ed Kilgore
  45. power
    The Best Moments From Today’s Historic Swearing-in CeremonyWelcome to a new era of Congress.
    By Kimberly Truong
  46. senate judiciary committee
    Republicans Finally Appoint Two Women to the Senate Judiciary CommitteeJoni Ernst and Marsha Blackburn are trusted party loyalists and hard-core anti-abortion lawmakers who can provide cover for their party’s misogyny.
    By Ed Kilgore
  47. the national interest
    Trump Has Officially Made ‘Conservative Ethics’ an OxymoronRight-wing moral authorities declare the president’s character cannot be judged.
    By Jonathan Chait
  48. power
    The New Face of Power Officially Takes Control TodayThe 116th Congress will be the most diverse set of lawmakers in history.
    By Kimberly Truong
  49. government shutdown
    Latest White House Meeting on Government Shutdown Resolves NothingGoes to show that a lot of lower-level spadework and a ripening of political conditions must precede any deal to reopen the government.
    By Ed Kilgore
  50. the national interest
    Trump Defends Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan for Some Reason“They were right to be there. The problem is, it was a tough fight.”
    By Jonathan Chait
  51. 2020 elections
    Republicans Could Cancel Primaries to Protect Trump From a ChallengeIt’s unnecessary and unseemly, to be sure, but how many Republicans will openly complain about renominating Trump by acclamation?
    By Ed Kilgore
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