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Leigh Ann Caldwell, Peter Hamby, Julia Ioffe, Marianna Sotomayor, John Heilemann, & Abby Livingston
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Sunday through Thursday
Puck’s daily political newsletter from Washington—featuring Leigh Ann Caldwell, Peter Hamby, Marianna Sotomayor, Julia Ioffe, John Heilemann, and Abby Livingston—on what’s really happening in this town, from the White House to the Pentagon to Capitol Hill, K Street, the campaign trail, and beyond.
THE LATEST ARTICLES
Julia Ioffe
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March 12, 2026
Elbridge Over Troubled Waters
How Elbridge Colby, a longtime critic of military adventurism in the Middle East, contorted himself into a champion of Trump’s war in Iran—and became Congress’s new favorite whipping boy in the process.
Julia Ioffe
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March 1, 2026
Is Trump Headed for an Iran Quagmire?
Trump is once again betting that overwhelming military force won’t trigger a prolonged war involving U.S. troops. But history offers cautionary tales after the euphoria of a dictator’s fall.
Julia Ioffe
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February 26, 2026
Marco Rubio’s New Loyalty Oath
Ideological screenings are just the beginning of the State Department’s political tests for new foreign service officers, who must affirm their support for Trump’s executive orders, navigate training seminars monitored by Trump appointees, and demonstrate their “fidelity” at every turn.
Julia Ioffe
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February 16, 2026
La La Greenland
At the Munich Security Conference, American lawmakers struggled to reassure European allies who are still traumatized by Trump’s threats to invade Greenland. Lindsey Graham’s F-bombs didn’t help.
Julia Ioffe
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February 12, 2026
Is NATO Already Over?
The Munich Security Conference, once an annual affirmation of the U.S.-led transatlantic order, has become a mirror for European anxieties that America is transforming from an ally to a threat—and that the task of protecting the continent will soon fall on their shoulders alone.
Julia Ioffe
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February 5, 2026
Trump’s Ukraine Charade
The latest Ukraine peace negotiations ended as they began, with merciless bombings, civilian suffering, false promises from Russia and Europe, and a seemingly clueless American delegation.
Julia Ioffe
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January 29, 2026
The “MAGA Barbie” Redecorating the State Department
Erin Elmore, the former ‘Apprentice’ contestant now running the Art in Embassies program, has transformed her vanity appointment—and close relationship with the Trumps—into a political weapon, defenestrating ambassadors and threatening to primary anyone who gets in her way.
Julia Ioffe
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January 22, 2026
The Greenland Mile
After claiming the “framework of a deal” to expand America’s presence on the world’s largest island, Trump has dropped his threats to invade Greenland. Thank God, because a direct assault on Greenland wasn’t going to be a cakewalk.
Julia Ioffe
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January 15, 2026
The Havana Hangover
After years of denials, Washington is finally reckoning with new reporting that would seem to confirm the existence of the alleged Russian directed-energy weapon that causes Havana syndrome—or what the U.S. government now calls “anomalous health incidents.” But will Tulsi Gabbard be allowed to release the O.D.N.I.’s own findings?
Julia Ioffe
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January 8, 2026
The Big Olowski Has Left the Building
Lew Olowski, the State Department’s wacky, polarizing head of H.R., is said to have imploded at his farewell party when he learned that he wasn’t getting a coveted assignment.