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The Best & The Brightest
Tara Palmeri, Julia Ioffe, Peter Hamby, Tina Nguyen, Abby Livingston & John Heilemann
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Daily
Puck’s daily political newsletter from Washington, featuring Tara Palmeri, Julia Ioffe, Peter Hamby, Tina Nguyen, Abby Livingston and Puck's new Chief Political Columnist, John Heilemann, on what’s really happening in this town—inside the White House and the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill, K Street, and the campaign trail.
THE LATEST ARTICLES
WASHINGTON
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February 14, 2023
Ukraine’s Four-Letter War
As the battle for Ukraine enters its second year, neither side seems willing to negotiate. A source familiar with the Russian posture described Moscow’s opening position as “go fuck yourself.” Another well-informed source said that’s Kyiv’s opener, too.
WASHINGTON
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February 7, 2023
Balloon Mind State
The D.C. foreign policy set responds to the ultimate meme-worthy, news cycle-driven international mini crisis of our times.
WASHINGTON
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January 31, 2023
Putin’s Plot Against America
There is a growing fear in Washington that Russia will resort to hybrid tactics to inflict pain on Western powers in ways that it can no longer achieve through conventional warfare alone.
WASHINGTON
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January 24, 2023
The Putin Super Power Myth
Putin destroyed in a year an energy business that took three generations to build. As it turns out, Russia needed Europe far more than Europe needed Russia.
WASHINGTON
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January 17, 2023
The Putin Poison Pill
As the war in Ukraine grinds on, pressure is building on all sides for the Biden administration to begin negotiations with the Russians, if only to prove what everyone inside the White House, State Department, and Pentagon already knows: the Russians have absolutely zero interest in negotiating.
WASHINGTON
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January 10, 2023
Kevin McCarthy’s Permanent Crisis
With the Speaker’s office on a MAGA leash, Hill insiders worry a shutdown is “guaranteed.” Others fear a disastrous debt ceiling debate, military spending freeze, or government funding limping along on continuing resolutions. Welcome to McCarthy’s Washington.
WASHINGTON
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January 4, 2023
The War of Boebert Aggression
Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert might grandstand about their opposition to funding the Ukrainian opposition. But the reality is that the majority of our aid is being spent on munitions factories in the ruby red states of their allies.
WASHINGTON
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December 20, 2022
Africa’s Xi-Biden Power Play
An exit interview with Martin Kimani, the Kenyan ambassador, on the U.N. Security Council, about playing China against the U.S., Africa’s debt conundrum, and standing up for Ukraine.
WASHINGTON
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December 13, 2022
“Putin’s Chef”: The Man Behind Russia’s Shadow Army
Evgeny Prigozhin, the terrifying and inscrutable muscle behind Russia’s most notorious mercenary group, has been the hidden hand behind some of the worst carnage in Ukraine—and an increasingly vocal threat to Putin, himself.
WASHINGTON
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December 8, 2022
Inside the Griner Prisoner Swap
Behind the scenes, the White House has alternated between pessimism and fury over Russia’s bad-faith negotiations, which is just how the Kremlin likes it. In the end, Biden had to settle for what he could get: a partial political victory.