Leigh Ann Caldwell • September 28, 2025

Beyond the Trump Disapproval Matrix

The president’s favorables are sliding, even on his best issues. But Capitol Hill Republicans are determined to sink or swim with Trump—and they’re convinced they’ll be on the right side of the shutdown blame game, too.

Julia Ioffe • September 25, 2025

State of Deportations

As Trump bends more of the federal government to focus on expelling migrants, the bleeding-heart foreign service officers of the State Department are finding themselves pulled into a project they never signed up for: deport, deport, deport.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • September 24, 2025

Ted Talk

Many have noticed that the Texas senator has been displaying an unusual amount of independence from the White House lately. Is it simply a naked bid to position himself in a sure-to-be crowded ’28 primary?

Peter Hamby • September 23, 2025

The Book of Isaiah

The Democratic Party’s overdue embrace of new media is yielding mixed, if consistently entertaining, results. Texas congressional candidate Isaiah Martin has advice for his party on harnessing the internet outrage machine.

Abby Livingston • September 22, 2025

Hakeem’s House Divided

Once again, House Democrats appeared scrambled after a split vote on a ceremonial resolution honoring Charlie Kirk. But the simmering frustration, which spilled into Monday, largely underscored frustrations surrounding House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • September 21, 2025

Silence of the Lambs

With a few notable exceptions, Republicans on the Hill are avoiding talking about Trump’s demands to shut down broadcast networks, cancel comedians, imprison protesters, investigate Democratic nonprofits, sue newspapers, and prosecute speech. “We don’t love it,” one senior aide said. But mostly they’re just waiting to see if things get worse.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • September 18, 2025

State of Emmer-gency

The House Republican whip dishes on Brendan Carr’s F.C.C., shutdown politics, and, of course, cryptocurrency.

Julia Ioffe • September 17, 2025

Church and State

A Trump administration report claims that anti-Christian bias is pervasive inside the State Department. But multiple Christian employees say they never felt targeted—and now they worry members of other faiths are being targeted instead.

Peter Hamby • September 16, 2025

What College Students Really Think of Charlie Kirk

New data from Generation Lab undercuts Trump’s mythmaking about his murdered ally, who was unquestionably a savvy organizer, even if he wasn’t at all popular on the campuses he loved to visit.

Abby Livingston • September 15, 2025

The Dems’ Biden Flu

Amid enduring party anger over Biden’s decision to stand for reelection despite his decline, Democrats are trying to figure out what to do with well-funded, institutionally coddled elderly members who have no intention of stepping aside.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • September 14, 2025

The Schumer Mill

News, notes, and recriminations aplenty from a terrible week on Capitol Hill: the fallout from Kirk’s assassination; Thune versus Schumer; Britt versus Murphy; Democratic division over a shutdown, and more.

Julia Ioffe • September 11, 2025

No Man’s Poland

Having had his way with Trump, Putin is testing NATO’s mettle with over a dozen drones in Polish airspace. Is it an invasion, a provocation, or simply a way to highlight America’s hollow institutions and empty promises?

Leigh Ann Caldwell • September 10, 2025

The Party of Ezra

Ezra Klein has become something of a spiritual advisor for Capitol Hill Democrats, many of whom have him on speed dial. So when he calls for a shutdown in the pages of the Times, and attendant multimedia channels, lawmakers actually listen—and agonize.

John Heilemann & Leigh Ann Caldwell • September 9, 2025

The Epstein Half-Life & Schumer’s Second Chance

As Congress returns to a Washington in crisis, a candid discussion about the staying power of the Epstein scandal, the continued fallout from R.F.K.’s tenure at H.H.S., and the fluctuating odds of a government shutdown later this month.

Abby Livingston • September 8, 2025

Throw Mamdani From the Train

Pressure is mounting on Democratic leaders to suck it up and endorse Zohran Mamdani, even as the consultant class frets that he’ll hurt their candidates in the midterms. Of course, Republicans are gearing up to make the mayoral candidate the face of ’26 either way.