WASHINGTON
Julia Ioffe
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October 9, 2025
Portlandia
As Trump masses troops outside blue cities in the name of protecting federal properties, current and former members of the military grapple with the question of which orders are legal—and resent being dragged into the muck of politics.
Leigh Ann Caldwell
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October 8, 2025
Miller’s Crossing
As Trump’s senior advisor gets louder and bolder—describing protesters as terrorists and inconvenient court rulings as “insurrection”—some Republicans are beginning to worry that the administration’s hard-line power grabs will backfire… and maybe even hurt the country, too.
Peter Hamby
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October 7, 2025
How Democrats Finally Won the Internet
After years of churning out digital cringe, Democrats finally seem to have found a human message during the government shutdown, leveraging the left’s messy creator ecosystem to beat the Trump meme machine.
Abby Livingston
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October 6, 2025
Texas Senate Intrigue & A Redistricting Stalemate
News and notes on two Republican power struggles: Cornyn’s tightening Texas Senate race, Corey Lewandowski’s New Hampshire mischief, and their implications for 2026.
Leigh Ann Caldwell
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October 5, 2025
An Officer & A Jentleson
After a year of drift and division, the Democratic Party’s sudden unity over healthcare as a redline in the government shutdown offers a way forward to the 2026 midterms. Democratic strategist Adam Jentleson offers his candid observations on the shutdown, his party’s tactics, and the Schumer of it all.
Leigh Ann Caldwell
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October 2, 2025
Shutdown and Out on Capitol Hill
News and notes from day two of the government shutdown: Russ Vought’s nuclear threat for mass firings, the latest blame-game polling, Sen. Shaheen’s bipartisan gang plan, and Rep. Thompson’s disappearing act.
Julia Ioffe
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October 1, 2025
The Secretary of Wardrobe
Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of generals from all over the globe to Virginia to hear him talk about shaving and fitness standards. If this seems below the pay grade of a four-star, chances are the generals weren’t his real audience.
Peter Hamby
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September 30, 2025
Virginia Is for Locker-Room Talk
Abigail Spanberger’s muddled response to an attack on trans issues has once again highlighted Democrats’ inability to articulate a coherent response—a full year after Kamala faced the same campaign scrutiny.
Abby Livingston
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September 29, 2025
Blue Wave Warning Signs & The New Senate Math
Political soothsayers see diverging polling in Virginia and New Jersey, the two off-cycle states that Democrats are watching for signs of electoral life heading into the midterms. Jessica Taylor, the peerless Cook Political Report analyst, surveys the shifting 2026 map—and explains how this week’s shutdown blame game could play out in November.
Leigh Ann Caldwell
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.