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.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • September 7, 2025

Trump’s A.I. Identity Crisis

Washington remains divided between Trump-adjacent Silicon Valley accelerationists who want to advance A.I. at all costs, and skeptical lawmakers from both parties, who warn of unforeseen risks, ranging from copyright theft to national security threats.

Abby Livingston • September 4, 2025

Democrats’ Midterm Fog of War

Until recently, conventional wisdom held that Democrats would almost certainly retake the House in 2026. Now, amid the political wreckage of the redistricting arms race, they’re no longer so sure.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • September 3, 2025

Thune’s Pocket Rocket

Republicans are lurching toward an explosive showdown with Democrats, the public, and each other over the president’s so-called pocket rescissions. How the Senate majority leader handles the blowback, and a looming government shutdown, could impact the midterms and the future of Congress itself.

Peter Hamby & John Heilemann • September 2, 2025

Trump’s Crime Wave & A ’28 Trojan Horse

The president’s vow to send National Guard troops into blue cities beyond D.C. has Democrats on the back foot, even as Gavin and JB (and Wes Moore, and Josh Shapiro…) are jockeying for position as the face of the resistance.

Julia Ioffe • August 28, 2025

Anchorage Away

U.S.-Russia relations are largely unchanged, and the future of Ukraine is just as uncertain, following the Trump-Putin photo op in Alaska. Meanwhile, among the Russian elite, there is an obvious eagerness to get the “Ukrainian crisis” over with so they can get back to the real business of making money.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • August 27, 2025

The Trump Socialist Experiment

Starting on the other side of Labor Day, Congress will be tasked with confronting the president’s increasingly alarming socialist experiment. Will Republicans blink on making the Fed an extension of the White House? Is Intel just the first shoe to drop?

John Heilemann • August 26, 2025

The James Talarico Experience

A wide-ranging conversation with the Texas state rep on his party’s flight from Texas, the value of being in the political wilderness, and his own Senate ambitions.

Abby Livingston • August 25, 2025

Red Light Redistricting

A scintillating conversation with redistricting wiz Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report on the fate of the current mid-decade arms race and its effects on the midterms and beyond.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • August 24, 2025

The Incredible Shrinking Freedom Caucus

The bare-knuckled Republican brawlers who once struck fear and trembling inside the House have become sidelined during the second Trump administration. Now, increasingly, they’re showing themselves out.

Julia Ioffe • August 21, 2025

Getting to Nyet

In recent days, Trump and his team have announced a series of breakthroughs in Russia-Ukraine negotiations, only to find out they’ve misunderstood the Russian position. Now it seems the only security guarantees Ukraine will get are none at all.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • August 20, 2025

Trump Turns the Screws on Indiana

With California preparing to neutralize the Texas gerrymander, the White House is ramping up its pressure campaign in Indiana, where few Republicans want to redistrict—but even fewer want to make enemies of President Trump.