Abby Livingston • July 14, 2025

Elon’s America Party Crasher

Musk is threatening to go scorched-earth on the G.O.P., and the party has responded, so far, with a collective shrug. How much damage can one scorned billionaire do?

Leigh Ann Caldwell • July 13, 2025

The Senate’s Midterm Paralysis Problem

As the ’26 cycle ramps up, both Republican and Democratic Senate recruiting efforts have been slowed by uncertainty over Trump’s endorsement strategy, who is running, and whether the job is still worth the headache.

Julia Ioffe • July 10, 2025

What Is Marco Rubio Doing?

Marco Rubio’s appointment at Foggy Bottom was greeted with optimism in the building, where staffers saw him as a serious foreign policy person. But their hope quickly died as America’s chief diplomat instead became a mute accessory to Trump.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • July 9, 2025

Capitol Hill’s War Against Itself

Amid the Trump administration’s assaults on the Government Accountability Office, the original DOGE, House Republicans have largely sided with the White House over their own watchdog—the latest sign that they would rather abrogate their own constitutional powers than disagree with the president.

Abby Livingston • July 7, 2025

A Big Beautiful Midterm Battle

Democrats see Trump’s signature legislation as an obvious liability for the G.O.P.—and a wide-open path to flip the House in the midterms. But Republicans have a sales pitch of their own.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • July 6, 2025

Nightmare on K Street

A blunt conversation with a Republican and corporate influence insider about why businesses were blindsided by the Big Beautiful Bill, and how “America First” renewables beat wind and solar in the energy tax wars.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • July 2, 2025

BBB’s Path of Least Resistance

There was sound, there was fury, and then there was the predictable spectacle of Republicans—hawks and populists alike—falling in line behind Trump’s landmark bill.

John Heilemann • July 1, 2025

Angus’s BBB Beef

A conversation with Maine’s junior Senator, Angus King, a rare independent in a tribal world, on the eve of the Big Beautiful Bill’s passage.

Abby Livingston • June 30, 2025

Mamdani Dearest

Democratic strategists and operatives are processing Zohran Mamdani’s shocking victory in New York in real time: the implications for incumbents, lessons for candidate recruitment, the challenge of managing the far left, and why the Israel issue isn’t going away. Herewith, some of their early takeaways.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • June 29, 2025

To BBB or Not to Be

As Trump’s self-imposed July Fourth deadline approaches and the horse-trading continues, Republicans are starting to worry about the political ramifications of slashing Medicaid and running up the national debt as they rush to get the Big Beautiful Bill across the finish line—regardless of whether they support everything that’s in it.

Julia Ioffe • June 26, 2025

The Truth About Obliterategate

The president rushed to insist on the complete and total success of his Iran strikes without waiting for a full assessment; his critics similarly rushed to declare he must be wrong. The reality is that the full picture will take time to emerge—but in the meantime, intelligence is being further politicized.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • June 25, 2025

Tim Kaine’s War on War Powers

As Dems struggle to unify on whether Trump should have attacked Iran, they’re lining up to criticize how he did it—without congressional approval or input. Senator Tim Kaine discusses his latest resolution to claw back congressional war powers, and why he feels it’s more important than ever.

Abby Livingston • June 24, 2025

Miracle on the Potomac?

Republicans are bracing for an emergency landing of their Big Beautiful Bill, on or around the July Fourth holiday, whether they want it or not. It may not be pretty, but “it will pass,” a source close to G.O.P. leadership assured me—“one way or another.”

Leigh Ann Caldwell • June 23, 2025

Handicapping the House Oversight Food Fight

A generational battle will be fought on Tuesday as Democrats vote for the next head of the Oversight Committee, the powerful launchpad for Democratic investigations, potential impeachments, and career advancement, of course. Here’s how insiders are ranking the candidates before voting commences.

Leigh Ann Caldwell & Julia Ioffe • June 22, 2025

Trump’s Iran Warpath & D.C. Aftershocks

The latest political intelligence and national security chatter surrounding the U.S. bombing of Iran, the president’s neocon turn, the mental gymnastics of the MAGA base, and the response in Washington, 24 hours later.