John Heilemann • July 22, 2025

Crisis Comms: Epstein Edition

A conversation with the legendary Dem operative Lis Smith about how Trump is bungling the Epstein messaging, plus the Democrats’ opportunity with dude voters.

Abby Livingston • July 21, 2025

Alone on Epstein Island

Inside the Epstein anxiety on Capitol Hill, where Republicans can’t begin their recess quickly enough as the fracas continues to intensify—and Trump keeps making it worse. Yes, Democrats are benefitting from the scandal, but mostly as a chance to message…

Leigh Ann Caldwell • July 21, 2025

The Collins Pressure Campaign

After Sen. Susan Collins’ eleventh-hour decision to not put forth an amendment slimming down the $9 billion rescission package, she blamed a “political stunt” from Democrats for her change of heart. But a subtle pressure campaign from her G.O.P. colleagues and the White House might have been the key factor.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • July 18, 2025

Angie Craig’s Big Tent

In this candid conversation, the Senate candidate and Minnesota Democratic representative discusses the bipartisan Clarity Act, the crypto-related questions facing the White House, the administration’s quixotic rural agenda, and much more.

Julia Ioffe • July 17, 2025

State Expectations

Guess what: The mass firing of 1,300 career State Department officials has resulted in the predictable chaos, anger, recriminations, and occasional bouts of gallows humor at town halls and on message boards. Naturally, everyone inside Foggy Bottom only expects things to get worse.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • July 16, 2025

Trump’s Epstein Curse

The president’s perplexing reversal on releasing the Epstein case files has become the rare issue on which the MAGA base seems unwilling to follow his lead. It may not matter during the midterms, but it’s “the first real example of Trump’s base attacking him,” a Republican strategist said. “This softens him up for the next time he crosses them.”

John Heilemann • July 15, 2025

File & Fury

Star MSNBC anchor and fledgling podcast host Nicolle Wallace decodes the MAGA meltdown over Jeffrey Epstein—and Donald Trump’s attempt to shift attention toward his favorite boogeymen.

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.