WASHINGTON
Abby Livingston
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November 30, 2024
DOGE-Ball: Elon vs. The F-35
The Pentagon’s most expensive program has a powerful new enemy in Elon Musk. But the electric-car, social-media, and rocket tycoon faces two major obstacles in his quest for efficiency: Congress, and his buddy in the White House.
Tara Palmeri
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November 30, 2024
Sweet O’Malley High
Fresh off announcing a run for D.N.C. chair, former governor of Maryland and onetime presidential candidate Martin O’Malley offers a blunt diagnosis of the party’s malaise, muses about Kamala’s future, and asks how 8 million Democratic voters simply disappeared.
Peter Hamby
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November 27, 2024
Loose Bannon
The Rasputin of the MAGA movement has big plans for the new world order under Donald Trump—mass deportations, checking China, working with Elon and dismantling McConnell’s Senate—and if it requires a little “smash mouth” to get it done, so be it. In the meantime, he’ll be tuned in to MSNBC, watching the Democratic civil war unfold.
Tara Palmeri
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November 26, 2024
Elon Irritations & Epshteyn’s Overreach
Mounting annoyance with Musk’s omnipresence and an investigation into Boris Epshteyn evince one of the cardinal rules of Trumpworld: Overreach at your peril.
Tara Palmeri
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November 26, 2024
La Vie en Rose
As Democrats sort through the rubble of 2024, much of the party drama is coalescing around the race for D.N.C. chair. Will it be Rahm? Martin O’Malley? Max Rose, the millennial ex-congressman from Staten Island, makes a compelling case for… himself.
Abby Livingston
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November 22, 2024
SALT Wars
While Republicans celebrate their inroads in suburban counties, an intraparty battle is brewing over a tax that disproportionately hits wealthy counties in blue states—the very places an emboldened G.O.P. wants to flip.
Tara Palmeri
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November 22, 2024
Slamming the Gaetz
News and notes on the once—and future?—Florida congressman as he weighs his post-A.G. options: returning to the House, facing down an Ethics scandal, or even running for governor. Plus the latest on Trump’s Treasury bake-off and Rahm Emanuel’s fight club for D.N.C. chair.
Abby Livingston
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November 21, 2024
About Tulsi Gabbard…
Senator-elect Elissa Slotkin worked for the C.I.A., the Pentagon, and the Department of Defense. And she’s seen enough to have some legitimate fears about the woman Trump wants to oversee U.S. intelligence.
John Heilemann
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November 20, 2024
Party Animals
Two up-and-coming Democratic congressmen—Seth Moulton and Ritchie Torres—candidly assess the great political realignment of ’24, offering some well-deserved scorn, and some timely constructive solutions, for their flailing party.
Tara Palmeri
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November 20, 2024
The Miseducation of Linda McMahon
Trump transition co-chair Linda McMahon will likely become Secretary of Education—a role that would put her in charge of leading a department that Republicans intend to dismantle.
Peter Hamby
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November 19, 2024
Pod Save MAGA?
New proprietary polling from Echelon Insights, in partnership with Puck, shows that Donald Trump is entering office with goodwill from voters. It also illustrates that Democrats don’t simply have a political and coalition problem. They have a pretty severe media handicap, too.
Tara Palmeri
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November 15, 2024
The Oracle of ’24
A post-election conversation with veteran Republican pollster Patrick Ruffini about what Democrats got wrong, Republicans got very right, and the bizarro rainbow coalition that ushered Trump back into the White House.
Tara Palmeri & Peter Hamby
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November 13, 2024
Susie Prophecies, Cabinet Jostling & Trump 2.0 Choreography
News and talmudic readings of the Trump administration’s personnel decisions, intrigue, and more.
Tara Palmeri
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November 13, 2024
The Grenell Snub, Rubio’s Rise & The MAGA Divide
Tensions arise in Mar-a-Lago as Trump bypasses longtime confidant Ric Grenell for Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, sparking angst among the MAGA faithful and perpetuating questions about Trump’s loyalty.
Peter Hamby
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November 12, 2024
The Missing Resistance & The Tao of Rahm
After the heartburn of 2004, Democrats rebuilt their party through a new set of candidates in the House, winning the midterms and paving the way for a generationally talented, constituency-realigning outsider to claim the presidency four years later. Rahm Emanuel, who helped engineer the party’s comeback, has a few ideas about what the Democrats need to do now in order to reclaim the presidency—with no #Resistance in sight.
John Heilemann
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November 10, 2024
The Post-Harris Blamescape & Dem Reckoning Tea Leaves
News and notes and fresh reporting on the current targets of professional Democratic rage: Harris, Team K, Biden, Biden’s people, wokeism and more.
Tara Palmeri
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November 8, 2024
The Kamala Inc. Fire Sale
The Harris financial juggernaut, which raised well over $1 billion, is still soliciting cash and has begun seeking buyers for its email lists in order to stave off its debts—raising uncomfortable questions about where and how all that money was spent in the first place.