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WASHINGTON

Victoria Nuland arrives for a press conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on February 01, 2023.

Bad Blood at State

Anger and resentment is exploding in Foggy Bottom after Kurt Campbell, a close friend of Tony Blinken, was nominated for deputy secretary of state over the agency’s more experienced acting No. 2, Victoria Nuland.
Julia Ioffe • December 13, 2023
Julia Ioffe • December 13, 2023
The Biden-Bibi Divide & Reelection Jitters
Joe Biden sits with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the start of the Israeli war cabinet meeting, in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.
After Biden issued a rare and searing public rebuke of Israel’s actions in its ongoing war against Hamas, Netanyahu tried to hang the thousands of Palestinian civilian casualties squarely around Biden’s neck—a hell of a thing to do as the president heads into his reelection campaign.
Peter Hamby • December 12, 2023
Biden’s Hope & Change
President Joe Biden departs the White House on December 11, 2023.
Professional Democrats are split between those with a near-religious conviction that Biden’s problems are overblown, and those who believe the freakout is justified. The polling is hard to wish away, but focus group testing suggests the reality isn’t so simple, either.
Donald Trump speaks to the media while attending his trial in New York State Supreme Court on December 7, 2023 in New York City.
Tara Palmeri • December 8, 2023
Republicans Prepare the Trump Loyalty Oath
National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Steve Daines has been “aggressively lobbying” senators to make their Trump endorsement now, before the blacklisting begins. House members and G.O.P. operatives aren’t far behind.
The Editors • December 8, 2023
A Night for First Steps
To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the First Step Act, Puck and Arnold Ventures co-hosted a celebratory evening in Washington, D.C., attended by lawmakers including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former representative Doug Collins, as well as dozens of beneficiaries of the bill.
Testimony given by police, first responders, and survivors of the massacre tell a horrifying and gruesome story.
Julia Ioffe • December 6, 2023
What Is Hamas Hiding?
The West Wing conversations surrounding the ceasefire collapse, and the horrifying theories about what is happening to Israeli women in Gaza.
Chris Christie is betting on a town hall strategy in New Hampshire, and making appeals to independents and Republicans who want to put Trump in the rearview.
Peter Hamby • December 4, 2023
Just Spoke to Christie…
A candid conversation with the two-time presidential contender about the delirious state of the ’24 race: his path to Super Tuesday, his beef with Nikki Haley, whether Trump should go to prison, and more.
President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama greet Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro at the Liacouras Center on November 5, 2022 in Philadelphia.
Tara Palmeri • December 1, 2023
The Obama-Biden Thing & Jeff Roe Déjà Vu
As the White House confronts a Gen Z backlash, calls for an Obama intervention have been tempered by fresh anxiety over the party’s generational deficit and the president’s messaging strategy.
Speaker Mike Johnson has kept his right flank placated, for now, with some carefully curated shiny objects.
Tina Nguyen • November 30, 2023
Johnson’s Biological Clock & Ronny Snub
News and notes from Capitol Hill and the fundraising trail.
Republican presidential candidate former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley stands on stage during a break in the NBC News Republican Presidential Primary Debate on November 8, 2023, in Miami, Florida.
Theodore Schleifer • November 29, 2023
The G.O.P. Megadonors Come to Jesus
Fear is growing within the Republican billionaire class that the party’s moneymen have lost any ability to elevate an alternative to Trump. Why would things be different for Nikki Haley?
The images of the Palestinian prisoners’ release is emblematic of the problem Israel faces, in both the occupied West Bank and in Gaza.
Julia Ioffe • November 29, 2023
The Day After the War Ends
It’s hard to imagine that all the trauma the Israeli and Palestinian people have lived through in the last two months won’t breed more radicalization and mistrust. But if it doesn’t result in some kind of political solution, we will find ourselves back here again too soon.
Prices are simply a huge drag for Joe Biden.
Peter Hamby • November 28, 2023
Biden’s Choose Your Own Adventure Economy
Yes, experts agree the economy is technically great. But it’s also very weird: gas prices are down and wages are up, but so is rent, car insurance, groceries, and just about every product Americans encounter on a daily basis. If that’s what voters are associating with “Bidenomics,” well, Biden is in big trouble.
To the extent that Republicans are still allowing Johnson some latitude, their open-mindedness mostly stems from the fact that Johnson is not McCarthy.
Tina Nguyen • November 22, 2023
Mike Johnson’s MAGA Love Tap
As lawmakers leave town for the Thanksgiving holiday, anger is continuing to build on the speaker’s right flank as Bannon, Gaetz, Kirk & Co. lay yet more political dynamite on the embers of the House G.O.P. dumpster fire.
Peter Hamby • November 21, 2023
Haley Mary
Nikki Haley might be peaking at exactly the right time, and her campaign is now making the case that she is the last best hope to stop Trump—or at least to outlive DeSantis. Her recent campaign stops in South Carolina hint at a suburban strategy, but snatching the nomination may take a miracle.
President Obama speaks with attendees at The Obama Foundation Democracy Forum on November 3, 2023 in Chicago, IL. Please credit “The Obama Foundation.” The photographs may not be manipulated in any way, and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by the Foundation, President Obama, or Mrs. Obama without the Foundation’s prior written consent.
Baratunde Thurston • November 20, 2023
My Chat With Obama
Reflections on media fragmentation in the Obama era, how Trump accelerated its breakup, and what Biden can do to find a new way forward.
Bernie Sanders broke up what was almost a fist fight between Markwayne Mullin and a testifying teamster during a Senate HELP hearing.
Abby Livingston • November 17, 2023
The G.O.P. Fatigue Paradox
News and notes from an unprecedented day on Capitol Hill: schoolyard fights, cartoonish name-calling, and more.
The absence of anyone with a clear inside track to Johnson illuminates one of the vulnerabilities in Washington’s relationship-based business model.
Tara Palmeri • November 17, 2023
Desperately Seeking Johnson
As Mike Johnson ascends from nobody to speaker, the entire flat-footed lobbying industry is desperately searching their Rolodexes for ins, connections, second cousins once removed—or any way to influence the new guy with the gavel.
So much for Johnson’s “honeymoon” period, which lasted all of two weeks.
Tina Nguyen • November 15, 2023
Mike Drop
Mike Johnson, the formerly unknown backbencher with the worst job in town, is learning what it’s like to run Congress ahead of a shutdown, to wrestle the MAGA anger blob, and the high cost of compromise.