John Heilemann • May 18, 2026

Trump’s Foot-in-Mouth Disease

Obama strategist and political soothsayer Dan Pfeiffer on Trump’s “financial situation” gaffe, misunderstanding MAGA, and the enduring political superpower of being strong and wrong.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • May 17, 2026

The Cassidy Crash & K Street’s $1.4B Quarter

Plus, Trump’s ballroom gets a Byrd bath.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • May 15, 2026

The Louisiana Swamp

A Saturday primary will provide another test of Donald Trump's grip on the Republican party as he seeks to unseat Sen. Bill Cassidy.

Marianna Sotomayor • May 15, 2026

Can Jeffries Save the C.B.C.?

No one on the Hill is feeling the Democratic Party’s string of redistricting losses more than the Congressional Black Caucus, which stands to lose many of their members in the redrawn South. Naturally, they’re turning to their fellow Democrats for help, but will they show up?

Leigh Ann Caldwell • May 15, 2026

Problem Solvers’ New Problem & Farm-State Blues

News and notes on the latest bipartisan anti-gerrymandering effort, plus exclusive new polling from the America's ag belt.

Marianna Sotomayor • May 15, 2026

Dealing With Dem Delinquents

Democratic leadership is pondering what they'll do in a possible majority—including how to punish those who haven't been team players in their efforts to get the House back.

Peter Hamby • May 14, 2026

The Pratt Pack

Spencer Pratt, the former MTV reality villain, is surging in the final sprint of the L.A. mayoral race as an unlikely coalition of Republicans and bashful Democrats gravitate toward his rants about drugs and homelessness—and the failure of polite progressivism to do anything about it.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • May 13, 2026

Trump’s Swing-District Score & A Gas Tax Surprise

A new poll shared exclusively with Puck takes voters' temperatures in battleground districts, and some Dems are open to a gas tax holiday.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • May 13, 2026

Yo, Adrian!

Congressman Adrian Smith, one of three Republicans representing all of Nebraska, offers his candid thoughts on Trump’s soybean diplomacy, the tariff backlash, his beef with Canada, the party’s “affordability” balancing act, and more.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • May 12, 2026

Reflecting Pool Blues & A New Challenge to AIPAC

What Trump is saying privately about that wildly expensive no-bid contract, plus exclusive news on new endorsements from the PAC founded by Biden alums who resigned over Gaza.

Marianna Sotomayor • May 12, 2026

Voters Prefer Democrats, But Still Don’t Trust Them

Exclusive new polling by Third Way shows Dems benefitting from anti-Trump emotion. But the skepticism starts as soon as voters imagine them back in power.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • May 12, 2026

Dems Attack Chip Roy… From the Right

With the clock ticking down to the Texas runoff, an environmental group is inserting itself in an effort to swing the A.G. race.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • May 11, 2026

House Democrats Have a Purge Problem

An unusual set of primary interventions by the party’s congressional campaign arm has infuriated progressive candidates, who accuse out-of-touch leadership of putting their thumb on the scale. Democratic sources argue the committee just wants to win.

Julia Ioffe • May 7, 2026

The Boys Are Back in Town

Many Democrats aren’t happy that Jake Sullivan and the other Biden bros who rode shotgun for Barack and Joe’s foreign policy adventures are positioning to return to power: “The idea that the same foreign policy leadership that brought us the Afghanistan withdrawal and the cover-up of Biden’s decline should be in charge of staffing the next Democratic administration,” said one insider, “is tone deaf at best.”

Leigh Ann Caldwell • May 6, 2026

James Blair’s Badly Needed Victory

The brains behind the G.O.P.’s redistricting assault scored a win in Indiana—but it came at an unprecedented cost.