Peter Hamby • February 4, 2025

The Pritzker Prize

With Democrats leaderless, some in the party are looking to the states, where ambitious governors often find their “laboratories of democracy” make great soapboxes, too. Illinois’ J.B. Pritzker, an all-but-certain presidential candidate in 2028, is one of them.

Leigh Ann Caldwell • January 29, 2025

The O.M.B. Shocker & R.F.K. Jr.’s Confirmation Showdown

Inside reporting from Capitol Hill: the collective freak-out over the O.M.B. directive to suspend all federal grant programs, the abrupt resignation of Senate Democrat Gary Peters, and a preview of R.F.K. Jr.’s confirmation gauntlet.

Peter Hamby • January 28, 2025

Silence of the Dems

Democrats have been rendered speechless not just by the sweep of Trump’s victory, but also by the realization that his popularity has never been higher. A new Puck/Echelon poll illuminates his weaknesses—and how the likes of Whitmer and Pritzker could take advantage.

Tara Palmeri • January 24, 2025

The John Fetterman Experience

As Democrats seek answers in the political wilderness, some are nodding toward… John Fetterman—the hulking, shorts-wearing, sometimes inscrutably anti-party politician—as a model for the sort of unexpected Democratic leader who might emerge as an antidote to Trump.

Peter Hamby • January 21, 2025

Trump’s Billionaire Arbitrage

The president has always possessed a magical ability to convince voters that he’s still an Imus-style populist, even as he conducts his corporate favor trading practically in the open. But watching Trump at the inauguration, flanked by a platoon of billionaire supplicants, you have to wonder how long he can keep wearing the outsider mask.

Peter Hamby • January 7, 2025

Trump’s Need for Speed

Republicans are racing against an 18-month deadline to jam through their agenda before a likely midterm shakeup, and Trump’s inevitable lame-duck status, make legislation impossible. Meanwhile, Democrats Adam Schiff and Ritchie Torres are preparing a playbook to capitalize on G.O.P. overreach.

Peter Hamby • December 24, 2024

Democrats’ Post-MSNBC Playbook

Multiplatform content maven Brian Tyler Cohen reveals how the Democratic blob can finally move beyond its depressing greenroom biases and play a game that the Republicans started mastering a decade ago.