As a divided Congress and Democrats spar over a funding bill, here’s what to expect from a government shutdown
The US stands hours away from a partial government shutdown as Democrats decide whether to play ball with Republicans on the first major legislative hurdle in Trump’s second administration.
The House approved a stopgap funding measure called a continuing resolution last week, and the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, has urged Democrats in the Senate to pass the m...
Donald Trump
The looming budget question: Will Medicaid cuts fund tax cuts?
The challenge of restoring fiscal responsibility will be on full display in the months ahead following the passage of the House of Representatives budget resolution for the 2025 fiscal year on Feb. 25.
It set the stage for legislation that can circumvent the Senate’s 60-vote threshold and pass with a simple majority. While it does not include specific changes to spending and taxes, it specifies which House committees should finance deficits in reconci...
How Trump is weaponizing federal spending power
“I’ll see you in court.”
That promise was made by Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) in response to Trump’s threat to withhold all federal funding from her state unless it complies with his executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. It has become a rallying cry of sorts for progressives desperate for any Democratic politician to stand up to Trump and Elon Musk in their dizzying attempt to dismantle the federal government and remake socie...
The Constitution has already collapsed, and we are to blame
In a 2021 column for this publication and in my latest book, “Grand Old Unraveling,” I argued that the U.S. Constitution isn’t working.
Earlier this month, Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty contended that we are witnessing a “constitutional collapse.” She is right.
President Trump has accelerated the unraveling of that once meticulously constructed document. He has halted the work performed by several agencies funded by Congress, fired thousands of civil ...
How Medicaid cuts could improve access to care
The news is awash with dire predictions of whether or whe Trump or DOGE will cull the Medicaid rolls.
“Millions could lose health insurance,” warns Newsweek. “Medicaid on the chopping block,” is the CBS News headline.
Florida, meanwhile, has already cut more than 1 million from its Medicaid rolls.
It is noteworthy that these publications accurately report that health insurance was or will be cut, not health care. Journalists...
Evening Report — Moment of truth for House GOP budget proposal
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Urgent plea to Bill, George and Barack: Get up off the couch
It’s not just what’s written in stone. There are also many unwritten traditions we Americans respect. One of the most important, following the example of George Washington — who, once he left office, went back to Mount Vernon and was never heard from again — is that former presidents sit on the sidelines and resist the temptation to criticize their successors, no matter how much they disagree.
That tradition has been a great blessing. For more than 200 years, it has...
Trump Medicaid pledge could complicate GOP cuts
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Trump’s tariffs model McKinley; his divided coalition models Grover Cleveland
In his 2025 inaugural address, Donald Trump compared himself to former President William McKinley boasting that he, like McKinley, would make “our country very rich through tariffs.”
A recent issue of The Economist drew a similar comparison, noting that McKinley was an imperialist who added Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines and Puerto Rico to U.S. territory and made Cuba a U.S. protectorate. Trump, of course, would like to annex Canada ...
There’s a method to Trump’s madness; Democrats must respond with bold initiatives
President Trump has started his second term with many bold but divisive actions that could threaten his standing with the public.
He is a much different president than he was when he began his first term in 2017. Then he seemed happy just to be in the Oval Office, unaware of how to use his power. Now, he’s locked and loaded and ready to kick some progressive butt.
Trump has already gotten away with convictions on 34 counts of felony fraud. Will he be able to escape t...