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...

Advocates launch Medicaid defense

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Trump signs order on birthright citizenship – as it happened

President pardons 1,500 rioters, launches immigration crackdown, pauses TikTok ban and orders US withdrawal from WHO among other actions

My colleague Joseph Gedeon in Washington DC also had this look at what Trump might have planned for day one:

In the grand theatre of American politics, presidential inaugurations typically follow a familiar script: the oath, the speech, a few carefully chosen executive orders to satisfy campaign promises. Franklin D Roosevelt used his first day to tackle the banking crisis. Barack Obama moved to close Guantánamo Bay (though it remains open). Donald Trump’s first term began with a single executive order targeting Obamacare. Joe Biden signed 17 executive orders on his first day in 2021.

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Deportations, tariffs, pardons: what Trump has planned for day one

The incoming president is ready to sign a slew of executive orders on day one of his second term. Here’s what’s planned

In the grand theatre of American politics, presidential inaugurations typically follow a familiar script: the oath, the speech, a few carefully chosen executive orders to satisfy campaign promises. Franklin D Roosevelt used his first day to tackle the banking crisis. Barack Obama moved to close Guantánamo Bay (though it remains open). Donald Trump’s first term began...