“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...
Opinion
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...
How Republicans are going to blow it and put Democrats back in charge
President Trump is as popular as he’s ever been, and he’s enacting exactly what he said he would do — a trait all too rare among politicians. The two things are not mutually exclusive, however — he is popular precisely because he’s working on exactly what he said he would.
But Republicans in Congress risk blowing all the goodwill and the record approval ratings by not doing what is necessary to have Trump’s back. As the old saying goes, no one can snatch defeat from t...
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...
Musk and Trump are blatantly violating the Constitution
Since President Trump took office just under a month ago, Elon Musk and his team of privateers have rampaged through government, demolishing agencies, rifling through private data, firing thousands of career federal employees and even changing signage on federal buildings and historic sites.
The White House has justified Musk’s authority under the label “special government employee.” The media has taken the bait to an alarming degree, covering Musk and his Department ...
Democrats fighting Trump’s government reforms are waging a losing battle
Democrats have gone to the mattress against Donald Trump. Not to protest his immigration crackdown, his intention to shut down the Department of Education, his tariffs or any of the other controversial policies the new president has proposed in the past two weeks. No, Democrats are fighting tooth and nail to protect the federal bureaucracy.
Just recently, Senate Democrats took the extreme measure of filibustering through the night to decry the nomination of Russell...
A kicked DOGE hollers: Progressives telling response to an agency cutting spending
As a big fan of what the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is trying to accomplish, I have been heartily encouraged by its first two weeks on the job. All I need to hear to know it is getting traction is that the left has gone from accusing it of having no power to accusing it of having too much.
In Washington, when progressives yell that any conservative group has too much power, it usually means that things are starting to get interesting. Down South, ...
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 ...
Is Trump really unaccountable for his actions?
Like the Queen of Hearts in Alice's Wonderland, Donald Trump has established "Off with their heads!" as the modus operandi of his second presidency.
He is swinging his sword in every direction, striking at honorable prosecutors and supposedly protected federal employees, stabbing at the heart of vital federal programs and stealing domestic tranquility from millions of immigrant families. In doing so, he is applying a severe stress test to democracy and the legit...