Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on Sunday outlined Democrats’ strategy to push back on President Trump’s and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts to reshape much of the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and other means of executive authority.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Booker said Democrats are fighting back through the courts, in Congress and through public and media engagement with constituents.
"I think the pla...
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...
Trump Medicaid pledge could complicate GOP cuts
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DOGE officials home in on Medicare, Medicaid offices
Representatives of billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have turned their focus to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency confirmed Wednesday.
It was unclear which systems DOGE had access to and whether any sensitive medical information was part of the efforts.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Wednesday that DOGE aides had been granted access to key payment and contract systems.
...
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, ...
Stirewalt: Trump opens the door for a rebalancing of power
The constitutional stress test intensifies.
Can the president create an investment fund for federal dollars without congressional authorization? Could the government use it, at his direction, to acquire a social media company?
That the start of a sovereign wealth fund, a sort of state-backed private equity operation, is only the third or fourth most legally and constitutionally controversial action of the beginning of the third week of the second Trump administ...
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...
Patients, not government, should set health care prices
One of us trained with a world-renowned neurosurgeon who practices outside of the U.S. and operates on “inoperable brain tumors” with outcomes that leave other neurosurgeons in awe. He provides free or discounted care to half of his patients. For others, he charges 10-100 times what Medicare pays. Patients from around the world eagerly wait to see him and gladly pay, with many even wanting to pay more after surgery. That’s the value of his labor.
If this neurosurgeon wer...
Our nation’s hard-fought right to preventive care is at risk
The Affordable Care Act has transformed healthcare in the U.S. by ensuring access to no-cost preventive care services, such as cancer screenings, immunizations and contraceptives, for millions of Americans. However, the Supreme Court's decision to review the constitutionality of this provision, as highlighted in Becerra v. Braidwood Management Inc., threatens to undermine a critical component of the law.
The implications of this case extend beyond legal nuances, touching the...