Talking Points Memo

Fire poured out of my eyes when I sat down at my computer and saw a Semafor email with the subject line “National Reckoning”. They cooled when I opened the email and saw the top item was a PPRI poll from March 2025. (“National reckoning” turns out to … We Remain Adrift in an Ocean of Lies – 30 Hours After the Charlie Kirk ShootingRead more

A day after a gunman killed right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, the internet has been ablaze with recriminations: exhortations from the center and left for both sides to “lower the temperature,” calls from the president and his followers on the right to exact revenge on liberals (despite the perpetrator … We Don’t Even Talk About the Guns Anymore Read more

I wanted to share two-and-a-half follow-on thoughts about the murder of Charlie Kirk and everything that is coming in its wake. We are now seeing an escalating campaign of valorization of Kirk, one that a lot of non-partisan media and certainly everyone in the conservative movement is contributing … More Thoughts on the Kirk MurderRead more

Kate and Josh discuss the great shutdown debate and the Roberts Court’s signaling on pocket rescissions.

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Desperate to Keep His Job, Patel Did the White House’s Bidding A new lawsuit containing devastating allegations about the clownish politicization of the FBI calls into serious question … Insiders Describe the Trump FBI Clown Show in Vivid, Buffoonish DetailRead more

Conservative movement influencer and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk has died after being shot during an event Wednesday.

I don’t have much to share on the death of Charlie Kirk beyond what I suspect is obvious. We want a society where political participation and activism, even things we disagree with or find despicable, can take place without the threat of violence. This isn’t just a general … The Death of Charlie KirkRead more

Kate Riga and I just finished recording this week’s edition of the podcast. We’ll add a link when it’s published. We devoted most of the episode to the coming budget showdown, what should happen and what’s going to happen (not necessarily or perhaps likely the same things). There … The Unspoken Dimension of the Shutdown FightRead more

Troubling and unusual unemployment numbers for Black Americans are signaling that the U.S. is on its way to a potential recession, economists tell TPM.   The latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed an increasingly negative employment situation for Black workers, one that has rapidly deteriorated … Why the Spike in Black Unemployment Is an Alarming Sign of What’s to ComeRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Biden Appointee Reinstated … For Now In a late-night ruling, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb of Washington, D.C. blocked President Trump from firing Lisa Cook as a member of … Judge Blocks Trump’s Firing of Lisa Cook From the Federal Reserve BoardRead more

With about three weeks remaining in the current fiscal year, senators are scrambling to find a way to fund the federal government for fiscal year 2026. A short-term continuing resolution (CR) continues to be the most realistic option for Republicans — who have the majority in both the … A Possible Gov’t Funding Deal Comes Into View — As Trump’s Lawlessness LoomsRead more

Republicans in the Missouri state House passed a map, gerrymandered to benefit Republicans, in a 90-65 vote, advancing President Trump’s nationwide attempt to pressure Republican state legislatures around the country to force House seats that have typically gone to Democrats in their states to flip.

A group of Michigan fake electors learned on Tuesday that believing the 2020 election was stolen can still pay off: a state judge dismissed a criminal fraud case against them after finding that they “sincerely believe” there were irregularities in President Trump’s defeat that year.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday froze a lower court judge’s decision ordering that foreign aid money already approved by Congress be spent. The ominous move may signal a coming embrace of the Trump administration’s radical “theory” that a president can choose to withhold appropriated funding. 

In late August, a group of Russians who had asked and not received political asylum from the U.S. government found themselves back home. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement had put them on a circuitous route: after being picked up from an airport in Alexandria, Louisiana, they made stops in … Trump Admin Returns Russian Dissident Asylum Seekers to PutinRead more

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at Balls and Strikes.  On Monday, the Supreme Court’s Republican majority issued an order that allows federal immigration agents in Los Angeles to resume arresting Latino people en masse simply because they are Latino. … Conservative Justices Declare Racial Profiling Just Fine If Trump Asks For ItRead more

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The 19th. In the weeks since he was accused of showing explicit content on his office television, Oklahoma schools chief Ryan Walters has canceled a State Board of Education … TV Nudity Scandal, Impeachment Calls, a Meeting No-Show: Troubles Pile Up for Oklahoma’s MAGA Schools ChiefRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. The Ratfucking Is Already Underway The Trump Justice Department is taking the unprecedented step of compiling a national voter database, the NYT reports: The effort to essentially establish … Trump Lays the Groundwork to Rig the 2026 MidtermsRead more

As we’ve been discussing for a week there’s a big argument among Democrats about the looming shutdown fight. Senate Democrats seem set on making it a negotiation about Obamacare subsidies, the biggest part of the BBB cuts that kick in before 2026. Meanwhile, you have a growing chorus … What’s Unmentioned in the Intra-Dem Shutdown DebateRead more

While Missouri Democrats stage protests and push Republican leadership to engage with them, it appears that Republicans in the Missouri state House will ultimately be able to pass redrawn congressional district maps this week, bowing to pressure from the Trump administration.

I was very pleased to see that Ezra Klein has joined the ranks of those who think that Democrats need to gird themselves for a fight in the budget showdown coming at the end of this month. I have various disagreements with Klein, some rooted in policy and … On Shutdowns, Get the Wording Right and Other ThoughtsRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. These People Deserve Each Other Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent got into a heated confrontation with Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte last week at the Executive Branch, the MAGA-chic private … Treasury Secretary Comes Unglued: ‘I’m Gonna Punch You in Your F—ing Face’Read more

This story first appeared at ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. On Feb. 10, on the third floor of the Social Security Administration’s Baltimore-area headquarters, Leland Dudek unfurled a 4-foot-wide roll of paper that extended … The Untold Saga of What Happened When DOGE Stormed Social SecurityRead more

Everyone is rightly shocked, disgusted, outraged by Trump’s Truth Social meme threatening to turn Chicago into a war zone. But where’s the National Guard exactly? Trump said he was doing this a couple weeks ago. He said they were “going in” right away a week later. Maybe he’ll … Where Are They?Read more

Let me connect a few dots for you that may be a key part of the Trump-Epstein drama and may even be what Trump has been trying to keep hidden in those files. I’m not sure quite what we’re dealing with here. But I think this is significant. … Is This The Hidden Part of the Trump-Epstein Drama?Read more

Hello it’s the weekend. This is The Weekender ☕️ It has been quite a week for embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams.  After a term full of indictments, defiant “earring-wearing swagger,” an extraordinary reversal from the Justice Department, and even potato chip bags filled with cash, Adams’ … Eric Adams Is Making His Last StandRead more

I wanted to return one more time — hopefully just one more time — to the question of what Democrats should demand in exchange for their votes on a continuing resolution. Over the years, I’ve mentioned in various posts that Trump’s world isn’t just winning and losing. It’s … Living in Trump’s WorldRead more

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation. In October 2023, a group calling itself Return to the Land established its first “Whites only community” in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. They followed that with a second enclave … An Arkansas Group’s Effort to Build a White Ethnostate Is Part of a Wider US MovementRead more

Lawmakers came back from their lengthy August recess this week. They have until the end of the month to fund the government for the next fiscal year and avoid a government shutdown. But there’s an elephant in the room as negotiations get underway: how do you do the … Dems Are Focused on Health Care But Trump’s Power Grab Looms Over Gov’t Funding FightRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Questions His Allegiance D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro savaged a sitting federal magistrate who had chastised her prosecutors for their conduct in yet another case where a grand … Pirro Unleashes Vicious Attack Against Sitting JudgeRead more