Talking Points Memo

Everyone has a newsletter now, even the United States Department of State. And, since taking to Substack in late April, the agency tasked with articulating and representing America’s foreign policy interests on the world stage has published a manifesto of sorts touting the need for this country and … The State Department Published A Substack Manifesto On ‘Western Civilizational Heritage’Read more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Stone Cold Stonewalling New details about the extent of the Trump administration’s stonewalling in the case of the mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia were revealed in a court … New Details Emerge On Trump Administration’s Defiance Of The CourtsRead more

This article is a collaboration between ProPublica, The Texas Tribune, Alianza Rebelde Investiga (Rebel Alliance Investigates), a coalition of Venezuelan online media outlets, and Cazadores de Fake News (Fake News Hunters), a Venezuelan investigative online news organization. The Trump administration knew that the vast majority of the 238 Venezuelan immigrants … Trump Administration Knew Vast Majority Of Venezuelans Sent To Salvadoran Prison Had Not Been Convicted Of US CrimesRead more

The Office of Personnel Management has a new hiring plan which instructs government agencies to cease collecting any demographic information on their workforces and roles out a new political loyalty tests which asks new employees to list their favorite presidential executive orders and how they envision bringing the … New Employee Loyalty Plan UnveiledRead more

In one sense, Elon Musk failed at DOGE: he came nowhere near to cutting $2 trillion in federal spending, the goal he set for the endeavor before revising expectations downward. He destroyed USAID and a few other programs that had been the focus of right-wing culture war offensives, … The Memelord Is Leaving. For Now. DOGE Lives On.Read more

The trade court’s decision that Trump’s entire trade war was based on powers President Trump didn’t actually have is a big, big deal. But there are some details that are important to consider. As we’ve discussed in earlier posts, this isn’t the only law in which Congress has … What Happens With Trump’s Trade War Now?Read more

A new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast is live! This week, Kate and Josh discuss the Supreme Court killing off independent agencies, Elon Musk’s sad trombone interviews and the latest news cycle about Biden’s age.

It’s been about a month since I introduced the “DOJ-in-Exile” idea. So I wanted to give you an update on my progress getting it off the ground. First of all I got quite a lot of interest and excitement from a lot of TPM Readers who were interested … DOJ-in-Exile, An UpdateRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Major Breakthrough Or More Endless Stonewalling? In what could be a major breakthrough, the Trump administration told a federal court Wednesday that it has taken affirmative steps to … Trump Admin Signals It Will Return One Wrongfully Deported ManRead more

This post 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. American diplomats in at least two countries have recently delivered internal reports to Washington that reflect a grim new reality taking … Death, Sexual Violence and Human Trafficking: Fallout From US Aid Withdrawal Hits the World’s Most Fragile LocationsRead more

You have probably seen that a three judge panel of the  U.S. Court of International Trade has ruled that Trump’s tariffs are unlawful. So done and done, subject to appeal of course. Trump imposed the tariffs under a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The … The Sad Trombones Are Playing on Trump’s Tariff ParadeRead more

On the same day that the clip of Elon Musk trashing House Republicans’ “big, beautiful” bill has been making the rounds, Politico is reporting that the White House has picked back up its effort to force congressional Republicans to choke down some of the DOGE cuts.

It’s indoor work, and there’s no heavy lifting: a top former personal attorney and bagman for the President — and current DOJ official — is now the nominee for a seat on a federal appeals court.

Yesterday the Conference Board reported that in May consumer confidence surged by 12.3, the largest monthly increase in four years. Bloomberg said the surge was bigger than any private sector economists Bloomberg contacted for their survey. The data suggests consumer confidence was already moving up and then surged … Voters Were Super Relieved Trump Caved on Tariffs. That’s Important.Read more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. A Constitutional Clash In Three Acts In three closely watched anti-immigration cases, the Trump administration continued its slo-mo constitutional defiance of the judicial branch … Act I: Non-Responsiveness … Trump Stonewalls Federal Judges In New Round Of Brazen DefianceRead more

A top Trump administration official and Republicans in Congress are upping their attacks on the Government Accountability Office in light of its finding last week that one element of the Trump administration’s DOGE rampage was done in violation of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974.

I want to start this week with a comment about the meta-news environment. It’s a point that may not surprise you, or not precisely. But it shapes everything we’re seeing today and does so with an uncanny silence. Quite simply, lots and lots of things are not being … The Trump White House and The Great QuietingRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Off The Charts Crazy I’ll catch you up on the rest of the news from over the long weekend in a moment, but first I wanted to give … Trump’s Weaponization Of DOJ Takes A Even More Sinister TurnRead more

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. The pain jolted me awake. It was barely dawn, … The Price of RemissionRead more

This article 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. When top Trump adviser Stephen Miller threatened on May 9 that the administration is “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus in … The ‘Invasion’ Invention: The Far Right’s Long Legal Battle to Make Immigrants the EnemyRead more

More than two months after the Trump administration flew more than 200 people to a detention camp in El Salvador, there’s still a lot that remains unclear.

Hello it’s the weekend. This is The Weekender ☕️ The fired head of the U.S. Copyright Office is fighting back against the Trump administration’s recent attempt to seize control of the Library of Congress, which, as the name suggests, is a legislative branch agency. As TPM has reported, … The Legal Fight Against Trump’s Library Of Congress Power Grab BeginsRead more

U.S. District Judge John Bates of Washington, D.C. just awarded summary judgment to Jenner & Block, finding President Trump’s executive order against it unlawful and declaring it null and void. This is remarkably strong language from a George W. Bush appointee who served on Special Counsel Ken Starr’s … JUST IN: Judge Strikes Down Another Big Law EORead more

What interests me most about the Supreme Court’s telegraphed decision ending independent agencies is the ease with which they discard their governing theories (unitary executive) when the results are ones they find unpleasant (ending the independence Federal Reserve). Let’s make a note in passing that as long as … The Court’s ‘Make It Up As You Go’ ConstitutionRead more

A new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast is live! This week, Kate and Josh discuss the House passage of the “big, beautiful bill” of health care cuts and analyze the big “what happened” report of the 2024 election.

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. The Biggest News Of The Week In a tumultuous week that marked four months since Donald Trump’s second inauguration, nothing will have as long-lasting and damaging an effect … The Supreme Court Just Handed A Match To An ArsonistRead more

DHS seems to have pissed off a federal judge in one of the many ongoing litigations around gutting much of the federal government. This one is brought – ironically – by Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights against DHS and is about DHS shutting down several statute-mandated offices that … To Keep An Eye OnRead more

The independent agency embedded within the legislative branch that is designed to review federal spending and make recommendations to Congress on cost savings and waste, as well as investigate policy implementation (the real one, not DOGE), has released a new finding that none of us will find surprising.

The Supreme Court majority all but declared Thursday that it is ready to overturn a nearly century-old precedent meant to protect independent agencies from at-will firing by the President. 

Idaho pastor Douglas Wilson can be provocative. He once wrote that “slavery produced in the South a genuine affection between the races.” He’s said that “sodomy” is worse than “slavery”; abortion, he’s written, is “as great an evil as slavery” due to what he sees as its ability … An Outspoken Christian Nationalist Pastor Expands His Sway In Trump’s DCRead more