Talking Points Memo

This is kind of a secondary issue. But it’s important to focus on for a number of reasons. In the past, generally speaking, you could use formal communications and off the record briefings from federal law enforcement, within important parameters, as a guide to the state of an … Keep An Eye on What We Know (And Don’t)Read more

This is a post about TPM. So that’s just as a heads-up. It’s not about the news of the moment. It’s inwardly looking about this website. On Friday, I did an interview tied to our 25th anniversary celebration. It should be out closer to the date of the … What Makes TPM TPM?Read more

This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here. In the spring of 1996, lawmakers quietly buried a rider in a humdrum bill meant to make life easier for small businesses. That addition, the Congressional Review Act, granted Congress the power to kill … Republicans Are Using an Arcane Oversight Rule to Permanently Dismantle Federal Land ProtectionsRead more

I’ve written several times over the last few days not only about the scourge of political violence which we must not only denounce but be genuinely against in every way. Notwithstanding my own personal inclination to say little of the dead for a respectful period, I want to … Kirk’s Posthumous and Paradoxically Fitting Employment Reign of TerrorRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Seizing on Kirk’s Killing to Pull Off a Power Grab In the aftermath of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the Trump administration and its MAGA allies have launched … Trumpist Right Launches Purge of Anyone Who Dares Criticize Charlie KirkRead more

I was thinking about this post this morning and then I saw someone reference it on Bluesky. It’s from July 2016 (“This Is Not the Natural State of Things“) and notes that not only is the world of the last 80 years not permanent or unchangeable. It’s not … From The ArchivesRead more

Hello it’s the weekend. This is The Weekender ☕️ In the days before law enforcement officials announced that they had found a suspect for the murder of Charlie Kirk in 22-year old Utahn Tyler Robinson, prominent figures on the right were out for blood.

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation. Jair Bolsonaro’s conviction on Sept. 11, 2025, puts the former Brazilian president in a rogues’ gallery of failed coup plotters to be held to account for their attempted power … The Difference Between the Coup Plotters Who Are Held to Account and Those Who Aren’tRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Trump Revealed the Arrest on Fox News After two different people were mistakenly nabbed as suspects in the assassination of right-wing extremist Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump revealed … Man Arrested in Killing of Charlie KirkRead more

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