Talking Points Memo

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the TPM Journalism Fund over the last 24 hours. We’re now at over $350,000 – $357,221 to be precise. We’re trying to get to $365,000 tonight and $375,000 tomorrow. That’s 75% of the way toward our goal at two weeks into our … Tonight?Read more

I think this was pretty much in the cards. But now it’s official. Former Gov. Roy Cooper (D) enters the North Carolina Senate race, which is now an open race after Sen. Tom Tillis (R) announced his essentially (Trump) forced retirement. Nothing is a sure thing for Democrats … Cooper InRead more

Tomorrow is two weeks since we launched this year’s annual TPM Journalism Fund drive. It’s going well. But we’re at the point where we really, really need that second wind. We’re at $316,000 and we need to get to $500,000. If you’ve been considering contributing or meaning to … I Need Your Attention for Two MinutesRead more

As Congress negotiated the details of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a parade of independent analyses warned about the impact it would have on millions of Americans’ health care. Noting those findings, a handful of Republican lawmakers  expressed alarm that the Medicaid and Medicare cuts contained within the … These Are the Communities Most Likely to be Hurt By Hospital Closures and Medicaid CutsRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. An Existential Threat to NGOs As President Trump continues his onslaught on centers of power he can’t directly control — higher education, media, and law firms — I … Trump Targets NGOs to Dismantle Civil SocietyRead more

A few days ago I got in a back and forth with someone on Facebook about the Epstein story. This person insisted it’s a non-story and criticized the Times – that’s what was important to him – for devoting so much time to it. It was a ‘pseudo-story’ … Hulk Hogan and the Lawsuit That Changed Journalism and AmericaRead more

Hello, it’s the weekend. This is The Weekender ☕️ In the early weeks of the Trump administration, DHS started a media campaign. It would feature Secretary Kristi Noem, the former North Dakota governor eager to wear the uniforms and gear of ICE, the Coast Guard, and DHS’s other … DHS’s Endless TrollingRead more

Even today this is quite astonishing. FCC Chair Brendan Carr is making the rounds of conservative media bragging that to allow the Paramount/Skydance merger the company agreed to put in embed a political commissar at CBS (dubbed a “bias monitor”) who will report directly to Donald Trump on … Here We AreRead more

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published by Balls and Strikes.  In the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, in which the six conservative justices barred the consideration of race in college admissions, … How Anti-Affirmative Action Crusaders Are Escalating Their War on Inclusive DemocracyRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Habba’s Nomination Sacrificed For A Workaround We’re not rid of Trump’s utterly unqualified former personal lawyer after all. By withdrawing her nomination to the permanent position, President Trump … She’s Baaack! Trump Re-Installs Alina Habba as U.S. AttorneyRead more

The Trump White House is planning to send a second rescissions request to Capitol Hill in the coming weeks, hoping to extract a legislative stamp of approval for its efforts to impound funding that was previously authorized by Congress.

I want to thank everyone who came out to our DC Happy Hour tonight. Great turnout. It was wonderful seeing some old friends and meeting a bunch of readers who’ve been with us almost since the beginning but who I had never met before. We’re going to be … Thanks, DCRead 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. Despite the Trump administration’s public pronouncements that it has hired enough wildland firefighters, documents obtained by ProPublica show a high vacancy rate, as well … The Forest Service Claims It’s Fully Staffed for a Worsening Fire Season. Data Shows Thousands of Unfilled Jobs.Read more

Citing conditions and legal issues at Governor Ron DeSantis’ “Alligator Alcatraz” facility in the Everglades, a Mexican diplomat issued a stark warning to anyone from his country thinking of traveling to Florida.

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli Under Pressure From Bondi A major new development out of Los Angeles, where the LA Times reports that U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli has been … LA Grand Juries Are Refusing to Indict ICE ProtestorsRead more

A friend asked me recently: how is it that MAGA is so over the top about finding out which rich and powerful men may have had sex with 16 or 17 year old girls when it’s apparently fine that the leader of their movement is a longtime sex … Understanding MAGA’s Obsession With Pedophilia and No Other Sex CrimesRead more

I saw a headline today that UnitedHealthcare has acknowledged that its Medicare business is being investigated by the Department of Justice. In the old days, which is to say basically any time before January 2025, I would have assumed that UHC had probably been guilty of some kind … A Quick and Simple ObservationRead more

You’ve blessed us with a very solid start to this year’s annual TPM Journalism Fund drive. The challenging part is the second half of our way toward our goal of raising $500,000 this year. We’re currently at $287,886, so just over $12,000 from hitting the 60% benchmark. We … We Need Your Help With ThisRead more

I wanted to flag your attention to this piece by Jonathan Last at The Bulwark: The Washington Post is dying. I can tell you “how.” But not “why.” I’m not sure the central assertion is a big surprise to people. But Last does a good job at running … Why is Jeff Bezos Rakestomping the Post?Read more

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has determined that another element of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) rampage though the federal government was a violation of the Impoundment Control Act.

Back in May, a nonprofit with close ties to the Trump administration filed a curious lawsuit. It sued John Roberts and the body that operates the federal court system, dryly informing both the chief justice and the courts that they were mistaken in their belief that they controlled … John Roberts In Court Filing: I Manage the Judiciary, Not the PresidentRead more

If you’ve been reading TPM for awhile, you may already know that our organization can shift on a dime. We typically have around five reporters. (A few of our editors also write.) That means, unlike larger news organizations, we don’t have people with particular beats. We don’t have … What the Past Year Has Meant for TPMRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. When the Scandal Isn’t the Scandal … As scandalous and horrible as Jeffrey Epstein’s crime were, that’s not what’s giving the story legs or Democrats political leverage in … Making Sense of the Weird Jeffrey Epstein-MAGA MomentRead more

In two rulings issued within a curiously short time of each other Wednesday afternoon, a federal judge in Tennessee cleared the way for Kilmar Abrego Garcia to be released from custody pending his criminal trial and a federal judge in Maryland barred the Trump administration from detaining him … Judge Bars DHS From Detaining Abrego Garcia After His Release From Criminal CustodyRead more

During what sources who spoke to the Wall Street Journal describe as a “routine briefing that covered a number of topics” in May, President Trump was informed that his name appeared multiple times in the documents that the Justice Department reviewed on the Jeffrey Epstein case.

I’ve told you before about my kind of love/hate feelings about Tom Edsall, longtime reporter for The Washington Post, who more recently writes a weekly column for the Times. It’s not too much to say that almost regardless of the facts of the moment he’ll come up with … How Is It Going for the Democrats?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. What an Absurd Position to be in More than three months after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals “temporarily” blocked contempt of court proceedings against the Trump administration … Appeals Court Stirs Awake in Long-Delayed Contempt of Court Case Over AEA FlightsRead more

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation. President Donald Trump’s nomination of his former criminal defense attorney, Emil Bove, to be a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, has been … Why Trump Lawyer Emil Bove is So Different Than Past Controversial Judicial AppointmentsRead more

Every time I think Donald Trump is putting some distance between himself and the Epstein scandal he does some new thing to make it the centerpoint story in the American news ecosystem. Last night House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) decide to shut the entire House of Representatives for … House and Executive Branch Now Totally Derailed by EpsteinRead more

By now you’ve maybe seen the news that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is, effectively, shutting down the House’s legislative work and sending everyone home early for August recess in order to block any House floor action on the release of investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased … Mike Johnson’s Supposed ‘Moral Responsibility’ to Pack It Up EarlyRead more