Talking Points Memo

Is it a harmonic convergence? Is the Rep. Corey Mills (R) alleged assault case finally coming into focus? Let me try to explain the moving parts here. Remember back in February DC police went to home of Rep. Corey Mills responding to reports that he had assaulted a … Corey Mills Harmonic Scandal Convergence?Read more

President Trump has reportedly been calling some of the highest profile and, typically, most loyal MAGA influencers in recent days to tell them to stop talking about the infamous Epstein files and his administration’s botched handling of their release. This comes as more and more Republicans in Congress … Trump is Calling Friends to Tell Them to STFU About EpsteinRead more

While the Democratic Party by and large has, in recent years, kept its distance from the conspiracy theories related to the death of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, individual lawmakers and party officials are now leaping into the rift forming over the saga within the MAGA movement, and … Dems See an Opening in the MAGA Rift Over Epstein FilesRead more

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation. After much back-and-forth over several months, President Donald Trump announced on July 9, 2025, that he planned to levy a 50% tariff on Brazilian exports to the United States. … Trump’s Brazil Tariffs Are Mostly About His Buddy, Jair BolsonaroRead more

So I mentioned in today’s BackChannel that it kind of beggared belief we were only hearing about these Wolff/Epstein interview tapes and their contents now. But then I heard from TPM Reader MH who said he remembered hearing some of the tapes. What? Readers get so confused. But … Ok, Welp … Epstein/Wolff EditionRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Look Out: Bondi Is In Self-Preservation Mode The prospect that the Trump-appointed attorney general, FBI director, and his top deputy could be dragged down over Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy … It’s Dangerous When Pam Bondi Is Under Pressure To Be More MAGARead more

Three thoughts on the delicious and deserved Jeff Epstein wildfire currently engulfing MAGA world. First, a follow up on my post from last week. I stand by what I said about general skepticism about the whole Epstein meta story – the belief that some significant number of the … Josh Has An Epstein Conversion? (No, But …)Read more

Hello, it’s the weekend. This is The Weekender ☕️ President Donald Trump is pushing hard to get his $9.4 billion rescissions request — $8.3 billion in cuts to foreign aid and $1.1 billion from public broadcasting — over the finish line.

GREENBELT, MARYLAND – In a saga that has dragged on for four months that feel like four years, the Trump administration continues to stonewall the judge in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case with dilatory tactics and bad faith responses to her inquiries. Unlike the in-your-face defiance of a … ‘The Evidence Is Not Credible’: Judge Skewers Defiant Trump DOJ In Abrego Garcia CaseRead more

We went into this administration with a seemingly durable baseline assumption that, whatever his unpopularity in other areas, President Trump had durable if not overwhelming support for his hardline immigration policies. But something started to show up in polls in the late spring or early summer. While his … Reality Check: Trump Immigration Policy Is Super UnpopularRead more

The Department of Homeland Security posted an explicitly Christian nationalist and violent video on Facebook Reels captioned “Here I am, send me” about how Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol are delivering the Lord’s justice. Special thanks to TPM Reader DC for bringing this to … Lord’s VengeanceRead 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 Unprecedented Glimpse Newly released emails and texts provide an extraordinary glimpse of internal government communications during some of the most consequential legal cases of the early months … Inside the Corrupt Inner Workings of the Trump DOJRead more

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation. The Trump administration wants to take away citizenship from naturalized Americans on a massive scale. While a recent Justice Department memo prioritizes national security cases, it directs the department … DOJ Describes Plan To Denaturalize Citizens on Scale That Has Never Been TriedRead more

Earlier today I read this piece by TPM-fave Will Sommer which explained that Hugh Hewitt, one-time Josh antagonist, has been pitching his listeners on giving their money to what might be generously described as a fake bank which promised a totally credible 13 percent annual return when Hugh’s … “Patriot” Investors And Their Dollars Are Soon PartedRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. As Bad as It Gets Back when banner headlines mattered, this would have been plastered across the top of the every front page in America: President Trump is … [INSERT BANNER HEADLINE ON TRUMP RETRIBUTION HERE]Read more

I wanted to give you just a quick heads up. Next week we’re kicking off this year’s annual drive for the TPM Journalism Fund. This is always a critical effort for us every year. This is our sixth annual drive. This is, as you of course know, a … A Heads Up and More to ComeRead more

Senate Republican leadership is trying to shore up votes for President Donald Trump’s $9.4 billion rescission request — the White House’s attempt to give some legitimacy to the Department of Government Efficiency’s rampage through the federal government. But not everyone in the Senate Republican conference is on board … Senate GOP May Water Down White House’s Attempt to Formalize DOGE RampageRead more

As more than a hundred fatalities have been confirmed in Texas flash floods and some 170 remain missing, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has both denied that DOGE cuts to the National Weather Service played a role in the tragedy and also focused on the importance … DHS Cancels Extreme Weather Comms Grant While Bodies Still Being Recovered in TexasRead more

Nick Adams had a story to tell.  On Oct. 12, 2023, the MAGA influencer turned to the site formerly known as Twitter to regale his followers with a 685 word post about a very real date with a woman that he supposedly went on. According to Adams, he … Trump Wants ‘Alpha’ Twitter Troll Who Says ‘Straight White Males’ Are Persecuted to be Ambassador to MalaysiaRead more

Neil Jacobs, the nominee to run National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (which includes the National Weather Service) pledged to work to undo the DOGE Weather Service staffing cuts in testimony today before the Senate. To quote Government Executive magazine: “Nominee says he would work to undo the workforce … WelpRead more

There are plenty of legitimate questions swirling around the devastating flooding in Texas last weekend that left at least 100 people dead. They include questions about emergency alert funding decisions made by Texas’ Republican state legislature and about cuts to federal agencies implemented by the Trump administration that … There’s Always Going to be a Conspiracy TheoryRead 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. On July 4, the broken remnants of a powerful tropical storm spun off the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico … The Texas Flash Flood Is a Preview of the Chaos to ComeRead more

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation. Vance Boelter, who allegedly shot Melissa Hortman, a Democratic Minnesota state representative, and her husband, Mark Hortman, on June 14, 2025, studied at Christ for the Nations Institute in … How the ‘Seven Mountains Mandate’ Is Linked to Political Extremism in the USRead 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 Devastating Supreme Court Decision The Supreme Court, with only Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting, cleared the way for the Trump administration to proceed with mass layoffs of … Only KBJ Recognizes the Historic Stakes of Trump’s PurgesRead more

As you have probably seen, Attorney General Pam Bondi has announced that there’s no there there with the whole Jeff Epstein saga: no list, no hidden group of the world’s most powerful men having sex with minors, no prostitution ring, etc. etc. etc. Of course MAGA has gone … A Modest Jeff Epstein ProposalRead more

There are several layers to my conclusion that today’s remarks from President Trump’s agriculture secretary are among the most creatively maniacal I’ve heard yet from the administration.

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. Natural gas price spikes, grid transmission bottlenecks, and a data center construction boom are already straining America’s power grid. The Republican Party just passed a budget bill that might break it.  Donald Trump and the … Thanks to the GOP Megabill, You’ll Pay Higher Utility BillsRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Once a Reality TV Star, Always a Reality TV Star The Apprentice isn’t the only, or even the best, prism with which to view Donald Trump’s approach to … Trump Stages Another Boffo Reality TV Episode In LA ParkRead more

This is my official new favorite story ever. It’s from the Journal News, which covers three suburban counties just north of New York City, and it’s about local congressman Mike Lawler (R) and a raucous town hall which I actually covered back in May. It turns out that … Rep. Lawler Fielded Sock Puppet Provocateur at Raucous Town HallRead more

The day after President Trump signed a bill that throws unprecedented amounts of money at ICE, extends tax cuts for the wealthy, and slashes health-care and social services to do so, Vice President JD Vance was in San Diego. And while he might have been far away from … JD Vance: Some Americans Are More American Than OthersRead more