Talking Points Memo

House Democrats have shifted to a new messaging strategy now that their Republican colleagues have given in to President Trump’s wishes and passed the devastating “big, beautiful” bill despite many Republicans’ supposed concerns about the legislation.

GREENBELT, MARYLAND—I suppose it was inevitable that in a case over whether the Trump administration can defy federal court orders without consequence, a trial judge would emerge as a main character.

I wanted to elaborate on some points Theda Skocpol addressed in her reader email this weekend about ICE and the supercharged ICE the new Trump budget law envisions. Some of this may be obvious just seeing what we’ve all seen in recent months. But I wanted to describe … ICE’s Penumbra of AbuseRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Gracias! Many thanks to Sarah Posner, John Light, and Nicole Lafond for keeping Morning Memo going so I could get away for a couple of weeks. It was … On Not Losing Perspective In The Trump II MadnessRead more

Hello it’s the weekend. This is The Weekender ☕️ The GOP spent the entire 2024 campaign promising “mass deportations.” Now in office, the Trump administration has directed its largest demonstrations of abuse towards that slogan. The Alien Enemies Act removals to CECOT? Look how far they’ll go to … Mass Deportations or Mass Detentions?Read more

TPM Reader TS (Harvard sociologist/political scientist Theda Skocpol) and I often compared notes on the news of the day and I am always particularly attentive to her thoughts on state structure and power. So I asked her to write out her comments in response to Josh Kovensky’s piece … Critical Read About the BBB, Federalism and the Future of American DemocracyRead more

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation. Conservatives have won two important battles in their decades-long campaign against Planned Parenthood, a network of affiliated clinics that are the largest provider of reproductive health services in the … Conservatives Notch 2 Victories in Their Fight to Deny Planned Parenthood FundingRead 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.  Upheaval at the nation’s top disaster agency is raising anxiety among state and local emergency managers — and leaving major questions about the whereabouts of … States Fear Critical Funding From FEMA May Be Drying UpRead more

It’s hard to convey just how big the new budget makes the country’s immigration enforcement infrastructure.

President Donald Trump employed a term often used as a slur against Jewish people as he blasted bankers during a speech in Iowa on Thursday evening. The remark came as he was touting tax cuts in his so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” which Congress passed earlier in the day.  … Trump Rails Against ‘Shylocks And Bad People’ In Iowa SpeechRead more

Late this afternoon Social Security Administration sent out an email, seemingly to all recipients, cheering the passage of the President’s “Big Beautiful Bill”.

The book is now closed on the Republican effort to take from the poor to extend tax breaks to the rich, all while pretending that is not what they are doing. In a 218-214 mostly party line vote, House Republicans sent the bill to the President’s desk. It … House Speaker Confirms Legislative Branch Is Now Just A PropRead more

Many of those convicted of crimes related to January 6 are wondering: just how far will the Department of Justice go to help the people who, in 2021, heeded President Trump’s call to march on the Capitol?

AdImpact is the canonical source that many journalists use to track political ad spending, where ads are running, the ability to see the actual ads and so forth. A few times I’ve considering subscribing for TPM during the peak of the big cycles. (These are very high dollar … Your Taxpayer Dollars at Work – On Trump Campaign AdsRead more

When issues such as abortion were raised on the 2024 campaign trail, President Donald Trump would often wave away his allies’ hardline anti-abortion stances, hiding behind his professed belief in states’ rights to make their own decisions about whether to maintain or restrict access to reproductive health care. … ‘No State’ Can Afford To Mitigate GOP Budget Cuts, and ‘That’s the Point’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. In yesterday’s edition of Morning Memo, we unpacked the various ways in which House Republicans have, since President Trump arrived back at the White House, repeatedly demonstrated to … Trump’s Assault On Separation Of Powers Made Explicit In His Megabill Vote WhippingRead more

I continue to get requests for updates about the DOJ-in-Exile project. The update is that while I got a lot of inquiries from people who were interested in being involved and a number of people who were interested in making large (5- or 6-figure contributions), I was not … DOJ in ExileRead more

Since the MAGA hordes first learned about the existence of NYC Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani last week, they’ve been losing their minds — tripping over themselves to lob racist and Islamophobic attacks at the candidate and fearmonger about “communism.”

I’ve had several TPM Readers reply to the post below about denaturalization and say it’s actually even worse than I say. Specifically, that we can’t really have any confidence that people who were born citizens won’t face denaturalization too. One reader simply makes the point: why not? What’s … More on Denaturalization and Birthright CitizenshipRead more

I want to focus your attention on this new piece by Josh Kovensky on the DOJ appearing to open the door to denaturalizing citizens based on political activity or belief. I doubt I need to convince anyone reading this that this is a bad thing. But I want … Denaturalization is a Stark Threat to All CitizenshipRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Ceding their authority as members of a separate-but-equal branch of government to the executive has emerged as a frequent theme for Republicans in the 119th Congress. We’ve seen … Mike Johnson Reminds House GOP That Legislating Isn’t That Important Right NowRead more

Throughout the campaign, Republicans teased an idea: the next Trump government would start to remove the citizenship of naturalized Americans.

President Trump and his entourage’s visit to Ron DeSantis’ new swamp-adjacent immigrant detention center — billed as a “one-stop shop for immigration enforcement” by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier — was about as unhinged and ghoulish as its name, “Alligator Alcatraz,” suggested it would be.

There are a lot of well-documented ways the alliterative Senate reconciliation package, passed Tuesday with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance, will mess over lower-income Americans in order to subsidize tax cuts for the wealthiest. But the Senate GOP has also tucked some less prominent policies … Obscure But Painful Reconciliation Package Cuts You May Have MissedRead more

Chris West was sworn in as the president of the National Sheriffs’ Association on June 26. West is the sheriff of Canadian County, Oklahoma. He’s also an ardent supporter of President Trump who traveled to Washington D.C. to join the thousands who protested Trump’s election loss on Jan. … The New President of the National Sheriffs’ Association Participated in the Jan. 6 ProtestsRead more

Bill Moyers died last week at the age of 91. TPM Executive Editor John Light worked for Bill for a number of years and has written this remembrance of him which I recommend to you. I wanted to share some additional thoughts about Bill and how his life … Remembering Bill MoyersRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. After the two engaged in a half-hearted public apology tour, which mostly involved the world’s richest man tweeting that he “went too far” in some of his criticisms … Trump Threatens Elon With Monster of His Own MakingRead more

This article first appeared at ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. In 2023, while Kristi Noem was governor of South Dakota, she supplemented her income by secretly accepting a cut … Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political DonationsRead more

It is difficult to find any recent photos of President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis together. That’s because the two of them have largely been at odds since DeSantis tried to test his MAGA bonafides and was utterly humiliated by Trump on the national stage during the … DeSantis And Trump Bury Hatchet To Join Hands On Sick Immigrant Detainees StuntRead more

Almost as soon as Donald Trump was inaugurated in January, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) began announcing a flurry of business endeavors that experts warn amount to serious potential conflicts of interest. That’s nothing new for a Trump presidency. During his first term, government accountability watchdog organization … How Donald Trump’s Media Business Could Influence Domestic PolicyRead more