Talking Points Memo

Last week I read an article about the special primary election to replace the late Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA). The Post said the race was “animated by growing frustrations with the party establishment” and called the race “an early test of antiestablishment sentiment at the ballot box as … The Democratic Party is Its Voters And They’re Doing Just FineRead more

In addition to Sen. Tom Tillis (NC), Rep. Don Bacon (NE) also announced he’s retiring yesterday. There’s a lot of commentary about “centrists” and “moderates” and “institutionalists” out there and how they’re a dying breed. Whatever. This strikes me as something more straightforward. They’re both endangered incumbents. And … Bailing OutRead more

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. President Trump’s flip-flopping on whether to upend the agriculture and hospitality industries for the sake of following through on his haphazard mass deportation agenda reveals one aspect of … Trump Can’t Decide If Migrant Farm Worker Industry Is a Worthy Sacrifice for His Mass Deportation AgendaRead more

I cannot say for sure when Bill Moyers first developed such a clear eyed-view of the path we were heading down, but I can say that by the time I first started working for him in 2012, as America was clawing its way out of the recession that … Bill Moyers Saw What Was ComingRead more

Classic Trump Era chain of events. North Carolina Sen. Tom Tillis said he’d vote against the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’. Trump announced he’d choose one of the Tillis’s primary opponents to support. Only hours later Tillis announced he’s retiring. This is pretty big news for the midterms. Tillis retiring … Big News: Tillis RetiringRead more

I’m sharing a post a friend of mine, Victoria Cook, wrote on Facebook about the New York City mayor’s election and Jews and Israel. That whole thing. It’s not a TPM Reader email but I’m posting it in the same vein. This is her piece not mine. So … Another Perspective on NYC Politics, Zionism, Jews and Everything ElseRead more

A TPM Reader pointed out to me that the “Big Beautiful Bill” budgets fully $40 million dollars through what’s left of the National Endowment for the Humanities for the President’s ‘for the procurement of statues” for the President’s ‘Garden of Heroes’.

Hello it’s the weekend. This is The Weekender ☕️ We have a stage five political freakout on our hands.  In the four days since Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani became the Democratic Party’s nominee in the New York City mayoral election, a lot of people have completely lost it. The … The Political World’s Five-Alarm Mamdani MeltdownRead more

Since I haven’t written about this here I wanted to share a few thoughts about Zohran Mamdani’s big Democratic mayoral primary win. If you’ve been saturated by coverage of this race these won’t strike you as terribly original points. I’m just sharing my perspective. First, I see three … Three and One Half Thoughts on Mamdani’s Big, Big WinRead more

The Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision on Friday limited the ability of courts to block presidential actions that they deem illegal, with all three liberals dissenting.

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Alarming Verbal Diarrhea From the President When political scientist Seth Masket shared this story on Bluesky yesterday, I couldn’t believe it was real. The right-wing Washington Times reported … Trump Says He Gave Iran Permission to Bomb U.S. Base in Qatar and…Well, Mostly Crickets?Read more

From Politico … On the federal employee pension plan: In order to pay for the megabill, Senate Republicans are considering substantially hiking “federal employees’ retirement contributions to 15.6 percent of their salary — compared with the 9.4 percent required in the initial version of the bill — while carving out an exemption … The Heist Continues, Now with a Semi at the Loading DockRead more

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation. Having the freedom to choose your own health care provider is something many Americans take for granted. But the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority ruled on June 25, 2025, … SCOTUS Allows States To Defund Planned Parenthood Without Recourse From Those Who Rely On ItRead more

A pattern has emerged during Trump II that we have noted repeatedly in recent months, and it continues to reveal itself in new ways. Observing the executive branch’s goal of running roughshod over the separation of powers, Trump’s allies in Congress have gone out of their way to … House GOP Wants To Gut Legislative Agency That Advocates For Their Own Constitutional AuthorityRead more

I wanted to update you on the story I flagged yesterday in which the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Scott Turner, decided to bogart the offices of the Trump-beleaguered National Science Foundation at least in part to build a Sky Mansion for himself on the building’s top … On the Trail of the HUD/NSF Switcheroo and the Mystery of the Top Floor Sky MansionRead more

A new app dares to pose a question that nobody has thought to ask: what happens when you combine right-wing fervor over hunting down undocumented immigrants, cryptocurrency speculation, and Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio?

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Trump’s DOJ Just Sued Every Federal Judge in Maryland It is really starting to look like Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) is carrying out a completely unprecedented and … The Trump Administration’s Assault on Federal Courts Gets More Shockingly AuthoritarianRead more

Melissa Harris had her future meticulously planned. But after more than 37 years in public service, those plans fell apart when President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ravaged her workplace at the National Institute of Health (NIH).  So Harris took an early retirement … Musk’s DOGE Cuts to the Federal Workforce Are Already Upending the D.C. Area Housing MarketRead more

Politico says there’s the beginning of a Big Beautiful Bill mutiny. I’ll still place my chits on they’ll find a way to make it work. But the key states where Senators are up for reelection face crushing cuts to the funds that keep rural hospitals going. Enough? Probably … Mutiny?Read more

Among the members of the Senate Republican conference facing reelection next fall, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) is considered the most vulnerable — and on Tuesday and Wednesday he has reportedly been warning Republican leadership about the stakes should the party’s obfuscation crusade on cuts to health care fall … Tillis Outlines The StakesRead more

The wildly unpopular “Big Beautiful” reconciliation package continues to face challenges as Senate Republicans prepare for a floor vote later this week. Several Republican senators, including Josh Hawley (R-MO), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), are worried about the deep Medicaid cuts included in the bill text, … Backlash Over ‘Big Beautiful’ Bill Continues In CongressRead more

I’m still trying to find out more about this. But as I do I just wanted to put it on your radar because it’s completely crazy and epitomizes the Trump presidency. The National Science Foundation is already in the process of being gutted – in perhaps a not … National Science Foundation to Be Requisitioned as Mansion for HUD Secretary (And Also HUD Office)Read more

With the President’s “Big Beautiful Bill” there’s been a general assumption. It’s super, super unpopular. And it also doesn’t matter. It’s going to pass anyway. That assumption is very likely true. Perhaps they’ll hit some speed bumps that prevent the bill from passing in time for July 4th, … YOLO Is the Order of the Day in GOP Budget LogicRead more

This story 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. The Trump administration has launched a major reorganization of the U.S. fight against drug traffickers and other transnational criminal … A New Trump Plan Gives DHS and the White House Greater Influence in the Fight Against Organized CrimeRead 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 Ugly Reconciliation Bill Is Also Unpopular Public support for the One Big Beautiful Bill is remarkably underwater by double digits in multiple polls, NBC reports. Similarly, bombing … Polling Shows Americans Are Souring on Trump’s Big InitiativesRead more

The man who spearheaded the administration’s effort to remake the Department of Justice into Trump’s ideal is up for a hearing Tuesday morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee over his nomination to be a federal appeals court judge. Emil Bove is a former Manhattan federal prosecutor who, until … Trump Lackey Emil Bove Up For Senate Grilling As Trump Tries To Make Him A JudgeRead more

President Donald Trump is not being impeached again (for now).

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation. On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization eliminated a nearly 50-year constitutional right to abortion and returned the authority to … 3 Years After The Supreme Court Restricted Abortion Access, Contraception Is Also At RiskRead 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 Josh Kovensky reported yesterday, the Supreme Court’s order pausing a preliminary injunction against Trump’s policy of third-country removals without due process will undoubtedly fire up his brutal … Supreme Court Abets Trump’s Defiance of Court Orders Read more

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. In the past week, the Senate Parliamentarian was allowed to — and did — get rid of quite a number of noisome provisions in the big budget bill. But as we anticipate the bill’s movement … Understanding the Tricks Republicans Could Use to Try to Make Trump’s Tax Cuts PermanentRead more