The Atlantic

If you have been closely following the ongoing Bureau of Labor Statistics story—in which Donald Trump fired then-Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after being displeased by the bureau’s July jobs report and selected the Heritage Foundation economist E. J. Antoni to succeed her—you will have heard an unusual consensus about … The Damage to Economic Data May Already Be DoneRead more

In 2013, ahead of a scheduled visit from President Vladimir Putin to the small Russian town of Suzdal, local officials worried that he would be disappointed by the dilapidated buildings. In a modern revival of Grigory Potemkin’s possibly apocryphal deception of Catherine the Great, they slapped exterior wallpaper … Will Trump Get His Potemkin Statistics?Read more

Photographs by Kendrick Brinson The United States Army, in business now for more than 250 years, comprises more than 450,000 soldiers. Of those, about a third are in combat arms, serving in armor, artillery, engineering, cyber, and aviation units. Some 56,000 are in the infantry, the “Queen of … Is This the Hardest Physical Contest in the World?Read more

After rushing to shut down the government-funded media outlets she was tapped to lead, Kari Lake has launched on a mission so strange that it is perhaps unprecedented: She is trying to force her own employees out of the country. Lake has been making the rounds on right-wing … Kari Lake’s Attempt to Deport Her Own EmployeesRead more

This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. Vladimir Putin has had a tough few months. His military’s much-feared summer offensive has made incremental gains in Ukraine but not nearly the advances he had hoped. His economy has sputtered. … Vladimir Putin Could Be Laying a TrapRead more

Washington, D.C., more than any other city in the country, presents President Donald Trump with the opportunity to meddle in the minutiae of municipal governance. Even in the capital, though, his powers are far from limitless. And the chasm between Trump’s sweeping plan to “clean up” D.C. and … Trump’s Dreams for D.C. Could Soon Hit RealityRead more

In the summer of 2020, as demonstrators gathered in Washington, D.C., to protest against the murder of George Floyd, President Donald Trump directed the National Guard and officers from various federal law-enforcement agencies to patrol the streets of the nation’s capital. The results were a disaster from the … Trump’s Farcical D.C. CrackdownRead more

Donald Trump is famously reluctant to commit troops abroad but salivates at the prospect of using them against Americans at home. That is the context in which one must understand his takeover of the Washington, D.C., police force; his deployment of the National Guard; and his threats to … Donald Trump Doesn’t Really Care About CrimeRead more

Tens of millions of Americans voted for President Donald Trump in the belief that he would be competent. They might not have been thrilled that Trump is a convicted felon, or pleased with his role in the violent attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Many worried … Trump’s Unforgivable SinRead more

Vladimir Putin is coming to America, despite the international warrant for the Russian president’s arrest, despite his years of hostile threats against NATO, and despite him showing no remorse for his invasion of a sovereign nation. None of that matters to President Donald Trump, who announced Friday night … Trump Invites Putin to Step Foot in AmericaRead more

We are about to find out, in real time, whether the Federal Bureau of Investigation remains a neutral law-enforcement agency or whether it has been transformed into an instrument of Republican power. Will the FBI help the Republican Party force through a partisan redistricting plan in Texas, or … The Texas GOP’s Disturbing Request for the FBIRead more

Texas state Democrats had been plotting their departure for weeks. But most weren’t sure they were going—or where they were headed—until just before they boarded their plane. For a successful quorum break, the timing “has to be ripe,” State Representative Gina Hinojosa told me. “Like a melon at … How the Texas Standoff Will (Probably) EndRead more

Here’s a piece of Republican rhetoric that used to be ubiquitous but that you never hear anymore: America has the best health-care system in the world. Republican politicians liked this line because it helped them dismiss the idea that the system needed major reform. American health care at … So Much for the ‘Best Health-Care System in the World’Read more

“Is it Goldstein again?” Richard Nixon demanded. In July of 1971, the president was infuriated that an unnamed official at the Bureau of Labor Statistics had seemed to downplay the administration’s progress on reducing unemployment while briefing reporters. His suspicions fell on Harold Goldstein, the longtime civil servant … Trump Just Did What Not Even Nixon DaredRead more

Donald Trump has almost certainly complained more about journalists than any of his predecessors have, maybe more than all of them combined. So when Trump deemed a query “the nastiest question” he’s ever gotten from a member of the press, it was notable. The moment came in May, … Things Aren’t Going Donald Trump’s WayRead more

President Trump’s attempted takeover of America’s 250th-anniversary celebration began this spring when his team drew up a $33 million fundraising plan for a series of events starring the president, including a military parade in Washington. America250 had been founded by Congress as a bipartisan effort, with a mission … The Fight to Plan America’s Birthday PartyRead more

As New York Governor Kathy Hochul denounced the GOP’s aggressive attempt to gerrymander Democrats into political oblivion this week, she lamented her party’s built-in disadvantage. “I’m tired of fighting this fight with my hand tied behind my back,” she told reporters. As political metaphors go, it’s not a … How Democrats Tied Their Own Hands on RedistrictingRead more

Photographs by Lynsey Addario In the weeks before they surrendered control of Khartoum, the Rapid Support Forces sometimes took revenge on civilians. If their soldiers lost territory to the Sudanese Armed Forces during the day, the militia’s commanders would turn their artillery on residential neighborhoods at night. On … This Is What the End of the Liberal World Order Looks LikeRead more

The email arrived at 10:55 p.m. on Friday, July 25, with an upbeat subject line: “Big News: Key Federal Title Funds Set to Release Next Week.” It was sent by North Dakota’s schools superintendent, Kirsten Baesler, who is awaiting confirmation to become an assistant secretary at the U.S. … Why the White House Backed Down From Its First Big Education CutsRead more

Last month, a group of seven U.S. generals and admirals—including the top admiral in charge of U.S. military operations in the Asia-Pacific region—prepared to travel to the Aspen Security Forum, in Colorado. Security officials had spoken at the annual conference for years, including during Donald Trump’s first term, … Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon Is Becoming a BubbleRead more

Broadly speaking, Donald Trump’s authoritarian moves come in two flavors. The first is devious plans that help him amass power (say, turning the Departments of Justice and Defense over to lackeys, or using regulatory threats to bully media owners into favorable coverage). The second is foolish impulses that … Donald Trump Shoots the MessengerRead more

In the summer of 2022, Donald Trump badly needed criminal-defense lawyers. Tim Parlatore, who was already working for the former president on an unrelated civil matter, joined the team defending Trump after an FBI search found classified government documents stored at his Florida estate. Parlatore had represented prominent … A MAGA Attorney Hired Epstein’s Lawyer for His ‘Valuable’ ExperienceRead more

A few weeks ago, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu each gave the other something of great symbolic value. Trump excoriated the “out-of-control” prosecutors responsible for the Israeli prime minister’s corruption trial, and Netanyahu nominated the American president for the Nobel Peace Prize he has … Why Trump Broke With Bibi Over the Gaza FamineRead more

The more than $175 billion that Congress handed to the nation’s immigration enforcers when it passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is larger than the annual military budget of every country in the world except the United States and China. Immigration and Customs Enforcement—just one component of … ICE’s Mind-Bogglingly Massive Blank CheckRead more

Michael Feinberg had not been planning to leave the FBI. But on May 31, he received a phone call from his boss asking him about a personal friendship with a former FBI agent who was known for criticizing President Donald Trump. Feinberg, an assistant special agent in charge … The FBI’s Leaders ‘Have No Idea What They’re Doing’Read more

In the beginning, there was the name. A prophet guided Errol Musk to bestow it on his eldest son, or so he claimed. The seer was Wernher von Braun, a German engineer and an inspiration for Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove. Though von Braun had built missiles for Hitler … NASA and the End of American AmbitionRead more

All the comforts of a Waldorf Astoria city-view suite did not, at that moment, seem to cheer Jasmine Crockett. The 44-year-old Texas Democrat known for her viral comebacks was frowning as she walked into her hotel room in Atlanta last month. She glanced around before pulling an aide … A Democrat for the Trump EraRead more

This coming weekend’s summer meeting of the National Governors Association has been planned as a postcard-perfect celebration of bipartisan policy making. At the base of the Rocky Mountains, 20 governors from both parties will gather at the Broadmoor resort, in Colorado Springs, for golf, meals, and panels featuring … Two Democrats Are Bolting From a Bipartisan Governors’ GroupRead more

Exhausted and demoralized, Columbia University agreed last night to pay the Trump administration $221 million in exchange for peace. By early next week, it will deposit the first of three installments into the U.S. Treasury, as part of a settlement that ends the government’s investigations into the school’s … Columbia Protected Its Funding and Sacrificed Its FreedomRead more

Subscribe here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Overcast | Pocket Casts In the Trump administration’s recent round of immigration crackdown, the American public hasn’t seen the same terrible images of migrant children at the border being snatched from their mother’s arms, as they did during his … A New Kind of Family SeparationRead more