Russell Berman
Since joining The Atlantic in 2014, Russell has written extensively about Congress, political reform, and policy experiments in states and cities. He previously covered the House of Representatives for The Hill newspaper and served as a Washington correspondent for the New York Sun.
America’s Bluest State Loves Its Republican Governor
Vermont has weathered the pandemic better than any other state, making Phil Scott a surprising star in Bernie Sanders’s backyard.
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Chip Somodevilla / Getty Why Biden Had No Other Choice on Voting Rights
Tonight the president—and his party—learned the true definition of the phrase slim majority.
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Mary Altaffer / AP The Voting-Rights Debate Democrats Don’t Want to Have
A progressive law in the nation’s largest city seems to be a step too far for national Democrats.
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Eric Lee / Bloomberg / Getty; Greg Nash … The Bold Economic Move Joe Biden Refuses to Make
Stymied by Congress, the president could make $1 trillion in student loans disappear all by himself.
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The Atlantic Daily: The Highs and Lows of Biden’s First Year
Here’s what went well … and what didn’t.
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Anna Moneymaker / Getty What Joe Manchin’s ‘No’ Means for Biden’s Agenda
Build Back Better looks dead. Can Democrats rebuild it?
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Anna Moneymaker / Getty The Overlooked Factor in Biden’s Unpopularity
Conversations with disenchanted Democrats in deep-blue Brooklyn help explain President Joe Biden’s ongoing polling woes.
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Kirkikis / Getty The Democrats Fighting to Protect the Coastal Elite
Who will actually benefit from a new progressive climate policy?
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Stefani Reynolds / Bloomberg / Getty Why Mitch McConnell Caved Again
The Republican leader’s decision to fold—again—on the debt ceiling arises from a position of political strength, not weakness.
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Rick Wilking / Reuters Bob Dole Saw Every Stage of the GOP
From World War II to the election of Donald Trump, Bob Dole played a part in countless moments of American history.
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Ed Jones / AFP; Getty America’s Pandemic Star Loses Some Luster
Vermont’s COVID-19 surge could point the way toward an uncertain endemic future.
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Nic Antaya / Getty How the Build Back Better Act Could Backfire on Democrats
Will tax cuts for the rich really help Joe Biden’s party in the midterms?
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Mark Makela / Getty The Desperate Scramble to Stop an Insider Election Threat
Trump loyalists could be running polling places across Pennsylvania in 2024.
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Drew Angerer / Getty How Democrats Got Desperate
Progressives gave President Joe Biden a partial victory by passing his infrastructure bill, but the fate of the rest of their agenda remains as uncertain as ever.
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Anna Moneymaker / Getty If Democrats Can Lose in Virginia, They Can Lose Almost Anywhere
Led by a candidate who neither repudiated nor embraced Trump, the GOP sweeps to victory.
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Susan Walsh / AP The Revolution Will Be Improvised
President Joe Biden’s hastily announced framework for his “Build Back Better” plan doesn’t mean the deal is done.
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Stefani Reynolds / Bloomberg / Getty What Does Joe Manchin Do Now?
The fate of the Democrats’ push for voting-rights legislation lies once again in the hands of one senator from West Virginia.
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Getty; The Atlantic The Decision That Could Doom Democrats for a Decade
They predicted that nonpartisan redistricting commissions would make elections more fair, but Republicans might reap the benefits.
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Drew Angerer / Getty Kamala Harris Might Have to Stop the Steal
Constitutional scholars are already worrying about another January 6 crisis, and they warn that the next election might be harder to save.
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Stefani Reynolds / Bloomberg / Getty Transforming America With a One-Vote Majority
Joe Biden’s economic plan is stalled in Congress because the warring wings of his party aren’t yet desperate enough to compromise. They could be soon.
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Salwan Georges / The Washington Post / Getty The Progressives Have Already Won
They have President Joe Biden on their side. But will their ideological victory be empty?
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