The 18 Independent Agencies Trump Wants to Eliminate
The president’s budget suggests entirely eliminating these bodies, from the Appalachian Regional Commission to the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Scandals of Donald Trump: Presidential Edition
In an attempt to cast doubt on one controversy, Russian interference in the election, the president fired the FBI director—creating a second, and drawing new attention to the first.
Has Trump Kept His Campaign Promises?
As the president marks 100 days in office, a comprehensive review of his progress toward fulfilling the pledges he made on the trail
Space: Trump's Least Controversial Frontier
Unlike in other policy areas, the president can pay significant attention to the U.S. space program with little risk of backlash.
Trump's Presidential Status Anxiety
As the president nears his hundredth day in office, he seems increasingly concerned about how he’ll measure up.
Trump Falls From One Presidential Trap Into Another
New presidents often err by either trying to impose their will on Congress or being too hands-off. Trump is on course to commit both errors on his top two legislative priorities.
Trump's Demand for Border Barrier Funding Hits a Wall
While the president can spin on whatever immigration-control measures he gets in the spending bill, between health care and the wall funding, lawmakers know the real score: Congress: 2, Trump: 0.
Trump's Attack on Syria Has Already Been Forgotten
Official Washington has already moved on from the president’s bombing of the Syrian military, despite his paltry legal justification for doing so.
How Easily Could Trump Withdraw the U.S. From NAFTA?
The legal procedure for an “Amerexit” isn’t as straightforward as Brexit.
Trump Backs Away From Terminating NAFTA
The nationalists in Donald Trump's White House appear to have come very close to persuading the president to sign an executive order withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The Trump Administration Won't Sabotage Obamacare—Yet
In its second about-face this week, the White House said it would continue making subsidy payments to insurers as part of the Affordable Care Act. Democrats were demanding the money as part of negotiations to avert a government shutdown.
The Latest Obamacare-Repeal Plan Exacerbates the Political Problems of the First
Instead of fixing its core issues, a potential new amendment to the bill only highlights the problems with the effort to replace Obamacare.
Moderates Can Now Sink or Save the Republican Health-Care Bill
With conservatives endorsing an amendment to the party’s Obamacare replacement plan, the legislation’s fate rests with the GOP’s most politically vulnerable members.
The Quantified Presidency
In counting Trump’s “historic accomplishments” the administration shows it values size over substance.
How Trump Alienated the Judiciary
A ruling against his executive order on sanctuary cities is the latest rebuke dealt to the president by a federal judge.
Why Is Trump Risking a Trade War With Canada?
The president has softened some of his tough talk toward China and Mexico, transferring it to Canada and disputes over softwood lumber and dairy products.
How Democrats Learned to Love Trump's Negotiating Style
The Dems are trying to take advantage of the president’s tendency to make maximalist claims then retreat from them.
What Trump Still Doesn't Understand About the Holocaust
The president’s address downplayed the Shoah’s universal lessons, turning the occasion into an exercise in ethnic politics.
A Tax Plan That Befits the 'King of Debt'
The cuts-only plan President Trump is expected to unveil Wednesday follows a pattern: The risk associated with higher deficits takes a back seat when it comes with political pain.
A Federal Judge Blocked Trump's 'Sanctuary Cities' Executive Order
The Justice Department said it would withhold jurisdictions’ federal funding if they don’t start playing ball with immigration authorities. In his ruling, Judge William Orrick said those threats were empty.
Trump's Border-Wall Blink
The president signaled that he doesn’t want a government shutdown after all, and for the second time in a high-stakes congressional negotiation, he saw his bluff get called.
How Democrats Came to Feel Nostalgic for George W. Bush
Just as Republicans pined for their old foe Bill Clinton during the Obama years, Trump has made Nancy Pelosi and some members of her party nostalgic for the 43rd president.
Does Trump Want a Government Shutdown?
The president is making a late push to win funding for his border wall in a must-pass spending bill. But it’s not clear how badly he—or Republicans—want to fight.
Trump: 'I Never Realized How Big It Was'
An interview with the Associated Press shows President Trump slowly coming to terms with the size of the government he now runs, and the challenges he must tackle.
How Trump Is Upending the Conventional Wisdom on Illegal Immigration
The president has been frustrated on many fronts in his first hundred days, but on his watch, unauthorized border crossings have fallen sharply.
Don't Grade a President on His First 100 Days
Good legislation often begins with a string of failures—and it’s hard to evaluate success after just three months.
The Gay, Conservative Christian Who Might Be Trump's NATO Ambassador
Richard Grenell’s struggles with his faith and identity inform his public work.
How the Coming Church-State Showdown Could Be Avoided
The Supreme Court has ample reason to avoid deciding a case that could erode the Establishment Clause.
Why Is Jeff Sessions Attacking the Police?
The attorney general frequently claims that criticism of law enforcement can hurt morale. Now he’s doing the same.
How Trump Fell Into His Own 100-Day Trap
If the president didn’t want to be judged on the first three months of his presidency, why did he promise to get so much done in that period?
Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Is Overwhelming a Strained System
The number of pending cases looks poised to grow as the administration begins arresting undocumented immigrants who weren’t previously targeted.
Trump Realizes Being President Is Hard
The 45th president’s journey of discovery could be a public service, if it helps bring his supporters to greater understanding of the complexities of governing.
How Donald Trump's Success Produced Bill O'Reilly's Downfall
The king of cable has been ousted from his throne. He can thank the president.
The Georgia Republican Who Succeeded by Keeping Her Distance From Trump
Karen Handel showed little enthusiasm for the president compared to the GOP rivals she defeated in advancing to a runoff in a special election for the House.
How Trump's First 100 Days Could End in a Government Shutdown
The historical marker on April 29 will coincide with the expiration of federal funding unless Congress can strike a bipartisan deal in time.
Why the White House's Secrecy Over Visitor Logs Isn't a Crisis
Had the Trump administration decided to voluntarily release them, officials still would have had free rein to conceal meetings they didn’t want the public to know about.
How Did the Trump Administration Lose an Aircraft Carrier?
The White House said the USS Carl Vinson was headed for North Korea as it sailed the opposite direction—the latest example of a communications failure inside the executive branch.
What's So Bad About Trump Calling Erdogan?
There’s a long tradition of the U.S. subordinating human-rights concerns to other interests. But there was something remarkable about the president’s move.
Grover Norquist, the Happiest Man in Washington
The veteran conservative activist ought to be disturbed by the Trump administration. Why is he so optimistic—and what’s vaping got to do with it?
President Trump's 'Substitute Teacher' Problem
The White House’s slow pace of hiring may hamper its dream of reorganizing—and shrinking—the federal government, says Max Stier of the Partnership for Public Service.
Why Trumpism Will Outlast Steve Bannon
The balance of power inside a White House doesn’t necessarily reflect the balance of power inside a party.
Donald Trump's Tilt Toward Convention
There aren’t many institutions in Washington and beyond championing the president’s nationalistic policies. But there are plenty trying to pull his agenda in a more traditional Republican direction.
How American Muslims Are Trying to Take Back Their Government
With Trump in office, some people are experimenting with a new form of civic engagement: running for local office.
Trump Isn't the Apotheosis of Conservatism
Writers like Rick Perlstein who find in 2016 evidence to validate their darkest views of Republicans miss the ways in which Trump’s rise is a story of discontinuity.
Are Anti-Trump Protests Losing Steam?
Tax March organizers estimate that tens of thousands rallied in Washington D.C., a far smaller crowd size than demonstrations following inauguration.
Are the Nationalists Losing the War for Trump's White House?
The president’s policy reversals and the ascendancy of Jared Kushner raise questions about the future of the right-wing populists and the base they represent.
North Korea and the Risks of Miscalculation
As tensions rise in East Asia, they highlight the dangers of Trump’s unpredictability.
Trump Isn't George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, or Obama—He's Trump
The temptation to look for parallels in former (or hypothetical) presidents only obscures just how unsettled and unpredictable the current commander in chief actually is.
Why Wasn't Trumpcare More Popular?
Conservative health-care analysts on why the GOP couldn’t come up with a stronger replacement for Obamacare
How the Syria Strike Flipped the U.S.-Russia Power Dynamic
If Moscow had grown accustomed to being the unpredictable partner in the relationship, it will have to make adjustments.
Sean Spicer Throws In the Towel
Asked to defend President Trump’s policy shifts on economic issues, the White House press secretary opts out.
The Education of Donald J. Trump
A president with so little knowledge about policy and so few ideological commitments can be pragmatic but also volatile and easily influenced.
All the President's Flip-Flops
The simplest explanation for Donald Trump’s new positions on everything from Syria to interest rates? Ignorance.
How GOP Voters Are Getting in the Way of a Medicaid Rollback
Lawmakers are finding that their desire to shrink the program doesn’t jibe with the interests of their base.
Is Trumpcare Dead or Alive?
Repealing Obamacare and reviving the GOP’s once-doomed bill are top priorities once again, despite a vow to move on to tax reform.
Will Backlash Against Trump Deliver Victory for Democrats in Georgia?
Liberals are hoping for an upset in the conservative sixth congressional district, but the results won’t necessarily predict the future of the party one way or the other.
Trump's Shifting Surveillance Claims
His newest argument, that he was talking about Susan Rice and “unmasking,” doesn’t make any more sense than his previous versions.
How Trump Is Changing What 'Conservative' Means
The 45th president may already be redefining the right’s dominant philosophy.
The Trump Official the FBI Was Investigating
Carter Page would be the first known candidate advisor to be directly monitored during a presidential campaign as a possible agent of a foreign power.
Jeff Sessions and the Odds of Imprisoning Innocents
The attorney general is standing athwart a long overdue movement to reform forensics yelling stop.