Tonight! A special broadcast of Rachel Maddow's recent live event at the 92nd Street Y: A conversation with Steven J. Ross, author of "The Secret War Against Hate" 9pmET on MS NOW

The feds harangued Kat and my family over bullshit charges for a year. They tried to beat her down, bankrupt Kat and her codefendants through legal fees, and a defeat her spirit. They fucking lost. They will continue to lose. Fuck ICE forever. To this criminal gang of a government: stay losing.

Here's how the corruption works: Thursday: RJ Reynolds donates $5M to Trump Saturday: Trump invites RJR execs to Mar a Lago; execs ask to loosen regs on flavored vapes; Trump calls up RFK Jr. and tells him to change it Friday: FDA changes the policy

SCOOP: Markwayne Mullin met with airline and travel executives at DHS last week and told them he's serious about plan to pressure sanctuary cities by cutting CBP screening at intl airports after World Cup. Execs have warned economic impact would be "devastating" www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

There’s no reason to believe that Americans have any appetite for yet another foreign military intervention. Trump, deep into his “I’m doing whatever I want” stage, appears ready to run his Venezuela playbook in Cuba anyway. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

The story about Big Tobacco getting what it wants from the FDA after donating $5 million to Trump’s super PAC is important. But so is the intensifying pay-to-play pattern, showing just how frequently this same thing happens. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Left unsaid: “Unless you’re a fraudster politically aligned with the White House, or a fraudster who’s donated to Trump’s super PAC, in which case you can expect a full pardon.”

Why did Trump give up on electability concerns and shift from Cornyn to Paxton? Maybe because after orchestrating defeats for Cassidy and Indiana state senators, he’s leaning into his “I’ll do whatever I want, whenever I want, for any reason I want” attitude, without regard for the consequences.

JD Vance’s argument that Tina Peters deserves a taxpayer-financed check confirms what seemed obvious: The new slush fund is a vehicle to send money to Trump’s favorite criminals. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

… www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Good breakdown of the background and bottom line: "If you paid 2023 federal income taxes in the state of Connecticut, $3 out of every $100 you paid is now set aside for reimbursing people who a committee of people allied with the president decide were treated unfairly by government actions."

Here's why we're watching the election in Georgia tonight. (NOTE: This is video from last night, so when Rachel says "tomorrow" she is talking about today.)

Team Trump keeps finding new ways to reward Russia: - yet another break on oil sanctions - shrugged off evidence that Russia has helped Iran - ignored Russian attacks on US interests in Ukraine - allowed Russia to bypass Cuban oil blockade And that’s just from the last couple of months.

Colorado’s Jared Polis had plenty of time to come up with a coherent defense for his Tina Peters decision. The fact that he pitched transparent nonsense suggests that he really did succumb to Trump’s extortion efforts, but he’s reluctant to say so. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

New live event! Rachel interviews @sifill.bsky.social Sherrilyn Ifill in Philadelphia Thursday, June 25 at 7pmET Part of MS NOW Live's We the People: America 250, Country at a Crossroads event. Tickets and more at MS.NOW/America250

Rachel has a new book! "Department of Fate: The Promise, the Power, and the Collapse of America’s Most Consequential Institution" comes out November 10 but you can pre-order now. See MS.NOW/DepartmentOfFate for links and options.

Trump Requests $1.2 Trillion To Have https://bit.ly/3RjdlH1

My latest on Press Watch: It’s Black disenfranchisement, not ‘partisan warfare’: presswatchers.org/2026/05/its-...

In case anyone needs a refresher, the Mueller and Senate Intel probes documented that Trump and his team: - welcomed - received - benefitted from - and lied about Russian campaign campaign assistance, then obstructed the investigation. None of this has been discredited. tinyurl.com/5n8kjymy

Trump, two weeks ago: “I have some of the best poll numbers I've ever had.” Reality, today:

What we now know: Trump is withdrawing his absurd $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. What we don’t yet know: What he’s getting in exchange. That said, there’s every reason to believe we’ll soon learn the details of the deal and the $1.7 billion slush fund. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

One week of headlines for Kash Patel: - personally branded liquor bottles - Senate hearing tantrum - FBI launches “payback squad” - director “padding” crime stats - “VIP snorkel” at Pearl Harbor memorial Is it even worth adding the “in a normal administration...” line? www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

When Trump told Hannity that he’s successfully lowered consumer prices “incredibly,” he wasn’t just lying. He was also making clear that he has nothing left to offer but ignorance and incoherence on the issue he was elected to address, but which he’s made vastly worse. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Usually, House members embarrass Speaker Mike Johnson by ignoring his wishes and voting against legislation he supports. But the recent flurry of successful discharge petitions, which has unfolded on a historic scale, makes him appear even more pitiful. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

EXCLUSIVE: Kash Patel's FBI is "padding" statistics and manipulating the Most Wanted list to boost the bureau's arrest record, insiders say

"Can I be the first one to say that if I ever have to go before a Senate confirmation they're going to call me an alcoholic."

"They argue that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and his handpicked board ... were wrong to give a nearly three-acre parcel in downtown Miami to Trump’s library foundation last year in exchange for $10. The county’s property appraiser had said the land was worth more than $67 million."

Nothing says “Republican politics in 2026” quite like seeing John Cornyn introduce a bill to rename a highway after Trump — two weeks before a primary in which the senator could really use the president’s support. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

"It took a while, but “The Rachel Maddow Show” confirmed that Noem finally has exited Coast Guard housing, clearing the way for the current Coast Guard commandant, Adm. Kevin Lunday, to move in." www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

❗NEW/BREAKING for @ms.now w/ @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social: FDA Commissioner Marty Makary to resign, per reports He’s the latest in a string of high-profile Trump administration officials to depart from his role, after earning the ire of both the MAHA and anti-abortion crowd. More here:

The White House’s Peter Navarro, two weeks ago: “Inflation is going down.” Reality, this morning: Inflation just surged to a three-year high. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Joint Statement from Governor Mikie Sherrill, Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, and Roxbury Mayor Shawn Potillo on Agreement With DHS on Proposed ICE Detention Facility.

"President Trump said he chose that company to repair the landmark because the firm had worked on the swimming pools at his golf club..." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/u...

Schumer's new "Dear Colleague" letter makes repeated use of a notable phrase: "Ballroom Republicans."

Sean Duffy’s reality series is getting slammed for all of the obvious reasons, but don’t look past the fact that his show is being sponsored by companies his department oversees and regulates. In other words, it’s not just a political mess, it’s also an ethical one. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

There’s a difference between lies and self-defeating lies. When Trump points to a “very substantial” drop in gas prices, and says prices at the pump are “way down,” consumers know better for the most obvious of reasons: their own life experiences. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Wow. Chaos on the Tennessee House floor. Tennesseans yelling in the gallery and Democrats locking arms in one final stand, as Republicans vote to advance new congressional maps that will carve up the state’s only majority-Black congressional district.

You’ll find the names and stories of the victims as best as we at L.A. TACO could research them. We hope this list offers a moment to remember these individuals. The full list: lataco.com/ice-death-tr... By Memo Torres, Aisha Wallace-Palomares, Izzy Ramirez, and Odessa Hairapetian

I get the sense that Republicans find this terribly inconvenient, but Jeffries borrowed the “maximum warfare” phrase from a Trump White House official. It appeared in an August 2025 NYT article (tinyurl.com/mrx24tdm) about Trump’s gerrymandering crusade.

I have no idea whether the case against Virginia's L. Louise Lucas has merit. But I do know that the DOJ's and FBI's hyper-partisan leaders haven't exactly earned the benefit of the doubt. Not to put too fine a point on this, but this is why we don't politicize federal law enforcement

NEW: ProPublica identified at least 79 children who’ve been left screaming, unable to breathe, or otherwise hurt by tear gas and pepper spray during Trump’s historic immigration crackdown.

Unearthed reports reveal that RFK Jr. fired every full-time CDC cruise ship sanitation inspector ahead of the Hantavirus cruise ship outbreak. www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-cru...

Well that’s a little on the nose. Message I just received from the New York City Bar Association:

Trump’s offensive against the pope, which did the White House no favors, had run its course. This week, he not only renewed the scolding, he also offered the world a timely reminder about his delicate sensibilities, brazen dishonesty, and total lack of impulse control. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

The political cases that the Justice Department has pursued matter, so do the cases that federal prosecutors have dropped for political reasons. Take, for example, scandal-plagued Republican Rep. Andy Ogles. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Thousands of Mississippi voters receive wrong polling-place information from the state's elections database each year, causing some to miss their chance to vote. Experts point to potential solutions, including systems other states have adopted that could help. buff.ly/jNtiFbN

Maddow: "We're also now seeing, everyday, the practical impact of what it means that they kicked off this second presidential term for Doanld Trump by wholesale breaking the government in every way they could figure out to do it."

Here is the polling that was part of the politics section of Rachel's "Trump is bad at everything" thesis last night.

Maddow: "I think this administration is bad at everything they set their mind to."