“Never has there been a Congress that has been such a weak and ineffective check on a president’s abuses of power,” said J.P. Cooney, who was the top deputy to Jack Smith and is set to announce a run today. via @anniekarni.bsky.social {gift link} www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...

Bill and Hillary Clinton agree to testify in the House Oversight Committee’s Epstein investigation, capitulating to the demands of its Republican chairman days before the House was expected to vote to hold them in criminal contempt of Congress. @anniekarni.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...

House panel votes to recommend charging Bill and Hillary Clinton with criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to testify in its Epstein investigation. Nine Democrats join Republicans on bipartisan votes against him and three against her. @anniekarni.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/u...

Top five books I read this year (not that anyone asked): Splinters by Leslie Jamison Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs by Kerry Howley Wildlife by Richard Ford The Path to Power by Robert Caro Flesh by David Szalay

Elise Stefanik Tried Everything to Please Trump. He Still Jilted Her. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/u...

Legacy Watch. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/15/u...

And people wonder why GOP women are revolting against Speaker Johnson. He doesn’t see them as equals — and lately, these Republicans sound a lot like feminists. @anniekarni.bsky.social

Sometimes doing the opposite of a Chotiner interview can be equally illuminating of a subject. Just look at Mike Johnson on Katie Miller's podcast. ‘In Triage Every Day.’ A Beleaguered Speaker Says He’s Overwhelmed www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...

Marjorie Taylor Greene says she will resign from Congress in January, just days after Trump branded her a “traitor” for breaking with him and helping to force a vote to compel the Justice Department to release its Epstein files. @anniekarni.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...

As Democrats Look to a New Generation, John Larson Hangs On www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/u...

What if Democrats’ Big Shutdown Loss Turns Out to Be a Win? Despite considerable hand-wringing in the party about caving to Republicans in the government closure, some Democrats see potential upsides in the outcome. (@anniekarni.bsky.social, NYT-unlocked) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/u...

Mad House lives! Catch us on @CBSMornings on Sunday. Thank you @costareports bookshop.org/p/books/mad-...

Ever since Trump arrived in DC, Pelosi, has confounded him. He has tried to intimidate, undermine and embarrass her. Those efforts more often than not backfired. Pelosi seemed not only unintimidated, but also permanently appalled + deeply unimpressed. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...

Johnson has subordinated himself to the president so much that even Trump in private jokes that "I'm the speaker and the president," @anniekarni.bsky.social reports. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/u...

🎁🔗: "“I’m the speaker and the president,” Mr. Trump has joked ..." h/t @anniekarni.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/u...

Keeping the House Absent, Johnson Marginalizes Congress and Himself www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/u...

Very good call except it’s also been true since “locker room talk.”

The last time Rs felt confident they were on the popular side of the health care debate was over a decade ago. In all those years they still haven’t figured out what “replace” would look like. Shutdown Fight Reopens Debate in G.O.P. Over Health Care www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/u...

The Lonely House Republican Still Coming to Work During the Shutdown www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

Inside the Capitol, A Heated Spat Over the Shutdown and Epstein www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/u...

"As the shutdown headed into its second workweek, there was little sense of urgency in Washington about cleaning up a mess that has thousands of federal workers facing furloughs and possible layoffs and could disrupt critical federal programs." @anniekarni.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/u...

Democrats Pull Away From AIPAC, Reflecting a Broader Shift www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

‘Greene, Straying From Trump, Reflects an Emerging MAGA Split’ The right-wing Republican congresswoman from Georgia has grown disillusioned with her own party and with President Trump, and increasingly willing to say so. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/u... By @anniekarni.bsky.social

Camp Mystic is reopening, and planning to build a memorial that families of the 27 girls who died say they were not consulted about and do not want. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/u...

This got me- Ben Terris' NY Mag profile of "Top Goon" Kristi Noem quotes the 28-year-old Noem made Deputy Director of ICE saying: “I absolutely think I’m qualified for the job,” she told me. “Because at the end of the day, what really makes anybody qualified for any job?” nymag.com/intelligence...

Schumer, Wary of Blowback, Holds Out on Mamdani www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/u...

Rich @anniekarni.bsky.social read on Eleanor Holmes Norton's weakness at the DC oversight hearing. "She often stumbled and sounded as if she was not following the meaning of what she said, emphasizing words that did not make sense to emphasize." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/u...

"Working-class lawmakers in Congress remain few and far between. “Nothing has changed,” said Nicholas @carnes.bsky.social, a professor of public policy at Duke University. “It’s been between zero and 2 percent forever.”"

Even in uncertain times, there are routines that create a sense of normalcy: the start of a new school year, holiday decorations going up too early, Republicans from selective bouts of blindness regarding the words and actions of President Trump. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/u...

The "we should have more younger members of Congress" conversation isn't just about things like whether committee chair term limits choke off paths to power. It's also about things like this.

Juggling Congress and Life, She Opted to Freeze Her Eggs www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/u...

In the Battle for Congress, Working-Class Democrats Try a Hardscrabble Pitch www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/u...

Loved this

More here from @anniekarni.bsky.social on the group willing to defy Trump, at least on the Epstein case. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/04/u...

Memo: On Epstein Files, Women Lead the G.O.P. Resistance to Trump www.nytimes.com/2025/09/04/u...

Trump Team Urges G.O.P. to Rebrand Signature Policy Law www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/u...

“We are going to unleash righteous hellfire on them until the cheating scheme ends,” @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social tells @anniekarni.bsky.social.

“We are going to release righteous hellfire on them until the cheating scheme ends,” Jeffries tells me of redistricting. Not clear it will ultimately give Trump what he wants - what is clear is it’s creating maximum chaos. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/31/u...

Interesting candidate alert. In Maine, a Political Novice Makes a Long-Shot Bid to Oust Collins www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/u...

Congressman’s Stock Trades Draw More Scrutiny After Key Votes www.nytimes.com/2025/08/16/u...

A G.O.P. Congressman Faced His Voters. It Wasn’t Pretty. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/u...

And I thought it was a weird big ask when NPR asked us to donate our cars

Why Cortez Masto Tangled With Cory Booker on the Senate Floor www.nytimes.com/2025/08/02/u...

This was great

Democrats clash on the Senate floor on how to take on Trump: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/u...

This Democrat Wants Cognitive Standards in Congress. Her Colleagues Disagree. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/26/u...

NYT Congressional correspondent @anniekarni.bsky.social talks about how the Epstein story is still consuming Capitol Hill. Listen: www.wnyc.org/story/the-ho...

Weds. guest list: David French, John Bresnahan, Lauren Hirsch, Rev. Al Sharpton, Annie Karni, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Gov. Kathy Hochul, Tim Weiner, Vicky Ward, Tim Miller, Ed Luce, Andrew Ross Sorkin, David Rosenthal, Ben Gilbert, Eugenio Derbez

Tillis, now liberated from worrying about his political fate, still tempered his direct criticisms of Trump. He pinned the blame for the Medicaid cuts and other unpopular policies not on the president but on unnamed people around him. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/u...