If Republicans maintain their majority in Congress, Speaker Mike Johnson intends to spend the next two years running an anti-oversight “protection program” for the White House and its allies. I’m honestly a little surprised he admitted this out loud and in public. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Democrats knew that supporting the housing bill would hand Republicans a win on a key issue roughly 18 weeks before Election Day. They unanimously supported it anyway. It’s a case study in how a governing party operates. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Around this time a decade ago, Trump stressed the “common values” he shared with Haitian Americans and vowed to be the community’s “biggest champion.” Ten years later, the rhetoric rings like a cruel joke. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

As Gregg Phillips, an enthusiastic election denier best known for his weird teleportation claims, steps down from his FEMA leadership role, an obvious question still needs an answer: Why was he given this job in the first place? www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

When a president’s aides are routinely blindsided by their own boss, the White House can’t work. Trump’s reversal on the housing bill was important for a lot of reasons, including exposing a dysfunctional West Wing. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Rough day for an ethically challenged Cabinet, Part I: RFK Jr. caught on tape trying to work out an “agreement” with a congressional candidate, as part of an effort to get him to drop out of a key race. In a normal administration, there’d be real talk right about now about his resignation.

Counterpoint: Emmer is peddling ahistorical nonsense, belied by the simple fact that the founders created a secular constitution that established a secular government. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

It’s one thing for White House critics to argue that federal law enforcement is under the thumb of the president, who’s effectively calling the shots at the Justice Department he controls. It’s something else when Trump admits his critics are right. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Hegseth: We’re eliminating flu vaccine requirements in the military. Army, Navy, and Air Force: Actually, no, we’re not. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

"The fiasco is shattering Trump’s myth that his approach to problem-solving — cutting corners, controversial no-bid contracts, rushed timelines, etc. — is somehow superior to his predecessors’..." www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

“That’s a recipe not just for a politicized military, but an authoritarian military,” he said. “That’s the way militaries work in Russia and China and North Korea.” www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Two years ago, Trump said his top priority for his second term was improving international respect for the United States. A stunning new global survey makes one thing clear: He’s failing spectacularly. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

The bipartisan housing bill was poised to be the only good bill to emerge from this Congress. All Trump had to was sign it and let his own party take the pre-midterms win. He instead threw an unexpected tantrum, canceled the signing ceremony, and pulled the rug out from under his own allies.

As Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, joins the ranks of leaders involuntarily exiting the military, Pete Hegseth’s purge deserves to be seen as a genuine scandal. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

As Tulsi Gabbard faces a fresh round of exceedingly difficult questions about the influence of her “guru,” it’s also worth asking the 52 Senate Republicans (including alleged "moderates" like Susan Collins) who ignored every red flag and voted to confirm her to serve as DNI: Any regrets?

For Trump, the Reflecting Pool was supposed to be a totemic success story, demonstrating that his unique approach to problem-solving is fundamentally superior to his predecessors’. This one project would serve as a metaphor for how awesome his awesomeness is. Oops. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

"The story the White House expects Americans to believe is that Trump and his team are impervious to pressure. The president does what he wants when he wants. The narrative, however, isn’t true. The Republican administration regularly reverses course under pressure..." www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Everyone is also fully aware that: - Iran already agreed to have weapons inspectors as part of the Obama-era JCPOA — a breakthrough that didn't require a war - Trump abandoned that policy for no good reason - lifting sanctions before working out new details on inspections is evidence of amateur hour

Over the course of the same afternoon, Team Trump reversed course on ocean monitoring and ICE warehouses. Larger point: To see the president and his team as immovable objects is a mistake. These guys succumb to pressure all the time. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was supposed to be the one leader in Western Europe whom Trump could get along with. He instead set his relationship with her on fire — for no reason and to the benefit of no one. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Ahem.

The problem isn’t just that the Trump administration created a giant banner promoting a fake Teddy Roosevelt quote. It’s that Republican officials can’t seem to stop promoting fake quotes from historical figures. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

2 months after Hegseth ended military flu-vaccine requirements, a base is dealing with a major outbreak. The base received an exception from Hegseth’s policy & is now requiring recruits to get vaccinated. By that reasoning, shouldn’t every other base take similar steps to prevent its own outbreak?

Trump wants John Thune to act like Mike Johnson: deferential, pitiful, and relentlessly obedient — a lapdog with a gavel. Thune is instead acting like a Senate majority leader, and it’s created what’s accurately been described as “a major rupture” between the White House and the GOP leadership.

That is, unless Vance disagrees with some “tonal arguments,” at which point he’ll accuse his opponents of fomenting political violence, and demand that they be silenced.

When Trump said Putin was “very neutral” in the war in Iran, it generated a straightforward question: Is the Republican hopelessly ignorant about recent events that he really ought to understand, or does he not know what “neutral” means? www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Over the course of a few hours, Trump made the case that Iran is entitled to a ballistic missiles program, frozen funds, and a civilian nuclear program. It’s as if June Trump and March Trump had a knock-down brawl, and the latter was beaten to a pulp. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

In the announcement issued immediately after Trump launched the war in Iran, he declared, “We’re going to destroy their missiles and raise their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally, again, obliterated.” It was the first of five objectives. 109 days later:

For all of JD Vance’s alleged skepticism about the war, he’s the one - Trump tasked with overseeing negotiations - being forced to defend an embarrassing “deal” - facing political fire from many Republicans - being thrown under the bus, as Trump "joked" about today www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

When GOP primary voters ignore his instructions, Trump has three go-to tactics: - blame others - pretend he didn’t endorse the candidate he endorsed - pretend his failure deserves to be seen as a success In Georgia’s gubernatorial race, he went with the third option. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Senate Republicans were all set to advance Trump’s choice for DNI — right up until Trump decided to scrap their plans. He boasted about his willingness to add a “bit of intrigue” to the process, but “incoherence” would’ve been a better choice of words. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Why is Trump blocking the opening of a lpng-awaited bridge linking Michigan and Ontario, which he previously supported? Maybe, just maybe, it has something to do with a $1 million super PAC donation from a guy who owns a rival bridge. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Why did Trump call for Sen. Jack Reed’s impeachment (which isn’t possible in our system government)? Because the senator let Fox viewers in on a secret: Obama’s JCPOA was a success, and Trump’s “deal” with Iran pales by comparison. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Markwayne Mullin said he might deploy ICE agents to local voting precincts — to respond to things such as bomb threats. But what are they going to do? Detain the bomb for weeks in squalid conditions before deporting it to a country it’s never been to before? www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Among the things that surprise me about this: Trump seems to think a $5 million no-bid contract to apply gold to some horse statues is worth bragging about — as if the public might be impressed.

What do the war in Iran, inflation, FISA, and economic growth have in common? On issue after issue, all Trump had to do was nothing — which managed to be too tough for him. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Gotta say this @stevebenen.com guy has a freakishly good memory www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Formally changing the legal name of the Department of Defense to the “Department of War” is a plainly unserious idea. But it’s one congressional Republicans are suddenly taking very seriously. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Exactly eight years ago this week, Donald Trump Jr suggested it’d be a good thing if the Republican Party became “a cult” to this father. Watching Troy Nehls and Lindsey Graham in recent days, the quote seemed relevant anew. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

For six years, Trump has pushed Republicans to “expunge” his first-term impeachments and wipe the slate clean in order to address his hurt feelings. This year, it might actually happen — because Speaker Mike Johnson considers this twisted goal a “priority.” www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

As Trump adds a bizarre twist to his California election conspiracy theory, remember: When a Republican loses, he points to the outcome as proof that his conspiracy theory is true. When a GOP candidate wins, he simply incorporates the victory into the conspiracy theory. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

A few things to know about Jay Clayton’s DNI nomination: - he’s spent the last 7 months investigating Trump’s political foes at Trump’s insistence - he doesn’t meet statutory requirements for the job - he recently defended the slush fund and California conspiracy theories www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

With 21 weeks to go before the midterms, “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation” and “I love the inflation” represent quite a one-two punch. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Aside from the obvious, Republican conspiracy theories about the California elections seem to suffer from one fatal flaw: If nefarious Democratic schemers existed and were secretly orchestrating the results from the shadows, they wouldn’t have picked these outcomes. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

For just under $12,000, you too can buy a Trump-branded gold “medallion,” “designed” by the president, celebrating the UFC’s White House event. This is not to be confused with Trump-branded shoes, guitars, Bibles, watches, digital trading cards, or phones. #grift www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Trump has clashed with so many AGs (Bondi, Barr, Sessions, Yates). Why is Blanche different? They agree on what an AG should be: part puppet, part weapon, and part cheerleader. Blanche doesn’t want to be our attorney general; he wants to be Trump’s attorney general. Those are 2 very different jobs.

On issue after issue: - national security - 2020 election - undocumented immigrants casting votes - California primaries Mike Johnson has said “instincts” and “intuition” are a legitimate substitute for knowledge. They are not. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Here’s a trend I’d love to hear the White House explain: Average monthly job growth in the runup to Trump’s tariffs: 72,000 Average monthly job growth during Trump’s tariffs: -4,900 Average monthly job growth in the aftermath of Trump’s tariffs: 188,000 www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

As outlandish as this might seem, Trump has now extended clemency to almost all of the Republican congressmen convicted of felonies in the 21st century. The latest pardon was issued late Friday night, when the White House hoped it’d go unnoticed. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

It’s not easy for a leading American official to screw up a D-Day commemoration ceremony in Normandy. With his ugly anti-immigrant remarks, Pete Hegseth managed to find a way to do it anyway. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...