This is really a doozy of a story. Not only a government official not understanding the rules of attribution when speaking to a journalist--who the source identifies as a journalist--but the weird fixation on the "off-the-beaten-path" publication Lawfare. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...

Mike Johnson's refusal to seat Rep. Grijalvac for purely partisan reasons shows a total lack of understanding of recent history to how these hardball tactics backfire. In the 1984 midterm election, in Indiana's 8th District (thereafter referred to the "Bloody 8th"), GOP candidate Rick McIntyre...

In the abstract, it would be an opportunity for an executive branch to join a social media platform filled with the opposition to engage and learn, and possibly change minds. Instead, this White House is the drunk uncle who ruins every Thanksgiving dinner. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/u...

You have to believe that the underlings doing Trump's bidding in the political prosecutions, the use of force against Americans, etc. believe that Trump will be in power forever and no one will ever hold them responsible for following orders. Bc these people are completely ignorant of history.

It is a shame. There was a time where Congress took its oversight responsibilities seriously. Maybe it was the decision to allow cameras into the committee rooms? But the sheer contempt displayed today by Bondi, without any redress by the Committee Chair, is galling.

Its funny how Mike Johnson and the GOP leadership have learned all the wrong lessons from Indiana's "Bloody 8th". You can trace a through line from the 8th to the GOP Revolution in 1994. Not seating Grijalva is idiotic.

Traditionally, this has been the overarching point of each president since Reagan--leave the White House in better shape than what was inherited. The point is institutional power--not personal. Trump seems to believe his successors will honor him by not changing anything. Good luck with that.

From the #StrategicFraming files, @politico.com does not disappoint. Rather than focus on the decision by a sitting US President to militarize DC, Rachel Bade instead gives us the horse race, where Trump wins.

Ajit Pai said this without any irony regarding the antitrust division in the Trump Justice Department. First, does antitrust currently have any employees? If so, I bet they are not targeting Republican media barons.

No reason at all to believe that our President is a Manchurian Candidate www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08...

The Trump administration's decision to shutter key offices aimed at countering disinformation campaigns by foreign adversaries is making America Great how? www.politico.com/news/2025/08...

The literature on the rhetorical presidency underscores the importance of the White House Rose Garden, where the president's comms team would often stage presidential press conferences or press events because of the rhetorical value of the garden.

Right after the Enron meltdown in Bush 43's first term, Congress passed Sarbanes-Oxley meant to bring greater transparency to the financial sector, including an attempt to break up the relationship between regulators and industry.

Bush 43 exerted executive privilege to protect the communications in the Clinton administration involving the pardon of Marc Rich and Clinton's brother right before Clinton left office. Bush 43, looking forward, wanted to make sure a future Democratic president would do the same.

A lot has been made about congressional Republicans ceding Article I powers to the president, but the way that the Republican appointees at SCOTUS are letting Trump control the narrative of their decisions via the emergency docket is just as bad: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/u...

All of the literature on presidential administration tells us that cabinet departments have complained the opposite is the case. Once nominated, they are sent into exile to their departments, distrusted by the president and the West Wing staff.

Current reality tells us these Republicans in the Senate are not those Republicans in the Senate: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/29/o...

The fault lies with Congress. I think the Court is more reluctant to take on the Executive in a bare knuckled brawl only because it understands it lacks the authority to win--especially when you have the other coordinate branch of government cheerleading the president's bald-faced power grabs.

I take no comfort in Vance's rationale for success in the Middle East this time is because in the past we had "dumb presidents" and now we don't. I am not sure at what education level the logic of this response works? Does a fifth grader accept it? Doubt it.

The quote: "Nero Fiddled while Rome Burned" was meant to describe something like this: www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-ac...

This is a giant "No shit" article response. After losing the possibility for enrichment to outside confederates in his first term, Trump has brought the "pardon power money making franchise" inside the White House in this term.

I am old enough to remember the state of Texas and many Republicans losing their minds over a military training exercise titled Jade Helm. Astonishing to see the cheerleading going on right now in California.

Everything the doctor's counsel said in reply to Comer is accurate--there are separation of powers issues, executive privilege issues, and doctor-patient confidentiality issues at play here. And yet Comer wants to continue to turn this into some grand conspiracy to prove Biden is not real.

Jean-Pierre came to my university in April and debated Marc Short, former COS to Mike Pence. During her debate, she never sounded anything other than a fierce defender of Biden and the Democrats. It was a well-attended event. www.politico.com/news/2025/06...

Using the ABA to vet judicial appointments has long been tossed aside--here Trump is not doing anything new. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/u...

I have been subscribed to the USDOJ listserv since the early 2000s, and I can honestly say that--Democrat or Republican--the emails that are now coming through that listserv is bonkers.

Is there anything more predictable, or pathetic, than this?

You have to hand it to the shamelessness of the National Association of Broadcasters running an ad decrying a powerful communication system (Big Tech) that stifles access to information. www.nab.org/modernizethe...

It seems entirely likely that Trump saw how much outside operators were making on representative fees when pushing for pardons in his first term, that he decided simply to keep that money in house and let people pay directly to him.

Whatever the opposite of "The Buck Stops Here" is is where you will find Donald Trump.

Trump: "We need to get the federal government out of education and return it to the states. Trump: "Universities should teach what we say and high schools cannot decide on who gets to play sports unless we approve."

It is hard to reconcile an institution claiming it exists to hold power to account while at the same time continuously using the language of power--case in point: "The Big, Beautiful Bill...." At first it was a nuisance in the background, but now it is apart of every media story.

More of the media playing Charlie Brown and Trump as Lucy with the football:

Imagine being a guy whose own internal sense of institutional independence, tilting an election in favor of a demagogue, only to end up 8 years later the target of a political investigation by the *very* institution you wanted to protect?

Look for Congress to give Trump the blessings to receive elaborate gifts from foreign leaders to keep him square with the Emoluments Clause. On a different note, if the Qatari gift is to the American people, how is it he keeps it when he leaves office?

There was a time where the literature on what makes a WH press secretary successful stipulated that key to success was being a straight shooter and never deliberately misleading the reporters. Seems rather quaint.

I am sure there is not a political scientist out there who was not touched, in some way, by the work of Joseph Nye. In fact, just the mention of "Power and Interdependence" is likely a triggering event for anyone who did PhD comps on International Relations Theory. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/u...

The Trump administration should think carefully about releasing the Hur tapes since the next Democratic POTUS may look for embarrassing information on Trump. Releasing those tapes serve no other purpose than making Trump feel good and deflecting from the negative coverage he has received so far.

"I don't vote because my vote won't matter..."

"How did we get to this place in our politics?" Yesterday's result from the election held yesterday from my county:

Just exactly what is the difference any more between Trump TruthSocial/Newsmax and the Federal Register's email of presidential documents? I used to open this religiously for my work, but now I cannot stand to look inside. #InsanityIsReality

While there are some parts of his argument I quibble with, I agree with Goldsmith's point--Congress and the public have for too long allowed (and applauded) the accretion of power to the executive branch at the expense of institutionalism and democracy: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/o...

Just a reminder that SCOTUS said a president is above the Constitution. Everyone is making fun of Trump for claiming otherwise, but he understands precisely what that decision means. Not the #unitaryexecutive

I am just gobsmacked that any sentient person could look at the Trump administration and express the level of support these Republicans show.

For all of Trump and DOGE's big talk about cutting spending, did anyone believe for one minute that they would cut defense spending? The lamest administration ever.

Tim Russert, the veteran reporter and moderator of Meet the Press, did an interview with George W Bush in the Oval Office in Bush's second term. Despite how seasoned Russert was, he said the setting was intimidating and put his at a disadvantage.

Take a gander at this crackerjack team working on behalf of the weightloss giant Novo Nordisk's lobbying team. www.checkmategr.com/ourteam

A constitutional amendment says a president may not seek a third term. A law, by definition, is not a "norm".

This is Ohio Republican state senator George Lang. He has never seen a corporate boondoggle too irresistible to turn away. www.wcpo.com/news/local-n...

@politico.com brings out the worst of high school clique-ness by telling us plebes all the great parties that went on ahead of the WHCD. Sincerely, from the rest of us, go take a piss.