Political Life

The restructuring of executive authority. The administrative state under sustained legal pressure. Judicial doctrine rewriting the scope of regulatory power. The real architecture of congressional dysfunction — the lobbying networks, the revolving door, the informal alliances that produce policy before it is announced.

When the formal institutions of governance no longer explain outcomes, this section explains what does.

  • When the Government Wants to Know Who Talked to the Press

    Two New York Times journalists have been subpoenaed in connection with their reporting on the new Air Force One. The subpoenas, which were first reported this week, seek information about the sources who provided the reporters with details about the aircraft’s development, specifications, and cost overruns. The Justice Department issued the subpoenas through a grand…

  • The Federal Government Just Withheld Medicaid Funding. Here’s What That Actually Means.

    The federal government has withheld Medicaid funding from two states. The mechanism being used is not new — federal health law has long given the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services the authority to withhold funds from states that are found to be out of compliance with program requirements. What is new is the political…

  • The Pentagon and DOJ Just Formed a Joint Task Force. Its Target Is Journalists.

    The Pentagon announced this week the formation of a new joint task force with the Department of Justice specifically designed to identify and prosecute the sources of press leaks. The task force will have access to both military and civilian investigative resources. Its mandate is to pursue people inside the government who provide information to…

  • The National Guard Has Been in Washington DC for Months. Nobody’s Talking About It.

    The National Guard has been deployed in Washington DC since early this year. The deployment has been extended multiple times. It is still in effect today. That sentence should be more remarkable than it has become. The National Guard is a military force. Washington DC is the capital of a constitutional republic. The sustained presence…

  • The Voting Rules Trump Wants Before November

    President Trump has escalated calls for Republicans in Congress to pass tighter federal voting rules before November’s midterm elections. The timing is deliberate. The Senate map has turned unfavorable. The Iran war is unpopular. Gas prices are elevated. The midterms are four months away, and the president is focused on the rules under which they…

  • Two Supreme Court Justices Just Asked Congress for Something. That Never Happens.

    Supreme Court justices do not typically appear before Congress. The separation of powers that defines the American constitutional architecture is not merely theoretical — it is practiced, maintained through the deliberate distance that each branch keeps from the others. Which is why Tuesday’s House Appropriations Committee hearing was unusual enough to notice: Justices Elena Kagan…

  • Cashing In

    A disclosure, crypto profits, a gifted diamond ring, pardons for polluters. Follow the money, not the party.

  • Two Hundred Fifty Years On, the Question Is Still Power

    A monarchy was the thing 1776 rejected. At 250, the fastest-growing power in the Constitution is the one least checked.

  • The Order Said Six Thousand. The Budget Said Zero.

    A year after an executive order promised housing for 6,000 homeless veterans, the latest budget funds zero new beds. A promise funded at zero is a decision, not a delay.

  • Three Hundred Gold Bars in a Virginia House

    A former CIA officer is accused of stashing more than 40 million dollars in gold at home. The theft is staggering; the screening that missed him for two decades is worse.