The Hidden Politics of Whiskey Prices
Donald Trump is determined to make everything from Canadian whiskey to Mexican avocados more expensive. Can anyone stop him?
Congress
The Atlantic Should Not Find Out About a War Before Congress Does
The White House accidentally leaked military plans in Yemen to a journalist—and demonstrated how unconstitutional U.S. war making has become.
Did Trump Just Abolish the Department of Education?
While he can't get rid of the department outright, a new executive order attempts the next best thing.
In Trump's Revenge Fantasy, Biden Did Not Actually Pardon Members of the January 6 Committee
The president says those legislators are "subject to investigation at the highest level," notwithstanding their pardons and the Speech or Debate Clause.
Why We Don't Need the Department of Education
Plus: A listener asks the editors whether a Kamala Harris presidency would have been preferable.
Congress Just Made It Harder for Congress To Block Trump's Tariffs
The cowardice of Congress will continue fueling the growth of executive power.
The House's Budget Bill Cuts Earmarks, but Spending Will Be Going Up Anyway
Every cut helps, but that's not where the money is.
The FCC and Its Private Taxman Go to Court
FCC v. Consumers’ Research could dismantle a massive slush fund run by unelected regulators and industry insiders.
Medicare Deserves Attention From DOGE and Congress
Reform could replace an unsustainable boondoggle with lower costs, more freedom, and better care.
Yes, Cutting Government Waste Is Important
Entitlements are a much bigger expense, but that doesn't mean the waste doesn't matter.
DOGE and Congress Should Take a Chainsaw to Corporate Welfare
Handouts to corporations distort the market, breed corruption, and politicize the economy.
The Best Part of Trump's Speech Was the List of Spending Cuts
If only they were as big as the list of new spending.
In Speech to Congress, Trump Promises More Tariff Madness
The tariffs Trump has already imposed on Canada, Mexico, and China will cost an estimated $142 billion this year—and he says more are on the way.
DOGE and Congress Should Look Hard at Reforming Social Security
Means-test Social Security, raise the retirement age, and let us invest our own money.
How Would Milton Friedman Do DOGE?
If the Department of Government Efficiency goes about this the wrong way, we could be left with both a presidency on steroids and no meaningful reduction in government.
Trump Promised To Lower Prices. Will Congress Help Him Deliver?
At the current rate of inflation, the dollar will lose 33 cents of purchasing power within a decade.
"Want a Hot Shower? Call Your Congressman," But Not Just to Support a CRA Resolution.
A useful example of how meaningful regulatory reform requires legislative action--and not just the passage of Congressional Review Act resolutions.
The House GOP Budget Blueprint Promises More Borrowing, More Debt, and Not Enough Spending Cuts
"If the Republican budget passes, the deficit gets worse, not better," says Rep. Thomas Massie. He's right.
The Sunny Side of Donald Trump's Power Grabs
The president is positioning himself to have much greater control over a smaller, enfeebled federal bureaucracy.
The New Republican Budget Plan Is Unserious
It tries to offset as much as $4.8 trillion—mostly for tax cut extensions—with only $1.5 trillion in supposed spending reductions.
Trump Has Good Reason To Complain About Limits on His Ability To Fire Executive Officers
His position is grounded in concerns about the separation of powers that presidents of both major parties have raised for many years.
Justin Amash on Why the President Isn't Above the Law
Plus: A listener asks the editors to guess if the real reason Donald Trump is so passionate about tariffs is because he sees them as a deal-making tool rather than a purely economic instrument.
DOGE Can't Slash Government Without Congress
The federal leviathan can’t be dismantled by executive action alone. To truly cut spending and rein in the bureaucracy, the administration needs buy-in from the branch that built it.
DOGE Is Good. It's Not Enough.
Even if the Department of Government Efficiency eliminates all improper payments and fraud, we'll still be facing a debt explosion—which requires structural reform.
Will Trump and the New GOP Congress Get to the Bottom of COVID-19's Origin?
It's a good sign that the president is calling on critics of the federal government's lack of transparency to staff his administration.
Is the HALT Fentanyl Act Delusional or Just Performance Art?
The bill would permanently schedule fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs—and impede therapeutic research.
Has DOGE Already Lost Its Way?
Much cutting. Very waste. But the Department of Government Efficiency might not have the legal and budgetary chops to actually reduce spending.
Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Sets Up Another GOP Budget Showdown
Almost exactly one year after Congress swore off self-inflicted fiscal crises, we're back to the same tired theatrics.
Wireless Capacity Is Running Thin, but Spectrum Auctions Can Save 5G
Billions of dollars in government revenue is a no-brainer.
Biden's Record-Breaking Regulatory Run
In four years, Biden issued regulations costing an estimated $1.8 trillion, by far the highest total in American history.
Trump Tries To Fire Inspectors General, Likely Violating Federal Law
A law passed in 2022 requires the president to give Congress a "substantive rationale" for removing inspectors general. Trump has not done that.
Congress Should Extend the Trump Tax Cuts. The Path Won't Be Easy.
Not doing so could be harmful for just about everyone.
How Trump Could Unilaterally Place Tariffs on Mexico and Canada
They are allied countries with which the U.S. has a trade deal (a deal negotiated by Trump, no less), but presidential emergency powers are nearly limitless.
The Twelfth Amendment and the ERA
New historical evidence on the ERA's invalidity.
Biden and Trump Show Presidents How To Abuse Clemency
Biden’s preemptive pardons and Trump’s blanket relief for Capitol rioters both set dangerous precedents.
Hours After Going Dark, TikTok Is Back
The popular video app restored service in the U.S. after President-elect Donald Trump promised to postpone a federal ban.
The Laken Riley Act Reminds Us: If a Law Is Named After Someone, It's Probably Bad
Riley's murder was an atrocity. But the law bearing her name is a grab bag of authoritarian policies that have little to do with her death.
These Lawmakers Actively Use TikTok Even After Voting To Ban It
With just hours to go before it is set to shut down, many senators and representatives are still posting on the app they claim is too dangerous for the rest of us to use.
SCOTUS Rules in Favor of TikTok Ban as Some Supporters Realize It's a Bad Idea
"I cannot profess the kind of certainty I would like to have about the arguments and record before us," writes Justice Gorsuch.
So…Is TikTok Really Getting Banned?
The Supreme Court appears poised to uphold a ban on the app, but many creators aren't so sure.
The Laken Riley Act is Unjust - and a Trojan Horse
The act doesn't target violent criminals and sex offenders, and is likely to harm innocent people and divert resources from genuine anti-crime efforts. It also makes it easier for state governments to try to impede legal immigration.
Kamala Harris' Long Day
Plus: Evading congestion pricing, expelling Hondurans (and the U.S. military), and more...
Mike Johnson Is Speaker of the House. Again.
After a delay, Johnson secured the slimmest of majorities.
Will Thomas Massie Get To Pick the Next Speaker of the House?
The libertarian-adjacent congressman says he "definitely has no Fs to give now" and promises to vote against Mike Johnson.
Congress Sanctions a Syrian Government That No Longer Exists
The Caesar Act was meant to punish Bashar Assad’s government. It’s now a serious obstacle to Syria’s reconstruction.
Even Without the Sex and Drug Allegations, Matt Gaetz's Nomination Should Have Been Doomed
The House Ethics Committee's findings, combined with Gaetz's lack of relevant experience, again raise the question of why Donald Trump picked him for attorney general.
Kay Granger, Like Joe Biden, Is a Symptom of America's Gerontocracy
The 81-year-old congresswoman has not voted since July, at which point she apparently moved into an eldercare facility.
