Josh Hawley and Democrat Allies Target AI With New Legal and Regulatory Regime
Two bills recently introduced by Hawley would set American AI and the economy back.
Senate
Turning the Government Shutdown Into a Fight About the Filibuster Is a Terrible Idea
Democrats should use the shutdown to curb the Trump administration's worst authoritarian abuses, not to try to goad Republicans into eliminating an important check on executive excess.
Demanding Charges Against His Enemies, Trump Conflates Justice With Revenge
The legal rationales for prosecuting James Comey, Adam Schiff, and Letitia James suggest the president is determined to punish them one way or another.
5 Ways To Fix the NFL's Rules, Referees, Schedule, and More
How to change the league so that owners, players, and fans are happier
Government Set To Shut Down Tomorrow
Plus: Eric Adams drop out, Assata Shakur gets fawned over, James Comey gets roasted, and more...
Trump's Public Comments Could Further Complicate the Shaky Case Against James Comey
By demanding that the Justice Department punish the former FBI director for wronging him, the president provided evidence to support a claim of selective or vindictive prosecution.
Gift to Trump
Plus: Robert Munsch chooses Canadian healthcare, Argentina in trouble, ignoring Greta, and more...
Josh Hawley's Anti–Driverless Cars Policy Would Kill a Lot of People
Tens of thousands of people die each year in crashes where human error was the cause or a contributing factor.
Tariff Rebate Checks Are a Bad, Inflationary Idea
If Sen. Josh Hawley and the Trump administration want to spare Americans the pain from tariffs, there is a far simpler solution.
Congress Spent At Least $27,500 on Poster Displays in 2 Months. Here Are 4 Ridiculous Examples and 1 Good One.
It's a drop in the bucket compared to the national debt, but any wasteful government spending should be eliminated.
Judicial Nominee Emil Bove Can't Recall Whether He Said the DOJ Might Say 'Fuck You' To Court Orders
The alleged incident goes to the heart of the objections raised by critics who worry about Bove's respect for the rule of law.
The Rescission Bill Reveals How Difficult It Is To Get Congress To Make Even Tiny Spending Cuts
The bill, which could pass the Senate on Wednesday, would trim 13 cents from every $100 of federal spending.
The 'Big Beautiful Bill' Expands Health Savings in a Rare Policy Win
In a bill packed with spending, one provision offers real gains for health care choice and savings.
The $4 Trillion 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Breaks the Bank and Violates Congress' Own Budget Rules
This is what Washington calls compromise: The House proposes $1, the Senate proposes $2, and somehow, the government ends up spending $3.
Under the 'Big, Beautiful Bill,' Car Companies Won't Be Fined for Failing To Hit Arbitrary Fuel Efficiency Goals
CAFE standards try to accomplish a reasonable goal but in an ineffective way.
J.D. Vance Says Immigrants Will 'Bankrupt' the Federal Government. The Opposite Is True.
Vance cast the tie-breaking vote for a bill that will add $4 trillion to the debt. Meanwhile, immigrants are helping to keep the federal government's fiscal house of cards propped up.
Republican Holdouts
Plus: Zohran Mamdani doesn't understand what New York's families need, Lia Thomas titles revoked, and more...
Senate Votes 99–1 To Remove AI Moratorium from 'Big, Beautiful Bill'
Now nearly 100 state AI laws will remain in force—and nearly 1,000 more are already waiting in the wings.
Why the 'Current Policy' Baseline Is a Massive Gimmick That Effectively Kills the Filibuster
Republicans are creating a budgetary loophole that will allow Democrats to pass Medicare for All and pretend it costs almost nothing.
Senate's Tax Bill Will Add $270 Billion to the Deficit Next Year, Despite Gimmicks
The House-passed version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was fiscally irresponsible. The Senate has made the bill worse.
Big, Beautiful Bill Finds Its Opponents
Plus: The anti-socialist moment, muscle-building drugs counteract Ozempic, arsony gunman in Idaho, and more...
Why Do Republicans Support the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit?
Publicly funded homes in some cities are costing taxpayers more than $1 million per unit, but Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would increase funding for these inefficient projects.
The Senate Is One Step Closer To Passing a 10-Year Moratorium on State AI Regulation
The Senate parliamentarian says the 10-year AI moratorium may be passed by a simple majority through the Senate's budget reconciliation process.
Conservative and Libertarian Public Interest Group Letter Opposing "Big Beautiful Bill" Provision that Undermines Access to Justice [Updated]
The provision requires litigants seeking preliminary injunctions against illegal government actions to post potentially enormous bonds.
The Federal Government Owns Too Much Land. Selling It Helps Rural Communities.
Why Sen. Mike Lee's plan to sell public land doesn't go far enough
The 'Big Beautiful Bill' Will Require Even More Borrowing Than Previously Thought
After accounting for the dynamic effects of the Trump-backed tax bill, the CBO concludes it will add $2.8 trillion to the deficit over 10 years.
Josh Hawley Wants To Raise the Minimum Wage
It’s not the only way the Republican senator is closer to democratic socialism than to traditional conservatism.
GOP Senate Version of the Big Beautiful Bill Includes an Ugly Attack on Courts' Ability to Protect Constitutional Rights
It requires litigants seeking preliminary injunctions against illegal government actions to post potentially enormous bonds.
Marsha Blackburn Wants Secret Police
Sen. Blackburn introduced a bill this week that would make it a crime to publish the name of a federal law enforcement officer.
Bob Menendez Does Not Deserve a Pardon
The disgraced former Democratic senator was convicted of accepting almost $1 million in bribes in exchange for, among other things, favors benefiting foreign governments.
Congress Must Vote on Tariffs
For both practical and constitutional reasons, this is the obvious way out of the chaos Trump's tariffs have created.
Elon Musk Is Right. The 'Big Beautiful Bill' Is a Bad Deal.
Musk's opinion about the bill matters, since he is one of the few people in conservative politics who can get away with defying Trump.
Republicans Want To Redefine Obscenity
A new bill would ban sharing visual content that might "arouse" or "titillate."
Senate Republicans Voted Overwhelmingly To Continue Trump's Trade War
Sen. Rand Paul's attempt to end the non-existent economic emergency failed to pass the Senate on Wednesday night.
Senators Make Modest Moves To Reclaim Tariff Powers From Trump
A small but growing bipartisan movement in the Senate is pushing back against the president's imposition of tariffs, but there's plenty of room to go further.
The Senate Just Passed Rand Paul's Bill To Block Trump's Tariffs on Canada
The bill faces an uncertain future, but it is a faint glimmer of hope for those hoping to limit executive power over trade.
First They Came For…
Plus: Democrats' filibuster hypocrisy, Trump bombs Yemen, March Madness, and more...
Schumer's Big Break
Plus: Rate reductions, Apple encryption, the Mahmoud Khalil case, and more...
Jay Bhattacharya's Confirmation Hearing Proves the Lockdown Skeptics Won
Trump's nominee for NIH director once stirred major controversy for criticizing lockdowns, mask mandates, and school closures. Yesterday, Senate Democrats didn't even raise the issue.
Rand Paul Wants DOGE To Build a $500 Billion Rescission Package for Congress To Approve
"The only way you get less waste is to give them less money to spend," says the libertarian-adjacent senator from Kentucky.
Hawley/Sanders Credit Card Interest Cap Is a Gift to Payday Lenders and Loan Sharks
A bill that purports to lower borrowing costs will instead drive many people to more expensive lenders.
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.
Hegseth Faces the Senate
Plus: L.A.'s price gouging crackdown, more Rachel Maddow in your life, and more...
Kamala Harris' Long Day
Plus: Evading congestion pricing, expelling Hondurans (and the U.S. military), and more...
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.
Cancerous Politics
Plus: Taking gerontocracy to new heights, a real life Arc Reactor, Happy Festivus, and more...
