Trump Said Tariffs Would Reduce the Trade Deficit. Instead, It Hit a Record High in 2025.
It's a good thing that trade deficits aren't actually a national emergency.
Trump Administration
96 Percent of People Charged With Human Trafficking Are U.S. Citizens
Just 26 undocumented immigrants faced federal trafficking charges in 2023.
War With Iran?
Plus: the same ole hawkish lies, a familial connection to Barry Goldwater's nomination, and the future of media is prediction markets on Substack.
The Hawks Are Lying Us Into Yet Another Middle Eastern War
Like the Iraq War, the planned war with Iran is built on false premises. Unlike the Iraq War, there hasn’t even been a real public debate.
Can Iran's Protest Movement Topple the Regime?
Exiled journalist Fardad Farahzad discusses how Iranians get uncensored news, the state of the protest movement, and whether the Islamic Republic is losing its grip on power.
Trump's Blatantly Unconstitutional Attempt To Punish His Congressional Critics Hits 2 Roadblocks
A grand jury and a federal judge rejected the president’s vendetta against legislators who produced a video about the duty to refuse unlawful military orders.
Department of Homeland Security
Prosecutors Admit the DHS Account of an ICE Shooting Was Based on Lies
The department's pattern of dishonesty supports a presumption of irregularity.
The World Has Turned and Left Me Here
Plus: Tariffs, tariffs, and even more news about tariffs! And George W. Bush has some interesting thoughts about George Washington.
As a Former Cop, I Have to Ask: What the Hell Is ICE Doing?
Videos of recent immigration enforcement raise serious questions about authority, escalation, and the professional standards officers are trained to follow.
Trump's FTC Chairman Sends a Threatening Letter to Apple for Not Promoting Enough Conservative Media
Chairman Andrew Ferguson continues the Federal Trade Commission’s crusade against free speech with an official letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Trump's $10 Billion Lawsuit Against the BBC
A federal judge has set the date for the president's push to punish a news organization he dislikes, again.
A Federal Judge Explains Why Trump Can't Jail Legislators for Producing a Video That Offended Him
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon notes that Sen. Mark Kelly's comments about unlawful military orders were "unquestionably protected" by the First Amendment.
How Much Is Kristi Noem's Alleged Adultery Airplane Costing You?
If the DHS secretary is actually having a high-flying affair with Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski, the taxpayers are the ones getting screwed.
The Cowardice of the Republican 'Tariff Skeptics'
Finally given a chance to influence trade policy, the vast majority of House Republicans decided it was more important to keep President Donald Trump happy.
The El Paso Drone Scare Is the Future of National Security Paranoia
Fear over mysterious objects in the sky keeps disrupting society.
The Feds Used Threats To Silence Their ICE-Tracking Speech. Now They're Fighting Back.
A lawsuit argues that Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem coerced Apple and Meta to censor two popular ICE-monitoring tools, which violates Americans' right to freedom of expression.
DOJ's Antitrust Chief Resigns Amid Accusations of Corruption Among Top Officials
Gail Slater resigned from her position as Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division after butting heads with Attorney General Pam Bondi over merger enforcement.
Hot Mess at the DHS
Plus: boat subsidies, metaphor alerts, and more Epstein fallout...
Kristi Noem's Response to ICE Killings in Minnesota Exposes Conservatives' Double Standard on Gun Rights
The Second Amendment protects your right to carry a gun at a protest.
After Public Backlash, Tom Homan Says Feds Will End Immigration Enforcement Surge in Minnesota
Homan says the administration isn't backing down from mass deportations, but the reality is that its tactics hit a brick wall of popular resistance in Minnesota.
DHS Said It Was Targeting the 'Worst of the Worst' in Maine. It Swept Up Asylum Seekers and Noncriminals.
News outlets, civil rights groups, and court records tell a much different story than the government's claims about "Operation Catch of the Day."
Bondi Bristles
Plus: the attorney general's self-inflicted wounds, religious revivals, and Congress votes to stop Trump's tariffs on Canada
The U.S. House Just Voted To Stop Trump's 'Emergency' Tariffs on Imports From Canada
But the numbers are a long way from a veto-proof majority, so Wednesday's vote may be a purely symbolic victory for free traders.
Is This the End of Endangerment?
The Environmental Protection Agency is reportedly prepared to rescind the "endangerment finding" that underpins the regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
Trump Imposed 39 Percent 'Emergency' Tariffs When Switzerland Hurt His Feelings
The story is an exercise in pettiness but also a perfect reason why Congress and the Supreme Court should limit the president's power grab.
Special Immigrant Visa Program Needs Resuscitation, but It's Not Dead Yet
Our Afghan allies deserve better treatment from the Trump administration as many live under uncertainty during a visa pause.
A Grand Jury Rejects Trump's Attempt To Prosecute 6 Legislators for Saying Something He Did Not Like
The president was offended by a video reminding military personnel of their duty to disobey unlawful orders.
Interest on the National Debt Will Cost $16 Trillion Over the Next 10 Years
A new Congressional Budget Office outlook expects entitlement spending and the national debt to explode in the next decade.
A Viral Story Claims an ICE Worker Was Caught in a Child Sex Trafficking Sting. The Truth Is Much Stranger.
The way people are misconstruing this prostitution sting mirrors the way ICE tries to mislead us about deportation stings.
The House Just Reclaimed Its Tariff Power From Trump. Now Congress Can Try To Strike Down His Canada Tariffs.
Three Republicans defected to vote down an arcane procedural rule that would have made it impossible for the House to vote on Trump’s tariffs until August.
Boston Man With Pending Green Card Application Held in ICE Custody for 5 Months
Seamus Culleton was detained despite being married to a U.S. citizen and having a work authorization permit. Now he’s asking the Irish government for help.
Jobs Up, Federal Workers Down
Plus: Shifting goalposts on immigration and jobs, Netanyahu visits D.C., everything is fine in El Paso after all, and more...
The Heavy Pot Taxes Favored by The New York Times Would Undermine Legalization
The newspaper’s plan to address marijuana abuse would compound the disadvantages that state-licensed suppliers face in competing with the black market.
An Immigration Judge Finds No Legal Basis To Deport a Student Arrested for an Op-Ed
Rumeysa Ozturk is one of several international students targeted by the Trump administration's speech-based deportation policy.
The Trump Administration Plans To Repeal EPA Finding That Greenhouse Gas Emissions 'Threaten' Public Health
The EPA under the Obama and Biden administrations invoked that finding to adopt strict and costly regulations aiming to reduce emissions.
In 2024, Trump Rejected Numbers Showing a Homicide Drop As a 'Lie.' Now He Is Bragging About Them.
While running against Kamala Harris, Trump claimed homicides were "skyrocketing," disregarding the data contradicting that assertion.
The NFL's Rooney Rule Is a Well-Intentioned Failure
Plus: Bad Bunny’s halftime show and more on Super Bowl LX
Bad Bunny and the SCOTUS Precedent That Denies Constitutional Rights to Puerto Ricans
Plus: Is this the Supreme Court’s next big immigration case?
A First Amendment Lawsuit Challenges FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson's Vendetta Against NewsGuard
The commission has targeted the news rating company with onerous record demands and a merger condition aimed at cutting off its revenue.
Alienated by Trump, Europeans Finally Take Responsibility for Defense
Spurred by a hostile U.S. president, Europe struggles against stagnant economies to rearm.
Most Americans Hate Trump's Tariffs
A new poll finds that even white men without college degrees, a key voting constituency for Trump, don’t approve of the president’s handling of the economy.
The Trump Administration Is Taking Credit for a Long-Running Murder Decline
2025 is on track to have the largest drop in the murder rate in recorded history.
Once Again, a Federal Judge Orders ICE To Stop Unlawful Warrantless Arrests
Another judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to follow federal law, even as the Trump administration argues it has broad authority to conduct warrantless immigration arrests.
Judge Orders Video and Texts Unsealed in Case of Chicago Woman Shot 5 Times by Border Patrol
The Department of Homeland Security won't stop calling Marimar Martinez a "domestic terrorist," so she's getting the video of her shooting and text messages from the officer who shot her unsealed.
Do Republicans Want To Control Elections?
Plus: assessing Trump’s first year, the dysfunction of Washington, D.C., and the politics of the Super Bowl. (Recorded live in Washington, D.C.)
Militarized Policing Is at the Root of the Minneapolis Mayhem
Thanks to a lack of hiring standards, purposeful federal policy, poor training, and a lack of accountability for bad behavior, ICE is eroding safety and liberty for all Americans.
The Trump Administration Has a Conflicted Relationship with the Second Amendment
The right to bear arms is inherently anti-authoritarian at a time when Trump wields authority.
Don Lemon May Be a Hack, but That Does Not Make Him a Felon
The federal case against the former CNN anchor hinges on conduct that can plausibly be viewed as part of a journalist's work, combined with the obvious partiality of that work.
