Pete Hegseth faces overlapping new embarrassments amid Pentagon tumult
Between the personnel crises and the security lapses, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's tenure has gone from bad to worse to...
Steve Benen
Trump adds Nevada’s Michele Fiore to his growing list of scandalous pardons
In a normal political environment, Donald Trump’s brazenly corrupt approach to pardons would be the defining scandal of his presidency.
The ‘shouting match’ between Musk and Bessent is part of a larger White House problem
The “chest-to-chest” clash in the West Wing between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Elon Musk was emblematic of a serious...
New polls show Trump’s approval rating sinking lower, weakening his power
Why should the public care about Donald Trump's sinking approval rating? Because flailing presidents wield less power — domestically and...
Trump’s self-declared reputation as a world-class dealmaker continues to unravel
One of the weirdest myths in contemporary politics is that Donald Trump is good at deal-making. This has never been...
Trump pretends he never suggested potentially firing the Fed’s Jerome Powell
The president might want to admit that he’s retreating, but it’ll probably be awhile before he echoes his own rhetoric...
Musk says his White House commitments will ‘drop significantly’ as Tesla sales drop
As Tesla sales fall sharply, Elon Musk intends to scale back his DOGE work. But what if the damage he's...
Latest polls point to sizable GOP support for Trump’s authoritarian-style ambitions
A new poll suggests roughly a fourth of Republican voters support giving the president authoritarian-style authority over the rule of...
At the FBI, Kash Patel prioritizes the spotlight over credibility
If Kash Patel was going to be seen as a serious figure, the FBI director would have to invest time...
Trump’s Harvard fiasco underscores the White House’s incompetence crisis
Just when it seemed the White House's Harvard mess couldn't get worse, it appears Team Trump didn't intend to send...