Democrats Are Once Again Boosting MAGA Republicans
Even if successful, the strategy demonstrates how little interest politicians have in standing for something, rather than against something else.
Senate
Senate Race Revealed Shortcomings of California's 'Top Two' Primary Reform
A change that promised to be a moderating influence on politics has instead made campaigns more vicious than ever.
Rank Choices
Plus: A listener asks the editors for short quotes from fictional works that are representative of libertarian ideas.
Looming Deadline
Plus: Nuclear reactors, space firsts, Fani Willis' love life, Trump sneakers, and more...
Expanding the Child Tax Credit Would Perpetuate Systemic Poverty
The policy is a true budget buster and is ineffective in the long term.
Justin Amash: 'I'd Impeach Every President'
Former Rep. Justin Amash says "the idea of introducing impeachment legislation suggests there's other people who will join you. Otherwise, it's just an exercise in futility."
California Senate Hopeful Barbara Lee Wants $50 Per Hour Minimum Wage
If you’re going to set arbitrary prices for labor, why not shoot for the moon?
Biden's Cognitive Shrinkflation
Plus: A listener asks if the state of Oregon’s policy on drug decriminalization should be viewed as a success.
Border Bill Blows Up
Plus: Biden's sagging poll numbers, the Amazon Files, and more...
Trump's Terrible, Popular Tariffs
Plus: A listener asks if it should become the norm for all news outlets to require journalists to disclose their voting records.
Mark Zuckerberg Is Not a Murderer, Mr. Senator
Republicans and Democrats are using emotional manipulation to push an agenda of censorship.
Chuck Schumer Attacks Lifesaving Zyn Nicotine Pouches
Zyn pouches are a dramatically safer alternative to smoking.
Massive Migrant Reduction
Plus: Deepfakes of Biden, complaints of Californians, filters for aircrafts, and more...
Over 300,000 Ohioans Are Employed by Foreign Companies. Why Isn't J.D. Vance Outraged?
Companies based outside the United States employ 7.9 million Americans. Foreign investment isn't something to be feared or blocked, but welcomed.
What J.D. Vance Could Learn From Reading Hillbilly Elegy
The senator used to know why the U.S. Steel/Nippon deal is nothing to fear.
Congress Renews Warrantless Digital Spying Program as Part of $886 Billion Spending Bill
Section 702 will continue until April, when Congress will have another shot at seriously reforming a program that desperately needs it.
Congress Prepares To Reauthorize a Warrantless Domestic Spying Program the FBI Abused
Competing FISA Section 702 reauthorization bills will reach the House floor next week, Speaker Johnson says.
Biden Threatens To Block GOP Plan To Send 3,000 People Back to Federal Prison
The White House cited the extraordinarily low recidivism rates among those released and the savings to taxpayers in its veto threat.
Did Chuck Schumer Just Come Out Against Top-Down AI Licensing?
"Duty of care has worked in other areas," the senator said, "and it seems to fit decently well here in the AI model."
Lawmakers Try To Insert Privacy Protections Into the Feds' Snooping Powers
The bipartisan Government Surveillance Reform Act would stop a lot of warrantless surveillance as a condition for renewal of Section 702 authorities.
Senate Resolution Would Send Federal Offenders Back to Prison 3 Years After Being Released to Home Confinement
The Bureau of Prisons released more than 12,000 people on home confinement during the pandemic. Three years later, Republicans want to overturn a Justice Department rule allowing those still serving sentences to stay home.
Biden Threatens To Veto GOP Spending Bill That Would 'Cut' Amtrak Funding to Double Pre-Pandemic Levels
Amtrak has historically received $2 billion in federal subsidies each year. Under Republicans' "draconian" cuts, they'd receive over $5 billion next year.
Can a Marylander be the Senator from California?
Why Article I's residence requirement applies to appointees.
The 'Whack Jobs' Were Right
Plus: A listener asks the editors to weigh in on a hypothetical executive order to establish an American Climate Corps.
Is Sen.-to-be Butler Eligible to Represent California?
The residence question is closer than it might appear.
Congressional Clown Show
Plus: Dianne Feinstein's replacement doesn't even live in California, New York's biblical floods, and more...
On Guns, Drugs, and National Security, Dianne Feinstein Was Consistently Authoritarian
The late California senator always seemed to err on the side of more government power and less individual freedom.
Shut Up Already About John Fetterman's Slob Chic
The Senate is an incompetent laughingstock regardless of what its members wear.
Congress Is Still Using 'Emergency Spending' on Non-Emergencies
Since Congress won't cut spending, an independent commission may be the only way to rein in the debt.
The U.S. Credit Rating Just Dropped. It's Time for Radical Budget Reform.
The lack of oversight and the general absence of a long-term vision is creating inefficiency, waste, and red ink as far as the eye can see.
Bernie Sanders Introduces a Bill To Raise Minimum Wage to $17 by 2028
The proposal would raise the federal minimum wage by 134 percent.
Elizabeth Warren and Lindsey Graham Will Break the Internet
The senators say they're creating an "independent, bipartisan regulator charged with licensing and policing the nation's biggest tech companies." What could go wrong?
Sen. Chris Murphy Wants the Government To Help You Make Friends
Plus: Ohio drag bill models Tennessee measure declared unconstitutional, setting "Taco Tuesday" free, and more...
We Still Don't Know the Full Extent of the Government's Warrantless Electronic Spying Program
The reauthorization of Section 702 is one of the most important issues facing Congress in the second half of this year.
New Crypto Bill Aims To Circumvent SEC's Regulation-by-Enforcement Strategy
Plus: Steep drop in confidence in higher education, what The Bear can teach us about dynamism and bureaucracy, and more...
The NATO Treaty Does Not Supersede the Constitution
A group of senators is challenging the conventional interpretation of Article 5's an-attack-on-one-is-an-attack-on-all provision.
Senate Democrats Say Modernizing Airline Pilot Training Requirements Will Kill People
If a proposal to let pilots do more of their training on flight simulators passes, supporters will have "blood on your hands," says Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
The Rail Safety Act Is About Union Handouts, Not Safety
The legislation—which was introduced in response to the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio—pushes pet projects and would worsen the status quo.
In Debate Over Railway Safety Bill, J.D. Vance and Donald Trump Are Leaning to the Left
In 2019, the Trump administration blocked a costly and ineffective mandate for two-man railroad crews long sought by unions. Now, the former president wholeheartedly supports it.
Permitting Reforms in Debt Ceiling Bill Will Accomplish Little
The Fiscal Responsibility Act falls well short of solving America's permitting crisis.
Josh Hawley Wants the Debt Ceiling Deal To Include a Massive Tax Hike on Americans
Hawley might call them "tariffs on China," but that's obvious nonsense: Tariffs are paid by Americans.
OpenAI Chief Sam Altman Wants an FDA-Style Agency for Artificial Intelligence
His licensing proposal would slow down A.I. innovation without really reducing A.I. risks.
New Senate Bill Would Turn Online Services Into Narcs
An expanded surveillance state can’t solve problems created by drug prohibition.
This Bill Aims To Reduce Mass Incarceration by Encouraging States To Cut Their Prison Populations
The legislation, whose authors say two-fifths of prisoners are locked up without a "compelling public safety justification," would reward states that take a more discriminating approach.
Patient Privacy at Risk in Senate Bill Aimed at Pharmacy Managers
Prosecutors could end up with a trove of patient-level data regarding highly personal drugs like Viagra, abortion pills, and more.
The Media and Politicians Keep Trying To Censor Things That Turn Out To Be True
The COVID-19 lab leak theory was labeled "misinformation." Now it's the most plausible explanation.
Republicans' and Democrats' Refusal To Reform Social Security and Medicare Is Political Malpractice
In 10 years, the programs' funds will be insolvent. Over the next 30 years, they will run a $116 trillion shortfall.