Texas has decided to toss another log onto America’s favorite never-ending bonfire: religion in public schools. On Friday, the Texas State Board of Education approved a required reading list for more than 5 million public school students that includes Bible stories and passages. The list, set to begin taking effect in 2030, includes biblical selections…
The “Anti-Weaponization” Fund: Good Principle, Terrible Packaging
The Justice Department’s proposed “anti-weaponization” fund is one of those ideas that sounds righteous in theory but politically combustible in practice. The basic claim behind it isn’t hard to understand: if federal agencies used government power to punish people for their politics, beliefs, speech, associations, or religious convictions, those people deserve more than a polite…
Jay Clayton for DNI: Competence, Caution, and the Pulte Problem
President Trump’s nomination of Jay Clayton to serve as Director of National Intelligence is one of those Washington moves that manages to be both calming and concerning at the same time. On one hand, Clayton is a serious person with a serious résumé. He’s not some cable-news goblin pulled from the fever swamp and handed…
When Compassion Loses the Receipts
The Trump administration’s decision to cut off federal funding to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, better known as LAHSA, is exactly the kind of story that makes everyone retreat to their assigned political corners. Conservatives hear “fraud,” “mismanagement,” and “billions in homelessness spending” and immediately start checking their blood pressure. Progressives hear “Trump,” “funding…
Trump, Ukraine, and the Delayed Drone Deal
The Trump administration’s hesitation over a major drone deal with Ukraine comes down to a simple question: Is America willing to learn from the country currently fighting the most drone-intensive war on earth? Ukraine wants a broad framework deal that would combine its hard-earned battlefield drone experience with American technology, money, manufacturing capacity, and artificial…
Who Should Write the Rules for Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial intelligence has officially entered the “Congress is trying to do something about it” phase, which means we’ve now moved from “terrifyingly fast technological disruption” to “terrifyingly fast technological disruption, but with committee hearings.” According to reports surrounding the Obernolte-Trahan AI negotiations, Reps. Jay Obernolte, a California Republican, and Lori Trahan, a Massachusetts Democrat, have…
Investigating E. Jean Carroll: Equal Justice or Political Payback?
The Justice Department has reportedly opened a perjury investigation into E. Jean Carroll, focusing on whether she lied during civil litigation against President Trump when she said no one else was paying her legal fees. AP reports that the probe is being led by federal prosecutors in Chicago, while acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is…
Jim Crow 2.0 or Hardball Politics?
Black Democrats are accusing Republicans of using redistricting to create “Jim Crow 2.0,” especially as GOP-led states move to redraw congressional maps in ways that could weaken or eliminate districts currently represented by Black Democrats. The immediate flashpoint is South Carolina, where Republicans are discussing a map that could threaten Rep. Jim Clyburn’s seat, the…
What the Pentagon’s Europe Deployment Pause Means
The Pentagon has reportedly halted troop deployments to Poland and Germany as part of President Trump’s broader order to reduce the U.S. military presence in Europe by about 5,000 troops. According to AP, roughly 4,000 troops from the Army’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, were no longer heading to Poland, and a…
Ukraine Aid Returns to the House Floor
Rep. Gregory Meeks’ Ukraine Support Act has now been forced toward a House vote through a discharge petition, meaning supporters gathered enough signatures to bypass House leadership and bring the bill out of legislative limbo. That alone makes the story politically significant. Discharge petitions aren’t everyday tools. They’re congressional crowbars, used when enough members decide…
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