President Trump’s suggestion that the United States should cut off trade with Spain over defense spending is one of those foreign-policy moments where a real issue gets paired with a very Trumpian solution: take a legitimate complaint, attach a flamethrower to it, and see who blinks first. The basic dispute is simple enough. Trump is…
Turkey, the F-35, and the Price of Alliance Trust
President Trump’s reported push to reopen the door for Turkey to rejoin the F-35 fighter jet program has revived one of NATO’s messier family arguments. And yes, this is very much a “family argument” situation: Turkey is a NATO ally, the U.S. wants strong partners against Russia and Iran, Israel is raising alarms, Congress has…
The Border, the Bump, and the Citizenship Battle
The Supreme Court’s ruling upholding birthright citizenship has set off the next round of immigration politics: not just who gets citizenship after birth, but who should be allowed into the country before birth. Specifically, some have begun floating tighter restrictions on pregnant foreign visitors entering the United States. The issue is “birth tourism,” meaning foreign…
Birthright Citizenship Survives, and the Justices Bring the Receipts
The Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship ruling is one of those cases where constitutional text, history, immigration policy, presidential power, and judicial philosophy all collide in one very crowded legal hallway. The Court affirmed the lower court’s judgment against President Trump’s executive order, which sought to deny citizenship to children born in the United States to…
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…
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…
Weighing Trump’s Federal Gas Tax Holiday Proposal
President Trump’s proposal to suspend the federal gas tax comes at a politically obvious moment. Gas prices have surged amid the Iran war, the Strait of Hormuz remains under Iranian pressure, and ordinary Americans are getting clobbered at the pump. Trump floated the idea after prices rose past $4.50 per gallon, while the federal gas…
Trump, Germany, and the Cost of a Feud
When foreign policy starts to look less like long-range strategy and more like a high-stakes personality clash, it’s worth pausing and asking whether the adults are still in the room. That’s the uncomfortable backdrop to President Trump’s reported order to withdraw roughly 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany, a move unfolding amid a heated dispute with…
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