House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has no doubt had a turbulent year as the leader of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, but any effort to replace him with someone else will not create smoother sailing. President-elect Donald Trump made clear that any effort to replace Johnson as House speaker lacks his support. […]
In July 2019, during the twilight of the first Trump administration, the Defense Department kicked Turkey out of the F-35 joint strike fighter program. While analysts can debate the wisdom of including Turkey in the F-35 program to start with, its expulsion was warranted: By purchasing Russia’s S-400 anti-aircraft missile system, Turkey put NATO at […]
A recent study examining the government’s annual National Crime Victimization Survey reports that, during the Obama administration, “minorities, especially Black Americans … experienced high and volatile victimization rates.” By contrast, during the Trump administration, “there was a notable decrease in victimization rates for most minority groups, particularly Black Americans.” It didn’t last. During the Biden administration, “victimization rates increased […]
By failing to fully appreciate the asymmetry between a democratic state defending itself against terrorism and an organization committed to that state’s annihilation, Carter’s advocacy often did more harm than good.
Former President-elect Trump advisor Steve Bannon told tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk to “sit in the back and study” amid an ongoing feud between the president-elect's Silicon Valley backers and his anti-immigrant base over visas for highly skilled workers. “They’re recent converts,” Bannon said Tuesday on his “War Room” podcast, referring to Musk...
2024 was a landmark year for prosecutions tied to politics. It marked the first criminal conviction of a former president and the first criminal conviction of a sitting president's child. Lawmakers in both chambers faced criminal charges. And lawyers, aides and allies to those political figures were ensnared in legal troubles of their own. Here’s...
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz offered subtle criticism around billionaire Elon Musk's influence on President-elect Trump early Tuesday, saying the nation's fate will not be decided by "the owners of social media." “In our debates, one can be forgiven for sometimes thinking the more extreme an opinion is, the more attention it will garner," Scholz said...
Majorities of Americans are anticipating a year of political conflict and economic difficulty in 2025, a new Gallup poll found. The survey revealed that more than three-fourths of respondents, 76 percent, said they are expecting a year of political conflict over cooperation. More than half, 56 percent, think 2025 will bring economic difficulty rather than...
A key cost-saving provision of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) goes into effect in the new year, limiting annual out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs to $2,000 for Medicare beneficiaries. Starting on Jan. 1, 2025, an estimated 19 million Medicare beneficiaries will see their out-of-pocket Medicare Part D spending capped at $2,000 for the year. This...