President Trump’s political momentum will face a major test this week as Democrats try to turn various down-ballot races into a referendum on the White House, and Mr. Trump’s long-promised tariffs risk rattling allies and consumers alike. A State Supreme Court election in Wisconsin on Tuesday is seen as an indicator of support for Mr. … Read more
Years before President Trump returned to the White House, his budget chief, Russell T. Vought, began mapping out a plan to shrink the federal government. In Mr. Vought’s design, spending would be slashed by about $9 trillion over the next decade. Entire federal programs — from housing vouchers to student loans — would be eliminated. … Read more
President Trump pushed on Tuesday to hand the executive branch unprecedented influence over how federal elections are run, signing a far-reaching and legally dubious order to change U.S. voting rules. The executive order, which seeks to require proof of citizenship to register to vote as well as the return of all mail ballots by Election … Read more
I was open to the idea behind Gavin Newsom’s new podcast, in which the California governor has been breaking out of his political bubble to talk at length with right-wing media stars such as Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon. Democrats need to get better at speaking to people who don’t share their assumptions and at … Read more
Democrats have a problem that runs deeper than the 2024 election. They have a problem that runs deeper than Elon Musk’s assault on the government. Look at the places they govern: strongholds like New York and Illinois and where I’m from, California. They’re losing people. [CLIP: Since the pandemic started, California is seeing an exodus, … Read more
Bret: Which, as any honest employer will tell you, at least privately, tends to devolve in practice into a de facto system of set-asides based largely on the identity of an employee or contractor. And also, in some cases, a quiet but damaging erosion of standards, like the weakening of the Army’s fitness requirements that … Read more
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s nominee for health secretary, appeared to dispel some Republicans’ qualms about him on Wednesday and inched closer to a confirmation vote after more than three hours of intense grilling from senators of both parties. His hearing before the Senate Finance Committee touched on a wide range of topics, from … Read more
Former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Thursday brought together five current and former presidents. But photos of the group later shared to social media by Vice President Kamala Harris and the Carter Center left one of them out of frame: President-elect Donald J. Trump. Ms. Harris, who lost a bitterly fought campaign to Mr. Trump, … Read more
For centuries in Morlaix, a city of cobblestones and creperies on the Breton coast of France, the best-known dealers were the ones who traded in linen during the Renaissance and built a number of unique half-timbered houses in the middle of town. The new dealers are another story. France, long a major European market for … Read more
Indian Americans are in the spotlight in the US presidential election. Pro-Trump Vivek Ramaswamy and Usha Chilukuri Vance, the wife of Republican Party vice-presidential nominee JD Vance, have created waves in the media. But the focus of Indian Americans is Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, a Baptist Christian married to a Jew who was born … Read more