Trump and Musk are building a new spoils system  —  A basic democratic norm is that laws are implemented as they are written.  Another norm is that the implementation of the law be even-handed, applied equally to all groups.  The idea that some groups would become less eligible for public support …

Social Security, facing pressure from DOGE, weighs big cuts to phone service  —  Agency considers ending phone program that helps with claims processing and is used by millions of elderly and disabled Americans.  —  Just now  —  Under pressure from the U.S. DOGE Service team to root out alleged fraud …

EU retaliates against Trump's trade moves and hits beef, whiskey, motorcycles with targeted tariffs  —  The European Union on Wednesday announced retaliatory trade action with new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products, responding within hours to the Trump administration's increase …

New CNN poll: Americans are negative on Trump's handling of economy  —  Americans are not impressed with President Donald Trump's stewardship of the economy, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, putting him underwater on the nation's top issue even as he sees ratings among the best …

Why I Left the Washington Post  —  Owner Jeff Bezos wants to transform the Opinions section of the paper, where I worked for forty years.  After the publisher killed my column disagreeing with that move—it appears here in full—I decided to quit.  —  I walked into the Washington Post building …

Effort to deport Columbia student rests solely on Rubio determination  —  A government document that details the civil charges against Mahmoud Khalil does not include written evidence from immigration officers.  —  NEW YORK — A determination by Secretary of State Marco Rubio is so far …

Rahm Emanuel Is Gearing Up to Run for President  —  The former Chicago mayor is already on the hustings, finding new ways to attack Trumpism from the center.  —  Rahm Wants to Run.  —  Yes, that Rahm.  And, yes, for that office — the presidency.  —  “I've only been back two months …

Is Trump Taking a ‘Liquidationist’ Approach to the Economy?  —  The administration's view that damaging the economy now could help it later comes with little upside for investors  —  During President Trump's first term, stocks rode high on the belief that he would always pull back on policies that led to a selloff.

Donald Trump Bought a $90,000 Tesla With 37 Recall Notices Against It  —  Here's hoping Elon Musk won't have to personally fix President Trump's new EV anytime soon.  —  In remarkable scenes outside the White House, the President of the United States has just gone and paid the better part …

Texas measles outbreak grows, while New York and California report new cases  —  Counties in California, New York and Maryland detected their first measles cases of the year.  The CDC has warned travelers to be vigilant as spring break begins.  —  Los Angeles County in California …

‘I feel utter anger’: From Canada to Europe, a movement to boycott US goods is spreading  —  Tesla sales are falling and apps and online groups are springing up to help consumers choose non-US items  —  The renowned German classical violinist Christian Tetzlaff was blunt in explaining …

A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Lose  —  Especially when you're running a country  —  A note to subscribers: I've taken my weekend primer on Social Security out from behind the paywall, partly in response to popular demand but also because it's relevant to today's post.  —  This will, I hope, be a fairly short post.

The 200+ Sites an ICE Surveillance Contractor is Monitoring  —  A contractor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and many other U.S. government agencies has developed a tool that lets analysts more easily pull a target individual's publicly available data from a wide array of sites …

Turns out DOGE can't beat FOIA by shouting NOT AN AGENCY  —  🚘 💨 🛣️ With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever.  Public Notice is possible thanks to paid subscribers.

White House reporter asks Irish PM why he ‘let’ Rosie O'Donnell move to his country  —  A reporter covering the Wednesday White House meeting between President Trump and Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin asked the prime minister why he allowed American comedian Rosie O'Donnell to move to the country.

Education Department documents detail massive scope of agency worker terminations  —  The Trump administration's steep workforce cuts at the Education Department include hundreds of attorneys, student aid workers and civil rights office staff, according to agency documents obtained by POLITICO.

House spending bill would lead to $1B in D.C. cuts.  Here's what that means.  —  The bill, also known as a continuing resolution, now moves to the Senate, where D.C. officials hope Democrats will help them defeat the measure.  —  The House stopgap funding bill passed Tuesday night …

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for probe into Tesla attacks  —  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and seven other GOP House members on Wednesday called for a “domestic terrorism” investigation into attacks against Tesla and Elon Musk.  —  Why it matters: #Teslatakedown protests have largely been peaceful …

Greenlanders say no to Trump as rare earths loom over coalition talks  —  Election throws up surprise result as independence from Denmark remains tough to define.  —  Greenland had a message for Donald Trump as islanders went to the polls this week: thanks, but no thanks.

Philippines' Duterte in The Hague after ICC arrest over drug war  —  A plane carrying former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has arrived in the Netherlands where he is to face charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his deadly “war on drugs”.

Trump official tasked with defending DOGE cuts posted fashion influencer videos from her office  —  As the Office of Personnel Management oversaw the layoffs of thousands of federal workers and pressed others to justify their positions, the agency's chief spokesperson repeatedly used her office …

An Unexpected Trump Bump for the World's Centrists  —  As President Trump's “shock and awe” policies radiate around the world, they are galvanizing support for moderate leaders and unifying Europe.  —  In Britain, a languishing prime minister is suddenly a statesman, while his up-and-coming populist rival has been thrown on his heels.