WTF Was Trump’s New Press Secretary Doing in China?It’s not clear if new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia ever actually worked as an attorney—but it is becoming increasingly clear that she was connected to the Chinese government in the past. Speaking alongside Donald Trump Tuesday, Zacharia informed reporters inquiring about her self-purported legal qualifications that she passed the bar exam…The New Republic5d agoWhole story →GovernmentSecuritytrump press secretary controversy
12 Senators—Half of Them Republican—Tell Trump to End Russia Deal NowSix GOP senators joined together with their Democratic opponents on Tuesday to rebuke President Trump’s recently announced diesel deal with Russia. Senators Mitch McConnell, Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, Alan Armstrong, Lisa Murkowski, and John Cornyn signed a letter along with six Democratic senators in opposition to the deal, which waives sanctions on…The New Republic5d agoWhole story →SecurityEconomyrussia diesel deal opposition
Did Trump Make Up “Bill Jones” to Justify Costly Overhaul of Navy?Did President Donald Trump invent a fictional sailor in order to justify wasting billions of dollars to put old-fashioned technology on naval aircraft carriers? Speaking at a campaign rally in January 2024, Trump told a story about a sailor aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier who argued on behalf of steam catapults over their more modern…The New Republic5d agoWhole story →Securitytrump campaign rally
White House Ballroom Donor Keeps Getting Big Breaks Thanks to TrumpLast year, Russian American investor Konstantin A. Sokolov donated an undisclosed sum to President Trump’s $300 million White House ballroom project. He also gave $12 million to the MAGA Inc. super PAC and hundreds of thousands to the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Senate campaigns of Susan Collins and Pete Ricketts. Since all those…The New Republic5d agoWhole story →GovernmentEconomytrump donor favoritism
Trump Official Tries to Kill Report on Perfectly Timed Oil TradesThe Trump administration ordered federal financial regulators to retract a report flagging suspicious oil trades. Only 15 minutes before President Trump decided not to strike Iranian power plants on March 23 , a few traders sank billions of dollars into predicting that the S&P 500 would go up and oil prices would fall, making a hefty profit, Bloomberg…The New Republic5d agoWhole story →GovernmentEconomyoil trades investigation
Pentagon Archbishop Urges Soldiers Not to Participate in ExecutionA military archbishop is urging enlisted Catholics to recuse themselves from the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan. Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio issued his own orders to America’s military members Monday, imploring them not to participate in Hasan’s death, either by being in the firing squad or by watching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s…The New Republic5d agoWhole story →SecurityJusticefort hood execution controversy
Ken Paxton Caught Partying With U.S. Fugitives in DubaiTexas Attorney General and Senate candidate Ken Paxton spent New Year’s Eve 2024 partying in Dubai with his mistress and two U.S. fugitives indicted on health care fraud charges. In a video obtained by The Wall Street Journal , Paxton can be seen surveying the fireworks over the Dubai skyline next to his girlfriend Tracy Duhon. Indicted fugitives Sameer…The New Republic5d agoWhole story →GovernmentHealthpaxton scandal
Why Did DOGE Exist? Now We Know.One of the nagging questions about the DOGE fiasco is why . Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency was established to cut $2 trillion from the $7 trillion federal budget. But in fiscal year 2026, which ended two weeks ago, the federal budget was $7.4 trillion, a 6 percent increase . The budget deficit, whose size was the reason to cut government…The New Republic6d agoWhole story →EconomyGovernmentdoge budget impact
This Is the U.S. Government’s Most Maddening Poverty TrapImagine that you’re one of the more than seven million low-income Americans who receive Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, from the federal government. Or maybe you are one of those Americans, in which case you’re all too familiar with the hypothetical story I am about to tell. You have $1,800 in your checking account. But on the last day of the…The New Republic6d agoWhole story →EconomyGovernment
