White House

As Trump Announces Afghanistan Strategy, Here’s What the War Has Cost

By Yuval Rosenberg

President Trump will deliver his first prime-time address to the nation at 9 p.m. EDT tonight and is expected to announce that he’s sending thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. If that is the...
The Walls Are Closing In as Allies Abandon Trump

By Rob Garver

Things have looked grim for Donald Trump’s future more than once in his relatively brief career as a politician. But on Wednesday, the cracks in the edifice of his public standing were really...
Why Renegotiating NAFTA Won’t Be as Easy as Trump Says

By David Francis

As NAFTA talks get underway, there are questions about what Trump can get done when it comes to major trade deals.
Obamacare Premiums and Budget Deficits Will Soar If Trump Ends Insurer Subsidies

By Rob Garver

If the Trump administration follows through on its threat to stop paying insurance companies a controversial set of subsidies established by the Affordable Care Act, the government will lose money...
What Happened to Trump’s Infrastructure Boom? Spending Is Actually Falling

By Rob Garver

Now, well past six months into Donald Trump’s presidency, the construction industry would like to know where those infrastructure dollars he promised are. While a slowly improving economy has been...

Trump Is Headed for a Collision With the Auto Industry as NAFTA Talks Loom

By David Lawder, Reuters

The Trump administration has set a collision course with the auto industry as it launches renegotiations of the 23-year-old NAFTA trade pact this week, aiming to shrink a growing trade deficit with...
One More Try? Why Obamacare Repeal Is on the Horizon Again

By Rob Garver

The effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which many assumed was dead or at least in a state of suspended animation for the foreseeable future, may be showing some stirring of life...
White House Advisers Insist That Trump Opposes Nazis

By Rob Garver

Nazi rallies are like the big, fat hanging curveball of American politics -- the sort of pitch any minimally competent public figure can put in the cheap seats without even thinking about it. But...
Will GOP Anger With Trump Over Charlottesville Be Different This Time?

By Rob Garver

After President Trump made brief remarks on Saturday related to the violent white nationalist protest in Virginia, the country saw something that it hadn’t seen in a while: a full-blown stampede of...
What Game Theory Tells Us About Trump’s ‘Madman’ Approach to North Korea

By Rob Garver

Is Donald Trump out of his mind? Maybe he wants North Korea to think so.

9 Top Takeaways From Trump’s $4 Trillion Federal Budget

By Rob Garver and Eric Pianin

The early days of Donald Trump’s presidency have been confusing for both his supporters and his detractors, as his administration has alternately embraced and backed away from positions he took on...
The Heartless Tradeoffs in the Trump Budget

By Mark Thoma

As the bombshells continue to drop on the Trump administration, behind the scenes Trump’s first detailed budget proposal is being developed, and it has a few bombshells of its own, particularly for...
Tillerson and McMaster Put Their Credibility on the Line for Trump

By Rob Garver

Credibility is a limited resource, and Trump surrogates must spend it like sailors on shore leave. Now it looks like it’s time for H.R. McMaster and Rex Tillerson to spend down their balances.
Another Threat to Trump’s Presidency: Empty Seats Throughout His Administration

By Rob Garver

The 2020 census still feels as though it’s a long way away, unless you work for the Bureau of the Census, in which case it feels alarmingly close. The massive decennial project requires tremendous...
Trump’s Big Problem: He Doesn’t Understand the Rules of the DC Game

By Rob Garver

In his career as a businessman, the overwhelming body of evidence is that Donald Trump was an inveterate rule breaker. Ask the contractors who were never paid, the trail of former partners who have...

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