When I first met Matt Gaetz in his Longworth House office in March of last year, he reflected on his freshman orientation. After rattling off a string of notable resumes of Republican members of his class, he said, “I felt a little like, How do you compare my experience litigating cases in Okaloosa County, Florida, to what these other very impressive people have done with their lives? So at the time, I was perhaps feeling like I wasn’t too interesting.” Then with a grin, he added, “But we have managed to get it right since then.” Whether Gaetz was interesting or notorious at the time...…When I first met Matt Gaetz in his Longworth House office in March of last year, he reflected on his freshman orientation. After rattling off a string of notable resumes of Republican members of his class, he said, “I felt a little like, How do you compare my experience litigating cases in Okaloosa County, Florida, to what these other very impressive people have done with their lives? So at the time, I was perhaps feeling like I wasn’t too interesting.” Then with a grin, he added, “But we have managed to get it right since then.” Whether Gaetz was interesting or notorious at the time...WW…

Update: Following this report on a group of wealthy, prominent Memphians that took a private jet to Washington, D.C., to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6, 2021, a deluge of tips and responses flooded this reporter’s inbox. They included the name of a previously unidentified passenger on the jet, Timothy Curran, as well as an additional photograph that seems to place the group proceeding toward the Capitol after the rally. Read the story . At 12:11 p.m. on January 5, an eight-seat Bombardier Challenger 300 jet took off from Memphis International Airport. A little over an...…Update: Following this report on a group of wealthy, prominent Memphians that took a private jet to Washington, D.C., to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6, 2021, a deluge of tips and responses flooded this reporter’s inbox. They included the name of a previously unidentified passenger on the jet, Timothy Curran, as well as an additional photograph that seems to place the group proceeding toward the Capitol after the rally. Read the story . At 12:11 p.m. on January 5, an eight-seat Bombardier Challenger 300 jet took off from Memphis International Airport. A little over an...WW…

It was shortly after 2 p.m. on January 6, when he had just finished rebuking Republicans’ rejection of Joe Biden’s election victory in key states, that Congressman Joe Neguse knew something was wrong. Engaged in presenting his argument on the House floor, the Colorado congressman had missed the frantic text messages from friends and family and the videos of rioters descending on the Capitol populating social media. Then he saw House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, followed shortly after by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, escorted out of the chamber by Capitol Police. At first, like many of his...…It was shortly after 2 p.m. on January 6, when he had just finished rebuking Republicans’ rejection of Joe Biden’s election victory in key states, that Congressman Joe Neguse knew something was wrong. Engaged in presenting his argument on the House floor, the Colorado congressman had missed the frantic text messages from friends and family and the videos of rioters descending on the Capitol populating social media. Then he saw House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, followed shortly after by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, escorted out of the chamber by Capitol Police. At first, like many of his...WW…

If Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s during a press conference this week that there would be “a smooth transition to a second Trump administration” was a joke, as some deduced by the smirk on his face, it wasn’t a good one. “Outrageous” and “absolutely disgraceful” are among the words diplomatic sources used to describe the moment, in which Pompeo appeared to troll reporters concerned by the very real possibility of unrest as Joe Biden takes the reins from Donald Trump. For the most part, however, diplomats were unsurprised. “Pompeo is always going to be a pompous ass,” said Brett Bruen, a...…If Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s during a press conference this week that there would be “a smooth transition to a second Trump administration” was a joke, as some deduced by the smirk on his face, it wasn’t a good one. “Outrageous” and “absolutely disgraceful” are among the words diplomatic sources used to describe the moment, in which Pompeo appeared to troll reporters concerned by the very real possibility of unrest as Joe Biden takes the reins from Donald Trump. For the most part, however, diplomats were unsurprised. “Pompeo is always going to be a pompous ass,” said Brett Bruen, a...WW…

When Chad Wolf defended the Department of Homeland Security’s crackdown in Portland, Oregon this summer, his former colleagues were perplexed. To them, the man decrying the “violent anarchists” threatening “to burn down” a federal courthouse was almost unrecognizable. It wasn’t just the partisan nature of his comments, made before the Senate in August, but the aggression with which he delivered them. “That doesn’t match the guy I worked with,” a former senior DHS official told me. “It’s not his personality.” Wolf, like so many others before him, was plainly putting on a show for Donald...…When Chad Wolf defended the Department of Homeland Security’s crackdown in Portland, Oregon this summer, his former colleagues were perplexed. To them, the man decrying the “violent anarchists” threatening “to burn down” a federal courthouse was almost unrecognizable. It wasn’t just the partisan nature of his comments, made before the Senate in August, but the aggression with which he delivered them. “That doesn’t match the guy I worked with,” a former senior DHS official told me. “It’s not his personality.” Wolf, like so many others before him, was plainly putting on a show for Donald...WW…

Senate Democrats have been preparing for this moment since May. That month the Supreme Court announced that the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had undergone treatment at Johns Hopkins for a gallbladder condition. She recovered, but the scare threw into focus how vulnerable Democrats would be if Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell aimed to fast-track a conservative SCOTUS nominee through the confirmation process. At the time Chuck Schumer’s office took inventory of the tactics Democrats might use to stop them. There wasn’t much. So he settled on the most viable strategy: of said nominee...…Senate Democrats have been preparing for this moment since May. That month the Supreme Court announced that the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had undergone treatment at Johns Hopkins for a gallbladder condition. She recovered, but the scare threw into focus how vulnerable Democrats would be if Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell aimed to fast-track a conservative SCOTUS nominee through the confirmation process. At the time Chuck Schumer’s office took inventory of the tactics Democrats might use to stop them. There wasn’t much. So he settled on the most viable strategy: of said nominee...WW…

In the aftermath of the first 2020 presidential debate, jaws dropped, norms crumbled, and words were used on television that had never been used before. Yet in terms of the election itself, its impact seems to have been negligible. Independent voters still claim to be torn, and polls still show Joe Biden with a over Donald Trump. “It’s been a remarkable cycle in its stability,” a Democratic operative told me. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, an economic recession, and mass protests against systemic racism, Trump’s approval has remained static. “He looks now like he looked six months ago,...…In the aftermath of the first 2020 presidential debate, jaws dropped, norms crumbled, and words were used on television that had never been used before. Yet in terms of the election itself, its impact seems to have been negligible. Independent voters still claim to be torn, and polls still show Joe Biden with a over Donald Trump. “It’s been a remarkable cycle in its stability,” a Democratic operative told me. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, an economic recession, and mass protests against systemic racism, Trump’s approval has remained static. “He looks now like he looked six months ago,...WW…

“We have two pandemics,” said Nate Snyder, a former senior DHS counterterrorism official. One, of course, is the novel coronavirus. The other is the rising threat of domestic terrorism most recently exemplified by Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old arrested for allegedly fatally shooting two people and injuring a third during protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse became an instant hero on the right, defended by the likes of Fox News’ Tucker Carlson and adulated on extremist message boards: “Join your local nazis,” read a post featuring what...…“We have two pandemics,” said Nate Snyder, a former senior DHS counterterrorism official. One, of course, is the novel coronavirus. The other is the rising threat of domestic terrorism most recently exemplified by Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old arrested for allegedly fatally shooting two people and injuring a third during protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse became an instant hero on the right, defended by the likes of Fox News’ Tucker Carlson and adulated on extremist message boards: “Join your local nazis,” read a post featuring what...WW…

When Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination in 2016, her campaign largely wrote off Bernie Sanders and his supporters. Sure, the Clinton campaign extended some political courtesy to the left-wing of the party. But by and large, the Bernie base was cast aside. After all, how could Donald Trump ever beat the most qualified presidential candidate in history? Now, as the Democratic Party heads into the 2020 election grappling with the all too real threats of a Trump presidency, there is a recognition within the Joe Biden campaign and the party establishment that every vote counts and the...…When Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination in 2016, her campaign largely wrote off Bernie Sanders and his supporters. Sure, the Clinton campaign extended some political courtesy to the left-wing of the party. But by and large, the Bernie base was cast aside. After all, how could Donald Trump ever beat the most qualified presidential candidate in history? Now, as the Democratic Party heads into the 2020 election grappling with the all too real threats of a Trump presidency, there is a recognition within the Joe Biden campaign and the party establishment that every vote counts and the...WW…

When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley toppled Democratic incumbents Joe Crowley and Mike Capuano, respectively, their victories were largely written off as flukes. The failure of progressives to elect candidates in the ensuing election cycles—Marie Newman being a notable exception—lent support to that narrative. But now, with Jamaal Bowman, a former middle school principal, expected to oust powerful House committee chairman Eliot Engel; the dimming prospects of Amy McGrath, the establishment-backed Democrat, against Charles Booker in Kentucky; and a number of other predicted...…When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley toppled Democratic incumbents Joe Crowley and Mike Capuano, respectively, their victories were largely written off as flukes. The failure of progressives to elect candidates in the ensuing election cycles—Marie Newman being a notable exception—lent support to that narrative. But now, with Jamaal Bowman, a former middle school principal, expected to oust powerful House committee chairman Eliot Engel; the dimming prospects of Amy McGrath, the establishment-backed Democrat, against Charles Booker in Kentucky; and a number of other predicted...WW…