Political Commentary

Elon Musk and the Trump administration are attempting to dismantle the federal workforce and our intelligence agencies, but there’s just one problem: federal employees and veterans aren’t taking the bait. Despite repeated emails, misleading promises, and thinly veiled threats, the so-called “deferred resignation” program is flopping. Instead of persuading career …

Anat Shenker-Osorio is a political strategist and communications researcher for progressive campaigns. Since Donald Trump and Republicans seized control of the federal government, we’ve seen a flood of illegal executive orders plus a takeover of the Treasury Department and other government agencies by a billionaire who paid his way into …

In 2014, a teenage idiot was caught taking a leak in an urban reservoir in Portland, Oregon. The diluted pee was no health threat; the reservoir is open air, and birds shit and piss in it daily. But the city made a decision, seemingly fit for a Portlandia sketch, to …

The following commentary was written by a USAID employee, who has requested anonymity for fear of retribution. Working for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) — the conduit for American soft power across the globe — demanded I prepare for frightening things that thankfully most Americans don’t need to …

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is co-founder of the non-profit think tank Urban Ocean Lab, distinguished scholar at Bowdoin College, and author of New York Times bestseller What If We Get it Right?: Visions of Climate Futures. By the end of Donald Trump’s second presidential term, sea levels will be higher, …

The mass purge of federal workers under Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plan is more than just an attack on the government bureaucracy — it’s a direct assault on the veterans who make up nearly 30 percent of the federal workforce. In a decision …

Mark Hays is the Associate Director, Cryptocurrency and Financial Technology at Demand Progress Education Fund and Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund. Days before taking the oath of office, Donald Trump and his family launched a new cryptocurrency token — known informally as a meme coin — called $TRUMP, as …

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has an office in the White House and played a prominent role in Donald Trump’s inauguration. He has a formal position reshaping government in the new administration and has already derailed a bipartisan spending deal in Congress. Global leaders are taking Musk’s meddling in …

The wildfires in Los Angeles are devastating. Forty thousand acres of natural and urban land have been scorched, more than 12,300 structures decimated, and tens of thousands of families lost their homes, pets, baby books, and most cherished possessions. The displaced are now fanning out, seeking temporary shelter with friends …

As one of the first Post-9/11 veterans, I faced a stark choice from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) when I transitioned from military service to civilian life. While attending college, I could opt for the older, less generous Chapter 32 of the post-Vietnam era veterans’ Montgomery G.I. Bill, …