Latest Stories By Louis Jacobson

Former President Donald Trump attracted wide attention for his comments about presidential declassification powers in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home was searched in August by federal agents who were looking for documents the government believes he may have taken improperly when he left the presidency. At least some of these documents […]

One of the major legislative efforts to prevent another insurrection like the one on Jan. 6, 2021, is moving a step closer to enactment. Both chambers of Congress have introduced legislation to update the 135-year-old Electoral Count Act, which supporters of then-President Donald Trump exploited for its murkiness. Trump and his allies sought to convince […]

The 2022 midterm campaign will barrel to a close eight weeks from now, on Nov. 8. What does history tell us about what to expect? And could 2022 diverge from historical patterns? Here, we answer those questions.  Historically, what usually happens in midterm elections? Since at least the mid-1800s, the party that controls the White […]

In a prime-time speech in front of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, President Joe Biden called on Americans to “stop the assault on American democracy” by Republicans who deny the results of the 2020 election. In an unusual pattern for his presidency, Biden mentioned the name of his predecessor, Donald Trump, several times in the speech, warning […]

President Joe Biden has made a long-awaited decision on how to handle student debt. On Aug. 24 Biden announced that his administration will waive student loan debt for qualifying Americans — $10,000 for individuals earning less than $125,000, plus an additional $10,000 for those who had received Pell Grants, which support tuition for lower-income students. […]

When the major Democratic bill on climate change, health care and corporate taxation was being finalized, its Senate backers settled on a title that reflected the reality that inflation was at a 40-year high. They called it the Inflation Reduction Act. But as the legislation was being debated — and after it passed on a […]

A bill on climate change, health care and corporate taxation advances some of the key promises President Joe Biden campaigned on in 2020. But the scaled-back bill also offers a reminder of other Biden campaign promises that had to be pushed off until later, if ever. The bill is expected to receive Biden’s signature in […]

An unsealed search warrant shows that the Justice Department suspects former President Donald Trump of violations of the Espionage Act. Additionally, the warrant that granted the FBI access to Mar-a-Lago says Trump is under investigation for concealing federal records, an offense that could be applied to obstructing justice charges.  The list of items taken by […]

The search warrant served on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home appears to involve documents that investigators say should not have remained in Trump’s possession after his presidency. This development has elevated some novel legal scenarios involving national-security classification. Some of the papers in question may be ordinary presidential documents that fall under the Presidential […]

After the FBI searched Donald Trump’s home Aug. 8, the former president criticized it in a post on his social media network, Truth Social. “What is the difference between this and Watergate, where operatives broke into the Democrat(ic) National Committee?” Trump asked. “Here, in reverse, Democrats broke into the home of the 45th President of the […]

This primary season, Democrats have taken to the airwaves — not just in Democratic primaries, but in Republican ones, too. In a move that some Democrats have criticized as risky, Democratic groups in a number of Senate, House, and gubernatorial races have paid to air ads focused on GOP primary candidates who are more conservative, […]

In a big week for economic reports, one of the biggest is set to be released on July 28: The first look at how much the nation’s second-quarter gross domestic product grew or shrank. The nation’s GDP already fell by 1.6% in the first quarter of 2022, so if it falls for a second straight […]