Latest Stories By Louis Jacobson

Critics have taken issue with remarks by White House press secretary Jen Psaki that seemed to suggest flippancy about crime in the U.S. “Jen Psaki mocks people discussing the ‘consequences’ of ‘soft-on-crime’ policies: ‘What does that even mean?’” tweeted the Republican National Committee. Jen Psaki mocks people discussing the “consequences” of “soft-on-crime” policies: “What does […]

National politics right now is extraordinarily polarized by party. And much of today’s political rhetoric dwells more on name-calling than on nuts-and-bolts policy differences. But at its root, control of government is still about implementing policy. And, quaint as it may seem, we’re here to track the policy agenda of President Joe Biden with our […]

Americans, already weary of a nearly two-years-long pandemic, were dealt a new blow during the long Thanksgiving weekend with the announcement that a new coronavirus variant had emerged. The omicron variant, officially known as B.1.1.529, first surfaced in November in several southern African nations. The new variant set off alarm bells worldwide when public health […]

During the busy travel week of Thanksgiving, and amid an unusually big price spike for gasoline, President Joe Biden invoked one of the rarely used powers of his office: ordering the release of millions of barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The idea is to increase the supply of oil and, in […]

With overall inflation now reaching a three-decade high, Americans are worried. Despite positive numbers in job gains and economic growth, stubbornly high levels of inflation have cast a pall on the public’s view of the economy. A particular focus of public concern has been gasoline prices. That’s no surprise. “Gasoline prices are eye-catching and memorable,” […]

As the Democrats’ Build Back Better bill moves closer to a vote in the House, Republicans have stepped up their criticism of the safety net legislation. In a Nov. 14 interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., took aim at the proposal’s tax provisions. He said, “The experts are telling us that 30% […]

As President Joe Biden was representing the United States at the international climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, a conservative scholar warned that the American public would not put up with U.S. expenditures to help other countries combat climate change. “The Biden administration’s main goal for the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow is to reestablish […]

President Joe Biden faced an awkward moment during the international climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, when he was asked at a press conference about inflation back home, including gasoline prices. “If you take a look at gas prices and you take a look at oil prices, that is a consequence of, thus far, the […]

According to the official certified results, Joe Biden won Pennsylvania in the 2020 presidential election by 80,555 votes, flipping the state from a Donald Trump victory in 2016.  According to Trump, there’s no way that happened legitimately.  “The election was rigged,” Trump wrote in an Oct. 27 letter to the Wall Street Journal editorial page. […]

Across the country this year, the nation’s political maps are being redrawn. Redistricting is a complicated, even arcane process, but one with a significant impact on the nation’s political landscape. It has the potential to affect which party controls political power in the U.S. House, and has significant implications for the political power of Blacks, […]

In recent days, former President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon rebuffed a subpoena from the same panel.  At the center of both defiant acts is the concept of executive privilege. We previously delved into executive privilege in 2019, when […]

President Joe Biden used a CNN town hall to sell voters on his efforts to get Congress to pass infrastructure and social spending packages that he says would help average Americans with child care and education.  Despite the long legislative process and disagreements among Senate Democrats over the price tag, Biden expressed optimism that they […]