In the wake of two public episodes of Mitch McConnell appearing to ‘freeze,’ a longtime Kentucky journalist explains how an uncharismatic Kentucky lawyer came to rule the Senate.
Mitch McConnell, Diane Feinstein and Joe Biden are all over 80 years old, joining a number of politicians who are staying in office well past their 70s.
Anna Moneymaker/Chip Somodevilla/Samuel Corum/Getty Images
It doesn’t make for inspiring politics, but political scientists have determined that for candidates, it’s more valuable to have an unpopular opponent than to be personally popular yourself.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits with his attorneys for his arraignment at the Manhattan criminal court on April 4, 2023, in New York City.
Pool/ Getty Images News via Getty Images North America
The combination of crumbling democratic norms in the U.S. Supreme Court appointments process and an ideological court out of step with mainstream America raises questions of how it could be reformed.
Would a default mean an end to the dollar’s position as the go-to trading currency?
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
History is full of examples of nations paying out to compensate for slavery. But the money never went to those who suffered under the system, only those who profited.
Joe Biden at a press conference in Wilmington, Delaware, in January.
Chip Somodevilla/AFP
Endless filibustering has paralysed the US Senate, and with it all of Congress. Will this form of obstructionism be one of the main challenges facing Biden, as some Democrats fear?
Donald Trump is now the subject of a second impeachment trial. Although Democrats were initially optimistic, it is unlikely to succeed given the position of Republicans.
Rioters storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, seeking to intimidate politicians into overturning the presidential election.
AP Photo/John Minchillo
Death threats against Republicans who oppose Trump are not just the result of angry people. They are, instead, an attempt to intimidate people into sticking with his movement.
Senate Republicans must now decide whether to convict the president — an unlikely outcome. But even if they do, purging Trump from the party will prove more difficult.
On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump addressed his supporters in Washington. Shortly afterwards, thousands of them will forcibly enter the Capitol.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP
In his January 6 speech in Washington DC, Donald Trump urged his supporters to force their way onto Capitol Hill, is a perfect compendium of his inflammatory populist rhetoric.
Removing Trump from office in nine days is virtually impossible. Congress can impeach now and try him later, but this could distract from President-elect Joe Biden’s all-important first 100 days.
Joe Biden in Atlanta, Georgia, at a rally in support of Democratic senatorial candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
Drew Angerer/AFP
It is often said that Joe Biden’s ability to govern will depend on the outcome of Georgia’s January 5 runoff elections, which determine which party controls the senate. The reality is more nuanced.
In a photo from 2004, Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama, right, speaks with a fellow legislator on the floor of the state Senate chamber.
AP photo/Randy Squires
Congress and the White House are trying to wrap up negotiations on a nearly $1 trillion coronavirus bailout, but Senate Republican demands for a liability shield has been a key obstacle.
‘Tug-of-words’ posts debating the merits of socialism versus capitalism are all over social media platforms.
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Robert Kozinets, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
An analysis of social media commentary about socialism versus capitalism shows that people are talking past each other, but some are engaging in more nuanced discussions as well.