AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Tuesday morning, the Biden White House rolled out a that offered a little something for everyone who has been critical of the ways in which Democrats have historically approached the federal judiciary. The 11 nominees’ racial, gender, and religious diversity is a sharp break from years of Trump nominees who were . More urgently, the list mollified critics of prior administrations by . It includes nine women and nine people of color. Nominees include pathbreaking candidates such as Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of...…AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Tuesday morning, the Biden White House rolled out a that offered a little something for everyone who has been critical of the ways in which Democrats have historically approached the federal judiciary. The 11 nominees’ racial, gender, and religious diversity is a sharp break from years of Trump nominees who were . More urgently, the list mollified critics of prior administrations by . It includes nine women and nine people of color. Nominees include pathbreaking candidates such as Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementRepairing the United States’ elections system has now become an existential challenge for Democrats. The Republican Party is increasingly devoted to choking off ballot access for those who don’t support them: As the , red-state legislatures are passing vote suppression measures dressed up as “ballot security” rules at a clip that has . Yes, some states are passing measures to increase access to the ballot, but measures that would make it harder to register, vote early, vote by mail, or produce voter ID are now being pressed in “the most significant wave of such...…AdvertisementAdvertisementRepairing the United States’ elections system has now become an existential challenge for Democrats. The Republican Party is increasingly devoted to choking off ballot access for those who don’t support them: As the , red-state legislatures are passing vote suppression measures dressed up as “ballot security” rules at a clip that has . Yes, some states are passing measures to increase access to the ballot, but measures that would make it harder to register, vote early, vote by mail, or produce voter ID are now being pressed in “the most significant wave of such...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhy can’t Republicans quit the provably false claim that Donald Trump won the 2020 election? It’s a bold-faced fabrication, easy to leave behind, and yet they refuse to let it go. I understand why the ex-president clings to it—everything about him demands that he be seen as a powerful awesome winner for all time. But what about people like Rep. , who refused to concede the election results were valid just last weekend on ABC’s This Week, or , who devoted a lone unhinged dissent to that possibility in a Pennsylvania elections case on Monday? , the...…AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhy can’t Republicans quit the provably false claim that Donald Trump won the 2020 election? It’s a bold-faced fabrication, easy to leave behind, and yet they refuse to let it go. I understand why the ex-president clings to it—everything about him demands that he be seen as a powerful awesome winner for all time. But what about people like Rep. , who refused to concede the election results were valid just last weekend on ABC’s This Week, or , who devoted a lone unhinged dissent to that possibility in a Pennsylvania elections case on Monday? , the...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn many ways, Merrick Garland’s Monday confirmation hearing for Attorney General was almost exactly what his 2016 hearing for the Supreme Court would have been. The issues raised by Republican senators—illegal immigration, guns, executive power, big tech—are pretty much standard GOP fare. You could be excused if, based on the proceedings, it felt as if Donald Trump had never happened.Ranking Minority Member Chuck Grassley set the Republican tone for the proceedings by opening with a long list of stock grievances and gripes, none of which had anything...…AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn many ways, Merrick Garland’s Monday confirmation hearing for Attorney General was almost exactly what his 2016 hearing for the Supreme Court would have been. The issues raised by Republican senators—illegal immigration, guns, executive power, big tech—are pretty much standard GOP fare. You could be excused if, based on the proceedings, it felt as if Donald Trump had never happened.Ranking Minority Member Chuck Grassley set the Republican tone for the proceedings by opening with a long list of stock grievances and gripes, none of which had anything...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn the , Dahlia Lithwick spoke with renowned communications researcher and campaign adviser  about the messaging of impeachment, how Republicans justify acquittal, and why it’s so dangerous to give Marjorie Taylor Greene a microphone. Their conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.Dahlia Lithwick: Set the table for us about how you have come to think about language, and messaging, and politics, and all the ways in which progressives just really are generally suck-ish at some of this.AdvertisementAnat Shenker-Osorio: It’s hard to know...…AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn the , Dahlia Lithwick spoke with renowned communications researcher and campaign adviser  about the messaging of impeachment, how Republicans justify acquittal, and why it’s so dangerous to give Marjorie Taylor Greene a microphone. Their conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.Dahlia Lithwick: Set the table for us about how you have come to think about language, and messaging, and politics, and all the ways in which progressives just really are generally suck-ish at some of this.AdvertisementAnat Shenker-Osorio: It’s hard to know...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOne of the incessant drumbeats of former President Donald Trump’s defense team has been about “due process.” His attorneys keep talking about all the ways in which a rushed House investigation and speedy impeachment trial meant that their client was denied the right to defend himself against the House managers. This claim was invoked several times during their three-plus-hour defense presentation on Friday, which is a strange claim to make in the middle of a literal trial as one’s defense attorneys actually partake in the act of defending him....…AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOne of the incessant drumbeats of former President Donald Trump’s defense team has been about “due process.” His attorneys keep talking about all the ways in which a rushed House investigation and speedy impeachment trial meant that their client was denied the right to defend himself against the House managers. This claim was invoked several times during their three-plus-hour defense presentation on Friday, which is a strange claim to make in the middle of a literal trial as one’s defense attorneys actually partake in the act of defending him....WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAs the night before the second impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump falls, the mood is decidedly gloomy. While impeachment managers want to call witnesses and put on a a quick and dirty affair. This makes a certain amount of sense given that there are other urgent priorities at hand and . No matter what case Democrats present, Republicans are almost certainly going to stick together and protect the former president. The weeks between the House vote and the Senate trial have only worked to ensure that this comes true.AdvertisementSo what exactly is the...…AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAs the night before the second impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump falls, the mood is decidedly gloomy. While impeachment managers want to call witnesses and put on a a quick and dirty affair. This makes a certain amount of sense given that there are other urgent priorities at hand and . No matter what case Democrats present, Republicans are almost certainly going to stick together and protect the former president. The weeks between the House vote and the Senate trial have only worked to ensure that this comes true.AdvertisementSo what exactly is the...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn the , Dahlia Lithwick spoke with Dan Goldman, who spearheaded the first round of impeachment hearings for Donald Trump in the House in December 2019 as the senior adviser and director of investigations for the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. They discussed whether all the time and money poured into that impeachment was futile and why it was worth it to do it all again. A portion of their conversation, which has been edited and condensed for clarity, is transcribed below.AdvertisementDahlia Lithwick: After...…AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn the , Dahlia Lithwick spoke with Dan Goldman, who spearheaded the first round of impeachment hearings for Donald Trump in the House in December 2019 as the senior adviser and director of investigations for the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. They discussed whether all the time and money poured into that impeachment was futile and why it was worth it to do it all again. A portion of their conversation, which has been edited and condensed for clarity, is transcribed below.AdvertisementDahlia Lithwick: After...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSenate Republicans, some of whom may reasonably have feared for their own lives when insurrectionists stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, are now coalescing around a single argument as they against an impeachment trial for Donald J. Trump: a that former presidents may not be impeached. This is an idea floated by, among others, a former federal appeals court judge, , in the Washington Post, , and , who fully briefed the Senate GOP at a luncheon on Tuesday. (It appears that in 1999, Turley took the , but no matter.) Sen. Rand Paul forced a on this proposition...…AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSenate Republicans, some of whom may reasonably have feared for their own lives when insurrectionists stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, are now coalescing around a single argument as they against an impeachment trial for Donald J. Trump: a that former presidents may not be impeached. This is an idea floated by, among others, a former federal appeals court judge, , in the Washington Post, , and , who fully briefed the Senate GOP at a luncheon on Tuesday. (It appears that in 1999, Turley took the , but no matter.) Sen. Rand Paul forced a on this proposition...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementThere is never a good time to talk about Tucker Carlson. As , offering up attention to those who seek attention in a media world driven solely by monetizing our scarce attention feels uniquely horrible. But Carlson has been pushing harder and harder on that limits the ability of as “new people, more obedient voters from the Third World” to vote. His has band, which means it may be time to talk about him. As he invoked “white replacement theory” last week, Carlson was at pains to say that he wasn’t endorsing the “,” a noxious idea prevalent in white supremacist...…AdvertisementAdvertisementThere is never a good time to talk about Tucker Carlson. As , offering up attention to those who seek attention in a media world driven solely by monetizing our scarce attention feels uniquely horrible. But Carlson has been pushing harder and harder on that limits the ability of as “new people, more obedient voters from the Third World” to vote. His has band, which means it may be time to talk about him. As he invoked “white replacement theory” last week, Carlson was at pains to say that he wasn’t endorsing the “,” a noxious idea prevalent in white supremacist...WW…