The following is a lightly edited transcript of the March 18 episode of the Daily Blast podcast. Listen to it here . Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic , produced and presented by the DSR Network. I’m your host, Greg Sargent. Donald Trump is very
Mullin’s nomination is an opportunity for the administration to start anew, and focus on keeping vulnerable communities safe instead of political theatrics.
Plus: Mullin appears for confirmation hearing, SAVE America Act debate starts, Pritzker's big night
Depression and suicidal ideation are stubbornly high among college students despite increased efforts by universities to combat the long-growing problem. While nearly all four-year institutions and the vast majority of community colleges offer mental health services, it hasn’t
Vice President Vance is taking a more forward-facing role and defending his past isolationist stances on foreign affairs as the war in Iran continues amid questions over his support for the operation. Vance appeared with President Trump in the Oval Office on Monday to launch
It’s become a stock social media joke to point out that MAGA stands for whatever Donald Trump says it does at any given moment, but now Trump himself has essentially confirmed the point. Faced with a battle among MAGA influencers over his attack on Iran, Trump unleashed a harsh
Bill Clinton was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win the white working class (conventionally defined as “white non-college voters,” i.e., white voters who lack a college degree). In 1992, Clinton won 55 percent of this cohort , and in 1996 he won 53 percent . No
Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D-Calif.) campaign to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is gaining traction as the threat of a Republican upset grows in the crowded contest with no clear front-runner less than three months out from the primary. New polling shows Swalwell’s
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) is set to appear on the other side of the dais on Wednesday, fielding questions from his colleagues as he faces the confirmation process to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Mullin will sit before the Senate Homeland Security and
A week ago, President Trump effectively declared victory in the Iran war. “We’ve won. Let me tell you, we’ve won,” he said during a speech in Kentucky. “You know, you never like to say too early you won. We won. We won the, in the first hour, it was over. We won.” Of course,
Tempers are starting to boil within the Senate Republican Conference as disagreements arise over how to handle President Trump’s No. 1 legislative priority, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, which Trump wants to push through the Senate despite staunch
The state of Washington is on the verge of enacting a 9.9 percent tax on income over $1 million. Rhode Island’s governor has proposed a 3 percent tax on income above that same level. Lawmakers in New York state are advancing a 0.5 percent tax on income over $5 million. Liberal
A sweeping bipartisan housing affordability package that overwhelmingly cleared the Senate faces a tough road in the House, where conservatives are signaling they plan to oppose the legislation. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, spearheaded by Senate Banking Committee Chair
Federal agencies and their contractors have been left in limbo as the Trump administration moves to cut off Anthropic from government systems without formal orders amid a brewing legal battle with the AI company. As agency leaders grapple with informal directives from
Donald Trump’s case for invading Iran took a big blow Tuesday when top counterterrorism official Joe Kent resigned . Though Kent is a crazed extremist with vile views , his letter directly undermined the core rationale Trump has offered for his war. This is being treated as
House Democrats are putting their energy policy priorities forward in a new bill that’s being co-sponsored by more than half of their caucus. The measure, led by Democratic Reps. Sean Casten (Ill.) and Mike Levin (Calif.) would restore climate-friendly energy tax credits
So far discussions of the SAVE America Act are falling short of the “talking filibuster” conservatives are demanding.
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton (D) won Illinois’s marquee Senate primary on Tuesday, defeating two House lawmakers and all but assuring she’ll succeed Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in the upper chamber. Voters in Illinois headed to the polls to weigh in on primary races that
The Trump administration is opening a fraud probe in Florida as it expands its nationwide crackdown on state Medicaid programs, according to the Associated Press. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz appeared to confirm the move in a
Former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) is projected to win the Democratic primary for Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi’s (D-Ill.) seat, as she eyes a congressional comeback, according to Decision Desk HQ. Bean represented a previous iteration of the Chicago-area 8th Congressional District
The state representative is the favorite to win in November after emerging from a contentious, expensive race for Illinois’ deep-blue 7th district.
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss is projected to win the Democratic primary for Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s (D-Ill.) seat in a contest that was largely defined by candidates’ support for Israel, according to Decision Desk HQ. Biss, who enjoyed Schakowsky’s endorsement in the race,
Daniel Biss (D), the mayor of Evanston, Ill., who is running for Congress, went on a “handful of dates” with a former student while teaching at the University of Chicago in 2004, his campaign disclosed on Monday just as voters prepared to head to the polls. The revelation came
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton (D) is projected to win the Illinois Senate Democratic primary — a major win for both her and Gov. JB Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential contender who put his name and money behind her, according to Decision Desk HQ. Stratton defeated
Republican Andrea Verobish is projected to defeat Democrat Caleb McCoy in a special election for Pennsylvania’s 79th House District, according to Decision Desk HQ. Verobish is slated to fill the seat vacated by former state Rep. Lou Schmitt, a Republican, who resigned in
Republican Catherine Wallen is projected to defeat Democrat Todd Crawley in a special election for Pennsylvania’s 193rd House District, according to Decision Desk HQ. Wallen is expected to fill the seat vacated by former state Rep. Torren Ecker (R), who resigned in December
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) and former state Sen. Darren Bailey (R) are projected to face each other for a November rematch in the Illinois governor’s race, according to Decision Desk HQ. Pritzker, who’s running for a third term, ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller was projected to win the Democratic primary for Rep. Robin Kelly’s (D-Ill.) seat, ending former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s (D-Ill.) comeback bid, according to Decision Desk HQ. Miller won out in a crowded field for the state’s 2nd
World Central Kitchen (WCK) has provided over 8,000 free meals to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers amid a partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The shutdown is stretching into a fifth week as lawmakers in Congress
Rock band Pearl Jam is calling on its fans to urge senators to vote against the SAVE America Act, as debate on the nationwide voting ID bill got underway on Tuesday night. “Make your voice heard. Call your senators today and let them know that you oppose all forms of voter
Senate Minority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said on Tuesday afternoon he’s “pessimistic” that the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act will receive enough Democratic votes for the voter registration reform legislation to pass. “I’m always pessimistic that
Americans’ trust in the federal government’s recommendations for childhood vaccines has fallen in recent months, according to a new Axios/Ipsos survey released a day after a federal judge blocked changes made to vaccine policies by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.
{beacon} Technology Technology The Big Story Pentagon clash with Anthropic throws agencies into limbo Federal agencies and their contractors have been left in limbo as the Trump administration moves to cut off Anthropic from government systems without formal orders amid a
An Iranian news agency affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed Tuesday that Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, is dead, hours after Israel said he and another senior Iranian official were killed in overnight
{beacon} Energy & Environment Energy & Environment The Big Story Diesel jumps past $5 per gallon The national average price for diesel has exceeded $5 per gallon as the war in Iran strains oil supplies, according to AAA. © Jenny Kane, Associated Press Diesel, like gasoline,
A former Missouri pastor was suspended last week after it was discovered she worked for and managed the private island of late-sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for nearly a year.
U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett ruled Tuesday that Texas must extend its deadline for private schools to apply for the state’s voucher program after a lawsuit alleged Islamic schools have been excluded from the school-choice initiative. The judge called it “troubling” that
The University of Florida kicked its College Republicans chapter off of campus over the weekend over a photo of a member performing a Nazi salute, and now the organization is suing the university. The UF College Republicans filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday, alleging that
Joe Kent’s resignation from the National Counterterrorism Center over objections to the U.S. war in Iran is putting a spotlight on divisions in the GOP and President Trump’s MAGA coalition. Until Kent’s resignation on Tuesday, criticism of Trump’s foreign policy moves and
A lawsuit filed on Monday against Elon Musk's artificial intelligence firm xAI alleged that photographs of three Tennessee teenagers were used to generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM) with the Grok tool. The suit, filed in a California federal court, accuses xAI of
A retired general on Monday accused President Trump of having "completely mismanaged" the U.S. conflict in Iran. Brig. Gen. Steven Anderson, in a guest appearance on "The Weeknight" on MS NOW, slammed the president for "single-handedly bringing about a new era in which American
A federal judge seemed freshly skeptical of President Trump’s White House ballroom construction project as he weighed a new bid by preservationists to halt it. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon on Tuesday sharply pressed the Justice Department (DOJ) over the varying
A federal judge ejected a top prosecutor from the New Jersey U.S. attorney’s office out of his courtroom Tuesday, accusing the government of “operating unlawfully” in light of recent reports that Alina Habba, a former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, was still illegally
North Carolina Senate Leader Phil Berger (R) has requested a recount after unofficial election results showed him narrowly trailing his challenger in the GOP primary race for his state Senate seat. Berger and his opponent, Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page (R), were separated
Illinois's lietunenat governor and two Democratic lawmakers are jockeying for the Democratic nomination to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin this fall in a Tuesday primary contest. Juliana Stratton as well as Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi are leading the crowded and
Four candidates are vying for the Republican nomination to face off with Gov. JB Pritzker (D) in Illinois's gubernatorial election this November. Darren Bailey, Ted Dabrowski, Rick Heidner and James Mendrick will compete Tuesday in a GOP primary. Pritzker faces no primary
Several GOP candidates are running in a Tuesday primary in Illinois to replace retiring Sen. Dick Durbin this November. There are several Republicans on the ballot, including Don Tracy, the former Illinois GOP chair, and Casey Chlebek, who was the GOP Senate candidate in 2020
Five Illinois Democrats are retiring from the House in 2026, with candidates duking it out for the party's nod in primary elections on Tuesday. Democratic Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Robin Kelly, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Jesus "Chuy" Garcia and Danny Davis are leaving Congress. Both
The Trump administration identified five policy points it is willing to codify.
Former President Biden reflected on his Irish ancestors’ migration journey to the U.S. and criticized the Trump administration’s immigration policies during a St. Patrick’s Day event in Boston on Tuesday morning. In a surprise appearance at the Irish American Partnership’s