Defense

Trump Sides With North Korea Against the CIA

The president responded to reports that Kim Jong Un’s brother had been an American asset by reassuring the strongman he would not allow such spying in the future.

Management

Viewpoint: A Single Scandal Sums Up All of Trump’s Failures

The president has been intervening in the process of producing a border wall, on behalf of a favored firm.

Management

Analysis: Trump’s Border Obsession Is Courting Disaster

The president’s single-minded focus on immigration is shortchanging Homeland Security’s other crucial functions, from election security to emergency response.

Management

Analysis: Kirstjen Nielsen Shows Why It’s Impossible to Restrain Trump

If anyone was going to moderate the president’s worst impulses, it was an expert and a bureaucrat like the former DHS secretary. Instead, all she did was sacrifice her own reputation.

Management

Trump Aides Keep Writing Memos to Protect Themselves

Their urge to document the president's requests and interactions is justified by his behavior.

Management

Michael Cohen's Stunning Testimony About Trump

New claims from the president's former fixer help fill in essential gaps in the Russia investigation.

Management

Trump’s Emergency Declaration Is a Test for Senate Republicans

For weeks, GOP lawmakers have warned the president against pursuing extraordinary measures. What now?

Management

Trump’s End Run Around Senate Cabinet Confirmation

In a wide-ranging TV interview, the president explained why he prefers acting secretaries over permanent ones—an arrangement that flouts the U.S. Constitution.

Management

Analysis: The Shutdown Leaves Trump’s Base Cracked

The president closed the government in the belief that his core supporters would never forgive him if he didn’t build the wall. Instead, the closure showed weaknesses in that coalition.

Management

Analysis: Why Trump Can’t Find Anyone to Be His Chief of Staff

Sure, the job is terrible—but that’s not new. What’s different is that this president can’t use the same leverage that predecessors such as George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton did.

Management

Analysis: John Kelly Couldn't Fix the Trump Presidency

Under Kelly’s guidance, the White House functioned more effectively than it had during the tenure of his predecessor—yet it still remained unfathomably chaotic.

Management

Analysis: Nielsen Isn’t the Issue With Trump’s Immigration Policies

The president is reportedly close to firing his secretary of homeland security, but her successor will also struggle to enact impractical and illegal directives from the White House.

Management

Analysis: Trump Fired His Most Effective Lieutenant

The outgoing attorney general did more to enact the president’s priorities than any other member of the Cabinet, but that didn’t save him from White House hostility.

Management

Analysis: Bob Woodward's New Book Shows How Broken the Trump Administration Really Is

The revelations indicate a depth of disgust and disrespect between the president and his top aides far more extensive than already known.

Defense

Analysis: Trump’s Risky War of Choice Against the Generals

The president’s decision to revoke John Brennan’s security clearance has drawn fire even from figures like Robert Gates and David Petraeus, who have avoided criticizing him.

Oversight

The Doomed Republican Attempt to Impeach Rod Rosenstein

A push by House conservatives to remove the deputy attorney general is thin on substance and futile in practice.

Management

It’s (Mostly) Not FEMA’s Fault

The problems blamed on emergency managers are often caused by the shortcomings of other governmental bodies, both before and after disasters.

Oversight

Analysis: Corruption in the Trump Administration Is Spreading

While petty scandals like Scott Pruitt’s grab attention, there are more egregious and profitable conflicts of interest elsewhere in Washington.

Management

Analysis: Why Is Trump Protecting Scott Pruitt?

How has the head of the EPA withstood a deluge of corruption scandals? It all comes back to the president.