Nate Weisberg

The Main Beneficiaries of Trump’s Pardons? White-Collar Criminals Like Him Trump’s pardons overwhelmingly favor white-collar criminals and dovetail with a deregulatory agenda that risks global financial stability.

@billscher.bsky.social on our "half-kleptocracy, half-kakistocracy govt": "President Donald Trump is a convicted white-collar criminal who likes to let other white-collar criminals off the hook. That statement is not a columnist’s vitriol but factually correct." washingtonmonthly.com/2025/12/09/t...

“As more Russian oligarchs, Islamic State leaders and others have begun using [stablecoins] ... the rise of these dollar-linked tokens threatens to undermine one of America’s most potent foreign policy tools: cutting adversaries off from the dollar and the global banking system.”

How to Fight Authoritarianism To manage the rise of China and other illiberal forces, the U.S. and Europe need a new kind of alliance.

This was the correct path. Trump and the GOP abandoned it. America and the world will pay the price. washingtonmonthly.com/2021/04/04/h...

China’s Trade Surplus Climbs Past $1 Trillion for First Time

China’s predatory economy is the problem. Uniting with our allies to fight back is the only sensible response. Instead, Trump is undermining our allies, and hence we are losing. There was an alternative. /1 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/b...

LEADER JEFFRIES STATEMENT ON SUPREME COURT’S RULING ON THE TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL MAP Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries released the following statement. “Tonight’s ruling by far-right justices on the Supreme Court is further proof that the extremists will do anything to rig the midterm elections. The gerrymandered Texas congressional map is a partisan and racially discriminatory power grab designed to subvert the will of the voters — particularly in Black and Latino communities. Our battle-tested Democrats in Texas, including Congressmen Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar, will win their newly-redrawn districts and render this Republican scheme futile. California voters overwhelmingly approved Prop 50 and other states will soon follow suit. We will not let Republicans cheat their way to holding the majority in the House of Representatives. Donald Trump and Republican extremists started this fight. Democrats will finish it.”

Jeffries criticizes the Supreme Court allowing Texas's new maps to go through. Interesting wrinkle: He expresses optimism that Vicente Gonzales ( #TX34) and Henry Cuellar, whom Trump just pardoned, can still win. #TX28

Bari Weiss to moderate CBS News town hall with Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk Exclusive: event, scheduled to air on 13 December, will focus on ‘grief, faith, politics, and more’, according to internal files

Bari Weiss has a CBS town hall set with Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk.

If you want to attend, you're asked a series of questions on an online form.

The first question is: “Do you consider yourself a conservative? If so, why?”

Via Jeremy Barr

www.theguardian.com/media/2025/d...

Trump’s crackdown on “DEI” has severed the pipeline for many apprentices.

Apprenticeships have grown by 3 percent this year so far, compared to double digits under Biden and even Trump 1.0.

Excruciating. Olivia Nuzzi should have shared everything she knew about RFK Jr's drug use when he was up for nomination in the Senate and she had a chance to save hundreds of thousands of lives. Spare us the tears.

For Democrats, a New Way to Make Health Care Affordable A plan to cut employer health-care costs, boost workers’ pay, and give Democrats a winning affordability message.

America must adopt a single-pricing system under which each provider charges all payers the same amount for the same service or product. This will sharply lower prices for private plans, which paid on average 2.5x more than Medicare and Medicaid.

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/12/02/a...

For Democrats, a New Way to Make Health Care Affordable A plan to cut employer health-care costs, boost workers’ pay, and give Democrats a winning affordability message.

Most working Americans have employer-provided health coverage, and costs are out of control. Here’s a comprehensive plan to save money, put checks in their pockets, and give Democrats a winning issue. @gooznews.bsky.social

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/12/02/a...

The Quiet War on Hispanic-Serving Colleges Trump’s bid to strip race from policy has landed squarely on the institutions educating the country’s future: Hispanic-serving colleges.

Govern by euphemism: In Trump’s Washington, helping Hispanic-serving colleges becomes “racial bias”—and cutting their funding becomes “equal protection.” @washingtonmonthly.com

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/12/01/t...

The notion that the political economy theory behind IRA failed because IRA did not prevent the election of Donald Trump is just an *insane* piece of backcasting. Insane.

Vital City | What Mamdani Gets Wrong About Severe Mental Illness & Crisis Response Mayor Eric Adams’ senior advisor on the topic has some thoughts on the incoming mayor’s plans for a new Department of Community Safety.

What does Mamdani’s vision of the Department of Community Safety miss? A good deal, writes Brian Stettin. www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/wha...

Nice from CJR—to understand Trump and Mamdani’s love fest, consider the president’s vulnerability on affordability. We made the same point Friday in @washingtonmonthly.com.

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/21/a...

The Freakout Over Cheaper Beer at Yankee Stadium Mamdani and Khan consider using long-standing powers to end monopolistic pricing at NYC stadiums. Cue the neoliberal freakout.

Zohran Mamdani and Lina Khan’s plan to end monopolistic pricing at NYC stadiums is good policy and good politics, @nateweisberg.bsky.social reports.

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/24/m...

The Freakout Over Cheaper Beer at Yankee Stadium Mamdani and Khan consider using long-standing powers to end monopolistic pricing at NYC stadiums. Cue the neoliberal freakout.

Every time a Dem suggests a way to lower prices, the centrist policy dweebs screech, "NOT LIKE THAT!"

Great piece from @nateweisberg.bsky.social showing how the dweebs are wrong and Mamdani is right about exorbitant stadium beer prices.

Affordability Wars As Mamdani meets Trump, Vance cycles through conflicting explanations for high prices—and voters aren’t buying it.

Vance offers conflicting explanations for high prices, as Trump, who has denied they’re high at all, meets with Mamdani, whose New York City win was fueled by the affordability crisis. @rmpwolfe.bsky.social

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/21/a...

Five Eyes Become Three Blind Mice Trump is threatening the bond of the Five Eyes national security alliance of the U.S., U.K., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.

The Five Eyes national security alliance of the U.S., U.K., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia had been intimate and formidable for decades. Now the erratic policies of the Trump administration are threatening the bond.

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/20/f...

Sherrill and Mamdani Just Showed How to Unify the Democratic Party—And Win Mamdani stole the show this month, but ‘Moderate Mikie’ across the Hudson ran on an even bolder platform to rein in corporate power.

Mamdani stole the show this month, but ‘Moderate Mikie’ across the Hudson ran on an even bolder platform to rein in corporate power. From the governor’s mansion, she’ll have the authority to deliver.

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/20/m...

My Washington Monthly Education The 56-year-old magazine has trained generations of journalists, including me—but it can only keep doing so with your help.

My @washingtonmonthly.com education

The 56-year-old magazine has trained generations of journalists, including me—but it can only keep doing so with your help. Please donate today.

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/20/m...

Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."

Arizona 2026: Governor Hobbs Faces Tight Re-Election Race; Rep. Biggs Leads GOP Primary - Emerson Polling Immigration Drops as Top Issue for Arizona Voters, Economic Concerns on Rise A new Emerson…Full Release & Results

Trump's job approve/disapprove is 5 points underwater (44/49) in ARIZONA, per Emerson College Polling

emersoncollegepolling.com/arizona-2026...

DeSantis World Goes To War With H1B Visas As Trump Faces Blowback From Base One of President Donald Trump's old rivals is seemingly moving to seize on MAGA's dissatisfaction with the president's recent statements on H1-B visas.

Ron DeSantis's allies stick his finger in the MAGA H-1B debate and comes out on Trump's right, saying Congress should get rid of the H-1B visa as MAGA rails against Trump saying America needs foreign talent.
dailycaller.com/2025/11/14/r...

Where Might Trump’s Attacks on Universities Lead? Just Look at Florida Trump’s attacks on universities promise to “save” higher ed. That same logic from DeSantis has nearly destroyed The New College of Florida.

Two years ago, Governor Ron DeSantis engineered a conservative takeover of New College of Florida, a small progressive public institution in Sarasota. Even Republicans say it’s been a disaster.

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/13/n...

Where Might Trump’s Attacks on Universities Lead? Just Look at Florida...

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/13/n...

Exclusive | Fannie Mae Watchdogs Probed How Pulte Obtained Mortgage Records of Key Democrats FHFA’s acting inspector general handed probe report to U.S. attorney office that had indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James

Breaking: Fannie Mae watchdogs probed if Trump appointee Bill Pulte improperly obtained mortgage records of key Democrats.

The Democratic Shutdown Capitulation: A Perfect and Unnecessary Failure Once again, an opposition party instigated a shutdown but failed to win meaningful concessions. Democrats had leverage—and threw it away.

Once again, an opposition party instigated a shutdown but failed to win a big-time White House concession.

Why did the "Invertebrate Eight" sacrifice leverage for a deal that forfeited their main demands? –– @billscher.bsky.social

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/10/d...

It's driving me batty that nobody except Heather Cox Richardson, the Washington Monthly, and myself is covering Trump's race to sell off (for likely demolition) "the Sistine Chapel of the New Deal," w/ murals by Ben Shahn, Philip Guston, etc. I've furnish links below to help reporters get started.

Wow this picture ...