Inside RFK Jr.’s health department takeover
Kennedy’s first week at HHS included dismissing the workforce, vaccine advisers and some longtime health priorities.
Today's Liberal News
How to Lose an Oscar in 10 Days
For months, the actor Karla Sofía Gascón had been reaping the rewards of leading a prestigious film. She plays the title character in Emilia Pérez, about a Mexican cartel boss who transitions into a woman and seeks to build a more virtuous life. The Spanish-language musical has faced waves of backlash since its release last year—but it has also found a devoted fan base among awards bodies.
What Trump’s Purge Could Mean for the Military
Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings, watch full episodes here, or listen to the weekly podcast here.
Donald Trump abruptly fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C. Q. Brown, on Friday. Panelists on Washington Week With The Atlantic joined to discuss what the president’s move could mean for the U.S. military.
The DOGE Project Will Backfire
President Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk justify dismantling the civil service as cost cutting. The federal government has “billions and billions of dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse,” Trump claimed earlier this month, and Musk has complained about a “staggering amount of waste of taxpayer money.
The Great Resegregation
The nostalgia behind the slogan “Make America great again” has always provoked the obvious questions of just when America was great, and for whom. Early in the second Trump administration, we are getting the answer.
In August, speaking with someone he believed to be a sympathetic donor, one of the Project 2025 architects, Russell Vought, said that a goal of the next Trump administration would be to “get us off of multiculturalism” in America.
The Art of Splitting Up
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.
Just as the institution of marriage has evolved, so has the institution of divorce. In a review of Haley Mlotek’s new divorce memoir, the writer Rachel Vorona Cote traces the introduction of “no fault “ divorce—a split without the designation of blame.
Are We Making an Enemy of Our Biggest Ally?
The Trump administration seems determined to alienate the EU.
Money Talks: Government Data Is Going Missing
What Next: TBD’s Lizzie O’Leary unpacks the recent deletion of government data.
The Key to a Stronger Economy? It’s Housing, Stupid.
American families can’t afford a street fight when it comes to housing reform.
Influencers Taught Us How to Overconsume. Can They Also Help Us Break the Habit?
No matter how good their intentions, creators are still able to make money off of telling people to spend less.
RFK Jr. prepares shake-up of vaccine advisers
The health secretary is planning to remove members of a panel that recommends vaccines if he sees conflicts of interest.
Redfield backs Kennedy’s efforts on vaccines
The former CDC director calls for more vaccine research, and also warns that a bird flu pandemic “is coming” and could be worse than Covid.
RFK Jr. should handpick vaccine scientists, former adviser says
Del Bigtree, now a leader of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s grassroots movement, said he should seek proof of an autism link.
Is Aziz Ansari Sorry?
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
Your Opinions on Her Wardrobe Are Probably Unwelcome
What we say matters, especially depending on whom we say it to.
What Role Does HR Play in the #MeToo Era?
The Waves also discusses the case against Jeffrey Epstein and Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s Fleishman Is in Trouble.
Trump’s spending freeze spreads chaos across US
Supporters of climate, infrastructure, mortgage, tech, health, veterans’ and other projects expressed alarm as tens of thousands of programs appeared possibly at risk.
Lael Brainard’s ‘Crisis Management Agency’ — and Her Warning For Trump
Joe Biden’s top economic adviser opens up on harrowing moments from her time in the White House, and what makes her nervous about the Trump agenda.
“Congolese Are Paying the Price” for Western Demand for Minerals & Support for Rwanda’s Paul Kagame
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 insurgents, who have already taken two key cities in the mineral-rich eastern part of the country, is triggering panic. Reports of the surge describe widespread looting, killings, attacks on aid and mass displacement. Thousands of people have fled to neighboring Burundi over the last few days as the U.N. accused M23 of killing children and attacking hospitals.
Trump’s Military Purge Has Washington Asking ‘Who’s Next?’
President Donald Trump’s firing of the country’s most senior military officer on Friday night rattled the foundations of the armed forces. It also intensified an already-furious game of “who’s next” among senior lawmakers and Washington officials, who have been trading information about the commander-in-chief’s likely targets.
Trump fired Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., known as CQ, who was only the second African American to serve as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
A Friday Night Massacre at the Pentagon
President Trump tonight began a purge of the senior ranks of the United States armed forces in an apparent effort to intimidate the military and create an officer corps personally loyal to him. The president fired General C.Q. Brown, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a remarkable move but also one that Trump and his MAGA allies signaled was coming.
‘Terrified’ Federal Workers Are Clamming Up
Federal workers are scared. They don’t know who to trust. As President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have hacked away at federal agencies over the past few weeks, I’ve spoken with more than a dozen workers who have outlined how the administration is pushing a new ideology and stoking paranoia within the government’s remaining ranks.
‘Constitutional Crisis’ Is an Understatement
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.
Grasping the scale of President Donald Trump’s assault on American governance is no small matter. The administration is challenging laws, claiming the right to reinterpret the Constitution, questioning judges’ powers, and arrogating new powers to itself.
If You Want Someone to Thank (or Blame) for Influencers, I Know Exactly Where to Look
Infomercials walked so influencers could run.
“Gum Up the Works”: David Sirota’s Advice to Democrats on Reversing Trump’s Power Grab
We discuss the first month of President Donald Trump’s second term in office — and the response from the Democratic Party — with journalist David Sirota, founder and editor-in-chief of The Lever. He notes that despite Republicans holding all three branches of the federal government, Trump has mainly used executive orders and other decrees to impose his will instead of using legislation.
“Erasing History” from the U.S. to Germany: “Wars Are Won by Teachers,” Says Yale Prof. Jason Stanley
As the Trump administration attempts to dismantle higher education in the United States by redefining discrimination in schools, fighting so-called woke ideology, attacking diversity, equity and inclusion programs, gutting the Department of Education, and threatening funding for research and higher education, we speak with Yale philosophy professor Jason Stanley, whose latest book is Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future.
“Will Universities Surrender or Resist?” Scholar Slams Trump’s Threat to Defund Universities over DEI
The Trump administration has issued a two-week ultimatum for schools and universities across the United States to end all programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion — DEI — or risk losing federal funding. The Department of Education has already canceled some $600 million in grants for teacher training on race, social justice and other topics as part of its crusade against “woke” policies.