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April 4, 202511:24 a.m.

Get Active at the State Level Too

by Josh Marshall

I get asked a lot about what ordinary people should do to have an impact in this moment. I’ve said a number of times that studies I’ve seen show that it was the work of Indivisible groups of mostly normie Democrats around the country that had the biggest impact countering Trumpism the first time around. That said, this isn’t meant to be prescriptive. Let a hundred flowers bloom. Different people will want to get active in different ways. I say this simply to make clear you don’t need a kick-ass theory or the perfect group. The biggest thing is just getting organized with other like-minded people.

April 4, 2025

Tickets on Sale Now

by Joe Ragazzo

UPDATE: As of 5 p.m. Friday, only half the tickets remain.

As TPM’s 25th year rolls on, we’re rolling out to Chicago. We hope you’ll join us as we continue to celebrate this milestone while also taking a sober look at the political landscape in which we find ourselves.

On May 14th, we’ll be nearly four months into Trump II. A lot has happened so far, to put it mildly. Josh & Kate will discuss some of the most consequential and important developments to date.

Tickets are on sale now for our live show in Chicago. You can get them here. If you are member, you should have already received an email with your discount code.

After the show there will be a brief audience Q&A, followed by a cocktail hour where some other TPM staffers will be around to chat. All attendees receive one complimentary cocktail.

Capacity is limited so please get your tickets as soon as possible if interested.

April 4, 2025April 4, 2025

WTAF is Going On? In Search of the Plan Behind Trump’s Global Economic Crisis

Member Newsletter

by Josh Marshall

Everyone in the country at the moment, albeit from different vantage points, seems to have the same question: What the actual fuck is going on?

Is the plan to have permanent tariffs? Are these meant as the basis of some kind of negotiation? Are we going to have blanket tariffs as the basis of a system of corruption in which favored industries and companies gain exemptions in exchange for fealty and cash? (So, countries as universities and law firms?) Is the idea just to replace income taxes with tariff income and fundamentally shift taxes to the middle and working classes?

At a basic level, the entire MAGA movement, and Donald Trump from whom all of it stems, simply doesn’t grasp the nature of American power or its limitations. In their view, the United States is the natural and inherent dominating power in the world. We’re the most powerful and the strongest. And starting from that view they look out onto the world and think if we are in charge why don’t we act like we’re in charge?

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April 3, 2025April 3, 2025

The Axe Rises Over Medicare and Medicaid

by Josh Marshall

Earlier this week I noted the fact that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services had been oddly immune thus far to the DOGE axe, not just compared to other HHS divisions and agencies but across almost the entire federal government. This seemed in large part because of the role Brad Smith, a key DOGEr who worked at CMS during Trump’s first term, and because of nominal DOGE chief Amy Gleason who worked in high level roles at Smith’s companies. I noted that relative immunity because there were signs that might soon change. It has now changed.

On March 31st, CMS COO Amy Brandt sent out instructions for major cuts that had to take place across CMS. As she explained, HHS had been assigned a total amount of savings from canceled contracts. And of that total amount CMS was responsible for just over $2.7 billion. That amounted to 35% of CMS’s average total spend on contracts from the years FY2023 and 2024. So in technical terms, a shit-ton of money and a huge percentage of the overall budget.

April 3, 2025April 3, 2025

Situation Getting Rocky at SSA

by Josh Marshall

On Monday I did a series of posts about what SSI disability recipients and their parent-guardians were seeing on their Social Security portals. Peoples’ portals had the new language: “This beneficiary is currently not receiving payments.” As I noted, those people’s payments did eventually show up and on Tuesday, as of mid-afternoon, the portal issue was resolved as well. On Tuesday, I can now report, an internal SSA email was sent out notifying employees about the problem and that it had been resolved, in other words, more or less at the same time as TPM’s follow-up report. The problem, as the email put it, was that “customers received a message starting they are not receiving any Social Security payments after attempting to log into their mySSA account.” Interestingly, it goes on to say that the problem “began Monday, 03/31/2025, after a migration of services.”

April 3, 2025April 3, 2025

Listen To This: Wisconsin Hates Elon

by Jackie Wilhelm

A new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast is live! This week, Kate and Josh discuss the special elections, Cory Booker’s 25-hour filibuster and the downfall of Elise Stefanik.

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The Weekender: The Lawlessness Of The Alien Enemies Removals Come Into Focus

INSIDE …

Weeks have gone by since the Trump administration rushed three planeloads of deportees to an El Salvadorian labor camp. And yet, there are reams of basic questions about what happened to which we do not have answers.
Kate Riga looks at Democrats’ victory in Wisconsin this week and the way in which it informs how the party, which has developed a reputation of complacency, thinks about its post-2024 strategy.
Emine Yücel has more from Senate Democrats this week as they attempt to raise the alarm about Republicans’ attempt to use a budget gimmick to make portions of the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent with only 50 votes.
Khaya Himmelman unpacks the Justice Department’s ongoing fixation with Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) as it attempts to intimidate her out of publicly criticizing Elon Musk.

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