Hurricane Irma would have killed vastly more people in the past
Any loss of life is a tragedy, but it’s remarkable the extent to which the human cost of a storm as destructive and powerful as this one can be mitigated.
Episodes
The Daily 202's Big Idea
Start your day with the news you need to know and insights you can’t get anywhere else. Every weekday morning, The Washington Post brings you an insider’s view of the biggest stories of the moment.
Episodes
The Daily 202 Live: Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross
In this special episode, James highlights a portion of his interview with Ross on trade and NAFTA during The Daily 202 Live on Sept. 8. You can watch the full interview and learn more about The Daily 202 Live by visiting wapo.st/202Ross.
Rep. Charlie Dent announces retirement with a parting shot at the GOP
Exhausted from his ideological battles with the House Freedom Caucus and clashes with Donald Trump’s White House, Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) has decided to retire.
Trump’s triangulation shows what might have been
Entertaining counterfactuals can be silly, but what if Trump had acted this way from Day One?
Immigration has become a litmus test for Democrats
The untold story on DACA is the degree to which Democrats are now in lockstep on what not long ago was an issue that divided them.
By their fruits you will know them
Trump's DACA decision highlights chasm between Trump’s compassionate rhetoric and reality.
Headlines for Sept. 4
National reporter Elise Viebeck fills in for James Hohmann.
Headlines for Sept. 1
National reporter Elise Viebeck fills in for James Hohmann with today's political headlines.
Headlines for Aug. 31
National reporter Elise Viebeck fills in for James Hohmann with today's political headlines.
Headlines for Aug. 30
National reporter Elise Viebeck fills in for James Hohmann with today's political headlines.
Headlines for Aug. 29
National reporter Elise Viebeck fills in for James Hohmann with today's political headlines.
Headlines for Aug. 28
National reporter Elise Viebeck fills in for James Hohmann with today's political headlines.
Hurricane Harvey will be Trump’s first major natural disaster test
Storms like this can define presidencies.
Trump’s border wall brinkmanship may leave Republicans in Congress holding the bag
By creating a new artificial crisis and making a demand that’s unlikely to be met, Trump is setting up his supporters to be disappointed once again. But he’s banking that Republicans on Capitol Hill will get blamed far more than him if the gambit fails.
Trump acknowledges changing his mind as he unveils new Afghanistan strategy
Reading carefully from a teleprompter, in his first prime-time address to the nation, the president sought to explain why he’s been persuaded that staying in Afghanistan is in America’s national interest.
The elites strike back
The growing number of charities canceling galas, stars boycotting ceremonies and chief executives resigning from advisory boards is further isolating President Trump.
Trump’s embrace of Confederate statues as a wedge issue underscores Bannon’s enduring influence
Trump’s sudden decision to become the leading cheerleader for preserving Confederate memorials is a strategic political maneuver designed to change the terms of the post-Charlottesville conversation.
False moral equivalency is not a bug of Trumpism. It’s a feature.
President Trump has a troubling tendency to blame “both sides.” It's not just Charlottesville.
Trump acts like the president of the Red States of America
Donald Trump often behaves as if he’s first and foremost the president of the states and the people who voted for him. That’s at odds with the American tradition, and it’s problematic as a governing philosophy – especially in a moment of crisis.
Evidence of climate change abounds amid extreme weather in the Pacific Northwest
Seattle, known for its rain, just went a record-breaking 55 days without any. Climate change is leading to more extreme weather, and no other region has experienced that so much over the last year as the Pacific Northwest.
Headlines for Aug. 11
Kelsey Snell fills in for James Hohmann with today's political headlines.
Headlines for Aug. 10
Kelsey Snell fills in for James Hohmann with today's political headlines.
Headlines for Aug. 9
Kelsey Snell fills in for James Hohmann with today's political headlines.
Headlines for Aug. 8
Allison Michaels fills in for James Hohmann with today's politics headlines.
Headlines for Aug. 7
Allison Michaels fills in for James Hohmann with today's politics headlines.
Mueller impaneling a grand jury makes it more politically difficult for Trump to fire him
Last night’s news that Robert S. Mueller III has begun using a grand jury in federal court in Washington, as part of his investigation into possible coordination between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign, further boxes in the president.
Trump stumbles are undercutting executive power, which may be healthy for America long-term
The White House has accumulated vastly more power than the men who wrote the Constitution intended, and one unintended consequence of the Trump presidency may be a long-term rebalancing between the three branches of the federal government.
Jeff Flake delivers the most courageous conservative rebuttal of Trumpism yet
The Arizona Republican senator now stands athwart Trump, yelling stop, at a time when few others in the conservative movement are inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who so urge it.
John Kelly foreshadows how he might be as White House chief of staff
John Kelly proved he can manage up by firing communications director Anthony Scaramucci on his first day. Many in the West Wing saw Trump’s firing of Scaramucci -- who served just 10 days as communications director -- as a sign he wants to impose order.
Trump’s warped view of loyalty
The president holds an absolutist, black-and-white view: You’re either with him or against him. There is no in between.