The Federal Election Commission Is About to Partially Shut Down
AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley For years, the Federal Election Commission has been barely functional. But at the end of this month—as the 2020 campaign heats up and unprecedented amounts of money flow to candidates for national office—much of the agency’s work will shut down entirely. There will be no new fundraising rules, no punishments for…
Juul’s Campaign to Raise the Tobacco Age Is More Complicated Than It Seems
Mother Jones illustration; Getty On July 25, Juul, the $38 billion e-cigarette company, appeared before the United States House Oversight Committee to explain its role in youth nicotine addiction. Juul presented itself as a steward of public health before Congress. “Our incentive is to help [smokers] achieve their goal of transitioning from cigarettes,” said James…
Trump Thinks Background Checks Won’t Stop Shootings. He’s Wrong.
President Donald Trump speaks to the Nation Rifle Association in April.Michael Conroy/AP After mass shootings left 31 people dead in El Paso and Dayton, President Donald Trump signaled a willingness to pursue significant new gun control legislation—in particular, by strengthening the federal background check system. Currently, gun-buyers are required to pass a background check if…
Republicans Already Had a Chance to Address White Supremacy. They Failed.
Republicans used an April congressional hearing on white extremism to defend President Donald Trump’s claim that there were “very fine people on both sides” of the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally.Evelyn Hockstein/The Washington Post via Getty Hours after a racist, anti-immigrant fanatic carried out a gruesome massacre in El Paso, Texas Land Commissioner George P.…
Democrats Say Their Impeachment Inquiry Has Already Begun
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and fellow Democratic members of the committee at a news conference Friday.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images For months, Democrats have debated whether the House of Representatives should open impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. But on Friday, key House Democrats declared that such a probe is already underway. It’s a semantic…
There Is Finally a Confirmed Secretary of Defense. What About All the Other Pentagon Vacancies?
Sha Hanting/China News Service/VCG/Getty It only took 204 days, but the Department of Defense finally has a Senate-confirmed leader again. Ninety lawmakers voted Tuesday afternoon to elevate Mark Esper permanently to the position of Secretary of Defense and put an end, at least for now, to the bizarre game of musical chairs Pentagon officials have been forced…