The Specter of American Oligarchy
Generations of Americans have questioned the role of the wealthy few who govern the many.
Russell Berman
Russell Berman is a staff writer at The Atlantic. Since joining The Atlantic in 2014, Russell has written extensively about Congress, political reform, and policy experiments in states and cities. He previously covered the House of Representatives for The Hill newspaper and served as a Washington correspondent for the New York Sun.
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Tasos Katopodis / Getty What Happens If Trump Comes for the Mail?
This would basically be stealing an agency.
Rachel Boillot A Trump Cabinet Pick Gets a Rare GOP Grilling
The fate of Lori Chavez-DeRemer could show whether Trump will soften the party’s long-standing opposition to labor unions.
Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Why Isn’t Congress Doing Anything?
Republicans are just fine with Elon Musk gutting the government.
Illustration by Akshita Chandra / The Atlantic. Sources: Justin Sullivan / Getty; Burazin / Getty. What the Democrats’ Musk Whisperer Thinks Now
“We need to make sure that Elon Musk has an allegiance to the Constitution,” Representative Ro Khanna says.
Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc / Getty Trump’s Assault on USAID Makes Project 2025 Look Like Child’s Play
“I have never seen a government action have such an immediate impact.”
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. ‘It’s an Illegal Executive Order. And It’s Stealing.’
Trump wants to go around Congress and freeze enormous amounts of federal spending. Can he?
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. That’s Not How Constitutional Amendments Work
The president’s declaration that the Equal Rights Amendment is “the law of the land” doesn’t make it so.
Illustration by Akshita Chandra / The Atlantic. Sources: Allen J. Schaben / Getty and Bettmann / Getty. The One Trump Pick Democrats Actually Like
Does Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination for labor secretary signal a shift in the GOP’s stance toward unions?
Jordan Gale / The Washington Post / Getty Bad News for Trump’s Legislative Agenda
The Republicans barely elected Mike Johnson as speaker of the House.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times / Getty; Win McNamee / Getty.
